Irwin's Journey 507: One step out

Author's note: SO! Three things of importance enough to make this note.

1: The chapter below is close to 6000 words ;) (Fine, not as important, but still!)
2: I'm going to be most likely having a two week break during Christmas where I can't promise I'll have the time to write three chapters. I'll write what I can (because I enjoy it, and it's my way of stress relieving) but we will have to see.
3: As you might have noticed, the last few chapters were a bit different as in we saw some other POV and met some seemingly unimportant characters. The reason for that is because I haven't done any NaNoWriMo writing for a few years and I feel like trying my hand at a short bit of interlude. That means I would like all of you to pick two characters from all those we met in the last timeskip (so anyone from 500 years ago like Berjin, or any of those during the smaller time we had the last few chapters, including any of those we met in today's chapter. Then, tell me what kind of future you would like for them (roughly) and I'll write a short story for them during the December month. Also, I need a few characters from Scour during this period for later in the story, so don't think this is all just for nothing! No need to add Flowrishin, I have plans for her.

Right, and after that wall of text, here's another for the chapter :)

-----
Irwin shot through the soundwaves created by the wind howling over the desert. He appeared every so often, when the soundwaves either clashed oddly or didn't go exactly in the direction he wanted. When that happened, he appeared, let out a bellow, and continued on.

When he finally sensed the Exit Portal, he appeared on a dune, staring at the distant tower. It was surrounded by a bustling town with Viridians, Oxarite and Crathans, all of whom were there with a single goal.

To make sure nothing came through the Exit Portal.

'I guess Flowrishin's message worked,' Ambraz grunted. 'There's a bunch of them gathered. Wanna bet they are going to ask you to make them some heartcards?'

Irwin snorted, shaking his head. There was no way he was going to take that bet, as he could already sense that a few of those grouped had six handcards. 

He clicked his tongue and shot across the final bit of desert, reappearing in a short, dead-end alleyway on the edge of the town's square. Instantly, the sound of the bustling mass of people that walked around ahead of him flowed over him. He had a clear view of the tower's guarded gate.

"Where did you come from?" A surprised and slightly worried whisper came from behind.

Irwin turned to the five young Crathans. Like nearly all Crathan, they were burly, but two of them were clearly more so than the others. A simple board of wood with small stone figures and a few dice lay forgotten on the ground before them, while one quickly took what remained of a strip of dried meat from his mouth. 

"From the desert," Irwin said, his gaze drifting to an Amethyst card that lay in the center of the board, like a prize. He was about to walk away when he thought of something and focused on the board. There were slight amounts of soulforce inside both the board and the figurines, and he saw tiny runes carved around the edges. Where the figurines were clearly worn from use, the board seemed newer, though it had a few scratches.

"What are you playing?"

"Survive the Burrows," one of the girls whispered, her eyes narrowing. "Are you saying our board looks bad?"

One of the burly boys glanced at the girl worriedly before swallowing. "Uh, what she meant is, we had to ask her uncle to shape the board, so it might not be exactly the right size?"

"It is," the girl sniped back, glaring at him.

"Are you Exitist?" one of the other boys asked, ignoring the other two.

"Exitist?" Irwin asked, perplexed. 

"He doesn't look like one."

"Well, that's true… but you never know?"

"What is an Exitist?" Irwin asked, curious now.

"Oh, he's definitely not one. See?"

The children seemed far more curious now, leaning forward, clearly with questions on their minds. Before they could, Irwin raised an eyebrow.

"What are Exitists?" he asked again.

The children shared a quick look before focusing on the girl whose uncle had made the board. Seemingly knowing she'd been chosen to explain, she pursed her lips before starting.

"Exitists are those who come to Virbrack's Stand to try and use the Exit Portal," she said. "Uncle says they are crazed fools and that we should just let them go if they want it so badly. They cause a lot of trouble."

Irwin rubbed his chin to cover a grin forming. Instead, he looked at the board. 

"Think you can explain the rules to me?"

