Honour Rae
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B3 Ch12: Card Giving Ceremony
🕑 Added 2023-04-18 04:30:22 +0000 UTC**re-edited Nov '23**
It wasn't hard to figure out where the ceremony would be held. As the gongs continued to ring — echoing around the interior sandstone walls and out across the desert plain — locals turned and started filtering out of the cavern. The atmosphere was that of a relaxed festival, with people and dragons calling out to each other cheerfully.
Once outside, the dragons either took to the sky to fly up to the top of the mesa or, more commonly, bent to allow humans to ride on their backs and necks. Some people had already come prepared and strung temporary ropes around the dragons to act as handholds, though Arthur didn't see an official saddle among them.
Others who didn't want a ride to the top either used their own cards' power or started up the long stairway that was carved into the side of the mesa. It looked like quite the hike.
Cressida turned to Arthur with a frown. "Joy can't take us both at the same time," she said almost apologetically, though Arthur had not expected such a thing. "Why don't you go with her first, and then she can come back for me?"
For the hundredth time, Arthur felt a pang of regret that Brixaby was much too small to carry him. He turned to the little dragon to gauge his mood — Brixaby could be jealous whenever Arthur rode on another dragon – but paused when he saw Shadow melt out of the crowd as if he were using a kind of card power.
"There you are," Brixaby buzzed right up to the tip of Shadow’s nose. "I was beginning to think that you abandoned your duty to my rider."
"Not yet," Shadow said, then turned to stiffly nod at Arthur. "Sir, I figured you would need a safe way up to the top."
Arthur couldn't say that he had grown close to Shadow in the few hours they'd worked together, but there seemed to be a new formal distance to the dragon now. "If you wouldn't mind."
"It's my duty," Shadow said stiffly.
Then, in the next second, velvet darkness surrounded them. The monsters, thankfully, were far away enough to be mere impressions.
In the following moment, Arthur, Brixaby, Cressida, Joy, along with Shadow, stood in the sheltered lee of... was it an impossibly tall rock wall? Arthur felt slightly dizzy from the rapid transport as he stepped back from the wall to look around.
“Shadow, what exactly are those things?” Arthur demanded. “Those shapes– are those scourgelings?”
“Don’t know, but you don’t want them touching you.” Shadow cocked his elbow. Several scales, dark and Brixaby’s own, stood out among the ruby.
"Where are we?" Cressida asked.
“The top of the mesa,” Shadow replied.
Tearing his attention from Shadow, Arthur looked around and blinked. The top of the mesa? No, that was impossible. He had just been here a few hours ago, and it had been completely flat. Now it had completely changed.
Brixaby buzzed to gain height and a better perspective. Figuring that was a good idea, Arthur backed up a few steps, then a few steps more. He looked up, and up, and up.
It took a few seconds for his mind to wrap around it, but he realized that he was looking at the back of a large auditorium — an awe-inspiring structure that was built entirely out of red sandstone. Due to Shadow's teleporting ability, they had appeared where the sun was mostly blocked.
Joy flew after Brixaby and called down, "There is an opening over there," and she pointed a claw to indicate the curved wall. Then she brightened at a passing green. “You look nice. Do you want to be friends?”
"I will sit with the rest of the dragons," Shadow said, and without another word, leaped into the sky. Arthur saw several of the larger dragons swoop to land at the very top rim of the auditorium. That functioned as their seating.
As he and Cressida came around the structure, they saw people filtering in through arched entrances—some separating from dragons who, like Shadow, decided to sit at the top. Others followed their riders and friends inside. Everyone was all smiles, and there weren’t any guards at the door to check their identity. It seemed everyone was welcome.
Once they passed through, Arthur saw that the inside was even larger than he suspected, as a massive space had been carved out to create sub-levels. At the very bottom sat a stage.
"None of this was here a few hours ago," Cressida said, echoing his thoughts.
"If they have powerful enough cards, say, a few earth Rares, they might be able to raise or sink this whole structure. That way if there were any patrols from the Kingdom flying above, this wouldn’t give them away." Arthur was just thinking out loud, but Cressida nodded.
She looked up and waved at Joy, who was cavorting with other young dragons up in the air. Brixaby buzzed nearby, too, though he held himself slightly apart and did not actively interact with the others.
