Deck: Evasion Jeu Name: Parasite Cullen is the King of Versailles. He and Dragon, the King of Nagasaki and various other Territories, are constantly at each other’s throats and trying to make the other submit. Cullen truly could care less about Dragon and his Territory challenges. He also doesn’t care about players, their ranks or their progress in Le Jeu. He himself, doesn’t consider his wins, Territory achievements or his title as a King, worth his time. Cullen is tolerating players, Dragon and the Trump Council. Cullen never wanted to go into Le Jeu and wouldn’t be a player if it wasn’t for his late wife, Monique. Monique was a high ranking player of Le Jeu when she met him in Outer World. She was a Queen and he was a bystander citizen who lived a simple quiet life as a French historian who occasionally went on walks with his Birman cat. Monique knew it was a bad idea to find a husband outside of Le Jeu, but she just couldn’t resist Cullen’s charm. She would go out into Outer World and disguise herself, just so she could see him. Eventually Monique worked up enough courage to go up to him and introduce herself and that’s all it took to win him over. Just a hello and a smile. In the beginning stages of their courtship, Monique didn’t reveal who she was or the secret life she lived as the Queen of Versailles. The closer they become, the more Cullen spoke about his deepest, darkest secrets. When Monique learned about Cullen’s past, his childhood and his former career as a realism artist at a private academy six years ago, she was speechless and a little disturbed to discover that Cullen wasn’t the gentlemen she perceived him to be at a distance. She learned all these disturbing details on their tenth date. On that tenth date, Cullen believed they were at a stage in their courtship as well as their friendship, that he could confess his past sins to Monique, in full detail. He revealed to her that he had dark, uncanny hobby. He had a passion for capturing the emotion of “fear” on the face of a person in the style of realism. Monique didn’t quite understand what realism was, so she asked him to explain it to her. Cullen was delighted to explain the process of realism and informed Monique that realism depict subjects in artwork with a high degree of accuracy and detail, focusing on everyday scenes and ordinary people or animals, essentially trying to represent the world as it is seen by the naked eye, without idealization or embellishment. Cullen didn’t want to capture just anything, he wanted to catch fear and bring that fear out on a canvas. He insisted that he could take anyone or any creature into a room, create a terrifying scene that would bring that fear out of his subject. Obviously, once he got a subject to display fear from a scene he created, the shock on the subject’s face would leave, so the way he “captured” a subject’s fear, was with video cameras. He set secret cameras up in the basement of his parent’s house that was reserved for his hobby. Cullen never warned his subjects he was going to scare them so badly they’d scream or scream or start crying. He led them to his house and didn’t say a word so the shock was real on his their faces. After he scared the people, the camera would record the scene and he’d pay them for their service of simply showing up and having such dramatic expressions. This method to lure his subjects and then frighten them came as a surprise to Monique considering what she knew about his upbringing. Cullen grew up in an agnostic home. His parents loved him, but he wasn’t close with them and choose to separate himself from his peers at school from an early age. He never attempted to make friends, invite people over or form a clique with boys or girls at school, because he saw people as potential targets for a future hobby of his. He made a rule for himself. Only invite subjects over—never companions. He was a realism artist as an adult, but as a boy he studied realism and didn’t paint until he was a teenager. During his freshman year Cullen did ask some of his peers to be his model of inspiration for him at his house, but only when his parents weren’t home. After graduation he got into college, obtained his bachelor’s degree in art and acquired all the required licenses and completed teacher preparation programs. After this milestone, he got a job at Inkwell Academy, a private institution in Versailles that specialized in training up artists of various fields. It was there Cullen took his hobby to a new level. He wasn’t sure where the dark urges came from and he didn’t bother to investigate into his mental health to find out. All he knew was, he liked the thought of murdering his subjects after capturing the fear on their faces. He had developed a photographic memory during his college years and used that talent when he