In a starry void somewhere in the cosmos, Cheshire the God of Gambling and Chaos was working to draw a soul to his service. The time had finally come. He would insert his champion into the world and this time the dice would favor him. His appearance in the creation chamber was that of a horizon spanning grin. Alongside him were the arbiters of the world, the three fates. Each embodying the different stages of age. One appeared in her twenties while another was middle aged, the last was grey haired and liver spotted. Not deities themselves, they administered the world system set up by the God of Bureaucracy and Order millennia ago. The three women spoke as one and advised the current pantheon on matters regarding the world.
“There have been nine hundred ninety-nine champions for the rest of the pantheon. According to our agreement, I get to pull one of my own now,” said the god Cheshire zeroing in on the soul he scoured the universe to find.
“It seems like a worthy pull, Cheshire,” said the three voices speaking in harmony.
Deacon felt strange. He didn’t know what was happening. His vision was blurry, and he couldn’t feel anything but cold. There were voices nearby saying things, but he couldn’t focus on them. Deacon’s thoughts raced, the last thing he could remember was laying across the train tracks and not even hearing the surprisingly punctual train. He tried to speak, and nothing came out. Then he pushed against the ever growing fear in his mind. The effort was tremendous, but he managed to speak.
“Where. Am. I.” came a cracked and disembodied voice.
“It is conscious,” the three voices replied, “We insist you send it back. That should not be possible here,” said the fates sounding very concerned.
“No, that is remarkable, but I would like to see how this will play out. I’ll make my decision after the reclamation,” said Cheshire focusing in on the soul.
“I can’t feel anything. What is happening?” asked a terrified Deacon.
“That is to be expected-- now, keep quiet, I am bringing you through,” said Cheshire as green and purple light coalesced around the target of his attentions.
Now that he was fully in this space Deacon’s vision rapidly cleared up. He could see the expansive teeth taking up the horizon along with three hooded figures floating near them. The chamber itself was barely outlined in a dark cube shape speckled with star light. In the center below the teeth was a small table with what looked like a deck of cards on it.
“Those teeth are unsettling. Is this hell? Did I die and now must pay for all my sins? The train. I got hit by the damn 9:05. Wait, then I really am dead,” Deacon blurted out. His subconscious and conscious thoughts spilling from the space he occupied.
“It remembers its past. This is folly. We beg of you to send it back,” implored the three voices.
“Now now, let us not get ahead of ourselves,” said the teeth, “Reclamation is just beginning. Let us start with the pulls for boons and banes.”
“What is happening?” Shrieked Deacon in his mind as a slab of stone covered his vision.
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A crack ran through it although it seemed cosmetic. Then writing appeared.
PULL 1: Empty Handed -- the bane of empty handed denies the champion the use of any weapon. Weapons will leap from its hand when grasped.
“Now that is a tough opening move. Not being able to hold a weapon will make winning battles more difficult. Let’s see what else is in the deck for you,” explained Cheshire.
PULL 2: Null Magic -- the boon of null magic keeps Tier 1 elemental magic away from the champion. While no elemental magic spell can hurt the champion, no elemental magic will come from it either.
“Ooh that is a good one, the mages of this world will learn to fear… whatever your name is. Although there are several tiers of what you would know as magic. Psychic, Deific, and Planner to name a few. Those are obviously advance forms of Arcanum but at level one you won’t have to worry about that…maybe,” explained Cheshire.
“Wait a minute, are you rolling me like some sort of rpg character? I want out of here!” he thought.
“Chatty one, isn’t he? If we’re lucky the next pull will be silence or something of the sort. If you keep interrupting this will take forever,” replied Cheshire.
PULL 3: Second-Tier Form -- the champion with a second-tier form requires enchanted weapons to be damaged. Mundane weapons will cause no damage.
“Preposterous, no champion begins life with a second-tier form. You must be influencing the draw,” said the choir of voices.
“Fates! You would accuse the God of Gambling & Chaos of cheating?” asked Cheshire sternly.
“Bear in mind you were banned from the board of destiny for one thousand turns because the pantheon distrusted you. We are merely seeing and concluding what the others may as well,” answered the Fates shrinking back from the teeth.
“It won’t matter. Once he’s grown beyond the initial levels, any enemy he faces will have access to an enchanted weapon or two. Mystical creatures that strike him will count as enchanted as well. Your concerns are foolish,” Cheshire answered.
Deacon floated there staring at what was unfolding. His fear was slowly being replaced with curiosity. What else might he be able to get from the deck, he thought. Were these all passive or active effects? He had questions.
PULL 4: Needlessly Defiant -- the champion with this bane will be defiant to the detriment of those around it. Authority figures will trigger this more often than not.
“A difficult path lies ahead. You should do your best to find good friends. I dare say this will make the betting rather lucrative, ” Cheshire commented.
“It will be nearly uncontrollable! How did you pull such a rare card for a champion? We should strike it from deck and send this monster in the making back into the sea of souls,” the voices sang.
“I think not. Where you see trouble, I see opportunity. Now let’s have another pull to move this along.” Cheshire shot back.
PULL 5: Fully Grown -- the champion will not be birthed from a mortal and will appear in the world fully grown.
“There, are you happy? Hardly a rare pull, but a bane none the less. It will not know the ways and laws of the world. Imagine a full-sized adult that knows nothing about the world around it. Everything will have to be explained,” stated Cheshire.
“Now hold on a damn minute, you were planning to turn me into a baby! Screw this, gimme that deck!” Deacon yelled as he somehow gained control of the deck with sheer will alone.
The grin in the background grew more curved as the three floating cloaks who were on the periphery tried to intercept the moving deck of cards. They floated over to the space occupied by Deacon’s consciousness.
“No! You must not touch it,” the Fates screamed.
A card shining with a golden light ripped from the deck with the sound of a damn breaking. Deacon never knew a sound could be so loud without ears. The Fates flipped end over end away from Deacon while the teeth along the horizon gleamed with approval.
PULL 6: Rule Breaker --. This card is both a bane and a boon. This card manipulates the structure of the world randomly for its owner. The bane portion of this card is vast and reality shattering.
“You may be right, Fates, there is a monster in the making here. An epic card pull!” quipped Cheshire.