Mond was a completely different person while facing Ranthomandir. Gone were his smiles, laughs, and jests. There, standing opposite the emerald-clad Polamund in the middle of Whalemaw Square, was a champion.

He held himself high, stomach pulled in and shoulders back. The crowd knew it too, and they quieted in anticipation to see how Mond would respond to Ranthomandir’s claim that this game was already over. He did not respond.

Instead, Mond held a single card up and, without a word, inhaled. His hand, in concurrence with his breath, seemed to draw the card into his fingertips. It dissolved right into his body, which then began to shimmer and glow, just like it had done when Mond had snatched Tay on the rooftops the day before.

From his time playing and learning with Cari, Tay knew this to be the process of runic attunement. In order to play the more powerful cards in the game, one needed to attune themselves further into either Order or Chaos, which meant Mond was at Order 2 now. Another upside was that the energy granted by the card he’d absorbed would provide him with a boost to his Life too.

Then Mond said, “I’m going to summon Generous Deluge.”

To replace the Tamsian Warden he’d lost, Mond threw another glowing card into the arena. It flickered for a moment before bursting into a shower of white light. When that faded, next to the Leyspring, a cloud of rumbling winds and lightly-falling rain showers convulsed midair. It had two wispy eyes made out of the same whiteness as Mond’s aura, and those were fixed on Ranthomandir.

(20) Generous Deluge Stable Flying, Replenish 2 >>

Within the script that he saw, Tay could make out that the Generous Deluge’s Power was only 2. A small diamond surrounded it at the bottom of the hovering words that whirled about in the revenant’s insubstantial form. Tay couldn’t help but to notice that 2 Power was quite a deal less than the Stone Homunculus’s 4.

Well, at least it had the Replenish aura, which meant that at the end of Mond’s turn, he’d draw until his hand was four cards instead of three. Maybe he was trying to find an answer to the Stone Homunculus from his deck still?

Ranthomandir, on the verge of laughter again, took Mond’s plays as if they were jokes. “So, you’re the sort of person who stares defeat in the face, and then chooses to play a cloud? I think I’ll retract what I said before. I’ve not won yet, but you’ve already lost, Mondy. You’ve been losing for years.”

“You should watch what you say, before you mock the power of the wind,” Mond said. He then threw out another card.

From its burst of light, a robed man emerged with hair whipped upward, as if it had been gelled to look like he was caught in a windstorm. The man spun forward, and then threw his hands forward as Tay got a closer look.

(15) Tamsian Aeroweaver Unstable Shout: return target revenant to its owner’s hand. 1 >

Sprung from nowhere, a gale swept on through the open market of Whalemaw Square. The great skull hanging from above shifted in the currents, the iron hinges holding it up groaning underneath the stress. But the majority of the wind’s power collapsed on the Stone Homunculus, which wailed as wave after wave of ferocious breeze battered against it.

Finally, the Homunculus dissolved into a viscous dark ooze that morphed back into the two cards that had formed it. Those cards were carried on the wind and straight into the waiting hand of Ranthomandir Polamund, who’s grin hadn’t yet fallen.

“Now, my Aeroweaver and Deluge will strike at you, Ranthomandir.”

And true to Mond’s words, the robed man and living cloud both raced ahead. The Aeroweaver clapped his hands together and a visible blade of wind shot out from between them. At the same time, a thick tendril made of cloud rose from the top of the Deluge. It extended as the revenant neared Ranthomandir, readying itself to slam down.

Both attacks fell at the same time. But neither managed to knock Ranthomandir off of his feet. The Polamund grunted, but didn’t stumble.

“It’s like it didn’t even phase him,” Tay said aloud.

Quincy had begun chewing on his already-gnarled nails he when looked back and then took his hand away from his mouth to point. “You see that dark energy around him? That’s from him attuning himself to Chaos.”

And sure enough, the darkness that had been there when Ranthomandir had summoned his two revenants seemed a lot thicker where Mond’s attacks had landed. It was thinning now, spreading back out to coat the rest of his body, but it was as if it had acted as a shield to those blows.

“The power that Ranthomandir’s using to summon those revenants will also protect him through all of Mond’s attacks. They’ll still cause him a bit of discomfort, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting real hurt in a duel.

“Of course, Mond’s revenants aren’t all that strong. Mond’s only taken 3 Life from that Polamund this turn. Not really something that would make the brat even hesitate. If you look closely, you can see the Life they’re playing with just like you could with the revenants.”

And Tay looked at Ranthomandir’s darkened form only to see that there was a number floating through that blackness surrounding him. When he looked across at Mond, it was the same inside of his snowy glow.

Ranthomandir’s Life: 67 Mond’s Life: 55

“So, even with that opening he’s created, Mond’s still losing,” Tay said.

