AQORMI was pregnant, and about to deliver. Unlike human pregnancies, elves have bodies that are designed physically and spiritually exceptional. That''s right we''re better than all of you, even me, a lowly half-elf. I wasn''t very sure how a demon mix would affect me pregnancy, but so far, it seemed to be turning out normal.

    An elf delivered after only three months, so there was virtually no baby bump, and their children started out tiny, but grew outside the body. With all that had happened, that time passed very fast, and before I knew it, between training and sidequests, and just pointless nonsense, I was about ready to deliver. The elf''s umbilical cord was designed to quickly detach when exposed to the air, and the first thing they would do is to eat the placenta. These early nutrients were key to strong development as a proud member of the elf race, with purebreds and immortal (demonic or angelic mainly) half-breeds living forever; however, in order for that to happen, an elf typically had to be delivered by other elves. The reason long-lived elves did not overrun the New Earth was because elves and half-elves had to be mature (which took over 1000 years) in order to give birth, and they tended to have high infant mortality if delivered by humans with their germs. And so, I would need to visit my grandparents in Ru''un, my homeland. Elias, Lilith, and I made up some pretext as to why we had to leave, and hopped on Bahamut.

    Bahamut grumbled a bit from all the riding we''d been doing. Well, when it took days or weeks of travel one way, and only a few hours another way, the only reason we used our ship now was when we had to haul supplies, or we just needed downtime. Bahamut flew so fast that it was difficult to even have a conversation, much less rest. Occasionally, Bahamut would borrow a human form for a boat ride, just so she could actually chill out for awhile and find out what was going on with us. Apparently, being a dragon did tend to get lonely, which is why so many of them had gold or other stuff to keep them company. She seemed somewhat happy to haul us around.

    It seemed like at least some of the others knew or suspected our plight, but didn''t seem to mind. Others, like Yazim Jianne, were so incredibly dense about human relationships that they probably wouldn''t realize I was gone. As I left, I saw them whip out a card game of some sort. I would likely let my kin raise the child until our quest was done. I wasn''t sure after our journey either, since I wasn''t confident in Lilith''s ability to be a good “father.” Irregardless, we were leaving, and not going to tell anyone else why we were going. Elias quickly told me “irregardless” should not be a word.

    We landed just outside Zuran. The town of Ru''un was located in the Hidden Forest, by a secret path. We walked through the confusing forest yet again, but this time instead of going to the mountain where we fought Sera and Phim, we turned towards the forest maze where we recently fought the Skinny Minotaur. The natural maze of brush and undergrowth made us walk slowly through a pretty small area, but eventually we made our way out of the maze after moving left and right through a lot of twists and turns. But then another difficulty awaited us. A thick fog covered the area, and we were forced to stumble ahead cautiously. I had heard that misty areas like this were often where bogs formed, and from what I knew of bogs, they were way worse than quicksand. The bog would look like regular dirt or grass but layers upon layers of peat moss, vines, dead animals, and water created a sort of death trap where falling in would suck you to the bottom. Not wanting to step somewhere I shouldn''t, I used my geomancy to form thick vines to cross. Soon enough, I had a natural bridge.

    The journey was made all the more arduous by the fact that I had become pregnant. The effects of pregnancy were a lot more mild on elves than other critters, but we elves deliver much faster, and it was almost my time. In had to make it to my family home of Ru''un within the week, and from the way my stomach felt, maybe even by nightfall. I hoped not. I plodded ahead carefully in the misty forested region, yet also with a sense of urgency, never knowing if I would be too late.

    ELIAS

    I shall explain about the effects of the use of mystic power. I know this doesn''t seem relevant, but it is key to understanding why pure-blooded elves live so long and why Aqorm felt she had to make this trip, despite all risks.

    As readers of this account may know, all creature with mystic power have an internal rune ley system known as dantian, with specific points called pressure points. Such points can be damaged or broken or exhausted, greatly hindering mystic power. They can even be poisoned (this is known as taint). Likewise, the Earth has ley points and ley lines, and circulates energy through rocks, trees, the land, the air, and the water. This energy is known as senju, and humans typically have no ability to draw it directly, unless they are a Sage or have some abnormality in the way they use magic.

    Among immortal creatures, the only effect of mystic power usage is fatigue and/or exhaustion from usage. After resting, mystic power would be restored with no ill effects. But it was different for mortals. This is because on the way our ley system works.

