On the other hand, Justan had taught Riveren and Zambon how to play the game and they tended to play their strongest cards first and take the amount of tricks that they had bid. Then later they would both have weak cards and sometimes one of them would end up taking another trick with a small card that he did not expect to. This was also an extension of the strategy they used in their fighting styles.
Justan himself tried to look at the big picture. His strategy differed a bit each time as he adapted to the playing styles of his opponents.
He received the second highest point score in the second game of the night and moved on to the third game. He had three fierce opponents in this game, one of which was Arcon. This game was played in the water section.
Justan found playing in the water section to be the most fun. Faldon had taught him how to swim as a child, but he never had much opportunity to be by a lake or river and he enjoyed the illusion of being underwater. The only problem was that he sometimes lost focus on the game while in this section because of the tranquility of it all.
The game was pretty intense, with just about everyone bidding incorrectly each hand. Throughout the game Justan and Arcon were battling between third and fourth place. When the final hand of eight cards was dealt, Justan had moved into third place but he was only ahead of Arcon by one point.
The two students in the lead were far enough ahead that no matter what happened, either Justan or Arcon was going to be knocked out of the tournament. All eyes were on Justan’s table because if Justan lost here, either Arcon or Qyxal would undoubtedly overtake him in the overall point standings for the year.
Justan’s cards were lousy. He had a mix of medium and low strength cards without any high ones, which was always a little difficult. Also, the power element in this hand was black and Justan only had one, which was a ‘Double Bug’, the lowest card in that element.
Justan was the dealer this time, so he would have to bid last. This gave him the advantage of having everyone else bid first, but it also had its disadvantages because the rule was that the total bid count could not be the same as the amount of the cards dealt. This forced someone to lose during each hand. Unfortunately, the loser was often the dealer that couldn’t bid what he wanted to.
As the others bid, Justan took in the clues they gave off about their hands, especially Arcon who stared at him with intensity. Sure enough, none of the other players bid very high, including Arcon, who only bid one. That made a total of seven points bid which meant that Justan couldn’t bid one.
Justan now had two choices. He could bid two, which from his cards he felt he wasn't likely to get, or he could bid zero, which would possibly tie him with Arcon. Justan had never been in that situation before. He wasn’t sure who would pass on to the next game if two people tied for third. Justan finally made the only decision that he was confident in. He bid zero. Somehow, he would have to make sure that he did not take any tricks while doing his best to keep Arcon from getting his bid.
The hand progressed and Justan got rid of most of his large cards right away, letting the other players take the tricks, while Arcon also threw his cards away. Justan had a feeling that Arcon had one large card and he was saving it for one of the last tricks. He was right. With two cards left, Blue was the element led and Arcon laid down the blue ‘AA’, which was the highest card in that element.
Justan looked at his hand. It was his turn but he didn’t have any blue cards left. He only had a low Red card and his Black ‘Double Bug’. He didn’t have any Blue cards left, so he could play whichever element he wanted to.
Since Black was the power element in this hand, if he played his ‘Double Bug’, it would override Arcon’s high blue card and Justan would take the trick. But if he did that, then he wouldn’t make his bid and he would lose the hand. Depending on Arcon’s last card, he could end up in fourth place, which would drop him out of the tournament.
If he played the Red card, Arcon would take the trick. They would most likely both get their bid and he and Justan would end up in a tie. Justan needed to know what would happen before he made his decision.
“Scorekeeper?” Justan said and raised his hand. Despite the underwater magic of the Blue section of the hall, Justan’s voice was not distorted. The scorekeeper nodded, his hair waving lazily in the air.
“I am unsure of a rule,” Justan explained. “If Arcon and I tie for third place in this game, which one of us passes on to the next round?”
“Ah, that does not come up often,” the scorekeeper said. “If there is a tie for third place, then the person with the most points so far in the tournament moves on.” He consulted his scorepad. “Arcon has scored more points than you in the first two rounds, so at this point that would mean that Arcon would win.”
Arcon smiled triumphantly at that and Justan looked back at his cards. He was pretty sure that the ‘AA’ on the table was Arcon’s only good card left. If he were in Arcon’s place, he would make sure that his last card was a low one. That way there wasn’t much of a chance that he would take the next trick too. Good thing he was in the lead by one point in this round.
Justan looked up at Arcon and smiled back with an even bigger grin.
“Sometimes you have to lose if you want to win,” he pronounced and laid down his power element card, taking the trick that Arcon had wanted for himself.
Justan had lost the hand, but by the frustrated expression on his opponent’s face he was sure that Arcon had too. Sure enough, one of the other players took the last trick. Justan remained in third place for the game, still ahead of Arcon by one point.
