"So… what are template cards?" Greldo asked.

Irwin pulled his gaze away from the sand below his feet.

"Do you remember what I told you about Derlin cards?" Irwin asked.

"Yeah, that crazy story about a race of rabbits that live inside cards and grant wishes?"

Irwin grimaced, remembering that he said something similar. From Ambraz's soft, snorted laughter, he guessed the Ganvil remembered it, too. He shook his head. "They aren't all rabbits, and they don't live in the cards. Each card holds a single being from Derlin, a world that was shattered ages ago. Nobody really knows how it works, and the Derlin aren't willing to share, but to prevent the different beings in their world from dying out, they somehow managed to lock themselves away inside cards. If that wasn't strange enough, the cards somehow bonded with soulskilled creatures that roamed the worldshards, and when someone killed one, the Derlin card would drop."

"That is…" Greldo shook his head in disbelief before shouting. "Why?"

"Their world wasn't connected to the Portal Gallery, which is another mystery, and they used this way to get off."

Greldo looked at Irwin, who saw the disbelief in his friend's eyes. He had felt largely the same when Skylar had told him about it back in the academy.

"The Derlin have a new world somewhere, but they knew that they needed a reason for other species to help them bring their people together. So, before they locked themselves in cards, every Derlin being got access to some rewards they could hand out. Then, they spread the knowledge that people who found and released Derlin from their cards would get a reward. The biggest mystery is still how they get them, though most people seem to think they had a six-soul-carded teleporter with a carded crafting ability to create items that connect to each other and allow each Derlin to give out exactly one reward. It's one of the many things the Derlin aren't willing to explain."

Greldo stared at him, then began rubbing his head.

"So they can't just get out of those cards themselves?"

"Apparently not," Irwin said.

"Great, fine, and these tentacles are Derlin cards or something?"

Irwin shook his head. "No, but one of the most desired cards they give out is called a template card. Until just now, I didn't know you could get them any other way."

"I had forgotten about it," Ambraz said. "Besides, it's not like we could have planned for this."

Greldo sighed, then shook his head in surrender. "You aren't going to tell me what it does, are you?"

"It's a card that can duplicate another card, even one already slotted," Irwin said. "If you hand it to someone with a soulcard, it will even attempt to create a handcard with the essence of the soulcard."

"A handcard as powerful as a soulcard?" Greldo blurted.

"No," Irwin said, raising his hand to stop his friend from exploding with questions. "In your case, it would probably create a card with a Shadow Hound. In my case, it will likely try to create a hammer with the ability to toughen the user. But it can fail if you try that. It's safest to just put a card next to it and create another version."

"Wait, wait. So you can keep creating new cards?" Greldo asked.

"Also, no," Irwin said, grinning and raising his hands as Greldo glared at him. "I'm not laughing at you, but you just said the same thing I did to Skylar when he told me."

Greldo sighed. "Please tell me what the card does. Use small words?"

Irwin snorted, then thought for a moment.

"Template cards have a lot of soulforce locked inside them, far more than any regular card, and if you put another card next to them, they reshape some of that soulforce to create a near-copy. The more difficult the card is, the less perfect the copy will be, and the more soulforce it will take. Eventually, the template card will be empty and crumble. Most are able to duplicate a few diamond rank cards and a hundred quartz rank cards."

Greldo nodded slowly, looking at where they knew there was a massive creature below their feet.

"So, that means we are rich?"

"Yes and no," Ambraz said, his lip curled up slightly as if he was amused by the discussion. "A single template card goes for prices that aren't even expressed in soulshards. The one Gynerigon bought cost him half of the cards he had gathered over the hundreds of years he was alive. The problem is that it also takes hundreds of years for a jellyfish island to create a new tentacle with a bulb, and you have to grab the card it has within a few days of it breaking away from its creator. Otherwise, the template card will be gone, and in its place will be a random card, usually one similar to the soulskilled beings around it."

"So, if we can find them, with time, we will be rich," Greldo said, sounding less excited. "There should be thousands on this moon, so with a bit of luck, we can find one before we get gray hairs."

"With nobody having been here before, it might be a bit better than that, but we aren't going to sell them," Ambraz said. "If we can find even one, Irwin can use it to copy a card he only has one of to experiment with. Then, after he turns it into what he needs, he can use the template card to create multiple copies with far less effort."

"Okay, so no quick gains," Greldo muttered, looking around. "Fine, what do we do then? Move everyone here and start searching for them?"