Cressida dropped her hand. "Let's get near the stage," she said, "I want to see what all this fuss is about.” Then lower, "and if these people are as fair as they claim."
Arthur stopped himself right before he defended the Free Hive folk. He settled with a nod.
But the instinct to think the best of these people bothered him. After all, they had essentially kidnapped him and Cressida. And though they weren't being held in a cell or currently threatened, they weren't allowed to leave. The Free Hive council had kept Arthur away from his primary duty of being available in case a demi-scourgeling erupted.
And yet... Brixaby was already showing interest in a craft. And Arthur wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to get back to Wolf Moon Hive with all its deep-seated problems.
Just in case, he concentrated on his mental blocking skills... then remembered about the card-block cuffs. How far did those go? Would they block only his skills, or the skills of mind-mages working on him?
Deep down, he didn't think he was being manipulated. His discontent had been brewing for a while. The truth was, he wanted to find a hive that was worth leading.
And he hadn't realized how disenchanted he had slowly become with Wolf Moon until now. The schism had started when he was left out to dry before he met with the king. And it hadn't gotten better. When—if-- he did return, he needed to find a way to fix that.
Still, as he and Cressida made their way down toward the stage, he found himself thinking, "Please be a place worth defending…"
The seats were filling up fast, but Cressida navigated the way with confidence born of a noblewoman. They found a spot three rows up, which was still fairly close. The seating itself was made up of wide shallow steps. The humans typically sat on the edge and dragons lounged on the wide portions. Joy swooped to join them, cuddling up next to Cressida, even though she was as big as a horse.
“Cressida, I found my five friends. They are so nice here!”
Brixaby came down as well, sat next to Arthur, and fluffed out his four wings. “It seems they'll let anyone in for this show,” he sniffed.
“You don't think that Commons and Uncarded should be allowed in?” Arthur asked, frowning at his dragon's prejudices.
Brixaby gave him a look like he was being intentionally obtuse. “I think everyone’s time would be better spent improving skills and crafts.”
Oh. Brixaby was just put out that he couldn't work on his newest obsession. Arthur knew the feeling. There was nothing quite like leveling up a new skill. “You know, if you stored some chain rivets in your storage space, you could be working on it right now...”
Brixaby gave him a startled look and then flicked two of his wings back in irritation. “I will consider it later,” he said haughtily, which was as good as admitting that he had completely forgotten to use his Personal Space.
When he and Arthur had linked, they had pretty much given each other carte blanche on Arthur's Heart Deck cards and Brixaby's core card, Call of the Void.
Brixaby, however, didn't often use Arthur's cards he wasn’t directly linked with, and vice versa. Arthur’s cards weren’t stamped on Brixaby’s heart, so accessing his cards was a matter of practice rather than automatic thought.
Also, Arthur felt ambivalent about using Brixaby's power as it required the permanent destruction of cards. He hadn't found even a Common card that he was willing to take out of circulation from the world forever.
His thoughts were interrupted by Joy pointing one claw just to the side of the stage. “Oh! There's Tamya and Len. They're over there. Should they come sit by us? What do you think, Cressida? Tamya! Len! Over here!” She stood up on her hind legs to wave broadly in their direction.
Joy was being very loud even among a crowd of chatting people—but it seemed Tamya and Len were purposely not looking in their direction.
“Are they sitting with Uncarded people?” Arthur squinted to try to get a better look
Sure enough, the pair sat with people who had the hallmarks of the uncarded. Some were frightfully skinny, and others had the unhealthy pallor of someone who had been sick multiple times in their life. He was certain that one woman had pockmark scars on her cheeks.
“Joy, settle down. There's no room for Tamya and Len to sit with us,” Cressida said. “Leave them be.”
Joy dropped back down to four feet again with a sigh. "I don't think they want to join us anyway," she said sadly. Joy could act like a ditz, but she was observant when she wanted to be.
"I don't want to sit with them either," Brixaby said. "They never have anything to say, and their power isn't all that interesting either."
"Their powers aren't very useful to fight scourgelings," Arthur had a hunch about why they were sitting with the uncarded, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. "But in a desert community by the ocean, they'll be invaluable..."
