Honour Rae
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B4 Ch54 - Card Smith (Book 4 Epilogue)
🕑 Added 2024-05-04 02:01:03 +0000 UTCNote: That's right! It's the close of book 4, but as my talented (and lovely, I'm sure) patrons, it doesn't matter much to you because the start of book 5 is next week. :D
For non-patrons, book 4 will be coming out in ebook and audio August 20th. We're so ahead here.
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They did not dally on the stairwell back to the pavilion. The shaking from outside—the incalculably distant sound of roars and whistles, all the more terrifying because they could hear them— hurried them on.
The shaking and noise stopped the moment they re-entered the door that led to the pavilion, but the waiting dragons were still visibly worried.
Joy let out a glad cry when they appeared and practically seized Cressida to pull her in close and nuzzle her. "You're okay! I didn't get a quest or intuition or anything to tell me what was going on. It was so scary!”
“Where have you guys been?" Soledad said. "I thought that time didn't really pass when you were in challenges.”
Arthur guessed that more had worried them than the wait. “What's happened?"
Sam gestured with his snout. "We received that message a few minutes ago.
The three challenge doors were gone. In their place was a message:
The team that has claimed this territory has finished all applicable levels. Time remaining to exit the Dark Heart: 49 minutes, 17 seconds... 16 seconds... 15 seconds.
Failure to leave Dark Heart and relinquish your territory will result in escalating penalties.
"They only gave us an hour?" Arthur guessed, then shot a look at Horatio. "Don't tell me that doesn't seem fair."
"It's not fair, but now we know why," Horatio muttered, shuddering dramatically.
"Why?" Soledad asked.
"I'll tell you later," Arthur said. "Let's move."
If they were forced to travel on foot and without any speed enhancements, the hour limit might be a problem. But flying on dragons, it wouldn’t be an issue.
Still, after learning what he had about the Dark Heart, Arthur wanted to get out of there. Especially since there was a not insignificant chance that whatever battle they'd caught a glimpse of might spill in.
As he ascended the stairs, he heard Joy say behind him, "Wait, so we can't do any more challenges? Boo. I was hoping for some more good cards."
"I got us a good card," Cressida told her.
Then a moment later, Joy exclaimed, "Those are the cutest kittens I've ever seen!"
* Arthur fully expected to have to travel back to the spot between the hills where they had first arrived. Maybe an exit had opened there. Or maybe it would be another trap and they’d have to search for the real way out with a limited amount of time and risk those escalating penalties.
However, upon reaching the top of the staircase, he spotted a new entranceway that stood in the middle of the pavilion. It was simply a frame floating mid-air with a dark space behind it. Seeing it reminded Arthur of the place with the Scourge-Gods and shuddered. But he felt no terrible pressure from beyond it. And that was clearly the exit.
I guess we won't have to fly out of here, he thought. After all, they still mounted up on their dragons, with the hatchlings and their new riders seating themselves on Sams and Joy.
As they approached, the frame obediently expanded to include a dragon the size of Sams.
They went through it, one by one, and found themselves standing at the very pit of the Dark Heart. Above them, streams of people were still descending into the pit.
Arthur touched Brixaby's neck. "Should we try to warn them?"
"It may not do any good," Horatio muttered, "I don't think they'll listen."
But Brixaby was already inhaling. Arthur knew he was more than willing to shout, and be heard.
*
Several days later.
*
Arthur stared hard at the card placed on the table in front of him. It was one that had been recovered from the bandits – which meant it was likely stolen from someone else.
People often put down Common ranked cards, and the description for this one wasn't particularly impressive. But now he had a sense of how much energy was stored in the card.
Beautiful Bouquet.
Nature.
Common.
Using mana, the wielder of this card will be able to generate pink flowers in the breed and variety that the wielder imagines.
It was a very simple card and its simplicity was the reason why Arthur had chosen to work on it. Concentrating on the word ‘pink’, he focused hard and imagined the letters changing one by one. It was more than simply reworking what was on the surface. A matrix lay just underneath. A complex play of energy that existed within every card. He was now only starting to learn how to decipher it.
Arthur concentrated so hard that sweat popped out of his forehead, but he did not dare even to raise an arm to wipe it away.
Finally, with a sudden drop of mana, followed by a wave of exhaustion, the change clicked into place. The description now no longer read ‘pink flowers’. It read ‘purple flowers’.
That small change that had cost him three quarters of his mana.