lured what would now be called a victim rather than subject, to his personal residence off campus. He only went after students he knew no one would notice or miss. At least, not in the beginning. The artwork that Inkwell Academy had displayed in large displayed signs on campus, were his masterpieces. The school was so impressed with his pieces, they wanted to show their appreciation by showcasing Cullen’s masterpieces on campus. What Monique learned, that no one else to date discovered, was each man or woman in those paintings were his victims. And the horror expressions on their faces was what Cullen saw before he murdered them. Monique knew she shouldn’t have been disturbed by these revelations, but she was and she was a Queen in Le Jeu, so that said a lot. In some ways, Monique was relieved. If Cullen had that kind of past, then her present life in Le Jeu wouldn’t be issue or come off as a shock to Cullen. The realm of Le Jeu was bloody, scandalous, illegal, immoral and straight up demonic. Yet Cullen was sitting across from her on their tenth date, calmy retelling those stories like it wasn’t anything special. He never did tell her when he quit his job and resigned, but she was confident that he made his exit when the authorities got closer to learning who the serial killer was. Since Cullen didn’t bring it or share where had disposed of the bodies, Monique didn’t ask him. She did something better then pry for more information. She asked him to marry her and following her proposal, she slid a black rectangle card across the table that a gold frame with parasite head in the middle of the gold frame on the back of the card. Monique finally told Cullen who she was, what she did for living and formally invited Cullen to come home with her to her Territory base, marry her and become Deck Evasion’s King in Le Jeu. Cullen slowly reached out and took the card. He read the statement, weighed her offer and afterwards, met her hopeful gaze and nodded once. The smear in his smile was further confirmation he would become her husband and was fine being her King. Shortly after being introduced to the Trump Council and explaining his past in Outer World, the Trump Council approved of his application and welcomed him into Le Jeu. For a couple of months Cullen was happy and enjoyed helping Monique purge off players and take out Territories. The day she announced she was pregnant to him and their Deck, everyone was happy and were eagerly looking forward to the birth of their Queen’s child. A few days before the arrival of their daughter Béatrice, Monique fell under harsh conviction of the Holy Spirit for her lifestyle and her role in Le Jeu. Monique didn’t like this feeling and tried to run from Ruwah, someone she was familiar with because Monique use to know the Lord. Monique left the Lord and joined Le Jeu for personal reasons, but for whatever reason, Elohim used her pregnancy to get through to her. Ruwah visited Monique in her dreams, urging her to return to her, to repent and get out of Le Jeu. Ruwah’s last vision told Monique that if she didn’t get out, eventually, a player would come for her daughter and kill her, just to force Monique to surrender her Deck into their King. Monique woke from this dream, her body covered in sweat. Cullen rolled over and took her into his arms, asking what was wrong. Unable to resist the convictions and the future of their child, Monique told Cullen that the Lord had been visiting her and basically told her to stop sinning and leave Le Jeu and if she failed to listen, in the future a player would kill their child. This news angered Cullen. He oddly enough wasn’t angry at Elohim, but he was distraught at the thought of losing their child and this also made him realize, he didn’t deserve to be upset. Not when he had murdered so many people and taken daughters and sons from their families. Sensing this conflict in her husband, Monique caressed Cullen’s face with one hand while guiding his hand down to her swollen belly. She admitted she didn’t want to leave Le Jeu, but Béatrice didn’t deserve to die because of their fleshly desires and urgers. They could do better and needed to do better or face the consequences of their actions. With this in mind, both of them agreed to forge a plan to escape Le Jeu. When Béatrice was born, a shift happened inside them and it was undeniable that Elohim was chasing them, beseeching them to repent and do the right thing. Monique decided she would rise up and inform the Trump Council, who could relay the news to the Maîtresse that she wanted out and would not settle for killing people to earn an audience with the Maîtresse to have this request granted. Obviously, the Trump Council wanted a answer for what they labeled a breech in contract. Everyone who joins Le Jeu, surrenders their life to Maîtresse and