(Spoiler Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Rachel Gillig’s One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns. Proceed with caution if you haven’t finished both books.)

In Rachel Gillig’s Shepherd King duology, a deck of enchanted Providence Cards lies at the heart of the story’s dark fantasy. These cards grant extraordinary magic – at a terrible cost. Created 500 years ago by the legendary Shepherd King, each card carries a unique ability and a curse that exacts a price from its user. As the saying in Blunder goes: “Be wary. Be clever. Be good.” – nothing, especially magic, comes for free. In this guide, we’ll explore all of the Providence Cards – their eerie nursery-rhyme warnings, their powers and curses, how many exist, what they look like, and the lore behind their creation and use. We’ll also unveil the final, secret 13th card – The Shepherd – which just might hold the cure to the mist that plagues the kingdom. Prepare to delve into the shadowy world of Blunder’s magic, where each card is a seductive gift and a dangerous trap.

The Black Horse

(12 Cards) – Mastery of Combat, Weakness

Be wary the black, Be wary the power.
Be wary the weakness grown hour by hour.
It eats at your soul, It exacts its high toll.
Be wary the weakness grown hour by hour.*

The Black Horse card grants its holder unparalleled martial skill. Tap a Black Horse, and even an average fighter is imbued with the strength and skill to become a “master of combat.” In Elspeth’s time, this magic makes the king’s warriors, the Destriers, exceedingly formidable in battle. However, the Old Book of Alders warns of the cost: with each use, the user grows weaker, their strength “eaten at” hour by hour until crippling exhaustion sets in. Prolonged overuse of a Black Horse can leave a fighter frail and drained – a high toll for temporary power. There were originally twelve Black Horse cards in existence (the most of any type), and they belong exclusively to the royal guard as the first cards the Shepherd King created.

In appearance, the Black Horse is trimmed in rich black velvet and likely depicts a powerful ebony stallion rearing or charging (a symbol of strength and speed). Fittingly, the Shepherd King paid in blood to forge the Black Horse – specifically, blood from his own warhorse. By bartering his steed’s life-blood, the Shepherd King imbued the card with peerless strength and swiftness.

“For the Black Horse Card, for power and speed, The Spirit wanted blood from my warhorse, my steed.”

The Black Horse’s duality – valor and vulnerability – is a stark reminder of the Duology’s core theme: magic always has a cost.

* No official Poem for The Black Horse exists, the one used here is from jamieseemsamused on Reddit.

The Golden Egg

(11 Cards) – Wealth Unending, Insatiable Greed

Be wary the yellow, Be wary the treasure.
Be wary the greed intense beyond measure.
Your need unabated, Your hunger unsated.
Be wary the greed intense beyond measure.*

The Golden Egg promises untold riches. Activate this card, and “great wealth” will flow to you – gold, jewels, prosperity beyond your wildest dreams. In Blunder’s lore, a Golden Egg can suddenly turn a pauper into a prince. But the cautionary rhyme makes it clear that avarice is this card’s curse. The more wealth the card grants, the more all-consuming greed it instills. Its magic leaves the user perpetually unsatisfied: any riches gained only sharpen the hunger for more. A holder of the Golden Egg may find their “need unabated” and “hunger unsated,” spiraling into miserly obsession. There were originally eleven Golden Egg cards created, circulating among those daring (or desperate) enough to grasp their promise and peril.

A Golden Egg card is said to have a gilded appearance, no doubt trimmed in sumptuous yellow velvet to match its name (though the books don’t explicitly describe its look, one imagines a shining golden border and perhaps an egg or coin icon on its face). The Shepherd King’s personal sacrifice to create the Golden Egg was time from his own life :

“For the Golden Egg Card, abundance and wealth, I bartered two years of my life’s precious health.”

This transaction – life for gold – exemplifies the cruel alchemy of the Providence deck. No character in the duology actively uses a Golden Egg on the page, but its pernicious effect is probably reflected in Blunder’s leadership: greed warps priorities, and no amount of treasure is ever enough. The Golden Egg is a caution that fortune can be a curse, leaving one rich in gold but poor in soul.

* No official Poem for The Golden Egg exists, the one used here is from jamieseemsamused on Reddit.

The Prophet

(10 Cards) – Visions of the Future, Powerlessness to Change It

Be wary the gray, Be wary the sight.
Be wary of visions that come in the night.
You’ll lose all your power, You’ll weep, plea, and cower.
Be wary of visions that come in the night.

