Honour Rae
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ATS Book 6 Ch 8: A Debt Owed
🕑 Added 2025-03-22 02:00:03 +0000 UTC****
Two Days Prior
****
Arthur left the king's room, curling his hands into fists to keep them from visibly trembling. Catching the man up on the current events of the kingdom had been emotionally draining. After all, hardly any of it had been good news.
When finally lucid, King Elizar was remarkably self-contained. In fact, he took the news with eerie calm. Perhaps he had expected it before the worst of the madness had taken him.
The only hint of emotion he had shown had been at Marion's prompting when he asked if he remembered anything from the last few decades.
"It felt like I was in a dream," the king had mused. "And finally, I am waking up. But as perpetually confusing and unpleasant as that dream had been—" his voice broke, and he shook his head, gathering himself again. "Well, I'm uncertain if the reality upon waking is any better."
Eventually, the king had requested time to think about all that had been said.
Arthur had excused himself while Marion had stayed behind. As the king's healer, he had wanted to monitor the man.
Arthur was unsurprised to see the king's dragon, Lung Bei, waiting outside the room.
"You don't want to be with the king?" he asked, surprised. He knew that Brixaby would want to be at his side for a moment like this.
Lung Bei shook her snaky head. "He said he needs to rest and think. I know him, and this is the truth. I will be with him when he wishes to speak again—Elizar has never been one to come to a quick conclusion."
The man certainly had been quick to condemn him the first time they'd met, but then again he had been in the throes of his madness. Arthur kept his private opinion to himself.
"You have done a great service to your kingdom today," Lung Bei continued. "But make no mistake, your debt has not been repaid."
He figured as much. "I suppose it will be repaid when Brixaby and I become Mythics."
"That will help," she said dryly. "I do not believe you understand how much myself and the others lost staving off the Scourge-Gods to give you time." She suddenly thrust her long neck forward, sniffing him. "But I see you have taken another step closer to your goal. Very good. Tell me, exactly how far along are you?"
Speaking frankly of the cards in his heart deck felt very wrong. It was something people only shared with close friends or those he trusted completely. Lung Bei was neither of those.
But she was also a creature who had the sheer power to wipe him from existence. She and the other Mythics had helped him, and most importantly, she wanted him and Brixaby to ascend ranks.
"I have three of the five cards I need," he said. "Master of Skills, Master of Body Enhancement, and Master of Cards. Brixaby has Call of the Void, Call of the Heart, and now Call of Life."
"Well balanced," she said with a hint of approval. "Yet you seem troubled."
He couldn't help it. He barked out a laugh. "Yes, I'm troubled. I can't gather all the cards I need and also be the leader of Blood Moon hive. It's too much."
"And yet, you must," she said calmly.
Arthur grit his teeth and gestured behind him to the king's room. "The king said he'll give me some time before he'll send word to the other hive leaders about what happened. We both know once they figure out that I've taken Chester's place, they'll be testing me and the hive. But it's all so stupid—our fight is with the scourglings. We don't have time to play politics."
And I don't think I'm cut out for it, he added silently.
It felt like he may as well have spoken aloud. Lung Bei instantly understood.
"Arthur, do you think that the journey to greatness is easy, or that those who succeed have done so with their hands held along the way?"
He rocked back, stung. "I'm not asking for my hand to be held or any other special consideration. I'm asking for the people in Blood Moon hive to be safe. The other two leaders are useless, and a leadership battle from the other Legendaries would tear us apart. We can't afford it. The kingdom as a whole can't afford it! But you know the other leaders—surely, you have someone in mind who would make a good leader for the hive. That way, Brixaby and I can collect the cards we need, someone else has a chance to lead, and Blood Moon is strengthened."
She blinked. "What makes you think the other hives do not have their own internal strife and struggles? That they are not, also, in crisis?"
That briefly stumped him. He just assumed other hive leaders had their situations more in hand than he did. Then again, he doubted Wolf Moon was being well managed right now with Valentina's death and Whitaker at the helm.
"Buck Moon seemed to be running well." In truth, it was the only other kingdom hive he'd had much experience with.
Her reply was acidic. "Ah yes, if a heretical system leading to rank stagnation is 'run well', I suppose they are. The leaders there are more than happy to be at the top and keep things exactly as they were. If I were to present them with Mythic cards right now, not one would take it. They live too comfortably."
Arthur raised his eyebrows. A question formed on his lips, but she cut him off before he could speak.
"And if your next question is to ask for myself or the other Mythics to simply fetch the cards for you... we cannot."
"I wasn't going to phrase it like that," Arthur grumbled. In fact, he'd hesitated to ask for that favor because he didn't want to be more in debt to the King's Mythic dragon than he already was. Still, he felt there was more to it. "But any one of you has more power than ten of the Legendaries combined. So I have to ask why?"
