Chapter 38 – Affinity Siege, an Introduction / Actions Have Consequences

Chapter 38

Affinity Siege, an Introduction / Actions Have Consequences

            After lunch, Izzy, Mari, and I make our way to the estate’s library because, according to Mari, it had a table that was big enough.  Enough for what, she didn’t say but I’m still learning my way around, so who am I to argue?  When we reach the library, the sheer size of it surprises me.  It is as large, if not larger, than the one at Braemar Keep. 

            Someone’s a bibliophile.

            We make our way to a large rectangular table in the front center of the room with six chairs around it. 

            Mari pulls out a chair and sits, motioning for Izzy and I to do the same on the other side of the table.  She pulls three boxes similar in size to what I used to keep my Magic: The Gathering Black and White deck in, and slides one to Izzy, one to me, and keeping one for herself.  I pick up the still cold box that she slid to me and open the top, as expected, inside is a full deck of cards.  On the side of the box is a logo that says ‘Affinity Siege: Ice’.  I look at the other two card boxes.  While both have the same ‘Affinity Siege’ logo, Izzy’s says ‘Mind’ and Mari’s says ‘Void’ instead of ‘Ice’.

            Setting her box to the side, Mari produces three nine-by-five grids that have an additional space at the center bottom of the grid, just below the fifth space on the bottom row, which is slightly elevated in comparison to the rest.

            “I taught Izzy while you were with the tailor,” Mari says flatly.  “Would you like to watch us play a game, or would you prefer to learn by playing?”

            “I-I think I’ll watch first, and then join in for the s-second game,” I answer.

            Mari nods and places two of the grids end to end and they lock together.

            “A two-player game is usually faster due to a smaller field of play.”  Mari explains.

            Izzy pulls out a card with a beautiful woman on it.  The top of the card proclaims her to be ‘Teagan the Merciful’ and on the opposite side at the top, where the mana cost would be on a Magic card, there is a singular pink heart.  She then shuffles her deck and draws six cards, looking pleased with her draw.

            “This is my commander!”  Izzy says with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old hyped on sugar.  “She is the best!” 

            “Save it for the battlefield.”  Mari replies with her usual enthusiasm before looking at me.  “As Izzy said, that is a commander card.  It’s position on the board is locked here.” 

            She points to the elevated square and places her commander card ‘Marek the Empty’ on it, before shuffling her deck calmly and drawing six cards as Izzy had done.

            “This is your summoning field.”  She points to the two rows of nine just in front of her commander.  “You can summon anywhere on these two rows.”

            “We could just show her, Mari.”  Izzy says, clearly getting bored with the explanations.  “Here, I’ll go first!  Grundlegor, I choose you!”

            With a dramatic flair, Izzy slams a card down on the summoning row furthest from her commander.  The card features a rather pathetic looking creature that looks like a mix between a rabbit and a badger.  The top of the card has the name that Izzy, in her enthusiasm had yelled out.  Under the picture of the sad-looking creature was a cross shaped grid showing a singular black square encompassed by four white squares.  Under the grid are three numbers displayed as 1/1/4.

            When Izzy does nothing with the creature and draws another card, I look at her.

            “That’s… it?” I ask.

            “What do you mean ‘That’s it’?”  Izzy says, a hurt look on her face.  “Grundy is the best ever!”

            “It d-doesn’t move?”

            “It can’t this turn,” Mari explains.  “It just got summoned.”

            “And I STILL say that’s a dumb rule.”  Izzy says pouting.

            “It is a necessary rule, and there are ways to circumvent it,” Mari replies evenly. She places one of her own cards down, far more deliberately than Izzy had, aligning it carefully in front of her commander.   This one is named Void Daemon, and the art for it is a rather impressive looking armored creature that reminds me of a void walker from WoW.  The grid displayed under its picture once again has a singular black square surrounded by white squares, but this time there are two white squares to the top, bottom, left, and right, as well as a singular one on each of the corners surrounding the black one, giving it a diamond shape.  Underneath the grid are the numbers 2/4/1.