    Now what most people may not know is that dantian is actually divided into three portions (lower, middle, and upper). There is the upper portion, located mainly in the pineal gland or third eye, known as the “muddy pallet” and is related to consciousness. Alone, the upper dantian is the source of wu wei understanding, but combined with the middle portion, the person was able to use magic. The middle portion was known as the “crimson palace” and was centered around the heart and it was its job to turn vitality into spirit (mystic power), while the lower was known as the “golden stove” and was centered near the stomach and its job was to purify all things in order to generate vitality. But therein lies the problem.

    You see, many humans have a flawed circulation of dantian and tend to use only the upper and middle dantian,meaning mystic power in a human is eventually generated from their lifespan while vitality slowly drained, and the heart tried to restore the mystic power itself. This is not shared with the public for fear of panic. However, things are not completely hopeless. Mystic power can be retrained to generate vitality from the lower dantian or to draw instead from senju. This is called cultivation, and it brings the human body more in rhythm with how immortals use magic. If cultivation is practiced, this effectively slows aging and actually increases lifespan.

    Many immortals never actually use mystic power at all but rather they redirect it, others have correct dantian, and still others don''t have a dantian at all but a different system (as in the case of Nephilim). These systems all work effectively to protect from the decay of time. However, half-elves typically cannot last forever, though they do live a long life. This is because their bodies as a result of being mixed race, had an incomplete connection with any specific ecosystem.

    Being a half-elf wasn''t a kiss of death in terms of their immortality though. But in order for an elf to grow up strong and healthy enough to develop immortality in late adolescence, an elf needed an infancy free of human diseases. They needed to be delivered and raised by a real elf.

    AQORM

    After wandering through the forest, we encountered the town of Ru''un. The town was basically entirely tree-houses. No, I don''t mean those crappy things you humans call tree-houses, just a bunch of wood cut around a decapitated tree. Elves had long since discovered magic on their own, different from the petty runes that the humans used. Aside from geomancy abilities, elves had other powers based on their skills and personality (as a half-elf, I had never been able to use these, and my geomancy was far more limited than a true elf). For example, Shapers of rocks or trees or snow could communicate with spirits residing in living and nonliving nature, convincing them to reform matter in their favor. And so, the trees in this area tended to grow with hollows in exchange for water and fertilizer. Thanks to care elf Nurturers, these trees were well-watered and fed, and even maples and cherries turn grew as tall and wide as redwoods. The elf Illusionists kept the Hidden Forest hidden with a number of tricks, such as the thick mist near the maze, hiding the entrance from people who weren''t intending to find the town, and so on. Most humans didn’t even know that the town existed.

    Ru''un had such houses adorned with all sorts of furniture, and the hyphae from mushroom symbiotes formed “windows” capable of seeing outside without disturbing the structure of the trees. By only pruning excess growth, the elves made tables and chairs for their houses while still keeping the forest in good health. The houses themselves were lit by species of fireflies. And they kept a great variety of these, from the yellow glow fireflies, to the creepy blue glow Phausisones, to the deep green light of the variety. Some of these were just left to be crawling around houses (which creeped me out) while other elves kept them in jars and fed them all the snails and earthworms they wanted. Their houses had all of the conveniences you''d expect from houses in the major city, like running water, heating/cooling, and it produced all of these through their relationships with plants and animals. A deep river ran through through the town so a fair amount of fish, kelp, and aquatic elves living in the depths.

    I was struck by how young these elves seemed. As I aged slowly, I still looked older, but all of these elves looked like they were in late teenage years, and I saw none of them with even a hint of wrinkles. More so than that, they seemed to have no cares at all. There were no prisons and no union workhouses, rather these elves seemed to figure out what they wanted to do for the day then they did it. I saw many pick berries, and others were painting with natural materials, and still others sang for food. From what I saw, they had little concept of money, and those that did probably lived and traded with humans. They were dressed in garments spun from flowers and leaves. Their hair was long and hung loosely past their shoulders with some braiding it or adorning it with this same greenery. While none of them looked like they had done more than soak in the river, their hair was as nice as if they had washed it with beauty products.

    The elves meandered around, only vaguely interested in the fact that outsiders had come. When they were violent, the elves as a race were far better at both physical attacks and magic. When they were peaceful, I won''t be the first to say that my race was arrogant, and didn''t believe anything was gained from others. There was nothing they needed, so trade was out too, and they had little to talk about with humans who would be here one day and gone the next. They did vaguely notice me, but the looks on their face were filled with pity. I was a lowly half-elf, after all, doomed with even my lifespan to die quickly to their eyes. All looked down on me and refused to talk, until I met an elf with pink hair who kind of looked like me. “Aqorm!” she cried, “Is that you?” Having never met any relatives, I had no idea who this was.

