Pelin stood at the window of his small room, staring out over the town at the only ship still hovering in the air, high above. It was the ship of the plague, as most people had begun to call it: that, or the ship of the dead. He watched the giant version of their captain fly away from it.

  He's finally done for today, the twelve-year-old thought, nodding as his hands clenched and opened nervously. Today would be the day, but just because he'd finally found the courage to ask didn't mean he couldn't hesitate. Right?

  He grimaced, looking around the town, unconsciously trying to find something to distract him from his plan.

  New buildings had appeared on the edge, built by their Captain's Ganvil bond. He had increased the town's size to harbor the few thousand new arrivals that they had found over the last few stops.

  Well, Pelin wondered if it could still be called a town. The center had been rebuilt to hold some shop-like buildings, roads leading through it, and there was a busy hubbub of people walking around.

  By now, an odd sense of normalcy had come over the group of thirty thousand or more- he'd lost count. Except for the occasional stop at a harbor, for the rest, they lived in the inner world of their captain, spending their time slowly recovering from the horrors of being the sole survivors of their individual harbors.

  As the weeks passed, those more resilient had begun making small diners to use the massive amount of food and ingredients to cook special dishes. Those with useful skills, especially those that could create water, were trading their time and energy, while a surprisingly large group had picked up instruments. Even now, he heard a variety of different songs in the distance, mixing together with the chatter and other sounds to create a cozy atmosphere.

  Well, until some would start practicing or fighting again.

  With nothing to do, people had started to find entertainment wherever they could, which was made easier after the captain had finished his new soulcard. Since that time, he'd stopped restricting the use of carded abilities, and tournaments and sparring matches had begun popping up, with the more martial survivors blowing off steam the best way they knew how to.

  Others had asked and gotten permission to travel the inner world, though only those able to withstand the constant, oppressive heat. Luckily, with the captain creating a constant supply of ruby-rank fire cards to, as he put it, guard as many of them against the plague, the group of people with high fire resistance was growing every day.

  Now, if only there was some more life in here, it would be a great place to just stay, Pelin thought, as he glanced at the distant line of the music forest. Void of even some birds, it was one of only three types of features the captain's soulscape had besides the enormous soullake sea and the vast mountains.

  Well, that and the volcano.

  Pelin turned his glance at the distant monstrosity of a mountain. Even weeks after it had appeared, he still felt it hard to believe someone's soulcard could have that effect. He'd spoken with dozens of soulcarded, and most had said the same thing. Their own soulscapes were barely large enough to fit a single house. Only two, both emerald-rank soulcarded, had been willing to share that they had a semblance of a world, though neither could fit anything but the town inside.

  There was another oddity he'd learned. None of their soulscapes ever grew- not that he had a large group of people to ask. There were only a handful of people with more than one soulcard, and most of those belonged to the core crew.

  Which left him with a growing desire... a desire to change his fate, to get a giant, safe soulscape to live in if the need arose. Though preferably one a little less hot, dry, and rocky. From what he'd been able to learn, unless he could become rich, there was only one other way to get that.

  Become a cardsmith.

  And that meant he had a predicament.

  He'd searched through the entire town, and there was no smith… The only one was the captain, and that meant for what he wanted, he had to go and talk to the busiest man around.

  "He's a nice person. I'm sure he won't get angry just for me asking," he muttered. "If only I had something to offer as payment…"

  He sighed sadly, knowing there was no way he had anything the captain would want or need. He glanced around the small amounts of possessions he'd managed to gather- a thin white sheet covered the wooden bed, a few cups on the table surrounding a larger dish filled with fruit, and a single book. There were some other odds and ends, but nothing useful. Nothing worth more than a soulshard, of which he only had a few dozen- saved and collected over as long as he'd lived.

  There was just one thing he could offer- his time, energy, and the promise to work for the captain for the rest of his life. Not a very good offer, but it was all he could think of.

  "Well, no time like the present," he grunted, repeating one of the more used remarks he'd picked up from the older Yuurindi.

  A short while later, he was walking through town, holding a small water bag. He was looking through the street at his goal. A distant hill across which the tip of a building was barely visible.

  "Where are you heading this early?"

  Pelin started as the familiar voice, and he turned to see Nugri walk out from between two of the newer buildings. The square, green pupils stared at him without blinking.

  "Are you following me again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  The girl, slightly shorter than him and with hair closing in on her shoulders, snorted but didn't respond.

  Pelin rolled his eyes and continued walking through the edge of town.

  "You are going to talk to the captain," Nugri said, falling in lockstep with him. "Are you sure it's a good idea?"

