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Irwin's Journey 391: What are Amnathair?
🕑 Added 2025-03-01 21:31:03 +0000 UTCIrwin was sitting in the large captain's quarters, dully staring at the wall. His giantself was asleep in his soulscape while images of what he'd seen played through his mind. Ambraz sat beside him, waiting patiently.
"The last ones I saw were images of the Titans," Irwin said, reliving the moment as best he could. "They were definitely more vivid but also short-- almost like a single moment in time. I saw how they appeared in a mountainy world, though there was already a sense of belonging to the image- I think it was their home world. Then images of cities being built, with unfamiliar architecture…"
Irwin hesitated as he tried to recall how they had gone from that into chaos space. Again, he couldn't recall a single portal anywhere.
"I'm not sure, but I think they just flew up through the clouds to get into chaos space," he said. "Anyway, there were a few images that suggest they were exploring other worlds. One of them had volcanoes everywhere, and it somehow had the same feeling as the first image I saw."
Irwin rubbed his head, slightly annoyed. Trying to recall all the images in order was giving him a headache. Ambraz didn't say anything, and after a few moments, he continued.
"Most images after that showed them fighting Oculithar, sometimes with the help of Neamhnathair and-" Irwin felt a name bubbling at the forefront of his mind. One he'd seen before. Seen on a thing that was his.
"Amnathair! The Titans were Amnathair," he said, but as he did, he realized it felt off. As if his instincts were telling him that wasn't the whole story. He knew Amnathair was one of the types he had on his latest heartcard, but somehow, he knew calling the Titans just Amnathair wasn't completely correct.
"No, not exactly… I don't know why the name isn't with the images or why it feels…" he muttered, more to himself than to Ambraz.
He scrambled for a word that would describe the sense he had while thinking about the images of the beings he'd come to think of as titans.
Because it's like calling everything that looks human, human, he thought, as he frowned.
"They are kin to Amnathair," he said, and this time it felt right. "Like calling Razorwings just birds, while they are Razorwings."
He stopped rambling and stared at the floor. The images of the Titans played through his mind like memories of a story he'd been told so vividly that it included images.
So what was he? Had he gone from being a Galladin human to some form of Firesteel Elemental that looked like a Fiz'rin, and now to something else again?
But I didn't change that much when I got the heartcard, he thought. Does that mean I'm going to change even more when it becomes a soulcard?
He wondered why the idea of changing into something so different wasn't scaring him. Why had it never been at the start? Even when he'd turned into his giant self, the only thing that really bothered him was the logistical problems.
His mind wandered, but he couldn't find a reason, and slowly, his thoughts drifted back to the memories of the Titans.
"Alright, kid," Ambraz said, ripping him back to reality. "And these were the last images? Of these titans and their world?"
Irwin shook himself awake, pushing away the memories and his worries about his own existence. Figuring out what he was becoming could wait for now.
"Yes. There were a few more images of battles and then the one showing the giant portal," he said, focusing back on the Ganvil.
Ambraz hummed thoughtfully. "And you say you have the feeling the order of the memories might be wrong?"
Irwin shrugged. "I'm not sure anymore. It was the feeling I had right after I got the memories, but I can't explain why anymore. Looking at them now, they seem to describe some story."
"They do, but don't forget that sense when you got them," Ambraz rumbled. "Ancestral memories are finicky things. Ganvils have some, but not anywhere as detailed as yours. From what Brazardian told me after waking up to mine, only the moment you get them truly matters. After that, they somehow become part of you."
"What were your's about?" Irwin asked, curious.
"It's a secret among my people," Ambraz said. "Most Ganvils don't even know because only the Progenies, those created by a Monarch, get them. Let's just say it shows the beginnings of our people in a not-so-flattering light."
Irwin's eyebrows rose high as he looked at his friend and wondered just how Ganvils had come to be.
"Now, let's focus on you for now," Ambraz said, not seeming intent on saying anything more.
"If we assume that part of the order is correct, then I'd say the image you saw of the being swimming through the lava is part of your ancestry, just much further away than what the Titans are. If we think back to the message on your card-"
Ambraz hummed before modulating his voice as if he were reading something aloud.
"An amalgamation of beings from eons past, this combination has resulted in a never before seen burgeoning heartskill. Bringing together the essences of beings whose power was based on size and condensing it down, the wielder of this card will forever become stronger with size.
