"Finally," Irwin muttered as he saw the regular, long, and flat portal gallery appear behind another ice mountain.

He wiped the ice and snow from his face and grinned at the prospect of sleeping for a whole night. Although he had nearly bottomless endurance, no sleep was draining it.

"The end is in sight?" Greldo shouted from the cabin.

"Yeah," Irwin said.

"Alright, I'll warn Rindiri!"

Irwin sighed happily.

After another hour, he raised his head as they flew across the final stretch and finally out of the icy, cloud-covered, hailing hell he had been in for weeks. The temperature was rising rapidly, although he knew that was only compared to what they had been to. It would be days before Zender could stand the cold.

The door was shoved open, and he watched as Rindiri and then Greldo came out.

"No more constant hail!" Greldo shouted.

Rindiri took over the wheel, smiling at Irwin. "Go and rest, Captain."

"Thanks," Irwin said.

He headed toward the cabin, waved at Greldo, then went inside. Zender was waiting for him.

"Captain, are we heading towards Sesnanser now?"

Irwin looked at the young, purple-haired Yuurindi before realizing he was right. The only way to get to the other side of the Langost branch was bypassing the Sesnanser corridor or finding another way. If they had to try that, it might be years before they find it.

"We will see if we can, but there might be a lot of Galub raiders there," he said as he walked down the staircase.

He'd not gone down here, except for a few quick visits to the toilet, and knowing he would finally be able to eat in the kitchen instead of behind the wheel made him almost as happy as what he was going to now.

Stopping before his own room, he turned to Zender, who seemed intent on following him to ask more questions.

"I'm going to sleep now. We can talk after I wake up."

Zender grinned. "I'll make your food when you wake!" he said before running towards the kitchen.

"I might sleep for a while," Irwin said, but Zender was already gone.

Shaking his head, Irwin walked into his room, closed the door, and a moment later dropped down on his bed.

He didn't even notice when he fell asleep.

--

Irwin spent the following days mostly sleeping, eating, and enjoying the rest. Finally, five days after they had left the ice, he was sitting in his room, staring at a ruby card.

"You are sure I should slot this now?" Irwin asked as he looked at Soulforce Hearing.

"Yes, definitely," Ambraz said.

The anvil sat on the table before him beside his thin book that held the information on the thin stack of cards he had with him. The thin stack in question stood beside it while the book was opened on the page that described Soulforce Hearing. If he ended up slotting it, which seemed likely, he'd rip out and burn the page.

"Your first card should have integrated with your soulforce by now, so there's no reason to wait," Ambraz said.

Irwin nodded, staring at the back of his hand for a bit. Ambraz had explained to him that the first handcard always needed enough time to mesh with his soul, the time increasing with each soulcard he would finish. Even then, he could have slotted it a week ago, but there was a benefit to letting it integrate as much as it could. Every card after the first needed less time, but even then, he couldn't just slot five more cards in a day. It would unbalance them, and his soulcard might reject them even if they should normally be compatible.

He pulled the book close, examining the page another time. It was hardly needed as he knew it by memory, but he had found that he enjoyed reading the card's details from paper.

Card: Soulforce Hearing

Type: Ruby, Reforged by Irwin Roddington

Owner: -

A card desired by all musicians and singers. Allows the owner to hear nearly every tiny wrongness in any tune, melody, or harmony.

Passive: Small increase in constitution

Passive: Increase the ability to hear soulforce resonance

Active: Temporary boost sensitivity to soul resonance fluctuations. Greatly decreases resistance to soulforce resonance attacks while used.

Still feels weird not slotting something that has more combat potential, he thought.

Memories of when he'd been traveling through portals and across Giard with Daubutim played through his mind. His main goal had always been cards to help him stay alive, and now…

The better I can hear the ambient soulforce, the more likely I'll be able to create cards from scratch.

With a sigh, he took Soulforce Hearing and held it above his hand. The card jolted, then stood straight above his second cardslot without him holding it. Thin swirls of purple soulforce rippled away from it, mixing with those that always came from Ambraz.

Irwin's worry about whether it was the right choice vanished as he watched the card slowly sink into his hand. Even after all these times, he still felt a sense of awe. A few moments later, the card was gone, and a second tattoo, clear and simple, sat on his hand: a double music note, somewhat familiar.

As the card's presence very faintly let itself be known in his mind, a soft sound appeared on the edge of what he could hear.

Blinking in surprise, Irwin turned to the stack of cards as the sound turned to a mixture of barely audible, whispered songs before remaining stable.

