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At the start of this particular story, three of the kings have arrived. The King of Spades has followed his star closely, only two steps behind her. The King of Diamonds sent two forward scouts, 4 Diamond and 5 Diamond. The King of Hearts shows up between the two scouts. The King of Diamonds himself follows this trio, with the assistant to the King of Hearts, 3 heart, scrambling behind to keep up with his beloved king. The Star of Spades rises into the sky and pulses brightly, inviting her king and her people to settle there.
Once the king establishes his home, his sister is revealed. The Queen of Spades is delighted to find both of her suitors nearby. Who does she love? Who will she choose to align herself and all of her people with? She must make a choice. She considers love. She considers wealth. She considers ruthless ambition. She considers peace.
To be clear, the King of Hearts is love. The King of Diamonds is wealth. Ruthless ambition could mean marrying wealth, because wealth is in a position of advantage over the beloved king, with his two scouts ready to either befriend or capture him. Kindness is peace. Neither king must become an adversary in this choice. In the end she chooses love, as so often happens.
The Spade Queen tries to convince her new husband, the Heart King, to occupy the space next to the Spade Land. They could be neighbors with her ancestral home. But the King of Hearts is reluctant to occupy the land. The other stars have not yet shown. He cannot stomach the idea that he may settle somewhere only to have it illuminated by someone else's star. He holds onto his Queen, and they vow together to roam until their star shines. The King of Diamonds is of the same mind. It is not so easy for a King to know where home is.
A young prince appears. The realms collectively hold their breath. He is a prince of Diamonds. It seems both kings must now become adversaries to the Queen of Spades. In the midst of the brewing chaos a second Queen arrives. She is the first of her people. She proposes an idea to the bickering trio.
The idea is controversial. She proposes a divorce between the King of Hearts and the Queen of Spades. The King of Diamonds marries the Queen of Spades and raises his own blood prince. The Queen of Clubs herself will then marry the King of Hearts, and they will rule alongside each other as partners and friends.
The realms are outraged. They want war. The Queen of Spades finally admits that she is in favor of the idea. Though it pains her, she realizes that she forsook love long ago, and that her flirtation with wealth was but a portion of her want for it. She leaves her beloved king, and hopes she made the right choice for the sake of her son.
The King of Hearts marries the Queen of Clubs, exactly as she proposed.
A star pulses in the sky above the land, claiming the open realm for her people. Clubs. Her king is still nowhere to be seen.
Another prince. The Prince of Hearts. He sleeps peacefully under the watch of his beloved father. He sleeps soundly in the strong arms of his mother.
The scout 5 Diamond has found a suitable wife in the 4 of spades.
The ten of spades has been born to the Diamond-Spade family. The conflict and tension have begun to cool, hardening into a clear line of rivalry. For now there is peace, but the people vow not to intermingle.
The days crawl past. Everyone in the realm is waiting for the King of Clubs to claim his birthright. He does not show. The people search. There are vast expanses, unexplored, that he may be camped in. Nobody has what it takes to go find him. He must come forth.
He does not.
The people grow desperate. The only way to move forward is for someone to occupy the Club Land. There is nowhere else to go. Boldly, the Queen of Clubs stands. I will go, she says, I will go with my husband and pray for my brother's arrival. I will steward the land, and hope that my husband's star comes at the right time.
It is now that the Beloved King is granted a vision.
He sees the Heart-Club family move into the Club Realm. With their backs to the camp they departed, they do not see their star, the Heart Star, rises from the ashes of their own campfire. It settles one step behind them before pulsing bright in the sky. They turn to it with wonder, shocked. It had been there all this time. But now it has settled over the camp led by 4 Diamond, and she stubbornly refuses to give up her watch. She has nowhere else to go. The land begins to wither until eventually all of the stars fade out and famine strikes the land.
