Disclaimer: I don not own Magic: The Gathering or any other product mentioned in this fanfic.
WARNING: The Author's Notes at the end of the chapter contain "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" SPOILERS! If you haven't read the book, I have placed the Author's Notes far enough down the page so that you can read the entire chapter without accidentally seeing the spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Also, I have started my own webcomic! Check out my profile for the URL.
Kouji took the news that his best friend was the reincarnation of a thousand-year old mage rather well. He was very interested in the fact Arrathir was a han'yō since spirits were a large part of Japanese folklore.
"How about a duel?" he asked, pulling out a Magic deck.
"Sure," said Arrathir, sitting down beside the low table in the living room "How good are you?"
"Well, I haven't been playing very long," said Kouji "Charles introduced me to the game a few months ago."
"I'll go easy on you then," said Arrathir, shuffling his deck and giving it a one-handed cut. It was a little trick he'd learned recently. It involved holding the deck in his left hand (he couldn't quite do it with his right) and letting about half the deck fall into the palm of his hand. This little packet of cards was then pushed up with the index until it was parallel with the thumb. Then, the top half of the deck was lowered into the palm of the hand and the first pack of cards was dropped on top. It was more fo a fancy trick than an effective shuffling method, but Arrathir liked to use it for good luck.
"You go first," said Arrathir, drawing his hand.
Hmm, not bad. Putrid Imp, Swamp, Swamp, Night's Whisper, Swamp, Avatar of Woe and Zombify. So, play the Imp, discard the Avatar. Next turn, Night's Whisper, attack with the Imp. Turn three, if I can draw Exhume, bring the Avatar back; if I don't use Zombify next turn so by turn four, I'll have a 6/5 creature with Fear.
"I play an Island," said Kouji "End turn."
"Swamp," said Arrathir "And I summon Putrid Imp (1/1), discarding a card to give it flying until end of turn. Your move."
"Island," said Kouji "And I summon Wall of Deceit (0/5). Go."
"Another Swamp," said Arrathir "And I play Night's Whisper, drwing two cards and loosing tow life. Then I'll discard to give my Imp flying and attack with it. End turn."
KOUJI: 19
ARRATHIR: 18
"I play an Island and tap out to flip my Wall of Deceit facedown," said Kouji "Now I attack you with my morph (2/2)."
KOUJI: 19
ARRATHIR; 16
"End turn."
Not bad, but one more turn and he's toast.
"Third Swamp," said Arrathir "And I play Duress. Let's see your hand." Kouji's hand contained: Silver Erne, Celestial Gatekeeper, Aven Cloudchaser, Angelic Wall and Aven Redeemer.
A bird/wall deck? Interesting. However, Duress won't work on anything he's got.
"End turn."
"I play a Plains and summon Angelic Wall (0/4, Flying)," said Kouji "Now I attack with my morph."
"I block with Putrid Imp," said Arrathir.
"End turn."
"I play a Swamp and play Zombify to return Avatar of Woe (6/5, Fear) to play!" said Arrathir. "End turn."
"I summon Aven Fisher (2/2, Flying)," said Kouji "End turn."
"I summon Putrid Imp (1/1). End turn."
"I tap out to summon Aven Redeemer (2/2, Flying)," said Kouji "And I attack with Aven Fisher."
"Discard to give my Imp flying and block with it," said Arrathir.
"End turn."
"I play a Swamp and play Zombify to return Havoc Demon (5/5, Flying) to play," said Arrathir "Next I attack with Avatar of Woe. End turn."
KOUJI: 13
ARRATHIR: 16
"One Plains," said Kouji "And I summon Sunscape Familiar (0/3). Green and Blue spells I play now cost one colorless less to play, so I'll tap out to play Airborne Aid, drawing one card fro each bird in play." Kouji drew two cards "End turn."
" I attack with Avatar of Woe and Havoc Demon," said Arrathir.
"I'll block the demon with my Angelic Wall," said Kouji "And tap Aven Redeemer to prevent two of the damage from your Avatar."
KOUJI: 9
ARRATHIR: 16
"End turn."
"I summon Skyshroud Familiar (1/1, Flying , Vigilance)," said Kouji "And I play another Airborne Aid, drawing three cards. Then I play a Plains and end my turn."
"I play Vampiric Tutor," said Arrathir.
KOUJI: 9
ARRATHIR: 14
"Now I attack with Avatar of Woe and Havoc Demon."
"Holy Day," said Kouji "Prevents all combat damage."
"End turn."
