A Vegas Arcana Short Story which takes place before the events of Bloodweaver’s Bind.
The scent of sizzling woks and the murmur of Cantonese conversations drifted up through the floorboards, a constant reminder that I was perched in a world between worlds. Our makeshift headquarters were crammed above the vibrant life of Las Vegas’s Chinatown, hidden among neon signs and fortune cookies, veiled from the mundane by nothing more than a rickety staircase and an unassuming door.
I sat at the center of my own chaos, surrounded by shelves laden with artifacts that hummed with magic—not that any passerby would recognize their power. To them, the collection would appear as nothing more than curiosities from a bygone era or the props of a particularly eccentric gambler. But to me, each piece resonated with secrets, with energies that I had only just begun to understand.
The room was a kaleidoscope of oddities: crystal balls that shimmered with a light of their own, amulets engraved with runes that whispered promises of ancient wisdom, and of course decks of cards, some still wrapped in silk, others fanned out as if waiting for a hand to claim their fortunes. It was here, amidst this blend of the arcane and the tactile, that I sought to piece together the question mark of my own existence.
My deck lay before me, its cards splayed across the worn wood of the table like soldiers ready for command. The symbols inked upon them were both familiar and foreign, part of the heritage Eli, Alex, and Sophie had slowly woven into the fabric of my being. Each card was a key to a door I had yet to open, a door that led to answers—or perhaps to more questions.
I traced a finger over the delicate design of a card, feeling the raised ink under my skin, acknowledging the weight of responsibility that came with their mastery. In the quiet of my sanctuary, the clamor of the outside world seemed a distant memory. Beyond these walls lined with the mystical and the miraculous, lay a city that pulsed with the energy of the living and the spells of the hidden.
This was my realm, a place where the threads of fate could be pulled and twisted, where the veil between the ordinary and the extraordinary grew thin. And as I sat there, alone with my thoughts and the tools of my newfound trade, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something momentous lingered on the horizon, a challenge that would test the very limits of the magic I had come to wield.
I shuffled the stack of cards before me, each one a canvas yearning for the touch of magic. The room’s light cast long shadows over the worktable, illuminating the shelves laden with ancient artifacts. Amidst these relics of a bygone era, the sharpie in my hand felt starkly out of place, a modern tool in a world steeped in antiquity. With meticulous precision, I traced the outlines of a new card, merging Eli’s method—a blend of ancient symbols and modern intent—into a single, harmonious act.
As I drew the symbol, a specific curve triggered a memory. Eli stood beside me, his hands guiding mine as we sketched the very same symbol.
“Focus on the form, Mal,” Eli had said, his voice steady and calm. “But never forget that it’s your will that infuses the card with power.”
I looked up at him, curious. “How does that work exactly? The power, I mean.”
Eli smiled, a hint of pride in his eyes. “It’s all about alignment. The intent of the Deck Runner and the essence of the Daemon must come together within the card. The markings you make are what seal that intent and essence in, ready to be called upon when you cast a spell.”
He paused, letting the words sink in. “Think of it like a contract. The symbols are the terms, the essence of the Daemon is the power source, and your intent is what directs that power.”
I nodded slowly, absorbing his explanation. “So, the symbols aren’t just decorations. They’re essential.”
“Exactly,” Eli said, guiding my hand to finish the symbol. “Every line, every curve, it all has to be precise. The magic flows through the paths you create. If your intent isn’t clear, the magic will be unstable.”
We worked in silence for a few moments, the only sounds the scratching of the pen and the soft rustle of pages from the books around us. I felt a deep connection to the process, a sense of purpose that was both daunting and exhilarating.
Eli’s voice broke the silence. “When you’re creating a card, you’re not just drawing. You’re forging a link between your will and the magic. That’s why focus is so important. Distractions can weaken the bond.”
He stepped back, letting me complete the symbol on my own. “Remember, Mal, the power is within you. The card is just a conduit. Trust in your abilities, and the magic will respond.”
Snapping back to the present, I continued tracing the symbol with newfound determination. Eli’s lessons were more than memories; they were the foundation of my craft, a blend of ancient wisdom and modern technique that I now carried forward. Each stroke of the pen felt like a link to the past, and a step toward mastering my future.
