With two major sublime materials acquired, Theo left behind polishing and carving tasks to focus on essential work. Refinements to a given room made the difference between a mediocre soulcrafter and an excellent one, but having functional rooms would make the difference between life and death in the coming duel.

The trenchgem had been a valuable find, the question was where best to place it. His design was for each new material to be placed on top of a technique chamber on the first floor, with vents in between for cantae flow, but in this case the ideal path wasn't clear. He'd settled for placing it above his chamber that generated anti-mass, because resisting pressure was more similar to that than any of the other options.

Even completed, the trenchgem chamber on its own had little effect, perhaps increasing his defenses against pressure, but when its cantae flowed down to the chamber below, it made his anti-mass skill much stronger. Both materials combined effects pushing things away, and if he developed it enough, he might even be able to create a new sort of defense. Such a technique would require significant spiritual mass, however, so he mostly developed both for use in his singularity.

By contrast, his sublime material from the vault was no question at all. Investigation led him to discover that the spinning red stone was called a stonevortex, and he placed it directly on top of his gravitational torsion chamber. The spinning cantae matched perfectly with his technique of shifting gravitational planes, making the technique much more deadly. He'd tried it on some demons while on assignment and been pleased with the results.

Of course, both of those chambers were still extremely simple, just suspended materials within a great deal of carving. There was a lot of work between functional rooms and truly finished chambers.

The traditional form for such chambers was a large dais, crafted from supporting sublime materials that would enhance the strength of the object placed at the top. He'd always thought this method lacked imagination, but also didn't want to fill the rooms with generic furniture or other household materials. It might not require expensive materials, just some decently supportive ones and a lot of time.

As he carved more symbols along the walls of his torsion chamber, Theo frequently glanced down to the vents leading below. Were vents actually the ideal form for his blueprint? Fiyu being so focused on glass made him think of windows set in the floor, though that obviously fit better for the light theme of her soulhome.

For the time being, he stuck to vents. They were completely functional but could be easily filled in or changed once he'd perfected this detail of his blueprint.

Another temporary measure due to the duel impending in... four months? Theo briefly stopped working as he realized that a few days ago, it had been exactly four months until his duel. He'd taken major steps with two sublime materials for the singularity, but he still needed two more, plus a material to reinforce the central chamber, not to mention training with his new skills.

That in mind, he could accept some of the measures he'd taken. So far, his rule for himself was that he wouldn't do anything that would set back his soulcrafting in the future. Everything he'd done was a step toward his final blueprint, they just weren't necessarily the steps he'd expected to take. Some of the chambers on his first floor still hadn't found their final forms, and he'd have much more to do on the second. If he survived, he'd have a great deal of work to do before he was ready to ascend to Ruler.

When his fingers became so numb he could barely feel the spirit chisel, Theo recognized that he was reaching a point of diminishing returns and switched activities. Leaving the room behind, he instead climbed down to his central chamber and began testing patterns of cantae flow.

Many soulhomes used simplistic unidirectional designs: cantae moved in straight lines from its sources to the exits. Competent soulcrafters had a smooth cycle, such as Fiyu's emanating heat or Nauda's spiral. His aimed for orbiting around his singularity: easy enough when everything was rotating on the single plane of his first floor, but much more difficult in three dimensions.

With a deep breath, Theo halted all the cantae within his soulhome and tried to push it in a half-sphere that arced through his second floor. The problem was, the cantae that arched up over the top of the sphere promptly went into the ground. He could redirect it, of course, because cantae flow problems could always be overcome with willpower. But it was a clumsy pattern compared to a perfect sphere of cantae that spanned three floors.

Theo was sure he could manage it once he had the space, even if the design had surprised the Authority. That orbiting design was the most effective part of his blueprint, a refinement of his old solar idea that he actually liked better than the original. It lost the absolutely brilliant design Brigana had made for an explosive start, but since that had been lost to him, he'd have to find a different path to the same power.

As he was considering whether or not to try alternate patterns, he noticed that Nauda was approaching his real body. Pulling back out of his soulhome, he glanced up at her, wondering if he'd forgotten something. No, it seemed like she had a new purpose of some kind.

"They finished your staff?" he guessed. She blinked and then shook her head.

"Oh, I forgot you hadn't seen it." Nauda spun the weapon on its end so quickly that the upper tines made a whistling sound. The central tine of the trident had been removed and, judging from the way the base was now studded with black stones, melted down for modifications. It looked much more like her forked staff from before, yet retained the deadly points of the trident. "They finished this a few days ago, you've just been locked away. But that's not why I'm here."

Theo hopped to his feet, fresh in the real world even if spiritually exhausted. "Then I assume you either think I need a break, or you have a new opportunity."

"The latter. Come on, Fiyu is already waiting in the sleigh."