"See?! He doesn't know it," one of the boys whispered. "He wasn't trying to insult you, Mi-"

The boy beside him elbowed him, causing him to fall short of calling the girl by her name. 

"No names," the boy hissed, giving Irwin an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but you could be a Mercenary."

Irwin lowered himself to his haunches, wondering what that had to do with anything. Instead of asking, he pointed at the board. 

"Oh! It's easy, first you pick a figure you want to play as," the girl said as she picked up one of the stone figurines that lay beside the board. "This one's Guildmistriss Flowrishin, you know, from the main Cardsmiths Guild. So, each figure has two abilities, which you can find out by using your soulforce."

Irwin felt her move her small amount of soulforce into the figurine. A small green vine and a drop of blue-green water appeared above the figurine, shimmering slightly before vanishing.

"Then you put her on the board together with the others," she continued, hovering her above the central area without putting her down. "After that, the board will start attacking the center, and you have to survive. If you do, you get the prize!"

"Ugh, who could ever understand if you explain like that?" one of the boys muttered.

"You can also-"

Before Irwin could stop them, the children began arguing about dozens of things important when explaining the game, from tiny details to what he guessed were important rules. Apparently, the prize was locked to the board, usually by a parent or guardian, in this case, the girl's uncle, and the rules and abilities were clearly intended to promote strategic thinking. 

More like a classroom in a board than a game, Irwin thought, feeling himself nod in approval.

Watching them for a few minutes, he finally raised his hand to quiet them.

"Are these rules written down anywhere?"

"Oh, right!" one of the burly boys exclaimed, sticking his hand in a small bag that lay to the side and producing a heavily worn stone tablet with runes across it. "They are on here," he said, smiling ruefully.

Irwin nodded, examining the game. There were only very few games on Eluathar, partially because all those who had gotten there had been fleeing from something or another. Those who were there were simple. He had the feeling that his children would likely love something like this.

"Where could I get one of these?" he asked, waving at the game.

"Good luck with that," the burly boy said, while the other children shook their heads wearily.

"They are always out of stock because we have nobody here who can make the runes," the girl said with a sigh. "Uncle was able to make the board because it's bigger, and he could use the runes of the old one as an example. But the figures?"

The children all slumped a bit, shaking their heads.

"The merchants bring them every few months, but they usually go straight to the rich carded families of the main guards," burly boy number two said.

Irwin hummed as he pondered for a moment. "How much are the boards and figurines?" he asked.

The children's faces slumped even more. "New, each figurine is like sixty soulshards," the burly boy said with a sigh. "We managed to get these from a merchant for twenty, but they are pretty old. The board is normally close to two hundred."

Irwin nodded along, having no idea how much soulshards were even worth these days. 

"And how much are cards?" he asked, pointing at the card in the center of the board. It depicted a small puddle of metal, and like most cards on Scour, had a heat and metal typing from what he could see.

His question caused the children to fall quiet and look at him wearily. 

"It depends on the card, obviously," the girl said softly, frowning as she looked at him. "You know you shouldn't try to steal it, right? You are clearly new, but the guards don't like it. They will probably-"

Irwin smiled, raising his hand in which five Topaz-ranked cards appeared. "I'm not interested in your card," he said with a smile. "What I would like is your board and figures." As he spoke, he made a thousand soulshards appear in his hand. "I don't have the time to wait here, so how about this-"

The children were almost leaning forward as they stared at the cards and soulshards, eyes so wide they seemed ready to pop from their sockets.

"-you all get a card, share these soulshards, and I get the board and figures?"

Four of the children seemed ready to say yes, but burly boy number two, who'd elbowed the other boy, and the girl who did most of the talking shared a flickering look before she spoke up quickly.

"Ye-"

"We won't be able to play for a month if we do that," she said loudly, drowning out the few 'yesses' that had begun half-forming. 

Irwin felt his grin grow slightly, focusing more on the two. His soulforce senses told him that they both had four hancards, one more than the others, meaning they had gone through the pain of making a full hand. 