The Prophet is one of the most haunting Providence Cards in Rachel Gillig’s duology. Trimmed in humble gray velvet, its face depicts an old, cloaked figure gazing into a shadowed future. This card grants its bearer visions of what is to come—a gift that seems powerful on the surface but quickly reveals its devastating cost. Those who draw the Prophet card may receive prophetic dreams or foresight, likely often arriving unbidden in the night. But this gift comes with a cruel twist: the visions cannot be changed. The user is cursed to witness the future, fully aware of what’s coming, yet utterly powerless to alter its course. It is the ultimate form of helplessness—knowledge without agency.

In the story, the Prophet’s presence adds to the atmosphere of fatalism that hangs over Blunder.

“The Prophet came next, the Card of foresight. She wanted my fear, so I gave her my fright.”

Even the rhyme evokes dread, suggesting that the card feeds on fear and leaves behind emotional and magical depletion. Historically, ten Prophet cards were forged, though only a few appear directly in the story. The Prophet card embodies the darkest truth in Blunder: seeing fate does not mean you can escape it. And sometimes, knowing what’s to come is the greatest curse of all.

The White Eagle

(9 Cards) – Bold Courage, Crippling Fear

Be wary the white, Be wary the bird.
Be wary the fear that the eagle once blurred.
Your courage will quit, mar you bit by bit.
Be wary the fear that the eagle once blurred.*

The White Eagle card fills its user with the courage of a soaring eagle – banishing fear and instilling daring bravery. A timid heart tapping a White Eagle might suddenly charge into battle with fearless resolve. In Blunder, where foggy forests teem with Nightmare-driven terrors, such courage is a precious commodity. But when the card’s effect fades, fear returns in full force. Overuse actually amplifies the user’s fears beyond their original state. A person who relies on artificial bravery may eventually find themselves more fearful and paralyzed than ever. Essentially, the White Eagle’s curse is lingering, debilitating cowardice – a steep rebound from unnatural valor. Nine White Eagle cards were made.

The White Eagle card is described as being trimmed in snowy white velvet, and depicts a proud eagle soaring above a wheat field, it’s eyes orange and it’s black talons sharp. The Shepherd King’s bargain to create the White Eagle is particularly grim:

“When I asked her for courage, the White Eagle Card, I bartered my skin, which left my hands scarred.”

Thus, the White Eagle offers bravery, only to return that fear tenfold when the magic wanes. It is a stark lesson that true courage cannot be manufactured without consequences.

* No official Poem for The Golden Egg exists, the one used here is from jamieseemsamused on Reddit.

The Maiden

(8 Cards) – Radiant Beauty & Healing, a Heart of Ice

Be wary the pink, Be wary the rose.
Be wary of beauty divine, unopposed.
Her thorns will grow sharp, She’ll eat her own heart.
Be wary of beauty divine, unopposed.

The Maiden card bestows “great beauty” upon its user – a glamour that smooths imperfections, enhances features, and grants an otherworldly allure. Under the Maiden’s spell, one’s hair gleams, skin glows, and even injuries vanish, as the card can heal any wound, even life-threatening ones. This makes the Maiden card uniquely powerful; it not only beautifies but also preserves – effectively granting a form of immortality so long as the magic is maintained. Indeed, women in Blunder discovered that continued use of a Maiden card keeps them eternally youthful and can knit their injuries closed. In the novels, Ione uses a Maiden card under duress from her fiancée, Prince Hauth. The card heals Ione’s grievous wounds (she survives a deadly fall by its grace) and makes her exquisitely beautiful – but at a chilling cost. The Maiden “chills its user’s heart,” turning warmth and empathy to cold indifference over time. As the rhyme ominously puts it, “Her thorns will grow sharp, She’ll eat her own heart.”

The more one relies on the Maiden’s unnatural beauty, the more one’s heart becomes prickly, numb, and devoid of true feeling. In Ione’s case, prolonged card use left her emotionally distant, almost hollow behind her lovely facade – a rose with an inner heart of ice. Eight Maiden cards exist, all trimmed in soft pink velvet and likely emblazoned with a rose motif, symbolizing both their floral grace and hidden thorns.The lore behind the Maiden cards is especially intriguing. The Shepherd King’s personal sacrifice for the Maiden was his own long hair.