  Pelin held back a snort. Who was Nugri to tell him that? She moved around, talking with the core crew as if she were one of them. Only the other day, he'd seen her cozy up to Brecka.

  "Brecka says that Captain Irwin is usually very sad when he returns from trying to find a cure for the plague," Nugri said. "Perhaps you should wait a few hours?"

  Pelin actually hesitated. He'd heard something similar but had decided it was probably the people in town coming up with it. Now that he heard it from Nugri, he wasn't so sure. Still…

  "He usually starts reforging shortly after," he said. "And that continues for a long time. If I don't get there before he starts..."

  Nugri looked at him, then shrugged and continued walking with him as they left the boundaries of town. A few people, mostly Ignitzians, were practicing with their weapons, but nobody asked them where they were heading. It wasn't like they could run into something dangerous as long as they could handle the heat.

  Pelin grimaced as he felt the temperature rise as he walked further from town. Whatever was holding it at bay inside was gone beyond its borders, and ten minutes later, he was sweating like crazy. He took a small sip from his watersack, glancing at Nugri.

  "You plan on coming with?"

  The Yuurindi nodded, tiny streams of sweat rolling down her face. She glanced at his watersack, then back in front.

  Great.

  "Here, but don't drink too much, or there's nothing for the trip back," Pelin muttered, holding out his watersack.

  Nugri stared at it, then at him, then back at the back, licking her already parched lips.

  "Either drink or head back," Pelin snapped.

  Nugri frowned, then carefully took his watersack, taking a small sip before quickly handing it back.

  "Thank you."

  Pelin shook his head, and they continued forward.

  "So. Why are you coming with me?" he asked as they reached the foothills.

  "I want to ask the same thing you are going to," Nugri said, her eyes narrowed. "My people have no cardsmiths here… or perhaps anywhere."

  Pelin examined her, wondering what to say to that. Was she seriously doing this for her people? Not for herself? He found that hard to believe, but he knew that Yuurindi were very different from other people. He guessed that being blacklisted from nearly anywhere just based on your species would do that.

  They continued walking up the hill, finally reaching the entrance of the natural valley. At the back, partially built onto the hill, was an enormous house. The front side had normal-sized windows and doors, while the back looked the same but then double or triple the proportions.

  There wasn't any sound of forging or singing yet, but Pelin was starting to worry the captain might start. He increased his pace, heading for the oversized door. It still took them a while to get there, and when he did, he found himself stupidly staring at the door, the handle high above and out of his reach.

  Nugri stepped forward and slammed her fist on the door, causing a soft, weak thudding.

  Pelin almost worried the captain wouldn't hear it, but the reaction was immediate. A heavy thudding from within the building headed to the door, which was pulled open a minute later.

  Pelin had seen the captain's giant form a few times but never this close, and as he looked up at the muscular, overly wide smith, he felt a tiny bit of fear.

  No. I'm here for a reason!

  "What are you two doing here?" Irwin asked, lowering himself to his haunches in a failed attempt to get to their height. Still, the mere attempt put Pelin at ease, as did the slightly sad smile.

  "Uh… captain Irwin," he began. "I want to learn how to become a cardsmith, and I was hoping you would be willing to teach me."

  Pelin flinched as he saw the burning eyes widen in surprise.

  "Did you, now?" he said, sounding slightly amused before looking at Nugri. "And you?"

  "Me too. The Yuurindi need cardsmiths, so we aren't reliant on everyone else," Nugri said, her voice only slightly softer than usual.

  Pelin was surprised at how calm she seemed.

  "Well, well," the captain said, rubbing his chin and causing a grating sound, like someone rubbing metal with a metal brush. "I-"

  "Kid, this is a great idea!"

  Pelin's eyes widened as a large winged anvil flew in from the back, landing on the captain's shoulder. Ambraz, the Ganvil who had created many of the buildings in the town, was rumored to be some prince among Ganvils.

  He calls the captain…. Kid?

  Irwin seemed unsurprised, though curious.

  "How so?"

  "Because maybe that will give us a clue about two of those issues we are running into! Both that bloody plague and the purifying thingie… right?"

  It was clear the Ganvil was trying to keep some things a secret, and Pelin felt his curiosity grow. What did he mean by a purifying thingie?

  "And it's not like you don't have the time for it… These brats would need to learn metal purifying first, and that will take most of the rest of the trip. You wouldn't really need to help them with that, not a lot."

  "Which brings me to the why again," Irwin asked, looking at the Ganvil. "They won't be of any use till we reach the branch… so why-"

  Irwin blinked, then cocked his head. "Ah…"

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  "Exactly! See?"

