After the War of Hours, Rhenford reigned over his Epoch in the Age of Mantles, finding ways to bring fortune as the overarching force in the world. He has allied with The Queen in the wake of Starfall after she hired him to help gather the Obiefune swords.

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In the Godless Times, the gambling houses of Merukis were perhaps one of the most dangerous places on Shem (that didn't involve demons, morags, or gnomes). Rhenford Wales, a slave from Mwyr Aeld, however, first won his freedom in such a place. He beat the odds against five rough and dangerous pirates and slavers, all notorious cheaters, with skill and luck and a certain trump (four of a kind (9s), full house, full house, two pair, and a pair vs. his straight flush).

After winning his freedom, he went on to win a crew, a ship, and a magical sword. From there he went to the whore pits of Jesumein, the Malhuinic stockyards, the Dreamport docks, the Demopolitan mob-run casinos, and the Pesperic Citadel, the world's greatest gambling house. There, he won the World Championship, but left before he could take the prize, vanishing on a tip from a stranger in the crowds--a better prize to be won in a stranger spot.

He went to the Island Bridge, to a tiny island known only to the local tribes and a few lucky gamblers, a spot called the Bridge Shack. There, the greatest risk takers of all time gathered: a legendary Pesperis, an amethyst dragon prince, a piratical mutant named Yorald Battisto, a legendary thieftaking human, a greater goblin warrior, a pair of gnomes, a treasure hunter, a mountebank billlionaire, a mythical spy, the head of several drug cartels, several pirates, and the owner of the Shack, a fellow named Sam Crow.

They sat down to a game.

For ten weeks, they played game after game, until it came down to seven players (just the right number): the Pesperis, Yorald Battisto, the treasure hunter, the mountebank, the spy, a gnome, and Sam Crow. The stakes then changed from money to more interesting things. Souls were the antes, but empires, histories, relationships, powers, Gifts, abilities, information, and, of course, favors all ended up on the tables.

Now, Wales, he was a wild talent, and his talent was something that had served him well: in the game of poker, the more he wagered, the better his hand would be. For anything small (like money) this rarely manifested. But when it came to the big stuff (notably, his freedom) it served him well. Playing for his soul as ante alone, he naturally got some amazing hands out the bat, but as the game progressed, the strange stakes reacted to his power. The relative nature of risk came into play, for once, and his luck became as variable as anyone's.

After another week, his pot included a favor from Sam Crow, a major secret from the spy, a treasure map, the personal backstory of the Pesperis, the abilitty to resist damage from his own inventions from the gnome, the Gifted Sword of Inferno, and the ability to see blue zones. His luck had yet to run out, and he came down to a one on one against Sam Crow. Going all in, he began betting everything he had. His soul was in, his fortune, his personality, his backstory, his few friends, his own well kept stock of secrets and information, and two unnamed favors. His hand was the ace of spades, the jack of spades, the queen of spades, the ten of spades, and the king of hearts.

He put his talent on the table.

The question was, would it work if it was technically on the table and not part of him?

He asked for a card, throwing down the king of hearts...

Nine months later, he crawled up on a shore in southern Taggarus, gripping a card in his hands, begging for help. All he knew, the only information in his head, was that the only goal he had was the Mountain of Trials.