Deck: Mirage
Jeu Name: Zebra
Scânteie is the Joker of Perpignan and a very a complex person living a double life in ways that makes most masterminds blush. Even before she found herself mixed up in Le Jeu, Scânteie was a woman of two extremes, but after her public humiliation and being confronted by her Rhizome, she became lukewarm and undecided of who she should truly align with spiritually and physically. She eventually became everything the other races feared. Dangerous. Untrustworthy. Crooked. Selfish. Wayward. Conniving. How had everything come to this? How had she, a soft spoken, gentle woman of powerful faith, bowed to the lies of her enemies and turned into the very representation she didn’t want to become?
Once upon a time, Scânteie was a devout and sincere follower of the Trigonous (Griffin/Chalice/Avri Tryst) and preached the Good News. She gained a strong following and traveled across Belrion, witnessing for Trigonous without remorse. Despite that her Rhizome was single handedly responsible for the tragic events of the Tower Of Flyaría (formally referred to as the TOF Incident), she didn’t let her Rhizome’s action define her as a person or dictate her joy. Geines, like many races in the Gores Solar System, can live to be several thousands years old. Decades passed and Scânteie faced extreme bais wherever she went.
All of this unhinged prejudice against the Genie race was a direct result of the TOF Incident and even though countless Rhizomes explained to their kin that the Genies were not the the issue and it was simply Yaso Fe’Lawn’s fault for the calamity that came after the TOF Incident, many of the races refused this correction from their Rhizomes and continued to resent the Genies and blamed them for the downfall of their good standing with Trigonous. Truthfully, Trigonous only held Yaso Fe’Lawn, the Genie’s Rhizome and those who he convinced to defy their holy order and laws at fault. The Trigonous did not punish or chastise not anyone of any race that made up Humanity who wasn’t involved with the the TOF Incident. Even with this truth being preached by Scânteie and her followers, the people on her home planet Belrion wouldn’t listen and declared Genies as taboo.
As more time past, Genies inherited what societies labeled a Scarlet Letter. Meaning, a Genie, man, woman, young or old, could never be trusted and were greedy, selfish people who were only out for themselves and would use other people and other people’s talents to get what they wanted out of life.
This stigma, racial discrimination and defamation was too much for Scânteie and her followers. In her anger, she went around and harassed the races who slandered her and had destroyed her reputation. She would seduce with pretty words, lead her enemies on to believe she was a good person, a generous woman who would take them in if they needed shelter or a full belly--only to rob her guests, strip them naked and run off into the night with their possessions. Scânteie never kept those trinkets. She destroyed them or pawned them off to make some money. This sudden change in her and deviant lifestyle caught the attention of the Craylec Knights in the kingdom of Craylec where she and her Genie companions lived. Scânteie was not associated to Yaso Fe’Lawn or the Genies who lived with him in a domain no one could locate, but her actions convinced the local authorities she was in league her Rhizome. Basically, guilty by association, which wasn’t right on the Craylec Knights part, but the small group of Craylec Knights who caught and took her to jail, truly believed all Genies were evil and deserved to die.
Ser’Roth Kadow, the Captain of the Craylec Knights learned of this injustice of his men and women and quickly corrected the situation even though Scânteie was guilty of the crimes she committed. Kadow spared her, let her and her friends go with a strong warning and asked Scânteie to live happy, better life. Kadow’s kindness humbled Scânteie and she was reminded of the goodness of Trigonous and was strongly reconsidering returning to them, but... her Rhizome found her first.
Yaso was not the Genine she wanted to see, not after being everything she had been through and suffered because of him. Yaso however, wanted all Genies accounted for and to come live with him on X Island, the secret domain the Genies inhabited and lived out their days in peace.
Scânteie demanded to know why her Rhizome would seek her out after all of this time and knowing that she once preached the Good News of Trigonous, their Creator. Someone she knew for a fact he claimed didn’t exist and loathed with a passion. Yaso informed Scânteie that he could use someone with her charisma. He had been watching her and enjoyed seeing how she tricked the races and bought them to ruin or shamed them. Being reminded of her wrong doings made Scânteie’s chest ache and sweat roll down her her temples. Scoffing, Scânteie crossed her arms and she sneered at her Rhizome. His presence was haunting, just like his Genie mask. Her own mask was intense, but Yasho’s was on whole other level of disturbia.
With a air of confidence she didn’t really have, Scânteie stepped in and said,
“Trigonous rebuked you for the TOF Incident and you barely managed to escape their judgement. They destroyed the Genie’s kingdom, Threewishes with fire and commanded Earth to open her mouth and swallow Threewishes with an earthquake so it couldn’t be saved or rebuilt by mortal hands. Or more specifically, your hands. Don’t make me consider repentance so I can ask them to rebuke for this too and ask the Earth to swallow you up Yaso. I’m half tempted to and I speak for the Genies as the rest of Humanity when I say this: the realm would be better off with you dead and gone.” down another judgement Rhizome Yaso.”
