Well, I have yet another new story. Not only that, but yet another story after this will be published. This was made a while ago (and by a while I mean around the start of the year) and it's been getting worked on ever since. It's already in it's fourth or fifth chapter, so I won't have to worry about not updating in a long time. But for now, R&R, PM, and Enjoy.

Chapter 1

"Here little bro, I got you this." Nathan was handed a small deck box, and he opened it. Dumping the contents into his hand, he found they were trading cards. "Keep these as a way of remembering me." Nathan looked up at his older brother, Justin, and thanked him for the cards. Justin had taught him how to play a few weeks ago, using one of his "test decks". Nathan often called them "junk decks" because he always lost when he used them.

But his brother always said, "It isn't about the cards, Nathan. The game is one part chance, one part skill, and one part heart. Take away any one of those, and you'll find yourself losing every time." That was two years ago, before Justin had to leave for college. Justin went to a four year art school, which accepted only the best artists and helped them get the best jobs; and to Nathan, Justin was the best. Justin had gotten Nathan into a lot of things before he left: TV shows, music, video games, and most of all, card games.

Nathan loved the game play and strategy, but loved the artwork more. Nathan played all sorts of games, but was dedicated to mastering Magic: The Gathering first. Before Justin left for college, Nathan promised he would practice and strengthen his deck, so that when he came back from college he could beat him. But just like how he left two years ago, no one had heard from him for two years. Even during the holiday seasons when he was required to leave the dorms, he never came back home. His mother thought he had already found a place to live, and was working on his own projects. But why didn't he contact them about the good news? Surely he would have done so when he moved in. Nathan sighed, right now that didn't matter.

Because now he was about to go to college himself. He would be going to a smaller, two year college, but he didn't mind. At least he would be able to graduate about the same time as his brother. Nathan was unloading his car, taking out a laundry basket filled with clothes. "Last one," he said to himself. He set the basket down on the sidewalk and closed his trunk. He picked the basket back up and carried it into the apartment room that he would be living in for the next two years. He had two other roommates, and they had already discussed the room arrangements. It was a four person-apartment so his roommates would share a room while Nathan got a room to himself.

He opened the apartment door and saw one of his roommates, Carter, stocking the fridge with the food we all purchased beforehand. Carter was a large guy, with short black hair and a beard. Nathan walked past the kitchen and went into his room. He set the basket down and began to hang them up in the closet or place them in the dresser. After getting all of his clothes put up, he took the empty laundry basket and slid it under his bed. He looked around his new room, which was a bit small. It still held two beds, one right next to the window and the other lined up against the same wall the window was. There were also two dressers, one next to the second bed and the other in the closet. On the second bed, since he had the room to himself, he had placed some of his stuff on top of it until he got everything put away.

He set the basket down and sat on his recently made bed. It felt odd to Nathan, being away from his home. But he pushed the sad feelings back, he was in college now. It was time to man up. He left his room and almost ran into his second roommate, Luke.

Luke was the kind of person you'd think would end up as a street punk, with messy, sometimes oddly cut, hair and tattoos that covered his entire right arm. His black hair was now in a mohawk style, but instead of standing straight up it was laying flat against the left side of his head, the rest of his hair starting to grow back. Nathan let Luke pass, and Luke wordlessly went out the door. Even though college was set to start the very next day, Nathan already knew Luke lived only a few miles away and he already had a job. What it was he couldn't say for sure, but his shift started in the afternoon.

He walked into the kitchen and asked Carter, "Hey, you finished?" Carter pulled his head out of the fridge, and nodded. "Your stuff is at the bottom," he said, pointing at the bottom drawers, "in those cabinets," he pointed his finger over to two cabinets above the sink, "and in here," he opened the freezer and Nathan walked over as he waved his finger back and forth along the bottom of the freezer.

"Alright, I'm gonna head out for a walk," Nathan said. Carter nodded, shutting the fridge doors. Nathan went to his room while Carter went to his, and Nathan pulled out some comfortable clothes. He put on black and white gym shorts, a white t-shirt with a black and white cross with wings design on the front, and a college cap he purchased during a college visit. It wasn't the same college he was currently going to, but it was one of his choices. Before leaving, he quickly dug through his bags and found his deckbox. He opened it to find his Magic deck in card sleeves. Theros had been out for a while, and his card sleeves were from Born of the Gods, depicting Xenagos ascending into godhood. He pocketed his cards and grabbed his keys for the apartment. He left his room and went out the door.

One of the good things about his college was that they provided an apartment for you, one that was part of a community reserved for students. And the best part was the school was right across from the apartments. Nathan exited the building and inhaled the already chilling air. He let out a breath and began walking. As he walked, he saw other students who were attending the college. His school was divided into three main programs: Business, Design and Technology, and Health Care. Nathan was in the Design and Technology program, more specifically the Design side. Nathan went to this college mainly as a stepping stone, to get some basic experience before he started going for bigger goals. Nathan looked around as he entered the rest of the community, entire families going about their day to day lives. There was a small lake that was surrounded by some of the apartments, and another smaller pond near the back with Willow trees.

Nathan took out his deck box and shifted through the cards. He noted the colors: black, red, and green, the colors of Jund. Nathan was more familiar with this deck type than anything else. He knew of Naya-red, green, and white-and Grixis-blue, black, and red-the most, and then learned about Bant-green, white, and blue-after purchasing a booster pack, but did not learn about Esper-white, blue, and black-until quite some time ago. He looked through his cards until he found one in particular; Flameblast Dragon. It was a powerful creature, with both power and toughness at five. It also had a decent ability, though he never used it before.

He slid the cards back into his deck box and continued walking until he reached his apartment building once again. He walked into his apartment and saw someone talking with Carter. He was a tall man, a few inches taller than Nathan, who wore business casual clothing along with a white trilby hat and a gray jacket slung over his shoulder. As soon as he entered, the man turned and Nathan got a better look at him. The man had pale skin, with a salt and pepper beard that ran along his jawline. He had light hazel eyes, a large nose, and he had short black hair in dreadlocks.

"You must be Nathan," the man said in a deep, slightly gruff voice. Nathan nodded and walked up to him, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"My name is Alexander Fulton. I'm a teacher at this college, and as I understand it you'll be one of my students." He shook Nathan's hand, and Nathan was trying to keep his hand firm. One thing he learned was the firm handshake, and how it made you look professional, but this guy was practically crushing his hand.

Fulton finally let go and said, "A strong grip you have there. That's a good sign." Nathan let go of the his hand, but Fulton still kept a good grip on him. Nathan looked at Fulton and saw he was staring at him, his eyes squinted like he was trying to see him better. Fulton finally let go of his hand and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you tommorrow." Nathan nodded and moved out of the way so Fulton could leave. He gave one last smile to Nathan before he left the apartment and Nathan closed the door behind him.

"Well that was weird," Carter said.

"Tell me about it," Nathan said, letting out a breath and leaning against the door.

"I think I'll turn in early." Nathan pushed off from the door and headed into his room. After closing the door to his room, he began digging through his bags until he found an alarm clock. He pulled it out and plugged it in, setting the time, about 8:30, and the alarm, 7:00. After that, he lied down on his bed and drifted off to sleep.

I know its a rough start, but trust me, it will pick up.