Irwin waited quietly, watching Zan. She and the rest of his family stood in one of the training areas near their house. Irwin knew a few of the Blademaidens were watching them from the walls and other areas, while Boohm was likely looking from somewhere. That said, none had come over, letting them do this as a family, and he appreciated it. Although the town wasn't as small as a ship, being this close together with so few people made him appreciate every bit of privacy he could get.

"Can I really slot it?" Zan whispered as she gingerly held the ruby-bordered card.

"Yes," Irwin said, smiling at her. "Nisziz said that you were all ready enough, and with the current situation-."

"We all decided it was safer if you got stronger without just holding onto old habits," Scintilla said with a big grin. Irwin guessed she was recalling her shouting match with Nisziz, which she eventually won.

"Go on, Zan, you can do it!" Ti said, smiling at her, while the others all looked with envy at the card.

Irwin smiled as he watched Zan look up at Scintilla for confirmation. Her heatmother nodded reassuringly, her eyes gleaming. Only she knew the details of the card, as Irwin had decided to keep it from his children for now. He was afraid they would expect the same, and he still had no idea if he could even do it again. Better to let them bind their cards and be happy for now. If needed, he could explain things later, and if he was able to create more unique typed cards, the issue would solve itself.

"Just hold it above my hand?" Zan asked.

"Hurry up already!" Soot exclaimed. "I wanna see what it can do!"

Flux whacked him on the head, causing him to yelp in surprise.

"What?"

"Calm down!"

Irwin almost burst out laughing as he saw his two son's antics, but he held back, instead sniffing.

"Boys, calm down."

A bright glow from Zan's hand silenced any potential reaction as the card hovered above her hand, sliding slowly into the socket.

Irwin watched Zan's soulforce carefully to see if there would be anything different. As soon as the card was in her hand, it strengthened immensely, going from what was a barely audible whisper to him to a normal conversational tone. At the same time, Zan swayed, then slumped on the ground.

"Zan!" Ti shouted while the other children jumped forward with worry.

"Stay back," Scintilla said, pulling Flux and Ti back to the others.

"It happens with full-body improvement cards," Irwin said as he lowered beside Zan, inspecting her without touching her. "Her body is going to-"

Zan's shape began growing, and as she went from the smallest of his children to a hand's length taller than Flux, Irwin was glad Scintilla had made her wear the loose robes.

Surprised and curious cries came from the rest of his children as they huddled around.

"Dad, will we all grow this much?" Soot asked, eyes gleaming.

"Probably," Irwin said as he saw Zan's growth stop.

To his surprise, her hair was still growing, going from hand length and slightly spikey to dropping to just at her shoulders.

"Ignitzians always change most with their first card," Scintilla said with a smile. "Though this is more than most."

Zan's body jerked, her arms flailing. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around.

"Why am I on the ground?" she asked, her voice having gained a bit of warmth and depth that reminded Irwin of Scintilla's.

"It happens sometimes," he said. "Why don't you get up and see how you feel?"

Zan nodded, and she pushed herself up. Her movements were smooth and dancelike, but as soon as she was up, she swayed with her hands in surprise.

"Everything is smaller!"

"No, you grew!" Soot said, walking toward her. She was almost a full head taller than he was, and he sighed before spinning around. "Dad, do my card next? Pleaaaaaaaseee!"

"You will just have to wait and see who gets the next one," Irwin said. "It depends a bit on the cards."

Ti moved closer to Soot, touching her arm. "How do you feel?"

Zan moved her arms and took a few steps.

"Really good!" she said. "Like I want to run!"

"Catch me if you can," Mia shouted, dashing away with a loud giggle.

There was a rustle as Irwin saw all of his children dash after her, but there was no contest. Zan overtook the others within moments, her longer legs moving with unnatural grace and speed as she caught Mia within a hundred feet.

Irwin grinned while Scintilla stood beside him, grabbing his arm and hugging it.

"Good job," she said, jumping up and giving him a kiss. Then she dashed after her children, shouting loudly.

"I'm going to tickle you all; better get ready!"

Irwin grinned as he watched six children shout with mock fear and run in all directions.

I'll have to see what her card lets her do with music later, he thought.

Then, he sprinted after the rest of his family.

A day of playing and fun later, Irwin and Scintilla sat in their living room while the children were asleep.

"From what I could see, her agility and speed are already on par with that of some of the full-handed blademaiden trainees," Scintilla said, shaking her head. She grinned at Irwin. "I think the others are going to expect a lot from you after this."