But this was an improvement. When he had started experimenting a few days ago, a little change like this would have nearly knocked him flat.
New level gained: Card Intuition (Card Smith class)
Level 8.
New level gained: Card Manipulation (Card Smith class)
Level 7.
This was good. This was progress.
Arthur leaned back in his chair and looked around. It certainly wasn't silent in the barn. Brixaby was working on something by his forge. Meanwhile, safely out of range of any sparks, Eclipse and Marion's dragon, Asha, were wrestling together. They were already growing fast and – faster than Arthur normally expected from other dragons, including Rare's.
Their riders were currently out of the barn, and Arthur and Brixaby had chosen to keep an eye on them. Marion was back at the hospital. It was, unfortunately, doing very brisk business. When the survivors of the dark heart returned, they often were not unscathed.
Meanwhile, Soledad was out shopping for the group. They were running low on bison meat again. Of course, Arthur had his emergency stores... and some additional backup stores for the emergency stores in his Personal Space. But he didn’t want to dip into that. Young dragons ate a lot, and Soledad had wanted some fresher, bloodier meat for them.
Sams and Horatio had made the excuse of going out to hunt any remaining scourgelings beyond the walls with the guards. Arthur suspected that they were still integrating the new Rare card that Horatio had added. His friend was being cagey on the details, but Arthur hadn't pressed. He sensed that Horatio wanted to show off to Soledad when it was ready.
Meanwhile, Cressida and Joy were at the library. After listening to the Mythic’s conversation, Cressida had a renewed interest in history... and Joy wanted to sun herself on top of the library roof.
It was a nice afternoon, which was why Arthur wasn't too surprised when it was rudely interrupted.
A knock came at the barn door. Before he could rise, Asha broke off from playing with Equinox to yell, "I got it!"
She floundered over, mostly running, but aided in a few long steps with awkward beats of her wings. Unless they were Purples, or the rare Blues with four wings, it took time for young dragons to fly.
Leaping, Asha pulled at the rope that connected to a pulley system Arthur had set up. The heavy barn door swung wide to reveal Over-sheriff Walker standing on the other side.
Landing again, Asha looked up at her and said, "Hello, who are you?"
The sheriff looked mildly surprised, but only a little. She'd probably grown used to weirdness around Arthur.
"I'm Sheriff Walker." She touched her hat.
Standing, Arthur Slid the common card back into his Personal Space. It twinged a little, but nothing he could not handle.
"Sheriff," he said, "why don't you come in?"
She did, and he gestured to her to have a seat across his desk.
"I'm glad to see you," he said, "but I half expected you to be delving the heart by now."
"I could say the same for you," she said.
With a polite smile, Arthur concentrated on his Charming Gentle-Person card. "How can I help you?"
She gave him a look as if he should already know, and the truth was he had some guesses. But what she did next surprised him. From her belt, she pulled out a small leather bag and tossed it to the table between them.
"I intercepted this on the way here—saw it was for you and thought that I would save the deliverer a trip."
Arthur picked it up and looked inside. It was a bag of 20 card shards: the blank ones, straight from the Dark Heart. He had put out a bounty for those and paid in advance. Someone had taken him up on it.
"The question is," she said, "why didn't your team, which is one of the strongest left in the city, come back with any shards?"
That answer was easy, and for once, Arthur did not mind telling the truth. "All of our extra shards went to them." He gestured to Equinox and Asha, who had resumed their tumbling together. They looked like puppies.
She did a double take. "You need shards to breed dragons?"
"We only have one dragon of breeding age," Arthur said with a laugh. "No, we got these two from the Dark Heart."
“I see.” She clearly didn’t, but she leaned forward. "And your team is one of the few who have returned."
"Yes," Arthur said, his mood lowering. "At least in one piece. I know people weren't happy about us broadcasting that the heart is eating people."
She snorted. "To put it lightly."
What they were both not saying was that hardly anyone had been in the mood to listen while descending the pit, and once they reached the top, Arthur was officially told to knock it off. Of course, that didn't stop Brixaby from bellowing warnings in ears and in minds on the long, slow, extended journey back. People heard. He didn't think that many had listened, but they'd heard.
"Too many people have failed to return, and word is starting to spread that this heart is more than most can bite off and chew.” Walker sighed. "I had hopes of going in myself, once the fervor died down a little."
"Don't," Arthur said. "It's not worth it."
"Why not?"
Ah, so now the city officials were starting to ask questions.