    Seeing the confused look on my face, she explained, “Why, I''m your grandmother! Goodness, did your parents never mention me?” I had known from my parents that my grandparents were in fact elves, and I knew from seeing my folks that full-blooded elf puberty was arrested at about the point where they looked 14, while I continued to age, although about 1/100 of what I should look for my age. I was full-formed as an adult, while they were a good 6 inches below me. Of course, since my parents didn''t want to look younger than me, they used makeup, height prosthesis, and in some cases glamours to appear older than me and taller than they were. They obviously knew that I knew this, but they wanted me to be at ease and not see myself as older than my folks. Of course, I had an extra finger on each hand as well, if I didn''t have enough reminders of how different I was from my parents. But as long as I had known them, getting used to how they looked older than me just made it all the more shocking when I saw elves in their natural state. I stood next to her, as if to point out the difference to the others. But they only commented on how much I looked like my grandma.

    Siofra Athanasius was a powerful wood elf Healer, as I later discovered. I explained, “I''m kinda pregnant, and ummm...” She nodded, “Say no more! Your parents didn''t want to have a child delivered here, so they ran off. A shame too! Your bloodline is so messed up. Any decent Healer could fix this immediately.” I was kinda miffed at basically being called a mutt, but she''d said something about fixing it. “You can do that?” I asked her. Siofra nodded, “Yes, I can. Would you want it? I won''t change anyone''s body who doesn''t. That would be unethical!” I imagined her trying to transform me as I slept.

    I thought about it for quite awhile. It dawned on me exactly why my parents didn''t have me healed. Even though mixed breeds tended to be half-elves, I could have been made eternal like my parents. But, this life living in a mansion and sitting and reading books wasn''t actually all that satisfying, and deep down they must have known that while they enjoyed it, I might not. But, I realized, I didn''t have to follow in their footsteps. I could be my own person. I nodded. I had a choice to make.

    “But... could I do this before the pregnancy is done?” She shook her head. “Your body is 5''8''''. Reshaping your body to that of an elf changes your spiritual nature, and it changes your physique. The baby inside you would likely be crushed. Let''s wait until you deliver first.” Then I had a thought, “What about my fifth finger? I''m a pianist.” She nodded, “I doesn''t have to go unless you want it to. Oh yeah, and you’ll probably play faster. Elves tend to be four-fingered, but it''s not an indicator of immortality. The other things are, like your spiritual energy flow and your immune system. ”

    I considered it some more. If I were to look like all of the other elves, they probably wouldn''t laugh at me or call me names, and I''d probably be able to join in. However, I wasn''t sure I''d be able to get used to playing without all my fingers. I asked my grandma whether she''d think less of me if I kept them, but she didn''t seem to care. Then I asked the other townspeople, and they didn''t seem to care for an entirely different reason. Finally, I just grabbed a coin and flipped. Heads, I go ahead with it and get rid of the extra finger; tails, I keep it. It came up heads. I rolled again for two out of three, but it kept coming up heads. Darn, I guess fate wanted me to remove the thing. But I suddenly realized I wasn''t gonna let a coin decide. I would decide my own fate.

    And I decided to get rid of it anyway. My extra fingers, not the child. I didn''t have to think of that now though. The baby was coming. Right now. It started with my water breaking. Elves were a lot less messy than humans so it wasn''t as obvious, but I felt slightly wet and like something was struggling to come out of me, and told her, “I think maybe the baby''s coming.” We were still outside, so she called over a Shaper to create a medical table in the woods. She sat me on the table and told me to lie down.

    I spread my legs. There was no business about pushing, none of your human customs. She instead placed her hands on my belly, and began to channel natural energy in. The baby shifted position. I was delivered by humans, so no energy was sent to align my body with elf standards of immortality. My parents had the whole groaning and pushing and loads of pain, from what I understood of those pregnancies. My pregnancy on the other hand, was relatively calm. I felt it crawling around inside of me. She switched mostly to me, healing and numbing pain, as the child inched out of my crotch. I saw its head, then its neck, then the shoulders (and at this point, she had to heal and numb quite a bit since slowly crawling out widened me up quite bit and felt like it was tearing flesh. Then I realized she actually was tearing flesh, as she had pretty decent-sized claws. I was bleeding a lot, and Siofra wanted to be sure it wasn''t any internal wounds because I did look kinda weak. She put me to sleep for awhile.

