Irwin stood in his family's small living room, listening to his children ramble on.

"Too bad I couldn't enjoy your eyes a bit longer," Scintilla whispered. "What card did you end up getting?"

"I'll tell you later," Irwin said.

"And we fixed the couch, and-" Mia shouted as she ran around with Flux.

Irwin shook his head. For them, he'd only been gone for a few days, but it seemed they had missed him as much as he had them.

"There was a crack here, and Mouzin redid the entire wall," Flux shouted as he pointed at the back wall. "She even added spyholes in case… well, in case we need them!"

There was a moment of silence before the kids continued, slightly subdued. Irwin checked the wall.

It had been pushed back a few feet, making the room bigger. Thin, twenty-inch high rectangular holes, barely wide enough for a hand, sat at view height. Watching through it gave a view of the gate and the square before it.

The kids kept pointing out how they or Mouzin had fixed things while Soot stood beside him, wringing his hands. After a few more minutes, he decided Soot had waited enough. As he thought that, he felt a worried hesitation as he recalled the details on the card he had made for his son.

The first and the last, he thought, wondering why and if it had something to do with his own state of mind. He'd made it shortly after the battle as one of the first cards while that close to the gas giant, and it must have something to do with it.

He raised his hands, making sure none of his worry showed.

"Alright, alright! I can see you have all done enough, but I think it's time for something else."

His kids came running back, Glow and Mia grinning at Soot.

"I'll get your card," Irwin said before he stepped into his soulscape.

He could have easily pulled it into his hand, but as he walked to the house in Soulscape, he felt his hesitation grow again. Ambraz flitted out of the house, his wound still causing his flight to be irregular.

"Stop worrying, you brat," he snapped. "Just give him the card."

Irwin blinked. It had been a while since Ambraz had last called him that. Then he snorted, shaking his head.

"You know what will happen if I give that to him."

"Yes, he will be even more inclined to do as he wants," Ambraz said as he landed on his shoulder. "But it's also the best card to keep him alive as he does so."

Irwin grunted, raising his hand and pulling two cards into his hand. Both were ruby-ranked, and one was almost identical to the ones Glow, Flux, Mia, and Ti had. The other one was very different. Instead of a figure that seemed to be dancing, it showed a figure surrounded by attackers. The central figure seemed to be narrowly evading hits, while a sense of joy came from it.

Irwin sighed as he recalled the card's stats.

Name: Soot's Battle Hymn

Type: Ruby, Unique, Growth, [Smooth Motion - hidden ability]

Soot's card was crafted with love, determination, and insight, and it allows him to do as he likes: fighting, exploring, and surviving. It will allow him to weather any storm, be it blades or wind. Increased effect while surrounded by the din of battle.

Passive: Greatly increased agility, speed, and balance

Passive: Increased strength, constitution, and resistance to physical damage

Active: Dance of adventure

"If I give this one to him…"

"He will eventually go out on his own and slake his curiosity," Ambraz said. "Yes. Just as he will if he doesn't get it. But with this, he will have a much better chance of surviving."

Irwin sighed, and for a moment, he stared at the other card. It was nearly the same as the cards that his other kids had- well, excluding Zan. It likely wouldn't give Soot more reason to live on the edge, but…

Ambraz is right, he thought as he sent the card back to its position on the table.

"Good," Ambraz said. "Now, make sure they come in here to play their game of catch! I wanna see them!"

Irwin nodded, then stepped back into the real world. His kids stood staring at him while Soot's eyes locked onto the card. Scintilla was looking at him with a slight worry in her eyes. She was probably wondering why he hadn't pulled the card out as he usually did, and he wondered what she would say if he told her about Soot's card.

"Alright," Irwin said as he looked at Soot. "Normally, we'd give you the card outside, but Ambraz has asked that after slotting it, you and the others come and chase each other in my soulscape."

"Great," Soot said, his eyes starting to gleam. "I'll lose the others on the mountain!"

Irwin grunted at that, kneeling beside his son and handing him the card.

Soot's eyes seemed to roll out of his sockets as he saw the image.

"It's a different picture!" he said.

The others huddled around him to see, but before they could get a clear view, Soot held the card above his hand.

"Finally, no longer the smallest," he said as the glowing card slowly sank into his first cardslot.

As soon as it was in, Soot's eyes widened, and a moment later, he slumped to the ground.

"Dad, why was his card different?" Mia asked.

Irwin hesitated, then decided to tell the truth… or at least part of it.

"I don't know for sure," he said. "When I was making them, two cards came out different from the others, and I don't know exactly why."