“So I begged for the Maiden, for beauty I prayed. She asked for my hair, shorn off with a blade.”

Indeed, the Shepherd King gave up his flowing locks for beauty incarnate. This detail leads to one of the series’ darkly passages in the second book: when Ravyn and the Nightmare speak about Elspeth touching a Maiden, and the Nightmare dryly remarks, that it could have ended up clogging her throat or made a nest in her lungs. But there’s a tragic side to the Maiden’s lore: Ione’s continual use at Prince Hauth’s insistence is a form of abuse. Hauth forces Ione to remain flawlessly beautiful and healthy for his political ambitions, even as it slowly deadens her emotions. In one heart-wrenching scene, Hauth pushes Ione out of a window – and she survives only because the Maiden card knits her broken body back together, as we later find out. The Maiden saved her life, but also suppressed her terror and anger, “calmly” chilling her heart so she could endure more abuse. The Maiden card embodies a brutal truth: physical perfection means nothing if it costs you your heart.

The Chalice

(7 Cards) – Truth Serum Elixir, Poisoned Lies

Be wary the sea, Be wary the cup.
Be wary the food and the wine that you sup.
Your stomach may sour – Your tongue may twist dour.
Be wary the food and the wine that you sup.

The Chalice card has the uncanny ability to turn any liquid into truth serum. A drop of wine or water touched by the Chalice gains the power to force whoever drinks it to speak nothing but the truth. In One Dark Window, this card is used to dramatic effect. However, if one tries to resist or pervert the truth-telling, the magic backfires horrifically – the “truth serum will turn to poison.” The rhyme issues a clear warning: consuming food or drink under the Chalice’s influence may “sour your stomach” and “twist your tongue dour.” In literal terms, that means agonizing pain, illness, or even death by poisoning if the card’s gift is misused or overused. Essentially, any attempt to lie or withhold truth causes the elixir to become toxic. We witness this curse when a character tries to fight the compulsion – their throat constricts and they double over in pain as the lie turns to venom inside them. Seven Chalice cards exist, each trimmed in a watery turquoise velvet and depicting a cup filled with dark red liquid. On its opposite side, the cup turned on its head—the dark liquid spilling, unbidden... Poison.

To create the Chalice, the Shepherd King paid an unknown price —the true sacrifice behind this card remains a mystery, lost to time. In the first book, Prince Hauth Rowan uses a Chalice card to interrogate Elspeth, Ione, Elm, and Ravyn. The victims drink unknowingly truthwine, a magical serum that reveals lies in the most brutal way. While the card has no effect on Ravyn due to his infection, the consequences for the others are severe: when Elspeth tries to lie, the Chalice reacts by poisoning her, and she nearly dies from its effects. Only quick intervention prevents her death.

The Chalice’s magic is absolute—one falsehood can turn the truthwine to poison, leading to excruciating pain and vomiting blood. This ruthless honesty is a stark reminder: the Chalice does not tolerate deception, and its gift is as dangerous as it is powerful. The card’s legacy is not just truth, but the very real cost of revealing it.

The Well

(6 Cards) – Clear Sight of Foes, Betrayal by Friends

Be wary the blue, Be wary the stone.
Be wary of shadows the water hath shown.
Your enemies wait, The wolves stalk the gate.
Be wary of shadows the water hath shown.

The Well card grants clear sight to recognize one’s enemies. By tapping a Well card, a person gains a sixth sense for danger – the shadows around them resolve into clarity, revealing who wishes them harm. Under the Well’s influence, hidden threats might appear as dark auras or reflections in water that show a foe’s true face. However, this clarity regarding enemies comes with a devastating drawback when used to often: the user is fated to be betrayed by a friend. The prophecy-like rhyme speaks of “wolves at the gate” – danger will come not just from obvious outsiders but from those the user trusts most. In other words, focusing on external shadows blinds one to the enemy within. Prolonged use of the Well ensures that at some point, someone the user considers an ally will turn on them, delivering a personal and painful treachery. Six Well cards were created, trimmed in royal blue velvet like the deep water of a mysterious well. When activated, the card’s surface might ripple like water, illuminating lurking “shadows.” But those shadows can deceive – showing threats everywhere until paranoia invites a real betrayal.

he Shepherd King’s reflections on the Well card are poetic and filled with mystery. It say’s:

“Wary I’d grown, so I needed the well. She asked for a chamber—a place she might dwell.”