"I can hear the cards," Irwin whispered.

"About time," Ambraz snorted. "Welcome to the club."

Irwin ignored the anvil and picked up the top card, holding it closer to his ear. The card's resonance was simple, and even if he hadn't seen that it was quartz, he would have known by its song. If he were to reforge it, the first strike would have caused the same song to appear.

"Before I forget, don't use the active ability just yet," Ambraz said.

Irwin looked up in surprise. "Why not?"

"You need to get used to hearing this much first and do some reforging. If you activate it right now… let's just say it's not going to be enjoyable," Ambraz said with a soft sigh. "Trust me, I remember."

Irwin cocked his head, staring at Ambraz. "You have this ability?" he asked.

"When I became rank one, this was my first one," Ambraz said. "I was warned not to use it but didn't listen. I was knocked out for seven days."

"Do you think my ability is the same as yours?" Irwin asked.

"It's close," Ambraz said. "When we reforged the card, I used my own skill's resonance as a guide. The only difference is that yours makes it seem like a song while mine is a pattern without much melody."

Irwin could only agree with that as he listened to the card's resonance. It did seem like a simple song, and after a few moments, he put it down, listening to the cards one at a time. The emerald rank cards had the most complex songs, and he was very interested in hearing what ruby or diamond would sound like. Let alone Ammolite- would he ever find one of those?

"What will it be like when I go to a world?"

"Don't worry too much, kid. All you will hear is the song you heard before, just slightly louder," Ambraz replied. "In a few weeks, you won't actively hear it anymore. It's going to be like the wind and light. There, and if it's extreme, you will notice, but at a certain point, it will become background noise."

For the rest of the day, Irwin just walked around the ship, slowly integrating the soft sounds that now resonated from people, the sails, and the cards around him. Combined with the constant visual cues of his other hand card, he slowly realized just how much the soulforce was doing everywhere.

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That evening, or what counted as evening, they were eating in the galley. Zender had created a simple meal, and although it was a far cry from what his sister Ib could do, Irwin enjoyed it nonetheless.

"So, now that you have started working with cards again," Greldo said, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you think it's about time you got Zender some more cards?"

Zender's head snapped up from his own plate, staring at Irwin with wide, almost hungry eyes.

Irwin looked at the back of the boy's hand. Two faint card outlines sat there, the second clearer than the first. He knew that it was the topaz whip card that he had given Zender shortly after they had met the chaos whales.

He didn't get a third card? he thought with a frown. Then he chastised himself. Of course, Zender hadn't. They needed all cards to be spread out across the people of Giard. As he thought about that, he realized that meant that his sisters, Trinn and Brinni, wouldn't have any cards either.

I'll need to return and give them new ones within ten years, or they will die, he thought.

"Captain?"

Irwin blinked and looked up, realizing he'd been zoning out. Zender was looking at him worriedly.

"I don't really need one, it's-"

"You do," Irwin said, interrupting him before looking at Rindiri, who had been looking at him calmly. "If I recall correctly, Zender can have one Emerald card, right?"

"Yes," Rindiri said. "But it can't be too powerful."

Irwin nodded, taking the stack of cards he had out of his pocket. He had left most with either Endil or Bronwyn, only taking twenty-one with him. He had nineteen left of those, and they were all either metal, fire, or utility typed.

"You have two utility-type cards," he muttered, staring at Zender's hand. As he did, he thought of something and looked at the young boy. "Come here for a moment."

Zender blinked, then rose and stepped around the table. Irwin took his hand and, ignoring everyone's confused look held the back of it close to his ear. As soon as he did, he heard the soft singing of the cards. It wasn't too hard to separate, which was because the topaz card was louder and more complex.

"Ambraz, these tunes, and songs… the whip is some sort of metal type?"

"Yes, the adhesion one is utility and has no types. The whip has the Silfzeron type."

Irwin nodded, releasing Zender's hand. He knew of Silfzeron, a rare alloy of a Frostiron and a common silvery metal. Due to the Frostiron, it was more flexible than most types of metal.

Zender swallowed audibly, looking at him with wide-open eyes.

"Captain, can you hear slotted cards?" Zender whispered in awe.

"Bah, brat! Don't make it sound so special," Ambraz said. "Nearly every Ganvil and most of the promising emerald-rank smiths can do that!"

They can? Irwin thought, looking at Ambraz in surprise.

