The Grimoire of the Chaosweaver

Chaosweaver Chess

The Grimoire of the Chaosweaver

A Treatise on the Chess of Interwoven Realms

Ritus Domandi Chaos
Seu Regulae occultae ludi scaccorum
(The Hidden Rules of the Chess Game)

The Axiom of Beginning
He who takes up the White pieces knows not with which color he shall deliver mate. For Chaos spins the threads of fate, and even kings are but pawns in His game.

The Instruments of the Rite
The sacred board—8×8 squares, black and white as day and night.
Pieces of two colors—so that Chaos may recolor them at the roll of the die.
A six-sided die—the cube whose faces are keys to the distortion of reality.

The Laws of Metamorphosis
Before each move, the player casts the die and performs the deed inscribed below.

Face / Invocation
1 "March of Fate" — All pieces (save kings) shift one square toward the opponent’s camp, beginning with the caster’s own.
2 "The Shadow of the Last Move Takes Form" — Summon upon thy half of the board the same type of piece (not a king) thy foe last moved.
3 "The Turn of Fate" — Players exchange sides: he who was White now plays Black, and vice versa.
4 "Time Unwinds" — Thy foe’s last move is undone; the piece returns whence it came.
5 "The Mirror Lies" — Upon the square thy foe vacated, his own piece (not a king) is reborn—but in thy color.
6 "Will of the Gods" — Bear thy king to any safe square, then let thy next move be a capture—if fate permits it.

The Trial of Steel and Shadow
(The Rule of Check in Chaosweaver Chess)
"If steel kisses his throat—let him not cast the die, but retreat..."

The Weaver’s Decree:
If the foe’s king is in check, he must answer the threat at once—no die is cast.
The Oath of the Iron Crown:
If thy king is in check, thou must defend him (for he who does not save his throne is unworthy of it).
The Breath of Chaos:
If no check looms, the player casts the die and bends fate to his will.
"When swords sleep, the demons of chance awaken."

The Stalemates of Chaos
(Draw in Chaosweaver Chess)
"Where even the death of kings is but illusion."

Dauðra Konunga Akr (Field of Dead Kings)
"When all roads lead to ruin—that is balance."
If, by the "March of Fate" (Face 1), both kings stand in check, the board is declared Dauðra Konunga Akr—the game ends, for Chaos has glimpsed perfect symmetry in destruction.

Nornagátt Þrír (The Weave of the Three Norns)
"Thrice repeated—not a rule, but the gods’ jest."
Should it come to pass that:
Face 4 ("Time Unwinds") is cast thrice in succession,
And one player did not roll in all three instances,
Then reality is deemed torn asunder. The game is annulled, for:
The Weaver has wearied of thy attempts to cheat time,
The board’s space folds into a knot.
(And know this: when the loop of time tightens, somewhere in Midgard a black rook topples—silent as Heimdall’s shadow slipping along the world’s edge.)

The Endgame
"Checkmate is not an end, but proof that Chaos favors thee this day."
He who delivers mate to the enemy king is victorious.
(To seal thy triumph, burn one of thy foe’s pawns and scatter its ashes upon the board. Or simply drink mead—Chaos is not particular.)

The Victor’s Legacy
He who claims victory thrice in succession in Chaosweaver Chess earns the right to carve his name upon a dragon’s bone (or the board’s rim, if dragons be scarce).

A Final Warning
Play this game, but remember: the Weaver watches. Sometimes He laughs, sometimes He teaches—but never does He play fair.
Now thou knowest the path. Forget not: the true game begins when the board is cleared, and the pieces slumber.

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More detailed about Chaosweaver Chess here.