Irwin's Journey 507: [Sidestory: 2] Two steps forward, one step back

As soon as he saw them, Yagrav knew that whatever the reason was that his friends hadn't come to him, it wasn't of their own volition. 

"Yagr!" Louka Im'Kalin shouted as she sprinted across the beautiful garden that sprawled around the Im'Kalin manor. 

Yagrav felt something in his chest clench as he saw her bright smile, and for a moment, he thought she was going to hug him. Sadly, a few steps away, she came to a stop and bowed to his mother. 

"Madam Voitrag," she said with a smile. "Maliz is getting father and mother now. Would you like to follow me to a table?"

Yagrav saw his mother hesitate, then nod.

"That would be nice, Louka. How have you been?"

"Oh, fine! Just… locked in the house because of the attacks," she said, her eyes spitting fire at the house for a moment. "Like we can't defend ourselves?!"

Yagrav tried to signal to her with his eyes to be quiet, but his friend had her back to them as she led them away. A quick look at his mother told Yagrav that she was holding in her comment on his friend's remark. Between that and even bringing him here, he knew he was going to have to find a way to thank her soon.

Guess I'll have to clean the sand tomorrow before she returns home, he thought.

As they walked further into the well-maintained garden, Yagrav saw a few of the Im'Kalin retainers moving around. Compared to the quiet home he shared with his mother, this place, although slightly smaller, was bustling with activity. Little had changed since the last time he'd been here, which, truth be told, had been a while. Usually, the three of them were in town, either in school or hanging out with their friends. 

Louka guided them to a beautiful, card-crafted table below a few well-maintained Volcano Trees. A Survive the Burrows board stood on it, a few characters in the middle, heavily damaged while the attacks were paused. Yagrav glanced over the board, instantly noting that the characters were way out of position. The random map had some good chokepoints, but they were slightly obfuscated. Besides that, from the damage they had sustained, it was clear that they had been ambushed, as the healer character was almost dead.

"That's not going to end well," Yagrav muttered, trying to come up with a way to still fix the situation. 

"Yes, yes, I know we aren't doing well," Louka said, leaning over the table, glaring at the board. "Maliz wanted to try something new, and we told you how bad father and mother are at the game."

"Now, now, Louka," a deep voice came from behind. "And here I thought you were pleased to have us finally play a game with you and your brother?"

Yagrav pulled his gaze from the board and stared at Louka's father and mother walking towards them. Both were average for a Crathan, though her father, Jaghin Im'Kalin, was built as if someone had tried to compress a much taller man into a smaller height. With shoulders that screamed strength, Yagrav had always wondered what soulcard the man really had.  Her mother, Leikala Im'Kalin, looked thin in comparison, thought Yagrav knew she wielded her own carded greatsword with an ease that always surprised him.

Their eldest son and his best friend, Maliz, walked beside them, grinning at him.

"Good, you finally got here! Think you can help us solve this?" he almost shouted, drowning out Louka's rebuttal.

Yagrav wanted to snort and laugh, but held back because of the parents. Instead, he bowed to his friend's parents.

"Yagrav, how are you?" Leikala said, smiling as she sat down beside him. "Is it true that your heartcard revolves around your greatsword?"

Yagrav made sure not to look at his mother, knowing full well what she thought of the situation.

"Yes, Lady Leikala," he said. "If you want, I can show it later?"

"I'm sure there will be time for that, and please, I am no Lady."

Yagrav just shrugged, glancing at his friends, hoping she wouldn't ask him anything else. 

Leikala seemed to pick up on it instantly and smiled.

"Why don't you kids take the board to the eastern table and play there? Jaghin and I have something to discuss with Lady Siabin."

Yagrav grinned at Maliz, and they quickly grabbed the board, sprinting away. A few minutes later, on the other side of the garden, the three of them put the board down without even looking at it.

"So, you weren't allowed out either?" Yagrav said, curious what had changed their parents' view. Usually, they were allowed out a day after an attack.

"Don't even start," Louka said, sighing theatrically. "There's this rumor floating about that when Irwin arrives or leaves, Burrow starts overflowing left and right. We looked in some of Dad's history books, and that basically only happened twice. Most of the time that he appeared, nothing happened."

"Well, nothing except for a whole lot of people heading to Blackglass Cavern to try and get him to make them heartcards," Maliz said, his silver eyes sparkling. "Like the heartcards that all of us have now!"