My hand—steadied by Alex’s lessons in control—sketched a rune that danced like flames on paper. A chuckle escaped me, recalling his teasing jibes whenever my concentration wavered. “Don’t let the magic play you, Byrne,” he’d say with a sly grin, flicking a card expertly between his fingers.
Sophie’s teachings were subtler, her presence a whisper of warmth at the edge of my consciousness. She instructed me in the nuances of magical flow, the ebb and tide of energy that I had to learn to harness. Her fierce gaze seemed to penetrate the veil of solitude that enveloped me now, urging me to delve deeper, to trust in the unseen currents that guided my hand.
The ink shimmered, and I felt the hum of potential vibrating through the fibers of the card. There was something exhilarating about this act of creation, a sense of communion with forces that defied explanation. As each symbol took shape, I could almost hear the faint whispers of the deck’s essence, promising power, offering secrets.
I paused, my breath caught in my throat as a tingle of recognition passed through me. It was as if the very air in the room shifted, an electric charge that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I looked down to see the card taking on a life of its own, lines glowing with a light that seemed to pulse in time with my heartbeat.
“Easy,” I murmured to myself, trying to recapture the calm that Eli always preached. But this was uncharted territory. My pulse quickened, a heady mix of fear and fascination coursing through me as I witnessed the magic at play.
“Stay grounded,” Sophie’s advice rang clear in my memory, though the room now felt anything but stable. The incandescent glow of the card intensified, casting bizarre shadows that danced across the cluttered walls, filled with artifacts that bore silent witness to my struggle.
This was the moment of truth, where the stakes of my craft loomed larger than ever before. Here, above the mingled scents of spices and incense from the restaurant below, I stood at a crossroads between doubt and discovery.
I completed the design on the card, feeling the magic infuse into it. Placing it carefully into the deck, I reached for the next blank card, my fingers brushing against a peculiar texture, different from the others. The small, rectangular piece of cardstock felt warm, almost alive beneath my touch. I froze, my breath hitching in my throat as I drew the Prime Arcana card into view. It wasn’t meant to be shuffled into this deck, yet here it was, an anomaly among its kin.
What I’d been calling, in a ridiculous bout of hubris “the Prime Arcana,” shimmered with a soft radiance that seemed familiar, comforting even. The intricate symbols on its surface—a mosaic of my own magical essence—pulled at something deep within me. An inexplicable urge overtook me, and I yielded to it, sinking into the chair as I held the card before my eyes.
I closed them, the world around me fading as I focused on the connection between my essence and the card. In that quiet moment of meditation, I dared to reach inward, to touch the intangible bond that linked us. The energy flowed like a languid river, spilling back into my being, filling spaces I hadn’t known were empty.
With each passing second, the sensations grew more pronounced: warmth spreading through my fingertips, up my arms, and into the core of my existence. The room’s ambient noises dulled, replaced by the beating of an invisible heartbeat that matched my own. This was magic in its purest form—raw, untamed, and achingly personal.
When I opened my eyes, the luminescence of the Prime Arcana had faded. The once-vibrant card lay blank in my hands, a canvas devoid of daemonic flair or mystical designs. Yet, instead of emptiness, I felt replete, imbued with a newfound vigor that coursed through my veins.
“Oookay,” I whispered, the word a buoy in the sea of confusion that threatened to engulf me. “What now?” The question hung in the air, unanswered, as I contemplated the implications of what I’d done.
A sudden weightlessness filled the space, a prelude to change, as if the very air anticipated the unfolding drama of my accidental discovery. But there was no time to dwell on the might-have-beens or the could-yet-bes. The air crackled with the scent of ozone and soy sauce, a bizarre cocktail that somehow felt right in this new world of arcane mysteries. My fingers twitched around the edges of what had been the Prime Arcana but was now a card now as blank as my mind was full of racing thoughts. This piece of cardstock—once etched with cosmic power—had become nothing more than a ghost, its essence absorbed into me.
“Damn it,” I muttered, flipping the card over as if the answer might be scribbled on the backside. Nothing. It was gone, all gone. The dread bubbled up from the pit of my stomach, a nauseating concoction of fear and self-doubt. Had I just lost one of my most potent magical assets? Was this some kind of self-sabotage, like a manifestation of my deeper insecurities?