"Ugh! Kid, not you too," Ambraz exclaimed as he flew up and circled the mess. "Just because there's barely any proper cardsmith in this backwater place doesn't mean there aren't any on the Langost branch!"

"Okay, tell me what cards the high-ranked smiths have later," Irwin said, focusing back on the cards. "First, we need to see what kind of card we should get for Zender."

"Captain…" Zender began before holding his tongue.

"Yes?" Irwin asked, giving him a reassuring smile. "Do you have something you would like?"

Zender cast a quick glance at his mother, but Rindiri didn't react.

"I would like a card that allows me to shape change, like you and Greldo," Zender said, his eyes glimmering. "One that meshes with the Silfzeron?"

Irwin shared a grin with Greldo. He couldn't blame Zender in the least, as both he and Greldo had mostly survived all they had because of their body-morphing cards. As he thought about that, he suddenly wondered if that was something he should focus on for another soulcard. What if he could make a better version of his first Coperion Body card? One that could allow him to become even bigger and stronger.

Pushing his own ideas away, he took a few cards from the stack. Three cards had the potential to do what Zender wanted. Two were quartz rank right now, one coating someone's fingernails in a thin layer of metal, the other allowing someone to make a bundle of hair into a metal spike that could be thrown. The other was an amethyst card that allowed someone to make the metal they were holding more pliable. As with the other cards, they were all the best of what they had found, and cards he'd brought because he might want to do something for himself.

"Ambraz, what do you think?" he said as he raised the first card. "We could reforge it to cover more than the nails from quartz to amethyst, then strengthen it and change the metal from amethyst to topaz. After that, make it a full body morph from topaz to emerald?"

Ambraz was quiet for a bit, then hummed. "It might work, but it's pretty far from its desired direction. The card wants to become some form of nail or claw combat card."

"And these?" Irwin asked, raising the other two.

"The third one won't work," Ambraz said immediately. "It might allow him to create armor around his body, but it wouldn't actually be part of his body, and if he lost it? No. The hair one has the same problem as the other, but… I think we could try. It would be a great practice for you."

Irwin couldn't hold back a wide grin of expectation. He hadn't really forced any card along anything but their predetermined path or something close to that for a while, not willing to risk shattering it. Although it had been good, solid work, it hadn't been very challenging. The idea of doing something difficult really piqued his interest.

"Alright," he said, looking at Zender, who was looking conflicted. "Are you sure you want a card like that?" he asked.

"Yes… but what if you shatter one?" Zender said with a worried frown.

"Bah! Brat, don't worry so much," Ambraz shouted before Irwin could even answer. "Irwin needs to do way more practicing. He's been doing easy things for way too long. If he is to practice on the Granvox academy and learn… from… err…"

Irwin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ambraz.

"Academy?" he asked curiously.

"Well, let's see when we get there," Ambraz said before quickly continuing. "Anyway! It's fine if he shatters them! There are more Metal cards where we are going than anything else! If we fail now, you just have to wait a few months!"

"Half a year," Greldo said, shaking his head wearily.

"Yes, yes. A few months, half a year. What does it matter?" Ambraz said.

Irwin looked at Ambraz, wondering what he was planning to do when they reached his homeworld.

"How about you tell me later," he said, getting up and focusing on Rindiri and Greldo. "Can you two handle the ship? I'll go and reforge these cards."

"I am not sure I can ever pay back an emerald card," Rindiri said calmly. "But seeing as you don't seem to care about that, taking a few of your turns on the helm is the least I can do."

"Glad you understand," Irwin said. He smiled, turned around, and headed to his room.

As he walked away, he heard Zender and Rindiri start talking about cards and why he hadn't asked for something that would make him a better crew member.

When he entered his room, Ambraz flew to the empty area and changed into his working shape.

"Alright, before you start, you need to understand something," Ambraz said. "When you hit that card, the sound is going to amplify beyond what you're used to hearing. You need to realize that this doesn't mean it's actually louder. You just hear it better."

Irwin hummed as he removed his jacket, putting everything else on the table except for the metal nail card.

"I understand," he said, summoning his hammer.

"I don't think you do," Ambraz said. "Take another card first, one that you don't mind shattering."

"Are you hungry?" Irwin asked.

"No, that's not it," Ambraz said with an annoyed snort. "Just do it. Just reforge it and remember one thing. The card isn't louder. So don't resonate your own soulcard too loud. If you do, you are going to cause the card to shatter and perhaps even damage the ship."