What exactly this “chamber” refers to is left open to interpretation, and much about the Well’s creation remains speculative. One theory could be that the “chamber” may symbolize a space within the King’s mind or soul—a metaphorical place where the card’s spirit would reside, whispering warnings of betrayal in exchange for eternal access to his thoughts. In this reading, the Shepherd King didn’t just gain the power to detect betrayal—he also surrendered part of himself to constant suspicion.

Another interpretation could tie the line to something more literal. We learn that Ravyn discovered a hidden room—a chamber only accessible through a window and within a space sealed by the Shepherd King’s bloodline. This is where Ravyn finds several Providence cards. It’s possible the “chamber” mentioned in the Shepherd King’s words refers to this very room: a physical place created to house the Well's influence, or even the cards themselves.

The Iron Gate

(5 Cards) – Serenity Amid Struggle, Years Stolen Away

Be wary the moss, Be wary the fence.
Be wary the gate and the mist, dark and dense.
It’ll stop all your tears. It’ll steal all your years.
Be wary the gate and the mist, dark and dense.

The Iron Gate card grants blissful serenity, no matter the struggle. When used, it is as if an iron gate closes around the user’s mind, shutting out pain, panic, and sorrow. One could be in the midst of chaos or horror and remain perfectly calm, even euphoric, under the Iron Gate’s influence. This magical tranquility can prevent fear from overtaking someone (much like an emotional barricade). It’s easy to see why such a card would be coveted in Blunder, where terror of infection and mist runs rampant. However, the Iron Gate exacts one of the most terrifying prices: “It’ll steal all your years.” Repeated use literally shortens the user’s lifespan. Every moment of unnatural peace is paid for in years of one’s life quietly siphoned away. The rhyme shrouds this in gentle imagery – likely moss on a fence, a misty gate – but the meaning is clear. A person who overindulges in the Iron Gate’s comfort may feel no pain as they waste away. They simply age rapidly or succumb to a premature death, having traded longevity for a false peace. Only five Iron Gate cards exist, each bordered in deep moss-green velvet reminiscent of a tranquil, overgrown graveyard gate. The card’s face likely shows a wrought iron gate entwined with moss or ivy, standing firm against any storm – a symbol of stoic calm, but also a hint at encroaching decay.

In the lore, the Shepherd King forged the Iron Gate in an effort to reclaim a part of himself he had lost. His own words, preserved in the old texts, read:

“To reclaim my good self, I forged the Iron Gate. The cost was my armor, my golden breastplate.”

This poetic line could suggests that in order to create the Iron Gate, he had to shed his emotional defenses—his “armor”—perhaps even his identity as a ruler hardened by war and betrayal. The golden breastplate, a symbol of strength and protection, was surrendered so that he might once again feel peace or clarity within himself. The Iron Gate became a card of restful oblivion, a temporary escape from sorrow—but one that comes at a price. The Iron Gate stands as a somber reminder: numbness is not healing, and to sidestep pain is often to sidestep life itself.

The Scythe

(4 Cards) – Command Over Others, Excruciating Pain

Be wary the red, Be wary the blade.
Be wary the pain, for a price will be paid.
Command what you can. Death waits for no man.
Be wary the pain, for a price will be paid.

The Scythe card is one of the most feared and morally fraught Providence Cards. It allows the user to control another’s actions or speech, turning the victim into a puppet—but at a terrible cost. Each use inflicts intense, slicing pain on the wielder, as if the blade were cutting into their own body. The Scythe's history is steeped in cruelty. Prince Hauth Rowan used one to torture Elm as a child, and in Two Twisted Crowns, he wields it again to enforce his coup, fully embracing its agony for the sake of power. In contrast, Elm, though once a victim, becomes more adept at enduring the pain. The card magnifies its user’s nature: for Hauth, it’s a weapon of domination; for Elm, a last resort.

“For the Scythe I wanted power, and her price was quite steep. I gave her my rest—she claimed all my sleep.”

To gain dominion, he sacrificed the ability to sleep, trading rest for raw control. Though originally four Scythes were forged, only three remain—one was destroyed by the Shepherd King’s son, and Ravyn Yew destroys another at the end of Two Twisted Crowns. The cards are trimmed in red velvet and long hoarded by the Rowan royal family, who claimed them as symbols of divine authority. The Scythe underscores one of the duology’s deepest themes: power is never free—and the pain it demands reveals who you truly are.