    “Hey, all better. Wanna hold her?” she asked. I opened my eyes, and sat up. Lilith was holding my baby nearby while Siofra talked to me. I looked at the child, a blond girl with obvious elf ears, light skin like mine, pretty red eyes that glowed when she was upset, and some fully-developed sharp teeth. She had creepy parts to her, and I kinda suspected that one day she might become an evil creature, but for now she was adorable. And she was crying for her mother''s milk. “Hand her over,” I said, reaching my hands forward. And then, I noticed several things at once. First, the sunlight was in a different spot, so several hours must have passed. Second, when I had sat up, my body felt different, almost like I had somehow been slouching because everything felt taller than before. And then, as I reached forward, I noticed it. “Aaaahhh~!” I screamed. My hands were different. Aside from a missing finger on each hand, my body was shorter and leaner. I was like a little kid or something. When I got back, I would learn how to move this body. I''d need to learn how to fight, how to run, and whether this body could still breathe water and stuff. But for now, my baby was crying. Lilith handed her over, giving her a slight kiss first. The fight went out of her, and she suddenly stopped crying. “Huh,” I asked, “what happened?” Lilith smiled, “Oh that? You know how supposedly if a child doesn''t get any real love in the first ten years or so, they say the child becomes a psycho or something?” I had never actually heard this, and was inclined to believe that maybe she made it up. She saw my look of incredulity, and insisted that she had read this in the National Enquirer. The paper had actually become more serious as time went on, while other papers eventually became fake news, but every so often they said things that couldn''t be verified. I shrugged, “What about it?” She continued to explain, “Well, demons have a shorter threshold, turning violent if not given love in the first 10 hours of their life. Even though we have a journey to complete, we can''t just leave her with her grandmother. We have to show her that we love her.”

    Elias told us about some study around 1944 AD where about 40 infants were given food and water but no affection. The children were not hugged or kissed, just treated like experiments. Apparently, they died and no cause for it could be found. They just stopped crying, and then they gave up. Even some they took away to normal houses gave up. I wasn’t sure that story was true, even though he insisted it was a real study. The point was, we needed someone to give her some cuddling, but we didn’t want her getting hurt.

    I asked her, “But what can we do? I can''t exactly keep her in a bubble while violent beasts attack us.” I set the little girl down. Although being an infant, she immediately started crawling, and with her sharp claws, she began climbing the surface of a tree. “Sastraneth,” I said, quickly giving her a good demon name, “come down from there!”

    My choice of words could have been better. She jumped towards me, barely missing my hands. She was gonna hurt herself! I panicked and raised my hands protectively. Rather than hearing the expected dull thud of my child hurting herself though, I heard a sound closer to a tennis ball bouncing off the ground. I opened my eyes. My baby was inside a blue-green bubble, and giggling as if nothing had happened. “What... what is that?!?” I asked my grandmother. Siofra explained, “High elves can use real magic by redirecting nature. Drow can use dark magic by draining from the bodies of others. All other elves can use geomancy. But one thing we have in common is our gifts. Some of us are Shapers, some Healers, some are Firebringers, some Nurturers. You are a Protector, your gift is to be able to protect those you love dearly. Though it will only be big enough to protect your child at first, it is quite strong, and it responds to your will. Think about Sastra being carried on your back.” I did, and the bubble floated towards me until it attached to my back, making it easy to haul Sastraneth around. She continued, “As an elf, you will find you can do lots of things you couldn''t before. For instance...” And she used geomancy more frequently than once a day, creating vines here, there, and everywhere. The other elves looked peeved at her, but quickly chopped the excess vegetation with their swords. “Well,” Lilith noted, “I think you''ll be able to take your daughter with you if you want.” But I couldn''t risk her getting hurt by accident, so I thanked her and refused. Surely my child would be fine being raised by surrogates.

    Bidding our farewells, we left Sastra with my grandma. Despite the fact that I could now keep her safe, I worried about dying on this quest and making her an orphan. I wasn''t sure that I could do that to her, and Siofra was young and healthy enough to care for her. I would try to visit as much as possible in the time to come.