It made sense. The line waiting for the heart had finally dwindled to nothing, and yet, not a lot of people had come back out. It could be that many were still doing challenges, but Arthur wasn’t optimistic. He had even considered returning to the heart to grab people who were in trouble, or just hunt bandits.
But when Arthur and Brixaby tried to return, they found that when they descended into the pit, the entrance did not open for them. Once they had defeated the final challenge of the dark heart, there would be no readmittance.
There was no reason to keep the truth away from Walker now. Especially now her bosses were in the mood to listen. "We found out some truths," he said bluntly, "You think it’s a gift, but we learned that the Dark Heart is a trap baited by high ranked scouglings."
"You're talking about it erupting?" Walker asked, visibly alarmed. “Even after we opened it?”
"Sheriff, what do you think happens when somebody dies in there with a heart full of cards?"
"I don't know."
"It gets returned to the heart, and a lot more people are going in than coming out."
She sat on that for a moment, though she didn't look shocked. It wasn't too hard to figure that much out, if someone were already suspicious of the heart and thinking the right way.
"Do you think it will erupt?" she asked, bluntly.
When. Not if.
That was the big question that kept him up at night.
Arthur hesitated. "That's why we're still here," he said. "My team ended up removing a few powerful cards on our way out, as well as those baby dragons you see. They represent a lot of power. And I suspect there might be other influences that have… put a cap on this cycle’s eruption, for the time being.” Though he worried how much it had cost the Mythic dragons to interfere.
The people who had managed to come back out after Arthur’s retinue hadn’t reported as big of rewards. There was a reason why less ‘bait’ was being seeded around.
Too bad the Mythics wouldn't—or couldn't—do that for all Dark Hearts.
"But I'm almost certain that your Dark Heart will ripen faster than ever next time. And yes, it will likely erupt. We'll stay for another few weeks to be sure, but then we're going to be on our way."
She blinked. "But... with the cards you surely got out of it... you're not going for leadership?"
"I don't want to be a leader here," Arthur said, "this is not my city, or my kingdom."
“Poor Dannill,” she said sarcastically.
He shrugged. “He’s gotten his money. Have you seen the toys they’re selling at the market? Stuffed dragons are all the rage.”
“I supposed.” She was quiet for a moment before she let out a sigh. "Well, if you're telling the truth about not seeking leadership, that will relieve a few people around here."
Arthur suspected that was the true reason she had come, which meant that she wasn't taking him seriously as she ought. "Unless you can find a way to vent the Dark Heart before it ripens again, there's not going to be a city to lead."
She gave him a hard look. "I heard you, but I can't stop people from going in and taking a chance. They have a right."
"A right to die?”
“Not everybody dies, and that's the way we do things here. The best of the best pull out the strongest cards from the Dark Heart. That’s why they’re elected as leaders. It’s how we reshuffle our government and keep it strong. Furthermore, we sell that opportunity for advancement to people. If we take that opportunity away, there will be riots."
"If you don't, there will be an eruption," Arthur said.
Though, to a degree, he understood her point. This place's whole social structure and economy, as well as everybody's hopes, were all pinned on the Dark Heart. People put their lives on the line enduring the dead lands, just for the hope of retrieving powerful cards.
Arthur and Brixaby couldn’t sit on the mouth of the Dark Heart and refuse to let more in. They were powerful, but the might of the entire city would be against them.
It left him with a sour taste, but he had seen people turn back when Brixaby broadcasted his warning.
"If you have any sway here at all, spread the message to those going in not to go past the first couple of levels," Arthur said. "It gets progressively harder. If they listen, they can at least come out with some kind of reward. But if they get greedy and make one false move..."
She nodded. “That might be an acceptable middle ground. It’s something we can do.” She rose as if to go.
Arthur asked. "Has there been any word on Claude? I issued a missing person’s report..."
She did not pretend like she didn't know what he was talking about. He knew she was keeping an eye on him.
"No," she said. "But some reported missing persons are still being found. You never know. He might be in for a long challenge. I'm told that some of them last for years...objectively."
He nodded. "Thank you."
Arthur couldn’t quite let himself grieve yet. Those two cards he'd found in the bandit's deck were the only two Mechanical-type cards in there. And an adventurer like Claude would surely have more.
Maybe he had shed them or offered them as a bribe just for a chance to get away. Then he stayed in the heart to try to replace them.
Or maybe he was gone, and Arthur might be fooling himself. Either way, he chose to have hope.
