the Glowing chapter 6

Chapter 6

Summer 2013

At last Austin has reached Phil Walker's apartment, he is on the second floor of a small building, the number on the door is 6. Has his hand outreaches to touch the door, a flash in his mind shows him that he has been in the building before, the number on the door was different then it read 3 last time he was here. This was Mercedes apartment. Music echoes through the door.

"...The mirror now cries, ageless mask fades to true life

To taste the immortal grace I lived the role I played

Alone in a golden cage

Life is what we make of it sometimes, sometimes,

Sometimes we just want to play

So don't take life so seriously

Play, love, have fun, leave misery be

Regrets are built in a cold dark cage..."

Austin breaths deep as he is almost shacking, he has not been here for ages it seems. A place that feels like home. Austin knocks on the door.

The door is opened, Phil is a gentle looking man, he now has glasses on and has cut the rat tail he kept throughout his youth. There is a moment of silence as they stare at each-other their minds catching up to the passage of a lifetime.

Phil takes the first move, he steps into Austin wrapping his arms around him in a hug, Austin slides his arms under Phil's to grip him by the shoulders. Austin whispers with his longtime friend "I hold in my hand a weapon, one that can crack the sky, make armies quake with fear, level mountains and make gods and kings weep. With this pin I can raise a man to divinity or I can strike him from existence…"

Phil squints as he tries to remember the rest of what Austin is referencing "The wall is getting thinner?" Phil replies "I remember that."

Phil pulls away from the embrace, gripping Austin by the arms, he offers another glance up and down "Packing light for a millionaire."

Austin looks down at his own bag "I am more like a ten-thousandaire, this is all I own." Austin elaborates "I only get to keep 5% of my earnings in paperback, 15% hardcover."

Phil waves him on walking back into the house "so all that t.v. And radio stuff? What happens to your profits?"

"publisher keeps most of it." There is a card table set up in the main room, video game paraphernalia adorns the walls. Kirk is sitting at the table shuffling a pack of cards, he looks just like he did as a child, just with less hair on his head and now sporting a thick rugged beard. Austin throw his hands up in proclamation "Kirk!"

Kirk lifts a hand and with a cracking voice welcomes Austin "Hay."

Austin approaches the table "what are we playing?"

"Worldwalker." Kirk sets down his deck "you still play?"

Austin digs around in his backpack pulling out a deck of his own "yeah, still have the 'White Fox' deck you helped me put together. what factions are you playing?" Austin looks between Phil and Kirk

Phil sits down picking up his cards to shuffle up again "River Folk."

Kirk explains "Huntsmen."

Austin looks back and forth "White, blue, green. Not much changed there." Austin looks for a dice in his pockets "anyone have two d10?"

Phil hands over some dice "Realy? The same deck from 1990? We are quite a few additions outside of Zhànguó shídài."

Austin places his deck on the table "cut or tap?" Phil taps for him "Let's see if it still works. What is the last set called anyway?"

Kirk offers the reply "Justinian's Rule."

All three decks on the table the game can begin, Phil calls "Roll the dice."

All three roll a d20 to determine turn order

"12" Austin calls out his roll

"14" kirk reads his aloud

"17" Phil explain "I choose to play first, I draw 7 cards, you both draw 8." Worldwalker is a strategy card game, you must manage resources to call on Heros, Magic, Monsters, and Techniques to protect yourself and attack your enemies. To start each turn you untap all resources you control, then draw a card. If you have a 'Territory' in your hand you may play one each turn, you tap these to pay for other cards 'Heros,' 'spells' and 'Techniques.'

Phil sets his first territory "River." He reads the name as he set it down "Tap river, play 'Island Crab it is a 0/2" this is a monster card, you may have four monsters that share a name in play at a time. This is in opposition to a Hero which you may only have one of each name in play at a time. The first number is your attack score attack, the second defense. Each player starts with 30 health. Phil points "Kirk, go."

Kirk announces game phases as he takes his turn "untap and Upkeep. Nothing. Draw phase, I draw my 8th card. 1st main phase play woodlands, tap woodlands for green resources, play 'Explore the Land' untap my woodlands and play a second. tap my first woodlands to play 'fruitful earth' all lands that produce green now produce 2 resources of any color they could produce, tap my other woodland for 2 green and play 'Village outcast 1/1 tap to untap a land I control."