Irwin snorted, grinning at the closed door. "I'll make sure all my children get a great first card," he said.

And probably all their other cards, he thought, wondering if he could get them more cards before he left.

"I don't mean them," Scintilla said, getting up and loosening her shoulders. "The other Ignitzians. There are six that have embers in their flames, and I'm sure they are going to come and ask you for cards."

Irwin hummed at that. He wasn't planning on being the personal cardsmith for anyone but his family, atleast not at the same level. If he had to make cards like this, it meant spending a lot of his own resources, and if he were going to give those away, it would be back home to Bronwyn and Daubutim.

"Don't worry," Scintilla said, moving toward him. "They all have atleast one card with them, and although those probably aren't as good as what you have, I don't think they expect you to just give yours away."

"How come you always know what I'm thinking?" Irwin asked, watching her move to the center of the room and start walking through some of her sword forms.

"It's a gift," she said, swishing her sword in a tight arc. "Now, want to go outside and practice a bit? You haven't done anything for a while, and you don't want to get rusty!"

Irwin looked at Scintilla for a bit, feeling the warm sense of love burn in his chest, wondering if he couldn't get her to do some other physical activities.

"If you win, we can do that after," Scintilla said, swaying in a way that very obviously didn't belong to a sword form.

Irwin rose, summoning a hammer and raising an eyebrow. "And what if you win?"

"Steam bath!"

Irwin grinned as he followed her out.

--

"Heatmom and Dad are going to practice again," Soot whispered loudly, crouching near the shuttered window. He had one pulled open an inch, just enough to look through.

"I'll get the others," Flux whispered as he rolled out of bed, while Glow yawned as he joined Soot at the window.

"Quiet," Soot whispered as his brother joined him at the window.

Almost right below and to the left, he saw the two familiar shapes of his parents circle each other in the open area. A rustle came from behind, and a moment later, four others pushed around him to get a look.

"Quiet," he whispered again, watching as Dad said something and raised his hammer in a salute before dashing forward.

"What did he say?" he whispered.

"No actives except for the weapon."

Soot blinked and looked up at Zan, who was staring down with wide-eyed wonder.

No fair she got the first one, Soot thought before focusing back on the fight below.

He really wished he could have gotten the first card. Perhaps then he could go outside with Glow, Flux, and Mia or go on a real hunt with Greldo!

Still, as he glanced at Zan, he felt a slight bit of relief that she'd gotten her card. She was always so scared and frightened, and perhaps now she wouldn't cry in her sleep as much.

If I ever do go to Igniz, I'm going to hunt those stupid earth fishies and kill all those that have Embers inside, he thought. Just thinking about what Flux and Glow had told him about what it was like inside, or the stories of Zan hiding from those hunting her, too afraid to move, made him want to rush out and hit something.

As the spar below began speeding up, he watched the difference in combat style. Where Heatmother moved with fluid grace, using her nimbleness to dodge the attacks, Dad just moved forward like an unstoppable boulder. With swings that were connected in an odd dance, not unlike the sword forms they trained, there was very little resemblance. One was light, dashy, and, in his eyes, a bit weak, while the other was strong and explosive but too cumbersome.

I'm going to ask Dad to make mine with more strength, but not as much as his, Soot, though, as he pictured himself, running through the forests and fighting those Scaled Monkeys.

Just thinking about them made his lips curl up. Such a great name! When he was old, he was going to get a ship, get one of those soulcrystals that could talk and report things to make it official and explore the Portal Gallery. He would find new worlds and name everything he found!

"Why are you grinning like that?" Glow whispered.

Soot looked at his brother, and his grin widened. He was sure Glow would want to come! Glancing around, he wondered if Mia would come. She was fun, though she listened too much to what the blademaidens said for his taste.

"Oh, nothing," he whispered before focusing back on the spar.

I can't wait to get my card, he thought.

---

"Is mine next?"

Irwin looked up to see Soot standing near the open area, with Earilla behind him. He had been singing to call the Chaos Whales, who didn't seem to be as close as usual.

"Sorry, captain, but he kept sneaking out," Earilla said, glaring at the small boy before her.

"It's alright," Irwin said, looking at Soot thoughtfully.

Two days had passed, and he'd made a card for Glow and one for Mia. Currently, he was working on Flux's card, and he would do Soot's afterward. None of the others had become unique-typed, though they were named. From what he knew, that meant they could technically be reproduced. Still, he and Ambraz had talked about it and come to the conclusion that it was very unlikely that exactly the same cards were anywhere. Besides, there seemed to be little difference in the card's strength, though Ambraz had suggested that this might come into play when they would become heart- and later soulcards.

