During his time in House Blacksilver, Theo had been called upon to do a wide variety of tasks for the sake of the House. Frequently killing demons or some other errand that only soulcrafters could perform, or occasionally using his expertise to help their officials. This was the first time he had been summoned in secret along with a large number of Archcrafters and Rulers.

Two of Blacksilver's three Authorities stood at the head of the room.

"Some of you I've helped," Dhan said without preamble. "Some of you will be journeying with me to the Chasm of Lamentations. Some are merely loyal to House Blacksilver. Today, all of you will be assisting me. I would thank you, but I would prefer to do so after we've been successful. I will leave the rest of the explanations to Janne, because I need to prepare myself."

Dhan pulled down his mask and turned away, though he walked into the room behind them instead of characteristically vanishing. Theo realized belatedly that he wasn't expelling any cantae, as if he needed to conserve it. Meanwhile, Janne pulled back her floppy hood enough to see and walked to the head of the group.

"In preparation for the Chasm," she said softly, "Dhan will be harvesting a sublime material known as a dewfossil."

At his side, Fiyu pulled on his sleeve for an explanation, but Theo saw uncertainty or disbelief on the faces of many others. He glanced to Nauda, who shrugged, and fortunately Janne noted the widespread surprise and explained.

"They aren't a children's tale. Under certain conditions, liquid power from the depths of the Fithan oceans can become concentrated on land. However, it is difficult to extract this sublime material, and completely impossible to store it outside a soulhome. We have learned the location of one dewfossil, so we must act quickly. It will require Dhan's full concentration to absorb the material, leaving the rest of us to defend him."

"Against what?" a Fithan ruler asked.

"Distractions of any kind. It is possible that demons will be drawn in, though not certain. The dewfossil is located outside of Norro Yorthin's territory, so other Ruling Cities may also attempt to extract it. Your presence may be unnecessary, but the dewfossil would be lethal to anyone beneath Authority, so opposition is more likely."

With the stakes established, the other soulcrafters became absorbed in the rest of the briefing. Theo hadn't heard of dewfossils in particular, but there were countless sublime materials. If House Blacksilver was willing to dedicate so many resources to the harvesting, it must be valuable. His only question was whether it was a sublime material to make a stronger Authority... or one that might help Dhan ascend to become Blacksilver's first ever Stronghold.

As for the sublime material itself, it allegedly sat in a region between cities with unusual verticality. Great spires rose for half a mile and plunged even further through vast caverns underneath. Though the dewfossil was most likely to be near the top of one, the detection was imprecise, so they would also be working as a search party. Janne emphasized repeatedly that none of them should attempt to harvest the sublime material themselves.

Once, Theo would have tried to make plans to steal it for himself. Now it no longer seemed so weak to do something to assist others, but those thoughts distracted him from his purpose.

He expected to have time to confer with Nauda and Fiyu, but their group began moving as soon as they were done discussing the plan. Though they were all transported by weirkey, a few at a time, some took Fithan chariots with them. Presumably they intended to begin with stealth but escalate soon.

When it came time for their turn, Janne spoke from behind them. "Normally, you would not be brought along on such an assignment. But unless you can compete here, you cannot serve House Blacksilver in the Chasm."

Before they could respond, they were torn away from Fithe. Unlike most trips between worlds, they didn't dip through a transcendent threshold, they drowned in it. For a time beyond time, they were carried through the raging empty chaos between worlds. It would have been completely disorienting if he hadn't experienced it before, using a pair of weirkeys to move toward another world, then curve back to Fithe and enter at a different point.

They arrived and he immediately braced himself, checking in all directions for an ambush. Yet it seemed that they had successfully arrived in secret, nothing but wind whistling around the spires. Ignoring the landscape for the moment, Theo instead bent down beside his companions to be sure the trip hadn't harmed them. Nauda was on one knee rubbing her forehead, already recovering, while Fiyu shrank in on herself, displeased but clearly functional.

"Is returning to the same world always like that?" Nauda asked. "What a glorious gift weirkeys are."

"It's not so bad once you're an Authority." Theo helped her up and examined his surroundings more carefully.