"A number of reasons. I will not leave my Elizar's side, and it will take me time to regain my strength."
Her mention of regaining strength made him briefly wonder if Brixaby's new Life card could help. But that felt like opening the door that led to a dark path. What if it did help and the king or Lung Bei then decided they needed that card's power going forward?
That was a quick way to end up with a Mythic ranked Chester.
Lung Bei broke into his thoughts with an emphasis that startled him. "You must hold Blood Moon. The hives are a wheel of safety around our kingdom, and it would be a disaster if one spoke went dark. But," she added with a sigh, "it would be a catastrophe for the entire world to have a weakened Mythic that was carried up the ranks."
"What do you mean by that?" Arthur asked.
She fixed him with a look. "Each card is a test."
Arthur blinked in surprise, opened his mouth to ask another question, but then shut it again. Instead, he thought back to each Legendary card he'd added to his heart deck. He had grown in a different way with every single one of them.
Of course, he had only been a child when he added his Master of Skills, and it had certainly carried him far—and continued to do so. His Master of Body Enhancement had added an entirely new suite of skills he had never thought of. With his running and climbing combined, he had easily overwhelmed Reginald earlier. Catching him had almost been effortless.
With the addition of his Master of Cards, he had more insight into card magic than he'd ever had before. He would change again when he finally added his Master of Combat. Needing to kill off one's cousin in cold blood would do that.
That was a reminder that part of his growth was what he'd had to go through in order to gain each card. Would he be the person he was today if someone had simply handed him the three Master cards in a set?
"I think I see what you mean," he said and let out a breath that felt like a sigh.
He had one more important task to complete while he was here to see the king. It was the one he'd been looking forward to the least. He and Brixaby had quite a few discussions on the necessity of this.
What finally swayed Arthur was that there was no way to hide that he and Brixaby had killed Chester and Blood Drop. The next logical question would be what happened to their cards.
"I have three Legendary cards to turn over to you," Arthur said, formally.
Then, with a motion that broke his greedy heart, he took the three Legendaries out of a specialized pocket he'd quickly sewn in with a much unused Tailoring skill. The cards were too magically heavy to hold even in his Personal Space.
Lung Bei looked pleased, as if Arthur had passed a test.
"From the previous leaders, I assume?"
Arthur nodded. "They each had a few Rare-ranked cards in addition—these were supportive cards for their own health. I had Marion look them over, and he didn't see how they would assist the king with his, uh, problems." He quickly stumbled over the last bit and hoped she wasn't sensitive to it. Quickly, he nodded to the Legendary cards. "I think you'll find these to be interesting."
In fact, it had been the contents of the cards that had swayed Brixaby. He valued powerful cards more than anyone, but even he realized that if he was found to have these... they'd both be in big trouble.
Cataclysmic Firestorm
Elemental
Legendary
The wielder of this card will be able to summon ever-hungry beings of living fire. These summons are flames that are unable to be put out by anyone but the wielder. These summons feed on all living matter, including magic. They will cleanse the earth in front of them. The cast of each summon requires an initial cost of mana, depending on the size. However, once cast, they will maintain themselves through feeding.
Ultimate Astral Projection
Knowledge
Legendary
The wielder of this card will be able to freely project a perfect copy of their own consciousness to any point they have previously traveled to before. This copy will be invisible as well as silent, and unable to interact physically with the world around them. However, the copy will be able to observe their surroundings without any vulnerability to their physical selves. The wielder does not have to be asleep to perform Ultimate Astral Projection. However, using this card does require exceptional concentration, and the wielder may be unable to accomplish complex tasks while managing an astral projection. This card does not require mana.
Silver-Tongued Mind
Mind
Legendary
The wielder of this card will be granted enhanced persuasion skills in all aspects of business. This includes, but is not limited to, increasing or decreasing the value of objects in the eye of the beholder, subtle mental pressure when haggling, and influencing contract negotiations in favor of the wielder.
The third card had been the most tempting. It had also been the one Brixaby wanted to keep.
Arthur suspected it had been a big reason why Blood Moon prospered despite failures in its leadership and disquieting rumors. There were very likely a lot of merchants who had been persuaded to give the hive—and Chester—very favorable deals.
He was also very, very lucky that the final strikes against Chester and Blood Drop had been quick and decisive, and Chester hadn't had the time to set these cards on him. The Cataclysmic Firestorm summons ate magic, so Arthur may not have even been able to Phase Out if one had been set on him... not that Chester should have ever used one near any civilization, especially his own hive. The card had loose definitions on the wielder's ability to control those fire summons.