Something about the situation tickled Justan’s mind. It was the phrase he had used, Sometimes you have to lose if you want to win. That was something his father had told him as a child when explaining war tactics. Sometimes a general has to allow a battlefield to be taken by the enemy so that he can get into a position that will allow him to win in the long run. It was interesting how the strategies in the game of Elements were much like those in real life.
Then it struck him. The game of elements was a lot like real life.
“Of course!” Justan shouted and it didn’t even faze him that people looked at him funny. The answer to the riddle of the Game of Elements was so simple! He finally understood what it was all about. It had been right in front of his face the whole time.
He was so excited about this revelation that he couldn’t concentrate in the fourth game and he made some mistakes. He didn’t make it to the center table and the final game of the tournament, but he didn’t care.
He watched Qyxal win and congratulated the elf heartily, knowing that his friend had just overcome him in the point totals for the year. Suddenly the Grand Trophy didn’t matter so much. He needed to talk with Master Latva.
Chapter Seventeen
After the trophy for that night’s tournament was handed out, Master Latva’s gnomish assistant Alfred entered the night’s point scores into a large bound book. Justan moved to the back of the hall and waited for Master Latva to make his way through the students to the rear door. When the wizard arrived, Justan intercepted him.
“Master Latva, I’ve done it!” he pronounced.
“Oh? And what is it that you have done, young Justan?”
“I know the answer to the riddle of the Game of Elements.” The old man raised both eyebrows in response and the youth and brilliance of his eyes shone forth. Then a hint of irritation crossed his features.
“I see. You had best follow me then,” he said and motioned for Alfred to follow as well. Together they left through the door at the back of the hall.
The doorway opened into a rather plain room compared to the Hall of Elements. It was unpainted with dark wooden walls and besides a changing screen and a small closet, the room’s only furnishings were two small chairs and a short round table.
“Please, take a seat.” The wizard said. He moved to the closet and pulled out his normal wizard robe. As Justan sat at the small table, Master Latva wen
t behind the changing screen and changed out of his flamboyant Elements Robe.
Alfred simply stood beside Justan, unmoving. Justan eyed the headmaster’s assistant noting how different he was from the other gnomes he had met. Alfred was always calm and collected and unlike Vincent, never seemed to forget anything. He was also broadly muscled under his tailored suit. Justan wondered what the story was behind Alfred’s differences. At some point he would have to ask Master Latva about it.
When the Headmaster had finished changing, he put the colorful robe into the closet and pulled out an ancient book with brass bindings, which he handed to the gnome.
The wizard used his staff as support as he lowered himself into the chair opposite Justan. He looked at the cadet blankly for a moment. Then his eyes flared with anger. He spoke out with a sharp tone.
“You know, students often think that they’ve solved the riddle, but usually they tell another professor first. This way when they find out that they are wrong, I’m not bothered.”
Justan was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected to be reprimanded. Master Latva had always seemed to have the time for him before. “I am sorry, sir. I did not realize that I wasn’t following procedure. I was just so excited that I finally figured it out, that I wanted to tell you right away.”
“Finally?” The wizard snickered in an uncharacteristically unkind way. “What makes you so confident that you have the truth in your first year here, when I have a long list of mages waiting to become wizards that are lacking only the answer to this one riddle?”
“I apologize.” Justan’s confidence was rocked. “Perhaps I should go and think on this further before bringing it to someone’s attention.”
“Perhaps you should,” the master agreed. Justan stood up from his chair.
His shoulders slumped as he walked to the door, but he stopped just short of turning the handle. He had been so sure that he was right. No, he knew that he was right. His back straightened and he turned back to the wizard.
“Master Latva, I don’t need to wait. I have come up with many different theories throughout the year but none of them felt quite right. This one does. I have the answer, I know it.” The wizard looked at Justan with a steely gaze for a moment. Then the sternness went out of his youthful eyes and he chuckled.
“Of course you do, Justan. If there was a single student in this school who could figure it out so early, it is you.” Justan gave the master a quizzical expression and Latva laughed again, a warm, good-natured chuckle. “It's okay boy. I do have things that I need to do and I wanted to be sure of your confidence before hearing you out. You see, to answer this question correctly you need more than just the correct words. It’s also important that you have the confidence it takes to bring them forth.”
“Come, sit.” Master Latva gestured to the empty chair. “I have several questions to ask you. Just know that I will give away nothing as to the real answer if you are wrong.” Justan smiled in relief at the change in the master’s demeanor and sat back in the chair.