    ELIAS

    I wanted to talk to Aqorm during our time at the elf village, but things had become very awkward. It wasn''t just shyness, though I had no shortage of that. It was the sense that I was a third wheel, that our conversations in the past didn''t matter because the real one that she loved was the baby''s “father.” There were cultures in the past that had polygamy, Judaism neither condemned nor supported it (accepting it somewhat but eventually some rabbis ruled against it), and many pagan cultures at least practiced polygamy. These days, the Council banned it for those living in countries under its system (Hell was not one of them) for a variety of reasons:

    1. To prevent people from taking advantage of their wives

    2. To avoid potential infighting between rival wives, and prevent murder.

    3. That the husband be unable to provide properly for all his wives. Or vice versa.

    4. That a man may marry wives in different locations, which may lead to incest.

    5. There were other minor reasons, like a concern that polygamy was not ideal.

    When I looked at my own experiences, despite the Council now being gone, and with it the world in a messy state, I suddenly understood these concerns. It seemed like years ago when Aqorm and I joked about old historical wars or talked about random topics. Ménage à trois definitely sounded better in French than it felt in reality. Today, despite me clearly telling Aqorm that while I loved her, and wanted the best for her, and this is why being a scholar I couldn''t marry her and give her a family because I wasn''t confident that I wouldn''t neglect the child, I couldn''t help feeling like she had left me for Lilith.

    As we flew atop Bahamut back to the others, Aqorm watched my face. “Ummm, it''s just me, but you''re upset about something,” she said. I sighed, “I just felt like, with you and Lilith, I wasn''t needed anymore. I''m just thinking perhaps I should leave the both of you alone.” Aqorm looked at Lilith, and the other looked back, and they both shook their heads at me. Lilith told me, “I actually like you as the third part of our relationship. If something happens to either of us, I want you to be the godfather of our kid. Well, aside from Siofra, which is why Sastraneth is back there. I just can''t see fighting a giant demon while holding a child being good parenting.” Aqorm nodded and consoled me, “Elias, you will always be my love. I love you and Lilith in different ways. You don''t have to feel secondary to her. You''re the one I come to when there''s something I need to talk about.” I felt better about the whole thing, but Lilith seemed worse.

    Lilith sighed and lowered her head, “I have something to confess. I''ve slept with Michael, and Michael is ummm pregnant.” It was my turn to sigh. Since my relationship with Aqorm was of one who admired her but didn''t have a physical relationship, I felt sympathy for her, as I watched her close up emotionally. Lilith as well seemed to be deeply sorry for what she had done, and unable to keep from sobbing, which was a peculiar sight for a demon.

    Against my better judgement when their relationship was already built on messing around, I made a decision. “Do you wish to elope?” I asked them. They seemed shocked. “But I just said...” said Lilith, “I mean, I''d already gotten Michael pregnant before I even slept with Aqorm. And I''m not sure I''m ready to get married. I don''t even have a dress!” She pointed to her conspicuous lack of dress, and in fact that she was dressed in her chainmail bikini. I brushed aside her concerns, “I don''t think anyone cares about what you''ve done. It''s important what you''ll do. This child needs a mother and father.” Aqorm queried, “Mother and father? We''re both women!” I elaborated, “I''m talking about roles in marriage. A mother nurtures, looks after the home, and both teach the children. A father defends the children from harm and earns money to create a stable place to live. If both are working full-time, the children suffer from lack of skills and values. If both are at home, financial struggles are a fact of life. Out of concern for the child, will you be a family for them?” They nodded.

    “Okay then,” I said while still on Bahamut''s back, “Ummmm, Dearly Beloved, we have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this woman and this woman in Holy Matrimony. The the union of husband and wife is intended by God for their mutual joy, for the help and comfort given each other in prosperity and adversity, and when it is God''s will for procreation and nurture of children. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and with the purpose for which it was instituted by God. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” I had to make a call on this one, so I turned to Lilith and said, “Lilith, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, protect and keep her, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?” There normally was a “forsaking all others” clause, but that ship had sailed and I couldn''t expect a demon with two children to do that. “I do,” she nodded. Then I turned to Aqorm, having to improvise, “Aqorm, will you have this woman to be your husband; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and bless her, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?” She also vowed, “I do.” I announced they were married under the city of Shoten, and they kissed before we headed back. Lilith still looked guilty, probably because while she was married to one family, her other child would probably grow up without a second parent. I didn''t know what to do. But maybe it would work itself out?

