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Fantasy Four Suits- Vol.1 Jokers and Kings

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Agent23

Agent23

"Honey!!! Wheres my Supersuit?"
Northern Spade Kingdom, Fort Gantry - 3 days ago - Daryl Chambers

The bells began ringing for the third time that week as another Argossian Force began to push forward. Mages rose from their slumber left and right scrambling to get into their positions. Many didn't even have to think about it, this was so common an occurrence that it was basically muscle memory. The wards went up mere moments before the first long range explosive shell smashed into the barrier.

Daryl strode in on his horse clad in armor with the other 51 Horsemen. As per usual he was in the center by the commander there to offer support to the other soldiers. As the gates opened the mages poured out in a arrowhead formation. Two of the mages wove their spells together empowering the horses with more speed while churning up a strong wind behind them. Another four in front cast a powerful blue spear shaped ward, again just in time to deflect the tank shells and bullets that came like a horizontal rain as the mages collided with tanks and ranks of Argossian men.

It happened in moments, the rest of the mages unleashed novas of various elements, orbs of various color lobbed over the front lines erupting in a cacophony of different effects. Just as suddenly the wards dropped and daryl head to go to work. His hands glowed as he fired needles at his comrades who were wounded, healing many before they hit the ground. Their armor & weapons repaired, horses rising to their feet. Just when Daryl and the other healer seemed to be getting overwhelmed the Commander unleashed a wave of red light which washed harmlessly over the Mages present but ignited the argossian forces.

Taking the much needed moment the mages regrouped and began to fall back to switch out with the next 52 soldiers. Things seemed to be going pretty routine...until the droning sound began to drown out the din of gunfire. Daryl was the first to look up, luckily for those closest to him. His immediate response was to throw golden healing darts in a burst around himself just as the wards shattered. The flying machines Dropped a rain of large explosives in a wide line straight to the fort.

When the dust cleared Daryl felt as if the world had just been dropped on him. His back was numb, his ears ringing and it took a moment for him to realize that the man helping him up was shouting something. All at once it hit him, he looked around...his entire platoon lie in tatters, most unrecognizable, a few just wounded badly. Worse the next wave of soldiers lie in ruins a few dozen yards away. As Daryl's eyes continued to the now ruined fortress his hearing finally returned and he heard the young man shouting at him.

"SIR, WHAT DO WE DO NOW? SIR?" The young mage seemed just as panicky as Daryl felt. Not just him but three others and their Horses. They all looked young enough to be his children and by their looks he could tell he was the highest ranking man still alive. "We...we retreat... Head back to the capitol, warn them of whats coming." his sentence was punctuated by a nearby explosion from a tank shell. The boys didn't need telling twice. Daryl struck each of the horses with long glowing enhancement needle. The horses took off like rockets. It took several minutes of dodging but eventually they outran the army. Daryl couldn't help but watch over his shoulder as the fort burned in the distance...


Kingdom of Hearts, Western Orchid Grove- Dakki Xiao- present day.

The Arrow landed with a thud just below Dakki's head embedding itself into a nearby tree. Flipping out of his handstand and onto his feet he grabbed the note off of the Arrow and begun to read it as he puffed on his ornate pipe. His brow furrowed in contemplation as he read.

"Attention...All Royals and Aces of the Four kingdoms are to report to the Four suits palace...Issued Order "All hands on deck". Make haste."
the letter was stamped with the royal insignia of the spades Kingdom. Exhaling an excessive cloud of smoke Dakki Stroked his chin."I wonder what all this is about?" He mused as he began walking towards the center of the four kingdoms. It would be a long walk, but Rushing wasn't something he was very good at. "At least it's a beautiful day." he mused.
​
 
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  • tJI5YDK.jpg

    Ability:
    - Mental Manipulation
    - Limit Breaker

    Location:
    - Home, Western Spades
    - Road to Four Suits Palace

    Interactions:
    - Agent23 Agent23 || Mindy
    Quillon Downs
    32 || Male || Ace || Spades
    ♠️


    "Hey pumpkin, any clue where your mother went?" Quillon called out, as he poked his head out of the front door of his home to find a glimpse of his daughter. He craned his neck towards either direction, and finally located her by the sound of her sword whirring through the brisk morning air. "Kat? Do you know where your mother went?" He called again, this time a bit louder so she would hear him past her practicing.

    Hearing the sound of her father's voice, she stopped her sword mid-swing from horizontally decapitating the head of her imaginary foe. Quickly, she sheathed her sword into the scabbard strapped to her waist; the sword was custom forged smaller for her specifically, since she would not be able to wield any normal length sword with her still growing stature. She sped up into a small jog, turning around the corner of the house to catch sight of Quillon with his head still protruding from the door frame. "Mhmm. She went into town to pick up some fresh food from the market, she said that a lot of the fruits from the Hearts are at their best this time of the year."

    "Is that so, huh? Alright, then it'll be fine for me to start working on those documents that Jack keeps sending me.." Quillon mumbled to himself, raising a hand to brush at the stubble beneath his chin.

    "Actually, Mama said she wanted you to dig up that part of the fence post that rotted in the back, since you didn't have any plans today." Katherine then added with a sheepish grin across, her face knowing she had fouled her father's plans.

    "Ugh, did she really?"

    "Yup. Do you really want to wait until she gets back so ask her yourself?."

    While her offer sounded appealing, it also sounded somewhat like a challenge. And one that Quillon was not willing to accept. Aoife very rarely got mad, and even more rarely asked for him to do anything. If there was one thing he would never dare to risk, it would be making his wife angry.. The simple thought sent shivers down the Ace's spine, and he shuttered at the thought. "Mm, no, rather not. You make a good point. I'll be in the back if you need me, pumpkin. Make sure not to poke yourself with that sword of yours."

    +++ Roughly an hour later +++

    "Damned post.. I thought you were rotting explain to me why the hell you won't leave the dirt!!" Quillon grumbled to the post between grunts. He was kneeling in front of the post with an iron-head axe lying beside him, and both hands wrapped around the post trying to force it from the ground. After moments of grunting and heaving, the Ace released his grip on the post, and rolled flat onto his back. His breath was heavy and he was already tired, a point of exhaustion that could have been avoided if he had used his Limit Breaker ability. He had decided against using it outside of combat, because of the strain it would put on his body once he was finished. With his back flat against the grass beneath him, he tilted his head up towards the house to see the figure of Aoife leaning against the wall of the house, of course with a smile across her face that hid her suppressed laughter poorly.

    "One job and you couldn't even get that done.." Aoife said, beginning to walk over to him now that she had been discovered. Despite his lack of completion, the tone of her voice was filled with amusement rather than disappointment.

    "How long did you stand there watching me suffer..?" Quillon asked her, with his brows furled in an obviously false anger.

    She responded with a shrug, as well as a gaze towards the sky to avoid eye contact. "Oh I don't know.. Five minutes?.. It was enough to watch you fight with that post." She began to tease, taking a seat cross-legged beside his head.

    Quillon took the opportunity to edge himself closer to her, eventually resting his head atop her lap. As he looked up towards her, the false anger that was previously held in his eyes shifted to a gentler smile, taking in the features of her face that seemed to eclipse the sun's rays behind her. He was confused to see the joyful look on her face to one vaguely resembling disappointment. Quillon raised his head closer to his face, which she reciprocated by lowering hers until they briefly locked lips for a quick peck. "What's wrong, love?.. I'll get the post out soon, just give me another minute."

    Aoife shook her head slightly, and rose her hand to gently caress Quillon's face. "It isn't that.." She responded, raising her other hand to show him a letter stamped with the insignia of the Spades Royals. The seal was already broken, which led Quillon to believe that she had already read its contents. "It's an urgent summons from the King. I found it pinned to the front door".

    The King never sent out urgent summons.. at least not one directly addressed for him, the Ace. Quillon took the letter in his hands, and opened it to reveal its brief contents.

    "Attention...All Royals and Aces of the Four kingdoms are to report to the Four suits palace...Issued Order "All hands on deck". Make haste."


    Quillon understood the message loud and clear. As far as he was aware, he was in generally in good terms with the King of Spades, Mindy Daiyara, also known as the Lady of Stars. Unless she held some grudge towards him like everyone else, his relentless style of combat, she hadn't made any hostility towards him known. At least not yet, Quillon had been trying to lead a life away from the proximity of the other Royals, barring the help he often gave to the Jack, Alexei Havok..

    "I'll let you know as soon as I can make it back home.." He said, putting down the letter to look back up towards the eyes of his wife.