"Oh? So you are not interested?" he said, drawing his hands back and causing a groan from burly boy number one. 

"No, no, we are," the girl said quickly, her eyes flicking to burly boy two. 

"What she means is, if you have this many soulshards and cards, perhaps you could add a few more?" burly boy two added, before grimacing.

'If Boohm was here, he'd have a heart attack at how bad their haggling is,' Ambraz snorted. 

Irwin froze for a moment at the mention of Boohm. He only ever thought of the old Onyxian Mercenary Merchant when his mind flowed back to when he'd saved his children, which had been a while. He quickly pushed those thoughts away, but a lingering wonder about how Boohm was doing stayed behind. 

"More cards, or more soulshards?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the kids, glad to see they hadn't noticed.

"Both?" burly boy number two asked carefully.

Irwin smirked and shook his head. "Cards or soulshards?"

"How many will get more?" the girl asked, leaning forward, eyes glittering.

Irwin laughed softly. "I will add either one card, so you can put it on the new board you can buy, or another two hundred soulshards."

Disappointment flickered across the girl's face, but Irwin knew what he was offering was likely already far too much. He'd seen clearly from their first reaction that at least one of the two was worth more than he'd expected. Likely the cards. He was proven right a moment later as both the girl and burly boy number two said 'card' at the same time.

Irwin grinned as he examined the card on the board before picking one from his massive stash that resembled it most closely. As the Topaz-ranked card appeared in his hand, he put both the cards and the soulshards on the ground beside the board. 

"I think we have a deal?" he said, trying to look serious.

"We do," burly boy number two said, carefully reaching forward to take one of the cards. "Do you… know what these cards do?" he asked with a frown. I mean, we still want them, but if we have to have them identified, it will cost us fifty soulshards per card."

Irwin was about to explain to them when Ambraz snorted in his mind.

'Here, let me help.'

Irwin's otherself saw how the Ganvil landed on one of the many booklets he had lying around, and a moment later, the pages glowed. Irwin summoned the book, causing the children's eyes to widen, and then quickly ripped out the last six pages. He glanced at them, then put them down, reached out, and put the five cards on the pages they belonged to before handing the final one to burly boy number two.

"Thank you!" the boy said, his eyes widening as he looked at the card. "Are you a merchant?"

"He doesn't look like one," the girl muttered, leaning forward as she began reading the papers.

Surprisingly, it was burly boy number one who quickly packed up the board and figurines, stuffing them in the small backpack and handing them to Irwin.

"Thank you," Irwin said, rising to his feet. "Now, make sure to take these things home before someone sees them!"

The children blinked, then in a ten-second argument, split the cards and the soulshards, with the girl getting one extra card. A moment later, they stood and smiled at him.

"Thank you," burly boy two said, before frowning. "Should we tell you our names now?"

"No, it's fine," Irwin said.

"But then we can't ask for your name," the girl said, frowning.

"Oh, that's fine," Irwin said as he moved the little bag into his soulscape. "My name is Irwin, and I hope you will find a new game quickly."

"It's fine," the girl said, showing no reaction to his name. "We will need to talk with Uncle about the cards first, see if we should slot them or sell them."

Irwin was about to tell them to slot them, then held back. He had no idea what their situation was or what they had planned, and although he was sure the cards he'd given them were 

"Well, if you do, make sure to tell your uncle that those cards are all still at a hundred percent," he said. "Now, I need to go. I wish you a good life!"

The children looked at him in confusion, but when Irwin turned, they quickly began whispering among themselves. Irwin tuned out what they said as he walked onto the square.

'You know you probably could have gotten one of those boards from any of the richer families, right?' Ambraz grunted. 'Probably have many lying around.'

'I know,' Irwin said. 'Let's call it payment for their explanation.'

And for making me feel a lot better, Irwin thought, realizing that the heavy feeling he'd had before was greatly lessened.