~ For every type of skill, one must be the first. Well done, child of Yilda, on creating the first new sub-species soulforce resonance skill. ~ "
Irwin nodded thoughtfully. "An amalgamation… so you think I saw a bit from each of the beings my Essence of the Volcano Titan is based on?"
"Yes. Based on that card and its name, I'd say Amanathair is a species type, like what you said about the birds, and Titans belonged to that group," Ambraz said, only slightly hesitating." Then, you took part of what makes a titan a titan and something from that volcanic being and created a card that encompasses both… and probably more."
"More?" Irwin asked.
"It says an amalgamation of beings… that doesn't feel like it just means two, does it?"
Irwin frowned as he thought about the description. "You're right," he said. "That thing that added to the card also said I created a new sub-species?"
"No… it said a sub-species soulforce resonance skill," Ambraz said. "I think it's more that the subspecies already existed, but there had never been a soulforce skill for it."
Irwin quietly pondered that, and as he did, he recalled another idea he'd had months ago.
"So, what would happen if I create another card like that," he said. "A handcard?"
Ambraz shrank to his smaller size and began flying through the room. Ever since he'd ranked up to five, his small size had grown from being a thumb at its smallest to being the size of a fist, and the sound of his wings was a constant dull humming.
"You're right… perhaps it might get the Volcano Titan type if you try, but… I wonder."
Irwin waited as he felt Ambraz's presence through their connection go from calm to excited to confused.
When it finally ended in furious excitement, Irwin knew that Ambraz had come up with something important. He was proven right as Ambraz thudded down on the table before him and began talking excitedly.
"Kid! I think we should try creating some handcards as soon as we can, and depending on that, try the following… go into your soulscape and shatter one. Then, you need to hold the card together, and we are going to use the soulforce to forge a new handcard!"
"That's impossible," Irwin blurted before he could stop himself. Then he blinked. "Right? Handcards are too volatile, and they explode instead of just shattering…"
"Normally, yes," Ambraz said. "But with my improved shield… if you can fill up the barrier with a massive density of your own soulforce, and then we shatter it, I have the feeling it might give us a moment to reforge the card on a whole different level than what we usually do. Not up, or sideways, but… rebuilding it."
Irwin felt his own excitement grow rapidly, and with it came the realization that they had the perfect opportunity to try right now! There was no ship in his soulscape, no people. That meant that he could experiment, and even if he created another soulforce storm, it wouldn't harm anyone!
He was about to suggest it when there was a knock on the door, followed by Rindiri's voice.
"Captain, there's a group of people on deck requesting to see you."
Irwin grunted in annoyance. He'd been about to wake his giantself, but knew that if he was going to start trying what Ambraz had suggested, he'd need his entire double focus.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened, and Rindiri stepped inside.
"Sorry for distributing your rest, Captain."
"It's fine," Irwin said. "Who are here? The leaders, I presume?"
Maybe I can give them a few of those letters and send them on their way? he thought. He pushed the idea away. The letter wouldn't answer their questions about what had happened with the Oculithar, and he'd bet one of his few remaining bottles of Ignitzian Liquor that this was what they wanted to talk about.
"Captain Hyrmine came ahead of them, and she said they are the representatives of Urlar's Council of Shipwrights, the smith of the largest of the local Smiths Guild Chapters, and the leaders of the three largest tribes."
"Tribes?" Irwin asked.
"It's like a large collection of families that act like a guild," Rindiri said. "It's more common in some areas of the Portal Gallery. Captain Hyrmine said that one of them is the leader of her Ophiydez tribe."
"Great…" Irwin grunted. "Is she still here?"
"She is, but she's talking with one of the leaders of the Snaketribe people."
Irwin blinked and looked at Rindiri. "Snaketribe?"
"That's what they are called," Rindiri answered. "The tribes here horde body morphing cards that add snake-like attributes. As soon as their children can, they are handed one. Most have scales. I know of a few other worlds where they do the same with different cards."
"So they call themselves that?" Irwin asked, not wanting to accidentally use the term only to get angry responses. He'd about had enough of those by now.
"Yes, it's the accepted term."
"Alright. Anything on Greldo?" Irwin asked, hoping his friend would be back soon.
"The Nocturna is still hovering beside the dead Oculithar body."
"Alright, let them in then," Irwin said. "Bring Nisziz and Youritz with you, alright?"
Rindiri's eyes gleamed. "They are already waiting outside."
Irwin rolled his eyes and grinned. "Alright, let's hope this goes better than that talk with Aarth."