He may have been able to use the Silver-Tongued Mind on his own people to convince them that the blood price was not such a bad deal after all.
Astral Projection had posed the biggest silent threat. If Arthur had stayed in the hive for much longer, he would have gained more attention. Perhaps enough for Chester to have spied on him using that card. He would have then easily learned his secrets.
Yes, he'd been very fortunate to escape the man's direct notice until the end.
"Ah, so you have learned your lesson from the first time you visited us," Lung Bei said, with amusement in her voice.
She reached out with her giant claws and plucked the cards up with surprising delicacy.
There was no expression as she brought the cards up to eye level to read them.
"I see," she said quietly. Two of the cards instantly disappeared into what Arthur assumed was some kind of Personal Space.
Then, to his shock, she pushed one card back to him. He took it. It was Cataclysmic Firestorm.
"A reward for honesty, and congratulations for your new leadership. However, before you become too comfortable in my favor, I will remind you, I have been to Blood Moon hive."
Which meant she could use the Astral Projection card on him. That wasn't a comforting thought, but he always assumed a Mythic-ranked dragon had several ways of spying if they wanted.
****
Arthur explained the bare bones of what had happened, focusing mostly on what the king had said about giving him some time before he alerted the other hive leaders.
He did not tell them about the Cataclysmic Firestorm card, or that he had given it to Brixaby that night to hide.
The dragon did not have room in his cores for another Legendary-ranked card and wouldn’t for a bit of time. Arthur could have probably added it to his own heart deck with a bit of meditation and some rearrangement, but he didn’t want to.
That card was horrific.
He suspected this was another test from Lung Bei to see what he and Brixaby would do with pure destructive power.
Using it for combat was out of the question. He supposed he could still use it for leverage somehow with the other Legendary leaders, either as a bribe to leave him alone or a threat to do the same. Or he could wash his hands of the problem by selling it to a noble who would hopefully keep it locked in a private card library for display and not against his neighbors.
But he wasn’t going to do any of that. After all, Arthur had a Master of Cards in his set. If a card with that sheer amount of potential was not one he could see himself using, he would adjust it until it was.
Comments
Boo
That seems like a waste seeing as they both already have their own personal spaces that they can retreat to together. Their card trio is a way better version too. They’re able to use their spaces as their own workshops where they can work unaffected by time. I guess they do need a place to keep the higher ranked cards but really they should just eat any excess cards.
Boo
Yeah and whatever happened to Claude the Cluge’s cards? Brix and Arthur were super covetous of that guy’s mechanical card abilities but the cards were swiftly forgotten once they got them.
Boo
I really don’t see what’s so scary about the fire card but if Arthur is so disturbed by it why doesn’t he or Brix just eat it? Come on! It’s the most logical solution seeing as he wants it out of circulation. He will probably alter the card into something barely useful even though brix and he were just discussing their lack of combat abilities in the last bk. It makes absolutely no sense that Arthur is so dismissive and uninterested in acquiring combat abilities when he’s trying to become mythic so he can battle the scourge.
Keven Leigh
I remember in the previous book Arthur had insight on why having a mythic gather the cards for him would be bad. This chapter seemed to rehash already known things. Also the card mix with the missing legendary from the centipede
Konrad
Didn’t Chester also take the card from the scougling centipede? Shouldn’t there be at least one more legendary card? As others have mentioned the three cards mentioned above also seem to be a somewhat odd combination I guess astral projection could make some sense as Chester’s original card and the card they combined to make was the deal card to get burning good deals… but it still seems like an odd mix.
Arkell Henry
Next chapter??
killer
I mean I can kinda see the astral projection one being paired with the fire one, and making call of life. Projection famously is a ghostly trait, and adds distance and stuff, and fire is constantly compared to life, plus it summons elements, and the massive discharge of life energy from col, but it’s kinda a stretch, it’s possible, but we’ll definitely need a good explanation, plus it would explain why both could use it effortlessly, and why they were both heavily effected by it, even though blood drop had it.
killer
I don’t think that’s one o the things moc lets him do? At least I don’t remember that being in the description.
James Donnelly
The Access to a secret place card needs to go into Arthur's heart. It solves his card storage problem and can be accessed by both him and Brix since it's a shared space. No more carrying a legendary card in his pocket
Torn2.0
That was assumed. Je doesn't need to find it. He already knows where it is.
James Donnelly
That's not how it works. It states in the book that the card exists outside of the heart and is granted to the other on death or if the link is broken. So blood drop should have recieved it when Chester died Also. If a legendary card was destroyed the magical backlash should be severe. The book also stated several times that Master of Life was not Blood Drop's original card.
Khrysaes
You didnt mention master of combat. Though i guess arthur knows where that is.