    AMBROSIA

    Nevras said, “Draw your last pathetic card.” I shook my head, as my deck had no pathetic cards, but it did have... “Void,” I said, laying down a card face up, with an image of what looked almost like a black hole, with the dim letters naming the card, the word ?Void? black on blackish, which its description, ?Flip all adjacent cards, unless otherwise noted. Limit one per game round, discard any others.? Nevras groaned. Nobody could play, so I had won. We were playing Runes, a game some wizard thought up at a time when people really didn''t understand how thaumaturgy worked yet. It was a game where you put down cards on a grid. There was a deck of 52 cards (although you could buy more cards including expansions), forty of which were the eight cards of the five suits: Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Wind. These cards interacted with each other much like rock-paper-scissors. We played on a 5 row x 7 column grid until there were no cards left or nobody could play. However, the number 7 was regarded as sacred, so only six of these columns could affect each other, the seventh could not be harmed, yet could affect those outside it. It was sorta like the safe spaces in the game of Sorry.

    You had five cards, but if you ran out, you were allowed to draw one card while the game continues. Otherwise, you only drew the opening round, when you were allowed to discard sucky hands. After everyone discarded those cards they didn''t want, the deck was shuffled and they drew, which meant you could be getting other people''s sucky hands. Also, sucky cards were subjective, because what mattered was the situation that you played them. The wrong card could be deadly.

    Each turn, one of the players lays down one card. Well, unless you''re stacking two cards on top of each other, then the limit per turn is one basic card and one stack card. You can also use your turn to stack a previous card with an effect, draw one card if they have none and there are still empty spots, trade cards with another player (this is done face down, so the player has no idea if they''re getting good cards), or pass if they don''t want to go this turn. You can play anywhere on the grid that''s not active, but a card is considered still active until flipped over by an “attack.” This means that if I were to play an Earth card next to a Wood card or a Wood next to a Fire card, I would get my card flipped. If an adjacent card lost to me, that card would get flipped. Flipping an opponent''s card gains me points, but such cards can be unflipped if in later turns that card is attacked. Points operate on a scale fashion, so you can gain or lose points, counting points until the round ends, and points are added to totals. You could play until someone got 50 points, or you could just count the points to the winner of the round, and play as long (or short) as you wished. We were doing the latter, and this was like our 30th game.

    In general, Fire loses to Water, Water loses to Earth, Earth to Wood, and Wood lost to Wind (and Fire). But there were a lot of confusing sub-rules. Like, Wood could be “planted” near Wind, but “old” Wood would lose to Wind. Turn order made a difference, so while Fire lost to established Water (just as you can''t start a fire in an ocean), Water also lost to established Fire (a raging fire would steam out small amounts of water). In some cases, however, the card is turned upside-down and “weakened.” If nothing strengthens it, like Wood for instance, the Fire card loses to the next Water card.

    We didn''t have an expansion deck, so we didn''t have to worry about Force, Ice, Thunder, Acid, or Cosmic cards or the many many stackable cards. But there were 12 other cards. 4 of these were Dark cards, which countered all of the five main elements (though Fire played after could weaken it). Four Dark cards played in a square formation with a gap between each was colloquially called a Negative Zone or Death Square, because you couldn''t play much without it getting flipped. About the only counter was a Light card, which counters and blocks Dark without being weakened by multiple ones, or the Void card, which flips everything around it. There''s three Light cards, but only one Void card allowed per round, because it is *ahem* broken. The remaining cards were Dispel which unstacked any card it was played on effectively returning both into the deck, Restoration which explicitly cannot be flipped and which unflips one adjacent card or prevents adjacent ones from being flipped, Reverse which is stacked between two cards and reverses their relationship or effects (for example, being stacked between Light and Dark means that suddenly Light loses to Dark), and finally Protection which is removed when something would flip the card it is stacked below it, protecting that card.

    I had said this game was to “help form battle strategies,” and it did teach how to think strategically with its complicated behavior rules. But mostly, it was to have fun while waiting for the others to get back. I was having trouble justifying these sidequests lately, and Nevras was beginning to doubt. We shuffled again, not knowing this would be our last game before the others returned. Nevras, Azrael, Zoe, and Yazim Jianne played with me while the others watched. This meant that typically, everyone drew near the end of the game. I drew a pair of Wood cards, an Earth card, a Light card, and a Restoration card. Bleh. Restoration could restore 1 lost point from a flip, but it had limits, so it usually wound up being a worthless card.