He hummed a soft tune, wondering what would happen to the five children whose names he didn't even know as he approached the tower guards. A crude pulse of soulforce flowed from one of them, and he locked eyes with the suddenly wide-eyed Viridian. The guard turned to another, whispered something, causing all guards to stare at him while one sprinted away through the gate.

"Guildmaster Irwin, the Guardleaders are waiting for you," the Viridian guard said. "Please follow me."

"Lead on," Irwin said as he walked towards the gate. He was about to enter when he sensed something behind him. Taking a quick look over his shoulder, he saw the girl and burly boy number two watching him across the square, eyes wide.

"Bye," Irwin mouthed, before turning and walking through the gate.

--

"Tell me, do the Guardleaders expect me to help them with some heartcards?" Irwin asked, glancing at the Viridian who was leading him deeper into the tower.

"I… I think so," the Viridian said, keeping his eyes ahead. 

"How many?" Irwin asked, holding the man's eyes, which were a dark green with golden highlights.

"I don't know, Guildmaster," the guard said, quickening his pace.

Irwin frowned, wondering if he should just leave through the Exit Portal.

Let's hear what they have to say first.

It took a while to navigate the tower, which had clearly been made in a sort of maze or labyrinth to make it harder for whoever came through to reach the exit. Eventually, they walked into the chamber where he sensed the Exit Portal. In front of it stood a group of seven men and women, all dressed in carded armor, likely complete sets. They all had two or three soulcards, while a large group of younglings with six handcards stood to the side.

'Hah, do they seriously think you will just go and reforge sixteen heartcards right before leaving?' Ambraz grunted.

Irwin didn't respond as the guards stepped aside, leaving him to walk towards the lead guards. Something about it felt odd, and as he continued alone, he decided it was likely meant as a power play. 

"Guildmaster Irwin," one of the guards, a tall Crathian woman with stern, deep golden, red-ringed eyes, said as she took a step forward. "We are honored by your presence. I am Koulerizi, currently responsible for the safety of the Exit Portal Tower and Lady of Virbrack's Stand."

Irwin stopped before her, slightly surprised that she was only a hand's length shorter than he was. He didn't respond immediately, but glanced at her, then at those behind her. All of them were clearly lords and ladies, the sense of being owed something almost oozed from them, and he wondered why this always happened in every society he'd been to. He turned his glance to the younglings. Most were young, and although he saw a few looking at him as if they weren't sure what was happening, he saw more with worry. After a few tense seconds, he hummed.

"Lady Koulerizi, I am on my way to leave Scour through the Exit Portal," he said. "Guildmistriss Flowrishin should have sent you a message?"

The woman's eyes narrowed a fraction, and Irwin saw an intelligent flicker in her eyes. Her stance changed slightly, and she just nodded. 

"She has. I can sense you are not planning to remain our guest for a few days, as we had hoped, so I'll not waste your time. Your skill at cardsmithing is legendary. As the guardians of the Exit Portal, we are at a disadvantage when it comes to having our youths gain their heartcards. We must either spend our limited supply of cards to pay for a teleporter that can reach that far, or have them travel the months it takes to the nearest Cardsmiths Charger. We had hoped…" she hesitated, before sighing. "Well, one of the legends says that you can make a dozen heartcards in a day. We had hoped you would be willing to help us."

She lowered her head, put a hand on her chest, and made a slight bow, which was copied by the others. Irwin hadn't seen it before, but between that and her calm, no-nonsense request, his slightly building annoyance had vanished. He glanced at the youths, noticing the hopeful looks, worried eyes, and tense shoulders.

'They almost look afraid.'

'Kid, you are a four-soulcarded, currently with no handcards,' Ambraz said. 'But your pressure, compared to theirs, is like that of someone with five or six.'

'Pressure?' Irwin replied, frowning slightly.

'Not your Aura, but your constant soulforce pressure,' Ambraz said. 'There are a few sensitive ones here that can feel it.'