--
Terlo leaned back in his chair, sipping from his drink. He was glad he'd guessed right on the direction of Irwin and his crew, as it had meant he'd been able to wait for their arrival quietly and missed the Oculithar battle.
Now he was sitting in a small pub, listening to the people discuss what had happened. His attention was mainly focused on the two men who were discussing what they had seen from the deck of the Artriguul, the Portal Guardian class ship.
"I'm telling you that Fiz'rin is a smith," one of the crewmen, a stocky Granitian with pale gray, rocky skin, whispered. "He could manipulate fire, had some weird-ass instrument, and wore the same skirt my cousin does!"
"Ridiculous," the other crewmen, a dark-haired member of the Snaketribe, retorted. "Smith's aren't that powerful. Everyone knows that! They only focus on cards to enhance their card reforging. Besides, nearly all smiths were recalled! Why would one risk acting like some merchant?"
"How should I know," the other one said." Maybe he is trying to get cards now there are so few others around?"
Not a bad guess, Terlo thought. Now, continue with that previous part!
As if hearing his demand, the Snaketribe member sniffed before continuing in a low whisper.
"Well, whatever. Whoever he is, my niece told me that the tribe leaders went to talk to him, and they brought things from the treasury."
"Yeah, you said that," the other one whispered, his attention back on what Terlo wanted to hear." Do you think they are going to bribe him? Or ask him to reforge a card?"
Terlo did his best not to lean forward.
"I don't think he's a smith," the other one hissed.
Now, don't go arguing again, Terlo thought, only just holding back from glaring at the two.
"I think they are going to bribe him…"
The two crewmen shared knowing looks that were pissing Terlo off even more.
Bribe him about what?! he thought, as a vein on his temple started to throb.
Within a few seconds, he could see the two weren't going to go into detail and that if he wanted more information, he'd have to act. Taking a deep sigh, he put up his best, confident smile, grabbed his bottle, and slowly made his way to the table of the two men.
As he stepped to the side, the Granitian glared at him. Noticing that the Snaketribe member seemed mostly curious, he focused on him.
"Gentlemen," Terlo whispered conspiratorily. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying. I have this bottle here, and it's just too much for just me. Perhaps we could share it while you humor a few of my questions?"
As Terlo spoke, he let his soulcard's influence spread out, tampering with the soulforce resonance all around. It wouldn't work on anyone too strong, but the two before him clearly weren't. That meant that they should be more amiable to his sudden appearance.
The Snaketribe member reacted first, his frown turning into a knowing smile as he nodded and gestured at a free chair. His eyes flickered to the expensive bottle that Terlo had wanted to enjoy by himself. He hid his annoyance and sat down, quickly pouring the two a generous cup.
"You want to know about the merchants that showed up?" the Granitian asked, taking a careful sip before closing his eyes and sighing happily.
The rugged man's reactions actually made Terlo feel a little better. The man atleast had the decency to enjoy the expensive drink!
"That too," he whispered. "But I was wondering… I've been hearing rumors about bribes going around, but nobody seems to know much about it."
Normally, he would have been a bit more subtle, but Terlo didn't feel like sticking around the two crewmen. They had definitely not washed up after their shift, and they reeked of sweat and other things he didn't want to think about.
The Granitian frowned, and he could almost see him struggling against the influence. The Snaketribe member wasn't as tough, and he leaned forward.
"Every merchant that has arrived so far has been offered a deal to come here instead of heading to the other large cities. If they do so and ignore the requests of Suderfuix, they will be allowed preferential treatment when requesting ships or ship modifications," the Snaketribe member whispered, his eyes gleaming.
"Specifcialy Suderfuix?" Terlo asked, hiding his surprise only slightly.
"Yes," the Granitian rumbled as he finally seemed unable to resist Terlo's influence. "It's not just that. They also have to move their merchandise through Dismarintisa."
Terlo whistled appreciatively as he poured the two a bit more drink.
"How did you even figure this out?" he whispered.
"We've been stationed on the Atriguul for over a year now," the Snaketribe member whispered, grinning. "Guess where the tribe leaders and the merchants hold their meetings?"
Well, isn't that an interesting little detail, Terlo thought as he grinned at the two.
"Thanks so much! I love a good bit of rumor," he said, leaving the bottle on the table. "Why don't the two of you finish this? You've earned it."
"Very generous of you," the Granitian said as he quickly grabbed the bottle to top of his cup.
"Thank you," the Snaketribe member said, though he only had eyes for the bottle.
"No, no. Thank you two," Terlo whispered as he smiled and walked away.