"No," Irwin said, looking around. "It's not hot enough for the kids, and it will take a long time before they are ready for their first handcards. Let's just check this one before we leave, and maybe a few nearby, but after that, we should leave for now."

Ambraz hummed in agreement.

"There are still some areas around the gas giant that you haven't checked yet, so I'd say, go and see if there are any more moons," Ambraz said. "So far, Crumblecrag seems the best place due to its heat, but perhaps we will find something better."

"I had expected this to be far more exciting," Greldo said, looking around. "Well, before we go, Coal and I are going to see if there's anything to hunt on this island. I'll be back in a bit."

Irwin watched his friend vanish into a nearby shadow.

"If we find a template card, what should we do with it?" Irwin asked as he thought about the few super rare cards he'd already used, which are currently part of his hearcard. He'd have loved to duplicate those, but he wasn't willing to risk any potential template cards on those.

"The best would be to head into Dismarintsia and trade for the best card we can find," Ambraz said. "Then we duplicate it, sell one, and experiment with the others."

"A growth card?" Irwin asked.

"That'd be a good start," Ambraz agreed.

"How many template cards appear each year?" Irwin asks.

"Each year? That's not how it works. Every time a template card is found, a massive auction is held. The last one was over a hundred years ago."

Irwin looked around the sea, noting the distant island that was likely another jellyfish.

"I wonder if there is even any normal land on this moon or if it's all below the sea," he muttered.

They continued chatting for over an hour when Greldo returned, looking highly annoyed.

"There is nothing here," he grunted. "Let's just get back to searching. There has to be something around this gas giant besides those birds. Otherwise, we should try that acid moon."

After a quick check on the jellyfish they were on, and sadly not locating a tendril with a bulb, they did a survey of the few surrounding ones with similar results. A bit disillusioned, Irwin shot back up into the sky in bursts while Greldo and Ambraz returned to his soulscape.

A long time later, with Irwin having lost track of the time that they had been out here, they returned to a shadowy patch above the gas giant. Greldo took over, and Irwin returned to his soulscape, where he began sorting through his cards, finding potential ones he could use with a template card.

He ended up with a small stack of just four cards. A shadowwalker card, the lone one he had, a card that allowed someone to heal minor injuries -scratches and the like, and two of the growth cards. Ambraz said neither was worth it, and he tended to agree. They both lamented about the card they had gotten from Brazardian, which was now part of Irwin's heartcard.

At some point during their journey, Irwin was lying on the roof of his house, staring at the swirling clouds of yellowish gas that drifted by.

"Do you think we could create a day and night here?" he asked.

"Perhaps, but you would need to increase its size a bit more," Ambraz said. "It's pretty hard to create things from the soulforce in here, and doing that would mean you would have to darken the barrier to prevent the light from entering it while creating a light that follows the merchant's day cycle."

Yeah, that sounds a bit hard, Irwin thought as he raised his hand and focused on the surrounding soulforce. It was all his own, resonating with his soulscape, and he forced an image of a simple cup on it. It took a few seconds, but then the cup he had imagined was in his hand, and he flipped it over. He still couldn't create things as easily as Ambraz, but with the time he now had, he was getting much better. With time, he could create larger things, though he wasn't at the point where he could create houses.

Time continued to pass by when Greldo finally dropped them back out of the shadowrealm.

Irwin focused on his outsideself, and looked around. High above him hung another moon. It felt closer than the others, and like the water one, it seemed locked into place, with the edge of the back side a burning red line, while the rest wasn't unlike Crumblecrag: dark and rocky. The only thing that promised anything better were large sections of what looked like forests.

"Alright, this looks to be the last one," Greldo shouted as they both fell towards the gas giant." Let's take a look, and after that, head back."

Irwin fully agreed. They had been out here for what felt like months, and although he knew that with the time dilation, far less time would have passed for Scintilla and the kids, he very much missed them.

Pulling Greldo and Ambraz into his soulscape, he prepared for another mind-numbing journey.

I really hope this one is better, he thought.

--

"Momaheat, do you think Dad will be back soon?" Mia asked as she lowered her sword and looked at the gas giant.

"He's only been gone for a few days, Mia. It might be another week before he returns," Scintilla said, crossing her arms and smiling at her daughter. "Now stop getting distracted and focus on your forms. You have asked the same thing six times already."

Mia sighed, lowering her head theatrically before raising her sword and planting her small feet on the ground. Before starting, she quickly looked around. A short distance away, her brothers were practicing with their own instructor, with Flux being the unlucky one to get Nisziz. Momaheat's friend was way stricter than all the other Blademaidens, sometimes even slapping them upside the head to keep them in line, and she didn't like training with her one bit.

