Synopsis
Jack is an archetypal son of Calamut—a city undergoing a technical and social revolution. Ambitious and intelligent, he embraces the progress the city has made and the wonders the future seems to hold. His own prospects rely on the quality of his first carding—the moment when otherworldly forces manifest in him abilities of profound power.
In a world routinely ravaged by apocalyptic upheaval, where change is treated as a threat, how will those who wish to buck inevitability respond?
What to expect?
I'm going to focus on characterization and world-building, as I think these facets are what make the story rich for the reader. The narrative starts off slow by LitRPG standards, this is intentional. Establishing stakes is what makes the later payoff more impactful. If you can't happily read through 30 pages without a fight scene, you won't have a great time in the early part of the story. But if you like a slower buildup, characters you start to care about, detailed world-building and then the culmination of all those elements into an intense narrative struggle, you're gonna have a good time.By my own estimation, the first 5ish chapters are a bit rough. I've improved a lot as a writer and intend to polish those up, but if you're feeling uncertainty be aware that it gets significantly smoother past that point.
Strength in the story will come through clever application of card effects, strategic acumen, and occasional use of overwhelming firepower. There won’t be anything like ‘cheat abilities’ or ridiculously overpowered cards on their own. Strong combo’s on the other hand…
You’ll have to read the story to learn about the specific mechanics of the system, but you should know that it is a veiled system! No stats, or even explicitly described card effects, or physical cards for that matter.
What does persist is the actual mechanics of card deckbuilders: drawing and discarding hands, drafting strong cards over weak ones, optimizing decks, etc. These mechanisms have profound and far-reaching implications for the society that developed around them.
Villains will be smart, threatening, and motivated; just like real life.
To address popular confusion: There is very little parkour past the early chapters. What? Would you have preferred his hobby was cooking?
Updates weekly on Tuesdays 9:15 a.m. PDT. Once I’m done accruing a backlog, this will become more often.
Average Chapter Length: ~2,500-3,000
Table of Contents
- 1Prologue - The Flowstone Mountains2024-11-13
- 2Chapter 1 - Night Running2024-11-13
- 3Chapter 2 - The Jump2024-11-13
- 4Chapter 3 - Carding2024-11-13
- 5Chapter 4 - Spin to Win2024-11-13
- 6Chapter 5 - Squeak & Chirp2024-11-13
- 7Chapter 6 - Testing and Discovery2024-11-13
- 8Chapter 7 - The Unnamed Dash2024-11-13
- 9Chapter 8 - Father Doting, Sibling Rivalry2024-11-13
- 10Chapter 9 - The Sunroom2024-11-13
- 11Chapter 10 - Liosa's Story2024-11-13
- 12Chapter 11 - Leaving the City2024-11-13
- 13Chapter 12 - The Caravan2024-11-13
- 14Chapter 13 - Exodus2024-11-13
- 15Chapter 14 - Teeth in Shadows2024-11-13
- 16Chapter 15 - Riposte2024-11-13
- 17Chapter 16 - Brine and Punishment2024-11-13
- 18Chapter 17 - Gotcha2024-11-13
- 19Chapter 18 - Noblesse Oblige2024-11-13
- 20Chapter 19 - Fickle Fates2024-11-13
- 21Chapter 20 - Umbrar's Due2024-11-13
- 22Chapter 21 - Strange Cards Most Wonderful2024-11-13
- 23Chapter 22 - Threat Assessment2024-11-13
- 24Chapter 23 - Catastrophe2024-11-13
- 25Chapter 24 - Digging for Answers2024-11-13
- 26Chapter 25 - The Idea of Frogs2024-11-13
- 27Chapter 26 - Sparring2024-11-13
- 28Chapter 27 - Lowered Facades2024-11-13
- 29Chapter 28 - The Hive2024-11-13
- 30Chapter 29 - Testing and Apples2024-11-13
- 31Chapter 30 - To the Precipice2024-11-13
- 32Chapter 31 - ...and Beyond the Cliff2024-11-13
- 33Chapter 32 - Into the Tower2024-11-13
- 34Chapter 33 - Cyclone2024-11-13
- 35Chapter 34 - The Order2024-11-13
- 36Chapter 35 - Fallen Legacy2024-11-13
- 37Chapter 36 - Sky Claim2024-11-13
- 38Chapter 37 - The Flux Forest2024-11-13
- 39Chapter 38 - Preparations2024-11-13
- 40Glossary - Card List2024-11-13
- 41Chapter 39 - Reckless Pursuit2024-11-13
- 42Chapter 40 - The Mountain2024-11-13
- 43Chapter 41 - Ascension2024-11-13
- 44Chapter 42 - Nightbird Calling2024-11-13
- 45Chapter 43 - Finding Purpose2024-11-13
- 46Chapter 44 - Culmination2024-11-13
- 47Announcement - Update - Writathon2024-11-13