Chapter 153: Birth of a heartcard
Irwin held his breath as he saw the hammer slowly descend and tap the cards. A vibration rippled out, visible in the heat as any edges became wavy lines, then a new cardslot appeared in the air above Crithann's hands.
"The slot looks empty; however, don't be tricked," Lord Urdwellan spoke, his voice so loud it almost hurt Irwin's ears. "The cards have already influenced it, limiting the slot to the maximum resonance of these combined cards."
Irwin nodded, then realized Lord Urdwellan couldn't see. He kept quiet, though, worried that anything he said might interfere with and jeopardize the heartcard forging.
A crackle of energy came from the card, drawing his attention. His own cards were trying to resonate along with whatever Lord Urdwellan was doing, and as he focused on the sensation, he realized energy was pouring into the empty cardslot.
"The first step is to fill the card. The energy it requires depends on a great many things, ranging from the quality and height of the cards to the desired outcome. However, it's a safe bet that if you use brute force, like me, you will need roughly the same amount of energy as all the cards hold together."
Irwin grimaced. That means if you want to help someone else, you need to have more energy than them, he thought.
"The more skilled you are, the more finesse you have, the less energy you need," Ambraz whispered in his ears. "You are not on a path that requires mere brute force."
Irwin nodded as he watched the cardslot crackle with green bolts of energy. The sensation was both intoxicating and scary, as the sea of energy pushed inside felt already far more than he had. The process lasted for a long time, but he barely noticed.
"Now, with the cardslot supplied with energy, we begin the difficult task," Lord Urdwellan said, and Irwin felt a deep vibration coming from the smith. "From this moment, I won't be able to speak, so watch and learn!"
Crithann's cards began vibrating, and two sets of melodies, multifaceted hums, echoed out. Irwin instantly recognized them to be the resonance of Crithann's cards, and as he listened and felt, he noticed that both sets were similar, but not quite. The tune of the left fullhand gave off a happy, joyful exuberance, while the other felt more melancholic. There was also a tiny bit of dissonance in the right hand, as if one of the cards wasn't perfectly in line with the others.
For a second, Irwin feared it was the ruby card he'd reforged, that it was his incompetence. Then the resonance became clearer, and he realized it was the middle, second card.
"There's something wrong with that second card," he whispered.