Cressida glanced at him, frowned, and then sent a harder look back toward Tamya and Len. Before she could say anything, Councilor Chablis walked out to the middle of the stage. She was followed by several older men and women that Arthur didn't recognize, and Laird, which he most certainly did.
"Don't tell me..." Arthur said.
"That's the council," Cressida murmured, having picked up on it too. "And look at that, Laird is one of them."
Arthur felt a spike of annoyance, but Laird had not told him he wasn't part of the council.
Smiling widely, Chablis stepped before everybody else and made a gesture at her own throat. When she spoke, her voice echoed throughout the auditorium. She had a sonorous card power.
"My people, we are all gathered today to witness the induction of these fine folk, new citizens to our Free Hive. By taking a card into themselves, they strengthen our hive, as we strengthen them with the gift of power and healthy life."
The crowd clapped, including the dragons, who did so with forward or backward flicks of their wings, depending on how they were built. The purples and the few blues who had four wings were especially loud. All eyes were on the group clustered to the side of the stage—the one where Tamya and Len sat.
As Arthur had suspected, Tanya and Len had agreed to join the Free Hive.
“They convinced them to leave Wolf Moon in just a few hours?” Cressida gave Arthur a concerned look. “Do you think it was by force?”
That redoubled Arthur’s worry about influence.
“Of course not,” Brixaby said, overhearing them anyway. “They’re just cowards who don’t want to fight and earn cards like everyone else. They want them given to them on a platter.” Then he let out a long sigh, likely wishing he could be given a card to eat right about then.
“Should we stop this?” Cressida asked, worriedly.
It was moments like this that reminded Arthur that Cressida had been expected from birth to be a leader, while he was still getting used to the idea. It hadn't even occurred to him that, as the ranking rider of Wolf Moon, he should have an official say in whether Tamya and Len joined the Free Hive or not. That his permission should have been asked.
And what if he didn't want to have a say?
He hesitated, weighing the options to intervene or not, but then he shook his head. “I'll talk to them later.”
By then, Tanya and Len would have already accepted the card, but he could at least find out why they had decided to abandon their hive. Arthur knew why he was disenchanted. But what would a Common rider have to worry about?
Cressida frowned, but she nodded. “Isn’t Len still too young to take another card?”
“That depends on if his secondary core has developed yet,” Brixaby answered. “If he’s foolish enough not to know, then he deserves to be card poisoned.”
Shortly after, the clapping died down. Chablis looked over the crowd, and Arthur saw her eyes briefly land on him before moving away again.
"I will call our new residents up one by one, and they will draw a card from the barrel."
Laird leaned forward with a large apple barrel between his claws, the insides glittering with cards. Arthur winced at the sight of incredibly valuable cards stuffed together like that, but they weren't exactly paper. As hard as plate steel, they couldn't be bent. Still, it seemed like an undignified way to store so much power.
"Fate will decide your card and how you may help your new home," Chablis said to the waiting group. "Once you choose, please join the craft experts and masters who best fit your card." She gestured to another group who lined up at the other end of the hall. "These men and women will help you get started in your new life."
"That barrel reeks of Common cards," Brixaby muttered, making a show of sniffing. "A few Uncommon, too."
Cressida leaned close to Arthur. "I bet none of them are combat-oriented."
His Gambler class twinged. "I wouldn't take that bet."
"Still," Joy said, "It's nice to get a card at all. I would hate to be without one. Some of those people are so thin..."
Arthur silently agreed. Seeing those hopeful, anxious folk about to receive a card of their own, he couldn't help but think of the people left behind in his border village.
Brixaby snorted, unimpressed. "What if they pick a card they aren't suited for?"
"It'll go in their heart. They'll grow with it," Arthur answered.
"Besides," Joy said, perky and optimistic as always, "there's no rule that says they can't trade the card. So, if someone has a fear of mice but gets a speaking-with-mice card, they can trade it!"
"Who would want a speaking-with-mice card?" Brixaby demanded.
"I would! Mice are so cute with their little hands and whiskers. But Cressida said I couldn't keep any of the ones I found for a quest that one time because—" Joy was cut off as Cressida shushed her.
The first person took the stage: an older woman with wispy silver hair and a determined expression on her face. She moved like every step pained her but asked for no help crossing the stage.