"Mia…"

Mia quickly focused on her sword, bringing the point down, then forward in a lunge. She tried to remember to keep her feet where they needed to be while moving at a steady pace.

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"Better, but keep your elbow more tucked in."

Momaheat's sword prodded the offending limb, and Mia tightened her stance.

Ten minutes later, she lost count of how many lunges she had done when a shout made her turn around. Glow was pointing his sword in the sky, grinning widely. It took Mia a few seconds to locate the target of his enthusiasm, a small spec that seemed to appear, then disappear really fast, growing larger but also slower with every blink.

Please don't be another bird, please don't be another bird, Mia thought, as she clenched her sword and tried to will the spec to move faster.

"Go and play with the others," Scintilla said, and Mia turned to see a wide smile on Momaheat's face.

"Is it Dad?" she asked, annoyed and jealous that she couldn't see as far as Momaheat or the other Blademaidens.

"Yes! He will be here soon," Scintilla said.

Mia gave her a quick hug before rushing to where the others stood.

"I hope Dad found a moon with demons," Soot said excitedly, brandishing his short, dull sword.

"Do you really think we will have to go there?" Zan asked, clasping Ti's hand.

"I hope so," Glow said, sharing an excited look with Soot.

Mia agreed with them but looked at Flux to see what he would say. Unlike his two brothers, Flux was looking at the sky thoughtfully before turning to her.

"Do you think Dad would bring us there, so far from the exit portal?"

Mia frowned as she looked straight up at the thick yellow cloud cover that hid the exit portal.

"Perhaps?" she said, noticing that the others were looking at her. "If it's not too far? It's not like we can actually reach the exit portal anyway if we have to flee?"

"I hope Dad gets us a flying card or one of those shadowwalker cards," Glow said, his eyes gleaming. "I want to explore everywhere!"

"We should ask him if one of us can get a teleport card," Soot said excitedly. "One that allows us to teleport ourselves and others!"

"Or to flee," Zan whispered.

Mia held back an annoyed sigh as she looked at their smallest sibling. Zan seemed to become more frightened by the day, and she wondered what was wrong with her.

"Zan, don't worry so much," Ti said, hugging her. "Momaheat and the Blademaidens won't let anything happen to you."

"Neither will we," Glow said, swinging his sword at some imaginary foes, quickly copied by soot.

Zan didn't seem reassured, and Mia looked back up. She couldn't see the spec at first, but then she saw it wasn't a spec anymore but much larger, and she could almost make out a figure dropping down.

"I wonder where the baby whales are," Tan whispered.

Nobody responded as they watched Irwin's shape close in quickly.

"Do you think he is going to crush the ground when he lands?" Soot asked hopefully.

--

Irwin waited till the last moment before letting out a happy bellow and moving sideways. As he reappeared, he skidded across the stone ground, almost tripping a few times before coming to a stop. Six small shapes came running toward him while Scintilla followed a bit slower.

From the grin on her face, Irwin knew what she would do before she did it, and as she turned into a fiery streak that overtook the six children, Irwin grinned. A moment later, Scintilla slammed into him, and if he hadn't seen her coming, he might have been knocked over.

"Not fair, Momaheat!"

Irwin hugged Scintilla, amused by Soot's angry shout.

"You were gone for a while," Scintilla murmured, nuzzling his neck before dropping back to her feet.

Irwin grinned at her, absently wondering if he should get her a card that increased her size and mass so she would become stronger.

"You have no idea how long it was for us," he said.

Before he could give any details, six small figures slammed into his legs, and four began climbing up his legs and chest before dangling on his arms.

"Dad, you smell!"

Irwin hugged four of his children close.

"Well, Mia, I haven't bathed in a while," he said.

"Did you get us cards?"

"Did you find another moon?"

"Are we going exploring?"

"Did you get hurt?"

A barrage of questions came, and Irwin waited till they were done before answering those he could. He ended with: "And yes, we are probably going to another."

Glow, Soot, Flux, and Mia whooped loudly, dropping down and running around excitedly.

Irwin grinned before lowering himself to his knee to check on Ti and Zan.

"How are you two doing?" he asked, noticing Zan holding on to his pants.

"We are fine," Ti said, glancing at Zan. "Momaheat and the others have been training us with swords."

"I don't like it," Zan whispered. "Can't you teach me how to play an instrument?"

Irwin cast a quick glance at Scintilla, who stood nearby, frowning slightly.