  "Yes," the captain said, examining Pelin and Nugri.

  Pelin tried to understand what they were talking about, but he felt lost. The only thing he was getting was that his chances had just grown.

  "Before I decide, I need to check something," the captain said. "I'm going to move my soulforce. Close your eyes and raise your hand as soon as you sense it."

  Pelin didn't even bother asking what this was about, his growing hope fueling his desire. He closed his eyes, focusing on the surrounding soulforce. He didn't feel anything but his own, but he guessed the captain would probably be continuing until he could.

  A few seconds later, he felt a soft pressure that caused his soulcards to resonate, and he raised his hand. Another few seconds later, the pressure had built up to something he couldn't even ignore if he wanted to.

  "Alright, you can open your eyes again."

  Pelin did as asked, hoping he'd done well. The captain was humming softly, looking at him and Nugri.

  "Alright, both of you have about average soulforce sensitivity," the captain said.

  Pelin felt his hope dash, his hands clutching. He should have known there was nothing special about him. Still, the captain didn't sound or look dismissive, so perhaps there was hope.

  "Head back to town for now," the captain said, rising to his feet and tapping his chin. "I'll come and find you in a few hours. Can you get all the youths between ten and fourteen to gather in the central square?"

  Pelin felt his heart skip a beat. Had he done so poorly that the captain was going to find others to teach smithing?

  "Yes, Captain," Nugri said, and Pelin quickly nodded along.

  "Good! Oh, and take this," the captain said, handing over a waterskin that seemed to appear from midair.

  Nugri took it with a grateful smile before turning around and walking away. Pelin's head snapped from the captain to her and back, and he swallowed.

  "Thank you, Captain! We'll get it done!"

  He turned and ran after Nugri.

  I hope it just means he's going to train all of us, he thought, clenching his hands.

  --

  Irwin hummed as he watched the two kids walk away. He'd been surprised to see Pelin, the kid that had managed to sneak aboard here, and even more so when he'd raised his hand much faster than he'd expected. If the kid hadn't been lying when he raised his hand, his sensitivity was much greater than Irwin had let him believe. At least in the upper ten percent.

  He faintly remembered seeing the young Yuurindi before. She was one of those that came with Undiri and the others from the shipwright city of Urlar, and he'd seen her talk with Brecka before. There was something weird about how she spoke.

  I'll ask Brecka later, he decided, walking back into his house.

  "What are you planning?" Ambraz asked, sounding curious.

  "Well, if we are going to train new smiths, in case we have to leave a lot of people behind, we should do it the right way," Irwin said. "Besides, those with true talent will come with us so they can enroll in the academy."

  "Are you planning on teaching all the brats here?" Ambraz asked, sounding surprised.

  Irwin grimaced, stretching his senses out to the town and feeling the thousands of people there.

  "There's not that many," he said. "Most young ones didn't survive."

  "Perhaps, but there's still enough that it will take a lot of your time."

  Irwin nodded as he walked up the stairs to his lounge area, sitting down at the table. He didn't mind if it would take time. The last few weeks, ever since they had rescued the Chaos Whale babies, had been a mix of disasters and disappointments, with the only good thing being that they had been able to dodge or outrun any Oculithar they came across. That, and there was no sign of the giant one that Greldo had seen.

  "Think we can find one that has an affinity for one of the healing subtypes?" he asked.

  "No. But that small brat has both a steam and a teleport card," Ambraz said, causing him to blink in surprise.

  "The boy?"

  "Yes, who else?"

  "..." Irwin sighed, shaking his head.

  "Well, who knows what we might find. There's no real way to find out someone's initial soulforce sensitivity except testing them."

  "Well, don't expect to find anyone with your talent," Ambraz said with a snort. "And that's the minimum someone would need to have to be useful in any relevant span of time."

  "Well, we will just have to see," Irwin muttered as he raised his hand and summoned small crates filled with raw ore, a few dozen topaz and emerald-ranked hammer cards, and some anvils.

  It took him about an hour to go over what he guessed he might need, putting everything in a readily moveable stack before walking out of the door.

  "You do know they aren't ready yet, right?" Ambraz said.

  "I know, but we need to talk with Rindiri and the others so they know what is happening," Irwin said as he shot up in the air and flew to the town at a speed rivaling what Greldo could do through the shadows. As he reached the center of the town, he glanced down, still feeling a slight disbelief at what he saw.

  The still-nameless town would have been called a city back on Giard, at least where he was from. The only difference was the lack of large farmlands all around, but the amount of people roaming about would have been fine.

  He focused on Rindiri, sensing her in the central building that bordered the square, the only one taller than the rest. He floated down, hovering beside the window and gently tapping it.