Quincy shifted on the balls of his feet and gave his pinky finger a nibble. “Depends on how you look at it. He’s losing when you only account for their Life forces. But there’s so much more to a game of Runicka than just your Life. At the moment, Mond controls the board. That’s not losing.”

But for all that Mond had done, Ranthomandir didn’t seem the least bit worried, and it was unsettling to say the least. As it was, all Ranthomandir was doing was holding his dark glowing cards up to his face, revealing that even through those blows, his grin hadn’t faltered.

Mond drew at the end of his turn because of Generous Deluge, and then passed to Ranthomandir. With a great flourish of his hands, Ranthomandir drew and then considered his hand. First, he absorbed a card into the palm of his hand, attuning himself further into Chaos—Chaos 2. That also simultaneously brought his Life up by 10, to 77. The gap between the two of them was widening.

Then Ranthomandir threw two cards out into the arena—one before the other. The first darkly flashed into a statue much like the Grinning one he’d played earlier. But within this one’s smile were long fangs capped on the ends with ruby gemstones. Its arms were held over its head with glinting claws on the ends of them. It stood upon a pedestal too, this one in the pristine shape of a diamond.

(20) Parasitic Statue Latent Dormant: this revenant gains +2 Power. It does not lose this Power upon its Echo triggers. Echo < 0

And while Tay thought it looked absolutely malicious, it didn’t last all that long, because Ranthomandir’s second card fractured it upon contact. What came out was a humanoid creature made entirely out of stone. Abyssal black markings covered the lengths of its arms and shined with the same sort of black-nothingness as its void-like eyes. In its clawed hands, it held twin daggers. It was perched—for it crouched instead of stood—upon the same pedestal the Parasitic Statue had been standing on.

(20) Gargoyle Statue Stable Dormant: this revenant gains +4 Power. Uproar: obliterate up to 2 foe revenants with 2 Power or less. This revenant gains Flying. << 0

And at first, Tay didn’t understand what Ranthomandir was doing. He’d just sacrificed 40 of his Life to play two cards that both had 0 Power. But then he saw that the Parasitic Statue’s effect had kicked in.

So, underneath the normal script for the Gargoyle’s abilities, Tay saw what it had gained from being fused on top of the Parasitic Statue.

Echo < 2

“I see,” Tay said. “So, because Dormant effects trigger when a revenant is fused upon, the Parasitic Statue is giving +2 Power to the Gargoyle Statue.”

“And unfortunately, that’s not all that’s going to be happening,” Quincy said. “Check out the Gargoyle Statue’s effect.”

Even though it was made out of stone, the Gargoyle Statue raised both of its arms as if they were made out of flesh and bone. It angled both of its daggers, one at the Tamsian Aeroweaver, and another at the Generous Deluge. From its pedestal, a violet energy crackled, ran up and through the revenant’s body, and then shot out from the tips of its daggers. It lanced through both of Mond’s revenants before reducing them into flashes of white light.

“And now my revenant’s going to take out your Lumbering Leyspring!” Ranthomandir shouted, the crowd roaring behind him.

True to his word, the Gargoyle Statue stood, before unfurling two dark wings from its back. With a leap, it soared through the air and then raked its twin daggers against the side of the Leyspring. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing had come of it. Then, the Leyspring groaned, with pieces of it chipping away, before the whole thing collapsed and vanished into dissolving white sparkles.

“Not good,” Quincy said. “Now Mond’s board is wide open. We have to hope that Polamund brat doesn’t have anything else up his sleeve for this turn.”

But instead of playing another card, Ranthomandir scowled and tilted his head to the side, his spiky hair drooping to one side. “Is this all I’m going to get from the great Mondromo Yizzit? I’ve never seen you duel before, but I would have thought that my father’s former champion was going to be a challenge. Do you even have anything in that deck with more than 2 Power?”

“There’s more to this game than just raw Power,” Mond replied.

The crowd became a cacophony of mixed opinions on what Mond had just said, but Ranthomandir only shook his head.

Over the din of the yelling crowd, he said, “No, Mondy, there’s only power. That’s why you’re living down here, in fear, and why I have to come to flush you vermin out of the sewers.”

Ranthomandir then flicked another card from his hands. It soared into the back of his Gargoyle Statue, merging with it for a brief moment before the whole revenant became consumed in a dark pool of blackened power.

When the light returned to scare away the darkness, the pedestal that the revenant had formerly stood upon lay shattered. The daggers it wielded had grown into twin longswords. Its wings were fully-formed and of a span that was wider than the whole creature was tall. But it was still, unmistakably, a gargoyle. Just of a different kind, for its stone body had specks of red glinting from within it, as if this gargoyle had blood coursing through its stony veins.