He walked the Over-sheriff out. When he closed the door, Brixaby came over. The tips of his claws were smoking from the heat of the forge, though it didn't seem to bother him. "What did she want?"
"Snooping around to see if we want to stay as leaders here."
"Here?" Brixaby asked. "In this little dragon-less city?”
“We could find a way to safely vent the Dark Heart after it closes again," Arthur said, just for the sake of taking a different position. “That would really help these people here.”
"We could complete our sets like we originally set out to do, become Mythics, come back, and vent it then," Brixaby said. He had taken up the challenge of leaping to the next rank with gusto, especially since he already wanted to complete his set. Arthur couldn't say he minded it too much.
He turned to his desk. "She did bring a gift."
He walked back to his work-station and Brixaby followed curiously. Upending the little leather bag, Arthur shook out the blank shards. Then, with a light touch on his Master of Cards, he sat down and started to look them over.
Some people had experimented with the blank shards once they were outside the heart, but they were just as useless as they were outside of challenges. But now Arthur had his Card Intuition, and a plan. He spent a few minutes arranging the shards.
Each was a different shape, and there were no corner pieces. They still fit together if he put them together just so. Finally, when he was finished, he had a small solid square.
To his Master of Cards, they hummed with power.
"Brixaby, please hand me the Repair Card."
The moment it was out of Brixaby's Personal Space, it started shedding mana in the form of throwing sparkles. Arthur could feel the matrix underneath it unraveling like threads from a shirt that had been washed too many times. But when he gripped an edge, it stopped.
Carefully, he placed it on the table and held it. With his other hand, he slowly nudged the square of shards over the card.
Once it was centered, he relaxed his hold just a little. The square of shards melted over the card like wet candle wax and sunk into the broken areas of the magical matrix underneath.
The matrix already knew what shape it should be. It had been that way for centuries. Using the extra power of the shards, it became whole again, brand new, and perfect.
Card Repair
Meta
Rare
The wielder of this card will be granted the ability and suite of basic skills in order to repair a damaged or malfunctioning magical card. When using any of these skills to repair a card, chances of spontaneous card fragmentation or scourge spawn-nation are reduced by 25%. The skills which are granted are based on personality and ability in similar repair crafts. This card is skill based and uses mana. This card does not unlock mana.
"I did it," Arthur breathed.
And that wasn’t all.
New Skill Gained: Card Smith (Card Smith Class)
Due to your card’s bonus traits, you automatically start this skill at level 5.
"Hmm. Not quite as good as a blacksmith," Brixaby said when he told them, "but useful."
“I don’t know, I like the title of Card Smith. Next stop is getting it as a class.)
Grinning, Arthur slipped the card into his heart. With its recent expansion, there was no pain or added magical weight.
Then, he spent a few minutes using his brand new Repair Card to fix the other two.
Card Sympathy
Meta
Rare
The wielder of this card will be granted the understanding of magical cards on a fundamental and instinctual level. Every card has its secrets that are not spelled out in the description. The wielder of this card will automatically be granted more insight into their own cards, and others that they see. The wielder will have unusual insight on how to best use compatible cards for the best effect.
Search out other cards in this set to add to meta card knowledge.
Card Shard Insight
Meta
Rare
The wielder of this card will be granted unique insight on the nature of card shards on an instinctive level. The wielder will be able to position shards in the optimal position for the desired outcome when creating a card, as well as receive a 25% greater chance of harvesting a corner piece. In addition, the wielder will have a 5% chance of spontaneously harvesting a card shard of a higher rank rarity than a scourgling’s baseline rank.
Alert: Three of your cards share a set synergy.
Card Repair
Card Sympathy
Card Insight
These three cards have been combined into three-of-a-kind.
Alert: Due to this Rare find your basic Luck stat has been temporarily increased by +1.
Being three-of-a-kind, they only took up one spot in his heart deck. They felt right there, and could tell that they would match nicely with his new Master of Cards.
He looked at Brixaby. "What about your new Void Portal card?"
Brixaby, of course, had chosen probably the most ominous card that Arthur had ever heard of. But it was a portal strong enough to get him and his retinue to most places they pleased… at the cost of nightmares. They hadn’t used it yet, but the description said power visions of death would open a temporary tear in the world and conduct those who the wielder thought was worthy through on a rowboat. It was an awful card, but the cost in mana was incredibly reasonable.
"My secondary core is not quite ready for the card," Brixaby said.