Laird lowered the barrel to make it easy to reach, though he kept the top above her eye level, presumably so she wouldn't look before she picked. The woman didn't seem to care. She reached over the top and plucked one, then brought it down and gazed at the card for a moment before she spoke to Chablis. Because her words weren't enhanced, they didn't carry to the rest of the crowd, so Chablis repeated them.
"A Common fabric weaving charm!"
Though the card wasn't traditionally exciting, the crowd clapped and cheered as if it were first-rate. With a small smile on her stern face, the woman pulled down the neck of her shirt and pushed the card into her chest. She gasped audibly. A man with a textile badge on his shoulder crossed the stage to meet her. She met him halfway, her steps visibly more fluid.
"What happens when a card is given to an older adult who can’t grow with it?" Arthur asked Cressida. "Are they healed? She looked better."
Cressida hesitated before answering. "I don't know. I've never met an uncarded adult."
Nobles, Arthur thought with fond exasperation.
The ceremony continued. Every card drawn could be put toward a utilitarian or crafting purpose, and as Arthur suspected, every one was a Common or Uncommon. No Rares and no combat cards. Which made him wonder what they did with the fighting cards. And if he and Brixaby could browse them. Though he still had a little bit of a wait until Brixaby could safely develop a secondary dragon core…
He was musing on this as the last person was called up and received an Uncommon herb garden class card - quite the find, and one Arthur wouldn’t mind copying one day.
Finally, the only ones left were Tamya and Len.
With a smile, Chablis indicated Laird could put away the barrel. A male council member stepped forward with a pretty gilded box. Chablis turned to the audience.
"Our last inductees are a young dragon rider pair. While they are too newly linked to safely accept a new card, the council has offered this Common water temperature alteration card as a gift—"
Arthur sensed rather than saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He wouldn't have thought much about it except for Brixaby's sudden squawk.
"Arthur! Phase out!"
His Phase In, Phase Out card was part of his heart deck and was all but stamped on his soul.
Arthur didn't think about the fact that what he was about to do was impossible with the card-lock cuffs on. He just did it.
In the next blink, a wiry man dressed in black passed through Arthur's body, a knife out in front. He had come at Arthur at an angle, a knife-edged with green slashing at his neck.
His attacker — no, his would-be-assassin — staggered forward through Arthur and past him to land on Cressida.
Or he would have.
Joy, for all her bubbles and excitement, was still a dragon. With an outraged roar, she slammed one pink-clawed limb between her rider and the staggering man. Her wing swept forward to knock him away.
It happened in a flash, and before people all around had time to do more than scream, the would-be assassin was knocked out of arm's reach.
Quick as a diving hummingbird, Brixaby darted forward and ripped a card right out of the man's heart.
He came away just as Joy started bellowing. The green-tinged knife that had been aimed at Arthur and almost hit Cressida had instead driven between the scales of her fore-limb. And those scales were starting to darken and wither.
Comments
Honour Rae
Well that's embarrassing, and probably what I get for running it through like 3 different spell check programs. None of 'em liked it. haha. I'll standardize it. Thank you!
Sir Sloth
Multiple times throughout this chapter, the Councilwoman's name changes, Chablis, Chabris, Chibris, and Chiblis. Unsure of what it should be.
Thaldor
I am honestly so glad that I've been away and wasn't left out to dry on THIS CLIFF 😲
I want the new hive to be nice
Telewyn
I’m just hoping our new independent friends don’t try to leverage healing Joy to get them to join their settlement.
If I recall, it's 30x30 or something like that.
Natbite
That's reassuring. Worse comes to worst, Arthur can still store Joy.
Michigo
His personal space should be plenty big. It's at least the size of a small room, enough for some furniture and a small to medium sized dragon. And that's based on the pre-timeskip size, it might very well be bigger now.
Michigo
True, but Arthur might as well let that common join the free hive as a gesture of good will. That gesture couldn't be cheaper for him anyways, especially for someone like Arthur that doesn't have the mentality of a kingdom noble to begin with. If anything he actually WANTS to see that common join the free hive, because he doesn't believe in sacrificing bottom tier cannon fooder anyways. For him that's a win/win, for any other noble this would hurt his ego and/or honor.