(20) Gargoyle Slayer Surging This revenant gains +2 Power for each other Statue or Gargoyle revenant you control. Flurry, Flying << 2 << 4 Echo < 2

This Gargoyle Slayer wasn’t just itself, but rather a combination of itself and the revenants that had come before it. It had the Parasitic Statue’s fangs, now grown beyond its pointed chin. And it had parts of the Gargoyle Statue, transformed into platemail. The Gargoyle Statue’s wings had become pauldrons, and its visage had grown into a bulky breastplate. And that was the reason as to why there were three numbers contributing to its total Power.

For starters, the Gargoyle Statue had gained Power when the Slayer had fused on top of it. Its new 4 Power would be added to the Slayer’s 2, and with the additional 2 from the Parasitic Statue, this new revenant had a combined Power of 8.

And it also had Flurry. Normally, revenants could only attack once per turn, and this drawback couldn’t be avoided even if one fused another card on top of it. But a revenant with Flurry could attack twice per turn. Which meant, with Mond wide open, this Gargoyle Slayer was free to bring even more chaos.

Ranthomandir bade it to strike, and the new Gargoyle unleashed a roar that sounded like a boulder tumbling down the side of a rocky mountain. Tay could feel his heart thumping in his chest as the revenant soared through the air until it was of a height with the whale skull high above them.

Mond did not flinch from the spot, not even as the revenant began to dive, longswords angled forward. Mond’s aura surged in its brightness—shining like a star the instant before the Gargoyle Slayer brought its blades low.

Tay blinked just as Quincy raised his hands to look away. When he opened his eyes again, they shared a long look before summoning up the courage to see what had happened. The rest of the crowd looked on with them in wonder.

The Gargoyle Slayer was already swooping back up into the air to loop around, and Mond had fallen onto his back. He still held his cards, but he was nursing his left arm. There, running from the bottom of his hand up to his elbow, was a jagged gash that leaked white ooze instead of blood. As soon as the ooze dripped onto the cobbles, it evaporated like boiling water, becoming nothing more than ivory mist.

“He’ll be feeling that one,” Quincy said.

“I thought you said they couldn’t be hurt?”

“I said he’d be protected. Which he was. When the revenants’ blows come through, their glows—those auras—condense to absorb the blows. But 8 Power is a lot.”

But even after having withstood that, Mond still found the strength to rise up to his feet and ready himself again. That’s when Tay noticed something hopeful about their situation.

“Rantho’s Life force… it’s taken a dive!”

Ranthomandir’s Life: 17 Mond’s Life: 47

“Ah, so there’s the balance of the game of Runicka. To win the board, you gotta use your own Life to bring out the revenants. So, to keep up the pressure, you gotta bring yourself closer to losing.”

“But then, what’s the point in playing at all?” Tay asked.

Quincy returned to biting on his pinky finger—probably a nervous tick. Tay knew he had plenty of those himself, as he squeezed the small chest tightly against his side.

“The point? How can you expect to win the game without delivering the final blow? Runicka is different for everybody, but if you don’t get control of the board, you’re never gonna win. You have to be mad to simply sit there and wait for your opponent to wail you down to 0 Life.”

And Mond wasn’t about to let that happen to him. He drew with vigor, despite only being able to weakly hold his cards from the bruises across his arm. After consideration, he threw out a card which flashed and became… nothing more than a mere sheep, with coursing energy surging through its white wool.

(5) Noble Sheep Stable Barrier 1 >

Tay stifled a groan, and then shook his head in disbelief. Maybe Ranthomandir wasn’t far from the truth. Mond faced a living warrior of stone that had nearly separated his arm from the rest of his body, and he thought he could fight it with a mere sheep?

But then Mond held up two cards, and absorbed them into his body, saying, “I’m attuning to the highest level of Order.”

A thick cloak of shimmering white hue enveloped Mond, turning him into a beacon of illumination and warmth. Tay thought he could feel Mond’s energy from all the way where he was. Mond had now ascended to Order 3, and with it, he also gained back 15 Life.

With Mond’s final card, he threw it to the wind, and it morphed into a soaring bird. Only this bird was about as massive as the whale’s skull overhead, with a wingspan that put the Gargoyle Slayer to shame. It had two horns sprouting from atop its head, and talons that were about as white and clear as pure diamonds, and hopefully were just as sharp.

(20) Great Roc Stable Shout: you may obliterate target ally revenant. If you do, obliterate target foe revenant. This revenant gains Power equal to their combined Power divided in half (rounded up). Flying 2 >>>

Without warning, the Great Roc swooped onto the Noble Sheep and pierced through its wool with its beak. It consumed the Sheep even as it morphed back into dissolving glitters. Then its gaze fell upon the Gargoyle Slayer. The Roc loosed a resounding caw and flourished its wings. From them, crystallized feathers shot through the air quicker than an arrow from a longbow. They pierced the stony hide of the Gargoyle over and over, until Ranthomandir’s revenant was nothing more than crumbling dust.