  A moment later, the window opened, showing Rindiri walking toward him. Behind her, in the simple living room, Youritz was sitting on a couch, looking somewhat surprised to see Irwin. The feeling was mutual.

  Did they-

  "Captain?" Rindri said, interrupting Irwin's thoughts.

  He focused on Rindiri, who was looking at him curiously.

  "Rindiri, I'm going to cause you a little trouble," Irwin said before quickly explaining what he was planning to do.

  To his surprise, Rindiri just let out a relieved sigh. They hadn't talked about the upcoming issue yet, though Irwin knew she must have been fully aware of it.

  "Are you going to allow my people to join?" she asked.

  "Definitely," Irwin said with a nod. "One of the two that looked me up was Nugri."

  "That one? Why doesn't that surprise me," Rindiri said.

  Irwin saw Youritz get up, looking thoughtful as he joined Rindiri at the window.

  "Have you decided who can come home?" Rindiri asked.

  Irwin sighed, looking around to notice dozens of people staring up at him from below. He wished he could move into the house, but the window wasn't large enough for him to fit. Instead, he focused and caused a thick, sound-dampening, and obscuring layer of steam to surround him. It was only a few fingers thick and highly compressed, almost looking like burnished metal.

  "I'll bring all Yuurindi that have a ruby-ranked handcard, or better," he said.

  "That means only a fourth can come," Rindiri said calmly. "And you are going to find a world for the others?"

  "Them and the other survivors," Irwin said. "Though I'll be enacting the same rule for them."

  "Will you be able to create enough ruby-rank cards for all of them?" Youritz asked softly.

  Irwin shook his head. "No. Even if I don't focus on quality and only pick those that I have overlap with, ten to fifteen ruby-rank cards per day is the best I can do at that rank."

  Rindiri frowned but didn't say anything, and Irwin knew what she was wondering about.

  "I can make far more ruby cards if I only have to reforge them from emerald up," he said. "But most of the cards I have are quartz and amethyst, so I have to reforge them up across multiple ranks."

  "So, how many can you bring?" Rindiri asked.

  "Still over two-thirds," Irwin said. "Most of the survivors only survived because they already had a ruby-rank card, or, in some cases, heartcards."

  Neither of the two Yuurindi asked why he didn't just focus on creating heartcards, as both had seen him do that. A single heartcard cost more time and more effort than taking a quartz card up to ruby rank. Still, Irwin was glad he didn't have to explain it.

  "And those still infected?" Rindiri asked.

  "I'll make cards for all of them before leaving so they don't die, but… none of them can come," he said, staring at her and suddenly feeling old. He didn't know exactly when it had begun happening, that he'd lost the sense of being the child he'd been long, or the not-really-an adult after that, but as he looked at Rindiri, he felt the last vestiges fade. He'd known he wasn't the same as he'd been years ago, but now he actually felt it.

  "Although we can't detect any residuals of the plague on those cured with ruby-rank cards, we can't take the risk," he said, unable to keep the slight cold from his voice. "No matter how small it is."

  Knowing he was doing the right thing didn't mean he couldn't hate having to make the decision.

  Rindiri was quiet for a few moments before surprising him as she reached out and put a hand on his massive arm. "I think your choice is the right one, Captain, but..." she sighed, her eyes going hard as she pulled her hand back. "Not everyone will agree. There will be some who will see it as you abandoning people."

  "I know," Irwin said, thinking about Scintilla and his children. He'd not seen them for a long time now, and he really wished he could rush back home. A tiny worry about if they had even made it surfaced, and he crushed it.

  "Now, let's see if the youths are ready," he said. "Ambraz will create a building for me to teach them in."

  "Captain…"

  Irwin looked up at Youritz, who was frowning.

  "Are you sure you should only check the youths? There might be older people with talent."

  "There might be, but there's also way too many of them," he said. "If I need to test them all, that would take too much time. Worse, I'd have to explain to those who really want but have no talent why. The youths will have to do for now," Irwin said.

  "Very well, captain," Youritz said.

  Irwin could see he wasn't happy with that answer, but he knew it was the truth. They had only a few months left before they reached Eluathar's branch, and at that point, he'd be searching for a new world for those who couldn't come.

  "Alright, keep things calm while I test the youths," Irwin said as he let the dense layer of steam fade.

  Looking down, he saw about a hundred children, who he guessed weren't all ten yet, and some who looked to be older than fourteen, staring up at him from the central square. Pelin was standing in front of them, wringing his hands. Irwin hesitated, then decided to drop it. He'd see if those older or younger than what he'd planned would have talent. Besides, there were only so few compared to the adults, and more than half were Yuurindi.

