We've reached the end of our Thaumaturge story, and it is time for the Conclude action. Each Princess Sword game has a unique Conclude action, and it typically involves a choice between two possible outcomes. In Thaumaturge, those are:

You feel in command of the magic. How does it transform you?
OR
The magic is beyond your grasp. How does it shatter you?

This action doesn't normally have a card draw associated with it, but, as with character creation, I'm going to pull one to help me decide what happens.

[Image description: The Knight of Swords. A figure with a fencing foil rides through the sky on some kind of beam, turning the night into day. Below, leaves whip off trees in the wake of the figure's passage. Behind the card is an image of a futuristic city built of gleaming kitchenware.]

Background image credit again to Walter Wick, photographer of the I Spy books.

It's an image of someone bringing light into darkness. It would be hard to find a clearer metaphor than that. The leaves whipping off the trees even look a little like pages. I think I have a pretty clear idea of how to answer the question, now.

"Finally, write a short epilogue, either as yourself or the book’s new owner: What is life like a year, a decade, or a lifetime after your stand?"

Strange to think that there was a mountain here once, before Teacher raised the trees and built the School. I recognize these weaves; I've studied them many times. I can't imagine Teacher kept the original book to himself because he thought the artifact itself had some kind of power. So why, then, did he give the book to me?
    He believes he is getting old. He is not wrong. Perhaps he doesn't think he and Teacher Garner can protect the School from the Old Librarians for much longer; he wants me to understand what they are capable of, their philosophy of power. He's told us far more about the Old Library in his lectures than is contained in this book, though; that can't be the reason.
    It is a warning, then, about the dangers of careless spellcasting. But we get that lecture from him all the time, and from Teacher Garner, who reminds us weekly that his stature is the result of magic wielded in domination.
    So what, then?
    He didn't give me a reason as he handed the book over. He almost didn't let go.
    "Don't be so precious, love, it's just a book," said Teacher Garner.
    "Promise me you'll write in it. At least once," said Teacher Bumble. His missing shadow always gave him an air of lightness, like he wasn't anchored to the ground, but there was a weight on Teacher in that moment. After I took the book, he smiled again. "Go on, then. I'm sure a young woman has plenty of things to do other than listen to two old men."
    I remain confused. So was he, it would seem, at this age. Maybe he just wanted someone to know about it.
    Committed to the pen in the 486th Moon under the Great Oak by Scholar Verity.

Thaumaturge comes to BackerKit, along with the four other games in the Princess Sword series, tomorrow as part of the Art & System series. Along with them comes a new print edition of Liam Liwanag Burke's Dog Eat Dog, one of the games that inspired me to make TTRPGs, and Tim Kleinert's The Mountain Witch. I hope you'll support us when the campaign goes live!

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