"I can see if I can make a simple instrument," Irwin said, causing Zan's face to perk up. "But I do want you to continue practicing with the blade."

Zan's small shoulders slumped, and Irwin put a hand on her head.

"It's because we have to be sure that you can protect yourself if that is ever needed," he said. "But if you practice really well, I promise I'll get you an instrument and teach you how to use it."

Zan was quiet for a bit, then nodded, and Irwin was glad to see a little resolve in her eyes.

"Does that mean you are going to get me a smithing hammer?" Ti asked.

Irwin's eyebrows rose, but before he could answer, Glow jumped forward.

"Me too!"

"I want a bigger sword!"

Irwin grinned as he rose to his feet.

"Fine. If you all work hard, I'll make you all one thing. But make sure Nisziz and the others are happy with your effort!"

There was a burst of whopping followed by some leg hugging. Then, all six rushed off toward the group of Blademaidens who had been watching with interest.

"So, what kind of moons did you find?" Scintilla asked, leaning against him.

"A useless one with acid and jungles, one with only water and ice that has something called jellyfish islands," Irwin said, grinning as he saw her disgusted face. "Aaaand…"

Scintilla mock swung at his head, and Irwin made as if to bite her hand, causing her to jerk her hand back and look offended.

"So? What has you all happy!?" she asked, putting her hands in her sides.

"Oh… nothing," Irwin said. "Just a super hot world with dense forests filled with low-rank demonic monsters that Ambraz called Salzirs."

"How?" Scintilla asked, eyes wide. "They are from portal shards… wait…"

Irwin's grin widened as he realized she'd understood what the existence of Salzirs meant.

"You found another portal?"

"Better, another exit portal," Irwin said as he pulled her along to the others.

"Let's go. We need to decide what to do. Ambraz will likely go back there and exit the portal to see where in the portal gallery we are. If it's still in the Graboul's Teeth, we are going to bring the Concerto there and create a new base."

A pained groan came from the blademaidens, and Irwin saw Libriz glare at him while Mouzin had her head in her hands. The two stoneshapers probably realized it meant they would need to do a lot of work again.

"Sorry, but I'm sure when you see the moon you will agree it's worth the work," Irwin said.

--

Months of lugging people and things later, Irwin and Greldo stood in the center of a clearing of the recently dubbed Smolderball- this time named by Soot. A faint rustling came from the woods around them as the long, finger-length leaves moved in the stifling hot wind. The high-pitched laughter of his children came as they raced through the walled camp, inspecting the stone huts and the larger central house.

"Are you sure you don't want to stick around a bit?" Irwin said, looking at his friend.

They had only just arrived from their final trip, bringing Scintilla, the kids, and the final batch of Blademaidens.

"It's just too hot," Greldo muttered, waving himself with his hand. "Worse, it's damp and hot!"

Irwin grinned as he focused on his sweltering ability and felt the mass of water in the humid air.

"I'll go and relieve Zender and Earilla," he said. "I'm sure they will be happy to see this place finally."

Irwin knew Greldo was exaggerating as, for them, far less time had passed.

"Alright. Make sure to scout the area around the other exit portal," he said, his joy fading slightly.

The portal had been open when they found it, which was why the Salzirs had managed to come in. If they were here, there was a chance others knew it was there.

"I will, but there was no sign of anyone nearby the previous time I checked," Greldo said, panting from the heat. "Damn, I preferred the dry heat of Scour."

Irwin nodded, turning around as he heard Mia scream with laughter to find that she had climbed atop the central building and was looking down at Glow and Flux, tossing pebbles up at her.

"I'll come and check on you in a week of our time," Irwin said, sensing Greldo's growing annoyance. "After that, we need to search for bulbous tendrils. It would be stupid if there were some ready to harvest, and we miss them."

Greldo nodded as he walked away. "Yeah, well, I'll go and say goodbye to the others. See you soon!"

Irwin knew that with the others, he actually meant Dhalia, and he smirked as Greldo headed toward the female smith working in the smithy to the side of the central building.

Hearing Mia call him, he turned to the central house, which he knew was meant for him and his family. The Blademaidens had created smaller huts for themselves, some attached in patterns close to the outer wall that encircled the clearing. Beyond it, the enormous forrest sprawled, Salzirs and smaller beasts lurking within.

The moon is too stable for the Salzir to drop cards, Irwin thought as he watched his sons sprint toward the entrance to the main building. But it should prove good practice for them.

