Knave of Hearts

The Queen of Hearts had no idea where the man she later condemned as the ‘Knave’ came from. She didn’t care. He was one of many hundreds of K’Lethi Cultists who served her. Surely, she thought later, when he was one of her most steadfast courtiers and formidable warriors, he was drawn to her enchanting beauty, bewitching demeanor, and intoxicating mind and power. The truth was that the Knave was a survivor. He was one of countless thousands of orphans in Anhelt, who had fled the brutal nuns of a Church of Lumaya orphanage. He learned about the Cult of K’Leth on the streets of Arnoc, and that it promised so much more than the Church – immortality in this life, something a boy who had seen much death in his short existence could be easily tempted by. This desire saw the Knave endure the Cult’s brutalities, which he found were no better than the Church’s. Hardened from his previous experience, by scheme and by fist, he dragged himself from the bottom of the hierarchy to a lower-middle rank. With some degree of power and knowledge of how the Cult functioned, he knew he had to find a Knight Revenant to latch on to, one on the rise with allied Soul Shepherds, if he wanted to live forever. After years of unrewarded hard work, the Knave encountered one calling herself the Queen of Hearts. She was arrogant, boorish, and ambitious. A combination of overwhelming self assurance and beauty had given her a large following within a short period of time, and she was fabulously wealthy. The Queen was an unusual character in that she was indifferent to the desires of other Knights. Her temper was renowned and her impulsivity led her to give wild rewards and terrible punishments. If he played his cards right, the Knave thought, he might be awarded a great prize. He did that for years. The rewards came. Rank. Prestige. Fine armor. Beautiful weapons. The Knave found his Queen amusing for her ability to irritate other Knights Revenant, especially those who had spurned his desire for immortality. When the Queen blessed him with a soul gem and a new host body for his essence, his commitment to her was cemented. Here was a woman who acknowledged his work and loyalty. Whatever her scheme, he vowed, he would see it done as she desired. That was until the Queen declared to her court that she intended to broker an alliance with the Insect Lords of Durham or, if that failed, steal from them. She would gain their power and knowledge and use it to take the throne of Kaerok. The Knave was aghast. Like most people, he knew little of the Insect Lords. That was the problem. There was no predicting them. If they possessed such power as they were rumored, even he, the Queen, and her bizarre wizard-aide, the Mad Hatter, combined would be no match for them. He said as much, dropping to his knees on the chessboard-patterned floor of the Queen’s court, begging her to reconsider. He wished nothing more than for her to become Queen, but this was not the way. It was too dangerous. They could destroy everything she had built and if his devoted service had meant anything to her, she would surely heed his words. The Queen dismissed him with a roll of her eyes, called him ‘boring’, and laughed at him. The whole court joined in. The Knave had enough wherewithal to bow before he left, face ruby red with shame. The next day, he sent a missive by scarlet warbler to Durham Forest. The Mad Hatter – mad enough to be called mad, sane enough to know what he was doing – caught the Knave in the act. He was hauled before the Queen. She proclaimed him ‘Knave’ for his ‘betrayal’ and had him beheaded there and then. His corpse and wargear were then dumped outside the court in a waste heap. That night, a tide of scorpions, beetles, spiders, and centipedes crawled out of a nearby woodland and came to the Knave’s stinking remains. They carried his body, his head, and his wargear away. Over many days they traveled to the heart of Durham Forest, presenting their gift to their masters. The Insect Lords remade the Knave. They sewed his head to his body with life-giving web-weave. They affixed to his cuirass an enormous, heart-shaped gemstone made from the solidified, blessed venom of deathstalker scorpions, fire asps, and tigerweb spiders, blended with the enchanted secretions of deathcaps, which maintained the beating of his heart. Taking the Queen’s name for him, they declared him their Knave of Hearts – to be a thorn in the Queen’s side forever until death claimed her. He had true, independent immortality.