Guild on the Run

The story opens on the character Evander. He is a boy of about fifteen living in the poorer parts of a big city called Bexley. An unusual event leads to him getting powerful magical Cards, but he is forced to leave the city to avoid capture.

He travels to a nearby town run by guilds who seek Cards. He eventually finds a guild who will take him because they are as desperate as he is to seek more Cards despite a war brewing across the lands.

They are forced to deal with ambushes and war parties, but they eventually make their way to a Card Shrine. They manage to barely escape the Card Shrine with their lives, and are rewarded with new Cards. They are forced to go on the run and end up in the Contested Lands---a place of strange magic, powerful creatures, and more Card Shrines.They meet some new allies along the way, and they gain new Cards as well. When they finally plan to return to their guild headquarters after being gone for weeks, they are confronted by people looking for Evander. The guild refuses to give him up and a fight for his freedom ensues.