
Sultan's Game - Carnality
Break the cards and survive
Chapter 1
by GreenBean
You're still alive, after all this time.
When the Sultan first began the strange game with that magician you thought he would tire of it quickly.
The game was relatively simple. The magician, a strange woman whose slipped between smoke and people like snake, would draw a card and present it to the sultan. Each card was a challenge of your ranks, and of one of four fields.
The first field was bloodshed, and its answer was quite simple for the Sultan to find. And many courtiers find their own blood spilt to satisfy the whims of the sultan
The second field was extravagance, another answer that came readily to the Sultan. Many odd whims become odd demands, and strange parties and art soon housed in the palace.
The third field was conquest, which let the Sultan leave his halls, and break accords, armed with no more than a game's whim and the full might of his command.
And the last field was carnality, laying the women of his harem in increasingly debaucherously and public ways, and more than a few wives.
Each challenge was modified by its rank. Stone for smallest of scale and commonest people. Bronze for talents and potentials. Silver for gentry and geniuses (such as yourself). And lastly Gold, for realm of royalty and changer of fates.
The Sultan played this game over and over, exhausting the patience and bounty of his nation, and killing all naysayers, until you, a courtier of some acclaim raised his voice. Others have raised their voice before, all costing their lives, but the Sultan had become bored of the game. And in a fit of spiteful inspiration, made the proclamation:
You would play in his stead.
And if you failed to best the card in 7 days time, your **** would be equally entertaining.
He gave you one blessing to help you complete the game. So long as you acted to fulfill a card, your actions would be above the law.
And toil you have. You've betrayed friends, befriended enemies, slayed beasts, played proxy to other battles for power, thrown parties, and even subdue rebellion.
And.
Not once.
Not even one time did you draw the carnality cards.
Your wife understood, you had spoken of this plenty. If it was to save your life, she would endure the embarrassment. Volunteering herself to best a card if needed.
But not once yet.
You've been drawing every other card, logically only carnality can be drawn from here-on. Surely now...
Before you the magician awaits, for you to draw your new challenge.
*How this story works: this is largely a collection of shorter ifs. Meant to more focus on that specific choice and giving them a larger scene. You'll choose a card, and then be presented with a number of ways to specifically resolve that card. This does mean this particular story will be a shallow but wide river in terms of content. Many may make conflicting assumptions of what you've done to reach that point with that character.
What card do you draw?
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