  He lowered himself down, landing at the edge of the square and staring out over the small crowd of kids and the adults that stood further out. He could pick out the worrying parents easily enough, eyes locked on one or more children and seemingly debating what to do.

  "Everyone, I asked you all here because I'm going to test you," Irwin said, deciding to just get it done with. "The test will check how sensitive you are at detecting soulforce, which is one of the requirements to become a smith. I'll be instructing those of you who are sensitive enough on the basics of becoming a cardsmith. If you have no interest in this, please leave now."

  He wasn't at all surprised that nobody left, while many actually moved further from the edge of the group as if they were afraid he might think they didn't want to be there due to their position.

  "Good," he said. "Now, I'm going to be doing the following. I want you all to close your eyes and focus on the surrounding soulforce and your cards. As soon as you feel something, raise your hand. Make sure you are certain when you do, because this is only the first test, and I'll be testing you all individually after. After you raise your hand, open your eyes and move where I direct you."

  He'd barely finished speaking when all of the children in the square, including Pelin and Nugri, closed their eyes.

  Alright, step one, Irwin thought.

  As he flexed his soulforce, three children almost immediately raised their hands, amongst which was Pelin. The other two were Yuurindi, one looking barely over eight. All three had opened their eyes, looking around and seeming surprised to see only two others.

  Impressive, he thought. Although he'd started pretty strongly, he knew that a base sensitivity this strong would mean all three could become talented smiths.

  He hummed, pointing at a location nearby. The three almost ran forward, standing together and examining each other curiously.

  Irwin held back a smile and increased his pressure slightly until another four children raised their hands.

  He continued until about twenty children had gathered beside him. The last batch of five had raised their hand at the border of what he'd guess was averagely talented, and he was surprised at how many of those gathered here had that much sensitivity or more. Nugri had been with the last group, and he couldn't see if she was happy or surprised. The young Yuurindi was moving to stand beside Pelin, who definitely looked relieved to see her.

  Those still on the square still had their eyes closed, and Irwin hesitated, then shook his head.

  "Alright," he said. "The rest of you can open your eyes."

  The children did so, and many looked incredibly disappointed.

  "Now, before you all worry that this means you can't become a cardsmith, let me reassure you. I stopped because I have enough potential students now. Testing them each will take some time, as well as teaching them afterward. That doesn't mean the others here couldn't learn it," he said, looking around and trying to project optimism. "Depending on how this goes, I might do another round in a few weeks. For now, I'll need to talk with my future students, so please all vacate the square!"

  Some of the children hesitated, many with tears on their faces, but most turned and headed back to their families if they had any. Some of those looked annoyed, a few openly looking at him as if they wanted to speak up. A single glance from him caused them to keep their mouths closed and walk away.

  Irwin waited for the square to be mostly empty before turning to the young ones.

  "Now, we are going to head to what will be your academy for the next few months," he said. "I'll be explaining what we start with, but before that, who here doesn't have at least a fire-type card that gives them resistance to heat?"

  More than half of the children raised a hand, and Irwin nodded. "Alright, please form a line so I can inspect your current cards and determine which card will fit you best."

  A rush came across the group as they began sorting themselves. Irwin was surprised to see that this was based on their height. He grinned as he walked up to the tallest kid, barely reaching his waist. He put a finger on the kid's head, causing the kid to look up curiously.

  Alright. Cards, resonance tests, sensitivity checks, and then explanation, he thought, as he focused on the cards of the first kid.

  It took him over an hour to determine the proper card for the kids, but when he finished, all but two had a card from his prepared stacks. The two that didn't were Yuurindi kids that couldn't slot a normal ruby card and would require one custom-made that put out far less soulforce.

  "Alright, except for you two, the rest of you head to the northern border of town," Irwin said, pointing in the direction he meant. "You will find a new building and Ambraz there. He will tell you what to do."

  He looked at Pelin. "Tell him that I'll be there in a bit."

  Pelin almost bowed before following the other kids as they sprinted away. Irwin turned to the two Yuurindi. Both stood close together, looking highly worried.

  "Don't worry," Irwin said. "I'm just going to have to scan your soulforce resonance some more so I'll know what type of cards you need."

  Neither of the kids reacted; they just looked at him with fear.

  I can't wait for my normal self to be free to move in here, Irwin thought. Having a smaller body would definitely help to not terrify the kids.

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  Common = Quartz, Uncommon = Amethyst, Rare = Topaz, Very Rare = Emerald, Epic = Ruby, Legendary = Diamond, Mythical = Ammolite