The next events happened suddenly and without warning. Yaso lost his smile, snapped his finger and Scânteie felt something sharp strike her upside her head and her world went black. When she came to, she was in a cargo bay on a cold graphite epoxy ceramic floor of a spaceship with 3,000 other Genies scattered about in different floors. The Genies on her floor who were walking around and taking care of her she recognized immediately. They were her closest followers. The second thing she noticed was none of them had their Genie masks on, a mandate requirement all Genies must have ill-regardless of if the Genie lives in Yaso’s domain or elsewhere on another continent, like Yu Yuing, the continent she and her followers were from. Groaning, Scânteie sat up, holding her head head, struggling to recall what happened to her .
The more she thought about those final moments, the worse her symptoms got. She had a terrible headache, felt sick to her stomach and like she would throw up at any moment. Eventually the waves of nausea passed and she learned from a male Genie, Windsor, that Yaso found them shortly after he knocked her out. Evidently, Yaso didn’t approve of their previous witnessing for Trigonous and was only interested in recruiting them to X Island to make them “useful” in some way, even if it was against their will to go to X island.
From there, Scânteie learned that the only reason Yaso approached her after her release from jail, is because he perceived her as the leader of the 3,000 Genies and knew they’d follow her lead if she decided anything. She also learned that Yaso wanted her to use her deviant activity for him rather than for herself. When Scânteie told Yaso was not going to help him or put those talents to use, he had his loyal subjects jump her, knock her out and take her to a spaceship to be detained. Once Yaso got her followers rounded up, he programed the spaceship to take them to another universe wheel. To think Yaso was so intimidated or disgusted with Scânteie’s response that he would banish her and her followers to a foreign universe wheel was absurd!
In some ways, Yaso did Scânteie and her followers a favor. They did not like him or want to serve him nor did they claim to him as their Rhizome. The only regret Scânteie had was that she hadn’t thought to migrate out before he up and decided that for her and the rest. With Windsor’s help, he showed her to resting area on another floor and she used that time to decompress and weigh their future. After a long nap, Scânteie woke up found the intercom room and announced that she would lead the 3,000 Genies and from that moment on, would be the Genie Rhizome for their group and once they arrived to their destination, they would start over and build a Genie colony. Eight days later, the spaceship entered a universe wheel and officially came into the Milky Way Galaxy. Unlike their solar system that had name, this galaxy Scânteie and her followers discovered did not and was simply called, “Solar System” according to NASA, a space organization she looked up in the spaceship’s index.
Once the spaceship landed in the nation of Paris, Scânteie had to figure out several factors for their survival and everyone had to learn about Earth civilization and the various cultures every nation specialized in. With time and patience, Scânteie and the 3,000 Genies adapted to Earth and came to love France, their home country. Several Genies married within their group and began reproducing to increase their race on Earth, but Scânteie remained single and did not court anyone. Not even Windsor, who had made his feelings known to Scânteie on several occasions since becoming legal residents of France. Scânteie was attracted to Windsor, but he wanted a family and she refused to bring another life into her chaotic life. Or at least, her time on Earth. She personally was trying to figure out a way to repair their spaceship and remove Yaso’s software so she could program the spaceship to return them to their universe wheel, the Goreos Solar System and back to their home planet, Belrion.
Her caravan was approached by Maeva 300 hundred years after Le Jeu had been established and spread throughout France. At the time, Le Jeu was small and there weren't a lot of players or ethnic players. Maeva came across Scânteie by accident while on holiday in the Saint Jacques neighborhood. Maeva was depressed, frustrated and felt alone, for she thought she was the only Genie on Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. Maeva wasn’t supposed to be on Earth, she was supposed to be in a different universe wheel, in the Gores Solar System, living with her kin on Belrion.
She was lonely and needed someone to talk to, Scânteie could tell just by looking at Maeva’s slouched over posture and the way she refused to take one sip of her drink. Being the curious and helpful person that she was, she went over to Maeva’s table and sat down across from her, offering to listen to any woes and concerns Maeva had. Maeva was touched by Scânteie’s readiness to hear her story, but she was selective in what details she shared with Scânteie and was careful not to reveal her secret hobby of being the Maîtresse of Le Jeu. However, things didn’t go as planned.
