In the center of our mobile town I saw dozens of others. There was a common theme among them, each group had a child with them, from anywhere from a baby to a kid of nine. I knew everyone in the tribe so I nodded to tha parent of the children and the kids themselves, because Misu was friends with most of them.

Misu found me before I found her. She barreled into me, punching her head into my gut.

“Ugh, Misu what the hell.”

“Hehe, sorry sis.”

She wasn’t and we both knew it. Like me she had dark green hair and bright silver eyes. The outer rings of the iris was the only thing that stopped it from looking like we only had pupils and sclera.

She was eight, but I knew that she was smarter than others her age, which made me proud.

“Do you know what's happening?” I asked.

“The Prince is visiting!”

“Do you even know who that is?”

“Uh, the Sixth Prince of Vandals.”

“Close enough,” I looked around at the others, thinking of asking one of the parents nearby.

“Announcing the Seventh Prince of Valdinis, Arev Valdinis, Lord of Messidon!” A fully armored man said loudly. Either his vocal cords were strengthened by a Body card or he had a card specifically for talking loudly because his voice shook the ground.

Had we not already cleared out the monsters before setting up camp

Then a young man that looked to be around twenty with regal clothing and a sweeping cape. A small circlet was on his head. An unreasonably large sword was on his back. He was tall with silver hair and black eyes. His skin was much paler than the people from my tribe.

A few knights followed in behind him, one of them was over eight feet tall. They projected a power and prosperity that I had never seen before.

They stopped in the center of the square and the prince stepped forward, well I was pretty sure he was the prince. He was the only one without a damned helmet, as though to draw attention away from him would be insulting.

“Hello parents of the FallingBird tribe, I am Prince Arev. For many years my family has been allied with the people of the nomadic tribes that live within the Labyrinth. I am of no exception as I am sure some of you remember.”

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I didn’t.

“I come here today to bring you an opportunity, to bring your children an opportunity. The Farseers in the Kingdom have predicted that soon a Shuffling will take place.”

I clenched my jaw, and several of the adults gasped in fear. A Shuffling had not occurred in more than a hundred years, every time one did the tribes that did not live in the safe zones would be hit the worst.

Their world was a Labyrinth of walls, tunnels and even floating islands. When a Shuffling occurred it would shift the entire world around. Like puzzle pieces being rearranged in whatever order the gods above wished. Their place on the map would change, the biome, the monsters that were born, even the minerals in the ground.

When that happened the tribes had to adjust to their new environments, it could be colder, more humid, they could be flooded because they were put next to a water section. Children were the worst off. Usually adults would have a card or two that could aid them, be it in securing food, pushing back the monsters, or even finding the rest of their tribe, but kids, who had yet to form their Hand? A slaughter.

My cards would not be particularly useful, so I would also be in danger. Still it was my little sister that I clutched tighter to my body that I worried about. She still had at least a year till she would be able to form her Hand and start creating cards.

“That is why I gathered you here today. My city is already beginning to prepare for the Shuffling, but we are a crowded city. We do not have the resources to keep all of you well fed and in shelter, however I am offering to house your children, your young brothers and sisters. Those that have yet to develop their Hands.”

“We will take care of them, feed them, clothe them, and even help educate them as we are able. Once the Shuffling has finished and you have settled down you will of course be able to come and retrieve them.”

I wanted to hold onto my sister and not let go, but if the prince said so then it had to be true.

The prince wouldn’t lie.

The prince was a good person.

The prince wanted to help.

Believe the prince.

It would be hard but I would be able to cope, and she’d be safe. The families around me all came to the same obvious conclusion. We couldn’t protect all the children from the Shuffling, but this prince could.

My sister looked up at me with a smile.

“Sis I think he’s right, I don’t want to be a burden to you all during the Shuffling, what if you get hurt trying to protect me.”

I ignored the fact that my sister shouldn’t even know what the Shuffling really was, after all the prince said so. At least I would be able to have a final meal with my sister before they left though, I’d ask some of the others for some good ingredients so I would be able to make a good meal for Misu.

“I am sorry to say but we will need to leave as soon as possible, there are still other tribes that we will need to inform.”

Ah it was better this way anyways. Any meal the prince had made would be better than anything I could ever hope to make. The prince would make sure that my sister was well fed.

The prince was a good person.

Believe the prince.

“Let’s go get your stuff Misu, you have a long but great journey ahead of you.”