As soon as he was out of sight, a predatory grin came to his face.
So, someone is preparing a merchant's war against Suderfuix? I wonder how much money this little nugget is worth, he thought as he wandered back to his house.
He completely forgot about his previous plan to figure out more about Irwin and the others as he began pondering, taking a quick trip back to Suderfuix. It would only take a few weeks to refill his soulcard after all!
--
"I'll think about it," Irwin said, keeping his face impassive while his mind reeled.
Why would they want us to stay away from Suderfuix…?
"That's all we ask," one of the leaders of the Snaketribes said.
Irwin nodded as he glanced at the pale, golden-skinned woman called Suein. With dark green, almost black hair pouring along the sides of her smiling face and her figure highlighted by the tight black, scale-covered dress that showed just a bit more than he thought was needed, he wondered if she was trying to seduce him or was always dressed like this. If she was trying to seduce him, she was in bad luck. Her thin lips and sharp features made him think of a bird of prey, ready to attack him, and the way she spoke was too slimy and reminded him of some of the less savory nobles he'd met during his travels.
He looked at the other four people in the room.
Beside Suien, sharing her couch but positioned as far from her as he could, sat a man who had introduced himself as Hisarlyl. His face was covered almost entirely in tiny blue scales, and he was dressed in a tight black suit that wasn't able to hide his muscular physique. He'd spoken very little, and his strong, calloused hands had occasionally moved to an empty spot on his hip when he'd glanced at Suien.
On the couch next to them sat the leader of the merchant guild, a brawny Granitian woman wearing short leather armor that left her left arm bare. Her right arm was gone, and all that remained was a twenty-inch stump wrapped in a black leather case. She'd yet to introduce herself, just like the Shipwrights leader, the only human in the room. With a gray peppered beard and warm brown eyes, the pressure of his three soulcards was the strongest of all those present, Irwin excluded, and he was smiling as he looked around the room.
The final guest was a Granitian as tall as Irwin, who had draped himself over an entire couch, eyes focused on Irwin. He'd only said his name, Bleak, after which he'd been content to let Suein do the talking.
"Now… are we done with the pleasantries?" Hisarlyl asked, almost glaring at Suein.
"Oh, Hisa, stop acting so atrocious," Suing said, her lips pursed in a tight line. "What must our guest think-"
"I don't care," Hisarlyl said, turning his gaze from her to Irwin. "You are powerful. My card-readers tell me you have only two soulcards and a heartcard, but your pressure is as much as a powerful four-soulcarded. What can I offer you to stay here and help guard Urlar from future Oculithar attacks?"
Irwin didn't instantly respond, examining the man.
If this had been the first time he'd spoken with the leaders of worlds, he might have been surprised at Hisarlyl's bluntness, but it wasn't. There had been others who'd asked him to stay somewhere, not the least of which was Guildmaster Joulihn back in Suderfuix.
"I am heading back home to my family," he said calmly.
Hisarlyl nodded as he rose to his feet. "Very well. Then I don't have any more time to waste here. Thank you for what you did, and-"
"You aren't going to ask if he's the one that led that monster here?" the kindly looking, brown-aired human asked.
Hisarlyl didn't react but bowed to Irwin. "If you have any combat-related cards that might be of help, please let me know. I'll offer you what I can for them."
Without waiting for a response, the man turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"For all of the tribes, let me off my apologies for his behavior," Suein said, her smile somewhat forced. "Hisarlyl feels very strongly, and for all his strength, he sadly lacks decorum and diplomacy."
"It's fine," Irwin said, looking at the brown-eyed human shipwright. "We did not draw anything here."
"I don't think you do," the man said, still smiling. "I had just expected Hisarlyl to ask, and I was surprised that he was just letting it go. He was one of those who agreed with Aarth."
"Davit, you haven't introduced yourself yet…" Suien said, shaking her head.
"Ah, my apologies," the man said, his eyes lighting up. "My name is Davitsin. I am the current spokesperson of the Shipwright Guild."
He seemed ready to continue, but Suein cleared her throat delicately while staring at the one-armed merchant.
"Oh, don't mind me," the woman said, her voice husky and deep. "I'll just wait till you are all done and gone to have some proper discussions with my fellow merchants."
She smiled at Suein before looking at Youritz, Rindiri, and Nisziz. Her gaze seemed to linger on Nisziz before she focused back on Irwin, showing no intent to continue.
"Fine…" Suein said, sounding slightly pained, turning to Irwin. "Could you perhaps explain to me why I got a warning message a few weeks ago to look out for a… merchant called Irwin and provide him with all the support he could require?"
