Myrisian Playing Cards
"Fantastic cards, not too different from ours. Or maybe just different enough... I dunno, have you seen the games they play though? I don't eve think they play for money... who plays cards and doesn't do it for money?!"Playing cards have been a part of civilization since days lost to the gulf of time itself, though the form of cards has changed many times. The Empire adopted a standard deck from Sanguine, but in Myrisia the deck had changed drastically while appearing the same. The number of cards was increased from fifty-four to sixty, while the two wild cards change purpose depending on the game itself. The deck is organized into four suits of thirteen cards each aligned with what is considered 'natural elements' to Myrisians: Fire, Cold, Stone, and Sky. They are numbered from one to twelve, with the thirteenth being called the "Emperor" if considered high or the "Botch" if considered low. This status varies from game to game, and sometimes may be decided when a game begins. (Such as "we're playing Botch" or "Emperor takes all".
The other eight cards have unique purposes for different games, as six are used to represent fusions between the elements. These are Steam (Fire and Cold), Magma (Fire and Stone), Smoke (Fire and Sky), Ice (Cold and Stone), Frost (Cold and Sky), and Dust (Stone and Sky). The last two cards are often considered replacements for the original wild cards, representing two ideas outside the cycle of the natural order. These are the Void (Nothing) and the Source (Everything). In many games using a trump mechanic, these are universal trumps which are removed from play after being used.
Various forms of the deck exist, using different materials for the cards. Most common is paper made from wood pulp with the faces inked to show what they represent and the backs washed over with a dark color to prevent the faces from being visible through the reverse side. Some others are made from slices of wood, a hot metal tool burning the surface before paints and lacquer are applied. Extravagant decks made from stone or metal exist, decorated with precious metals and inlaid chips of precious stones. Rumors abound of some decks enchanted to produce sounds or scents when particular cards of the fusions are played, such as the smell of wood smoke or the sound of ice cracking.
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