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700 Kilometers for a Card – and Why It Was More Than a Drive
Sometimes a piece of cardboard takes you further than you could ever imagine.
For me, it meant 700 kilometers to Ederveen in the Netherlands – to one of the first stores that brought the trading card game Flesh and Blood TCG to Europe: Kai of Cards.
In 2020, I ordered two Crucible of War First Edition displays from there. Inside one of them was my very first Cold Foil the Arknight Shard CRU000.
I have already described that moment in the blog post The Pull That Started It All | Arknight Shard & the Beginning of My Journey the instant when everything began.
But for me, this card was never just a collectible. It became a symbol of holding on in times when I almost lost everything else.
That tension between loss and creation later defined my path as an artist a journey I describe in The Artists
Why the Arknight Shard Means More to Me Than a Card
In 2011, I served as a soldier in Afghanistan and narrowly survived. Afterwards, I worked as an international photographer in New York until my career came to an abrupt end due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Years later, that same search for meaning and endurance became the foundation of my current work: the conceptual art project Light and Relic
During this time, the trading card game Flesh and Blood became more than a hobby. It helped me cope with the challenges of my condition and regain stability.
There was a moment when PTSD had pulled me down so deeply that I nearly lost everything – money, safety, even a roof over my head. At that point, I seriously considered selling the Arknight Shard Cold Foil. But I didn’t.
It stayed with me. And today it reminds me: even in the darkest times, some things are worth holding onto.
That decision to preserve rather than sell eventually became the foundation of my photographic study The True DNA of the Arknight Shard A Journey Between Light and Proof, where I explore how light itself can record truth.
Reaching Out – and a Personal Hurdle
On August 5, 2025, I wrote to Kai of Cards the place where the journey of this card began.
Since my deployment in Afghanistan, using English has been a particular hurdle for me, and writing this email meant stepping out of my comfort zone.
I put my thoughts into words:
“The Shard symbolizes fragility, structure, energy and transformation. For me, Kai of Cards is a central part of this story, because it is where everything began.”
That same evening, I received a reply from Corné van Dooren, founder of Kai of Cards warm, clear, reassuring:
“For the English part, don’t worry too much about it.”
The way was open for a meeting on August 14, 2025.
Preparing for the Journey
The Shard did not travel in just a card sleeve. For the trip, I had modified an outdoor case (B&W Type 3000) robust, shockproof, padded like a shrine. Every stage of the drive was meant to show: this artifact was not being moved lightly.
On the Road to Ederveen
From Hanover to Ederveen. 700 kilometers, seven hours in a rental car.
The card safely beside me. The hum of the highway. The glow of the navigation system in the dark.
Planned navigation route Hanover–Ederveen, documented as part of the journey
At the border, the sign read “Nederland,” plastered with stickers a quiet yet unmistakable marker. The moment when a long drive turned into a pilgrimage.
“Nederland” border sign on the way to Ederveen a passage between two worlds
Finally, the town sign: Ederveen. Just a small piece of metal by the roadside, yet the visible sign that the journey had reached its destination.
Kai of Cards – A Pioneer Store for Flesh and Blood
Kai of Cards was the first store in the Netherlands to carry Flesh and Blood TCG in 2019 – imported directly from New Zealand. This made it part of the early European history of the game.
Its founder, Corné van Dooren, was a co-founder of the FAB Five, a content-creation group that became one of the defining voices of the early Flesh and Blood community. An interview with Flesh and Blood (2021) documents this time and his role in it.
Meeting Corné
Corné welcomed me warmly, took his time, and showed me around his store. Surrounded by shelves of cards, he spoke about his plans for upcoming tournaments and events, and about ways to strengthen the TCG community in the Netherlands.
The Signature in the Store
Another highlight was the signing of the very first Light and Relic Fine Art Print 1/3.
Corné sat down at his desk between shelves of cards, screens, and papers and signed the print.
In Front of the Store – Origin and Return
To conclude, we captured the Shard once more this time directly in front of the Kai of Cards logo.
The photo speaks without many words: here the journey began, here it returned.
From Trading Card to Contemporary Relic
This journey was more than a drive. It was about honoring the origin, overcoming a personal hurdle and acknowledging how a single pull in 2020 became strong enough to carry an entire work.
For collectors, the Arknight Shard is a rare treasure. But for me, it is above all a testimony that in the darkest moments, some things are worth not letting go.