Irwin hummed again, then turned back to Koulerizi. "I can't make a dozen heartcards in a day, nor had I planned to make any heartcards," he said honestly, causing a shift in those behind her. "That said…"

He looked at the Crathans among those present, over half, with the other half being Viridians and Oxarites. With the war with the Guidar growing, they would need far more powerful warriors, and he couldn't have the Exit Portal fall. He had come here long ago for two reasons. To learn to create cardseeds, and to prepare Scour for the war against the Guidar. He had spent most of his time on the first part and succeeded, but he also knew that he could have done more on the second. Worse, it was clear that many on Scour didn't really know why they were fighting. 

This might be a good chance to remedy part of that, he thought.

He sighed, knowing he was going to have to spend more time on Scour. 

Again.

"I'll take some time to reforge the heartcards of these youths," he said, before spreading his senses out across the town. He sensed hundreds of other young six-carded, though most hadn't combined them yet. "Also, I want you to go into town and bring every youth without a heartcard that has combined their six cards and is ready for their first."

Koulerizi's eyes widened, but she just nodded, flicking her fingers at one of the guards, who ran away.

"We have prepared a-" she began, only for Irwin to raise his hand. "I'll be doing my work here, and I'll be starting right now. Everyone who does not need a heartcard, please leave."

Koulerizi's mouth snapped shut, and she stared at him, eyes narrowing and her jaw clenched. Then she nodded once and turned to the others.

"Go back home, I guarantee your children's safety," she said. 

Irwin saw the others stare at her, then him, and he could sense a tension grow. When one of the men opened his mouth, clearly to say something, Irwin decided he wasn't really interested in having to deal with the politics behind this. He was already going to stay here and help them.

He flexed his aura, releasing a fraction of it to cause the soulforce around them to thrum. All of the lords and ladies behind Koulerizi took a sudden step back, and he saw more than a few weapons appear in their hands.

"Either leave, or I will," Irwin said, letting out a weary sigh. "I had planned to leave days ago, and now I will be staying far longer. I'm definitely not going to spend any of this time here, discussing things."

Koulerizi glared at the other lords and ladies, and this time most began heading for the door. Only an older Viridian remained behind, his thick orange eyebrows pulled tight in a frown. He hesitated, looked at a few of the Viridians among the younger ones, before looking at Irwin. The worry in his gaze made Irwin wonder if he thought he was going to harm them.

"They won't be hurt while I'm here," Irwin said slowly, causing the Viridian to hold his gaze. 

The man eventually nodded and left, leaving only Irwin, Koulerizi, and the group of younglings here.

"Guildmaster Irwin," Koulerizi said. "Can I bring you anything? Cards? Food?"

Irwin was about to dismiss her when he thought of something. 

"Any cards that don't deal with fire or metal," he said. "Also, make sure there is plenty of food and drink for the younglings."

A grimace flickered across Koulerizi's face. "We have only a handful of those."

"That's fine," Irwin said, turning to the younglings while he pulled Ambraz from his soulscape. 

He sensed Koulerizi hesitate before leaving, and he glanced at the guards who had remained behind. 

"We guard the Exit Portal, Guildmaster," one of them said.

"That's fine," Irwin said, focusing back on the youths. "Just don't disturb us. Now, I'll be making you all heartcards. Is there any among you who knows what he wants completely? If so, raise your hand."

Nearly all those present did as he requested, and Irwin nodded with a smile.

"Good. Those who aren't sure, think on it while I start. We are going to be here for a while, and as I work, I want you all to pay close attention. Learn what you can."

Heads began bobbing up and down excitedly, while Irwin pointed at the nearest one, beckoning him over. 

"Let's start with you," he said, letting his soulforce senses flow over the boy to get an idea of what kind of cards he had.

'Emerald ranked, like most of them,' Ambraz said. 'Full armor set, metal control, and a lot of strength and constitution.'

Irwin nodded as he looked at the boy. "So, I take it you would like a full armor heartcard summon?"

The boy who had to be somewhere between twelve and fourteen nodded, though Irwin saw a slight hesitation.

"You had something else in mind?" he asked.

