"Yes, the king even declared all imitation duels to be illegal. But I can guarantee you the royal family doesn't follow all the rules. Especially not King Vrose."

- Celeste Valania

Galdi Vrose, the reigning king of Kaska, examined the cards in his hand. They were finely painted to depict creatures inspired by one of his own decks. His Monarch, Fayleeka of the Sun, giggled as she read them from over his shoulder.

These are fantastic, Gal-gal! She cheered, her spectral form flying around and grasping the card in her tiny hands. King Vrose smiled as he watched. Two tiny wings like a butterfly’s emerged from the back of the tiny purple body, fluttering like normal even though Fayleeka didn’t need them to keep her afloat in the air.

“Yes, they’re rather excellent copies, aren’t they?” He twisted his wrist, checking the back of them. The faerie yelped as she was pulled along, then giggled again.

A little warning, next time?

The king rolled his eyes. Fayleeka was a playful little creature. He knew well that she couldn’t actually interact with the world while in her spectral form, and yet for some reason, she felt the need to pretend as though she could sense the cold air, or smell his breath.

She was good for laughs. And if there was anything Galdi Vrose needed from his Monarch, it was laughs. Aside from her mana contract, of course.

The king sat in a plush chair before a low maple table. The dark polished wood reflected the flames from the fireplace nearby as they danced, an entrancing sight. He’d rolled out a long rectangular piece of leather across his side of the table. A matching leather deckbox, this one without the runic magic carved into it, sat open on the table before him. Imitation cards were splayed across the leather strip as Galdi examined them. Faeries, their magic, and even some equipment cards were included in the fake deck.

Is it any good, Gal-gal? Fay asked him. She had no mind for strategy. In fact, she was amazed by the game every time it was played, even though she was a part of it. “Man’s collar around the wild dog of magic” she called it. A fitting term.

The king pursed his lips, nodding lightly. “Yes, it’s adequate for my needs.”

The door across the luxurious room opened quietly, light flooding into the dark corners of the space. A small girl with fiery hair much like his own stood in the doorway, holding a stuffed toy that did its best to resemble a dragon. She wore a deep purple nightgown, which hung to a few inches above her ankles. Galdi’s eye twitched. She would need the length adjusted. Again.

“My, you’re growing rather quickly, aren’t you, my dear?” he said, scooping up his imitation deck and sliding the cards into the box. “It looks like we’ll be needing another gown for you soon.”

“Papa, can’t we just make this one longer again?” she asked, her voice nearly monotone. Annalissa was like this. The only time the nine-year-old had ever displayed real emotion was when her mother passed away. And ever since, she refused to get rid of that gown—the one her mother had made her.

Galdi sighed. “Of course, dear, we can have the servants lengthen it.” He hoped she would grow out of her attachment to the cloth, but he wasn’t going to force her.

Annalissa walked over, leaving the door hanging open. She gave her father a hug and Galdi resisted shivering from the cool breeze that was floating into the room. How his daughter could walk through the palace barefoot every day was a mystery to him. She reminded him of her mother in that sense.

With a wave to the servant waiting outside, the king signalled the door to be closed. He released his daughter and she took the seat across the table from him. With her free hand, she grasped a box set before the chair, opening it and dumping the cards on the table.

“Anna, dear,” Galdi chastised as he shuffled his own imitation deck, “you know we must respect the cards we play with.”

His daughter scooped the cards up, tapping them on the table until they’d all straightened out and passed them over to him.

The king shook his head, pushing the stack of cards back to the little girl. “I can’t keep doing everything for you, honey. You can shuffle for yourself, now.”

Galdi regretted his decision as soon as he watched his youngest daughter shuffle her cards. He cringed, fearful that she might bend them, and took them from her instead. Yet again, he was shuffling for Annalissa.

“Just this last time, Anna.”

“Okay, Papa.”

Placing the deck back in front of her, Galdi retrieved both imitation Monarch cards which he’d separated in advance. His own, Fayleeka of the Sun, proudly smiled back at the spectral version of herself which floated over it. The faerie admired the portrait with large eyes and a wide grin.

“Now, Anna,” he reminded the child as she drew her hand of six, “we’re playing with powerful cards, here. What do we say?”

“Thank you for your strength,” she intoned.

“Very good. Don’t ever forget to thank your Summons for their strength. Especially when they grow more powerful. The stronger the bond, the stronger the binding.”

Annalissa glanced at the Monarch on the table beside her. Hers was Xerxes, Jewel of the Forgotten King. Galdi had no idea who the Forgotten King was—that was probably the point—but Xerxes was a formidable opponent. He’d only ever seen the idle form in real matches, and the art certainly didn’t help him identify it. The card was shrouded in shadow, a single eye ringed in silver peering out sadistically. He compared both Monarchs again, confirming his knowledge of the matchup. He’d already calculated the odds, but it was always good to be sure.

Idle Form

Fayleeka of the Sun

Empowered Monarch

Trickery

Summoner gains 5 Mana per turn, increased by 2 each time the Summoner casts a unique spell from their deck.