By now the Blacksilver complex had become quite familiar, though he didn't feel any real sense of comfort from it. Nauda was moving everywhere faster these days, feeling the new strength of her second floor. He'd even noted the start of a pyramid atop her roof, though he judged that premature. That said, he trusted her judgment enough that he was highly curious about what she had found.

They soon reached one of the outer courtyards, where Fiyu sat patiently in the middle seat of the sleigh. When she spotted them, she smiled, and continued beaming as they climbed in. "Hello, Theo. Nauda believes that she has found a local challenge that will be beneficial to all of us."

"So she told me, but what is it?"

She didn't answer right away, instead easing the sleigh out the main gate and beginning to slide through the city. Norro Yorthin had laws about flying too high, but the streets themselves were rather orderly, with different lanes for different types of vehicles. They floated over the heads of most, the sleigh's downward force only producing a slight wind. Once they were en route, which he noted might take them out of the city, Nauda turned back toward them.

"Every month, one of the lesser Houses conducts a contest in a quarry outside the city. I think the competition generates cantae for their mining operations, but they motivate people to come by giving rewards to the winners." Nauda grinned and began ticking off her fingers. "First, House Blacksilver will give us a small amount of money for winning. Second, the award always includes some money. Third, there's a different unique prize every month. And finally, the contest itself is supposed to be a speed challenge."

"It sounds like you've thought this through." His own thoughts immediately led to an obvious question. "Is it based on teams, or can we each win the competition a different time?"

"Individuals. I don't know how stiff the competition will be, but I thought we should at least try. Since each person can only win a prize once, I think we have a shot."

Based on those details, the idea did seem promising. Since the rewards would be won or lost in a short period of time, it was certainly an efficient method, which made Theo more curious how effective it would be as training. That, he would probably just have to determine by seeing the actual contest.

They left by the western gate, which didn't have nearly as much of an outer city as the southern region near the gate to Tatian. A road of durable stone sliced out into the wasteland, likely to another city lost in the dust storms, but Nauda quickly took them away from it, northwest to a region where mining was obviously in evidence.

Huge pits gouged deep into the ground on both sides, but where most had workers going about their labor, one in particular had a teal flag and a cluster of soulcrafters around it. No doubt their destination. They stopped their sleigh alongside several chariots, and while Theo locked down the controls, Nauda hopped out to speak to the officials.

They stayed at the edge of the crowd of soulcrafters for Fiyu's comfort, so he just looked over the group and the mining pit itself. Most of those he saw were first tier soulcrafters, though a few had reached Archcrafter. The sides of the quarry declined gradually, their walls remarkably smooth - worn by wind, he thought. Strangely, a section in the middle of the quarry hadn't been worn down at all, instead a steep peak in the center that made the entire pit a ring. Something gleamed at the top of the platform in the center, so that must be their destination.

"Everyone, attend to me!" An official in teal robes called for silence, then somberly tucked her hands into her sleeves to address them. "I am Lady Baryara of House Teal. We have again decided to open our treasure vaults to the seekers of other Houses. If you have merit, you could well be rewarded in today's challenge. Each contestant may only receive one gift from House Teal before departing the challenge, to allow others to enjoy our magnanimity."

She went on with a similar level of pomp, so Theo began tuning out the exact words. Instead he examined the mine more carefully, trying to determine how the challenge itself would work. He noted that there were metal spheres placed throughout the exterior slope, designed to absorb cantae. Though he tried to feel for any dangerous sublime materials that could make this a trap, he thought they would simply absorb the atmospheric cantae used in the contest.

Honestly, it was a bit pathetic for a House to need to generate cantae like this. The quantity they'd gain, subtracting the expense of running the contest, would be trivial if they had able Authority-tier soulcrafters, much less a Stronghold. That didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of it, though, so he listened in when the official moved on to the rules.

"In a moment, the tornado will be kindled and will rage for three hours. Your goal will be to descend this side of the quarry, then climb the center - as always, vehicles, flight, or leaping over the chasm are not allowed. Anyone who reaches the top of the summit will receive the esteem of House Teal, but the first three will receive additional compensation, and the first to scale the summit will be awarded this month's prize: a grand historical chariot from House Teal."

Lady Baryara gestured to one of the chariots beside the quarry and Theo barely gave it a glance. He had no direct need for it, and if they were giving it away like this, it couldn't be too valuable. What interested him most was the contest itself, and fortunately, it began before any more speeches.

A powerful source of cantae surged from the central mountain and wind began to circulate throughout the quarry. It was unremarkable at first, but the cantae urged it faster and faster. Rocks began to lift into the air and spin in a vast vortex, and then glimmering yellow stones were released, joining the others as citrine streaks.

"No one will be given assistance until the three hours are complete," Lady Baryara said. "Begin!"