"No, Guildmaster," the boy said, though Irwin could sense the weariness hidden beneath them.

"What part of your handcards do you prefer?" Irwin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't lie, or the heartcard could fail and shatter."

The last part wasn't exactly true, but he was curious why the boy seemed unhappy.

"The metal control," the boy said quickly, worry creeping into his eyes. "And the greatsword."

Irwin frowned, focusing on the six cards and realizing that he did have a greatsword card matching his shield, which made little sense.

"Mother said that I needed the shield so I could defend myself," the boy said. "But… I've never been good with a shield."

Irwin nodded slowly, looking at the other youths who'd been following their conversation closely. 

"You all know about the Guidar?" he asked.

A confused set of muttered yeses followed, and he nodded.

"It's not unlikely that some or all of you will have to find the Chained in the future. If this happens, you need to be as strong as you can be, and part of that strength comes from cards that resonate with you. So, while I talk with…" he glanced at the boy.

"Yagrav, Guildmaster," the boy said, eyes wide.

"While I talk with Yagrav, all of you think about what you want from your cards and your future heartcard."

A round of nods followed, and although most of the youths seemed uncertain, he noticed more than a few looks of relief.

Great, I'll have to make sure to remind their parents and guardians not to harass them now, Irwin thought before focusing on Yagrav.

"Now, what happens next will hurt a little, but don't worry, it will not be as bad as what your parents have likely told you."

Yagrav just nodded, jaw set as if he was suddenly ready for anything.

Irwin grinned as he summoned his hammer. "Put your hand on Ambraz and pull out your cards so they hover above your hand. I take it you know how to?"

The boy moved quickly, and a moment later, six cards hovered above his hand. The first one showed a large sword, the second a small clump of ore that seemed to be melting around the edges, while the final four covered an entire set of armor and a shield.

Irwin focused on the resonance and slowly began forming what he knew would be the boy's heartcard. 

'Kid, you know that reforging fifty to sixty heartcards will probably leave you… tired?'

Irwin sighed. 

'I know.'

--

Yagrav sat at the back of the room, he'd only heard about until today, his mind still reeling from finally having a heartcard. He'd been told he would have to wait till he was sixteen, so he could go with a large group with a teleporter. Then, four days ago, he'd been pulled out from class by his mother and told to prepare. 

Now, he sat with the others who had their heartcards, watching how the Guildmaster was working on one of the younger girls' heartcards. The song that played now was lighter than the others he'd heard, but just like that, it was incredibly complex, and he could only faintly sense the fluctuations of soulforce that rippled around. Still, he could see from some of those he knew had keener senses than he that it was still continuing, as it had for days now.

A few minutes later, the song came to a crescendo, and they all watched in awe as another heartcard formed.

I guess this is why he is the guildmaster, Yagrav thought as he leaned forward.

He could have left by now, as could many of the others, but they had all stayed because of what came next. As the girl slumped to the ground, only to be quickly picked up by one of the guards and put to the side, the Guildmaster looked at him. Even after four days, he showed little weariness, perhaps only a slight tension around the eyes.

"Now, where was I?" he said, tapping his chin.

"You had just killed Lasther," a young girl said, eyes wide and glittering. "What happened next? Did you grow even bigger?"

As if, Yagrav thought, shaking his head. If the Guildmaster had, he'd be even bigger now!

The Guildmaster laughed. "I grew much bigger, but I managed to fix that… for the most part. No, after Lasther died-"

Yagrav listened with bated breath as the Guildmaster continued a tale of adventure.

I'm definitely going to go outside in the future, he thought, his gaze drawn to the Exit Portal on the other side of the room.

--

Irwin stepped away, his mind and body weary as he stared at the last youth who lay unconscious on the ground, one of those who'd been brought from the outside. Over a hundred stood throughout the room now, all with a heartcard that he'd made over the last few weeks. He'd expected them to leave, but none had wanted to, instead remaining to listen to his impromptu story. It was the curated version, missing details about the Titan Sliver, and many others, including how he and many of those present were technically the Galladin he'd told them about. 