A shiver ran down my spine, not from cold but from the realization that I didn’t fully grasp what I had accomplished before, let alone what I might have just done. The victories I’d claimed felt hollow now, their foundations resting on shifting sands of understanding. How could I fight battles when I didn’t even comprehend the weapons at my disposal?
“Focus, Mal,” I scolded myself, trying to summon that dry wit like a shield against the rising tide of panic. “You’ve handled worse.” But had I? Doubt gnawed at me with needle-like teeth.
As if resonating with my internal turmoil, the room began to subtly protest. The lights above flickered erratically, casting shadows that danced along the walls like jittery specters. A deck of tarot cards slid across the table with no hand to guide them, spreading out in a fan of fate’s own making. Even the trinkets that hung from the ceiling swayed gently, though there was no breeze to stir them.
“Great,” I breathed out, a sarcastic laugh escaping me. “Now I’m spooking myself out.” Yet, the unease wouldn’t dissipate; it clung to me, a cloak woven from threads of unease and confusion. The magic within me pulsed, an echo of the heartbeat I thought I’d heard before, now irregular and unsettling.
“Keep it together,” I urged myself, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes. The darkness behind my lids brought no solace, only the vivid reminder of the void where the Prime Arcana’s power once resided. What if I couldn’t fix this? What if my own magic had turned against me, a serpent ready to strike from the shadows of my ignorance?
I dropped my hands and squared my shoulders, steeling myself for whatever came next. The disturbances in the room grew bolder, a crescendo of chaos that mirrored the storm brewing within me. But I wasn’t going to yield to the tempest. Not yet. Not when there was still so much to learn, so much to prove—to Eli…when we found him, to Alex and Sophie, but most of all, to myself.
I gazed around the room, the restaurant below humming with life, oblivious to the metaphysical maelstrom unfolding just above their heads. Out there, beyond these walls, Las Vegas buzzed with energy both ordinary and extraordinary. And here I sat, at the epicenter of my own personal upheaval, poised on the precipice between control and calamity.
A tremor ran through me, as if the ground beneath my feet betrayed the stability I so desperately craved. The room swayed, a ship lost at sea, and with every sway, the magic within me thrashed against its confines, a caged beast clawing for freedom.
“Concentrate, Mal,” I muttered to myself, but my voice was swallowed by the clamor of clinking artifacts and the rustling of enchanted cards. I could feel the absence of Eli’s guiding hand, the void left by Alex’s easy confidence and Sophie’s unwavering strength. Alone, I stood in the eye of an arcane storm, wrought from my own doubts and fears.
The air crackled with static, and a deck of tarot cards exploded across the room, their images blurring into streaks of color. Beads of sweat formed on my brow, each drop a sign of the struggle that raged within. My heart pounded, a drumbeat out of sync with the rhythm of Las Vegas’s neon pulse.
“Focus,” I commanded, the word more prayer than order. A picture frame levitated off the wall, edging closer as if drawn by some invisible string tied around my chest. My breath hitched; this was not the controlled manipulation of elements I had studied. This was raw, untamed power, and it threatened to consume me.
I closed my eyes, trying to envision the blank card, to reclaim the essence that once filled it. But the image slipped away, a mirage dissolving under the harsh desert sun. Panic welled in my throat, and for a moment, I faltered, teetering on the brink of despair.
“Get a grip, Byrne,” I snarled at myself, forcing my eyes open. The room had transformed into a maelstrom of motion, a dizzying dance of displaced objects orbiting my unsteady form. In that chaos, a flicker of understanding ignited within me—I was the source, the catalyst for this turmoil. And if I had unwittingly unleashed it, then maybe I could rein it back in.
I extended a hand, feeling the push and pull of energies that writhed in the space between my fingers. My palm tingled, the sensation alien yet not entirely unwelcome. It was a reminder that while I might lack the guidance of my friends and mentor, I wasn’t devoid of their lessons, their influence. Each battle fought alongside them, every quiet moment of shared knowledge—they’d all led to this instant.
“Control,” I breathed, willing the word to become reality. The tempest within heeded the call. Slowly, painstakingly, I coaxed the magic back, drawing it into the core of my being where it belonged.