            “The grid is its movement and attack range.”  Mari says, pointing to the diamond shaped grid.  “Imagine that the creature is the black square, it can move the number of spaces on the board corresponding to the white squares.  It can also attack anything that falls within its current movement range.  It can attack or move in any order you wish.”

            “Are there ways to summon multiple things per turn or are you r-restricted to only one action?” I ask.

            “Normally, you are restricted to one action by your commander, barring a spell effect.  That action can be summoning or casting a spell.  Creatures get an action independent of the commander starting the turn following their summoning, unless a spell or card effect allows them to act.  I’ll demonstrate on the next turn.”

            When Maribelle finishes talking, Izzy slams down a card on her poor Grundlegor card. 

            “I cast ‘Motivation’!” she yells.  “Go! Go! Grundy!” 

            The card has a picture of a child poking another child with a stick as the child who is being poked runs away.  Under its picture there is text that reads ‘Plus one to all movement and attack range for three turns’.  After a moment, the spell card absorbs into the creature card and the grid pattern on the creature card changes to match the grid on Mari’s Void Daemon. 

            Izzy then moves her creature forward by two spaces, putting it just one row shy of Mari’s half of the board.

            “Observe.” Mari says plainly.  Mari then places a card with a bunch of shadowy rats next to her Void Daemon.  Just above the grid, but beneath the picture, there is text that reads ‘Plague of the Abyss can act immediately after summoning’.  Its movement, however, is restricted to one square and the numbers at the bottom are all ones.  Deftly, she moves both of her cards one space forward. 

            “I could have moved my Void Daemon two spaces, but chose to only move it one,” she points out.

            “Yeah, well, my Grundy waits for no one.”  Izzy declares, moving her creature forward another two spaces putting it one row into Mari’s half of the board.  Following her movement, she places another creature down, this one with a movement of two, like Mari’s first summon.  Additionally, this card has ‘Flying’ written above its movement grid.

            “Okay, now is a good time to explain spells,” Mari says.  “The entirety of your grid has the ability to have a spell cast on it.  These can create hazards, obstacles, or deal damage and effects to anything in that range.  Additionally, wherever your creature is on the board, you can cast a spell anywhere that creature can attack.  Observe.”

            With that, she pops a card called ‘Call of the Void’ on Izzy’s Grundlegor and it vanishes from the board.  A moment later two cards pop into existence behind Izzy’s commander card.

            “Hey!  Not fair!” Izzy complains.  “That’s cheating!”

            “It’s literally the effect of the spell I just cast.”  Mari says, her face flat.  She then looks at me.  “That spell removes any card from play that is within my casting range.  In this case, it removed two cards because it removed Izzy’s Grundlegor, and the buffing spell she had placed on it.  Those cards go into her graveyard pile.  There are ways to retrieve a card from the graveyard, but they are restricted to specific deck affinities.”

            “I noticed that the d-deck you gave me said ice, and yours said void.”  I say before asking, “Does that mean that a deck is r-restricted to one affinity?”

            “That is correct.”  Mari says nodding.  “Your deck affinity is determined by your commander and can only cast spells of that affinity.  That said, creature summons are universal for the most part, though there are some like my Void Daemon that are restricted to specific affinities.”

            “How c-can you tell which creatures belong to what affinities?” I ask.

            Mari points to her Void Daemon card and in the lower right corner is a dark purple spiral, similar to what diagrams of a black hole pulling in light look like.

            “Oh.”

            It takes some time, but after watching Izzy and Mari play until Izzy’s defeat, which didn’t take long, I feel I have enough of a grasp of the rules to understand the basics and decide to join in for the next game.  Hearing this, Maribelle pulls out a triangular section of board with a grid on it and places our individual gris on each of its sides.

            “Well, then.  Shall we begin?”  Mari asks with a hint of a smile on her face.

******************************************************************

            There is a knock on the door and a moment later it opens.  Mary steps in and curtseys.

