At this moment the other half of Alester’s pair was being held by a terrifying creature of tremendous power. His name was Fredrick Eismen, but he was actually a powerful demon. Demons, which were borne when a Jinn took a human host, where virtually undead. These immortal monsters wore their new human vessels in masquerade. Often using the names and assets of the men and women they possessed as their own. Demons chose not to share their true names, as these were used to seal them when they still had bodies of their own, Jinn bodies. This demon had come from a vessel with thirteen seals, the man who’s skin he now wore was a greedy and careless fool, who called far too frequently on the Jinn’s power to amass his fortune and standing. He had been lucky to find a vessel with so many seals to begin with, but he’d quickly become addicted to exploiting the Jinn’s power.

This wasn’t the first time a demon had attempted to break an Arcana seal, but it was the first time since ages past that they had come this far, and the first time such a powerful demon had been behind it. A demon who could steal the power of others, a rare ability called Ruin. The demon was preventing Helen from using her Arcana, and now possessed the ability to counter it. Fortunately, he could not use her power himself. However, he still possessed the abilities common to all demons, the Jinn’s power of illusion, the ability to know the minds of lesser beings, and inflict curses upon them, not to mention the ability to bestow the virtues they possessed upon others. Demons could not use the power to perform miracles while residing within a human vessel. This was only possible within their prisons, the cursed vessels which restricted their magic to the confines of the wielder’s request, which had been designed to withstand the channeling of such magic so long as the seals endured.

The only exception to this restriction, was the demons own innate power. A power which they fully commanded, which lived within their very being and resonated with their nature. In this case, Ruin, the power to destroy the mind, to steal and counter magic, and to find and exploit the weakness in any structure. This demon had been a subordinate of Lucifer, the Morning Star, God’s shining Light. This is why he had set out to capture The Star Arcana, and he had every intention of drawing Alester to him by prolonging the woman’s excruciating suffering. Through suffering he could break a mind far faster than with his will alone, but he did not wish to destroy her’s just yet. Instead, he would steal her precious memories, take everything that gave her a reason to go on, to resist, and then when Alester arrived and she could no longer recognize him, then he would destroy what remained of it.

Alester wished he’d had more time to train them, to set them against lesser challenges, challenges he could intervene in… but he did not. For even now, the demon was breaking his beloved Helen’s mind, and he was powerless to stop it. Not only could he not risk the demon capturing the two of them at once, the only power he could use to save her was the very power which Helen herself possessed as well… a power the demon had somehow managed to nullify. In truth, a holder of The Star had never been captured by an enemy before, at least not to his knowledge. Helen needed these new WyldCards, and though he had told them he had brought them here because of the potential danger to the children, which was not entirely a lie, this was the real reason he had wanted to gather them now… at this time, when he felt so very helpless.

The other Arcana of Alester’s generation had died or relinquished their claim to their Arcana… a process that could not be reversed. All in order to live out their remaining days in peace. Alester Morgan and Helen Andreu had been the youngest, tasked with watching over and bringing in the next generation. There were other WyldCards, locals of the Americas, those with whom Alester had contact, those with experience. But these individuals lacked the power to take on a demon such as this. Alesters only hope was to try and teach these potentials to unlock their Aracana before it was too late. Though he knew not for certain what unspeakable things the demon might be doing to Helen, he imagined torture to be chief among their purpose. He could not imagine she would last forever, or that she would be the same person when she returned to him. Her mind was resilient, the loss of friends had showed him that, but he knew even she had a limit to be reached.

Alester answered the questions his new proteges posed to him, and told them many things about the truth of the world they lived in, and when it was done he asked them only one thing. To claim their cards from the table and join him as WyldCards… and so they did, each in turn picking up their card for reason they held as their own. Thomas and Ace, who desired more than anything to know more, more about their mysterious powers, more about the world which suddenly seemed a much larger place to them. Iya, Arra, Brit, Leo, and Cleo, to protect these two children from whatever harm might await them. Brit, to possibly learn enough about his power to restore his sister to her former self. Leo, to be brave and perhaps save the world. And Liza, to embrace the new version of herself awakening before her, and to keep these new friends of hers close.

As the WyldCards picked up their cards, the cards vanished into dust and smoke… but the letters found purchase upon their flesh, the ink slithering across their skin until it reformed in its new home, in a style and placement suited to their individual taste. These magical tattoos marked the first step of their initiation into the world which now sought to swallow them whole.