He had explained to his children that they would learn which was the next as soon as it was finished and no sooner.

"Soot, you need to learn patience," he said, walking to his son and lowering himself to the other's height. "I know you want to get your first card, but so do Flux and Ti."

"I know," Soot said, echoing him before frowning slightly. "Does that mean I'm getting the last one?"

Irwin could sense the annoyance from the little boy, and he sighed.

"Would it be bad if you did?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Soot opened his mouth, then closed it, frowning deeper. "I don't know," he said. "But I don't like waiting. Still… someone has to be last. Why me, though?"

"I didn't say you were last," Irwin said, smiling at Soot's words. "But you are right. Someone will get the final card. But let me ask you something… do you think the last card will be better or worse than the others?"

Soot's black, flaming-red, bordered eyes narrowed as he cocked his head.

"Will the cards not all be the same?" he asked.

Irwin snorted. "They will all be as good as I can make them, but each will be slightly different based on who I make it for."

"Can mine give me more strength?" Soot said, perking up. "Not as much as yours, but more than what Zan has!"

"That would mean you would have less fluidity," Irwin said, raising an eyebrow. "Less dodging and rolling."

"That's fine!" Soot said before blinking. "Wait! The question… what's the answer? It's the last, right? Because you have practiced more, and so the last one will be… make mine last!"

Irwin couldn't hold back his laughter at Soot's rapid change of pace. He shook his head as he ran his hand through his son's hair. He already knew that he'd cause a ton of trouble for him later on, far more than all others, with the possible exception of Glow and Mia.

"Don't worry. Each of your cards will be equally powerful, and I'll come and talk with you tomorrow to discuss what you would want," Irwin said, knowing it might not be completely true.

"But mine is last, right?" Soot said, doing an entire one-eighty, eyes wide.

"I hadn't planned on it, but alright," Irwin said, smiling widely. "Now, why do you want more strength?"

Soot was jumping up and down for joy, and Irwin had to ask the question a few more times.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "I want to fight with a really big sword," Soot said, his eyes gleaming. "Not as slow as you are, and not as wea-... err… fast and agile as Heatmother."

Was he just going to say that Scintilla is weak? Irwin thought, looking at his son and wondering what was going on in that burning head. Then he blinked. Wait… was he slow?

"How do you know how your mother and I move while fighting?" Irwin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Soot froze, then blinked sheepishly. "We watch you spar…?"

Although his eyes were wide and innocent, Irwin could see the gleam in them.

"You mean when you were supposed to be sleeping?" he asked, raising both eyebrows.

Soot took a step back, then pointed at the forrest. "What's that?"

Irwin blinked at Soot's blatant attempt to make him look away, but his son didn't seem to care that he was still looking and sprinted toward Earilla.

"Let's go back! Thanks, Dad! I'm looking forward to my card," he shouted, dashing past Earilla and vanishing into the woods.

Earilla gaped after him, then rubbed her face before waving at Irwin and giving chase.

"He- he definitely takes after his mother," Ambraz said through barely held-back laughter.

"Yeah," Irwin said, thinking about the stories Scintilla had told him about her youth. "You might be right with that."

"Well, let's continue," Irwin said, looking up with a frown. "I wonder where the Chaos Whales are…"

He resumed his singing, though a bit louder this time, and after what had to be half an hour, the first Chaos Whale finally showed up. It, like the others, had grown a lot since Irwin had started using their help with his daily reforges. Now easily twice the size it had been a few weeks ago, Irwin watched it glide toward him, letting out happy hums of soulforce resonance.

"Now, where have you been," Irwin muttered.

As he patted the rough hide, pictures of thick clouds of soulforce came from the Chaos Whale baby, and it took him a few moments to place them.

"You have been to the gas giant," Irwin said thoughtfully. "Are you going to stay there eventually?"

As he pondered that, a second Chaos Whale baby joined them, and he began his reforging.

--

"Are you worried?" Scintilla whispered as they watched Ti dash off after her siblings to catch them in what had become their customary game of chase after the next card was slotted.

"No," Irwin whispered back. "I knew that it would be unlikely that I'd be able to get them all the exact same card."

"But it bothers you that only Zan has a Unique?"

Irwin took a deep breath and exhaled explosively. "A little. I want to give them all the same opportunities, but it's not that easy."

"It never is, and it's fine," Scintilla said, punching him lightly in the chest. "As long as you love them all equally and try as hard as you can, there's nothing more you can do."