Michigo
To me the free hive looks like a mighty fine stepping stone. Irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but a fine place for Arthur and Brix to grow a little more and flex their muscles a bit. After that they can go back to the Kingdom or somewhere else after a potential time skip (those aren't exclusive to the end of books).
Undead Writer
Thanks for the chapter!!
Nathan Sto
The focus of the warrior caste on combat makes utility seem less useful, you mean. There are other parts of the kingdom system. The scholars seem corrupt, but they're there. I'd assume there's an association for craftwork of some sort. The hives really would only be focused on fighting, and for good reason.
Natbite
If it's not a Free Hiver that's freaking out that a Legendary has come to conquer the Hive or a council ploy, then my other guess it's a retainer from the noble house the Free Hive robbed that snuck in with the tenants and is out to get the most valuable cards. I've totally forgotten how big Arthur's personal space is - can Joy even fit in it anymore? Though they have those stasis nets.
Adam McGuire
Wolf moon spies got a kill order from Witaker
Salvo
I'm surprised the danger sense worked for Brix's rider... guessing the bond severing would be felt maybe. Arthur broke out of his restraints, what I'm betting this whole thing really is about, "See! he's a spy cuase he's faking being contained!" More problems with unequal power in 'utopia'. Personally, everyone with a card should be sent to the border to work the dragon soul and migrate to another cropland to not risk another scourge outbreak: the reason people are uncarded is probably more complex than just greed.
Arch Fiend
I'm sure someone there has a healing card that would be a top priority card just like the water one, joy will be fine and if need be Art can give them his self healing card.
Alex Perez
im liking that were actually seeing the value in utility cards. Even just water distillation is insanely useful for small communities, and the focus on combat in the hives makes these miraculous powers not seem as useful as they actually are
Reaper
Free hive were not willing to attack him with there likely losses when they thought he had access to his cards when he first arrived. With him collared it would be cowardly and would harm the occupants opinion of the hive. The timing was interesting with announcing they are taking two of his to rile him first, and his location being spotted from the stage.
Rubeno
True. Where are combat card users? Why everybody are just a crafter?
Rubeno
In Wolf Hive they are leaders as legendary riders. They are literally authoritarians with absolute power in the Hive. Whereas in Free Hive they would have to fight with the ruling council for power that definitely won't let legendary dragon going around nilly willy without being shackled in some way. Same goes for Arthur. Moreover Free Hive faces no scourging attacks! How can Brix grow? How can Arthur change anything without political power? Free Hive feels like a trap more than utopia.
Rubeno
@victor You are right. I believe though that Arthur is bad leader simply because Wolf Hive Leaders aren't teaching him seriously. Conflict between them and Arthur is going for several months. Now Arthur not only lacks training as a leader but he is moreover disillusioned with Wolf Hive lacking loyalty causing him to be swayed by seemingly utopian at first glance Free Hive yet Wolf Hive matters sit on his conscience on the other side of the scale. He also feels lack of control in new situation as he is literally shackled. Even Shadow seems to be drifting away from Arthur as seen by his new stiff attitude potentially also being swayed by the free Hive.
Rubeno
@philip, Arthur definitely won't get people on the board by being self righteous and without strength that is being legendary rider in the first place he has no political value. Why should anybody care about delusional rare card user who wants to change kingdom in his image for "better future" but lacks power to do anything? That being said Arthur needs to get smart about it. He really needs some political training but thankfully he has Cressida beside him who will help him navigate churning waters of politics as a noble woman trained from the childhood.
Rubeno
@michigo, It's matter of principle. Subordinates can't just jump ship nilly willy otherwise how will it reflect reputation of the leaders?
Reaper
You are forgetting that they do nothing but produce everything in large quantities. They are all crafters and can’t possibly use everything they make. Who is selling to who?
Reaper
Chain mail that unravels and ghost rider level chain combat… how he gets his legendary utility cards to do that could be interesting. Brix ripping cards out people from a distance using chains.
Oh! Who is going to save Joy?! Brix?