The three of them shared a grin, then Yagrav sighed. "What about Sajin?"

Louka's smile melted, and she frowned at the wall that surrounded their merchant's estate. 

"We haven't heard from him," Maliz said, glancing at his sister. "But Dad heard that the Wyrms have been acting up again. So, he's probably hunting in the desert with his father."

Yagrav felt a stab of jealousy both at how Louka seemed to drift off and at the fact that only one of the four of them actually got to do anything exciting. 

"Maybe that's because of Irwin?" he said, still feeling odd about calling the legendary Guildmaster and the first Crathan like that. Still, he'd told them to during his storytelling.

"Could be, or maybe the Guidar are doing it?" Maliz countered, his eyes gleaming.

"Ugh, no way," Louka said, returning to the conversation from wherever her mind had wandered. "You know full well that Irwin wouldn't have left if he'd thought the Guidar were already here."

"How did your parents react to what he told us?" Yagrav asked, quickly interrupting what he knew would likely become another sibling argument.

Louka and Maliz sighed in unison before glaring at each other for a moment. 

"They think it's just that, stories," Maliz muttered. "Dad at least began reading up on the legends of the Accenti, and he's trying to get in touch with the few remaining outposts. But mom? She told us not to, and I quote, 'be worried about bedtime stories'. She actually thinks the Guildmaster made it all up!"

"My mom's the same," Yagrav said. "It's like what he warned us about. She just won't believe it. Thinks all the history books are just some trumped-up legends."

The three young Crathans looked at each other, their silvery eyes dimming as realisation set in.

"Do you think the others are having as many issues?" Maliz finally asked.

"Definitely," Louka said, while Yagrav nodded.

"So… what do we do?" Maliz asked, staring listlessly at the board.

"What the Guildma- Irwin said we should," Yagrav said. "We are going to have to spread what he told us about the Guidar and prepare."

His two friends looked at him quietly, clearly not convinced.

"Even if all of those there join, we are what… sixty people?" Maliz asked.

"Almost a hundred, but he's right," Louka said. "Even if we all share what he told us, why would anyone listen if even our parents don't?"

Yagrav sighed. He'd thought about this for most of the weeks he'd been bored at home, well, during the time he wasn't practicing with his new heartcard. 

"There's only one thing we can do," he said. "We become strong and influential enough to force preparations."

His friends stared at him, similar frowns on their faces. 

Sometimes they really make it easy to see they were siblings, Yagrav thought.

"You do realise that's not likely to work? As much influence as mom and dad have among the local merchants, we are only a tiny player compared to the larger groups. Even if the others work with us, none of us has the skill or desire to become cardsmiths, which will greatly limit what we can do."

Yagrav knew they didn't mention him being a noble to spare his feelings. 

"Cardsmiths, merchants, the crafting guilds, and the nobles," he said. "Those determine things for real."

"And the Ganvils," Louka said.

"And the Ganvils," Yagrav agreed, starting to fiddle with the gameboard. "We don't need to influence all of Scour… Just Virbrack's Stand. Remember what Irwin told us about the largest cities?"

"Suderfuix and Dimarintsia?" Louka asked.

"Yes. The most powerful part of it was the Harbor City that was outside the Exit Portal… Also, their defenses were focused mostly on the surroundings around the Exit Portal. Which is-" he waved around. "Here."

"You want to somehow become the leader of Virbrack's Stand?" Maliz asked, cocking his head. "I… well, I guess that's less unlikely than what we thought before, but you do realise we are only fourteen? How big do you think the chances are that we get that strong? We would need to get at least three soulcards, and although it's not impossible to find a cardsmith that can reforge Emerald-ranked Heartcards, it's going to be very hard."

"About that," Yagrav said, leaning forward. "I think mom somehow managed to get into contact with one of the new cardsmiths of the charter… wait, you two heard about that, right?"

"Well, duh!" Louka said, smiling at him. "Dad knew a week ago. One of his friends in Blackglass sent him a message that it would happen. It's why he purchased four more large buildings around the central square. He is hoping to rent them to the new charter in exchange for access to their cardsmiths."

Yagrav's eyes widened. "That's great! Perhaps that charterhead can reforge emerald heartcards?"

