Written and Illustrated by Shivani Matlapudi
In the late 15th century, the suit hierarchy dominated the ancient French Deck Kingdom. Every person in the kingdom belonged to a certain suit and this suit represented their power. Out of the four suits, the spades were the most powerful, followed by the hearts, the diamonds, and lastly, the clubs. This hierarchy was like a caste system, sometimes creating communities, and other times, causing conflicts.
The King of Hearts and Queen of diamonds ruled over the kingdom and had inherited a lot of wealth. The king treated the kingdom’s knight, Jack, as his own son. But Jack knew that he would never be declared as their successor or be granted a share of their wealth. He felt the need to gain more power in order to be treated equally.
One day the Jack of Clubs received a letter from an anonymous member of the Spade community. The letter said- "If you long for power then I can make you the most powerful person in the kingdom. Just submit your suit at the spade house after the sun sets.” Jack jumped at the offer and decided to go to the house of spades.
Meanwhile, at the kingdom, the queen of diamonds was jealous. Though she was a member of the royal family, she felt like the king did not treat her equally. The hearts were more powerful than the diamonds, thus the king often taunted her for being inferior to him. Infuriated with this ill-treatment, she longed for revenge.
The queen of diamonds also received a letter from an anonymous member of the spade community. The letter said- "If you long for power then I can make you the most powerful person in the kingdom. Just submit your suit at the spade house after the sun sets.” The queen was tempted to accept the proposition. She wanted the king to understand what oppression feels like.
The King of Hearts noticed a shift in the Queen's and Jack's behavior. He figured out the reason behind this only after also receiving a similar letter. The letter said- "The queen of diamonds and the jack of clubs are thirsting for more power and wish to take control of the throne. If you wish to retain your power, you must submit your suit at the spade house after the sunsets.
The King, Queen, and Jack make false excuses and secretly go to the spade castle alone that night. All of them enter the castle from different entries, but eventually, they run into each other in the grand hall. They notice a man sitting on the throne of spades. The man tells each of them to hand over their suits to him in exchange for power.
The ones who give up their suit will receive what they most desire. Instantly all three of them release their power, chanting spells and sparks fly from their bodies.
The mysterious man steps forward, revealing his identity. He was the 1 of spades, the person with the least amount of power from the spade community. With his cunning wit, he managed to fool all the other members to surrender their suits and absorb all of their power.
With this newly acquired power, he transforms himself into the ‘Ace of Spades’. He becomes the most powerful person in the French deck kingdom. 'The Rise' is a narrative about how greed is the ultimate destruction of everything and does no benefit to anyone. Power keeps evolving, chasing it does no good. Then why did Ace benefit from this? Confused? You'll never know what you don't know.
In the kingdom of French decks, two mysterious men are sneakily spying on the kingdom from the other side.
While the king and queen boast about themselves in front of Jack, the mysterious man is seen hiding behind the pillars overhearing their conversation.
As Jack reads the letter he received from one of spades, the mysterious man is found stalking him.
The king and queen are quarreling about status and power, now the mysterious man peeks through the doorway and puts on his invisibility cloak and walks around listening to them