They stood atop the only flat outcropping of stone that he could see, surrounded by spiraling stone pillars. His first thought was incongruous: they reminded him of disturbing drill bits, yet the worn stone appeared completely natural. Spires thrust into the sky at many different heights, and when he moved to the edge of the outcropping, he saw them plunge into the dusty earth below. He could barely see cavern entrances beneath the dust clouds, but this far up, the sky was remarkably clear.

"What curious structures." Fiyu had her head down, presumably examining them with her primary sense. "I do not believe they were made by human hands."

"When I asked, they said something about wind erosion." Nauda rubbed her head one last time and then stamped her staff against the ground as if to refocus. "The whirlwinds that create them are supposed to be quite dangerous, but they might be the least of our worries."

As Theo examined the region, he thought he could see the dust being drawn into unnatural spirals of wind. At least, unnatural as far as he understood the laws of airflow, which were no doubt different here. Whatever the reason, Nauda was right: they needed to focus on their task.

Other Archcrafters from House Blacksilver were moving the chariots into shadowed positions not visible from the air, while Rulers spread out to begin searching. Most likely none of them would find it: Dhan was currently meditating atop one of the spires, while Janne waited in reserve.

At two points during the search they encountered small groups of demons, but the Ruler-tier soulcrafters crushed them so quickly that they barely made a sound. They moved as a unified team, nothing like the incompetent volunteer squads outside Norro Yorthin. Theo didn't even bother to participate, conserving his cantae for a greater threat. If he made any difference in a larger battle, it would no doubt be via his singularity, and with so many allies around, he would need precise control.

Eventually Dhan located the the dewfossil in a cave atop one of the spires. Theo had been shadowing him and caught a glimpse of it: sand flowed like water within a sphere embedded in the wall. For all the sublime material's obvious potency, it was also immensely fragile, its contradictory nature threatening to fracture with the slightest disruption.

While Dhan sat down beside the wall, preparing to draw the dewfossil into his soulhome, Janne built wards around him, slowly pushing the rest of the group out. He didn't blame her, because a small lapse in concentration could turn the dewfossil into nearly useless sand. Even at his peak, Theo would have needed to pay attention to harvest such a sublime material.

Outside the cavern, they set up guard positions that didn't make it obvious which spire held the dewfossil. A good policy, but as Theo watched Janne, he began to doubt it was simple caution. She didn't just anticipate a challenge, there was a good reason to believe in a greater threat.

"Is that natural?" Nauda spotted it first, shielding her eyes and staring past the spires. Not long after, Theo was able to pick out a large chariot at the center of a whirlwind, moving toward them at great speed. There were several Fithan soulcrafters on board, their soulhomes too guarded to determine anything at a distance.

As they drew closer, more of the Blacksilver soulcrafters took up positions with cover. Theo spent more time focusing in other directions, just in case the obvious chariot was only a ploy. His sense of gravity wasn't perfectly tuned, but the chariot was the only significant source of mass in the wasteland around.

When the chariot came into sight, Theo saw that it was formed from bright blue stone, quite unlike the chariots in Norro Yorthin. Without so much as a word, one of the Blacksilver Rulers unleashed a huge gout of flame that consumed the chariot. As it faded, a bright sphere glimmered in the burning wisps, then exploded outward in a blinding flash.

"This region and all sublime materials within it belong to Lasaa Anklon!" As the chariot came to a halt, one of the enemy Rulers stepped up onto the side.

"No one has claimed this land," one of the Blacksilver Rulers responded. "Let us conduct our business and we'll depart in peace."

"Having stolen what is rightfully ours!"

Without warning, a second Ruler hurled a lance of blue flame from the chariot, aiming for one of the spirals. Not the one containing Dhan, but troublingly close. Another Blacksilver soulcrafter appeared from around the side of another spiral and knocked it out of the air, but as it sheared through the pillars below, Theo winced.

The wards around Dhan would no doubt hold, but Rulers might be able to distract him from his task. The Blacksilver soulcrafters outnumbered the representatives of Lasaa Anklon, but if a brawl broke out, the collateral damage might well prevent either side from attaining victory. Theo would use his singularity if his life was threatened, but that would only exacerbate the problem. Where was Janne while the tension ratcheted up?