"Sure, as if that's likely," Maliz muttered. "There's what, less than a hundred smiths that we know of that can do that? And most of those are in Cindergrove."

Yagrav leaned back, then sniffed. "Well, we don't need to come up with the entire plan now. But we could say that we are going to try. Sajin is definitely going to join the Portal Closing Guild, meaning he will likely be able to get his hands on rare cards. You two don't want to take over from your parents… but you could? And I could try and somehow…" Yagrav hesitated, knowing that he really didn't want to do what he was about to suggest. Then he shivered and plowed forward. "I could try to talk with the other noble kids who were there. Slowly work myself back in with them."

Maliz looked at him with clear disbelief, while Louka sighed. They both knew how much he hated dealing with other nobles, even the few that their small town held. Still, he was the only one among them who even had any connection in that area.

"Yag… I know you want to do what Irwin said, but do you have any idea how insane what you are suggesting is? Even if all of that works, then what? Lady Koulerizi is still really young… like less than two hundred years old? With her three soulcards, she's going to be here for hundreds of years."

Yagrav nodded, unsure how to handle that. His mother had taught him many things, one of which was how to navigate the factions of nobles, but she had always told him that it was tough to remove those nobles who had entrenched themselves in a role.

"Yag, let me think about it for a while and see what I can come up with," Maliz said, before waving at the board. "For now, let's see if you can figure out a way out of this deadlock."

Yagrav turned to the board.

"Right, well, I'll add my own character back at the spawn area, and-" 

For the rest of the two hours, his mother continued talking with the merchant couple, and the three focused on the game, but Yagrav could see that both his friends sometimes zoned out, likely thinking about what they had discussed. 

When his mother finally came to get him, they had managed to reverse the impossible situation. 

"Oh… how did that happen?!" Jaghin asked as he leaned forward to examine the board.

"Told you. Yagrav is really good at this," Louka said, looking almost as proud as if she'd done it.

"I guess he is," Jaghin said, examining Yagrav for a few moments. "Well, for now, I think it's time to put it away. I'll have one of our guards escort you to Jaghin in a few days so you can play again."

Yagrav saw Louka's eyes flare up, likely ready to try and ask why they couldn't go alone. Normally, he would have let her, but as he thought back to their discussion, he did something he rarely did. He intervened.

"Lord Jaghin," he said quickly, drawing the man's attention. "Is there any news on when classes will resume?"

The merchant smiled, shaking his head. "And here I thought you three didn't enjoy the small Academy we created. Well, if things calm down again, it should open in a week or two. Right now, most of the guards that teach you have too much on their hands, but I think with the new cardsmith charter, things should calm down rather quickly."

"That sounds good," Yagrav said, forcing a smile as he realized he'd likely need to stay locked at home for at least another week. He saw his friends look at him in confusion, but he ignored them, bowing to their parents.

A few words later, he and his mother were walking back to their own place.

"That was very diplomatic of you," his mother said after a while. "I thought you didn't like using what I taught you?"

Yagrav knew exactly what she meant, though he'd hoped it would have passed her by.

"If Louka had started arguing with her father, it was likely that he wouldn't have brought her here in a few days," he said.

His mother just hummed thoughtfully, but when they reached their home, she surprised him with his favorite dish and even a little light sparring. 

Hours later, when Yagrav lay in bed, he looked at the stone ceiling, listening to the soft wind howling around the roof, which told him they would likely get a sandstorm that night.

Even if it's just me, I can't let everyone just ignore the Guildmaster's warnings, he thought, arms behind his head. 

It took hours before he finally fell asleep, his mind constantly busy with ways to get people to prepare. The more he thought about it, the more he understood the anger and annoyance he'd perceived from the Guilmaster. Especially because he knew many of the truly powerful ones on Scour had been alive to hear the warnings many times, and would be alive when they came to pass. For those who could do little about it, or wouldn't live to see it, he could understand. But the Cavern Lords and Ladies from Blackglass? Or those that ruled the Viridian Groves and the Oxarite Mountain ridges? 

They should know better….

The last thing he thought before sleep finally caught up with him was whether he should reach out to the only one Irwin had told stories about that actually still lived and remained on Scour. But how would a brat from a small, nearly dead noble house like him ever get into contact with Flowrishin, the single most powerful cardsmith that remained on their world?