Austin looks at kirks side of the playfield "that is just disgusting, turn 1 you can tap for 6."

Kirk looks up from his cards "Austin did you know that the creators of this game molded the first edition and the core rule around Toa mythology? Each of the colors reparents a human aspect 'White is Resolve, Blue wisdom, Green strength, Red ambition and Black Desire."

Austin nods "yeah, I know."

Phil looks to Kirk in announce "is that the end of your turn?"

Kirk keeps talking having not yet picked up on what the other two had said "and each of our decks, best as I remember, represent their core belief and practice, Strength grows fast but has only one road to victory, for green to win one needs to reach the apex of their power swiftly because it doesn't have anything but power to fall back on, White plays the long game, hiding behind walls and waiting for itself to build to indomitable size. Often overtaking its opposition in a single strike. Blue is smart and wins by outsmarting others, half the cards in blue are not meant to be played in action but instead in reaction…"

Phil repeats "Kirk, is that turn?"

Kirk starts to catch up "who's turn is it?"

Austen waves at Kirk "yours."

Kirk nods "go."

Austin starts his turn. "play a meadow, tap, 'Erect the Walls' all creatures I control comes into play with a +0/+1 counter on it. Phil Go"

As the game goes on Kirk takes the early lead summoning an army of dogs and bears to lay pressure on Phil and Austin. But in short order, Austin becomes an invalided target as he puts Technique after Technique out making his army of 'shield barriers' too powerful to push aside. Phil in the meantime has raised a band of heroes with crippling effects.

Kirk draws a card, "play a woodland, that triggers 'Call the pack' check number of woodlands in play, I see 7, summon 7 2/2 wolves. Austin what do you have on your side of the field?"

Austin looks down " 'Soulmender', by the way, I gain 7 life off your wolves, she is a 1/ 9 right now because of Raise the Walls x4 and castle wall x2 'King of Lions' is a 2/10 and I have 10 0/10 shield tokens that produce a 0/10 shield any time they are assigned as a blocker because of 'King of Lions'"

Kirk nods "well that isn't happening. King of Loins is a hero card, who is he model after anyway?"

"Gorgo, the Queen of Sparta" Austin explains

Kirk turns to Phil "and you have…"

"'Dr. john Snow with 5 counters on him,"

Kirk adds on "So attacking creatures get -5/-5."

"'Justin the conqueror, 'Cleopatra the River Queen', and 'Marius the Red' also 'Library of Agora"

Kirk nods again. "Alright, I am going to tap 5 and play Ōhirume-no…." Kirk is struggling to pronounce the name of the card he is playing, Phil helps him

"Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami, Amaterasu-ōmikami."

"Yes." Kirk announces "I am going to add up the P/T of all creatures I control and put that many +1/+1 counters on Amaterasu then exile all my creatures. I am going to activate Amaterasu's ability to do damage equal to her power to all creatures and players divided in any way I chose, I chose…"

Phil cuts in "hang on, I am going to tap Cleopatra to gain control of target creature so long as I control Cleopatra. I gain control of Amaterasu in response to 'resolution phase.'"

Kirk lowers his head "oh, I forgot about that."

Phil chuckle "RTFC." He takes the card "I will tap Amaterasu and deal 17 dmg to you" he points to kirk "and 16 to you" he points to Austin.

kirk shakes his head "I'm out."

Phil looks to Austin, "What are you sitting at?"

Austin looks down at the percentage dice alongside his playfield "68."

Phil points at Austin with a smile "you're a go."

Austin starts his turn "Untap, Upkeep, Draw." He looks at his cards then to Phil's side of the field, Phil has made changes to his deck, but his mentality is the same. Austin can see Phil has three Rivers still untapped. That is enough for an 'Unmake' or a 'Second Thoughts' his best move would be to try to force Phil's hand, Austin is holding an 'Attack Formations' what would turn all his Shield Barriers into 11/11's, and that would be a winning move. Maybe he can bate Phil with a Hero card.