"Now," he said, looking at the mass of youths. Many were chewing on something; they all looked unwashed, and food and drink lay scattered around them, creating a mess. "Remember what I told you. I want you to share this story as best you can. It's fine if you forget a few things, but never forget what I told you about the Guidar or the Chained."

A round of nods followed, and Irwin almost wondered if he shouldn't have done this much sooner. 

"Guildmaster, when we grow stronger, can we go out into the Portal Gallery?"

Irwin looked at the boy who'd asked, Yagrav, the first for whom he had reforged a heartcard.

"Eventually, yes. But if the war still rages, you will need to go there through the Cardsmiths Guild in Blackglas. They will move you to the world I told you about, and from there, you can find a ship to join."

"But we will have to remain there, right? We can't just go exploring as you did?"

Irwin grinned, shaking his head. "That depends on how strong you become," he said. "Some of you can become cardsmiths yourself. If I were you, I'd work together, help those who can, and become the best possible cardsmiths so they help the rest of you with cards. Practice, learn, become stronger."

He scanned the youths, some no older than twelve, others closer to sixteen. 

"Now, off with you. Tell Koulerizi and the others to come in here, I've got something to tell them."

"Bye, Guildmaster! I hope we see you again!"

"Thank you for the heartcard!"

Dozens of calls came as the children, tired, some filthy, filed out of the room.

'Kid… You need a break before you leave. Metal Be Bent, I need a break!'

Irwin nodded, waiting for Koulerizi and the other lords and ladies to enter. Most looked weary, almost as if they had stayed outside the room for the entire time. Which he knew some had, one of whom was the Viridian elder. 

"Guildmaster, thank you for all you have done for us," Koulerizi said before he could say anything, bowing low. "I don't think we fully understood what we asked when we did, but from the reaction of those who can sense it, what you did was… incredible."

"It's fine," Irwin said as he cracked his neck. "I'll be going in a minute, but before I do."

He glanced over the elders, his gaze lingering on a few.

"I have created the heartcards based on what I thought was best, partially because making this many in such a short time meant I had to go with the most optimal resonance. That means that, for some of you, your children will not have the heartcard you had exactly envisioned."

The silence that had been there turned slightly heavier as he noticed worried looks.

"That said, all of them have heartcards that are perfectly made for them. They will be strong soulcards, and all will allow them to either fight, forge, craft, or assist to the best of their abilities."

The worry lessened, but he knew he had something extra to say.

"Who is Yagrav's mother?" 

A Crathan woman jolted as she stepped forward, worry deepening. "Is he alright?" 

Her question, together with the unhidden worry, made Irwin feel relieved.

"He is, but you will likely hear from the others that he is the first one I created a heartcard for and that he wasn't happy with the direction you felt he should go."

The woman's eyes widened, then filled with sadness. "I… just want him to be safe," she muttered, her gaze lowering to the ground as if afraid to meet his.

"That is good," Irwin said, smiling. "I want my children to be safe, too. However, sometimes offense is the best defense."

He glanced at the others, noticing a few sharp gazes on Yagrav's mother.

"That said, I would have done this no matter who was the first. So if you feel this is wrong, and want to be angry with someone…" he stepped forward, his grin widening. "That would be me."

There was no response, but he noticed that some of those who'd been glaring at Yagrav's mother faded.

"Now, any questions before I leave?"

"Guildmaster, shouldn't you take a rest?!" Koulerizi asked, looking worried.

"No need," Irwin said, already feeling his otherself slumbering deep in his soulscape. 

Besides, if I remain any longer, something might come up again.

"Why did the children remain here so long?" someone asked.

"They will tell you themselves," Irwin said. "Or you can ask the guards."

When no other questions came, he nodded at Koulerizi, waved at the guards, and walked to the Exit Portal. Staring at it for a moment, he wondered if any Oculithar would be on the other side. He almost hoped they were.

He stepped forward into the portal.