--

Three months after Irwin had left, the people of Virbrack's Stand finally returned to normal. There were still the occasional issues with monsters that burrowed in from below, but no more than in the previous years, and the idea that a horrible disaster would strike due to the Guildmaster's presence had faded.

Another three months passed, and soon it was as if nothing had changed. The younglings that had listened to the Guildmaster's stories went from talking about it daily, to just referencing it, to seemingly forgetting about it. 

One of the few who didn't, but the one who grew most annoyed by it was Yagrav.

"Stop trying to kill me?" Maliz exclaimed, barely dodging Yagrav's wooden greatsword.

Yagrav snorted as his friend jumped back a few steps. He looked to the side, his mood not improving as he saw Louka spar with Sajin. Ever since he'd gotten his heartcard, their friend had become taller and lankier, and many of the girls from their class couldn't stop looking at him. Between the scars from working with his father in the desert and the dark-red, almost black hair, they seemed to think of him as exotic and interesting.

Currently, Louka was trying to strike him while Sajin seemed to barely break a sweat in keeping her at a distance, once in a while using one of his two long, curved wooden swords to tap her on the shoulder, arm, or hip.

Yagrav pulled his gaze away from his two friends, knowing full well that he had no chance. A year ago, Louka had been clearly uncertain who she liked, but over the last year, things had rapidly changed, and Sajin had won. 

"Come on, she's as annoying as an Insectoid Queen," Maliz said, stepping beside him. "Besides, we both know this isn't why you are really angry."

Yagrav hesitated, then nodded as he stared at the rest of their class—close to forty of the new heartcarded, all training with the best of the guards. There had been more, but most of the young nobles had returned to Blackglass or the other big cities they came from. Worse, of those that remained, many didn't want to deal with Yagrav's idea. 

"You know why," Maliz said as if he read Yagrav's mind. "Their parents won't allow them to do this, and if they try, it will only cause issues."

"I know," Yagrav said, taking a deep breath and almost hurling his wooden training sword across the yard. 

He knew it wasn't Maliz's fault. Better yet, his friend was the only one who truly agreed with him, it seemed, with even Louka and Sajin only humoring him. 

"So, did you manage to figure out what I asked?"

"I did… but are you sure you want to know now?" Maliz asked.

"If it's good news," Yagrav said, before snorting as he realized what he'd done. His friend joined him.

"Well, if I don't say anything now, your mood will just sour more, so yes, you can join the Cardsmiths Charter here without having to move to Blackglass's main Academy. Apparently, Charterhead Berjin doesn't have as many connections as everyone thought, and even the nobles have stopped bothering him."

"That's why the others left?" Yagrav asked.

"Yes," his friend agreed. "Lady Koulerizi used a favor to get a teleporter here to bring them all to Blackglass a few days ago."

"I can't believe they all think they can become cardsmiths just because they got a heartcard," Yagrav muttered.

"Oh… you can't? Why do you want to do it then? You were pretty sure you were going to try and go-" Maliz waved at a group of six nobles who were sparring with such little interest that Yagrav wondered why they even showed up. "- that route?"

"I need a way to get into contact with people in power," Yagrav said. "And down here, my family has no chance of doing that with the nobles. At least, not yet. I need a way to get more influence. I'm not interested in becoming the best cardsmith, just passable, so I can talk with the good ones. So, how do I get into their class?"

"You will have to talk with one of the teachers and have them test your soulforce sensitivity," Maliz said. "If it's high enough, you can join. If not?" he shrugged.

Yagrav nodded, noticing one of the guards staring at them. 

"Let's go for one more round," he said, knowing that he was one of the nobles that the guards wouldn't mind talking back to. "After that, I'll head to the Charter and try my luck."

The rest of the morning passed in a blur as Yagrav fought with Maliz, then a few of the other nobles. Initially, he was distracted, but as he faced better opponents, he slowly forgot his worries, losing himself in the training. 

When he finished his last spar against Harlim, the youngest son of one of the richer noble families in Virbrack's Stand, the guards began calling out the end of the morning practice.

"Dammit, Yagrav," Harlim grunted, pushing himself up, leaving his wooden shield and sword on the ground. "I can't believe you got so lucky to keep that bastard of a sword."

Yagrav snorted. "You could have asked the Guildmaster to do the same as I did."