"Look, it's obvious that you've located sublime resources we missed." One of the enemy Rulers spread his arms in a facsimile of reasonableness, but he kept his cantae on full alert. "We both represent noble Houses from Ruling Cities. Let's not allow our battle to damage the rewards. Let's arrange a method to decide the battle without collateral damage. Perhaps a series of duels between-"

"Agreed." Janne appeared in the air behind the chariot, without any dramatic flash of cantae. Yet a moment later the chariot crumbled to ash and the foreign soulcrafters plummeted.

They didn't get far before the Authority's cantae seized them. The Rulers might have been able to inconvenience or distract Janne, but taken so off guard, they were completely helpless. She raised a robe-swaddled arm toward the hovering group, as if considering what to do with them, but then lowered them to the outcropping.

"Okay, that's contest enough." One of the Rulers managed to resist the cantae pressure, but didn't attempt to fight back. In fact, the man's laughter seemed to be authentic as he raised his hands in surrender. "Is there really something so important that it's worth bringing one of your Authorities?"

"Lasaa Anklon is a respected ally." Janne floated down beside him, arms disappearing back into her robes. "But we cannot trust you. If you do not attempt to fight, you will be released when our work is done."

"I suppose we can't complain about the offer. And what House do you represent?"

Instead of answering, Janne turned sharply to look toward the north. Theo couldn't see anything with his eyes or his senses, so instinctively looked back to the others. Nauda was peering in the same direction, clearly futilely, while Fiyu slowly frowned.

"Ambush positions!" Janne called out the command and then dropped over the edge of the outcropping, pulling all of the foreign soulcrafters with her. Though Theo still hadn't seen the source of the concern, he hurried to get into a secure position.

Not long after, he stood on one of the curves of a nearby spire, tucked into a smaller twist. It was just large enough for the three of them, given Fiyu's need for space. She looked increasingly troubled as her senses focused north, but had yet to explain anything.

Then Theo finally saw the dust. Not a line but a wave, cresting over the ordinary storms as an entire force advanced on their position.

His gravity senses counted a full ten chariots, each filled with a number of soulcrafters. As they drew closer, he was able to make out more details. All of the chariots were formed from the same featureless gray stone, identical except for the fact that two were larger models of the same mold. The soulcrafters riding them wore gray armor, what felt like a relatively cheap armament but still notable for being so ubiquitous.

"Nauda..." Fiyu paused to clear her throat. "Do you know what this army is?"

"I'm not sure, but we can try to find out more." Nauda reached back to her and also gripped Theo's wrist. He relaxed his soul and let her use her telescope, even though he hadn't expected that it could give them a glimpse of soulhomes so far away.

It must have improved, because he soon found his spirit floating above a soulhome. Though only a single story, it still made him pause, because it was a rectangle of unrelieved gray stone. No windows, just arrow slits at regular intervals. The edges of the top cut off at a sharp angle, leaving the top covered in smaller rectangular structures.

Something shifted in his spirit and Theo thought they'd moved to the other side of the soul... until he realized that they were looking at an entirely different soulhome. The foundational dust was a slightly different hue, but the stone structure was practically identical. Nauda's spirit brushed against his and they shifted to another soulhome, this one with two floors. Instead of even stones, it had a completely smooth surface, as if the building was covered in concrete.

"What is this?" Nauda breathed. Theo couldn't truly touch her as a spirit, but brushed his hand through her arm.

"Don't worry about that. Try to count their soulcrafters' tiers bef-"

Overwhelming cantae washed over them and Theo felt as if he was torn apart before he abruptly returned to his physical body. Nauda's technique hadn't taken long, but the line of chariots had come much closer. She was currently holding her head and wincing, but Theo thought that their spirits had simply been rebuffed, not harmed.

It was less comforting to realize that it had probably been an Authority.

"Could it be the Asplundat Movement?" Nauda asked them the question, but they only stared back at her and she frowned. "Don't you talk to anyone? I don't know the details, but it's a major power on this continent. Surely you know them, Theo."

He opened his mouth, realizing how easy it would be to lie. Just given his knowledge of soulcrafting, he could have feigned a great deal, but instead he spoke tersely. "The name sounds familiar, but I thought it was local politics. Given the army they can field, they must be a major power, not a single House."

"But... their soulhomes... that can't be natural, can it?"