    "Just come back in one piece, alright? I already told Kat. And of course she got upset and went to go train with the neighbor's boys.. We'll miss you, love." Aoife and Katherine both dreaded the days Quillon was pulled away from home, knowing full well that there was always the chance that he wouldn't be able to come home. But Aoife had long accepted the fact, even before they had married, that these were the responsibilities of an Ace. Katherine on the other hand, had no choice, and was instead born with a father who would sporadically be unavailable. She didn't despise him for it at all since she knew how revered her father was across the kingdom, but she was still a child, and couldn't fully manage the emotions that she felt.

    "Of course she did.. She knows leaving is the last thing I want to do." Quillon rose from where he was lying, standing up to brush off any dirt that clung to his back.

    Aoife also stood, and draped her arms around his neck to pull her husband into a close embrace. She rose herself onto her toes and gently planted another kiss across his lips, savoring the moment, since they were both unaware of the next time they would be allowed in each other's presence. It was Quillon who broke the engagement, but still held her tight for a moment longer.

    "I love you both. And I'll miss you. Please tell Kat the same for me, and that I'll come home soon." Quillon asked her, the look in his eyes obviously letting off the fact that he was just as disappointed as she was.

    "Try and cheer up, love..", Aoife said as she cupped his cheeks, "You'll be back home before you know it. We love you too, and I left your cloak hanging by the door for you.."

    Quillon simply nodded in response, there were no more words that needed to be exchanged between the two. When the two broke from their embrace, Quillon quickly made his way to gather his belongings from within their home. He didn't carry very much, just the cloak, a few papers on the kingdom's economics in a folder for the Jack, and a small pouch with some coin for the road. He took to the road rather quickly, mounting the horse kept in their stables and only looking back once he was a ways away from the home. He turned to see both Aoife and his daughter Katherine looking out towards him from the fence, the distance making their faces indistinguishable, but their bright auburn hair easily seen despite that. Quillon briefly rose his hand to wave, and then urged his horse into a speedy trot.

    "Why are they sending a summons for me now..?"

 
Bered Karling- Jack of Diamonds
Location: Jack's palace

"Hey boss, you have visitors." Bered raised his head up from his messy desk that was covered in very loosely covered papers, various kinds of coins, and random types of gambling pieces. He might have been taking a small nap "Who are they and what do they want?" He groggily asked the man who had entered his study. The man's name was Elwys, he was a 3 with low magical ability, yet his ability to work as a butler and skill in hand to hand combat had lead to Bered hiring him as a staff member for the palace instead of putting him on the guard detail. "Another 8 Sir, though it looks like a girl roughly five to seven years old is with him as well. I am going to assume that she is his daughter based of their appearances." answered Elwys. Bered leaned back into his very comfortably furnished chair and motioned for Elwys to send them in. Elwys bowed his head and dissapeared letting the door close behind him.

A minute or two passed then there was a knock on the large door. "Enter". At his approval the door creaked open revealing the noble and his daughter. The noble was pissed and he was comically trying to hide it, the daughter on the other hand was looking around in both mild and awe and fear. With a motion of his hand the noble and his daughter took a seat on the opposite side of the desk. "Alright I don't want you here and you don't want to be here, so lets make this quick. What do you want?" Bered said in his usual haughty tone he took with the nobles. As he spoke he could see the flare of annoyance in the man's eyes, ticking off the nobles was a bit of pass time for Bered.

"Of course your majesty. It's about your newest ta-" The noble was forcibly stopped mid sentence as a raised hand from Bered cut him off. "Rejected." "Rejected? I didn't even get to-" once more the noble was cut off. "Rejected. Your complaint will be the same as every other complaint I get from the nobles about how I am favoring the 2's, the 3's, and the 4's over you bunch of rich boot kissers." At this point the noble's face was turning red with rage and it looked like he was about to explode. Cracking his knuckles and leaning forwards menacingly Bered couldn't help but give the man a smile. "If you have any issues with that you can file a complaint with the proper channels, if you don't want to do that then feel free to make a challenge. I'm not one to beat up a father before his young daughters eyes but if you insist that you have to get your ass kicked in front of her then your welcome to." Growing even more red with rage the noble stood up from his chair so fast that it fell to the floor. Looking to Bered then to his daughter and finally back to Bered he quickly made his decision.

Turning around the Noble stormed out of the study with his daughter remaining seated and very confused. Picking up a gold coin from his desk the Jack flicked it at the girl who managed to catch it. He motioned with his head to the door and she quickly followed after he father. Once they were gone Bered sunk back into his chair, he felt no pity towards the father but maybe he was a bit to harsh in front of the daughter... oh well whats done is done. All that mattered now was that he could go back to sleeping for a bit longer. Just as he was about to put his head down the door slammed opened causing him to jump to his feet.

"Dammit how many times have I told you not to do that! Wait what's wrong?" the Jack asked Elwys who was now standing in the doorway breathing heavily. Elwys walking very fast hurried over to the desk and held out a letter. Bered snatched the letter from Elwys's hand and the first thing he noticed was that it hand the mark of the Spades Royal. "What the hell do they want?" he mumbled the question to himself as he started to read. Sighing heavily as he finished reading he looked up at Elwys. "Get the carriage ready and postpone all meetings, parties, etc until I return. Something important has came up." Elwys nodded and left the room with all haste, he had never heard that level of concern in the Jack's voice before.
 
The Ace of Diamonds
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“Again. Faster.”

The sounds of combat rang out in the forested valley, of magic and struggle, determination and failure. William, Ace of the Diamond Kingdom was at The Crystal Marking, otherwise widely recognised as a popular tourist spot and his home. Even now, several hundred people had come to witness where the great switching of the Aces had taken place, but the show they got in addition was all the better.

The land was a reminder of William’s power, his ‘mark’ on his kingdom to be remembered throughout the ages. Massive monolithic spikes of ice jutted from the ground, a layer of ice covering everything in the area. Destroyed terrain in the form of craters, torn up earth and crushed trees were frozen in time from its cold prison. Curiously, even when William wasn’t present, the ice would never melt even during the hotter months of the year. It served as a residence and an arena for whenever he had need to train. Today was one such day.

He was with Sarane Harstrang, the Ruby King of Hearts, ‘fighting’ in an open ice-covered field. Although they were meant to be training and they’d been at it for a good while now, William still had yet to be hit by an attack. This was of no fault of Sarane’s, of course, such was the power gap between royals and aces. If she’d had tried to fight Dakki Xiao, the result would likely have been the same. However, William’s Ultimate Perception afforded him an increased ability to react to Sarane’s attacks, indeed making it hard for even the other Aces to hit him consecutively.

“You’re too slow. Even out your stance and watch my movements. Wait for my reaction the moment before you strike.”

The question most of the bystanders were probably asking themselves as they watched the two epic legends battle was; why would the Ace of Diamonds help train the King of Hearts? To begin with, Aces rarely interacted with anyone other than the Aces or their family. In addition, it made no sense for William to train a royal, who was likely already fairly skilled anyway, of another suit. Given the 900 or so years war documented in history, it wasn’t impossible for them to become enemies in the future. Training a potential enemy was never a smart decision.

And yet William did. It was partly because of how similar she was to him, William felt she was responsible enough to handle his teachings. Cool, level-headed, cold, skilled; William couldn’t have imagined a more capable woman. Daz often spoke of how William should find himself a woman to enjoy, and William had to admit that if he had any such interests, Sarane would probably be it. Of course, those notions of infatuation were distractions, they would detract from his ability to fulfill his role in long run. The main reason was due to the increasing Argossian aggression as of late. Rumours of skirmishes on the borders of the Spade Kingdom told harrowing tales of deadly contraptions and machines of death, flying metal monsters that dropped the strongest fire magic contained in steel pods. It seemed like a bizarre method of warfare to William, but it was apparently scarily effective. Still, he wasn’t indifferent, he’d fear it once he had observed it for himself firsthand.

William had adopted no particular stance as he faced off against the foreign king, choosing to simply stand and await her next onslaught. It wasn’t overconfidence that brought him to act this way, but cool calculation that determined he’d be able to dodge anything less than the best she had to offer. And if she could learn to start hitting with only her best, it would become easier and more fluid, more natural. And then she’s would discover a new ‘best’ that would surpass her previous best. Such was his logic anyway, it was entirely possible that Sarane was physically or mentally incapable of further improvement and her potential ended here. If that was the case, he’d at least teach her to hit with her best more regularly. So long as she’d made an effort, he wouldn’t fault her. A cold icy gale drifted harshly by the two, the hostile conditions of the frozen battlefield proving to be a test of endurance too. William didn’t feel the coldness of it, naturally, but Sarane wouldn’t be able to say the same, especially given her fire-elemental powers. The Crystal Ace waited, ready for her next attack.