Victor
I don’t know, indeed Arthur has been poorly trained, but so far I noticed that it is dragons themselves that follow a strict hierarchy from birth, literally baby dragons are born sentient and place themselves up or down the hierarchy, Brixaby is a perfect example. He placed himself below the mythic dragon and expected subservience from rares and below… from the moment he was born! What the Free Hive is doing seems kinda utopia and that does not exist. But hey maybe it does in this world and the author wants to lead his story that way, although I doubt it, and then I’ll be bored to death and discontinue the story ‘cause I have no time to read communist apologetics. 🥱😴
Victor
Rubeno, I don’t expect a perfect MC otherwise the story will indeed be very boring, but you surely see that Arthur is a crap leader, literally he abandoned his duty and his other retinue dragon riders to run after the red dragon and his crush in the middle of a scourgling eruption, and these people kidnapped him and won’t let him leave and the kid is like “maybe they’re not too bad.” Now they basically brainwash another of his riders and he is like “I’ll talk to them later.” The passivity and he obtuseness is grating on my nerves. 😬😡
BeepBoop
Unfortunately if Arthur ever wants to change the kingdom, he'll need those nobles on his side. Or he'll need to replace them with allies of his own. It's the same with Wolf Moon. He'll be unable to introduce change to Wolf Moon if no-one supports him. No matter his rank. If he does it by virtue of power, he's no different than a tyrant. I hope he'll be able to show people a better path forwards in the future and get people onboard. But he'll need some maturing first.
Dennis
Probably a kingdom assassin I doubt any kingdom would want the free hive to gain to much power by having a legendary dragon and rider who might be able to rise to mystic. It might be the only thing the varying kingdoms can agree on.
Dennis
he may not have been apart of the hive at that time so they would have no claim to the legendary card he gave to Arthur.
Michigo
Well, compared to your average noble Arthur is a saint. The king may be a senile tyrant, but he ain't no fool: the nobility is really after more power no matter the cost. Stealing and killing each other is part for the course among the powerful in the kingdom. Plus i find it borderline hilarious that anyone believes the kingdom cares about the loyality of a common dragon rider with a dragon that manipulates puddles of saltwater... that common is barely fit to serve as cheap canon fooder in the bottom tier Wolf Hive.
Rubeno
Exactly! Arthur is constantly changing with new fact changing his world view especially his moralizing attitude has recently taken a hit with his disillusionment with the wolf hive. He himself doesn't exactly knows what he wants and I feel for him. What is better decision? To remain in on the first, superficial look idealistic free Hive or go back to the Wolf Hive where he doesn't feel wanted.
Josh
I honestly felt like shadow was thinking of switching to the free hive too. At least that's why I thought he said he hadn't abandoned his duties "yet".
Corpse Garden
You have to remember though, for us it's just been a days binge read of time, for Arthur it's been years. Years of scraping towards a goal, and many experiences to reinforce his current ideology. Arthur is ready to swim but he's just been dumped into an ocean of freedom and new thinking and he will need time to adjust. He is definitely suited for the hives ideology, but not the hive itself. Arthur doesn't care about the Kingdom and its political elite, he cares for its people. Free hive has neither the resources, man power, nor position to exact any real change or serious support for the people as a whole. He will likely take alot of the forward thinking ideology and begin to slowly implement it into wolf moon after he grows in power and finds his spine.
Corpse Garden
My bets on shadow honestly. Seems to be the loyal "die for the cause with honor" type. He has the ability to travel far and fast to find an assassin and currently a motive to want Arthur replaced if he feels he and his loyalties to the hive are compromised. Though anything is possible at this point, considering we know next to nothing about the underlying social climate of the free hive, let alone the political one.
BeepBoop
This volume really showcases how much growing Arthur still has left to do. But what bothers me is how judgmental he is of others. It's the case with Cressida and the Wolf Moon Hive leaders. Has he actually considered the crimes, lying and stealing he has done to get to his own position? And he wonders why he isn't included? He went into a scourge invasion ready to disobey orders and now he lets people who are voluntarily sworn to Wolf Moon Hive desert their position. The free hive is more like Arthur and he should just break away from the kingdom.
IndyBart
Could be council fighting each other and one taking matters into their own hands or one of the kingdom not wanting the free hive to get a legendary rider. It’ll be interesting to see how it falls out. It’ll be fun to see what kind of new combat card Arthur gets after he rips out the card being used against him currently.
