Prologue
The Card universe is divided into many Kingdoms, the Hearts, the Diamonds, the Clubs, and lastly the Spades. A war, however, burnt down the blue of the Kingdom of Spades. It was replaced by the Suit of Swords, a foreign race known to be from the land of the Tarots. The last monarchy of Spades, the king Alfred Jones, the queen Arthur Kirkland and the jack Wang Yao were nowhere to be seen when their kingdom fell. The Spadian citizens were all converted to Tarots. The change in their past ally frightened the other kingdoms, for the strongest kingdom in Cards had fallen to the Tarots. The royals avoided contact with the new kingdom at all cost, refusing to respond to the peace treaties Swords offered. It was not before long did Swords identify the other Cards to be enemies. Hence, Swords sealed its borders and turned against the other kingdoms. Little was known about Swords, but nevertheless there were rumours about the nation; the kingdom had managed to master the dark arts of magic, and the cities were grey from the magic. Alas, how little the others know about the Suit of Swords and its current monarchy, the 13th reign.
The Suit of Swords ran on another system, different of the Cards. Both monarchies had a king and a queen, but instead of having a jack, the Swords had a knight. All citizens of the kingdom were born with a tarot card assigned to them. The mages in the kingdom would lay the cards and chant a spell in the old Spadian language. Then, the infant would be placed next to the cards. Whichever card it grabbed would be its number. It was an old, traditional method passed down from the 3rd reign. Some say it was magic, some say it was the dark arts. After all, the assigning of a number is also a prophecy. The ones, or aces, were always observant and quick-witted; the twos were fair and often judges; the threes were idealist, and the list went all. The monarchy was of no exception. The knight, though often impulsive, was the most courageous of all men, except the king of course, and was skill in swordplay since birth. The queen was extremely intelligent and skilled at magic, with the ability to communicate to Those-whom-none-see. Lastly, there was the king, the ruler of the Suit and the strongest yet most dangerous card of them all. The kings were known to love the military and power. That meant strong rulers that made the Suits thrived, but also meant tyranny. The cases were rare, but not none.
The Suit of Swords was different in many ways from the Card kingdoms. In Cards, the kingdoms pursued technology, while the Suit practised magic. The Cards had hover boards for easy transportation, while the Suit simply teleported by magic. Of course, though the current rulers were of Tarots, the Suits still maintained their deep-rooted Spadian culture. Hence, the Swords still embraced blue and mages were often specialised in magic.
This story is about the 13th reign. When the 12th reign was near the end, many people feared. As superstitious as they were, the Swords knew 13 was not a good number. Something was bound to happen to the 13th reign. When the frail king was sick, the whole kingdom prayed. Though the king was to pass, but the ominous event could be postponed if the king was alive. Unfortunately, the king did not make it pass the week. The kingdom mourned for its great lost while bracing itself for the announcement of the birth of the 13th reign. However, after 5 days, no announcement was made. The Suits panicked and crowds of Swords gathered outside the castle walls, demanding information. Finally, on the 7th day, the eldest mage stood up on the castle tower. His voice boomed across the streets by magic. However, it was not his loud voice that made the Suits fell silent, but his words. He chanted a spell and golden words formed and turned into a parchment. Clearing his throat and furrowing his brows, he spoke, "Behold, the Suit of Swords! The rulers of the 13th reign were found at last. Listen to the name of our future rulers and remember them well. All hail the king, his Royal Highness Alfred Jones of Swords. All hail the queen, his Royal Highness Arthur Kirkland of Swords. All hail the knight, Wang Yao of Swords. Long live the king! Long live the queen! Long live the knight! Long live the Swords!"
Silence fell. Only the softest of the voices whispered, "Spades. They are coming back."