Austin looks over his cards one more time 'Catherine the Great' he doesn't have the land to activate her ability but maybe threat she posses would be enough to intimidate Phil. Austin makes his move "Catherine: Prussian Princess 3/4 tap 6 destroy all creatures in play if you tap all white create 5 1/1 mercenary tokens at the end of turn " he announces as he taps three lands, he reads the quote of the bottom of the card "A Nation without Confidences is nothing."

Phil nods.

Austin thinks 'he didn't counter, I have to make a play' Austin taps for 5 "Attack formations, creatures I control deal damage via defense."

Phil counters by tapping 3 "Second Thoughts, you choose to tap five lands, discard Attack Formations and draw a card."

Austin slaps his leg then draws a card. "I return a Meadow to my hand to play Lakeside Temple in its place." Austin could attack, but Phil's creatures are strong enough to stop the assault still, he is left with no chose but to wait. "Phil, go."

Phil starts his turn "tap 4, McAuliffe the Screaming Eagle 1/4, whenever a land becomes tapped deal 3 damage to target player." Phil reads the quote on the card "To the Panzer High Command "Nuts.""

Austin shacks his head "Reread Justin's ability please."

Phil picks up the card to read it again "during your second main phase target player taps all land he or she controls."

Austin counts up the land in play. "fold." He folds his arms and looks up at the ceiling thinking "you know, for purposes of a game the future meeting the past is a cool idea, but in practicality what benefit could it serve? Justinian the Grate spent a lifetime trying to rebuild the empire squandered by Augustus Octavius and the Gracchi Brothers. What could any of them have to say to General Mcauliffe of the 101st airborne division that he would have found meaningful?"

Kirk squints as he is thinking aloud "you mean if they could find any way to communicate at all? vocabulary is an ever-changing monster, even people living in the same land would find it difficult to talk to someone 150 years older than themselves, the inflections and connotations of the vernaculars would have changed, common usage wouldn't be the same three generations later."

Phil adds to the thought "knowledge. Some people think that the Romans where ahead of there time, it would be more appropriate to say that the rest of the world had fallen behind. Some archeologist think that the Egyptians of the 1st century had created batteries and light bulbs, the Alexandrians a steam engine and telephone. This is probably an exaggeration but on the same hand art and science develop side by side, and early Greek art is extraordinarily advanced when compared to 12-century English religious art. We lost a lot of knowledge over the years. try to imagen, what if we had constructed trains in the 5th-century?"

Austin nods in agreement, his eyes turn to the radio "what are we listening to?"

Phil looks to the radio "Sabaton, I think" Phil snaps "that reminds me, I found something you lost at my mom's house, your tape player." Phil jumps up to his feet to make his way to the back rooms.

Austin talk a moment to speak to kirk as Phil is gone "Kirk, if fifth grade you and I were in Mr. Sheldon's support group together, right?"

"no…" Kirk struggles to think back "that was fourth grade, I was in Ms. Homes homeroom class, you and Phil were both in Ms. Tiess class that year halfway through the year was when you started seeing Mr. Sheldon. I think I might still have the tie-dye shirt we made in his after-school class."

Austin shakes his head "I don't remember doing tie-dye with Mr. Sheldon."

Kirk shrugs.

"I was given some medication by Sheldon, I talked to my GP recently and…" Austin looks at the radio again, the songs start to change as if someone was playing with the disc tray, for a moment the song that was playing plays backwards, then it skips back a track, then a whole new disc starts to play, it goes back to Sonata Arctica and the song 'Larger Than Life' then, at last, it flips to the song 'Old Time Rock and Roll' by Bob Seger.

Austin leans off to one side to look ground in front of the radio. A girl is kneeling, she is young, fourteen maybe fifteen, nude, she has thick black hair that rolls down her back and wraps around her breast like a shroud of velvet or cultist cloak, she has flour gray skin, her eyes are blocks of ice. This child is both beautiful and terrifying. "kirk, can you see that?"

Kirk has his head cocked, he looks at Austin hard and tries to follow his gaze "Austin?" Kirk ask "what do you see?"