"No, I've seen it before. Both designs like that and the uniformity. Maybe this Asplundat only has a few types of sublime materials, maybe they just force all their soulcrafters to follow the same blueprints. Either way, I think we need to follow Blacksilver's lead on this."

From their position, most of the others were hidden, but Theo could barely see a few Archcrafters. They tried to keep their cantae low, but their postures spoke of obvious stress. More important than their fear might be the fact that Janne had moved them to the northern side of the spire field, to try to intercept the enemies before they could reach Dhan's position.

When the line of chariots reached the edge of the spiral field, just beyond ambush range, it halted. One soulcrafter rose from a chariot, dressed in similar gray armor to all the others but bearing an Authority's cantae.

"This region has been claimed by the Asplundat Movement. Depart or be removed." The words echoed through the entire field of spires and the Blacksilver soulcrafters Theo could see looked grim. He set them out of mind and focused on the enemy forces, because he didn't think this encounter would resolve amicably.

"We are conducting a peaceful exercise." Janne rose from below with a flat expression on her face. "This is neutral land, so if you strike us, you are committing the Asplundat Movement to war."

"No stalling." The enemy Authority raised a hand and began gathering cantae. "Stop harvesting the dewfossil immediately or we will consider it an act of aggression."

"You have no right t-"

A lightning bolt of cantae struck one of the spirals, turning it into a column of molten stone. Two soulcrafters who had been hiding there screamed, but not for long before the raw magma consumed them.

Theo could see exactly what was going to happen, but he was hopelessly slow compared to Authorities. Another bolt flashed downward... but Janne moved ahead of it, ash joining the swirling winds and somehow redirecting its path. One of the chariots on the wings of the Asplundat line exploded, scattering soulcrafters.

Several more bolts crackled out, and briefly it seemed like Janne had the upper hand. None of them hit any of the Blacksilver positions, and while they didn't curve back as effectively as the first, many flashed close to the enemy chariots. But after only a few bolts, while the other soulcrafters were just beginning to move, the Authority appeared beside Janne, striking a blow that sent her smashing through one of the lower spires.

As she disappeared into the dust storms and silence descended over the battlefield, Theo realized that it was even worse: the first Authority still hovered by the chariots. The Asplundat Movement had sent two.

Blacksilver soulcrafters began releasing cantae toward the enemy, but it was all absorbed by a broad gray shield. It flickered down a moment later, allowing the lesser Asplundat soulcrafters to unleash their own barrage. Not the most elegant technique, but effective in such broad battles, giving them an overwhelming advantage. Theo stood still, not wasting his cantae but unsure when he would have a chance to act.

Two vast hands of ash emerged from the dust storm, wrapping around the enemy Authorities. They drew on their full cantae and shattered free, but moments later were under assault by thin ash lances. When one tried another bolt, it bent fiercely, almost striking the other Authority.

The two Authorities moved in sync, planning to locate and overwhelm Janne... only for one of them to be struck by several huge gouts of flame from the side. Though the Authority resisted them with another gray shell, he was pushed far from the main battle and looked up in grim surprise.

Those attacks hadn't come from any of the Blacksilver positions. A moment later, the chariot from Lasaa Anklon burst from the dust, their Rulers aggressively barraging the Authority while their other soulcrafters spread out. "You can pay us back later, Norro Yorthin!" one of them called, then the battle scattered in every direction.

Several enemy soulcrafters left their chariots to leap in Theo's direction, but Fiyu reacted first, hitting a broad swath of them with a hailstorm of light. Many Archcrafters fell, their armor smoking, though some of them used a technique to draw themselves through the air to one of the spires.

A Ruler plunged through, his more durable armor shrugging off the bolts, only to be caught by Nauda's staff. She didn't try to bind him long, just hurled him backward into one of the chariots, spilling its occupants into the spires.

Though Theo held back to analyze the enemy, it didn't require much time. The Asplundat soulcrafters clearly followed rigid blueprints, each using identical gray cantae bolts and armor. Their first tier soulcrafters were helpless and never should have been brought to this battlefield, while their Archcrafters had some sort of movement technique. He wasn't as sure of the Rulers, other than that they appeared to have stone blocks forming over their hands that could destroy cantae.