“Tell me then. What is the reason that all students are taught to play the game?”
“The first thing I noticed when I played the game for the first time, was the obvious magical symbolism on the cards, the things that the rest of the people in the world have lost. I figured that the reason the students played the game was so that the symbols and terms would become familiar to them. Kind of like the fighting songs that my father sang with me as a kid that taught me the different weapon types.
“What I liked about playing the game was the strategy of it. I found myself looking at the game much like I would a battlefield, with the cards in my hand representing my troops, while the others playing were enemy generals.”
Master Latva smiled at that, but gave away nothing as to what he thought.
Justan continued, “In normal battle, the goal is simply to defeat your enemy. So when I first started playing, my object in the game was to make everyone else lose their bid. This would make me the winner by default. Then I found that, though it worked some of the time, I often ended up sabotaging my own bid along the way.
“I began to realize that I needed to worry more about making my bid first. If I could take others out along the way, then that was a bonus. In fact I found that if, instead of simply trying to take the others down, I tried to learn more about what I could do with my hand from the clues that they gave off, I won most of the time.
“Then, tonight, as I sacrificed my own bid in order to defeat Arcon and pass on to the next match, the situation reminded me of something my father told me and my thoughts came full circle. It all made sense. My previous battle analogies to the game were true in a sense.
“I realized that the game of elements is taught as a symbol to show the students what they need to do in their own lives to become better wizards. It teaches something that I have had to figure out myself. The cards in your hand represent the talents or abilities that you have. The other players represent the obstacles and enemies in life. But unlike other games, the object isn’t to destroy all of the enemies and avoid the obstacles.
“The goal in the game of elements is first, to know yourself. Be fully aware of the abilities that you have. Then, set a goal that is realistic with those abilities, and use those abilities to overcome the obstacles and enemies in your path so that you can achieve that goal.” Justan leaned forward and watched Master Latva’s reaction expectantly.
Master Latva placed both of his hands on the top of his staff and then leaned forward in his chair, peering at Justan over the knuckles of his hands. His expression still gave away nothing. “If this is true, then why would you ever bid zero?”
Justan paused a moment to search for the words. “Um, well sometimes in life there are situations in which we shouldn’t be involved in at all. Therefore we should make a goal not to have anything to do with it. Therefore, a zero bid.” Justan smiled uncertainly with that last statement.
Master Latva burst out with a laugh. “That happens to be one of the better answers I have heard to that question. It wasn’t quite correct, but you did a great job of thinking on your feet!”
Justan was disappointed and he slouched back into his chair. He couldn’t believe that he had been wrong. But Master Latva wasn’t finished.
“However, you were right about the important parts. It is actually quite astounding that someone here for so short of a time has deciphered the truth of the game. I have never seen anyone but Locksher figure it out faster.”
Justan jumped to his feet. “I knew it!”
“Please, please, sit down, young man,” the wizard complained. “I’m old and watching you jump up so fast nearly put a crick in my neck.” Justan sat down, still beaming widely. “Yes, you have learned most of the lessons taught by the game of elements. But both of us know that you haven’t yet mastered those teachings in your own life yet, so don’t forget them.” Justan nodded and the wizard continued.
“Now that you know the truth, you are not to tell the truth to another student. That would destroy a valuable learning experience for them. In fact, you are not to let anyone know that you are even close to understanding the answer to the riddle.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Very well.” The wizard leaned back in his chair with a contented grin. “Now I’ll wager that you are wondering what happens now.”
“Yes sir. Actually, I was.” Justan admitted.
Latva chuckled again in response to Justan’s eagerness. “I am sure that you have noticed that the wizards rarely play the Game of Elements. Well, it isn’t that we don’t like the game anymore. We just have another one that we play together.” He leaned forward with a sparkle in his eyes. “It is called the Game of Unity.”
Justan was intrigued. “Unity?”
“Yes, my son. Whereas Elements teaches one to learn about oneself, Unity is about working with others. It is a game utilizing the same deck, but you must partner up with someone else and play against another partnership to
make your goals.”
The wizard leaned on his staff and stood. He gestured to Alfred, who had been furiously writing in the brassbound book the entire time that the humans had been speaking. The gnome went back to the closet and placed the book inside.
“It is recorded,” the master said. “You are now one of the few non-wizards that have ever been allowed to learn the Game of Unity. I will meet you in the library right after lunch the day after tomorrow and we will teach you to play. Agreed?”
Justan nodded heartily. “Agreed.”
Messenger of the Dark Prophet (The Bowl of Souls: Book Two) Page 18