is legally the Maîtresse’s property. Once you’re in Le Jeu, you’re in. You cannot leave unless the Maîtresse or the Trump Council allows it. In Monique’s case, they weren’t willing to let her go. She told them that Ruwah, the Holy Spirit told her that murdering people for pleasure and harming the temple of the Lord was a violation of their holy laws, a transgression and a capital offense to the Most High. Monique told the Trump Council she couldn’t handle the convictions anymore, that it was worse than anything they could do to her and if they wanted remain sick that was their choice, but she, Cullen and their daughter would not partake in the sickness anymore. Monique was met with silence and glaring and nothing more. She left the courtroom and returned home and told Cullen what happened and fully expected resistance and Jokers from the Trump Council’s Deck, Telvox, to come for her and then for him and their child. Cullen said he wasn’t going to let that happen and would protect her at all costs. Sadly, Monique was eliminated from Le Jeu shortly after her meeting with the Trump Council by none other than the Maîtresse. Clearly when the Trump Council relayed Monique’s message to the Maîtresse, it didn’t go over well. Cullen was away the day Monique was murdered in her home. When he returned home, several Numbers were dead. Monique’s First, Second and Third were dead and crucified on iron stakes that were blazing with fire outside in the front lawn of the mansion. The mansion, was in tact but windows has been broken and furniture had been thrown outside. The moment he opened the door, Monique’s head was flung at him. It was in bloody sack. He caught it, calmly held it between his hands as his eyes, full of anger and hot tears rested on the Maîtresse. The Maîtresse was holding his daughter, who was screaming loudly and crying uncontrollably. The Maîtresse went out of her way to inform Cullen that the Territory challenge was staged. She forced Dragon to start a war so he would leave the mansion. At first, Cullen believed Dragon was ignorant and didn’t know the Maîtresse was using him as a means to taunt him, but then the Maîtresse told him Dragon was told why he had to issue a Territory challenge. Dragon was told to keep the war going for seven hours so she could inflate Monique’s Territory base and do what needed to be done. Dragon was always a problem, but learning that he was in league with the Maîtresse officially made Cullen want nothing to do with Dragon. Dragon aside, Cullen agreed to remain in Le Jeu if the Maîtresse put his daughter down and didn’t harm her. The Maîtresse did as he asked and gently lowered Béatrice down to the floor. She added insult to injury, saying she had ordered the Numbers of Evasion to leave and find another Deck. If Cullen failed to build a new Deck in a year, she would return and dispose of him and his child. Cullen waited for her to make her exist through the busted window before rushing over to Béatrice. He set the head of deceased wife down before and gathering Béatrice into his arms. He shushed her, kissed her brow, struggling to quiet her screaming. Try as he might, he couldn’t hold back the tears. He let out the loudest yell his body could produce and screamed several times after, joining Béatrice, who continued to wail loudly in her father’s arms. He deserved this. Cullen truly believed he deserved this after everything he had done, but he couldn’t go there at the moment and inflict self-blame for his past sins. He focused on cleaning up the mansion, burying his beloved wife, their officers and tending to Béatrice. Cullen was able to build a Deck before the year ended and by doing so was able to keep his status as King. Béatrice grew up under his care and when she was older, he explained what happened to her mother and why Monique was leaving Le Jeu. Béatrice, the spinning image of her mother, was understanding and didn’t hold her father responsible for the death of her mother and to his shock, she wanted to finish what Monique started. She also wanted to serve the God that was bold enough to ask this of her mother, fully knowing it would cost her something. Cullen thought Béatrice would be angry with Ruwah or question why Elohim didn’t spare her, but Béatrice was not angry and she seemed to understand from their conversation that her mother was told by Ruwah to leave and if she didn’t a player would take her life and his. Yet, she remained with Cullen because Monique obeyed the spirit and was punished by evil for wanting to do good and for wanting to leave Le Jeu. Béatrice didn’t hold that to Elohim, it was the action of free will of those who hated their family for choosing to be better people. Her response humbled Cullen and although he was still hurt over the loss of his wife and struggled to be loyal to Elohim, it