Tay squirmed as Amellia used his and Atro’s bodies as battering rams to clear a path to the first line of seats in the bleachers. It didn’t matter who stood in their path. She forced them through hulking men with muscles on their muscles and through crowds of kids who had to duck out of their way as they rushed on through.

It was all a bit silly, because with her height, Amellia could’ve easily had a good seat from just about anywhere in the whole arena. But she preferred—no, she insisted on—sitting in the front.

“Wouldn’t want to miss any of the action now, would we?” she said, smiling so wide that Tay doubted Sally could’ve even matched it.

When they were shuffling over to seats in the middle of the first row, Tay whispered to Atro, “What even is a melee duel?”

Amellia, standing a full head over a bulky, bruiser-type man who quickly backed away after seeing her shadow, intimidated anyone from claiming seats anywhere near to them. After plunking herself down and making herself comfortable by crossing her left leg over her right, she patted the seat next to her and signaled for them to join her.

As they took seats next to her, Tay closer and Atro to his right, Atro whispered back, “It’s a more dangerous version of Runicka,” Atro said. “You can only summon a single revenant at a time, and you can choose from any in your given deck.

“You’re thrown out into the arena with nothing but yourself and your revenant. Then, well, that’s it. You just use it to battle people until you’re the last one standing.”

“Just like a fight then?” Tay asked. Considering how structured Runicka was as a game, Tay had a hard time imagining a bunch of runekeepers and their revenants just going head-to-head with minimal rules behind it.

“Yeah,” Atro said. “Just like a fight. It’s how Runicka used to be played before the Runic Council really took a hold of the game again. They do it at every prerelease event here in Stormwall, just as a way of honoring the old ways.”

“Old ways, indeed,” Amellia said, leaning over Tay. “There’s nothing quite like the thrill of watching young men put their hearts and bodies out on the line like this. No poppycock like you see in the games you’ll find in my shops. These are tried and true battles. Only the best may stand.”

And the worst sort of idea started forming in Tay’s head, as he watched Amellia’s eyes twinkle just from the anticipation of a melee duel. If Amellia found competitors in this melee duel impressive, and if Tay wanted to impress her enough into sponsoring him…

The gong sounded another time, and from the far side of the arena, runekeepers starting filing out onto the dueling grounds in the middle. They came from a series of bullpens they had no doubt been waiting within. But there were others—stragglers—who hopped over the fences and vaulted down from the bleachers. It was apparent that the melee welcomed any runekeeper who thought themselves worthy.

Tay rose.

“Where are you going?” Atro asked. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to say?” And Atro nodded his head to Amellia, who in turn shot Tay a sidelong glance

“I think I want to compete in the melee,” Tay said.

“What?” Atro sat up. “Tay, you can’t do that. This is really dangerous. People train for it all year round. You’ll be pummeled into the ground by their revenants. Fourteen, these aren’t just Bronze players. Almost half have to be Iron. Sometimes even Steels compete!”

A cold sweat formed along Tay’s nape, but he didn’t seat himself back down. If he wanted to compete in a battle tournament, he needed Amellia’s support. It wasn’t like he could just waltz up to any topsider and ask for a sponsorship. No, he knew Amellia and he knew what it would take to impress her. With any luck, just getting into the melee would amaze her enough to be open to sponsoring him.

But as Tay gripped the wall, he knew he was kidding himself. If he wanted Amellia to sponsor him, he’d have to win this. A look back showed Amellia’s sea green eyes firmly glued onto him, not veering away for a second, as if he had just become somewhat of a mystery to her.

Good—that was good.

All he had to do now was come up with a strategy to to defeat to defeat the Bronzes, Irons, and potentially Steels that were creating space for themselves all across the dueling grounds. It was really too bad that he wasn’t going to have any sort of time to do so.

After a last yelp from Atro, Tay nodded to his friend and vaulted himself over and onto the dueling grounds.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aside from what Atro had told him, the first thing Tay learned about melee duels was that he didn’t know a thing about melee duels.

The next thing he learned was that nobody was going to take the time to teach him anything about it. Everyone on the dueling grounds kept their space. A couple looked amenable but Tay wasn’t about to get chummy with the gents, fools, and fighters who stood between him and getting a sponsorship from Amellia.

From atop a small dais on one side of the arena, high above the bleachers, a barrel-armed man slammed a heavy hammer into the gong yet another time. Upon this ring, runekeepers around Tay began summoning their revenants left and right. Within the blink of an eye, Tay was surrounded by monsters of all shapes and sizes.