"That's why mine is slightly different?" Zan asked, raising her hand.

Irwin looked at her in surprise. The image on her hand was very similar to those on the hands of the others, and as they all had some differences, he hadn't expected her to notice them.

"How can you tell?" he asked.

Zan shared a grin with Ti. "Ti said there's something different about the image, so I compared all our cards, and there's something different about the song they sing."

Irwin's eyebrows shot open. Zan was right, of course. To him, the difference was as clear as night and day, but that she could detect it with just a single card? He knew she was sensitive to soulforce and had been even without cards, but the difference she was talking about now was something not even Dahlia could sense.

"You are right," he said.

"Are their cards better?" Glow asked, frowning.

"No!" Irwin said, shaking his head. "If I had thought they were, I wouldn't have given any of you those but continued attempting to make something similar. They are capable of the same things, but there is something different about them. We just won't know until you use them for a while longer."

Glow's frown vanished, and he grinned at Soot's unconscious form.

"Good! Otherwise, Soot would be way too annoying!"

Flux and Mia began loudly agreeing while Ti shook her head.

Irwin saw Scintilla examine him before raising an eyebrow. She didn't say anything, but Irwin knew she would want to see her kid's cards later.

Soot's changes took ten minutes, and when they finished, he woke up with a start. Before anyone could even congratulate him, the now much taller boy flipped to his feet. He looked around, found Glow, and stood to his full height, seemingly trying to see who was taller.

"Hah! Now we are the same height again," he said, grinning widely. "Dad, can you move us to your soulscape?"

Irwin sighed, shaking his head. "Congratulations on your first card, Soot. Have fun."

Soot's grin widened as the others began moving toward him, but before they could jump him, they and Soot vanished into Irwin's soulscape. As they reappeared there, Irwin sensed the slight dissonance from their presence. With their new cards influencing them, their own unique soulforce resonance was becoming more apparent.

As they sprinted across the barren ground of the hills, heading toward the volcanic mountains, Ambraz was flying around them, answering their questions about his wound. Apparently, Soot thought it looked awesome, while Zan was worried.

"Okay, so what is wrong with Soot's card?" Scintilla asked, looking at him with crossed arms.

"Nothing is wrong with his card," Irwin said.

Instead of explaining, he summoned his booklet from his soulscape and handed it to her, opened to the pages that showed their kids' cards.

"Left is Zan's card, and from there, they continue just like how they got them," Irwin said.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Scintilla stared at the first page and let out an impressed grunt.

"One of the Bladematriarchs of old had a unique card. Her Bladesister, and one of the few high-tier diamond rank cardsmiths in our history, was said to be able to make them, but only for people she knew very well. She was said to have made a few dozen over the course of her long life, most for her sisters and embers."

Irwin's eyebrows shot up. He'd not told Scintilla about it yet and hadn't expected her to know about them, given how rare Ambraz said they were.

He didn't ask her anything yet, but watched as she looked at the next pages and frowned. After reading three of the cards, she looked up.

"Is this why you looked so annoyed the month after you made Zan's card? Because you couldn't make more?"

Irwin grimaced. "You noticed that?"

Scintilla looked at him, then rolled her eyes. "You were as prickly as a Steamling."

Steamling?

Irwin wondered what that was as he watched Scintilla reach Soot's page. Within a few moments, her eyebrows shot up, and she grinned widely.

"This is one great card," she said, looking up. "What had you worried… the battle part?"

Irwin shrugged. "Soot is already more explorative than the others. With a card like that…"

"He's an Ignitzian," Scintilla said, shaking her head. "We are by default adventurous, especially in the first part of our lives. It's a miracle he's the only one who has this personality."

Irwin hummed, looking at Scintilla as she re-read the card and nodded happily.

"So you aren't worried?" he asked, somewhat surprised.

"I am," Scintilla said, handing the book back. "But I'm also worried about the others, about you, and about Tiscian."

Irwin snorted as he pictured her mother.

"Why did you give it to him if you are so worried?" Scintilla asked.

"Because of what you said. Soot will go out and do dangerous things with or without that card," Irwin said. "At least with it, he will have a better chance."

They were quiet for a while, and Irwin pondered the stacks of cards he'd made for his kids. Would they be enough, or should he use the little that remained of the template card to make more?

Scintilla's arms wrapped around his neck, and he looked down into her silvery eyes as she grinned up at him.

"You did great, pretty eyes," she said. "Now, seeing as the kids are busy, how about I show you just how much I missed you?"