The Mirror

(3 Cards) – Invisibility Cloak, Haunting by Ghosts

Be wary the violet, Be wary the dread.
Be wary the glass and the world of the dead.
You’ll fast disappear. You’ll tremble in fear.
Be wary the glass and the world of the dead.

The Mirror card allows its user to become invisible – literally vanishing from sight like a reflection slipping out of a mirror. With 3 taps on the Mirror card, one can move unseen, which is incredibly useful for stealth or escape. Yet this card’s curse lifts the veil between the living and the dead. Prolonged invisibility causes to lift the veil between the spirit world, exposing them to haunting visions of ghosts. The rhyme’s dire warning – “the world of the dead” – is meant quite literally. While invisible, one feels an unnatural cold and begins seeing pale figures out of the corner of his eye. These are the lingering dead, drawn to him because the Mirror’s magic thins the boundary between worlds. If used too long, one could assume, a Mirror card could strand a person in a horrific state where they are half in the land of the dead, plagued by apparitions. Only three Mirror cards exist, bordered in regal purple velvet and likely emblazoned with an image of a silver hand-mirror reflecting a shadow.

The Shepherd King’s own words reveal the price he paid to forge the Mirror card:

“For the Mirror was next, to be invisible—unseen. She wanted old bones, so I gave her my queens.”

In Two Twisted Crowns, the Mirror’s haunting legacy surfaces when Ravyn uses the card to move unseen through the grounds of Castle Yew. While invisible, he begins to see phantom children on the property—ghostly figures at play. Later, it’s revealed that these are the Shepherd King's own children, long dead. The emotional weight of their presence is deeply unsettling. The Mirror doesn’t just hide the user from the world—it seems to blur the line between the living and the dead, and between reality and memory. The Mirror's message is subtle yet powerful: hiding can protect you, but it can also isolate you from what matters most.

The Nightmare

(2 Cards) – Mind Speech, Manifested Fears (and a Living Nightmare)

Be wary the dark, Be wary the fright.
Be wary the voice that comes in the night.
It twists and it calls, through shadowy halls.
Be wary the voice that comes in the night.

The Nightmare card is among the rarest and most formidable: it grants the power to speak into the minds of others. With a Nightmare card, one can project their voice directly into someone else’s head, a disembodied whisper only the target hears. This telepathic ability can be used to relay secret messages or, more sinisterly, to torment and unnerve. Elspeth Spindle, our protagonist, has a Nightmare card quite literally in her head – for as a child, she touched the Nightmare and absorbed its magic. Ever since, she has harbored an entity known as the Nightmare in her mind. The Nightmare card’s curse, however, is to reveal one’s deepest fears, when used too long. When used, it doesn’t just allow you to creep into others’ thoughts; it creeps into your psyche as well, dredging up personal nightmares. There were originally two Nightmare cards ever made. Physically, a Nightmare card is trimmed in deep burgundy velvet, and depicts a hunched, furred creature with hairless long fingers and yellow cat-like eyes – the very image of a bogeyman lurking in the dark. It is no coincidence that this matches the creature haunting Elspeth’s mind.

“But it felt incomplete, my collection yet whole. And so, for the Nightmare... I bartered my soul.”

This haunting line suggests he paid the ultimate price to complete his Providence deck—his very soul. Yet what exactly this sacrifice entailed remains uncertain. Was his soul truly bound into the cards themselves? Or was it Elspeth’s unique infection—her ability to absorb the power of Providence magic—that drew the essence of the Shepherd King into her mind?

When Elspeth first touches a Nightmare card, she absorbs a presence—the voice and consciousness of the Nightmare, which immediately takes up residence in her thoughts. This entity is not merely a magical parasite, but seemingly a fragment of the Shepherd King himself, awakened and reanimated by her magic. Whether his soul was truly sealed in the cards or whether Elspeth's connection triggered a magical echo is never fully confirmed. What we do know is that he lives through her—as protector, sarcastic companion, and growing force of inner conflict. Throughout the duology, the Nightmare offers wit, warnings, and occasional violence. He can even manifest briefly in the real world, but doing so places Elspeth at risk of losing control—eventually forcing her into the depths of his mind while he takes control of her body. Their bond becomes both a strength and a torment, culminating in a devastating finale. To save Elspeth and sever the connection, Ravyn Yew has to tear the Nightmare card in half, allowing the Shepherd King’s soul to finally slip beyond the Veil.