Affinities: Light, Water, Wind

Aversions: Shadow

Cost: 40 Loyalty

Health: 30,000

Idle Form

Xerxes, Jewel of the Forgotten King

Empowered Monarch

Collection

Summoner gains 3 Mana per turn.

The Summoner may discard a Gem card to gain 2 additional Mana.

Affinities: Earth, Shadow

Aversions: Water, Wind

Cost: 75 Loyalty

Health: 25,000

This will be a fun duel to watch! Fayleeka chattered in Galdi’s ear.

He rolled his eyes. It’s not for your amusement, Fay. We do this to teach them.

The faerie simply giggled in response. The king flipped a golden coin, the image of his face twirling in the air before landing heads side down, disappointing him. His daughter would play first. They placed runecrafted disks on the table which would track any values they needed them to.

“I will discard this Gem card to summon this,” Anna declared immediately, placing a card down onto the table. An enraged pig with wicked tusks growing out of its mouth glaring angrily was depicted in the art, several human corpses laying smashed around its feet. Commoners might’ve considered it inappropriate for a nine-year-old, but the Vrose family had been learning like this for generations, and a bit of art wasn’t going to change that.

Enraged Mountain Boar

Cost: 4 Mana

Empowered Summon - Boar

This Summon may attack immediately.

Generates 5 Earth RPT

2,500 / 1,650

“An impressive play,” the king commented as he lost life to the instantaneous attack. He drew, eyes passing over the cards in his hand as he found the one he was looking for and summoned it. “Can you handle my Faerie Godmother, though?”

Faerie Godmother

Cost: 3 Mana

Empowered Summon - Faerie

When this Summon is played, draw a card and generate 3 Light Res.

Generates 2 Light RPT

1,000 / 1,200

Galdi drew a card and added the Light Res to his collection, spending two of it to cast a spell.

Blinding Light

Cost: 2 Light Res

Empowered Spell

Target Summon can’t attack or produce Res next turn.

Channel: Any Light producing Summon.

“Hmm,” Anna said as Galdi passed the turn. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, but he wasn’t fooled. The young princess might have been quiet, but she wasn’t stupid. In fact, Galdi might have proudly called her a genius. It was why he was able to truly flex his strategic muscles in fair duels against her.

Annalissa discarded another two cards. These were a Gem Spell and a Gem Summon. She generated four Mana to double her pool before using it all to summon again.

Intrusive Acolyte

Cost: 8 Mana

Empowered Summon - Elf

When this Summon is played, target an opposing Summon. Your opponents cannot play Summons of the same type next turn.

Generates 10 Shadow RPT

1,300 / 1,100

She pointed to his Faerie Godmother.

The king groaned internally. Now he wouldn’t be able to use any of his Summons next turn. “You’re truly keeping me on the ropes with that Monarch of yours, Anna dear.”

His daughter smiled slightly, shuffling the card in her hand and passing. There wasn’t much she could do, after all. Her father had blocked her from collecting Res for her spells and she wasn’t able to attack. So she passed her turn.

Her father drew, collecting the Res from his Faerie Godmother and adding another seven Mana to his pool. He couldn’t play any Faeries this turn, so instead, he attacked the boar with his Summon. Annalissa marked down the damage on her rune disk.

“I suppose I’ll just save this Mana for next turn, then.”

“Mmm. No spells?” Anna asked.

“None that I’d like to play right now. Wait,” he paused. “I’ll actually use this.”

The king placed a card face down behind his Faerie Godmother, waving a hand to pass his turn.

Annalissa frowned. “No fair. You didn’t say we could include Traps in our decks.”

Galdi smirked. “I didn’t say we couldn’t, either. We’re using Empowered cards, my dear. Why would we limit ourselves to the types of cards?”

Anna put her hand of cards down. “Why can’t I attend the Testing?”

“This again? I already told you, honey. You’re too young. Now, it’s your turn.”

The girl didn’t pick her cards back up. She adjusted her dragon plushie on the chair next to her. “Sissy says there’s a boy who summoned dragons at the Testing Grounds.”

Galdi raised his eyebrows. “Your sister is talking to you while she’s taking the tests? She’s not supposed to be doing that.”

Anna shrugged. “I sent her a message and she answered, is all.”

The king pursed his lips. “Hmm, I’ll pretend as though you didn’t say that. Besides, you wouldn’t like the Testing. The duels there are horribly dull. None of those Summoners can handle any of the mana their Monarchs give them access to yet. Plus, most of them have only bound Summons and don’t have any access to spells.”

“That’s not what Sissy says.”

“Well, Annalissa, I’ve witnessed many Testings. And many of those I’ve needed firewater to get through… more than I care to admit.”

“What’s firewater?” she asked, curiosity creeping into her voice.

The king cleared his throat. “Oh, um… it’s just… very hot water. Like tea.”

“Oh.” Anna seemed disappointed. “But you’re the king. Why can’t you tell them to let me go to Valdarthan’s with Sissy?”

Galdi sighed. “Honey, we’ll go visit her when the other students’ parents get to see them. I won’t be breaking the academy’s rules. And no.” He held up a finger as Anna opened her mouth to interrupt. “That’s not because they are in charge of me. But a respected king respects his people. We can wait to see your sister.”