            “Your Highness, Lady MacBain, please pardon the interruption,” she says, addressing the other two girls before turning to me.  “My Lady, it is time for your meeting with the Duke and Duchess.”

            “I-is it that late already?” I ask, not realizing that almost two and a half hours had passed since I started playing.  Affinity Siege was a surprisingly addictive game and apparently it could even support up to four players.  Since I had started playing both Mari and I had won one game apiece, Izzy, however, had lost both times, though this time, it looked like she might have gotten the best of both of us, had Mary not interrupted.  I had focused on taking Mari out first, and Izzy had seized the opportunity to weaken us both while building her own forces.

            “Yes, Lady Beira.”  Mary says, motioning towards the door.

            I stand up and start to remove my cards from the board.

            “Leave the hazards you had placed, cousin.  I’ll clean them up afterward,” Mari says.

            I do as she asks before following Mary out the door.  As the door shuts behind me, I hear Izzy loudly declaring that she is going to “Take you down, foul villain!” presumably to Mari.

            I follow Mary through a couple of adjoined halls and soon we arrive at a door that she knocks on, before entering and announcing my arrival.

            I enter to see my father sitting behind a large desk that is reminiscent of his office desk in Braemar Keep.  To his left, at the side of the desk, my mother sat, her chair angled toward a solitary chair that sat on the other side of the desk opposite my father.

            “Beira,” he says warmly.

            “Father."  I dip into a small curtsy as I hear the door shut behind me.  “M-Mother.”

            “Please, sit,” he says, motioning to the chair in front of him.

            I walk to the chair and sit as instructed, my mother’s eyes tracking me the entire way.  As I sit, my father sits back down and for a moment, silence lingers in the air.  It’s not an uncomfortable silence, but it is deliberate.

            Finally, my mother clears her throat and speaks up.  “As he was leaving last night, Prince Angus made a comment to your father about your… radiance.”

            I blink.

            “My radiance?”  I ask, confused.

            “Your emitting of light,” she says plainly.  “Even now, you are doing it, though only faintly.”

            “O-oh…” I say, looking at the floor.  “I didn’t realize…”

            “Of course you didn’t,” she says.  “I know what to look for which is the only reason I noticed it when you walked into the room.  Let me guess, you were having fun with your friends?”

            I nod.

            “As I thought.”  She says with a nod.  “From now on, you need to keep it contained.”

            There is no room for arguing in her tone.

            “Yes, Mother,” I say as I make a conscious effort to shut the flow of energy off from myself.

            “That’s better,” she says curtly.  “Understand, this isn’t about making you uncomfortable, or you making others uncomfortable.  It’s a matter of control, something I thought you would have learned by now after working with Lordrin on it.”

            “Aye, lass.  It’s bound to cause you trouble if you can’t control it.”  My father says, speaking up for the first time since I sat.  “It could be dangerous for you, if the wrong people found out that you have a second affinity.”

            I nod again, this time slower.

            “I understand,” I say, looking my mother in the eyes.  “I’ll d-do better in keeping it controlled.”

            “Good.  See to it that you do,” she says.  “But...  That is not the reason for this meeting today.  We have a couple of things we wish to discuss with you, though one topic is along the same vein.”

            I wait for her to continue.

            “Yesterday, you were observed with Prince Angus.”  She says, watching me.

            “Observed?”  I ask, suddenly feeling like I’m on trial.

            “Yes.  One of the estate servants observed you and him outside, right after he sent the princess and Maribelle to see me in my office.”

            My heart sank.  I knew what this was about and didn’t need her to explain further.

            “Closeness is not inappropriate,” she continues, her tone even, her words carefully measured.  “Not in private.”

            I glance up, surprised.

            “However,” she says, and that single word makes me stiffen.  “You are no longer in a position where your actions remain private just because you want them to be.”

            I tighten my hands into a fist, gripping the fabric of my skirts.

            “You were seen.”  She says simply, her words settling heavily on my shoulders.