She tried to punch him again, and Irwin grabbed for her, catching only the fiery trail as she teleported backward and out of reach.

"Too slow!" she shouted, laughing as she chased after Mia.

Irwin grunted, watching all of his children, except for Soot, chase after each other. The boy was running toward him, a wide grin on his face.

"So, you are going to make my card next?" he asked, rubbing his hands with barely contained glee. "I can't wait till they see how strong I'll be."

Irwin snorted, shaking his head at his son's antics.

"Glow's card also has a bit more strength," he said, and when Soot's mouth fell open in shock, he grinned. "What? Did you think you would be the only one to ask something like that?"

Soot turned around and glared at Glow, who was roaring with laughter as he chased after Scintilla, almost catching her twice.

"Well, I'll just have to practice twice as hard," Soot muttered before turning to Irwin. "Are you starting tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I-"

Irwin felt and saw something rush from the shadow building toward them and stepped between it and his son, only for Greldo to stumble out of the shadows.

"You need to come!" his friend shouted, grabbing him.

Before Irwin could ask what was wrong, he felt himself being yanked into the shadowrealm. For a moment, he thought about resisting. Then he let himself be dragged through the shadows, across the wall, and through the woods. Greldo was moving as fast as Irwin had ever seen him do, and his worry grew instantly.

His otherself was filling in Ambraz, and he focused more on that.

"Perhaps they found something…?" Ambraz said.

Irwin thought for a moment, picturing the momentary flash of Greldo's face.

"No, he looked tired and upset," Irwin said, shaking his head. "But, if he only grabbed you and not the rest, it must be something we can handle."

Ambraz flew a few circles before landing on his shoulder. "Well, let's hope it's nothing time-consuming. Otherwise, Soot is going to get very upset."

"He will just have to wait," Irwin said, focusing on the part of him that was being dragged through the shadowrealm.

The trip lasted far longer than he had expected, as the forrest made way for jagged mountains, rolling hills, then ashy wastelands bordering what looked like a slope of flame and fire.

What felt like hours later, they were still moving along the side of the flames when Greldo came to a halting stop, ejecting both of them back into the real, very bright world.

They stood in a small band of shadows that ran along a ridge that seemed to continue in both directions for as far as Irwin could see. The temperature around him surged to those that rivaled any volcano he had ever been in, while the air smelled like dry ash mixed with toxic fumes.

Over the ridge, closer to the fiery wall, stood the group of Blademaidens that had gone with Zender, Greldo, and Dahlia. They were standing close together, looking anxiously at the flame wall, while four were holding Zender back. The young man's face was torn with worry, and the strained looks from the Blademaidens showed just how much effort they had to restrain him.

"What is going on?" Irwin shouted, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Captain! You have to help her. She went in and-" Zender shouted, turning to him and trying to rip free. With a nod from Irwin, the Blademaidens released his arms, and he surged forward.

"Calm down," Irwin ordered, using the commanding voice he had gained while captaining his ship.

Zender's mouth snapped shut, and he shuddered.

"One thing at a time," Irwin said. "Who is missing?"

"Ihrana," Zender said, his voice almost breaking. "She and the others went inside to explore, trying to locate a good place for our Embers."

"You still haven't found a place?" Irwin asked, frowning at that. They had been gone for weeks now!

"It's not as easy as we first thought," one of the Blademaidens said as she came closer, her hand gripped tightly around her sword handle. "We need a place that goes down into the ground, and then we need to scout it to make sure there's nothing dangerous there. It needs to be accessible to us and can't be too far into the fire."

Irwin nodded as Greldo moved beside him, drawing deep, ragged breaths.

"Grell?" Irwin asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine," his friend grunted. "The light is so bright… It's doing something to the shadows. They are weird: deeper and stronger somehow. It's incredibly hard to move in and out, though easier to travel through."

"Captain, Ihrana was inside with another group, and they were attacked," Zender shouted, drawing Irwin's attention back to him. He pointed to the side, and Irwin only now noticed that one of the Blademaidens lay on the ground, another kneeling beside her and fussing about her chest.

"Describe what happened," Irwin said, striding to the downed Blademaiden and looking at her. Her chest armor was ripped apart, and pale golden-orange blood oozed through the bandages that were wrapped tightly around it.

"It was big; we thought it was a hill first," she said, looking at him. Her eyes seemed to be having a hard time focusing. "Then it moved and stood on four legs."

"Coal was with them," Greldo muttered, sighing deeply. "He says it was some sort of hound, but it could have swallowed an entire apple cart."