One of them near to Tay resembled something quite like the Skywing Lord, except that it had black feathers, sharper talons, and the glowing black eyes designating it as a Chaos revenant, instead of a creature of Order. It let out a screech so that everyone around it knew that it meant business.

Another revenant emerged beside it from a cloud of white light, which looked like a towering lion the size of a bull. It had a burning mane and eyes whiter than the center of the sun in the sky

Neither revenant really looked like something Tay would want any of his cards to go toe-to-toe with. Their runekeepers were an older gentleman and a middle-aged woman. They wore heavy cloaks and held themselves as if they had years of experience behind them. Tay would’ve pegged both for Irons, at the least, but it wasn’t like he could rule out if they were steel or not. Better to keep his distance altogether.

Tay quickly realized, leafing through his deck, that the Will of the Warlock’s revenants were admittedly on the weaker side. Most of his cards wanted to be played onto a board already established. His Warlocks wielded dark magics that could drain the strength straight out of foes.

But it didn’t seem like he could use any Shout effects before the melee began, which made over half of the cards in his deck fairly pointless. There was also the added problem of whether he should lead with something strong or something weak.

If melees were fought until the last one standing, he needed to be careful about what he summoned. Choosing stronger revenants that only got obliterated by the competition would see him knocked out quick. But if he only chose weaker revenants, he’d never win.

In the end, he decided to go with his Wandering Mage. There was another factor that went into his decision-making too, and that was that the Wandering Mage was a Chaos 1 card. He’d come far with his summoning practice with Cari, but not nearly so far as to be confident that he could manage summoning something as powerful as the Warlock of Midnight Darkness on his first try.

Once he knew what he was up against—once his feet were backed into a corner and there was no other way out—then he would summon his stronger revenants like his trump card. Which would probably prove to be a better strategy for him anyway. He’d lose if he went against an Steels, and his chances against Irons were slim. So, better to keep his head down with weaker revenants, let the stronger runekeepers take each other out, and then come in at the end to take a stab at victory.

Just because these melee duels had fewer rules didn’t mean they involved any less strategy.

Tay was surprised just how many people were assembled onto the dueling grounds that were younger than him. He saw two boys that couldn’t have been older than fifteen each, and there was even a girl who had to have been a couple years younger than Sally. She had a massive bear revenant swaying on its hind legs behind her. It had hulking obsidian-black crystals jutting out from each of its shoulders.

If she could summon a revenant like that, then Tay could summon a measly mage. Especially if this was his only option in making up for all the damage he’d done to Cari and Sally. He had to pay them back, and for that he needed Amellia. So, Tay took a deep breath and held up his Runicka card.

Even though there was no wind, it felt like a cold breeze blew against his body. Shadowlight gently coated his frame as the Wandering Mage grew warmer and warmer betwixt his fingers.

Then Tay threw his card out, still feeling a connection to it like it was a kite he was flying by the string. As if he was giving it a gentle tug against the wind, Tay flexed his fingers and the shadowlight engulfing his card blazed into a dark cloud. The Wandering Mage emerged with his staff pointing up to what would have been the sky, had they not been underground.

(10) Wandering Mage Stable Shout: shuffle any number of cards in your hand into your deck. Draw the same number of cards. Replenish < 2

The Wandering Mage gave him a long nod, but nothing indicated the Shout effect had resolved. That made sense though, because Tay didn’t really have a hand that the Wandering Mage could exchange from. He’d just throw revenants out until he either won or passed out.

A bell chimed, and all runekeepers and their revenants turned their heads to one side of the dueling arena, where a figure in blue-grey cloth robes stood upon a raised dais. A symbol of a broken sword, fractured halfway up the blade to only leave the hilt and part of the steel, fluttered as their robes caught a small draft.

When the robed person spoke, their voice echoed so loud that not even the humdrum of the Jar—with people still trading cards in an admittedly loud din on the wooden struts and raised platforms above them and all the way up topside—could come close to drowning it out.

“Visitors.” It was a man’s voice, high-pitched though. “Not often are the days that the Runic Council can present to you a new set of Runicka cards. This matter of fact presents great sorrow to those of us who serve the Council, for we know they feel deeply shamed that your last expansion was nearly two years ago.

“But that is why this day is all the more joyous! Because this bout here is the last tournament that we’ll have of Winds of the West. After the victor of this melee duel is named, the Runic Council shall officially release our newest expansion—Wrath of the Wyrms—here in the city aptly named the Jewel of the East.