made his heart happy to see that Béatrice was understanding and so forgiving towards him and her mother. At his daughter’s request, Cullen devised a new plan to escape Le Jeu with Béatrice. A Jack overheard them discussing these plans and became worth against his King for attempting to leave Le Jeu a second time. Was the loss of Monique and coming home to slaughter of players not enough to make Cullen see reason? The Jack reported Cullen secretly to the Trump Council, who told the Maîtresse and once again, she went out to cause a diversion to keep Cullen distracted. At the time, he had 23 Territories under his control. She riled up the Kings and Queens of his surrounding Territories and forced them to attack them. Cullen rose up and went out to war again and while he was away, the Maîtresse took his daughter captive. She did not kill her off like Monique because Béatrice was far more useful alive. Cullen took several Numbers, Aces and Jokers with him and return home with no one. They all died trying to defend him and his Territories. He lost them and all the Territories except Versailles, the main Territory. Cullen came inside the mansion, went into his study and saw a letter on his desk. He read it and took a deep breath. He clenched his jaw and crumbled the letter then hurled int angrily into the fireplace where he watched it wilt and turn to ash. He looked up at the ceiling of the study and narrowed his eyes at the Lord, who he knew was listening and could see him from their throne in the heavens and said, “Let it be known, if I kill, I will kill in self-defense. I have not murdered or taken life in Le Jeu since Monique’s passing and in honor of her memory, my daughter and I were going to pick up where she and I left off. Now my child has been taken from me. Verily, Verily I say unto you, O Hashem, since the Maîtresse has taken something of importance of mine, I will take something of importance of her. Tell me, what is it I need to take that will ensure I will have an advantage and my child will live? What must I do? Please, Yahweh, Ruwah, Yeshua… have mercy on my soul and my situation. Twice now, my family has attempted to leave this realm of evil and do what is right, but behold. Lucifer and his Satans oppose me and use these people to keep me enslaved to Le Jeu. Hashem, shema, shema! What. Must. I. Do?” It was silent in the study for several minutes. Cullen shut his eyes and single tear rolled down his right cheek and just as he turned around to go collect his thoughts elsewhere, a still soft voice spoke audible and told him, “Le Jeu is based on tactical strategies. As you said, the Maîtresse has taken something of value that she thinks will give her an advantage and force you to stay. Under the pretense of warfare, go to her estate and take the mask. It is the mask that she wears that will give you relief. As long as you have her mask, she will not do anything to your daughter or to you. After you get the mask, you must wait for us to send more people who will serve as allies. Once all of you together and standing where you ought to be, then and only then, will you be able to leave Le Jeu. Just as we delivered the Hebrews out of the their bonds under Pharaoh, we will deliver you out of the bonds of Le Jeu. Keep the faith. Don’t stop praying, don’t stop seeking us because your situation is dire. We are with you and if we are for you, no one, not even the forces of Hell can prevail against you.” Cullen blinked and looked over his shoulder, almost expecting to see someone in the room with him, but there was no one behind him or beside him. Looking forward, Cullen cupped his chin and thought about what Elohim had said. He didn’t think the mask the Maîtresse wore was significant. He assumed it was for show or to show everyone she was elite and had something pretty to flaunt. Cullen really didn’t see how a mask would bring someone that powerful to their knees, but since he has nothing else to do, why not go and devise a plan to take the Maîtresse’s mask? At this point, there was nothing left for him to live for. His wife was dead, his daughter was stolen, out of his reach and he was low on Numbers and had no officers. He really should have rebuilt his Deck, but he didn’t do that. He left his study and mentally was thinking of a creative and stealthily way to obtain the Maîtresse’s mask. Once he had the mask in his possession, then he’d start recruiting players to his Deck and this time, no expanding, no conquering Territories. No matter how pressured him or came for him, he would not budge. If they wanted him, they would face him on his Territory, at his mansion and he would remind them why his Deck was called Evasion and why he chose the Le Jeu name Parasite. ⚡️ Fun Fact: Cullen Dillinger is the Christian version of Mark Jefferson from Life Is Strange.