Revna Eris Revna Eris
 
Sarane nodded, not bothering to speak, speaking would cause her to waste energy and in this, even if it was just training, she couldn't waste her energy. The Iron Heart is the name she was known by most, this was due to her cold demeanor. Many a time had it been said that The Iron Heart could not break, however Sarane did not say anything to prove, or disprove these claims. She didn't think it important, and didn't wish to tear down the tower of which she stood upon with her own words. She worked hard to get where she was, and she refused to have a downfall so quickly. She knew she had what it took to be better than she already was and she was going to use that knowledge and achieve what she set out to do.


The King of Hearts stomped her left foot, hoping that her quick boots might kick in. Of course they didn't just go automatically, she had to tap her foot on the ground, but she assumed the ice was so hard the signal to the boot couldn't get through, and that's why the enchantment wasn't working. She sighed feeling slightly irritated, this however wasn't due to her losing, but was due to the fact that she wasn't doing good enough. She looked at the Ace of Diamonds in front of her a moment and closed her eyes a minute. She of course knew that was the most stupid thing she could've possibly done in that exact moment, so she put her hand up and used Fire Control. She was attempting to create some sort of flame, somehow she managed to create one of blue color meaning it would go far if thrown but probably wouldn't do much damage. She also knew the ice was probably not going to melt, but seeing as the ice wasn't people she aimed it at the ice and took about ten steps back.

"You know this isn't exactly easy. Then again, I can't say I really expected this to be, and if I did that'd be foolish."

She spoke calm, a small smile crept up onto her face as she watched the Ace carefully. He'd told her to watch him before she struck, but she knew this was a battle she'd lost. However, since no one was at risk and it was just training she figured to give up wouldn't do anything but weaken any progress she may have made. She took the sword and sheathed it, closing her eyes and sighing. She was of course faking giving up, as she would never lie down so easily. She lifted her hands in a sort of 'What can you do?' manner and chuckled before speaking once more.

"Still, at the same time I must say that I did expect to have at least gotten one hit in."

She chuckled slightly and attempted using her quick boots but was again at a loss. When she did move, she very sadly tripped and fell flat on her face. She pushed herself up and sighed, shaking her head and looked up at William.

"Well then, that.... Was.... Humiliating."

She actually laughed a little as she stood and shook her head. She didn't see reason to get upset if she could get better after all. Plus falling was something everyone did once in a while, and she figured this was just one of those times. Of course she was only so light hearted because she was having quite a nice day and didn't see the need to be her usual cold self. Plus to her it was already cold enough with all this ice.

One of the reasons Sarane refused to give up, was because she believed there were three types of people when it came to training in any sense. The arrogant ones that believed they knew everything and refused to learn. The quiet soft spoken ones who were to shy to ask questions and had a hard time learning when they tried. Then there were the ones who knew they needed to learn, and only spoke up if they had to, and while Sarane knew they were just three categories not everyone fit into, it was just easier for her to comprehend. Easier for her to slot herself and believe she could achieve what she truly desired.

Kloudy Kloudy
 
Emiya Shirou
Queen of Diamonds

Emiya stood by watching the two Royals fight. Sarane was clearly outclassed by William by miles, and that was just the obvious due to the fact that her skills were a fairly weak counter to the Ace of Diamonds. Emiya knew first hand William's power and skill level. Even with the power of numerous Legendary Weapons at his disposal and even the ability to use William's own weapons against him, William still overwhelmed him with his massive physical and magical strength. Sarane seemed to be put on her back foot throughout the match, and at least to the young man, seemed to be handling the match up better than he did. Though he understood why William had to go on training the other Royals. The Argossians were growing stronger and having witnessed and learning about the increasing complexity of their technology, becoming so complex that even his Trace ability could not track how to recreate some objects for some reason. Shirou feared that their way of life was being threatened by their very existence.

The crowd did not seem to notice that the Queen of Diamonds sat among the bystanders watching the fight, which Shirou enjoyed, as he did not like the recognition he had garnered as the Queen. But like many who had witnessed the power of an Ace, they were awestruck by the parity between themselves and William. Shirou only wished he could feel the same, but he knew that the gap between himself and William was not that big, some day he knew he could challenge him, but until then he could only watch and be inspired. Observing William's and Saran's movements and actions was his main goal here. Training by analyzing was the least he could do.

Kloudy Kloudy Revna Eris Revna Eris
 
Bered Karling- Jack of Diamonds
Location: Crystal Marking

As the fight between the Ace of Diamonds and King of Hearts seemed to die down a beautiful horse drawn carriage driven by Elwys and a woman wearing the uniform of the Jack's enforcers pulled up to the rear of the bystanders. Those in back of the bystanders turned to watch with either smiles of joy or frowns of disgust. The woman hopped down from the carriage and swiftly walked over to the door. She opened the door and immediately saluted as Bered Stepped out of the carriage and onto the ground. He gave one of his trade mark small waves to those with the smiles and mocking grin to the ones with the frowns.

Letting his expression fall into stone face mode he made his way flanked by the woman who had opened the door through the crowd that parted before him. Once he was at the edge of the arena he stood silently waiting for the Ace and Foreign king to finish their business. One glance and they would probably be able to see that he was waiting for them. "Stelle, note" he said as he held his hand out behind him. The woman who he had called Stelle placed the note he had received earlier into the palm of his hand witch he took. "Thank you" he said as he let his arm drop to his side. "Remind me that we need to track down Emiya after this. Compared to the Ace he is going to be the hard one to find. " he mumbled to Stelle

Kloudy Kloudy Revna Eris Revna Eris TPBx TPBx
 
The Ace of Diamonds
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William glanced down at Sarane's spawled form as she fell, his brooding expression remaining unchanged as she picked herself back up from the smooth unmarked ice. Even despite their battle, the cold floor had retained no damage or scuffing. Perhaps it was testament to its hardness, or perhaps it had been simply regenerating. Either way, it made clean up all the more convenient. With their battle finished, he turned away to glance up at the crowd.

Ultimate Perception granted him immediate focus onto two particular figures: the Queen of Diamonds, who William had noticed observing the fight earlier; and the Jack of Diamonds, who had just arrived in a carriage. If William had to guess, he was bringing news from another of the suits kingdoms, probably for a summons. There was a select few rare reasons as to why an Ace was to be summoned, generally they were left alone, at least, William was. Either someone was overstepping their boundaries with William, or there was some serious trouble.

"We'll conclude this here. It seems my Jack wants something."

As he finished his sentence, Sarane would notice that her surroundings had changed since the last time she'd blinked. Instead of the middle of the arena, they were both now standing directly before the Jack of Diamonds and his carriage. The particularly perceptive, and Bered himself, would have seen the cyan portal as it materialised, descended and revealed Sarane and William together, all in less than a second. Even so, much of the crowd seemed to cry out in a strange mix of shock and excitement at the sudden appearance of the Ace and the King of Hearts. William was less impressed, raising his eyebrows judgmentally at the royal.

"Who's summoning me?"

As he said this, another portal descended down, depositing another individual against their will. This time, it was the Queen of Diamonds. It was likely that all the royals would be needed for such a threat, so it saved time to gather them all now so they could all hear what Bered had to say. Although some would call it coincidence, a few in the crowd swore the temperature had dropped a few degrees lower since William had joined them, those wrapped up in heavy cloths hugging their arms that much tighter. If they said Aces had immense presences, then the indomitable force of a winter's gale was William's.

TPBx TPBx Revna Eris Revna Eris Dante Verren Dante Verren
 
Bered Karling- Jack of Diamonds
Location: Crystal Marking

Bered's didn't even flinch as the Ace of Diamonds and the King of hearts appeared in front of him, after all he had seen the portal so there was nothing to be surprised by. "Not just you. Seems like the spades have put all hands on deck into motion." He told William as he held out the note for him to read if he wanted to. From behind Bered his companion Stelle looked at the Queen of Diamonds. "Well boss it was a really hard job but I think we found his majesty the Queen." she said to Bered in her usual monotone voice. The Jack sighed lightly, "Thank you Stelle, as always your sense of humor is appreciated." He shifted his gaze to look over at the King of Hearts. "If all hands on deck has really been put into effect that means the clubs and hearts have been summoned as well." as he said the last part he moved his gaze back over to William. "The royals and aces of all four kingdoms gathered in one spot at the same time, I can't imagine that this is going to go well in the slightest."

Most people would think he was crazy for talking to the Ace so casually, after all the aces were all so terrifying. Sure the power they had was completely beyond reason but still Bered felt no fear when looking at William. Instead the Jack felt gratitude and respect. After all if it wasn't for William challenging the previous Jack and basically breaking his will to fight then Bered would have never returned to the capital to rub it in his old mans face, defeat his brother, and usurp the throne of Jack. It isn't an understatement to say that Bered owes his position of power to the Ace.


Kloudy Kloudy Revna Eris Revna Eris TPBx TPBx
 
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Wild Card - Aquila Herrera - Leader of the Jokers​

The underground base was bustling with activity when Wild Card entered the room. It was an unusual sight for her. Usually her soldiers would be having a board would halt into attention when she entered the room, or at least acknowledge her as she walked by. But it was different. A rumor was spreading, and not one that she was particularly fond of. Somehow word must have gotten out to the lower ranks.