Irwin blinked, staring at Ambraz. "Damage the ship?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"Don't you remember what happened when you made your heartcard?" Ambraz asked.

"I do," Irwin said as he thought about the destruction he had wrought on Grianfál.

"Well, the reason for that is because you were resonating your card and, with it, the ambient soulforce," Ambraz said. "Now, there is no ambient soulforce here, but the sails have soulforce, and there's soulforce all around."

"From all of our cards and skills," Irwin said, slowly understanding what Ambraz was getting at. "If I resonate my soulcard too hard, I could damage the sails?"

"Yes," Ambraz said. "It's why cardsmiths still work in forges. Metal, especially molten metal, is one of the best ways of stopping the resonance of soulforce from destroying everything."

"And because the ship is of wood… Wait, could I use the resonance of my soulcard as an attack?" Irwin asked, thinking out loud.

"Against very weak beings, yes, or in certain circumstances. If you jump to another ship rip it apart by resonating your soulcard very strongly that would work. It's why you will find that the public buildings on the truly populated areas of this branch, and any beyond, are made of metal or card-improved stone," Ambraz said, slowly falling back into what Irwin thought of as his teacher mode.

"The largest families don't allow other powerful soulcarded, and definitely no cardsmiths or musicians on their private worlds."

Irwin blinked his mouth opening, then closing.

"Wait… what? Musicians?" he asked.

Ambraz snorted as he landed on the table. "Imagine having four or five cards that allow you to resonate the ambient soulforce."

Irwin licked his suddenly dry lips. "So… does that mean musicians are dangerous?"

"Only if you can keep the shadewalkers, teleporters, or ranged manipulators from destroying them," Ambraz said. "It takes a while to resonate the ambient soulforce strongly enough to cause massive destruction."

Irwin stared at the cards on his hand, then at Ambraz. He knew he was going to have to rethink a few things. He put the cards back on the table and, after a few moments, picked a simple quartz-ranked fire card that allowed condensing fire by flicking one's fingers to create a small spark and a boom.

"Alright. I'll try and reforge this," he muttered.

He put the card on Ambraz's surface, then very carefully struck it.

A cacophony of sound, vibrations, and light erupted from the card, shocking him so much that he almost dropped his hammer. He barely managed to pay attention to the familiar resonances and only just found the desired direction of the card. Having no time even to ponder forcing it along another part, he struck again, much softer this time.

The music softened, and fainter waves of soulforce thrummed out, some from the card, the rest from Ambraz.

Ambraz loses soulforce when I strike him?

Irwin ignored his own thoughts, focusing on the card. He barely shrank his hammer before hitting it again, even softer than before, and as he did, he sensed the dozens of minute differences in the resonance while tremors of soulforce rippled around the card. The card's tune, a rhythmic tapping that surprised him with its simplicity, felt slightly off. As he struck the card again, barely paying attention to anything else, he tried copying the soft rhythm with his own soulcard, but without the part that sounded wrong.

The soulforce ripples seemed to harmonize together with the rhythm, and he grinned as he sensed the 'rightness' of the card.

Fully focused, he continued tapping on the card, sometimes needing to remedy a tiny bit of dissonance. As he worked, he felt the difference with his usual reforging. Even though it was a mere quartz card, the number of tiny fluctuations was incredible, and hearing and seeing the soulforce showed him just how much he had been missing.

It took him much longer to reforge the topaz card, but when he finished, he instantly knew it was a hundred percent card. Although there were still some mistakes in the process, the final product had none of them.

Lowering his hammer, he smiled at the card, feeling a sense of wholeness. The card almost felt happy, even though he knew that wasn't really true, as cards had no mind or consciousness.

After a few moments, he realized Ambraz was still quiet.

"Ambraz?"

There was a soft, annoyed snort.

"Let me be for a bit," Ambraz muttered.

"Are you alright?" Irwin asked, suddenly slightly worried.

"No. I'm trying to remember why I thought you might blow this after all I've seen you do," Ambraz said, sounding both weary and annoyed at the same time.

It took Irwin a few moments to realize Ambraz was actually annoyed that he hadn't caused the card to shatter.

"You wanted me to fail?" he said in surprise.

"Wanted? No! I thought you would, but I guess you bloody Galadins don't work like the rest of us," Ambraz grunted. "Whatever! Go and reforge one of the other cards!"

Irwin sighed, shaking his head before ignoring Ambraz's annoyed rumblings. He picked up the nail card and put it on Ambraz.

Let's see if I can do this!