    Yazim Jianne discarded his whole deck, Azrael and Nevras discarded one card each, then I placed this and the extra Wood face down, and Zoe didn''t seem to worry about her deck. We sat in order of youngest to oldest, with Yazim Jianne being oldest in his late thirties, Azrael being in her early thirties, Nevras being a year older than me, I was 21, and lastly Zoe was eighteen but about to be nineteen.

    Yazim Jianne played Dark on 2b, and Azrael shrugged and played Dark on 4b. These were usually safe defensive moves that allowed them to passively score points if any players hit adjacent spots. But with my Light card, I could score two points by placing it between them, and that area nearby would free up for playing cards. But Nevras was next, and he of course had my old Restoration card. He played it right between those two on column 3, row b, effectively making eight spots. I looked at my new cards from the deal. I had a Reverse card, and a Fire card. Since Restoration was not only preventing flip of the two Dark cards, but the Dark cards themselves created a lot of unplayable zones, I did the only sensible thing and stacked Reverse between Restoration 3b and Dark 4b. Azrael had to check the rulebook on this, because we weren''t sure whether reversing Restoration destroyed it or what would happen. It turned out they had incidental rules for stuff like this. That Dark became strong against Fire and Light and could be flipped by most of the other elements, while more interesting was the Restoration was flipped and stopped preventing adjacent areas from flipping. So I scored 1 point entirely without intending to. Azrael passed.

    Yazim''s turn came again, and he started it by flipping the reversed Dark. “The rules say that when both cards Reverse is stacked on are flipped, the Reverse card is discarded to the bottom of the deck and those involved in flipping the cards each get one point.” I asked, “So that means Yazim and I each have 2 points?”

    Hefting the massive tome that was the rules, she shook her head, “Nope. The rules define what you did as a passive flip. That is, technically you didn''t directly flip the card by attacking it. Cards that are passively flipped remain flipped because there is no way to unflip them, but the point is not added, because you lose the point when Reverse is gone then add it back for helping to remove Reverse. So Yazim is at two, and you''re still at one point.” Azrael cleverly played Wood, knowing that it would soak up water. This unflipped the Dark card, which would have flipped Water if it were not already flipped due to Dark having its original state again. Nevras set down a Earth card in spot 1a, knowing that anyone trying to play a Light card in 2a or 1b would be blocked, since earth obstructs light. On the other hand, since light nurtures plants, I was free to place Light next to the opposite Dark card. Zoe decided to put a Fire card right above the Dark card, placing it on 2a. This didn''t earn her any points, but it weakened the Dark card, turning it so its picture displayed upside-down. Yazim couldn''t act against his own card nor could Nevras, so Yazim Jianne passed, Azrael placed a Wind card on mainly to secure the corner (since it would not take her card, but now Wind could take cards that tried to threaten the Wood card she''d played earlier), and Nevras played a Fire card in 1e knowing that after his turn passed Fire would be difficult to counter. I played Fire on 1b, flipping the second Dark card (finally) and weakening the Earth card. But there was no way to take that card because of its position in the corner. At least, that''s what I thought. After Zoe secured the last corner at 7e with Water, then Yazim Jianne countered Light with Earth, and Azrael placed a Wind card in 3a where it seemed to have no purpose. When she flipped the Earth card, I accused her, “You cheated!” She pointed to page 250 and read, “Cards can be strengthened or weakened. If a card that is already acted against another card is strengthened, then you count its effect again, flipping any cards that are weakened. This is called transference. The card transferred through and the card hit are discarded... I guess that means this.” She said as she she removed the Fire card and Earth card from play. She read some more, “The card transferred to (Earth) cannot have the same card placed on it or be played upon by the same person, and the card transferred through (Fire) is considered a ley line. Uh... let''s see, page 706 says that ley lines are areas rich in natural energy where underground energy collects. Ley lines are one of several energy sources, that can be flipped with the right card choice... and then it talks about how to form the others.”

    The corner was now open, and it was Nevras''s turn. Since he hadn''t any points, he just added Void to 1c to flip the Fire card I had played earlier. He gained a point from me, and I was kinda pissed. I played my Wood card in the corner knowing it would be safe from Fire, and because I would probably get a point for using Wood on something underground. Sure enough, I got my point back, but Azrael said the ley line was still there, so nobody could play on it. I looked at the number of spots that were still free, and there weren''t many left. This was serious business, and I would need to win, or I would forfeit my soul. It was time to... uhhh play more seriously. Anyway, the others played their cards and soon it was my turn again. There weren''t too open spots left. The endgame was all about not placing the card in the wrong spot. It was tense stuff, and they''d left maybe two spots for me. No wait, three, that I could see anyway. I couldn''t always keep straight which elements countered what, so I just placed the Earth card in the center and hope for the best. “Congratulations, you won!” Azrael said. Huh? But I just put it in a safe spot. I didn''t win anything!