My heart steadied, syncing once again with the city’s eternal heartbeat, and as calmness washed over me, the disturbances ceased. The room settled, silent save for my ragged breaths and the distant murmur from the streets below.
The remnants of my breath, sharp and uneven, broke the silence as I surveyed the stillness that now pervaded my cluttered sanctum. My gaze alighted upon the blank card resting innocently amongst the debris—a stark contrast from the vibrancy of the arcane symbol it once boasted. I could feel the tremor of my hands begin to subside, a physical echo of the inner tumult that had just moments ago threatened to consume me.
“Ground yourself…,” I muttered under my breath, echoing Eli’s firm yet soothing directives. “Root in order to rise, like the ancient trees.” I envisioned my feet as gnarled roots delving into the earth, reaching for stability in the unseen layers beneath. The image was a bastion against the lingering instability that clung to my nerves.
The melancholic realization that I stood alone in this moment weighed heavily upon me. Alex and Sophie, my steadfast companions in the face of the unknown, were absent—just as Eli, with his piercing gaze that seemed to penetrate the veil of doubt, could not offer his wisdom save for what lingered in my memory. Yet within this solitude, I found a reservoir of strength I had not known.
“Believe in the magic within, as much as you believe in the spells we cast,” Eli had often said. His words, like seeds, had taken root in the fertile soil of my mind, sprouting now when darkness loomed closest. It was a bittersweet harvest, reaped in the shadows of my lonesome trial.
The artifacts around me—the tomes inscribed with esoteric knowledge, the decks of cards that bristled with daemonic energies—all lay inert, their potential untapped. They were tools, I realized, but not crutches. I was more than a mere vessel for external forces; I wielded power of my own accord.
In the distance, beyond the paper-thin walls and the aroma of spices drifting up from the restaurant below, the city pulsed. Las Vegas was a living entity, its neon veins aglow with ceaseless vitality. It was a reminder that life thrived amidst chaos, that harmony emerged from dissonance.
“Focus,” I whispered to myself, a personal incantation to steady the soul. With each repetition, the introspective mantra wrapped around me, a cloak woven from threads of newfound conviction. The melancholy that had so often clouded my judgment began to dissipate, chased away by the light of self-reliance.
There would be time enough to ponder the implications, to dissect the events that had unfolded with the meticulous care of a cardsharp examining his deck. For now, it was enough to simply breathe—to fill my lungs with the desert air that seeped through the cracks of our headquarters—and to acknowledge the quiet triumph that came from facing the tempest within and emerging whole.
The room remained silent, save for the occasional creak of the floorboards as I shifted my weight. Even the magical disturbances had receded, leaving behind only the traces of their passage. In their wake, I felt not defeat, but the dawning of an understanding profound and pure.
The tremors within me began to subside, as if the essence that had once threatened to tear through my very being now recognized the voice of its master. I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, willing the darkness behind my lids to absorb the chaos that had wracked my body only moments ago.
“Steady,” I muttered to myself, a single word that became both anchor and command. The pulse of Las Vegas’s heart—a rhythmic thudding of a city that never slept—fused with my own, synchronizing to a beat that promised resilience. The flickering lights of the sanctum steadied, reflecting a new constancy within me. My breaths, once shallow and erratic, deepened, each inhale a draft of strength, each exhale a release of doubt.
I was alone, truly alone for what might have been the first time. No Eli to guide, no Alex or Sophie to lean upon. It was just Malcolm Byrne, the man who had tiptoed around the edges of his potential, now diving headfirst into its depths.
A chuckle, soft and self-deprecating, escaped me. How often had I deflected with humor, used wit as a shield against the vulnerabilities that gnawed at my soul? But here, in the wake of turmoil, I found no need for such armor. The realization struck sharp and clear: the power had always been mine, a wellspring within waiting to be acknowledged, tapped, and understood.
“Mal,” I spoke aloud, the sound of my own name grounding me further. “You’ve got this.”
My gaze fell upon the blank card, its surface once alive with the swirling colors of my own magic, now silent and impassive. A symbol of loss? No, not anymore. It was a canvas, an invitation to claim what I had neglected, to embrace the essence that was innately, irrevocably part of me.
“Time to deal a new hand,” I said, letting the words hang in the air—a vow, a challenge.