This vision troubles the Beloved King. He refuses to move into the Club realm. There must be another way forward. Before his queen manages to convince him, that other way presents itself. Some lower scouts, 3's and 4's and 5's, form an alliance against the rival lines that have been drawn. A heart 3 is branded a traitor by the people and they demand retribution. Still the Heart King is unmoved. He realizes that an alliance is what the kingdom needs. The scouts are not in power, they will not be causing a disruption as mentioned in some history books. This break in rivalry will not put the realms at risk. 3 Heart leaves their camp, leaving 10 Club in charge.
The beloved prince is enamored with the 10 of clubs. He proposes marriage as soon as she finally notices him. She accepts. The 8 of Clubs takes over the camp as 10 Club departs to be with her love.
The Queen of Clubs has not yet given up on her idea. She continues to plead with her husband. The Club Kingdom is as much her birthright as her brother. But the Beloved King cannot shake his vision. He knows of the pact between the 3 of Hearts and the family of the woman who shattered his heart. He does not answer his people's calls for justice. For through his vision he has been shown the truth. He knows he makes camp in the Diamond realm, as it his own star is destined to be over the neighboring realm. He knows own star shines brightly in his back pocket. And he knows that one of the obscured figures in his own camp is the 3 of Diamonds. An even exchange has been made. A three for a three. And these threes won't be enough to save the realms from the drought that threatens them.
The Beloved King troubles over this information day and night. He knows what happens if he gives into his wife. The stars will die out. He sees only one option remaining, and he knows not how it ends. He doesn't trust his wife to hear him out about his vision. He doesn't trust the Queen of Spades to agree to meet him. He doesn't trust the King of Diamonds to believe this idea isn't a trick to entrap them in all out war, to try to kill him. So he arranges to meet with the King of Spades, the only party he thinks might believe him.
The King of Diamonds must move into the Club Land, he tells the King of Spades. You must convince your sister to do it.
The King of Spades only laughs. What, he says, am I supposed to tell her it's akin to coming home? His tone is mocking, but after a long pause his expression grows serious. I suppose it would be, the Spade King muses, after all it was we who founded the second camp. And now it lies empty, going to waste. And I shall have your word you will not come to war?
The King of Hearts nods solemnly. You have my word, he promises.
And so the King of Spades addresses the people of all the realms. In the hopes to bring forth other stars and bring the land out of drought, The King of Diamonds should inherit the Club Land. The Queen of Clubs is outraged.
She turns to her husband. How can you bear it, she asks him with hot tears on her face. She calls the council together. Tell them, she says to the Beloved King, tell them it's war.
No, the Beloved King says, it must be this way. He begins to tell her of his vision.
She does not hear him. It's her birthright, and her husband still yields to his first love. Still he smiles in the face of her newest betrayal. She rants and she paces and she raves. The beloved King does not yield.
The King of Diamonds packs up his camp and moves into the Club Lands. Unbeknownst to them, they are being trailed by a hopeful Queen. She sneaks past the Diamond-Spade camp and requests an audience with the King of Spades. She hopes that a union between them will bring peace. Together they could mend what their siblings had broken.
The kingdom is shocked at the union between the King of Spades and the Queen of Hearts. Quickly a new prince Jack Spade springs up, eager to represent his kingdom. He marries the 10 of Diamonds, effectively ending the years-long divide between all the suits. The 9 of Spades follows immediately thereafter.
The 7 of Hearts allies with the 8 of Clubs. They are joined by the 6 of Club, who invites 5 Diamond and co. back to the camp where 3 Heart started to work the land, and they live together.
The 9 of Hearts is born to Jack Heart and 10 Club. 8 Diamond is born, sister to 9 Spade.
The Beloved King is impressed with the ethic and cooperation of the group in the far camp. He sends a message to their leader, 8 Club, inviting them to join his camp. It's not a permanent home, he tells them, but I believe that no matter where we stand we will achieve greatness. 8 Club and the camp agree. The Beloved King reveals to them his vision and even manages to convince his queen that through peace and cooperation they can keep the stars shining bright.