“It’s a set that’s been in the works for quite some time now, and we’ve had quite a few hiccups along the way. The balancing of these cards was an immense undertaking, not to mention getting enough cards for all you amazing runekeepers.”

A roar swept over the assembled crowd and for the first time, Tay realized just how many people had filed into the bleachers to observe this melee. There were at least two-thousand faces, all turned toward him, eagerly watching his every move. He was used to living his life unseen by most, and it was a little discomforting knowing that all their eyes would be on him if he got even close to winning this.

But it was also exciting. He’d never been the spotlight before. That sort of attention was just what he needed if he was going to convince Amellia of anything. So, if these thousands of onlookers were going to judge him, he’d welcome it.

“Enough of my prattle though,” the man said. “You’re all here for one reason and one reason alone. You’ve come to see these runekeepers test themselves against one another for a chance at our premium booster chest!”

Again, the crowd roared and the robed man stepped aside to reveal a gigantic chest just behind him. Metallic serpents ran down its side and front, providing the framing of the chest. Tay could only wonder what was inside of it—he assumed cards—which made the thought of winning this all the more alluring.

He looked down to notice that all eyes were on the chest, from the black and white orbs of the revenants to the hungry stares of each and every runekeeper. Whatever was in that chest was the reason so many were prepared to risk their bodies in this duel. He also noticed that they were all tensing up, which meant those who’d done this before knew they were about to begin.

Tay readied himself and no sooner had he done so than the Wandering Mage raised his staff in preparation. He held his breath as the announcer spoke again.

“Without further ado, let the melee commence!” And the robed announcer threw his hands up as another gong rang throughout the entire arena.

Tay didn’t even blink and his whole world became consumed in fire.

The flames completely consumed the Wandering Mage, and Tay could feel the tether he had to his revenant fade as a cloud of black smoke emerged from the fire. As the flames grew, Tay wanted to freeze up, but he forced himself to follow the flames to the source. The burning lion had unleashed that wall upon his revenant and a couple others, and the woman runekeeper had her arms crossed with a smirk across her face.

Before Tay even had a chance to respond, something hard collided into his back and picked him up and off of the ground. Tay flew through the air of a long moment, comletely clearing the wall of fire and coming down on the other side. He rolled and lay there for a couple seconds. It hurt even to breathe. But the ground started to tremble and he turned his head to see four massive legs lumbering toward him, each with black crystals protruding from them instead of regular claws.

Tay just stared as the obsidian-crystal bear charged him. On its back was the not even twelve-year-old girl, positioned between its two massive pillars of dark crystal. The beast roared and the girl laughed.

His hands went to his deckbox, but it was on the right side of his belt and his numb hand only managed to undo the strap in time. The bear reached him, got a claw under his body, and flicked him away as if he was a stick. Tay rolled uncontrollably until his back smacked the edge of the arena and he lost all of his breath. He couldn’t even find it again because of how much his lungs needed to cough, and Tay was relieved to find that there was no blood as he hacked up swallowed dirt into the palm of his hand.

Tay could vaguely hear people shouting above him, and he looked up to see some spectators cheering down at him and out at the bear. He couldn’t make out what they were saying from just how many people were screaming but it sounded like they wanted the bear to maul him some more.

A rumbling sound clued him into its approach, and when he looked up, he became deftly aware that his Runicka cards had spilled in his roll and were strewn about the dueling ground in a line between him and the approaching revenant. The last card was a good ten feet from him.

His chest hurt and though Tay didn’t know what it felt like to have a broken rib, he must have at least bruised more than a few in that tumble. The girl atop the bear only smiled wider as she moved her revenant closer, its massive paws coming down on top of some of Tay’s cards. A couple more steps and there would be no chance for him to reach them at all—no chance to win.

No chance to even live.

Despite all the pain, odds, and thoughts in his head telling him that this was a bad idea, Tay forced himself back to his feet while using the wall behind him to stabilize his balance. The bear growled, and its crystal began to emanate a dark mist, which shrouded the girl on its back.

Without giving himself a chance to think about it, Tay pushed off from the wall and made a mad dash for the card closest to him—not even two steps away from the bear. As Tay approached, the bear raised itself up on its hind claws. It was ready to bring itself down in a full swipe.

Tay slide with his arm outstretched as the bear teetered forward and brought its crystalline claws down with an earth-shattering boom.