Rising from my seat, I moved toward the window, pushing it open to let in the night. The cacophony of Chinatown reached me, a symphony of sounds that spoke of life in all its chaotic splendor. There was comfort in that dissonance, a strange kinship I felt with the ebb and flow of the streets below.
And as I looked out over the neon-lit expanse, the din of the city rising to meet me, a sense of readiness took hold. Whatever lay ahead, I would greet it on my terms, with the full weight of my heritage at my back and the strength of my own hands to shape the future.
“Let the cards fall where they may,” I whispered, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. I knew now, more than ever, that I held far more than just magic in my grasp—I held possibility.
I cradled the blank card in my hand, my fingers tracing its edges with newfound reverence. The room around me, cluttered with its magical artifacts and the lingering scent of incense from the restaurant below, felt like a cocoon that I was about to shed. A transformation had taken place here, silent, and profound.
The darkness outside was pierced by the neon glow of signs and the occasional flicker of a streetlamp, painting shadows across the surfaces of the hidden sanctum. I glanced at the decks of cards scattered haphazardly across my desk, each one a testament to the lessons learned from Eli, Alex, and Sophie. But this card, the Prime Arcana, now devoid of markings, was different—it was purely mine.
The card’s emptiness mirrored the hollow feeling I’d often harbored within, a space where doubt liked to whisper insidiously. But tonight, the void was not an abyss to fall into; it was a canvas waiting for my own colors, my own story.
A gust of wind from the open window stirred the papers on my desk, and I watched as symbols and sigils danced momentarily before settling down again. It was as if the room itself was acknowledging the shift in energy, the new equilibrium that had settled over me.
“Strength isn’t just about power,” I said, to the shadows, to myself. “It’s about knowing when to forge your own path.” I thought of Eli’s grounding techniques, not just as methods to control magic, but as anchors to my own sense of self.
With a decisive nod, I placed the blank card back on the table. It lay there, unassuming yet potent—a clear slate on which my future exploits would be etched. No longer would I seek validation from the arcane trappings that surrounded me; the true measure of my abilities came from within.
In the silence that followed, a quiet conviction bloomed in my chest. I turned away from the window, my gaze falling upon the multitude of magical paraphernalia that filled the room. Each object held a memory for someone, a lesson, a challenge overcome. And now, among them, rested the blank card—silent, yes, but brimming with potential.
There was comfort in the realization that the journey ahead was mine alone to navigate. The city below might be a labyrinth of light and shadow, but above it all, I stood watch, a sentinel armed with newfound confidence and the quiet assurance of my own capabilities.
The Chinatown below was ablaze with neon—a dragon’s breath of reds, greens, and blues—each sign and billboard a testament to the lifeblood of this city. People moved among the glow, their stories hidden beneath the veneer of light.
“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” I murmured, though there was no one to answer but the hum of the city. The night air, laced with the scent of sizzling noodles and the distant echo of laughter, whispered promises of mysteries yet to be unraveled.
I leaned against the cool surface of the window, feeling the vibrations of the world below seep into my bones. The energy was palpable, as if the city itself were an extension of my own pulsing magic. In the reflection, my eyes caught the faintest glimmer of what lay ahead—the adventures, the dangers, the unbreakable bonds forged in the fires of uncertainty.
“Ready for this, Mal?” Alex’s voice would tease in my head, punctuating the question with that characteristic grin of his.
“Always,” Sophie would chime in, her confidence a blazing torch against any inkling of doubt.
I pushed off from the window, chucking softly at the thought of my friends. They were out there waiting, not just for me, but for the thrills that tomorrow would bring. We were comrades, bound not by blood but by the arcane and enigmatic threads of destiny.
“Time to see what these hands can do,” I said, flexing them before me—not just the tools of a Deck Runner, but instruments of a will entirely my own. The street below beckoned, a siren call to the wanderer within.
The blank card had been the first step. Now, I prepared to walk into the dance of lights and shadows, where each step was a story waiting to be written.
There was no trepidation, only the steady buzz of anticipation. The journey would be mine, through a world that was far from mundane. As the mantle of the night draped over the city, I stepped out, a silent oath hanging in the space between heartbeats—to embrace whatever came next with open arms and a spirit undaunted.