Irwin was finally startled out of his calm, focusing his full attention on Suein. Besides getting a message of his arrival, she'd clearly hesitated at merchant, enough to make it clear to the others. Did she know who he was?
"That depends on who sent you the message," he said slowly.
"My niece, who is a topaz-rank smith on Suderfuix," Suein said, looking straight at him.
"Then I have an idea why," Irwin said.
It took a few moments before Suein seemed to realize he wasn't going to continue.
"Ah… then perhaps we can discuss this in private later?" she asked, her voice slightly forced.
Irwin would prefer to say no, but he also didn't feel like her exposing him being a smith. He was getting enough attention, as it were, and he'd prefer to keep that to himself.
Sadly, someone else seemed to think differently.
"Mannn, are we seriously going to do this?" a cracked, rugged voice snapped in as Bleak put one of his legs over the other. "Okay, I am not here to waste that much time. You-" he pointed at Irwin. "-are a smith, and I'm here because the Guildmistress asked me to provide you with support and advice if you would arrive here. Seeing as you are, let me start by saying there's no need to keep it a secret. Everyone in this room, except for Davit, probably already knows, and Davitsin would have figured it out within half a day."
Irwin put his hand on his neck and cracked it to relieve a little bit of tension while staring at the other smith.
Comments
Not Me
Thanks for the explanation. So Galadin are humans, soulskills and card slots are mutually exclusive (because card slots are, in essence, a soulskill), and our source of card slots is in fact a third species that is somehow cross-compatible. I guess that sort of brings up the question - to what extent is an ability a soulskill vs a natural ability? Irwin has to spend several cards to mimic a Firzin's appearance, strength, physical resilience, and natural heat and metallic traits. Other Galadin humans seem to have a significant soulforce sensitivity advantage over other humans. And Yuurindi seem to need strength and soulforce stability upgrades to match a typical human. Yet they're all card-slotting beings without a separate soulskill, which suggests that there's likely a significant degree to which people can possess abilities and power without using cards. Or alternatively, they do have some other minor soulskill in play that is picking up the slack, so to speak. Does that mean that Irwin can cast some of his card passives into his genetics and non-carded being, spreading it to his descendants and freeing up some of his card space for new cards? Or that he's going to hit an endgame "wall" of sorts where whatever non-card soul-based passives slot his growth sooner than they would slow other humans (but later than they'd slow more naturally enhanced species)?
Antony Claughton
I don’t think it had been hinted at that the progenitor race of the hand card original race were/are in this branch. Frankly, given how long ago the Guildar/Galadin war was and how long it’s taken the Guildar to get here I assumed those early events all happened far far away.
Carrarn
I wish I could answer, but that will have to wait for after today's chapter ^_^
Carrarn
So, that's an interesting discussion to have, as to give you the full answer would give away a few to many little secrets we aren't ready for. So, I'll answer with what's either been said, or which I tried to imply. The Galadin Empire (Galladin is misspelling on my part) was an empire of humans, one of the many species in the Portal Gallery. Like every being found so far, they were born with an innate soulskill, soulforce skill, or ability - the name back then depended on where you would be in the Portal Gallery. There were other human-like races, and many that were more like elementals, monsters, plants, etc. I'll skip most of the Guidar war, but what's important is that at the start of that very long war, the people of the Portal Galery Aliance had only one soulskill, and although cards already existed, they where called crystalized soulskill remnants. The guidar were winning, because they could use more than one ability, and the Galadin eventually found a race in the area of the Portal Galery the story takes part in, that had a very special soulskill. Their soulskill were the sockets that allowed them to slot the remnants. I'll skim over the details of how for now, but with existing soulskills, the Galadin interbred with these people. Their initial idea had been to hope they could breed powerful warriors, but what they found was that any single being that was somehow descendant from these still unnamed people, would gain the soulskill - cardslots. From that point on, things just proliferated as the galadin and their allies rapidly began spreading this ability. So, all species you read about now that have this ability are from that time. All the species that don't found their exitportals later. The knowledge about the origin of the soulskill - cardslots is mostly lost in time, so Irwin and his people are one of the few that actually realize this. So- long answer but, Galadins aren't the source of the cardslots, that mysterious species long ago was. Amnathair didn't have cardslots, however cardslots aren't the only soulskill to allow gaining more than one soulskill. They are just the most versatile found so far. Does this help any?
