Backstory:  “It was always so cold, you know how it is for those poor saps living in their own shit outside of nice stores and restaurants. They do it out of necessity, pathetic flies flocking to the smallest glimpse of the trash fire that is wealth and avarice. Why do they do it? Is it for practical reasons, trying to claw at the legs off the rich hoping that they have more to give. Heh ironic isn’t it? The richest are the last people to part with their wealth. Maybe it’s some idealistic calling, maybe they want even the tiniest taste of “The Good Life”, no matter how far removed they are. They are willing to be looked at like diseased animals in the presence of the wealthy, just to feel like they existed with them. And what about the rich? They act disgusted and appalled, but I think deep down they like the constant reminder that they’re just that much better than the lowly scum of the Earth, unsullied by strife and burdened by responsible. Look at me, sounding philosophical, I guess this is just my trying my very best to feign humility heh. So where do I fit in? One day I sort of just, woke up in an alley way, no context, no understanding, no memories, just an impetus to survive. Is that a hint of pity I sense? It’s you who I pity, having memories is such a crutch. Having people you care about, having chains that shackle you to the past, people don’t realize how much off a handicap that is, it’s what allowed me to get ahead of them. People abide by a set of rules ascribed to them by their past and live within these self-made boundaries in an attempt to live in ignorant complacency. If you can decipher their confines, you can poke little holes here and there with your words. Little by little their sanity slips through the barrier from complacency to discomfort, making them like putty in your hand. This was my skill. Well that and being good with a deck of cards. When I woke up, it was right outside Treasure Island, the largest Casino in Endroit Vices, city of greed and hedonism. As I was coming to, some sort of fight broke out in the casino, resulting in some low tiered criminal being pushed roughed up and pushed into the alley. The first memory I have is of violence, but it was not all bad. As the man ran like a coward I could see Casino security in hot pursuit. The man looked at me with fear in his eyes, an unspoken attempt to appeal to my mercy, to not say anything, downtrodden to downtrodden. This is a defining moment in my life. You see, this man was an idiot. After being conscious for only moments I could already see 9 separate courses of action in which this man could easily evade his pursuers, but unfortunately for him he was just didn’t meet the mark. I looked back at and smiled. A smile off understanding, but not for him, but instead understanding of who I was in this world. It would take time, but I’d reach the top. Step by small step I’d advance, and in this case that’s all it took, a single step. I moved my leg in front of the man, tripping him. As he fell, he looked to me with sadness and confusion as security beat and restrained him.  In that moment I felt like my rank in the world had moved up by one, I knew not how many left I needed to step over, but I didn’t care, it seemed like fortune was in my favor to begin with. As the man was being taken away, I noticed a pair of dice fall from his pocket, I picked them up and inspected them. Luck and randomness, they affect all of our lives, but contrary to popular belief, not equally. If you’re smart enough, you can make your own luck and that is exactly what I would do. As if fortune felt my drive, one of the security details of the casino approached me and thanked me for help. He had kindness in his eyes and offered me a job as a busboy. I roomed in a storage closet while working for ends meet. Before leaving to my own devices, the man handed me a singular deck of cards as a means to entertain myself. I had seen the dealers on the casino floor. With a simple deck of cards these individuals hold the attention and fate of the most wealthy and powerful people in the world. Here is how I began to create my own luck. I continued to practice with my playing cards, learning to manipulate the cards with dexterity and ease, throwing in flare and style so as to entice the simpletons in the audience. After working as a busboy for some time, I managed to secure a position as a dealer in a low stakes table once I demonstrated to the pit boss my penchant for cards. I have always been able to use conversation to get what I want, but first I needed to draw people to me. As I added more and more stylist tricks to my repertoire more and more came to my table, flocking like sheep to ohh and awww. As my skill and repute grew, the Casino kept advancing me to higher and higher stakes tables, eventually situating me at the “behind closed doors” VIP tables with guests so rich and powerful that they managed to have nobody know they even existed. I was under sworn secrecy with the identity of these men and women of nameless fame. Normally I couldn’t stand these people. Old Money billionaires who made their fortune off of capitalizing on a single exploit of some war or broken economic system, nothing really interesting, thinking that they were the smartest person in the room as if intelligence was directly proportional to the depth of their pockets. All they spoke of was finances, money, their affairs, their toys. They’re simply the same gutter trash with a golden veneer. There was one man who stood out. He would come every day, spending enormous amounts of money on games he would always lose. At first I thought he was a moron, but as I listened to him each day I realized something that had never happened before, I listened. I listened with intent for the first time in my life, clinging to every word as people normally did with me. His voice was coarse and his breath smelled strongly of whiskey, but it mattered not because his words stayed in your mind like a guest your try your hardest to stay because their company was so welcomed and yearned for. While I dealed my cards I took notes on what he spoke off in my logbook. He told tales of an island off mystery, of an ancient text, of magic. Things that I would normally throw aside due to the sheer absurdity of it, but something about the way he spoke, it was not from a place of attempted bragging, but simply of nostalgia. I studied and learned this language he spoke of, finally something that I could throw myself into that wasn’t so dreadfully boring. One day he seemed alarmed, after receiving a text. He quickly left the room, and without even thinking I followed, leaving the other guests unattended. These were major clients I left alone and needless to say the Casino boss was thoroughly angered with this, and with cruel circular irony, sent security in pursuit of me. As I followed the man into the alley way he seemed to have disappeared. I turned around and was met with security. Apparently my antics resulted in a major casino client taking his business elsewhere. Security was instructed to show me no mercy, and beat me within inches of my life. As I fell to the ground, my lucky dice fell from my pocket to the concrete in front of me. In my dazed state I reached for them, but at this moment a foot came down on them gently. The man from earlier picked up the dice and inspected them. He then looked at my crippled body. “This won’t do.” He uttered. I passed out in the very alley I had woken up in years ago. When I regained consciousness I seemed to be in a hospital room, but one without all the silly posters and trinkets used to entertain patients. This one was more clinical, exuding an almost governmental aesthetic. I look down at my body, I could move again, but something felt off. I had always been frail, sitting behind a desk playing with cards all my life was not conducive to improving my physique, but that beating pushed me beyond the limit. As I moved I felt within me some sort of material that felt alien to my body. I realized what looked like silver bolts along my skeletal frame. The man from the Casino walked in. “I didn’t expect them to get you this bad. You’re impressively weak you know that?” The man said. “Thanks, you really know how to flatter.” I responded sarcastically. The man looked at me up and down. He handed me my dice. “I think I made the right choice. Also here, take these back, you’ll need all the luck you can get.” I looked at him quizzically. “Where are you going with this…” I said with suspicion. “No, it’s not where I’m going, it’s where you’re going. To the island. You don’t really have much of a choice now that you’ve been selected but…” I interrupted him quickly “I’m in.”