King in another world

Lady Elana Terradiva had changed since the day she read those scrolls.

She still smiled at court functions, still hosted teas for merchants’ wives and ambassadors’ daughters. But her eyes now scanned every room like she was counting exits—and threats.

She had lived her life playing their game.

Now she was rewriting the rules.

In the backrooms of the Broken Lantern Tavern, Terranus sat across from Lyra, their heads close, voices low. The tavern was rowdy enough to drown out any eavesdropping. Just how they liked it.

“You’re sure they’ll listen?” he asked.

Lyra sipped her drink. “Half the capital’s underpaid, overtaxed, or just plain pissed off. The guards? Bought. The spies? Tired of serving for scraps. The people? Starving for someone who sees them.”

Terranus leaned back. “Then it’s time.”

He pulled out five playing cards from his coat. Each was hand-cut from black parchment, etched in silver.

A joker. A fist. A dagger. A flame. A chain.

“I’m done playing by their rules,” he said. “From today forward, we become the game.”

The Five Fingers of the Joker weren’t just spies or informants. They were his ears, his voice, his invisible hand across Eldoria. Each “finger” had a role—deadly and specific:

The Thumb – Whisper
A mute former court jester turned message-runner. Knows every tunnel beneath the capital. Delivers coded messages with sleight of hand.

The Index – Ember
A disgraced city guard captain. Quick with a blade, quicker with a plan. Controls the slum enforcers and the border patrol leaks.

The Middle – Lockjaw
A locksmith, smuggler, and blackmailer. Owns half the underworld’s debt books. Keeps noble secrets like a vault.

The Ring – Mira Veil
A brothel madam with ears in every bed. Former maid to the Queen herself. Deals in pillow talk and poison.

The Pinky – Shade
No one’s sure if he’s real. Some say he’s a ghost. Others say he’s a boy with a burned face. But things disappear when the Pinky is near—documents, people, lives.

Each was loyal only to the Joker.

And only Terranus knew their real names.

The Joker’s Card

Lady Elana summoned her son that evening.

“You’ve been busy,” she said calmly.

Terranus didn’t deny it. “You read the scrolls. You know why.”

She poured wine into two cups. “They’ll see it as treason.”

“They saw our blood as treason before I could speak.”

A pause.

Then she raised her glass. “Then we play our hand.”

He smiled.

“Already dealt.”

Closing Scene – The First Operation

In the dead of night, a royal ledger went missing. It had proof of off-the-books taxes levied on southern territories—Lady Elana’s people.

By morning, a noble house that had mocked the Terradivas for years received a gift: a severed chain and a silver playing card.

The chain meant freedom is coming.

The card meant we know your sins.

The court laughed it off.

The streets? They whispered.

The Joker was real.

The estate in High Vale was surrounded by rolling green hills and endless blue skies. A quiet place. Peaceful. Honest. The kind of land that could make a man forget that vultures circled above the capital.

But not Terranus.

At eleven, he stood before his father and elder brother like a general delivering wartime intelligence.

Because that’s exactly what it was.

The Meeting in the War Room, the room had stone walls, dark oak furniture, and a map of Eldoria stretched across the center table. Lord Darius Terradiva, still tall and commanding, even with streaks of silver in his golden hair, sat at the head. Caelen, seventeen now and as sharp-eyed as their mother, leaned forward with arms crossed.

Terranus placed five scrolls on the table. Beside them: a single silver Joker card.

“Three years,” he said. “That’s how long I’ve spent watching, listening, building.”

Lord Darius raised a brow. “You’ve been playing spy in the capital?”

“I’ve been surviving,” Terranus said. “We all have. But now it’s time you both knew the full truth.”

The Bastard Bloodline: “Our line descends from a prince,” Terranus said, pointing to the old royal chart. “House Eldoria buried him, erased him—but not completely. We carry his blood. That’s why the court watches us like we’re wolves in silk.”

The Law of Obscura: “This isn’t just exile. It’s sabotage,” he continued. “No high court positions. No intermarriage. Surveillance. Strategic suppression. They’re afraid we’ll take what’s ours.”

Darius’s jaw clenched. Caelen’s fists tightened.

Corruption Ledgers: “Here,” Terranus tapped a list of names. “Nobles skimming taxes from southern lands. Your lands. We have the records. We’ve sent warnings. They laughed. But not for long.”

Underground Support: “The streets belong to us now. The people. The workers. The forgotten. They call me ‘The Joker’—and they trust me more than they do the Crown.”

Royal Surveillance: “And the best part?” he said with a bitter smile. “The King’s inner circle is aware. They’ve been watching me through Lyra’s cousin, one of his bastard sons. He’s subtle, but not as clever as he thinks.”

The Room Goes Still. Darius stood. “And what do you intend to do with all this… power, boy?”

Terranus met his gaze. No fear.

“Protect this family. Build something that lasts beyond titles. And make sure we never kneel again.”

Caelen stepped forward. “You’ve done what I couldn’t… I was too focused on the battlefield. I thought steel would earn us respect.”

Terranus smirked. “Steel makes them fear us. Secrets make them obey.”

They locked eyes.

Then Caelen did something unexpected.

He offered his hand.

“You’re not my rival, little brother,” he said. “You’re the dagger behind my shield.”

Terranus gripped it firmly. “And you’re the hammer that makes my plans real.”

Darius looked between his sons, something unreadable in his expression—pride? Fear? Hope?

Maybe all three.

“Then the time has come,” he said. “We stop waiting. The Terradiva name will rise—not through court favor, but through force, strategy… and unity.”

That night, the flames of the family forge burned high.

Terranus stood by the balcony, Lyra beside him. Below, Caelen drilled with the guards, and Lord Darius prepared letters sealed in wax.

“Everything changes now,” Lyra said softly.

Terranus nodded. “No more hiding.”

Behind him, his silver Joker card shimmered in the candlelight.