People were saying the Four Suits were planning to strike against the Argossian Empire with some sort of secret weapon. No one was quite sure of what the weapon was, but it had been assured that the attack would pool together the collective resources of all four suits. Someone must have given out an order of some sort to send the hideout into such a flurry. A small group of captains were huddling and debating in a heated manner. Low-ranking soldiers seemed to be taking inventory and stock of the weapons. Some of the weaker jokers were even stockpiling fuel for the planes. The site of it all - the fear, the concern, the lack of attention given toward their leader - terrified Aquila more than any potential threat from the Four Suits. Only one thing was more terrifying than the thought of losing the battle. Loss of control.

Aquila put her fingers to her lips and let out a long, low whistle. She watched as most of the soldiers and captains quickly put down what they were doing and turned to face her. One poor soldier seemed oblivious as to what was happening. He was cleaning the barrel of his gun intently. One of his fellow soldiers lightly tapped him on the shoulder. The man cleaning the gun consequently dropped it on his foot, causing commotion in the brief moment of order. Aquila could feel the anger bubbling inside of her. How could someone so incompetent end up in the center of the Four Suits in her presence?

Aquila walked toward the soldier, her arms crossed behind her back. She watched as the jittery soldier began to shudder. In a room of about eighty others, he had been singled out. That was rarely a good thing when it came to the Jokers. The leader of the Jokers was tempted to put the man out of a misery. Someone who couldn't clean a gun or stand in attention was unlikely to survive long. However, she decided it would be best not to do so publicly. After all, a ruler who was cruel to her people was more likely to be overthrown. Not that anyone within the Jokers could overthrow Aquila.

"Why were you cleaning your gun?" Aquila asked. He looked at her silently, a terrified expression occupying his face. She glanced down at his name tag. "Why were you cleaning your gun, Private Matson?"

The mention of his name seemed to snap the soldier back into reality.

"I heard that the Four Suits were launching an attack and I saw everyone else doing it," Matson responded.

"Well, Private Matson, I'm no one to stop you," Aquila said, smirking.

"What?"

Aquila picked up his rifle off the floor and shoved it back into his hands. He was taken aback and stumbled a bit.

"Finish cleaning your gun, Private Matson."

The soldier stood there horrified for a few moments. Aquila pulled her pistol out of her holster and placed it against his temple.

"I gave no orders to prepare for an attack," she stated, "so we all have plenty of time to watch."

So, in front of eighty Jokers, he cleaned out the barrel of his gun, shaking fervently all the while.

********************************************************************************

Only a small gas lamp lit the spacious room that Aquila had grown to affectionately call her office. It looked a bit more like an artillery to the casual observer. The walls were lines with guns of different makes and models and crates filled with ammunition, ledgers and novelty items from the Argossian empire were neatly organized based on contents. What indicated the room's true function was a desk in the center of the room and the three chairs that sat in front of it.

Sitting in those three chairs were captains that Aquila greatly admired: Baruto Akio, a former 4 and a Hearts deserter, Mateus Carina, a former 3 and a Clubs deserter, and lastly Daniella Borat. No one truly knew where Captain Borat came from. Many speculated the Argossian Empire, but contradictory evidence seemed to debunk those theories. Whatever the case, despite her lack of any truly powerful magic or fighting ability, she was a brilliant strategist. Aquila sat behind her great oak desk, tentatively observing the captains' every move.

The three of them were meeting with Aquila to address the supposed offensive launched by the Four Suits against the Empire. Aquila was skeptical of the claims, to say the least. The Four Suits had never truly taken any meaningful action against the Argossians before, though they did try to qualm the Jokers unsuccessfully many times. The likeliness that anything meaningful would come out of the meeting seemed impossible to her.

"Captain Akio, you are the one who made the bold claim that the Four Suits are planning something," Aquila began, staring at the stoic man, "so do you mind specifying what kind of attack they are planning?"

"Not an attack," Akio insisted. "A war."

"There has already been a war."

"Then why haven't the Four Suits been sending in their best soldiers?"

Aquila shook her head in disbelief. There was no way the Four Suits would send their Aces. She felt herself tensing at the thought.

"I think they're sending their Jacks," Akio specified. "We saw the Jack of Diamonds mobilized recently."

Aquila nodded and relaxed. It would make sense for them to deploy their Jacks. With a lot of manpower and a lot of planning, the Jokers could handle Jacks. She could deal with such a predicament. It would not be the end of the world.

"Tell Blackfoot that he should mobilize troops to keep a close eye on these Jacks," Aquila instructed.

Akio quickly got up from his seat. Unlike Private Matson, he understood how the Jokers operated. Follow orders quickly and things get done efficiently.

"Commander D'Angelo will know immediately," Akio said before exiting the office.

Aquila smiled. She liked when things moved so smoothly. Onto the next order of business.

"Captain Carina, congratulations on the attack on the Clubs," Aquila said. "It is no small feat to do so."

Captain Carina bowed his head in gratitude.

"You are dismissed."

He quickly filed out of the room. Follow orders quickly and things get done efficiently. And then there were two. Borat sat in her chair comfortably, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Borat, it has been far too long since we have last seen The Crone," Aquila said. "Tell her we're running low on ammunition."

"We're not," Captain Borat retorted. "You know that, Wild Card."

If it were most other soldiers or captains, Aquila would have drawn her weapon and ended the conversation before it progressed much further. But Borat was a trusted companion and her word carried weight in Aquila's mind. Borat was right. The Jokers were fine when it came to ammunition.

"Then tell her the truth," Aquila said. "Tell her we're running low on guidance. Every milestone we achieve feels only stagnant. They are responding, but not in the way we had hoped. We need...something big."

Borat nodded. "It's about time."

And she was right. The Jokers had been blindly shooting into a dark hallway with no perceived end for far too long. No matter what they did it was never enough for the Four Suits to truly collapse. With the Argossians making progress from the battle field, it was time for the Jokers to make progress at home and hit the four suits where it truly hurt.
 
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Sarane crossed her arms keeping quiet. She didn't like this, she didn't like this at all. She tapped her foot slightly, not liking the idea of being off guard for even a second. The young woman didn't care for much. Only her people's well being. She had been told many a time that this would bring about one of the many paths to destruction, but she would not be a good leader, a good king, if she didn't care about her people. That being said she tried not to get close to anyone else, for if she did she could possibly lose sight of what is important which would affect how she makes her decisions and overall her kingdom.

"I see your concern about this arrangement, however, if we discuss such matters through other means, instead of being in the same place, someone could take the information and hand it over to the enemy. I am correct in believing that we don't want that, yes?"

She tilted her head, and raised an eyebrow looking at the Jack of Diamonds. Sarane had always seen things a certain way, think of the logical before the emotional. She looked at him a moment, and sighed dropping her arms but keeping one hand on her sword. Her eyes flitted across anything around her as she analyzed her surroundings. She seemed very hyperactive and quite distracted, but she wasn't. In reality she was taking as much information about her surroundings as she was able to, while listening to what everyone else was saying.

She felt the cold and yet she didn't even flinch, what point was there. Cold was just an external factor that could skew someone's health status but she didn't get affected because of her own mentality. Mind over body they said, and it worked for her.

She was half tempted to get a cheap shot in, however William said they'd leave their training there, so she decided not to. It'd be childish. She stayed silent and closed her eyes continuing to listen as she'd decided that she'd taken in enough information on her surroundings.

Kloudy Kloudy TPBx TPBx Dante Verren Dante Verren
 
Emiya Shirou

"So by the looks of things, the Argossians have really become a problem haven't they," he replied. He put his hand to his chin, caressing it slightly while pondering about the situation. Emiya knew that this day would come, but he did not think it would happen so soon. Even moreso the fact that the Argossians posed a large enough threat that even the Aces were required worried him. The unnatural cold settled in and Shirou knew that even his Ace was unsettled by the news. The young man shivered a bit and continued to pace back and forth thinking about their options, but mostly just to keep himself warm in the cold. He was lightly clothed only wearing a jacket, shirt, and a pair of pants, compared to William who was completely bundled up. "Has the King answered these summons, Bered," he asked, "I'm willing to fight, but only if everyone else is committed to it."

It was out of character for him to ask such a question, but he saw it as at least wise to know whether or not the entirety of the Royalty was committed to protecting the other three Kingdoms. There would be no point if they lacked at least some sense of unity on their side before heading out to war. Also not to mention that Shirou had only ever seen the lonely king wander about the halls of her palace, avoiding contact with the rest of the Royals, so Emiya felt curious as to see what her abilities were. She was one of the last stepping stones remaining between himself and gaining the title of Ace that he wanted so badly. A chance to see her skill would definitely be the opportunity of a life time.