White mist lingered where the Sheep had been eaten, and black mist floated up from the remains of the Gargoyle. Instead of fading away, both of these animated and floated into the feathers of the Roc, which swelled in size. Now, it was larger than the whale skull by a small margin, and it bore a Power of 7.

But there still seemed to be some residual mist where Ranthomandir’s revenant had bit the dust. As it floated through the air, it began to pick up speed, spinning around itself, until it condensed into larger chunks of stone. Eventually those condensed again and the Parasitic Statue was whole once more.

(20) Parasitic Statue Latent Dormant: this revenant gains +2 Power. It does not lose this Power upon its Echo triggers. Echo < 2

Its Echo aura allowed it to return to the arena whenever its fusion was obliterated, and its effect ensured that each time that happened, it would return stronger than before. However, and Mond seemed to realize this too, it did not have the Flying aura, and so Mond’s Roc would be able to simply fly right over it.

“Since you’re so concerned about power, how about having some which comes straight out of the darkest pits of Duskborough. Attack, my Great Roc!”

Mond’s revenant cawed again, and then dove for Ranthomandir. Surprisingly, the Polamund did flinch, turning his side into the massive bird. Its talons raked him even as his shield of black energy morphed to intercept the attack. Tay did not look away this time, and even smiled when the Roc’s momentum knocked Ranthomandir firmly onto his side.

“Unbelievable,” Ranthomandir said, gathering up the cards he’d dropped and stumbling back up to his feet. “Your beast has torn my robes!”

As Ranthomandir stood back up, Tay could see that there was a large gash through the emerald cloth around his midsection. The skin showing beneath it was darkened, but otherwise unharmed. Ranthomandir’s dark shield spread back out to cover his body.

Mond ended his turn by drawing back up to three cards, but there was nothing more that he could do.

Ranthomandir’s Life: 10 Mond’s Life: 37

Ranthomandir drew for his turn and wasted no time in absorbing two cards into his body. That would bring his Life back to 25, and the swirling darkness all but casting that entire part of Whalemaw Square into a void showed he had reached Chaos 3. That meant he could now play the most powerful cards in his deck.

The next card that Ranthomandir played was one such card, and entirely familiar to Tay. Ranthomandir threw it into the Parasitic Statue, and when the darkness faded, there stood a shadow-clad figure complete with its greasy and polished, black rock hide. From the Statue, it inherited its ruby fangs, though the pedestal had cracked underneath its weight. In its hands it wielded a halberd larger than the Great Roc. Two massive wings rose from its back that would carry it through the underground skies.

This was the shadow figure that had been summoned against him before. Now, it was back with a vengeance.

(20) Living Shadowstone Stable

Shout: double this revenant’s Power until the end of the turn.

Dormant: double this revenant’s Power.

Flying <<< 3 Echo < 4

Ranthomandir tossed another card out, and the Living Shadowstone absorbed it into its body. It sprouted another set of wings, and a coiled tail that ended in an arrow point. Its hands became claws, and its halberd merged into its arms to give it bladed wrists.

The Shadowstone’s face elongated, until Tay was certain he was once again looking into the horned visage of another gargoyle.

(15) Gargoyle Darkwing Surging Uproar: obliterate target foe revenant. Gain its Power as Life. Flying << 1 Flying <<< 12 Echo < 16

But even as the Darkwing’s claws began to glow with a black hue that spread to envelope the Great Roc, something didn’t sit right with Tay. Then he realized the Life costs for both cards exceeded what Ranthomandir should’ve been able to provide.

When he brought that up to Quincy, the man shook his head. “That’s another layer to Runicka. One cannot lose the game by just summoning. The Polamund brat can bring himself down to 1 Life, but Mond has to deliver the final blow.”

The empowered Darkwing used its dark energy to crush the Great Roc into nothing but strands of light, and then whipped the strands over to Ranthomandir. As they billowed against Ranthomandir’s body, the light brightened his skin, until there wasn’t even a bruise where his robes were torn.

“A pity it cannot heal the damage you’ve done to my robes,” Ranthomandir said. “But I’ll settle for my Darkwing crushing you into the ground.”

Ranthomandir’s revenant screeched and launched itself at Mond. Tay couldn’t even look when it all but picked Mond up and threw him back down into the cobbles. When Mond got back to his feet again, his legs were trembling. One more hit like that, and not even a hug from Sally would set him right again.

Which was why Tay nearly choked when Mond lowered his cards and said, “Alright, I’ve lost.”