As he walked toward the central building, he couldn't help but feel happy. Although months had passed for him, due to the time dilation, only a few weeks had passed outside, meaning that they could stay here for over a year or longer without much trouble. With the current situation, it didn't matter too much if a few months passed on the outside because even if they found the hunters of the smiths, they couldn't bring the information back to Daubutim. No, the only reason he really wanted to head back was to get his children to Eluathar, which was both safe and filled with more family.

Well, for now, they need to get bigger, and their first cards are needed anyway. It's not like they can even live in that colder environment right now.

--

Days, weeks, then months passed by as Irwin, his family, crew, and the Blademaidens created a small town in the middle of the enormous and dense forrest. Spending his time between smithing, training, guarding The Sonata, and searching for bulbous tentacles with Greldo, Irwin slowly settled into a new, calmer normal.

Though as he leaned against the tall tree deep in what they had called the Red Ridge after a forty-foot gorge that split the forrest on this side, he didn't feel very calm.

Trust them, they can do it, he told himself.

His gaze was focused on Mia, Glow, and Flux as they snuck forward. Ahead of them was a small band of four Salzir, each taller than the little Ignizians. With four clawed legs below a sturdy body and a torso with two nimble arms, they looked like small lizardmen riding short-tailed lizards. In reality, they were creatures in the same category as one-horned Galubs or Imps, and they lived throughout the forests in packs of thirty to forty. The current group was a scouting party searching for more things to eat.

They were rummaging through a low bush, probably searching for a Skitrat, a two-tailed rat larger than Irwin's hand, which they seemed to love eating.

You can do it, Irwin thought, as he split his attention between the Salzir and his children.

They had been practicing for months and had already been in the forrest with the blade maidens. Each had fought atleast ten Salzir successfully, but this would be their first time fighting as a group with more than one.

A slight movement at the opposite end of the forrest showed Scintilla was as anxious as he was because otherwise, he'd never have seen her.

He watched, hands clenched and ready to shout and teleport, as Flux signaled the other two using the Igniziant hand gestures.

Good, the left one is the most dangerous, he thought, agreeing with his son's assessment.

Mia and Glow circled through the low bushes while Flux remained in the center. Flux raised his hand, counting down from. As soon as he reached zero, Mia and Glow rushed forward, swords out.

The Salzir only knew something was wrong when his two children reached the one on the left and stabbed him through. A loud rattling sound came, showing that neither had hit the heart for a clean, silent kill, and the three other Salzir spun around. They were holding branches like clubs, but Irwin wasn't worried yet.

Neither was Flux, as he dashed out of the undergrowth, rushing the three Salzir as they ran to Mia and Glow. He jumped on one of the small four-legged reptiles' backs, nearly decapitating it with a well-placed swing that had Irwin almost whooping in admiration. As the other two turned in surprise, Mia and Glow rushed them, and Irwin slowly relaxed.

Things were going brilliantly, as he'd told Scintilla they would.

He was about to move forward when he saw something rustling at the far end of the Red Ridge. A long knobbed arm reached up, and a scaled, chim-like being pulled itself up.

"Look out!" Irwin shouted, already teleporting across the sound waves.

He barely caught a glimpse of his kids, just done with the two. Salzir looked up in surprise as the ten-foot-tall primate bellowed out a roar and charged at them. With a body of corded muscle, it was a native creature that none of them had ever seen and an unwelcome surprise when one had nearly ripped the arms off an unsuspecting blademaiden.

Irwin appeared near his kids just as the scaled primate reached them. Glow and Mia dodged out of its path while Flux hurled his short dagger at the thing's face. A red flash moved in the side of Irwin's vision just as he teleported forward, his anger swelling. He appeared between Flux and the primate.

Irwin saw the large, bulbous, serpent-like eyes widen in surprise as he slammed into it, knocking it back a dozen feet. As strong as it was, he didn't care one bit and used the mass of kinetic energy the collision had given him to explode forward. Mid-jump, he summoned his hammer and swung it down in a wide arc. To his surprise, the primate managed to raise its arms, but it was of no use. They cracked, the scaled hide ripping as bones split apart, and the hammer cracked them into the muscled torso, which caved in. The primate was hurled back and bounced twice before lying on the ground unmoving.

Irwin took a deep breath before turning around.

Flux, Mia, and Glow stood behind him, staring at the primate with wide-eyed awe. Then, Glow turned to him, accusation in his eyes.

"You said you would let us do it on our own!"

Irwin sighed as he looked around just in time to see a red fiery dash disappear back into the forrest.

Sure, let me deal with the aftermath, he thought before focusing back on his children.

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