"What, and have my father beat the shit out of me like he did my sister? No thanks. I knew beforehand what that would do. Silah was practically sent into exile at one of our smaller holdings in the Glitter Desert. As much as I'd prefer my spear, it's not worth it."

Yagrav stared at the younger noble, barely thirteen, nodding slowly. He'd known that a few of the nobles hadn't handled the Guildmaster's choice well, but it did surprise him that some would go that far. 

"The fact that she probably got a better heartcard, and thus soulcard, than she likely would have ever gotten before didn't placate him?" he asked.

"The opposite," Harlim said, stepping closer and glancing around before leaning forward. "My brother thinks father was jealous. Whatever it was, I was lifted up to take Silah's future spot as head of a new town east of Blackglass."

Yagrav whistled, knowing full well what that would mean for Harlim. A chance of getting out of his father's oppressive will and making a life for himself. Not sure if he should, he hesitated only a moment before he leaned in conspiratorially.

"When you get there, are you going to do what the Guildmaster asked?"

"What? Share the stories he did?" Harlim asked, frowning. "I… don't know. If my father finds out, I'll be yanked back."

"Then wait till you are stronger?" Yagrav insisted. "It doesn't matter if you do it in twenty years, right?"

"Yagrav, you underestimate how long it will take for my father to leave me to my own devices," Harlim said, shaking his head wearily. 

A shout from the edge of the training field made him look up, and he waved at a few other nobles.

"Listen, I know what you've been talking about with the others, okay? I'll think about it."

Yagrav held back an angry scowl and nodded, waving him away. 

If the Guildmaster was still here, they wouldn't act like this, he thought, turning to see his friends waiting at the other side of the training field. He jogged over, moving much faster than he had half a year ago. Besides becoming stronger and sturdier, his heartcard had increased his acceleration both during running and dodging. 

"You seriously improved again," Sajin said, hitting his shoulder. "If only you could get your mother off your back, you could join me with my father's squad in hunting outside. It would give you a chance to use that beast of a sword."

"Maybe in ten years, when I get my soulcard," Yagrav said, shaking his head wearily. 

It took some effort not to look at Louka, but he knew it would only make him annoyed. She'd made her choice; besides, he had more important things to worry about.

"You guys go and head home, I have something else to do first!"

Before someone could stop him, he turned and ran away, his first step almost cannoning him forward. An annoyed shout came from behind, likely from the others who'd gotten a face full of sand. He also thought he heard Louka shout something, but he pushed it all aside as he ran through town towards the charter.

--

Uvra sat in the spacious and empty teachers' lounge, holding back a yawn.

By Shadows Volcano, this day can't get any more boring, even if it tried!

She'd been done with her class, the three students she had finished their morning practice, and she had already wasted her few cards practicing the days before. It'd be two more days till she got new ones, and that meant she had to find something to do in the afternoons.

If only Berjin wouldn't be so busy all the time, she thought, focusing on the distant wall behind which the private smithing quarters were. Ever since her old friend had learned there was a better smithing style for him, he'd been doing nothing but training. Although she couldn't deny he was improving rapidly, it did mean she either had to talk with the young ones or entertain herself. Which basically came down to the same thing.

Maybe I should just go and walk through town again, she pondered as footsteps rang from the hallway leading to the lounge. She looked up to see Yumni, one of the locals they had hired, enter the charter. A young woman with a somewhat sharp face and hair that went from light orange to bright golden, she was an oddity of an Oxarite.

"Deputy Charterhead Uvra! There's a young man outside who wants to join the charter," she said, sounding excited. Uvra didn't blame her. After the first few weeks, in which they had probably seen every interested person twice, they rarely got new people asking to join. Virbrack's Stand had barely ten thousand inhabitants, and most of those already had jobs. Those who didn't were mostly young, and of those, barely any qualified. The minimum sensitivity they would allow to join was that of those who could become Topaz cardsmiths, as even with cards being rather plentiful, there just weren't that many.

"Alright, let's see who it is," she said, pushing herself up. "If it's that Oilarella girl again, I'm going to seriously smack some sense into her!"

"Uhhh, it's a boy," Yumni muttered.

"Oh, right!" Uvra said, walking through the hallway into the front area of the charter. 

A short, wide-shouldered youth stood there, watching a few of the cards they had displayed beyond the desk. 

Hey, isn't that the kid I brought the Scarlet Steel for? She thought, eyes widening.