            “I-I… I understand,” I say after a moment.

            “Do you?” she asks, arching an eyebrow.

            “I think I d-do…”  I say, hesitantly.

            “Then understand this as well,” she continues.  “Your actions will be interpreted in ways that could be detrimental to you or those you care about, regardless of your intent.  That is the nature of the position you will be entering soon.  That is what I have been trying to prepare you for most of your life.”

            She sighs.

            “You are not being asked to distance yourself from your fiancé,” she adds. “But I am asking that you be more aware.”

            “Your mother is right,” my father says gently, he leans forward slightly.  “You are allowed to feel what you feel, lass.  Just be mindful of where you act on it, okay?”

            “Yes, Father.”  I say, relaxing a little.

            “Now, onto the final matter,” my mother says, satisfaction in her face.

            I straighten in my seat.

            “Your education,” she says, her words making me feel a little faint. 

            “You have been away from the St. Astra’s Academy for Young Ladies for quite some time,” she continues. 

             I nod, figuring that they are going to tell me I have to go back.

            “If you return next semester, you will be seen differently.  You will be treated differently.  Expectations will follow you there and you will be under even more scrutiny.”  She says, pausing for a moment before continuing, “Are you ready for that?”

            I jerk my head up, looking her in the eyes.

            “Aye, lass.  This decision is on you, and we plan to honor your choice, whatever it may be.” My father explains with a smile.

            “You don’t have to give us an answer now, but we need to know if you intend to return and complete your education there,” she says.  “When you returned home for the holiday break, nobody could have known what would happen to you.  But all of your tutors feel that you have progressed to a point that you should be okay to return.  The academy is also willing to have the instructors work with you to make sure that you catch up to your peers.”

            I was expecting them to demand I return, but here they are asking me about what I want to do instead.

            “They are understanding about your unique situation when it comes to your memory.  Considering that, and that you will have missed a full semester, it will take a lot of hard work to get caught up, but I and your tutors back home feel that you are more than capable,” she continues.

            I look at my hands for a moment before smoothing my skirt, thinking.  I think about my magic and limited control regarding my light affinity.  I think about the expectations that will be placed on me.  I think about Rún, and how far away he would be.  I think about the expectant looks on Izzy and Mari’s faces when they mentioned it, but most of all, I think of the way Angus looks at me and how much closer he would be.

            One thing at a time, girl.  Just ask.  Out of everything, there is one lingering issue you need to know about, everything else is either stuff you have to learn to control, expectations, or things to look forward to.

            “I-I have one question,” I say, speaking up even though I feel like it is an odd thing to ask, but it is a concern, so I know I need an answer.  “What about Rún?”

            “What about him?” my father asks cocking his head to the side slightly before understanding crosses his face.  “Oh!  Right.  If you decide to return to the academy, we’ll bring him back down here.  Thomas is looking forward to returning since his family is here.”

            “Thomas is from here?”  I ask.

            “Yes, well… er,” my dad says, looking a bit sheepish.  “When you woke up you were blind, so I had several things removed from the estate and returned to Braemar Keep.  I didn’t know how long it would take for you to recover or if you would recover.  Thomas was actually planning on moving his family to Lochavria, if it turned out to last more than six months.” 

            “He has a child on the way.  How could you take him from that?”  I ask incredulously, completely sidetracking the conversation.

            “Beira, focus on the topic at hand,” my mother instructs sternly.

            My father scratches his head and looks embarrassed.

            “Yes, Mother.”  I say, looking at her.

            There is a long pause.

            “That is my answer.  Yes, I am ready.”  I say, trying to appear more confident in my answer than I feel.

            “Very well,” she replies.

            “Then we will make sure everything is prepared,” he says, before adding, “that you are prepared.”

            The conversation ends not with a dismissal but understanding.  I’m not being forced to do this, I’m being trusted to choose…  and I’m expected to live with whatever consequences that choice may bring.  I have my parents' support, but it is up to me to fill the expectations that come with it.