In the interest of recognizing this peace, the Queen of Clubs sends a diplomat to the Spade Lands, the 7 of Clubs. He is welcomed warmly. He brings with him a wife, the 6 of Diamonds.
The sky begins to darken. The Spade Star is eclipsed. All marvel at the sky at a second object that appears and begins to enter a mutual orbit with the Spade Star in a beautiful harmony.
A new star then begins to rise. The Beloved King feels his heart sink. His own star, he knows, is still in his pocket. It cannot rise until he moves. He sees now the error of his ways. Had they ventured out at the first opportunity, their star would have settled above them. It is far too late. He had thought that if he remained patient, he could go home and his own star would follow, blessing him and his people. He was wrong. And now, the land where he had envisioned all of his dreams lay shining brightly underneath the Diamond Star.
Stars. Within moments there are two stars in the Diamond sky, just as there are now two stars in the Spade sky.
The King of Hearts prepares his people. We go to the sixth camp, he declares. Confusion ripples through the ranks. The Beloved King continues. The land there is empty, and we will not falter, he says. As we depart this fourth camp, our star will rise. Then we can return home to it. The confusion does not lift. If we are already home, the people cry, why must we leave?
The King points to the three shrouded figures behind him. One of them is their star, and she cannot rise from underneath them.
Reluctantly, and only after much convincing, the people go. As promised, their star rises. They rejoice, their trust in their king restored.
When the 3 of Diamonds emerges from where the star departed, there is a brief outrage. The King of Hearts only smiles. He knows now what will happen. The 3 of Diamonds is to be called home. The 3 rises into the sky, joining the two stars shining over the Diamond Land.
From the Diamond Land itself, the 4 of Diamonds follows. In the Heart land, now only the 5 of Hearts remains. The 4 of Spades and 3 of Hearts run to him. They bid farewell to the dear 5 Diamond as he rises into the sky, bringing 5 Heart home to the now empty space. Five stars shine over the Diamond Land.
The Beloved King takes his family home.
The Diamond King follows this example. He cannot yet go home, but he believes that if he leaves the Club Lands, the Club King with finally come forth to claim it.
The King of Hearts has another vision. Though brief, he catches a glimpse of the King of Clubs. He goes to his wife, and together they begin to pray. The King is not yet born, but there is a ritual that will upend the cycle to bring him forth. Instead of rotations of three, they can bring it to one. And then he will show from the in-between. There are few souls left in the cycle, he tells her, and so we won't be bringing chaos to the unborn. It is time.
And so the ritual is performed. The 9 of Clubs is brought forth and cared for by the 10 of Hearts. And then the King, the Long-Awaited, comes forth and steps directly into his destined homeland.
The 5 of Spades comes forth to 7 Spade and 6 Heart. 9 Diamond comes forth. 8 Heart comes forth. 7 Spade moves to join 8 Heart and the camp he departs is taken over by Jack Club, who invites 10 Heart and co. to join him.
A second star rises in the Club Sky, then a third, then a fourth.
A second star rises in the Heart sky, and the Diamond-Spade family finally journeys home.
8 Spade joins 9 Diamond. The Queen of Diamonds now reveals herself in the furthest camp where she was born, and goes to meet her king in the Club Lands.
The Club Prince follows her from his own camp. The King and Queen are much too young to begin their rule, so he will act as regent until they come of age. He has spent years already gaining his people's trust as leader of the fifth camp, and nobody argues his worthiness, though many doubt how he came to be before the King and Queen. Perhaps the Beloved King's magics did induce too much chaos into the cycle. But it causes no harm.
Third stars rise in both the Spade Land and the Heart Land.
A fifth star rises in the Club Land.
The last three souls from the cycle are brought forth and the land is fruitful and at peace. The first four camps are filled with happy, proud people. The further three camps grow into beautiful wilds, as sown by those who once dwelled there. Slowly, all the people rise until the sky is full of stars shining brightly together, and the land sings.
The End.