    She explained that on page 1464 of the rulebook (I realized only later that this game rulebook was slightly longer than War and Peace) near the end, they described special plays that were considered an instant win if they were managed. Of these, the most difficult to play was the Grand Harmony Tao formation, which won not only the round but also the game, regardless of how many points you needed. The idea was, that if you actually managed this one, you were probably cooperating just to see if you could do it, because if one person tried it, they were either blessed by God, or cheating and it was time to end the game anyway. This would have been like the equivalent of playing Yu-Gi-Oh, and not only drawing three Egyptian God cards, and not only also having the The Creator God of Light Horakhty to merge the three, but also using them to fight against Zorc Necrophades. These cards were so rare that such a game wouldn''t even happen unless everyone worked together to make it play out exactly as it had in the anime. And just as insane apparently was this combination, it required an expanded board (which most people didn''t own, and had column 12 take the place of column 7 with more rows as well), and for 64 cards to be placed in a complex circle requiring a massively expanded deck, with the center area to have Light and Dark make a literal Yin Yang pattern. Most of these sequences could counter each other, so after the entire pattern was made, it would wind up face down. The next player would need to play a Reset card somewhere on the safe column to unflip everything. And since you somehow had to draw just the right cards and lay them down, it was a team effort and a game-ending move.

    But thankfully, most of the other ones which just won a round like Five Elements Pentagram (you had to make a pentagon, and it had to be in the right order, but otherwise this was simple to do if you weren''t blocked by flipping) or the Five Winds (what I had just done apparently, four different people had to place the corner pieces, they had to be Wood, Wind, Water, and Fire and the center must be the exact center of the board and be filled with Earth), or Light Conquers Death (basically, you just had three Light cards in a triangle around four Dark in a square) were easy to play. Sёar?h the Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I kinda wanted to play again just to see if we could do some of the harder patterns. But not long after I won, Aqorm and the others came back. It was a good thing too. I couldn''t justify playing this game any longer.

    THE WORLD

    In another land, three others were also playing Runes. Satan said, “Your move.” Now many people believe Satan is the enemy of God, but they have been deceived by the flowery words of John Milton. All things in this existence have a purpose. Satan was ordained by God to be an angel, a messenger of a bad message, the message that one is accused. He originally wasn''t this sort of messenger, but he made a choice. And God respected it. It was God''s nature to make light out of darkness, and to bring balance. God said nothing as he played the hand, for any words on his part could affect the outcome. On God''s other side stood Estheriel, the angel who had left Heaven because he disagreed with human free will. But God never leaves any of his creations, not really. So God invited both of them to this game.

    Unlike the other game, God had managed to convince the other two to cooperate. And so, they were helping to create the Grand Harmony Tao formation. So far, they had a circle of 64 cards, all that way needed was to create the Tao in the center. The Yin Yang was almost complete, only about four cards were left. God passed. Estheriel set down a Light card, and Belial followed by Dark. The two cards remaining were the Void card, and the Reset card, which since there were only two card left in the deck was sure to be drawn soon. “Just two more cards,” Belial said. Then God played, placing the Void card square too far down. But it was too late. Cards once played couldn''t be taken back. They could only be changed or removed by other cards. Belial groaned. It was Estheriel''s turn, and he played two cards, the Redirect card and one face down off the board. Two cards could theoretically be played during a single turn, but only if you placed one as a “delayed spell.” In any case, the Redirect card put the Void card in the proper place, flipping all adjacent cards, which would need the last card to play, the Reset card. Belial didn''t have it, and the rules stated that once flipped, the Reset card had to be played immediately, which was the key reason this had never in memory been done. Belial didn''t have it, but he asked God, who having an affinity to that card, of course drew it in the first round. God traded his card for an extra Wood card, and Belial set it down in position. Just as he was to claim victory, Estheriel flipped his face down card up, declaring, “I will never let a demon like you win!” The card was Prohibition, which prevented the play of one card, and Estheriel of course chose the Reset card. They spent the rest of the game squabbling with each other while God groaned at the inability of good and evil to simply get along and play a game together. But then, this world wasn''t supposed to be perfect.