"Well, we're not quite ready to leave."
He didn't care what Lung Bei said, he and Brixaby would return to Wolf Moon Hive… but only when they were ready. Arthur still wanted to keep an eye on the Dark Heart to make sure it wouldn’t erupt.
"Arthur," Brixaby said, "I do not hate the idea of returning back to Wolf Moon, but I do dislike the thought of staying there forever.”
“We promised that we would return and be leaders," Arthur said, "but we can always be leaders in our own way. Besides, they want us to ascend to Mythics, which means that we're going to be searching out other cards, right?"
Brixaby brightened.
Of course, the moment they arrived back at the barn after leaving the Dark Heart, they had used Brixaby's Call of the Heart to search for a card in his set. The answer was a surprise.
"Will we be going to Blood Moon before or after Wolf Moon?" Brixaby asked, with an evil smile.
"Everything I’ve ever heard of Blood Moon says that they’re elites and unfriendly.”
Brixaby grinned. "Then stealing my next Legendary card from them will be fun."
Comments
Jasmine
I think the ) should be a " over here: “I don’t know, I like the title of Card Smith. Next stop is getting it as a class.) Also does this mean that he can get mythic shards from killing demi-scourges now?
Ihsan Gunay
I think the next card will be call of the card, which will find/link card sets.
Jacob Scritchfield
Next week she says 🧐🧐
James Donnelly
I'm currently rereading the whole series for the 4th time.
StrollingEye
*Offers balm for chapter rash itch.* You too? I'm also twitchy for the next. The last arc finished really well, and I rejoined to find the arc concluding. Want the next. Honour deserves a break though.
Anthony Brookes
Really hope it's not a month, I'm poor rn and it expires next month 😅 wanna know what's going onnnnn
CasStocks
I’ve reread the last three chapters probably 7 times at this point haha very excited to see what comes next
FossilWreckers
Every time she's said "Next week" on here, she's meant not next week, but some time after. I think it was a month last time.
James Donnelly
I have literally been checking my email every hour to see if a have a notification from Patreon
DirePants
Rae… *scratches arm*… you got any more of those chapters? *scratch* 😂😂😂
Hayley Stark
Great ending! Fyi, Equinox gets called Eclipse earlyish in the chapter
James Donnelly
I'm assuming some version of poisoning the dragon like in book 3.
Dan
And with Arthur’s new MoC ability, he can, in the future, change the portal card so there aren’t potentially devastating consequences to using the card.
Reaper
Sounds OP. I think modified cards added to a set need to count in the number for a set to evolve into a higher ranked card. It actually seems the weaker option.
Reaper
Just change the memory loss from you to someone you choose.
Reaper
Cards in a set stack and three of a kind or more have unlocked unwritten extra functions. He can now read the full potential of cards, modify it and link cards into sets so potentially if the fake set cards aren’t included in the count then having a still incomplete set of twenty cards is possible.
James Donnelly
I'm not sure. But looking at his heart deck summary at the end of book 1 after he added MoB it looks like this. Heart Deck Total cards 6 Total completed sets: 0 Paired cards: 2 Linked cards: 0 Mind: 3 Body: 1 Spirit: 2 This makes me believe that linked cards and sets are different.
Tajana Centis
Ohhhhhh, this was lovely. Whew! I wonder what happens if rider and dragon don’t evolve together?
Katsu
It could be MoC only links them in a way, but I wouldn´t find it find it more op than his Master of Skills if he creates a set with them. I mean each Skill in MoS has incredible possibilities like card shuffling (stealing from card anchor) or Meditation (improving the own hearts card-capacity). These are only 2 of at least hundreds of skills this card can provide. So if there are cards of a very similar theme, I wouldn´t be surprised if MoC can turn them into one deck with much time+effort. Honour Rae is throwing big hints, that at least sth will happen with these cards of Cressida. :)
BoxQueen
This is great ending. Nice wrap-up to this journey. Blood Moon Hive is next, huh? Pretty difficult hive. Soledad might have difficult adjusting to the dragon hierarchy; I still recall that common dragon riders telling Arthur about that. It is not a good practice, like I get why it was made, but there is better ways of doing things than 'do what you're told and die for them'. I really look forward to next arc. There will be boring politics, and a lot of schemes but it will be interesting to see how Arthur will handle it and how his retinue will deal with their own challenges. Oh, I forgot to comment from the last chapter how adorable those cats Cressida pick up. The power of cuteness prevails!