Elspeth is freed—but loses the voice that once guided and haunted her. Their final goodbye is both heartbreaking and redemptive. In giving up his soul, the Shepherd King unwittingly created the very key to ending the mist. Elspeth, with the Nightmare inside her, became living proof that his soul—and his hope—endured. The Nightmare card’s legacy is not just darkness, but also the light of redemption: a final, painful sacrifice that turned horror into healing.

The Twin Alders

(1 Card) – Commune with the Spirit, Lost Time & Soul Bargains

Be wary the green, Be wary the trees.
Be wary the song of the wood on your sleeves.
You’ll step off the path – to blessing and wrath.
Be wary the song of the Wood on your sleeves.

The Twin Alders is the rarest and most powerful Providence Card—only one exists. Trimmed in rich emerald-green velvet, it shows two great alder trees, one light and one dark, their trunks entwined to form a natural arch or doorway. This card does not grant a typical power, but something far greater: a direct link to the Spirit of the Wood, the ancient force behind Blunder’s magic and the cursed mist. In Two Twisted Crowns, Ravyn Yew, the Nightmare and others set out to find the card—the final missing piece needed to complete the deck and possibly lift the curse. Their journey leads them deep into the forest, where they find the entwined trees exactly as pictured on the card. When Ravyn uses the Twin Alders, he is pulled into a surreal space, first appearing as a tranquil beach before the Spirit drags him underwater and through time. Though he experiences only hours, 24 days pass in the real world. Even more devastating: Ravyn loses parts of himself—the experience is so intense and harrowing that he emerges emotionally and spiritually diminished. Visually, the Twin Alders card is trimmed in vibrant emerald-green velvet and depicts two great alder trees entwined, one light and one dark, forming an arch or doorway. The lore surrounding the Twin Alders is ancient: it was the final card the Shepherd King made, intended as the key to undoing the very magic he had unleashed. When Ravyn and Nightmare emerge from the alder grove, Ravyn is 24 days late and one piece of himself poorer. (as he says himself).

The Twin Alders was the last Providence Card ever created, and its forging came at a high cost. In his own words, the Shepherd King wrote:

“For the last Providence Card, I wanted her close, To answer my call when I needed her most.
But she guarded her secrets, like a dragon its gold, Saying nothing of price our bargain would hold.
But long had I suffered, and long had I bled. ‘I’ll pay any cost for a twelfth Card,’ I said.
The salt stung my nose and her spite filled the air. I woke in the chamber, the Twin Alders Card there.
And so, my dear kingdom, my Blunder, my land, The Cards fall to you, paid by my hand.
For her price, it was final, our bartering done. I created twelve Cards... But I cannot use one.”

The meaning is very clear: in creating the final card, the Spirit stripped him of the ability to use any Providence magic. Though he had bled and bartered for the deck, the Shepherd King was left powerless—forever cut off from the tools he had sacrificed so much to forge. Piece by piece, we learn just how personal that cost was: among everything else, the Shepherd King lost his sister. Perhaps that loss marked the beginning of his downfall. The deaths of his children, the isolation, and the gradual loosing of pieces of himself led him to become what many would (and he himself) call a monster. But his writings show a man who still mourned, who understood what he had become, and who left behind a way—through the cards—for others to undo what he no longer could. The Twin Alders is more than a key; it is the final chapter in a long and tragic story of power, grief, and lost redemption. The Shepherd King gave everything for his kingdom—including his soul, his family, and finally, his magic. All that remains is the legacy... and the question of what we choose to do with it.