Beside him the King of Hearts seemed distant from the rest of them. Maybe it was just her being a foreigner, however to Emiya it did not seem as though that was the case as it felt more like she did not feel comfortable in the environment. As though something external despite being in the relative safety of the Crystal Marking was threatening them as they were out there discussing these things. Shirou kept an eye on her, and fluttered his hands about visually letting mana flow and manifest between his fingertips, readying himself for any possible threat, while looking like he was just playfully ignorant.

Kloudy Kloudy Dante Verren Dante Verren Revna Eris Revna Eris
 
Bered Karling- Jack of Diamonds
Location: Crystal Marking

Bered glanced over at the Ruby king as she made her thoughts known. She did have a point it was much easier to have talks in person. "I will agree it's much more efficient for us to meet in person but it doesn't make it any less of a pain in the ass. Thanks to this meeting I'm going to fall behind with my work." he sighed lightly at the thought of the sleep deprived week he was going to have to go through to make sure he could get everything done in a reasonable amount of time. He could cut down on the amount of parties or the time he attended said parties down a bit and focus more on work but that would only lead him to be less productive then if he just cut down his sleep schedule.

As he was mentally replanning his schedule for the next month Shirou spoke up. Looking over at the man a smug grin crossed his face. "Here I was thinking that you were going to charge off to the Argosian empire and fight them all by yourself, glad to hear I was worried for nothing.' the smug grin disappeared and was replaced by his previously serious expression. "All joking aside my vote is for us to stay out of the battle. What would be the most beneficial to us is we make a deal with the spades where we send them troops and supplies on loan, that way we can profit either way. That being said if Ire wants to directly help the spades by going to war then I will keep my mouth shut and do my job to make sure our economy doesnn't go under from the expenses that this new phase of the war is going to cost us."

Bered bit the inside of his lip in thought, he was really not looking to this meeting. "Speaking of Ire I'm not sure if she has gotten the summons yet. I wanted to make sure our ace new about it before anything else. After that I was going to track down you and her. Most likely she is still back at her office so she shouldn't be to hard to find. Though for sake of time I should head over there soon."

Kloudy Kloudy Revna Eris Revna Eris TPBx TPBx
 
The Ace of Diamonds
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​

Taking the letter, William briefly scanned through it before glancing about noncommittally as his royalty and the King of Hearts discussed the future. However, what he was hearing was not satisfactory for what he expected of Suits royalty. He knew that at least Shirou desired to usurp his position, but god help these nations if that day came anytime soon.

“There’ll be no vote. You may have forgotten, but this is now a war. We do not choose whether we are involved.”

His monotonous voice pierced the air as an absolute silenced then filled it. William glanced at his Queen with that constant dull expression, one that gave away nothing but his clear disagreement, before returning his gaze very deliberately to Bered.

“All Hands on Deck is not to be taken so lightly. The likeliest scenario is that we’ll be forced to fight as one due to the sheer force of the Argossian’s advanced military, which means divided we fall. If you cannot commit to fighting for your nation, feel free to challenge me here and now so we can resolve this.”

William looked to Shirou as well when he said that last statement, ensuring they were both included in his subtle threat. Desertion would be met with cold fury, and possibly an even colder punishment. Now was not the time to divide and think for one’s self, if the reports of the Argossian methods were accurate, remaining independent was a very fast way of getting picked off one by one. William had hoped his royals would have been able to see the bigger picture, but he was foolish in the first place for having hope at all. Hope was a malleable thing, changing, indefinite; calculation was absolute, and he had discerned that a firm hand would be needed here if any meaningful action was to happen.

“Bered, get our King and bring him to the meeting place. I expect you to locate them swiftly.”

As he said this, a person-size cyan oval portal materialised at Bered’s side, leading him to where the King of Diamonds was likely to be. A moment later, a second, slightly larger portal opened up just behind William. The Ace glanced over at the Queen and King next to him, his expression indicating nothing.

“Excuse my rudeness, Ruby King, but you will need to come with me now. And you Shirou, I want to see if anyone has assembled yet. We will discuss the rest when everyone is present.”

William didn’t sound like he was really asking to be excused, but that was just how he was. His direct and brutally honest attitude did little to earn him many friends, aside from the select few that could appreciate it, but that didn’t matter when you possessed the respect and reverence that came with being an Ace. So long as they followed his orders quickly and efficiently, he didn’t care what else happened. Finished with his little speech, William turned on his heel and promptly left through the larger portal he had created without so much as a ‘goodbye’.

TPBx TPBx Dante Verren Dante Verren Revna Eris Revna Eris
 


  • tJI5YDK.jpg

    Ability:
    - Mental Manipulation
    - Limit Breaker

    Location:
    - Outside Four Suits Palace
    - Grand Hall

    Interactions:
    - Havok
    Quillon Downs
    32 || Male || Ace || Spades
    ♠️

    A half day's ride was all it took for Quillon to arrive from his home in Western Spades to the Four Suits Palace, having taken a more direct route rather than the detour all the way to Central Spades. He was able to see the palace in the distance, which was surrounded by the view of the brilliant green rolling plains that made up most of the Spades Kingdom's territory. It was these exact same open plains that made the kingdom such a preference for farmers and the such, and the flat terrain also gave way for many of those who wanted to put up buildings and start new towns. But the downside of this flat terrain was that it was optimal grounds for battle; since was little cover, barring trees and the few hills, that could provide cover against opposing forces. It was no mystery to him why the Argossians had targeted his kingdom..

    "Downs!" A voice would yell, from somewhere behind Quillon. The voice was awfully familiar to the Ace, but it felt like ages since he had last heard it. He peered over his shoulder to spot Havok riding up to him, atop a caramel brown Percheron that outshined his own mount threefold. he was donned in his usual steel armor and equipped with a sword like a true knight, which many would have questioned had it been anybody else. For Havok, having metal around him at all times was like an extension of his abilities, since they amplified the strength of his electric attacks by a good margin.

    "Ahh.. Havok. I'm surprised you recognize me, even from that distance." Quillon remarked, bringing his hands up to remove the hood of his cloak from covering his face. Quillon, on the other hand, was dressed more appropriately for a traveler. Wearing a greyed leather tunic cut short at the sleeves, and a tan riding cloak, he was dressed rather discreetly than what would have been expected for someone of his position. "Shouldn't you already be at the palace. It IS your king that sent out the summons."

    "Having known you for so long, I can smell that malicious stench coming off of you from miles away." Scoffed the Jack, stopping his horse beside Quillon's. He looked the Ace up and down and immediately wondered why he wasn't wearing anything more formal to a summons as grand as this, but didn't question the Ace's choice in style nonetheless. "I was busy trying to find the documents pertaining to our recent losses in the battles against the Argossians. I thought it would have been smart to bring it up during the meeting, but I couldn't seem to find them."

    Quillon began to rummage through the contents he kept hidden beneath his cloak, and pulled out a manila folder with quite the stack of contents held between its faces. He handed them to the Jack with only a few words, which left a sour taste on his lips. "We've been losing these recent battles, Havok. I've no doubt in my mind the reason why I've been summoned, especially if it's an All Hands summon.." Quillon dug his heels into the sides of his horse, goading it forward and leaving Havok behind in his dust.

    Havok immediately understood the Ace's words, and quickly skimmed through the documents to confirm whether or not he was speaking the truth. His eyes went wide in shock; the lists for their losses were at an all-time high, mostly due to the military's losses in the recent battles. He doubted that his scouts would have purposely mistaken this information, and even if it was a mistake, the numbers were far too vast from their standard deviations for it to be as simple as mistakenly writing a few extra digits. The Jack looked up towards Quillon's distancing figure, becoming more aware of the gravity of the situation if they were truly summoning the Aces..

    +++ Minutes later, Arriving at the Palace +++​

    Quillon, followed quickly after by Havok, arrived soon after their little conversation to the Palace's grounds. The two were quick to hand their horses to the nearest stable hand, and head towards the main hall for whatever meeting they had been summoned for. Both Quillon and Havok had been to the castle countless times before, the latter much more, for other similar meetings that often pertained to the other kingdoms. They were used to the tall stone columns and large arches of the palace that would put others in awe, and walked passed them as if the features of the palace were just another everyday occurrence.

    They turned around one of the corners of the palace and were met with doors to the meeting hall, large double doors that dwarfed them by three or four times. The two guards stationed at the door looked upon the arrivals just for a moment, but did not falter in their stoic appearances to see not one, but two, individuals of such high rank begin approach them. Quillon, obviously leading the duo, thought nothing of them and proceeded to simply walk into the room. He was surprised, to say the least, to have the guards cross their iron spears in an attempt to block his passage.