Preston
"permanent changes the properties and rules of cards, including linking cards within a different deck". Not sure what else that would mean, but i did make some assumptions. What do you think linking cards would look like?
James Donnelly
I doubt he can turn whatever card he wants into a set. MoC says that he can link cards from a different deck. But i don't think it can make true sets. That would be incredibly overpowered.
James Donnelly
The elemental summons are all in different sets. Master of Cards says that it can link cards. I doubt that means it can make them all part of the same set. That would be OP.
Katsu
I can´t wait for Arthurs modification of Cressidas heart deck. 4 rares of a kind should be incredibly strong. The zoo summoner Cressida. :D
Scott Lawlor
Are Cressida's cards actually in the same set? I thought they were similar but not in the same set
Preston
For some reason I see Cressida as a much more likely second mythic. She already has a set of elemental animal cards and Arthur will have the ability to join them, so they really just need to find joy's cards.
Scott Lawlor
I mean one of the mythics said they started as a common, so that seems even more impossible. Marion would have access to royal resources so it could be possible. edit: Even if Marion heals the king's mind, I can see him and his connection to Arthur leading to him being the next King. Even if Arthur becomes mythic, he isn't really fit to lead a kingdom and deal with nobles. Nor would he want to. Much easier to see marion becoming first choice for king. Then Arthur would be the mythic muscle behind the throne.
James Donnelly
That would be cool. But that means Marion and his dragon would have to upgrade both of their sets not only once but twice. That feat seems impossible
Robert Hinz
Great ending to the volume, I definitely want to know more about the transition from old world to current though. The loss of technology, barely keeping the deadlands at bay, the origin of dragons, other nations not using dragons at all. Plenty of stuff to explore. I can't wait to see how much Arthur can modify cards, can he make the food summon card create nutritional food? Also, they have 5 Mythics and 7 scourge gods, even with Arthur/Brixaby that leaves another open slot to get things back to even. Can you imagine Marion and his healing Origin dragon rising to Mythic? Being able to make it on his own and choose his own destiny and making a Mythic healer would be a great boon to everyone.
FossilWreckers
That's a good point. It wouldn't say that, if there was just the potential to create it.
James Donnelly
They have already said in the books that if a card states "find more cards in this set" in the description, that all of the cards in that set are out in the world.
FossilWreckers
Blood Moon is holding: Call of the Wild or Wildcard. That's my prediction. Was I the only one who thought the 3 card he just repaired, were going to combine with 2 cards in the dungeon to become Master of Cards? I feel like there's major overlap. Did Jons cat party make it out? He's holding a "Return to" card. Kinda thought it would be address when he appeared in this town.
Scott Lawlor
Totally agree, maybe with a chapter after the time warp challenge that is sort of a rest period where Arthur can talk about what he learned. Them worry a bit about how many more challenges there are. Then the intruders come. that takes a bit longer. then provide the way to the end.
Benjamin Walsh
Loved the book but the end seemed fast. Took 53 chapters to get to the final challenge and then it was done in one chapter. The chapter with the intruders also felt like it was Deus Ex Machina… needed a way to skip to the end, add random NPCs who drops a card to do that. I think the events in chapter 49: intruders and chapter 53: core challenge should be expanded into multiple chapters instead of only one each.
Darrin Downey
That was a great book, and cool ending.
Salvo
Personally I think ‘solstice’ is a better name, as it is the peak of summer and winter, which is what Honour was going for with equinox. It has the word sol and ice in the name!
James Donnelly
I'm assuming that one of the Hive leaders or dragons at Blood moon has it. That would throw a crazy wench in book 5.
James Donnelly
Master of Cards says minor changes. I love the idea, but that feels like a major change to the card. It also sounds like a legendary power at that point.
Salvo
The end of the book is definitely optimistic, first the card change then to a three of a kind power set that may just be what the world has needed for untold generations. You didn’t mention what Horatio card was, which I’m a little bummed cause it may be a second helpings card pair that makes food or something, basically the problem of dragons put on human societies. Brixaby portal has a benefit that enemies will have a hard time using the gate, a clever advantage. Also, the advanced controls in the heart deck could be anything and just makes me want book 5 to start sooner. Arthur should be trying to recruit more citizens before he leaves as well, language barrier notwithstanding.