Khrysaes
The life card was in the dragon though. I guess chester. Ould have taken it out and given it to the dragon. But they would have had to rebond afterwards
Khrysaes
Chester’s dragon was a legendary red. So the cataclysmic fire makes sense as its birth card. Dont know which of the other two Chester had to combine with that one though. I would think astral projection, but it doesnt match well. Arthur mentioned it before that the cards are… not alive… but they have some sort of instinct or something that lets them determine worthiness or something, particularly higher ranked cards. Being handed the cards doesnt make one worthy.
Hailhound
Still, feels weird to be editorializing on a flashback. Is it not a flashback then? And we don’t see any input from the rest of the gang to go with it, I guess that’ll come next chapter
Dan
Their join r card was destroyed the second he ripped Chester’s cards out. Chester’s OG card may have been master of Life. It’s destructive the way the fire card is.
DrSubterfuge
The beginning of this chapter, up to the asterisks near the end, is a flashback to the end of the meeting with the king. Everything else has been in the same continuity, starting at the beginning of the book right after he got back from the meeting. So yeah, the chase happened after he got back from the meeting with the king, and now he's telling his people about the meeting.
Hailhound
Didn’t the chase with Reginald in the city happen after the kings meeting? Since this is a flashback?
Kris Piskorski
Also that explanation why they can't just find the cards for him is a but iffy, are they in a crisis or not??
Kris Piskorski
These cards dont really make any sense as all coming from chester and his dragon
James Donnelly
I doubt it. We haven't exactly met a bunch of legendary dragons
Omar Hammad
if Arthur breaks the card down, Soledad will benefit from the rare cards that will come out of it.
Torn2.0
I'm worried that we already know where Master of Magic is. I suspect it is in the core of a "dragon" we have already met.
DirePants
Thanks ✌🏾
Torn2.0
Oh, and since Kelsie and Marteen are being added to his retinue, all the uncommon they are going to need.
James Donnelly
It was a common earth manipulation card set
Kacey Ezell
Thank you for the chapter!
James Donnelly
These cards don't make sense. Obviously the firestorm card has to be Blood Drops original card due to his color. But what is Chester's? Also where is their joint card? Either Arthur is holding cards back (which i doubt) or it's an oversight.
Voror
That is a very scary card. I'm glad even Brixaby recognized the potential issues with it. I actually didn't think of Arthur looking to make adjustments to, though I feel like that could be a lot more difficult given this is a Legendary we're talking about. I wonder if you'd put more definable limits perhaps? And if he can get Master of Magic that could allow even more control. Though if they could somehow get Cressida and Joy to Legendary with their Meta Cards and perhaps their summon set too, they could be a potential addition. But that would be a long ways off. Interesting to have a bit more from the King here. I'd wondered what it felt like when he looked back on things and how much he remembered. Not that he and Lung Bai can entirely be trusted still, though I feel if Arthur at least acts in the best interest of the Kingdom and keeps his end of the bargain then it could be ok. The question of how he can maintain the hive while also getting his other cards is definitely an issue. They need four more total. They at least know the location of one and Call of the Heart hopefully could assist in getting leads on the others enough. I'm not sure if they'll require more globetrotting or if they'll luck out in the others appearing in the kingdom.
DirePants
Good chapter. I was wondering whatever happened to that complete set Arthur spied in the first book. I think it had something to do with wood or trees? Think it’ll ever make an appearance? I wonder what rank it was? Maybe rare? That would mean it could end up a legendary (nope common). Speaking of legendary, I wonder if another legendary would be born, maybe at Blood Moon, allowing Arthur to give that legendary fire card to someone, maybe altered. So many questions. So many possibilities. Taking a break. Letting some chapters build up because of the inconsistent posting. See you guys when I see you ✌🏾
Reno
I get the impression that messing with legendary cards is still beyond him... I wonder where they hid it. That secret place card? Did they keep it?
Decide
Ahh. I wonder if messing with the card could break it? Maybe make rares out of it? If not, I wonder how he'll change it for the better.
Steven Thompsen
Not going to lie I kind of hated this interaction with the mythic Plus I feel like it came out of nowhere
Caleb Martin
That would be very cool if he did all of that
Caleb Martin
This was a great chapter! That new card sounds powerful
Torn2.0
I'm trying to make a list of what Arthur needs to either find or make. Master of Magic, the other two Call cards, the other Counterfeit cards, the other Quest Cards for Cressida, the other Charlatan?/ Blade cards for Joy, whatever Horatio and Sams need, whatever Marion and his dragon need, and whatever Solidad and her dragon need. He also should probably try and finish as many of his current sets as possible.
Torn2.0
Ahh, so that is what happened with Chester's cards.
Jessica Hussey
Thank you for the chapter!