The Shepherd

(The 13th Card) – The One True Cure, Forged from Blood and Hope (No Curse)

In a moment of hard-won triumph at the climax of Two Twisted Crowns, a thirteenth Providence Card is created—The Shepherd. This card was never part of the original twelve; it is born from unity and blood. During the final ritual to break Blunder’s curse, Elm and Ione spill (royal) blood according to the Spirit of the Wood’s ancient instructions. As all twelve original cards are gathered and dissolved in that act of magic, their power melds together—the velvet, the ink, the soul of every sacrifice—and reforms as a single card. Thus, the Shepherd Card is forged: a radiant, twelve-hued embodiment of healing. Unlike all previous Providence Cards, it bears no cost. The Shepherd does not demand years, pain, or blood—it gives. It draws out infection and degeneration, healing anyone afflicted with the mist’s sickness or the lingering toll of Providence magic. When the final battle ends and the cursed mist dissipates, it is the Shepherd Card that remains behind: glimmering with the colors of every card before it, carrying within it the echo of every price that has already been paid.

The Shepherd card’s name and purpose tie directly back to the Shepherd King—a man who gave everything and was ultimately left unable to use the very magic he created. The Shepherd is, in many ways, his final wish made real: to save what remained of his people. In the epilogue, King Elm sends out a proclamation, inviting all to come to Castle Yew to be healed by the Shepherd. The card becomes a beacon of hope, a final act of grace in a land long shadowed by suffering. Its healing power is shown most touchingly when it saves young Emory, who stood on the brink of degeneration. Where other cards brought pain and consequence, the Shepherd simply restores. Even its appearance sets it apart—bordered by all twelve velvet colors, it reflects the memory of every sacrifice: the King’s tears, hair, blood, time, soul. Fittingly, it carries no foreboding rhyme. Instead, it bears only a gentle reminder: “Be wary. Be clever. Be good.”

The Shepherd card is the final turning point in the story of Blunder—a card that asks for nothing but wisdom and kindness from those who use it. It does not tempt with power or punish with pain. It shepherds the broken home, bringing with it a new era—one not of magic's cruelty, but of healing, responsibility, and hope.

Conclusion

Rachel Gillig’s Providence Cards form a rich tapestry of magic and morality woven through One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns. Each card – from the Black Horse to the singular Twin Alders – carries a fairy-tale rhyme and a thorny lesson, cautioning that power never comes without price. Through Elspeth, Ravyn, and others, we see these mystical cards in action: weapons of pain, tools of intrigue, instruments of healing, and anchors of curse. We watch as Elspeth struggles under the Nightmare’s burden yet ultimately harnesses its strength, as Ravyn risks everything with the Twin Alders, and as the entire cast makes sacrifice after sacrifice to unite the deck. The Providence Cards are more than a magic system; they’re characters in their own right – whispering temptations in one ear and dire warnings in the other. By the story’s end, when the twelve dissolve into The Shepherd, it feels like the culmination of a grand alchemical process. The darkness of each individual card is transformed into a single light that banishes the mist. It’s a testament to the idea that only by facing and integrating our “costs” – our fears, pain, vanity, greed – can we find redemption and healing. For a standalone fantasy duology, Gillig’s cards leave a lasting impression. They evoke the eerie charm of tarot and nursery rhymes while spinning something wholly original and deeply human. Each rhyme sticks in the reader’s mind (you might catch yourself murmuring “Be wary the pink, be wary the rose…” long after closing the book), and each curse makes the characters’ victories more earned. In the end, the Providence Cards deliver a poignant message: what we desire most – beauty, strength, wealth, knowledge, peace – can corrupt us if taken unwisely, but with love and sacrifice, those same gifts can be turned toward salvation. As we shuffle the deck of this tale one last time, we’re left with the echo of the Shepherd King’s journey from monster to savior, and the humble reminder to be wary, be clever, be good. After all, nothing comes for free, especially magic – but with heart and courage, even the darkest window can let in the light.

This post took a lot of time and love to put together, so I hope I got everything right. If you notice anything off, feel free to drop it in the comments—ideally with a page number so we can dig in together.

Sources: Gillig, Rachel. One Dark Window. Orbit, 2022; Two Twisted Crowns. Orbit, 2023. Shepard King Wiki

If you haven’t yet read One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns, or want to revisit the story from a broader perspective, be sure to check out my full review of the duology. It dives deeper into the plot, themes, and characters behind these hauntingly beautiful books.

And if you're looking for the perfect soundtrack to accompany your journey through Blunder, don’t miss the Cosmic Reads Spotify playlists. In particular, “Dark Academia – Mysterious & Moody Reads” captures the eerie, lyrical tone of the Providence Cards with shadowy instrumentals and melancholic melodies.

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Guide to the Providence Cards in One Dark Window & Two Twisted Crowns