Rock
Issac emerges through a portal into the Meta Chamber that is large, like a dome carved into rocks, but it isn’t as large as the Smiting Chamber. There is a heptagon that is an exact replica of the one in the Smiting Chamber and it is in the same spot directly above the heptagon in the Smiting Chamber.
“You’ve spent a lot of time in the caves?” Sakpata asks as he moves a hand to summon a table up from the rocks.
“The Smiting Chamber is the first place that we arrived at in the Fonlands,” Isaac explains as they sit.
“What about the mountains on the surface?”
“Honestly,” Issac says, “I’ve really only been on the surface when I was traveling to other Discs. I really only know the caves of your disc.”
“Have you experienced the Neon Caves at least?” Sakpata asks. “They’re the caves and the surface in one place and the most relaxing location in all of the Fonlands. I must insist that you find your way there before you depart the Fonlands for good.”
Issac agreed as Sakpata produced his first Smiting deck and shuffled.
“Many visitors to my Disc choose to navigate through the caves,” Sakpata explains. “It’s the young Kammapa, they will turn anything into a meal and are impossible to give manners to. They keep the surface of my Disc a mystery to many, unlike the caves that I’m sure young Fonlanders think is the defining feature of this Disc.”
“Does that annoy you?” Issac asks.
“Not that I have any reason to hide anything, but I always prefer to be underestimated than to have my time consumed by congratulations and well wishers. It makes this much more entertaining, sitting with someone who seeks knowledge of the Disc and is genuinely interested in the way things work. Do you know the connection that my disc shares with Jo’s?”
Isaac is confused and shakes his head. Most everyone who is a student of the Fonlands knows about the connection between Sakpata, Xêvioso and Gu that is demonstrated by the fact that their discs overlap and their ability to attain a unified Triple God form. But Issac had never noticed an overlap between Sakpata and Jo.
“You’ve been to the Disc of Jo?” Sakpata asks and Issac nods. “Then you are aware that it is the cosmos of the Fonlands. If our discs were stacked rather than overlapping, Jo would be the top, followed by Xêvioso who is the sky God, and then me, the ruler of the lands with the highest peaks, some of which pierce the clouds of Divine Essence that comprise most of Xêvioso’s Disc.”
Issac is stunned to hear this as Sakpata places the cards of his first deck in the center of the table.
“Are the Discs of the Fonlands actually flat?” Issac asks.
“Of course not, but if you view them from a distance and you are to see it all on the back of a slumbering Aido Hwedo, then it all looks flat.”
“Aido Hwedo is part of the Fonlands?” Issac asks with surprise. “I shouldn’t be surprised to hear it, but I wonder what a snake that large looks like.”
Sakpata chuckles. “My siblings said you would insist on learning Rock before the exhibition. You will be happy to know that my game is the easiest.”
“I learned,” Issac says as he draws cards and passes the turn. “Jo taught me actually, it’s similar to Ubiquity. We can.just do one round. I am eager to see your first deck. What are the similarities between yours and Jo’s Discs.”
Sakpata draws his first two cards and passes back to Issac.
“More so than any other Disc, ours are home to spirits. Not zombies or deads, but beings made of Divine Essence similar to the wraiths of Kútmómɛ.”
The game of Rock proceeds quickly. Issac and the Vodun draw, discard, and take cards from the discard.
“I’m not too familiar with Kútmómɛ,” Issac admits.
Sakpata shakes his head with a smile. “That is a trap, I won’t even attempt to explain it. I’ll say that Earthers might think of it as heaven, but there is no judgment for entry into Kútmómɛ, a Fonlander need only expire to go there. The wraiths of Kútmómɛ are the souls that inhabit that heaven, and the spirits that populate the caves are most similar to them. That’s three,” he says after he takes the two discarded cards and he places three rocks in front of him that consist of three cards each.
“I’ve never seen a spirit in all the time I’ve been here,” Issac says, then whispers a curse because he doesn’t have any rocks following Sakpata’s turn.
“You definitely have, it’s just that you don’t recognize them. The Smiting Chamber is a spirit, which gave birth to this Meta Chamber that is also a spirit. In the same way that the spirits of Jo’s Disc manifest as stars or other cosmic bodies, the spirits of my disc are in the peaks and valleys, summits and slopes, caverns and caves. That’s four more,” Skapata says as he puts four more rocks in front of him.