Irwin's eyes widened as she pressed herself to him and kissed his neck. He glanced at the door, which was closed, and then at the new peeking holes before pulling Scintilla with him to the steam cellar. He'd practiced keeping his new strength under control during the part of the travel that was with the ship, but as she yelped in surprise as he nearly pulled her off her feet, he realized he had some more practice to do.

"Show me," he said.

--

"Will you heal up okay?" Zan asked as she stared at Ambraz's wounds.

Ti and Flux stood beside her while Soot, Mia, and Glow were still shouting outside, sprinting across the hills. Irwin's otherself hovered above them to make sure they didn't do anything stupid, like fall from a cliff.

"Don't worry, little one," Ambraz rumbled. "It might take a few months, but I will be fine. Besides, your father and I are going back to the gas giant soon. For you, it will only be a few days, and then I'll be back to the old me."

"You are heading back again?" Ti asked curiously. "Why didn't you just stay longer?"

"Because something weird and potentially dangerous happened," Ambraz said.

The three kids instantly moved closer, their eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Tell us!?" Flux asked.

"We should wait for the others, so I don't… have… to…" Ambraz fell quiet as Flux turned and sprinted forward, screaming at his siblings to come down.

"Well, that works," Ambraz muttered.

A few minutes later, all the kids sat around Ambraz while Irwin's otherself was frowning.

As he looked at Ambraz and his kids, he wondered if it was a good idea to tell them about the large card. If one of them told the story to someone else, it would cause a lot of problems.

"Does anyone know why Irwin looks like he swallowed a bug?" Ambraz said, causing Irwin to snort and shake his head.

Ti instantly raised her hand, and a few moments later, she was followed by Flux.

"Two? Very well," Ambraz said. "Flux, you first because I already know Ti will answer correctly."

Ti smiled at that, then scowled at Soot as the boy snorted.

"He doesn't want us to know what happened?" Flux said.

Ambra let out a burst of laughter, while Irwin's otherself looked surprised.

"Well, that's the short of it. Why do you think that is?"

Flux shrugged.

"Ti?"

"Something happened that we shouldn't know yet?" she said thoughtfully, tapping her lip and watching Irwin. "Maybe something that is dangerous to know?"

Irwin couldn't help but smile. "You are right," he said. "What happened isn't something you should talk about with others."

"Why not?" Soot asked. "Will they try to attack us?"

"Maybe, or they could try and capture you to try and find this place," Irwin said.

"That is, if we don't get to your home safely?" Ti asked.

"Exactly," Irwin said.

"I won't tell anyone or talk about it," Mia said, almost immediately followed by the others.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Ambraz said with a grin.

"Do you have to try and jinx it?" Irwin asked as he looked at his children. They were looking at him hopefully, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Fine, tell them, but not the details," Irwin said.

"Bah, the details aren't interesting anyway," Ambraz said.

--

A few hours after Soot had gotten his cards, Irwin and Greldo stood in the open area outside of the town. A few of the Blademaidens were walking over the wall, looking down.

"You ready?" Greldo asked.

Irwin focused on his new card, sensing its powerful resonance. It was the first time he had slotted an Ammolite card instead of having a card naturally grow into it, and he found he agreed with Ambraz's assessment. Getting a card with growth and letting it become stronger slowly gave him far more control. Instead, now he felt the resonance of the card trying to go its own way, forcing him to follow it.

"Almost," Irwin said as he wondered if this was normal for powerful cards or this one specifically.

"What did Scintilla say?"

Irwin grinned as he remembered what Scintilla had said, and most hadn't had anything to do with cards. Pushing away the lingering joy, he shrugged.

"She hadn't heard about anything like that or those Amnathair," he said.

"I don't think we are going to find anyone who knows," Greldo muttered.

Irwin hummed but didn't say anything.

Seconds ticked by, then minutes as he tried to make his new card stop resonating without his desire. Each time he'd calmed it down, something seemed to agitate, and after at least twenty minutes, he sniffed in annoyance.

"What's wrong?"

Irwin looked at his friend, who was calmly waiting. "The card resonates on its own," he said, focusing on the card again.

"That happens, right?" Greldo said. "Coal resonates sometimes."

"Coal is a conscious summon," Irwin said. "This card isn't."

"Are you sure?"

Irwin snorted, then blinked and focused on the card.

'Are you alive?' he sent, including some resonance and question marks.

The card didn't respond, and after a few minutes of trying, he let out a somewhat relieved sigh.

"Doesn't look like it," he said.

"Maybe it's because of its rank," Greldo said, shrugging.

"Might be," Irwin said as he focused on the card.