"I summon Aven Warhawk (2/2, Flying)," said Kouji "Revealing three birds from my hand to make him a 5/5. I attack with Aven Fisher, my morph, Skyshroud Familiar, and Aven Redeemer."
KOUJI: 9
ARRATHIR: 7
Looks like I have no choice: I have to clear the field.
"I play Cabal Therapy, saying Celestial Gatekeeper. Next, I sack my Havoc Demon to flashback Cabal Therapy, saying Silver Erne."
Kouji and Arrathir scooped up their creatures and put them into their graveyards.
"End turn."
"I summon Mesa Falcon (1/1, Flying)," said Kouji "And I play Inspiration, drawing two cards. I play and Island and end my turn."
"I play a Swamp and play Vampiric Tutor. Then I play Night's Whisper and finish off with Avatar of Woe (6/5, Fear)," said Arrathir "Since there are more than ten creatures in all graveyards, he only costs two black mana to play. End turn."
Are you sure you know what you're doing?
Don't worry, I've got a plan.
KOUJI: 9
ARRATHIR: 3
"I play a Plains," said Kouji "And summon Aven Cloudchaser (2/2, Flying). I attack with Mesa Falcon. End turn."
KOUJI: 9
ARRATHIR: 2
"I play Exhume," said Arrathir "We each put a creature from our graveyard back into play. I bring back Hypnox (8/8, Flying)!"
"I return Celestial Gatekeeper (2/2, Flying)," said Kouji.
"End turn."
"I summon Sage Aven (1/3, Flying)," said Kouji "When this card comes into play, I may look at the top four cards of my library and put them back in any order. Next I attack with Mesa Falcon, Aven Cloudchaser, and Celestial Gatekeeper."
"I block your Gatekeeper with Hypnox and your Cloudchaser with Avatar of Woe," said Arrathir.
KOUJI: 9
ARRATHIR: 1
"As per Celestial Gatekeeper's Effect, I return two birds from my graveyard to play," said Kouji "I return Aven Redeemer (2/2, Flying) and Aven Warhawk(2/2, Flying), revealing two birds from my hand, making him a 4/4. End turn."
This plan of yours seems to have fallen apart.
I must trust in my deck and the Heart of the Cards to give me what I need for the win.
"Before your turn ends," said Arrathir "I tap Avatar of Woe to kill off your Warhawk. Then on my turn I play Consume Spirit for three on you."
KOUJI: 6
ARRATHIR: 4
"And I finish you off by attacking with Avatar of Woe."
KOUJI: 0
ARRATHIR: 4
"Very well," said Kouji "I lost. But I should have expected no less from you. Thank-you." Kouji gathered his cards and left the room, bidding everyone goodnight.
(A/N: Text in between semicolons represents Charles' thought-speech. As usual, the bolded text represents the Keeper's thought-speech)
;I was worried there for a moment. To have the Keeper of Black Mana loose twice in a day would have been most unusual;
"Charles," said Arrathir "You know that now your Keeper has awakened, you will be a target for Numa and what ever other freaks come after us, trying to stop The Awakening."
"I considered this," said Charles "Ever since your spirit told me about the Keepers. I've decided that if I am meant to play a part in such an important event, then I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world, even with the risks involved. Plus, it can only improve my dueling skills and increase my knowledge of Magic."
"Good," said Arrathir "Plus, if there are more of us, we can better fight those trying to stop The Awakening. Does your spirit have any idea who it could be?"
"None," said Charles "Now, it's late and we have another day ahead of us. You can kip on the couch, just let me grab you a pillow and a blanket."
"Cool, thanks," said Arrathir. He felt drained, both physically and emotionally. When Charles returned with the promised items, Arrathir made himself a bed on the couch and fell asleep almost immediately.
Here's hoping I don't have any more strange dreams.
;Can we really trust him, Chiburuu? What if the Keeper tries something?;
;He won't. I never thought I'd see the day, but it seems Chikuro has given up on his old ways;
;I still can't get over what he did in the past;
;Charles, I have only just awakened. You shouldn't be trying to access all my memories. Some things are better left undiscovered;
;Gomen, Chiburuu, but I'm very curious about this whole Keepers business;
;In time, you'll find out everything. Now, sleep. We have much to do tomorrow;
Charles retired to his bedroom, quickly checking his emails before getting into bed and falling asleep.
Meanwhile, in Domino City, Ryou Bakura reinstated his yami's caffeine privileges. Said tomb robber went on a coffee binge, resulting in his ingestion of enough caffeine to kill several adult humans and the tomb robber literally bouncing off the walls for days, but that's really not important to the story.