"It moved so fast… if not for Coal, we would have all been dead," the Blademaiden said, blinking and rubbing her head.

"She's lost too much blood," the other Blademaiden hissed. "We need to get her back for healing!"

"Almost," Irwin said, focusing on the wounded Ignitzian. "What happened to the others?"

"I fire-dashed away just in time, but it moved through the fire in bursts," she muttered. "Got two of us before we knew what was going on. Ihrana and two others fled in the opposite direction, and it chased them…"

Irwin gritted his teeth.

"Coal is okay?" he asked, looking at Coal.

"He will be," Greldo muttered. "That thing bit his leg, nearly tore it off before he could get clear. Without shadows…"

"So he can't show me where it happened," Irwin said, turning to the wounded Igniztian.

The Blademaiden beside her shook her head immediately. "No way. She needs healing. If she moves in there, she won't live to bring you there."

Irwin frowned, his mind spinning as he tried to come up with a way to find the missing Ignitzians. He turned to Greldo.

"That hound, how strong was it?"

"It was its speed that was the main issue," Greldo said, cracking his neck. "Coal says it could teleport around constantly, and if it weren't so much bigger, it would have easily gotten them all."

"How did he get free?" Irwin asked.

"He bit the thing in its nose, causing it to let out a roar, spitting Coal a few hundred feet back," Greldo said with a grimace.

Irwin took a deep breath, then focused on the flames. It looked like an impenetrable wall, and his normal vision showed nothing but flickering flame. Focusing on the soulforce, he was surprised at how faint it actually was. He'd expected a torrent of fiery soulforce, but instead, it seemed clustered further inside. There were sound waves everywhere, clashing and colliding, and he knew that would make moving through even harder.

Seriously? A fire world should be the perfect thing for me and Ignitzians, he thought.

"Alright, how are we going to find her?" he asked.

"I can help," one of the Blademaidens said. "But you are really going back in?"

Irwin nodded, focusing on the Ignizian. She had shorter hair than usual, barely a few inches of bright red, with sparks of flame running through it, and a narrow face. Her eyes were pools of golden fire with pupils like dark red coals.

It took Irwin a few moments to remember her name.

"Sadita," he said. "If you can help me find them, we can see if we can assist."

"What about that giant dog?" she asked with a frown. "From what the others told me, their swords didn't do any damage, and all we have are those and fire attacks…"

"Let me test something," Irwin said as he walked to the wall of flame.

It roared and crackled as he reached it, and he wondered what it was even burning. Then he felt how much harder it was to breathe, and his eyebrows shot up.

Is it burning the air?

Hoping he could even breathe within the flame sea, he raised his hand and summoned his flame.

As soon as it appeared, it erupted into a five-foot swirling pillar of rotating dark and golden flames. A sense of hunger came from it as it tried to bend toward the wall of flame, and Irwin let it move there. The tip of the pillar fell toward the fire sea, and the flames it touched seemed to be pushed back or sucked away. Irwin felt a sense of incredible joy from his soulcard, and as he walked closer to the fire, he wreathed his body with it. The area around him immediately turned free of flame, creating an odd pocket with him in its center. His flame hummed contentedly, and curious, Irwin's other self looked at his heartcard. He almost expected it to be dripping with soulforce, but it wasn't.

"Okay, come with me and point me to where they are," Irwin said. "If we find that hound, I'll see how he likes having his heat sucked out of him."

There was no response, and he turned around to see the Ignizians staring at him, many with mouths hanging open.

"What are you doing?" Sadita whispered.

"I'm eating the fire's heat," Irwin said, raising an eyebrow. "Why? Scared?"

Sadita blinked, then let out a growling laugh. "By the flames of Aghos, never!" Still, as she moved beside him, Irwin saw her glance worriedly at the flames.

"They won't harm you," Irwin said, holding out his fire-wreathed hand.

Sadita stared at it, then clenched her jaw and grabbed his hand. When the fire touched her, nothing happened, and she let out a sigh of relief that was mirrored by many behind her.

"You are one crazy smith," she muttered.

Irwin nodded, turning to Greldo. "You are bringing her back?" he asked.

"I'll do my best," Greldo said with a grimace.

"Alright, bring Scintilla when you return. Her frost fire will probably help a lot in here."

"Dammit, I should have remembered that!" Greldo snapped, his head falling slightly.

"It's fine," Irwin said, turning to Zender, who looked ready to burst. "I'll find her."

Then he looked at Sadita. "Let's go."

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