    "An important meeting is about to take place, only those permitted by the King of Spades have been permitted entry into the Grand Hall." The two guards spoke, their unison in such synchronization that two would have easily been mistaken for golems.

    The Ace only could look back and forth between the two of them with pursed lips, in surprise and in awe. He looked back over his shoulder towards Havok, and his brows furled in dramatic confusion. "Do they know who I am? He said once, quickly snapping his head back towards the two guards and moving closer until he was nearly leaning against one of them. "Do. You. Know. Who. I. Am?..." Quillon repeated, this time much slower as if the two clearly couldn't understand him.

    Havok hid his face behind his hand embarrassment, glancing back down the hall in hopes that another Ace would appear to help before Quillon did something rash. Quillon's entire mindset was close-minded and difficult to predict for everyone except his wife, and that included his stance on this recent summoning. But if there was absolutely anything that the Ace was widely regarded for, it was for two things: his ruthlessness during a fight, and his overwhelming pride in himself.. And it appeared that the guards just provoked the latter.

    While Quillon began to spout incessant slurs towards the guards, Havok wordlessly reached into his pouch to retrieve the letter of summons from the King. He approached the two guards with the letter in hand and revealed its contents to him, which immediately stole their attention from the now comedically silent Quillon. "I'm the Jack of Spades, this one is the Ace of Spades. Our apologies." Havok stated simply, grasping a hold of Quillon by the scruff of his cloak and dragging him a few feet away from the guards.

    "Our apologies, we'll open the door for you m'lord" One of the two responded, and both quickly reached towards the handles of the doors to draw them open. Havok responded with a simple nod of his head in gratitude, and continued to drag Quillon towards the Grand Hall.

    The door closed behind them, and the two were left in a torch-lit hall that appeared to open up further down. Quillon brushed Havok's hand away from his cloak, and looked towards the Jack with a face of pure offense. "What the hell did you drag me for?! I'm no dog for you to silence whenever you want!"

    "They were following orders, Downs! Why didn't you just show them the letter like normal people would have?!" He responded in a tone just as raised as Quillon's was, both of them unknowingly lucky that the Grand Hall was currently empty of its guests.

    "I shouldn't have to show them the letter, they should know who I am!"

    "My god, you're such a brat! I can't believe I lost to someone like you!"

    "Absolutely pulverized! Get it right, peasant! Also, who the hell are you calling a brat, you're shorter than I am?!"

    "By an INCH.. I was referring to your head, you think too childishly for your age! Put yourself together!"

    "You're the one arguing with a brat, Havok! So that makes you just as bad as I am!"

    "Oh my god.. nevermind. I should have left you for the guards to deal with.."

    The two of them continued to go back and forth, insulting each other that hardly represented the formality that Royals and Aces were supposed to hold towards each other. But they also slowly made their way towards the Grand Hall, and after much yelling, the passage opened up. The Hall was designed as a large square, with each kingdom designated to their own corner with three seats. Unfortunately, since the Aces hardly ever participated in the meetings, there were usually no accommodations made for them, and they stood behind their respective Royals.

    Havok let out a sigh of relief when he learned the room was barren of any of the other Royals, but Quillon was too prideful to let Havok have the last say in their argument, and continued to try and one-up his companion. However, the attention of both of them was drawn towards the Diamonds' corner, as a large cyan portal seemingly appeared from the wall.

    Quillon left the presence of Havok to take his position from the Spades' corner of the room. His eyes were trained on the portal, but there was a sly smirk across his face that hardly contained his excitement. Even as his posture shifted to lean against the wall and cross his arms over his chest, the Ace was eager, excited.. and knew who was going to be arriving. Havok remained standing, but stood behind his seat in preparation for this grand meeting. He too had his eyes focused on the portal; having only met the Jacks in previous meetings during his thirteen years as a Royal, all he knew of their other Royals were their names. He was curious to see what the leaders of the other kingdoms were made up of, and who their allies were.

    Finally, they were all assembling in the Grand Hall..

 

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?
COMMANDER | THE JACKAL
LOCATION:
JOKER'S BASE​
[/div]
ISAIAH D'ANGELO -
Isaiah was, as per usual, in the midst of eating when Captain Akio finally found him. His constant appetite was no secret amongst his Jokers, as was the fact that it did absolutely nothing to help add some needed weight to his rangy build, seemingly made of only bone, sinewy muscle and raw energy. Needless to say, it wasn't all too becoming of a commander to be found lying in crumbs by one of his captains, cheeks stuffed with bread as he was steadily (but enthusiastically) losing at the boardgame he was playing with a few others who had similarly escaped the panicked rush of preparations.

He'd heard him coming long before the door was promptly opened yet didn't look up, instead surreptitiously brushing away the bread and making a last move of the tiles. Akio cleared his throat, giving a cursory nod of acknowledgement.

"Commander," he began, voice clipped, pragmatic. "You've been issued orders to begin mobili-"

"S'bout damn time."

He was swiftly interrupted as Isaiah slipped from the table, silhouetted against the light of the gas lamp, cracking his joints with a stretch and yawning wide. He met his gaze, grinning in what was more a display of teeth that pleasure, gleaming white against shadow as he retrieved his shotgun from where it rested on the table, and any rising scorn that Akio may have felt melted instantly from his face.

"Great delivery, really, but you know what? I think I'll actually go see her."

Isaiah slung it over the shoulder, slapping the captain on the chest in a friendly gesture as he swept by and out of the room, oblivious as to how he was rocked back from the casual strength of it. The ex-Heart turned, mouth opening to speak, but he was gone - in his place, only a glimpse of a black plume of a tail, passing out into the darkness of the hallway.

♤♧♡♢​

Black paws on long, elegant legs made little sound as the Jackal trotted lightly through the maze of corridors and towards the heart of the complex. He could feel the anticipation beginning to build in his chest. His feet had been itching for a while now, but it wasn't exactly the same as it used to be; their actions, though still the same in effect, felt more weighted now, more pressing, as if in premonition of something - he could damn near smell it - but he just didn't know of what. So yeah, he was a little twitchy right now. Perhaps this new assignment would take the edge off. He hoped so, at least.

He emerged into the half-light of the office, plush red-gold fur a dash of colour against the cold, metallic glint of the walls, making his way over to one of the chairs. A small spring was made, but before paw could touch seat, the jackal was gone. Isaiah sat there, legs already crossed, already smiling towards Aquila in that small moment of silence.

"Hey Danny," he greeted, though didn't turn to look. "Ah, supreme Leader. I got your message. Most of it, at least, but I figured. Not appreciating the messenger being Akio, though. He's just dry. I genuinely hate his voice. But yeah, I'll see to the Jacks immediately. In fact, I'll go with them myself, but I'm going to need some ploy if - but more like when - this situation escalates while we're gone. No thanks to that Crone woman. So - do we take the chance, if it arises? To make a strike at the royals while they're together? Even the parts of the Kingdom they've left unguarded?"

There was a pause as his brow quirked, scenarios already flicking quickly though his head. Somehow, still, the strange feeling of earlier lingered.

"..Or do we still wait on them?"

OOC: eyy just sneak in here. I'm pretty sure I've fixed up most of the CS now (also wow since the Jokers have only been around a year he's a lil' younger too) so I'll start looking at the relations in a bit :v the pic has a hover-over for location in case that's been missed ♡
MENTIONS: santialessio santialessio
 
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Wild Card - Aquila Herrera - Leader of the Jokers​

Isaiah had always known how to strike a chord with Aquila. Aside from a lack of control, her primary pet-peeve was waiting. The idea of waiting on royals no less made her angry. She got up from her chair behind the desk and moved in front of it. She leaned against it as she looked at the jackal with a glint of excitement in her eyes. He had just spurred an idea within her. That was why he was her most trusted commander.

"Akio, however dry, is efficient in completing tasks," Aquila said. She picked up a small trinket off of her desk and began playing with it with her hands. Moving her hands always helped her think. "Crone has always been a bit...flimsy in her alliance to us, but nevertheless she has provided us with quite a bit. Among our recent acquisitions are a few things I think you might be excited about."

She put down the trinket on her desk and moved over to one of the crates sitting on the floor. It was sealed shut. Normally, Aquila would just use a crowbar, but in favor of efficiency, she simply willed the box open with her telepathy. Inside sat several sticks of dynamite.

"Normally these would be impactful enough, but I rigged them so that they carry even more of a punch," Aquila said. "I was going to hold out on using them, but with all the royals gathered, this could be our opportunity to strike their homes. They wouldn't expect it. We almost always strike the heart of Four Suits."

She gestured for Isaiah to come over to the box. "This could be exactly what you desire."
 
