"When do you think your Grandma will be back?" Syn asked as Nyk opened the creaky door to his grandmother's basement.

"Nana always leaves after I'm gone in the morning," his eyes fixated on the dark end of the stairs. "And she's usually back a few hours after sunset, so... an hour or two, tops?"

"Ok, we have plenty of time to sort things out then."

Nyk waited for her to lead the way downstairs, then coughed, hesitating. "Syn, now that we're alone, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Nyk followed her down the stairs, mustering the courage to continue. "It is about what I said earlier." He said as he turned on the lights in the basement. "Do you think we'll have enough for, you know, for your thing after tomorrow?"

Syn shook her head, "Not a chance," she said as she dragged a chair beside the table and dropped their haul on the floor.

"How much more do we have to save?" he said, surprised and confused, as he followed suit and dropped the bag he was carrying.

"A LOT more Nyk. Colored cards ain't cheap."

"Yeah, yeah, you always say that. That's why I'll get mine defeating sea beasts, won't have to worry about the money."

Syn looked at him. It looked like she was going to say something, but she frowned, bit her lip and shook her head.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said as she extracted bones from one of the bags and placed them on the table.

"No, tell me."

She shook her head, "It's nothing. Forget about it."

"I don't get what's wrong with my plan," he said questioningly. Syn didn't answer. He continued, "Just like I don't get why you get so mad about, y-you know... it's supposed to be a secret, b-but I don't see the point in–"

Syn cut him off. "I didn't get mad because it's meant to be a secret. I mean, yes, I did get mad, but it's because you don't get why it's so important that it remains a secret. NO ONE is supposed to know I'm saving for a Green card. You swore not to speak about it in public."

"But it was not in public!" Nyk protested.

Syn raised an eyebrow, and Nyk hurried to speak before she could reprimand him. "Okay, it was not in private. But no one heard! I just don't get it, Syn. Why did you get so mad? What's the big deal? I tell everyone I'll get a Purple card one day. Why is it such a big deal if they know you're aiming for a Green one?"

"Getting is not the same as saving," Syn answered coldly.

Nyk shrugged, "I don't see the difference!"

"The difference is that when you say I'm saving for a Green card, you're implying that I'm going to _pay_ for it," Syn explained.

He shrugged, "And?"

Syn looked frustrated. "Look, it doesn't matter if you tell them you'll get an Orange or a Purple Card because no one takes you seriously! Especially if you keep acting like... well, like you've behaved all day!"

Nyk felt anger boil inside him. "They don't take me seriously because I like to play?"

Syn shook her head, "Let me put it another way. Do you remember what your Nana taught you about cards?"

"About what?" he asked, offended.

"About their colors."

"Yes, Orange, Purple, err... White, Gray, Green and Blue!" Nyk recited from memory.

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"No, Nyk, the order is Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple and Orange," Syn corrected.

"Okay, yes, that's what I said," he shrugged.

"No, it's not," Syn insisted, "The order is important. It defines their rarity. Everyone has seen Gray cards, but Purple ones? I don't think anyone in this village has ever seen any, and Orange ones? I'm not sure they even exist anymore!"

She paused, frustrated.

Nyk was confused. Where did she want to go with this?

"Nyk, do you know how rare and expensive cards are?"

Nyk rolled his eyes, "You've told me they are expensive. Okay, I'll find mine in a sea monster." he said calmly, explaining it to Syn. _Why didn't she get it?_ "I'll travel the coast, fight a beast using a colorless card and win, and get a Purple card." He paused. "No, not one, many. I'll have plenty," Nyk raised his hands, counting the cards he would obtain with his fingers. "I'll give one to you, one to Minda, one to Zosimos. I'm sure he's grumpy because he doesn't have one–"

Syn covered her face in frustration. "Nyk, do you know how much a card is worth? With nothing but a SINGLE unbound Purple card, you can buy the entire village," she said tiredly.

"...and for... wait, W-What?"

Her gaze locked on his. "A single Purple card is worth more than the entire village."