Chikuro paced in his Soul Room.
"No more strange dreams," Arrathir said. Could it be possible he is accessing my memories?
He had, or course, considered the possibility of his host stumbling across his memories and therefore had erected a strong mental barrier around his mind. However, it could be that since they shared the same body, some memories were slipping past the barrier.
Chikuro was not proud of his past. He had committed horrendous atrocities that he did not wish exposing Arrathir to.
He is but a child. He should not have to face the past so soon.
The Keeper of Black Mana sighed. There were still so many unanswered questions floating around, the most important being: Who was trying to stop The Awakening? At any rate, they had actually helped. If the slivers hadn't attacked them, they might not have met Erik or Charles for a long time. Whoever it was, they were being foolish. The Keepers of Mana were the five most powerful Planeswalker in history. Did they really believe they could be defeated so easily? And why not face them directly instead of sending their pitiful minions? Once again, they were only helping The Awakening. By sending in low-level summoners, they were only allowing the Keepers to increase their power.
Suddenly, it all fit together: They weren't trying to stop The Awakening. They wanted to speed it up! But for what purpose?
Every time I answer one question, another ten pop up.
Chikuro yawned allowed himself to succumb to the fatigue that racked Arrathir's body.
I wonder how Erik's handling his spirit?
On the other side of the city, Erik Morlock awoke with a start, heart racing. He had awoken from a most peculiar dream, yet he could not quite remember what it was. The more he tried to remember, the faster the details slipped away, like water trickling through cupped hands.
As he reached up to mop his sweaty brow, his hand encountered a large, bony protuberance where his nose should have been. The tip was sharp and then it curved gently up to his forehead. Jumping out of bed, he dashed to the bathroom and flicked on the lights. His worst fears were revealed. A yellow beak, like that of an eagle, was now in place of where his mouth and nose should have been.
How did this happen?
I was wondering when my beak would show up.
You! You did this?
Just like the other Keepers, I too was a half-demon in my past life.
But why is it showing up now?
This must mean another Keeper has awakened. As the power of the Keepers grows, your body will take on the form of your past self.
Do you have any idea how ridiculous I look right now?
You should be proud!
I haven't even accepted you or anything! Why is this happening?
This goes to show you cannot escape your destiny.
Quinn! It's all his fault!
"QUINN!" shouted Erik "YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!"
To be continued…
So as not to disclose any spoilers for the 6th "Potter" book, I have placed the Author's Note after the question-answering thingy…
KamiofYugi: My story. My decision on when and if Arrathir gets a girlfriend.
YM: I actually possess an "All your base are belong to us" t-shirt and wear it with pride. Maybe I should get one of those shirts that say, "You are stupid" in binary code…
Khell: There is a pattern behind the Keeper's names, but I won't reveal it quite yet. Credit goes to Lu Chao for coming up with this naming pattern.
SeraphSong: Buckteeth? Maybe if he was a beaver demon. LOL! Beaver demons! It would make sense, since he's from Canada and all.
John: Chiburuu's demonic side will show up eventually.
Technomagus: (collapses laughing as he sees the note on Yawgmoth being a Goth, wearing nothing but pink and frolicking with little bunnies in the glade)
Blitz: A free book? Lucky! And don't worry, Chiburuu's gonna kick some butt.
Quillian: Sure, I'll check out your HP fics sometime.
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SPOILER WARNING
Author's Note: If you're reading this, I can only assume you've read HBP or that you're an idiot who didn't notice all the spoiler warnings. There's a lot to go through about the new Harry Potter, so I'm going to focus on the main three points.
1. Dumbledore dies. Well, we all knew someone close to Harry would die in this book. I think there's more than meets the eye here. I think Snape killing Dumbledore was part of some big scheme that will be revealed in the last book.
2. Harry/Ginny? WTF? There was NO indication whatsoever this was gonna happen! I know Ginny's had a crush on him for a while, but I really thought he was gonna end up with Cho! Then again, I may be biased since I am more of a Harry/Cho fan. Kind of lame how he pulls a Peter Parker on her at the end. Everyone he's a friend with is a target now.
3. Ron/Hermione. Who didn't see that one coming? 'Nuff said.
Overall, HBP was a bit of a disappointment. It felt like most of the book was just visiting memories and the whole thing dragged on at parts. A good book, but not the best of the series.
Don't post any spoilers in your reviews please.