WANDERING LOST
So alter the covetness card making it where you can't remove anything from your heart instead of losing memories. And it will still have a big drawback but be usable. Also make you set greedy beyond belief
Kris Piskorski
Amazing stuff l, thanks for all the chapters
Reno
I love how the partnership between Arthur and Brix developed. It's nearly come to the point where I cannot think of Arthur without thinking of Brixaby. Two halves of the same whole, even when they're working separately.
James Donnelly
Alter-dimensional Tankie Constitution should be the next card he changes. Change that .00001% chance of getting stuck into a .0% chance and then he will essentially be bulletproof with no drawbacks or mana cost.
James Donnelly
I like the name eclipse better than equinox. But that being said I don't know his actual power is.
Sugoi
Thanks for another great book Rae! I really enjoy keeping up with this series and book 4 really popped off "content" wise for lack of a better word, it's by far my favorite of the 4 so far. Looking forward to book 5 and the other remaining 25 later on!
Decide
This. Is. Amazing. So glad we are getting a great synergy with the silvers and the Master of Cards. Arthur is going to be a madman soon. I'm stoked to see what Brix's new card will be. So far be has a "hunter" theme going on, since he can track and eat any card he sets his sights on. Maybe the next card will prevent the opposing card from activating at all? Not sure! But I'm excited. I hope it's called "Call of the Dragon", or at least one of his cards ends up called that. I'm so eager to see what these advanced heart deck options are, and what they'll do. PS: more Counterfeit cards when? PPS: I wanna see Brix try and mess with some cards. As a dragon, he should have some intuition on it. PPPS: does the Master of Cards unlock mana? It wasn't mentioned in the description. Also, doesn't Arthur's mana card get bigger the more he uses mana? Can we get an update on that?
evan keane
Imagine a rare takes quite a bit of mana to change
Scott Lawlor
Thanks for the book. idk if its just me "beta-reading" for the first time, but the pacing of the last few chapters just felt a bit...off. I don't really get what Arthur learned internally about being back in the past. The "where do the dragons come from" question sounds like it might come later on. Given how the Mythics called them Origin dragons. But I dont see how Arthur learned "how cards began". Idk I feel like there needs to have been maybe a chapter of them resting between challenges and discussing what Arthur learned. We dont really get to see him integrating that knowledge. Could just be me, but the final chapters just lack some polish and pacing. Still enjoyed the book, but the ending just lacked something.
Jessica Hussey
I also wish the audio would be available sooner. I love to listen to the books at work every now and then and it just kills me to know that the book is there and written but it’s not on there yet.
Jessica Hussey
I can’t wait till he starts making cards the way he wants them…. I think it will show a lot about Arthur himself.
DirePants
Wow. What an ending. Great book. I’m so excited to see what’s next for these guys. Arthur is living up to the hype right now! Great job Honour!
Shinan Liao
Eclipse and Marion's dragon, Asha, were wrestling together. Then later on: Asha broke off from playing with Equinox Is Eclipse = Equinox? Can't wait for the next book! And for Brix to get BIG
PoeticSaint
Thank you for the chapter and the close of this book! Looking forward to more!
Steven Beal
Thanks for the chapter
Jess
Absolutely epic! I'm so glad, all the hours I spent on this book. It's a masterful ending that really gets you pumped for all they've accomplished and what's left on the docket.
Lenora
Hopefully he alters the portal card to remove some of the detriments. Congrats on completing book 4!
Ben Donaldson
Call of Nature let's goooooo
Dan
Oh wow. I’m so thrilled. This series is really cooking! Congrats!
Voror
So next goal is the Call set for Brix. I imagine that'll be a challenge potentially.
zakaka
thanks for the chapter! as always beautiful work!!
antreas louca
You are spoiling us and I don't know if it's good!! But I'm eternally grateful that you published the last chapter and not had us wait more days. I can't wait for Book 5 and we will finally have complete a third of Arthur's Legendary set. Now it's Brixaby's turn!!
Tom
So many chapters!
Seth
I was just thinking about how spoiled we’ve been the last couple days with all of these new chapters and lo and behold, what do I see? A new chapter! EPIC Finale to this amazing book. Absolutely can NOT wait for the start of Book 5 🤩🤩🤩
Zizawah
You are an amazing writer! Love this arc a lot. Thanks so much for bringing all of us joy with your talent!
Kaleigh Miller
This may end up being my favorite book series ever. Also I wonder if with his new card smith card he can manipulate the details of that void portal to something more tenable?? More chapters have just made me want more!
Alric
Yay