None of it would be particularly effective against gravity. Theo cast a field over a large portion of the group, hitting them with over ten times normal gravity and sending them plummeting into the dust clouds. Some of the Archcrafters cast cantae to spires and bound themselves there, but they still dangled, struggling against the vastly increased gravity.

That was when one of the Asplundat Authorities glanced in his direction.

Even though he had been expecting it and tried to move immediately, Theo almost wasn't fast enough. Nauda grabbed his shoulder and pulled him aside. The next thing he knew, he was sailing backward, watching the spire where they had stood dissolving into molten stone. Fiyu sailed alongside them, but they had barely landed on another spire before they needed to leap again.

Soon after, Janne emerged from below in a sphere of ash, blocking enemy Authority action. Theo began using more carefully targeted gravitational fields, but he kept his eye on the main battle raging overhead. It wasn't going well.

Janne might be stronger than her Asplundat opponents, but she wasn't strong enough to fight both. They were boring but powerful fighters, coordinating their actions with rigid precision. If the two had been alone, the Blacksilver Rulers might have been able to distract enough for Janne to regain the upper hand, but as the battle continued, it became obvious how it would end. It seemed that the Asplundat Movement didn't want to destroy the dewfossil, otherwise they might already have won.

"Enough!" one of the Authorities boomed over the battlefield, and in the time everyone flinched, they saw what had happened and hesitated.

Though a great many of the Asplundat soulcrafters had fallen below or been scattered, their Authorities stood firm. One hovered over their grand chariot, casting her presence over the entire battlefield, while the other stood atop a spire... binding Janne in a circle of lightning.

"Your Authority has been bested," the woman continued. "The Asplundat Movement takes no pleasure in killing anyone. If you retreat, you will be allowed to live your lives, or join the Movement in the future. If you continue resisting, we will begin executing one of your weaker soulcrafters every minute until you comply."

"That's not very nice," Tythes said from behind her.

The battlefield had already been frozen, but now surprise overtook shock. Without anyone noticing, Tythes had somehow moved directly behind the enemy Authority. There was no reason for the House Crimson Authority to be present, and Theo had actually been hoping not to run into the rogue power after his duel. Yet here he was.

"Just who are you?" The enemy Authority turned to him, cantae blazing, but Tythes didn't back away.

"I was just taking a walk." He took a long drink from a wine skin, then tossed it to the side idly. "So who are you? What's going on here?"

"The Asplundat Movement will not tolerate this farce of a-" Tythes cut her off by falling forward, slamming his forehead into her nose. She flinched backward and he continued falling, a strange flipping movement that took him heels over head so that his feet struck her directly in the face.

As bizarre and sloppy as the movement looked, it sent the Authority sailing back through the sky. An instant later, cantae surged below... and Theo caught a glimpse of the wine skin Tythes had tossed before it exploded just beside the other enemy Authority. The man fell backward, his shield smoking, and in that time Janne broke free of the lightning surrounding her. A wave of ash swept in all directions, driving back the enemy soulcrafters and incinerating several of the chariots.

Clearly, Tythes's apparent apathy had disguised a well-planned entrance. Yet there was something strange about his movements... he had an Authority's cantae, unquestionably, yet Theo felt certain that there was some deep instability in his soulhome...

"Blacksilver!" Janne's voice rang over the battlefield before the combat could resume. "Retreat to the caverns, defend the dewfossil!"

A few stared at her stupidly, but Theo understood: she wanted to reduce the casualties among lower tier soulcrafters while misdirecting the Authorities. Given that it was now two against two, Theo was willing to leave it to them and avoid being instantly killed by a stray attack. Since some of the Blacksilver Rulers were already descending, Theo gestured for the others to jump after him.

They plummeted straight down for a time before he cast a gravitational field around them, slowing their pace as they entered the dust. Though it was more difficult to see, he could still make out the mouth of a large cavern. Since the other Blacksilver soulcrafters appeared to be entering it, forming cantae lights, it appeared that they were making their stand there.

When they fell into the darkness, Theo reduced their momentum to land lightly in the cavern. It appeared ordinary enough, so he retreated from the entrance and began preparing. Enemy soulcrafters would soon be swarming to their position, and though they might not be Authorities, Rulers were still enough to overpower him.

Unless he was ready. Theo raised his hands in front of his chest and began preparing a singularity.