Antony Claughton
Gustavo, definitely if my family were in a secret location and it was imperative nobody finds out where his world is. I’d make the time to neutralise a suspected threat over theoretical what-ifs. As it is he’s leaving a huge trail, which may point one direction. It isn’t clear if they’re bouncing around to find Yuurindi (or break a trail).
Antony Claughton
My memory Galadin didn’t have hand cards. They originally just had a soul ability, but it was powerful enough to make them an empire. They then met the Guildar and were losing because the Guildar had two (or more) soul abilities. The Galadin then went searching for solutions to losing the war and found the hand carded on a planet, and somehow incorporated the ability. They then defeated or blocked the Guildar, and started an even bigger empire. They then got complacent. At some stage they started being attacked by Guildar via proxy/portals, with many worlds destroyed. As a result they were split up. Some Galadin found places to hide, which were subsequently found and either destroyed or went on the run again. Some spread and interbred passing on the ability to have hand cards and smith, just much diluted. The Guildar don’t seem to have targeted these groups. The people of Giard were (mostly) pure Galadin who were therefore still targets. They were one of the groups who’d tried hiding multiple times. They’d gone primitive to try and hide. They were being watched by that Galadin in the library who used soul clones. As pure Giladians they have the much greater ability to be smiths and sense soulforce. It’s a little unclear now if they’re Guildar did find them, or the world they were joined to used Giard as a farming world and it had reached its expiry date.
Albert Benny Oliyakkattil
Tftc!
Not Me
Definitely a little weird, although I wouldn't be surprised if the card had some sort of persistent or targeted forget power. Having a lot of soulforce seems like a bit of a catch-all defense to forceful attacks, but I bet there's some focused effects that leech off their target's soulforce or integrate with untasked soulforce or just inflict a brain-targeted removal that doesn't even touch the soul. There's probably tons of chemicals that can reduce stress or focus or long-term memory formation - honestly sounds a little like a 420 card.
Gustavo Claude
If you are in a hurry travel back to your family, worrying about the dangers they are facing, could you wait until discover the truth about a possibility, while there are a lot of other established sources of danger to you, your crew and your home planet and family?
Not Me
Thanks for the chapter! With all this discussion around Amanthair-oids, I'm kind of intrigued to figure out how the cards and species and whatnot interact. The defining trait of Galadin (Or "Galladin"? It's "Galadin" on RR) is their card slotting, with some additional benefits to card sensitivity. The card slotting seems like more or less all the settled peoples in our branch of the Portal Gallery can do so, so it stands to reason that everyone is at least partially Galadin. The Nyzir, Frozir, Imps, Galubs, etc. have soulskills instead and are clearly not of Galadin lineage. "Soulskill" feels a bit too similar to "Soulcard" and could probably be something like "Inherent skill" or some other name, but I digress. It seems like the Galadin were some wildly intercompatible species that either shaped themselves with cards to be physically compatible with the species they wanted to interbreed with, kind of like what Irwin has done, or they were capable of having fertile offspring across species lines, and probably could have produced Galadin sheep should they have chosen to. Or stranger yet, they could have been a symbiote that reproduced within other species, independent of species - kind of like how mitochondria were once separate organisms that were absorbed by eukaryotes, the whole card system could have been a separate organism that was absorbed by and reproduced within humanoid bodies. What's not entirely clear is what relation humans and in particular the humans of Giard have to Galadin. It seems like the Galadin were humanoid from their interbreeding with the Ignizians, but that doesn't necessarily make them human. And what made the people of Giard a special target for advance portal invasion while all the other card-wielding people seemed to just have business as normal? Clearly being "kind of Galadin" didn't warrant special targeting, and other evidence points towards the people of Giard being more Galadin. But being "kind of human" also didn't seem to warrant special targeting, so it seems very plausible that the Galadin were not meaningfully more human than they were any other humanoid. In the way that Galadin-influenced humanoids are a sort of supergroup, could Amanthair-oids be another one, with certain shared abilities (probably around being big and moving soulforce) granted by some other common ancestor? And is it at all possible for Irwin to synthesize or duplicate, integrate, and maybe even pass on these abilities?
Adunn
It’s weird to me that Irwyn knows he’s being followed but really isn’t putting that much effort into finding out who it is. I straight up wouldn’t be continuing my journey until I’d dealt with the problem.
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter! :-)
Carrarn
Thanks to everyone who put up a review or rating! It pushed me even further than I was before, and for the first time one of my stories managed to get into the top 500 stories on RR. Really motivating!
