"It can be rough on the training field," Jordan admits. "But it's not like you're in the Coliseum." If nothing else, you couldn't say the Deck didn't fill their heads with classical history. "No one's going to try to kill you. It's more like playground brawls turned up a notch."

And for what it was worth, the old Spade ways were dying out. There weren't that many people in Spade Castle who still believed the best way for someone to learn was to nearly die in the process.