After another few minutes, he finally managed to calm it down enough.

"Let's just try," he said. "Ready?"

Greldo nodded, and Irwin focused on the active part of the card. Unlike all his other hand cards, it felt like something was resisting him, and as he triggered the ability, it felt heavy. For a moment, it felt like nothing would happen, then a flash of heat rushed through his body, and Irwin groaned as the world around him shrank down. His body rippled with pain as the sound of metal being stretched beyond its limits echoed all around the open area. With it came the sound of fabric and leather ripping apart and a sense of being constrained. He barely noticed as his otherself's presence was pulled toward him, and his mind seemed to grow together with his body.

The process lasted for no more than a few seconds, and as soon as it was done, the pain vanished, replaced by a sense of power unlike Irwin had ever felt before. Blinking around, he almost lost his balance as he looked at two of the Blademaidens staring back at him in stunned surprise. He was almost level with them even though they stood on a twenty-plus high wall.

"Irwin…?"

Irwin shook his head to clear it of a myriad of thoughts before turning to Greldo, who stood beside him.

"You okay?"

Irwin frowned, trying to sense how he felt. Powerful was the first thing that came to him. As he clenched his hands, he felt like he could rip apart a ship or tree with no effort, and the strength in his legs made him wonder what he would have if he tried to jump.

"I feel good," he said.

His voice came out far louder than he intended, and he saw Greldo grimace and rub his ears.

"Are you sure… look at your hand," his friend said, his voice filled with worry.

Irwin quickly raised his left hand, but before he could even focus on the card, he saw that his pale canvas shirt had been ripped apart. Looking down, he was glad to see part of it still covered the important bits, though his leather pants were completely ruined.

Grimacing at the idea of having lost that part, he decided that if he was to use this again, he needed some clothes that could handle that much stretch. Wondering how Vera, the teacher back in Granvox, had managed this, he raised his hand again, looking at the card. It was pulsing with a dim golden light.

Irwin focused on his card, trying to determine what was happening when he froze.

It's growing…

As he thought it, he tried to drop the active skill, but it didn't stop. Worry growing, he focused on the card, trying to force the ability to stop. It took a minute, and then he finally felt the card almost reluctantly stop. A sense of being compressed into a too-small package came while the world seemed to shrink back down to its normal size.

Pain, blinding hot and similar to when the large card had tried to slot itself into his hand flared from his left hand, and Irwin groaned as he clasped his hand with the other. Staring at the image, he saw that it had grown slightly beyond the borders of the card, shrinking ever so slowly. The pain remained for at least half a minute before it finally vanished when the image reached a size that fit the card's slot.

"Irwin…?"

Irwin blinked away some tears he hadn't realized had been streaming down his face as he looked up at Greldo. The worry in his eyes mirrored his own as he focused on the card. The active ability, which should have been something that needed to be activated, actually felt like it wanted to be triggered, and it was harder to keep it at bay than it should be. Worse, what he saw with his otherself showed that it hadn't just been his body that had changed.

"This might be a problem," Irwin muttered. "Let's go into my soulscape. I need to talk with Ambraz."

Greldo's hand grabbed his shoulder, and Irwin pulled both of them into his soulscape.

Plumes of gas were swirling high in the sky while the soulforce in the soullake was rippling. Ambraz flew towards them, his lips in a tight line.

"Whatever you do, don't use that card again," he said as he landed on Irwin's shoulder.

"What happened?" Irwin asked as he looked around.

"I think I found out what Uncontrolled-growth means," Ambraz said, grumbling. "Your soulscape started growing as soon as you used the ability, and from what I can tell, it's going to take a bit to shrink back to its normal size."

Irwin grimaced as he flew up, pulling Greldo with him. As soon as he got high enough to see the borders of his soulscape, he noticed that the fog-covered barrier was cleared in some areas, deep cracks cutting straight through, filled with lightning.

"It's broken," he whispered.

"Yeah, but it's healing closed," Ambraz said.

Irwin gritted his teeth, glaring at his hand. "So I've got a dangerous, useless card in my hand?"

"No, just very dangerous," Ambraz said. "I'm not sure how much stronger you were outside, but the cracks only happened when it started shrinking."

"Shadows be damned," Greldo muttered. "Are you saying that if he wants to use it, he's going to have to stay that big? Scintilla's not going to like that."

Irwin looked at his shoulder, seeing Ambraz's lips curving up in a mock smile.

"Well, that's an option," the Ganvil said. "But perhaps it's a better idea to see if we can get a card that will allow you to shrink."

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