The Card-Bound Ghost of Grampi: A Deckbuilder Coming-of-Age Story

Inspired by the recently-ended series Source and Soul, as well as many other deckbuilder and adventure stories on Royal Road. No one loves Grampi more than Harlan Fenwick does. To others, Grampi is just the long-dead children's entertainer Ms. Fenwick summons once in a while to tell fantastical tales. But Harlan has heard all the stories, and he knows that buried within them is a seed of truth that Grampi grows his stories out of, though the Reputed card cannot remember details of his life in full. Grampi really was an adventurer when he was alive. The proof is in beast-hunting advice that works when tested, in offhandedly-named martial styles that weren't heard of on this continent until recent decades, in patterns to his made-up tales that hint at something real. No fourteen-year-old can afford to elevate a card to Storied on his own, much less a youngest son risking his life to build a deck of his own, but Harlan has another plan. Since cards pull forth different aspects depending on the deck they're surrounded by, summoning Grampi with Storm mana might draw a different set of abilities and memories out of the spirit. For that, he needs to hunt a storm. Harlan isn't chasing the promise of treasure that is so obviously a lure Grampi dangles to tempt people into elevating him. He's using it as an excuse to leave home. All he wants is to know his ancestor better, for his family to stop fighting, and adventures of his own. Two new chapters each month, on the 1st and 15th. Cover art is a cropped public domain photo of a Winslow Homer painting displayed in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Sourced here.