“I really didn’t know that,” Issac says. He manages to play a rock.
“Most don’t and the spirits prefer it that way. Two more.”
“Do they interact with the Giants of the peaks and the Kammapa?”
Sakpata nods as Issac plays a couple of rocks.
“Not all of them, but the dwellers of my Disc respect the spirits. That’s game, Arcana Master. It’s not possible for you to catch up.”
SAK Smiting Exhibition
Issac is disappointed to lose the deck specific game but both are eager to see what the Smiting Chamber produced in Sakpata’s color.
“This is going to be surprising to me, I imagine,” Issac says. “I just assumed your Disc was full of rocks and the Fonlanders who like to live under them in the dark. How does your deck work?”
“It’s similar to the game. If you grid the right cards and they are in the proper spaces on the grid, they can do a lot of damage and prevent a lot of damage. The groupings that appear in Rock are beneficial on the grid for Smiting.”
Sakpata and Issac start the game and when the grid is full enough to start attacks, Sakpata’s cards on the grid include:
- Sokpe Stones
- Gold Digger Ants
- Diamonds
- Spirit of the High Peak
- First Primate of the Heights
- Stalactite Daggers
- Kammapa Elder
- Speaker of the Summit Giants
- Wolf Tracker
- Stalagmite Spear
- Abo (Stone) Healer
And Issac’s includes:
- Death Magic Repulsor Gem – Universe 6DOD31
- Sao-Reyne, Meteor King – Universe 12III93
- Nomoli Stone Medium – Universe 20HV23
- Limestone Golem – Universe 22HIII32
- Silas, Bearer of the Hellstone – Universe 17HII11
- The Staff of Petrification – Universe 5524
- Terra Firma Witch – Universe 5545
- The Birthing Chamber – Universe 19HIV32
- Stone Engraver Guard – Universe 12III126
- Whetstone of Fatherhood – Universe 9I123
Issac is puzzled by the cards of the enchanted Gray. At first glance, some are not easy to comprehend, their helpfulness for an endeavor like clearing a grid of enemies is not readily apparent.
“Whetstone of Fatherhood?” Sakpata asks as he moves his Kammapa next to it. When his Kammapa manages to consume an opponent it gains the health points of the consumed and Sakpata sizes up the Whetstone, not sure if it is even worth the Veve he has to tap to consume.
The card is not capable of attacking on its own and in keeping with the spirit of the game of Rock, it works well in tandem with attacking creatures and burnishes their states. Sakpata chooses not to consume it, and he regrets it when Issac uses its ability to make the Limestone Golem indestructible. But Sakpata does sic his Wolf Tracker on the Golem and its attacks are impossible to dodge or deflect, even for a Golem.
And so goes the Smiting Exhibition, but it is a slow game, reminiscent of the game with Age. The deck that the Smiting Chamber had created in Gray was impressive but Issac has always been at a disadvantage to actually win these exhibitions with the Vodun. Had he as much time with the cards as Sakpata has had with his first deck, it would have been a very different match up, which Sakpata understood and he was eager to get to know the cards better.
“Do you know how much time I have before the other Vodun expect me to report for the Doom game?” Sakpata asks.
“There is time. We are about to face the enemy for the first time. The next time I see you, I will know first hand what we face. Time is different between realms, I’m not sure how long this will all take, but Jo will be along soon to fill you in.” Issac bows on the floor next to the Smiting grid. “I have embarrassed myself each time I’ve done this with the other Vodun, but I just can’t help but show my eternal gratitude to be able to talk with you and hear you speak. It has been a real honor to get to know the Fonlands through this game and I know that I am the luckiest person in the multiverse to have had this experience. Thank you for your time, Vodun. You have my everlasting respect and prayers for your blessings.”
Issac bows and Sakpata is gracious and he does bless Issac, burnishing his wisdom for the fight ahead, and strengthening him against adversity.
“My siblings have spoken very highly of you, Arcana Master, and you do not disappoint. You honor us to help us as you have. You are an honored guest of Fonlands and I am sure that the Mother-Father will invite you and all of the heroes who have gathered in the Smiting Chamber to the Lofted Disc for celebration when this is all behind us. Go. You have important things to tend to. I will wait for Jo and then go and assist Gu in his weapon making. Safe travels.”
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