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Location: Central Four suits palace

aph_fan_art_china_by_jiuge-d315ur2.jpg Dakki walked in the direction of the Four suits central palace at a decently slow pace. He was still thinking about what he was going to say and do in this meeting. After all he was still relatively new to the position. Finally he seemed to have found the words or he decided his slow pace wasn't fast enough anymore. Either way he took off in the direction he was already heading. He waited until he was clear of any passerby's before he broke the sound barrier, Being careful to keep his footfalls gentle so he didnt crush up the road. Yet even at his jogging speed it took him nearly 7 minutes to arrive at the palace gates. Normally the oak doors were guarded by a team of soldiers. Today however There were only two guards around the door. Though they werent needed, after all the most powerful mages in all the world were gathering here. Only a fool or a fanatic would try anything here. After he presented them his letter they let him in. He was unsurprised to find William had beat him there with several royals in tote, Not to mention Quillion and his Jack Havok. Dakki couldnt help but feel excited at all the power that currently sat in this room, though he suppressed it as with everything else only adressing the room with a Slight bow followed by "Hello my friends."

Hearts Kingdom- Xiao family residence.

95ecab2587b45d275eb7e4dd6b4020aa--digital-illustration-art-illustrations.jpg A bead of sweat trickled up his face from his chin to his brow. The rope around his ankles held him upsidedown from the large tree in the estates back yard. In his left hand his sword was held loosely, his right was tied behind his back. Having finally caught his breath he cut the rope to his left which was connected to several pulley systems. One by one crossbows would emerge from the bush and fire a bolt, he would swat it aside and do a upsidedown sit up, dropping down just in time to repeat the process. On the fourth bolt however he move a bit too slow and only caught the tail end of it. The Head grazed his ribs and he sucked his teeth in pain and anger. Rising quickly he cut the rope holing him and dropped handspringing out of the way of the next two bolts. "hmm Guess i still need more practice." he said as he cut the rope around his ankles and went inside to find some gauze and balm for his new wound.


The Four Suits palace.
the_witch_lilith_by_pascaldejong-d8e0gb0.jpg The nervous King of Spades paced back and forth in her office as she went over the report from Fort Gantry. It was a travesty. Over 600 men were stationed at that fort, 4 came back and 1 might not even make it through the night. Her head cocked to the side as she felt a huge surge of magic, followed shortly by another spike with several other masses of magic peppered in there. The Aces and Royals were arriving which ment her time to figure out what to do next was quickly drawing short. She gathered the last of her reports and made her way to the briefing room. Yet she paused at the door. Here she was about to call the Aces into battle. Things such as this hadnt happened in almost 600 years. The gravity of such a decision was bearing heavily on her. this has to be done. she though to herself before entering the room and setting the documents on her desk before sitting down.


Meanwhile at the Jokers hideout.

old_woman_by_zhenilex-d6sub4h.jpg The Base seemed to grow eerily Cold just for a moment and the various lights flickered, wether made by bulb or by candle. Anita then rose shakily from a chair in a poorly lit corner as if she had been there all along. "Is it always wise for one to get their desire? Perhaps, but perhaps sometimes ones Pursuit outpaces their abilities." she gave a warm smile, yet it would comfort no one. "But perhaps your desires may be within your reach." she added as she held out an envelope that one could not tell she was holding before. "You seek Something Big? Something to keep strike at the heart of this kingdom? Follow these coordinates, meet with my friend he will give you what you seek but it must be tonight before the moon reaches her greatest height." she continued to hold out the envelope yet with a hand far to steady for one her apparent age.
santialessio santialessio Plutoni Plutoni Kloudy Kloudy SentinelSevn SentinelSevn TPBx TPBx Dante Verren Dante Verren Revna Eris Revna Eris​
 
Emiya Shirou, Queen of Diamonds
Location: Grand Hall

Emiya followed his Ace into the portal leading to the meeting hall where everyone was to convene. It seemed William was very accustomed to the room, and he found his place very quickly, but Emiya had no idea what to do. He took a step aside and propped himself up against the wall, summoning Bakuya to his side. Emiya then proceeded to perform different tricks with the replicated artifact, twirling it around masterfully having been practiced for hours at it. He tosses it up in the air and lets it spin before catching it by the handle and letting it dissipate into bits of dust as the magic faded away after noticing some quarreling down the hall. Shirou smugly noticed the duo of Spades rolling into the Grand Hall, so he decided to stop his antics for a bit.

They were also met with the King of Spades who had just shown up as well. Her elegance and attractiveness took Emiya off guard for a second as she seemingly demanded his entire attention to her, but that moment slipped away as he returned to his former self, relaxing into what seemed to be his designated chair among the rest at the table. He kept his attention towards the others he was not necessarily as familiar with in comparison to William, Bered, and the rest of the Diamond Royalty.

SentinelSevn SentinelSevn Kloudy Kloudy Agent23 Agent23
 
Sarane frowned and sighed shaking her head slightly not liking having no say in going with the Ace. She did however agree with him on what he'd said. They didn't have a choice in this, war was war and it was to be treated as such no matter what.

'Why us?..' She wondered. 'What will happen in the end of all of this? What's the real point? To keep chaos and disorder?' Sarane had always been one for a more pacifistic way of living, only taking upon violence when she had to. However, and she knew this just as much as anyone else, that this war... What this was coming to. It was ultimately inevitable, and Sarane knew why.

No one is exactly the same, there's always going to be one person that deviates from the pack. Nothing could change that, and she knew it. She just wished that it hadn't led to this of all things.

Internally her mind screamed to do something less violent, but she knew that at this stage there was no going back. She finally followed keeping her cold, calm demeanor, and mentally was already coming up with an excuse as to why she was 'delayed'.

Agent23 Agent23 Kloudy Kloudy Dante Verren Dante Verren TPBx TPBx
 
The Ace of Diamonds
5733501_orig.png

A flash of bright blue was all that filled his vision as William traversed his portal and his surroundings snapped into something entirely different altogether. Taking a moment to stare ahead, he noticed the Ace of Spades and his Jack were already present. The call had come from the Spades' anyway, it made sense if they were to be the first to arrive, although he would have assumed the King of Spades would already be present. William never had to worry about being late, mainly due to his convenient power of being able to be anywhere he'd been before in an instant. Such was the power of an Ace. He glanced around just as the Ace and King of Spades arrived, surveying the meeting room with disinterested eyes as he spoke to Sarane, loud enough for the Spades and Hearts across the room to hear.

"We are the disgraced byproducts of the Argossian Empire's failure to maintain control of their own people. Of course it's us. Their only goal is to reclaim what they believe they own, to finally erase the last reminder of their weakness. This is a war of regret, a joke."

William leaned his head to the side to stare at Sarane out the side of one eye, his dull expression seeming more deadly serious than before. If one had to put a label on it, Sarane was glimpsing at the inner repressed rage of pure frosty fury that resided in William as Darigaas resided in Dakki. His eye took on a icy blue glow and the temperature around them once again dropped by a couple of degrees.

"However. The punchline this time is the ruin of a once-glorious empire..."

There was a pause as an ominous overtone bore down on the scene in the meeting room, the passing cold chill being more metaphorical than physical this time. Finished with the explanation, William walked over to his 'standing position' in the Diamonds' corner and waited, arms folded and expressionless features impassively scanning the room for discrepancies. The other Aces and royals shouldn't take long to arrive, nor his King and Jack given the portal he had set up for them. In fact, the only one William suspected of truancy was Daz, the Ace of Clubs. That man was probably drunk in a tavern somewhere, making a mockery of himself with the local women and generally giving Aces a bad name. The thought genuinely made William's mouth curl in disgust, a rare occurrence under any circumstance. Truly, Daz had some talent in drawing the Ace of Diamonds' ire. He should hope it didn't cause problems for him later on down the line.

Agent23 Agent23 Revna Eris Revna Eris Dante Verren Dante Verren TPBx TPBx SentinelSevn SentinelSevn
 
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Wild Card - Aquila Herrera - Leader of the Jokers​
Aquila looked up at the aging woman hesitantly. The envelope in her hand. Could it really provide the jokers with their ominous desire? However, there were pressing matters to attend to. For example: How had the Crone entered their hide-out so easily. Aquila reached for the telephone that sat on her desk. It was connected to the front desk of their hide-out, which fronted as an antiques shop on the brink of the Four Suits capital. Only after heading past several secret doors and armed security guards could one find their way to the staircase leading down to the subterranean headquarters.

"Is this Private Elio?" Aquila asked.

"No," replied a raspy, male voice shyly. "He, um, died a couple days ago. One of the three casualties against the Clubs."

"Figures," Aquila muttered under her breath. She had wanted none of her sentries to depart for the attack, but she had been told a couple went out of confusion. Elio was a competent guardsman. Of course, it was always difficult to expect the Crone, but rarely could she sit in Aquila's office without the her noticing. "Make sure to keep your eyes peeled. Did any...suspicious characters come through today?"