Michigo
You are probably on to something there. The red couldn't have used that card for himself (he isn't legendary after all), but the frickin Mastery of skills card fits way to good into the free hive theme to be given away for free. The only way out of this conspiracy i can see: the kingdom would have become a threat to the free hive for holding on to such a high value card. From what we have seen they mainly survive by being irrelevant. Why steal the card in the first place? Well, to mess with a baron that deserves what's coming for him.
CHAPTER!!!
juno
Something feels fishy about the Free Hive in this world full of secrets on secrets. My theory is that the dragon that gave Arthur the card is at odds with some of the council (probably because he gave a legendary for free) so him being in the hive is the perfect oportunity to get back the card.
juno
Dragon riders are a fucked up system so its not surprising he has poor leadership skills when he's never been taught anything on the subject. Legendary rider leaders only make sense if the system supports them otherwise you just get a bunch of lucky or rich pricks with power who wont care for the next generation of leaders, the curse of the fake meritocracy causes mediocrity for all.
Rubeno
Right now I'm feeling pleased with my teenage self who in act of rebelion against disgusting naivete of youth started expecting the worst out of every new situation so that when nice things happen I will be pleasantly surprised. My spidey sense tingled through whole chapter that Free Hive is too much of an utopia to exist. Why would kingdoms allow it to even exist if they lack their own mythic if not even legendary to defend them? Either Free Hive is filled to the brim with spies or we are seeing innate faction war that spawned because power isn't concentrated in hands of one entity like normal hives but instead they have council with several factions.
Michigo
But do they actually fear for their live? I doubt it. If anything this assassination attempt was rather weak compared to the crap they have to endure in the kingdom. Arthur and Brix could make a huge difference in the free hive, but as things stand would only get in the way on your average legendary battlefield in the kingdom. Because lets be honest here: they need more time to grow up to fight head to head with super sized scourglings... a "detail" the kingdom doesn't care one bit about.
Rubeno
I believe that it will sway their opinions regarding staying in free Hive. Why should they if they will fear for live? Moreover in Wolf Hive they are leaders, they matter. They can do a difference. Whereas here they are pariahs as legendary card users.
Rubeno
I get impression that you expect idealism from protagonist. Wouldn't perfect protag from beginning to the novel be boring though? There are wishfullfilment novels like Martial God Asura where MC is walking perfection but they are so booring!
Tommy
Options: 1) rando full of hate. 2) kingdom assassin. 3) scholar assassin. 4) another kingdom (not their kingdom) assassin. 5) mentally controlled person under the spell of a scourgling? Gotta be more options right?!
Tommy
Haha I was more making a silly joke about Brix and Bricks sounding the same! Chains could be a fun progression from armour crafting for sure 💪👍
Michigo
Arthur and Brix would have been mildly annoyed at that would be assassin... but that old dude didn't just fail: he hurt Joy instead. He done goofed up!
Victor
I was kind of bored with this chapter and Arthur’s insecurities and poor leadership skills, but the plot twist at the end made the reading worth it. 😁
Michigo
Hear me out: what about crafted chains, and later on enchanted chains? That way Brix could force bigger Dragons out of the sky and dance on their helpless heads.
Michigo
I believe it was mentioned that spies are everywhere. But my money is on some random dude that joined the free hive with lots of kingdom-hate in his veins (maybe he was recruited as a pawn by someone). And Arthur in his role as a very young VIP Kingdom rider, with a seemingly harmless dragon at his side most likely looked like an easy target to vent out some deep seated hate.
Michigo
Yes, it's a different card. The "phase in, phase out" card is one of his few combat oriented cards. It allows him to literally dodge what can't be dodged by going all "i'm not really here", for a moment.
Leonard Bukowski
This is crazy ……. Hmmmm….. what a random plot twist. I wonder what the story is? Has to be about his card but to what extent? I thought when he phased out he teleported to where he last slept? ….. maybe that is a different card….
A surprise assassination attempt! It must be a Tuesday. Presumably his cousin couldn’t be behind it, not in the Free Hive. So who else would be motivated? Someone after his cards?
Tommy
Righteous fury! Let’s freaking gooooooo Brix on a rampage. Hey maybe he could get some sort of stone throwing power? Brix chucks bricks… 😂
Bogie91
Brix goes on a rampage and eats every card in the village growing to monstrous size!!!! All in vengeance for the attack on his rider of course.