Nyk was perplexed. _That can't be right_.

Syn let her words sink in, "Do you understand what I mean?"

Nyk's eyes were wide in shock. "A Purple card is worth more than your Dad's and the Alchemy workshops?"

"It's more than both, and the entire village put together," She nodded. "And what's more, why do you think colored cards are extremely expensive?"

_More than the entire village!?_ Nyk didn't know what to answer, his mind trying to accept what he had just learned,

"Because they are incredibly rare! You'd have to fight a beast with tremendous magical power to get one! You think they're just laying around, waiting for a kid to show up and beat them dead?"

Nyk was befuddled. How was this possible?

"When you tell adults you'll get a Purple card, and they see a kid who runs around slashing the air, they see a boy pretending to be a great warrior and fantasizing about the future."

"I'm almost twelve! I will soon be a man!" Nyk said, looking up.

"In their eyes, we are still kids," Syn pointed at the both of them. "And you know what? That's fine, more than fine. It's perfect."

Nyk noticed the change in her tone, confused. "Is it?"

"Yes, it is," She paused. "Have you told anyone how much we've saved?"

"No," Nyk raised his hands. "You told me not to."

"Good," she cautioned Nyk, "If you say publicly that we're saving for a Green card. Adults may start wondering, and we don't want to attract the adults' attention, do we?"

"No, we don't," Nyk shook his head. "Wait, if a Purple card is worth more than ten shops and the Green comes after the Purple and the Blue, how much longer will we have to keep this a secret?" Nyk asked, still trying to grasp the value of the cards.

Syn rubbed her hand across her face. "Nyk, all cards are expensive and rare. Even a Blue one can buy the entire village."

Nyk stared at Syn in shock.

"I'm talking about the whole village," she continued, "Including the workshops and the pastry shop."

Nyk stepped back, the reality of Syn's words hitting him. "A BLUE ONE can buy the village too!?"

"Yep," she nodded. "And an Unbound Green would probably be enough to pay for one or two shops," she added,

Nyk felt like his entire world was spinning out of control.

"Do you get it now? That's why we can't talk about money or cards with anyone. It can be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Nyk repeated.

"Yes Nyk, as long as people think we're just kids playing games and saving for sweets, no one will even wonder why we're saving, let alone how much. If they think it's just for buying candy, no one will bother us."

Nyk counted on his fingers, trying to wrap his head around the idea. "D-do you think you can save enough to buy an ENTIRE shop?"

"I certainly intend to," she replied confidently, placing the metal scraps on the table.

Nyk stared at his best friend, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy at her determination. "What about it then? Imagine you save enough to buy the card. Won't you ever tell anyone?"

"Once I have the card, I'll bind with it; by then, I won't have to worry."

"You wouldn't worry about having something so valuable with you?" Nyk said, surprised.

"Nu-huh," she said, shaking her head, "Not a worry, a card loses most of its value once bound to a person."

"What!?" asked Nyk, "Why?" How could something so valuable lose its value instantly?

Syn narrowed her eyes, "It has something to do with the mana in your body locking it or something of sorts." Syn paused, sadness filled her voice, "My mom never explained much else before she... left."

Right, her mom.

Syn continued, "What she did say is that when it binds with a person, the only way to remove it is by replacing it with an even rarer card."

"I know that." Even he had heard of this, "That's why Greys are used to power home devices. You can remove a Grey with a White, but Greys are useless because they can't remove another Grey."

"Exactly, and because most cards are Grey or White, Greens are hard to come by. They're the first step toward using _real_ magic, not just everyday skills."

Nyk was still confused. "But would anyone use a Green card? They could own our village! Why wouldn't they sell them instead?"

Syn closed in on Nyk, a sly glint in her eye. "Oh, I know why," she said, letting the words hang before continuing. "Once a person has a Green card, they are recruited into the Academies."

Nyk jerked in surprise at the mention of the Academies. He got it now, his eyes opening wide. Who on the island hadn't heard of the five Academies?