"Just a couple of old ladies," the young private responded.

Aquila quickly hung up. It was things like that that kept her on the edge of her seat, constantly. When you ran a fringe organization, it became difficult to filter recruits. Once they were in your headquarters, they became impossible to fire without murdering them entirely and as heartless as Aquila was, she knew it was unwise to leave behind a trail of blood.

She turned back to the older woman with the coordinates in hand. She slowly grabbed for the envelope and held it in her hand. After memorizing them quickly, she handed the envelope to Isaiah.

"How can we trust your friend, Anita?"
 
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Central Four suits Palace

the_witch_lilith_by_pascaldejong-d8e0gb0.jpg When William spoke Mindy couldnt help but smirk a bit. The Ace wasn't wrong The Argossians had never faced the might of an ace. She bet that between Just Dakki & William they could regain air superiority, and that was not even factoring in herself yet. She gathered her documents and separated them handing one to each royal and ace already in the room. The Documents went over The full report. Flying metal Birds which dropped balls of fire upon the armies. The vehichles were faster than anything the argossians had ever brought to the table. 556 soldiers lost their lives, the single largest loss of Military personnel since the great war. Perhaps some were captured but nonetheless in 1200 years never had the argossians been able to drop a bunker. "My fellow royals and Aces of the four suits. Thank you for coming on such short notice. Before you is the full report of what we are dealing with. I wish i could give it to you straight from the source but the brave soul who brought us this information might not be alive tomorrow so forgive his absence." her eyes scanned the room the faint glow emanating from them seeming to bore into the souls of all they laid upon. They hovered for a second at the Queen of Diamonds, He seemed to have found something about her striking and she wondered for a moment if she had something on her face. Perhaps it was simply "the glow". Nonetheless she continued. "We must do something about this. If this becomes a trend then the Argossians will wipe us out in under a year. We don't have all the details, nor a plan. I am open to suggestions." finally she sat. She was flustered, overwhelmed even. This was the largest fail in the history of the four suits and it happened under her reign. Granted there wasnt much she couldve done she still felt the weight of responsibility, and it showed by the look in her face.

aph_fan_art_china_by_jiuge-d315ur2.jpg Dakki listened to william with a look of adoration. His words were poetic yet tough sounding and intellectual at the same time. He wished that he had such oratory abilities, but his skills lied elsewhere. Once the file was set in front of him and he began to read he could feel his fury stirring a bit.
they need to be shown true devastation, their weapons are no match for our might boy...let me free and ill sh- dakki silenced he voice in his subconscious as the King of spades began her speech. Once she concluded he looked to the others to hear their suggestions before making his own.


Meanwhile at the Jokers HQ.
old_woman_by_zhenilex-d6sub4h.jpg Anita's Smile only widened "You Can't, that's the beauty of it. However with your power i doubt a lone Argossian man will pose much of a threat." She bowed slightly before turning and walking towards the shops back door. Her footfalls made no sound, and no wind was stirred by her motion. Whats more only he sound of a single door opening and closing would be heard. A check with the front desk would reveal that no one had seen her leave...

Spades Capital Military Infirmiry
Several minutes later

Anita watched the man sleep, his Reddish orange hair singed and charred in various places. The bandages nearly from head to toe. His breathing was ragged. He looked as if he would pass at any second now. Yet she leaned over him whispering in his ear. "Your work is not done yet Daryl Chambers, your destiny awaits, do not make it wait long." immediately after she finished this his breathing seemed to become less labored and she walked out of the infirmiry past the sleeping guard at the door, past the nurse sleeping halfway leaning on a gurney, the nurse sleeping at the front desk, even the janitor slept leaning on his mop. None stirred until the woman left when they did they carried on with their business as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened...​
 


  • tJI5YDK.jpg

    Ability:
    - Mental Manipulation
    - Limit Breaker

    Location:
    - Grand Hall, Four Suits Palace

    Interactions:
    - All Aces and Royals
    Quillon Downs
    32 || Male || Ace || Spades
    ♠️


    After being handed the documents, Quillon quickly scanned over the information held within the thick packet, and had his deepest fears brought to life. The connections he had made when resolving Havok's papers detailing the Spades' drop in economy were true, that the Spades were suffering heavy losses due to the increased casualties and destruction they were experiencing on the battlefield. What had brought him even deeper concern was that Havok seemed to have made the same connection almost immediately, and had turned around in his seat to give Quillon a wide-eyed look of shock.

    "We must do something about this. If this becomes a trend then the Argossians will wipe us out in under a year. We don't have all the details, nor a plan. I am open to suggestions."

    Quillon pushed himself off of his corner from the wall, and took a much closer position between the tables of the Spades and the Diamonds. He was the first to open his mouth, which would come as a surprise to most, considering he often chose to sit out of most political dealings. "You want a suggestion? I say, send me in." The moment those words left his mouth, he immediately felt a bitter taste on his tongue, like he was going to regret making himself an option. "It would be a simple task for me to infiltrate their country, and brainwash the minds of their soldiers. Better yet, find me one of their Commanders, and I'll turn their own forces against them. There is nothing more demoralizing for a country than treachery from within."

    He turned to face Mindy, the King of Spades, and glared down on her from her seated position. His eyes would glow a faint amber, visible only to the Royalty upon the Spades table, and she would hear a voice pierce through her racing thoughts. "You're demeanor isn't befitting of a king, Mindy. If you are going to just sit down looking unprepared, then don't do it in front of the other kings. Better yet, you shouldn't have summoned us Aces for this meeting.." Quillon would project to her, with his gestures of disappointment absolute, despite it simply being a projection of thoughts.

    He then turned his attention back towards the remainder of the audience, giving a curt nod in apology for the momentary silence. "As I was saying.. Yes, infiltration. Consider this.." He began to say, removing himself from his position on the sidelines and walking directly towards the center of the room, where he would become the center of attention. "An attack from within, and by their own forces, would infinitely remove the chance of us having any causalities. Post their own self-destruction, our forces would move in and clear up any remnant forces, as well as claiming any territory they currently possess. Simple execution, as long as the rest of you can keep them out of the Spades Kingdom while I work my way up their chain of command."

    His concluding statement ended with a scoff, as if he was testing the strength of his audience. Despite his suggestion, Quillon did manage to find a way to make his arrogance outshine the remainder of his speech. He circled from his position in the center, making sure to lock eyes with everyone in the room in proof of his own determination. As he made his way around towards Mindy yet again, he gave the audience a final shrug, as if it were just an idea for them to consider. "Your call." Quillon was quick to retreat back towards his corner of the room, re-positioning himself with his crossed arms and leaning posture that gave off the casual and lax vibe he took concerning the situation.

 

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?
COMMANDER | THE JACKAL
LOCATION:
JOKER'S BASE​
[/div]
ISAIAH D'ANGELO -
The strange, vaguely chemical smell in the air grew stronger as the crate was opened. He hopped up from his seat, suddenly intrigued, only moving partway across the room before a sudden shift in temperature stopped him dead. That should probably have been warning enough. But Isaiah still jumped back a good foot in the air as the Crone spoke, emerging from what was most definitely an empty corner, the pistol on his hip already half drawn. He bit back hard on a stream of curses as he retreated a few slow steps towards the desk, immediately trying to smooth himself with the appropriate nonchalance, though he couldn't help but grimace as he remembered how he'd referred to her only minutes before. Idiot. For someone with such incredibly acute senses, having them fooled so casually freaked him out to no end. The Crone herself freaked him out to no end. Isaiah ran an uneasy hand back through his hair. What could he even trust if not his senses?

He was already feeling far too high-strung that day for people to be messing with his mind like this. But Mrs. Lancaster was, apparently, back on her bullshit, and so the rest of them would just have to deal; their words moved around him as he eyed the envelope like it was no less than some venomous snake, practically ready to shoot it out of Aquila's hand should it prove to be so. He still took it cautiously. Just coordinates?

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when she finally left the room. Seemed to, at least. He wouldn't put it past her to still be hanging about somewhere weird. His fists tightened as he quickly scanned the room, lightly crumpling where he held the paper.

"She freaks me out," he announced as he dropped back into his chair, satisfied that she'd probably gone for real, still smarting slightly from embarrassment. "I don't trust her, let alone her 'friend'. Nobody trustworthy has ever had business to be sneaking around like that. I bet she does it just for kicks. Also? I'm actually going to die of high blood pressure before I reach 23."

Isaiah huffed, re-reading the coordinates once more before tossing them to the desk. He folded his arms over his chest, subconsciously twisting a lock of hair around his finger, previous smile gone.

"So this is a change of plan. I'm pretty sure she was implying that you're the one to go this.. location, though. Right? Ugh. Both of us gone. But she said no later than tonight - do we even put the Jacks on hold for this?"
 
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