Once she got comfortable and relaxed, Maeva finished her drink then ordered another, then one more glass of wine. She became tipsy and unintentionally revealed her Genie origin to her and her mask, something that all Genie’s wear back home for tracking and conceal purposes, her mother’s reasons for placing her in the Milky Way, her childhood with her adoptive family, that she outlived and was still grieving over and finally, her role as the Maîtresse in Le Jeu.
Scânteie sat there, absorbing all of this information with a newfound interest. Maeva wanted to escape Milky Way and she and all of her followers wanted to leave and return to Gores, just like she did, but for a different reason from theirs. Her followers simply missed their home and the familiarity of Belrion. Scânteie wanted to return to Belion and challenge Yaso directly. He did not face her proper, he hid behind someone else’s strength. She had the dignity as a Genie to fight with honor and wouldn’t rest until she could fight Yaso and take him down and register herself legally through the Galactic Federation as the true Rhizome of the Genies. Maeva went on to say that she wished she had never tried to pressure Parasite, a King in Le Jeu, for he had taken something from her, something that bound her to earth in Milky Way unless she agreed to his terms. Her pride wouldn’t let her to do that, she wanted her precious item back and wanted to abide by her own rules, despite being the Maîtresse. She refused to use her position as Maîtresse to win and rules stated whoever won her game, could request anything from the Trump Council without punishment and win an audience with her.
Upon getting to meet her, she would then transfer Le Jeu to the winner and the point of all that was, to set up someone else to take a fall for her little experiment in Milky Way. Maeva wanted to see if she had what it took to rule, to right and to scheme in the shadows effectively while avoiding law enforcement. Getting away with the perfect murders, crimes was everything to her and it was all because, she intended to do much worse when she returned home to Gores and reunited herself with her kin.
She needed to practice this chess board simulation to defeat her twin brother, Yaso Fe’Lawn, so winning meant everything, but her tact and strategies, was more important. When Scânteie heard this, she stared at Maeva in astonishment, mouth a gap, eyes wide. Yaso was Maeva’s twin and like her, she had a vendetta with him. Scânteie was deeply moved by her story and even though she knew Maeva was in the wrong and she would be in the wrong to assistance her, she couldn’t help herself. Ever since the TOF Incident she fought the masses to prove Genie’s innocence, went out of her way to doing the Lord’s work and helping those in need, the poor and then... she backslid, become the very thing she didn’t want to, met Yaso and got chucked into another universe wheel and had to start over on Earth. She lived decently and had no issue with money or food on Belrion, but on Earth she lived a poor life struggled to keep food on the table and was barely scraping by. She questioned if Trigonous really understood what it was like to be a poor Genie in a dark, unfair realm.
Maeva revealed her true purpose with Le Jeu and was prepared for Scânteie to inform the local police and turn her in for her criminal activities. What she didn’t expect, was for Scânteie to lean forward and place her hands over hers and ask to join Le Jeu. She went ta step further and insisted that Maeva to use her and the other Genies who were willing to follow her. Scânteie’s conditions were simple. If she helped Maeva dominate the Decks and win Le Jeu, she would formally request that Parasite forfeit the item she so desperately desired. If he failed to do so, she would personally make sure that he did without the need for bloodshed. When Maeva asked her what she meant by this, Scânteie assured Maeva that if her mask had stolen from her, she could easily steal it back.
Maeva wasn’t so sure, as Parasite’s Deck was Evasion and he had a strange way of knowing when people were coming for him and could counter their attacks effortlessly. No one could get near him. Stealth wasn’t an option with Parasite, he simply had everyone, including her, at a disadvantage. Scânteie kindly reminded Maeva that Elohim, formally known as Trigonous in their native solar system, gifted the Genie race with wisdom, knowledge that surpassed all. Scânteie was confident with enough time and planning, one day she would defeat Parasite. And, if she failed to beat him, she was certain she could outwit Parasite, sneak into his base and take the mask back and return it her.
Despite herself, Maeva stood up from the table and asked to go with Scânteie to her caravan’s location. She met other Genies, connected with them instantly and truly felt like she was “home”. She spent the rest of her holiday with the Genies and Scânteie personally informed the Genies that she knew would want to become players of Le Jeu. There was as total of 400 Genies that were interested and devoted themselves to the cause. Windsor being one of them. Maeva was grateful for Scânteie and for her taking her in at her darkest hour. As a reward for helping her and giving her motivation to remain in Le Jeu, she rewarded Scânteie by deeming her as her First and giving her the role of a Joker. She made a Deck on the last day of her holiday, dedicated the Deck to Scânteie and the 400 Genies who pledged their loyalty unto her. She allowed Scânteie to name the Deck and the name she choose to give Maeva’s Deck was Mirage.
Shortly after she informed her church she was leaving the Christian faith and the Holy Order for good and she moved onto Maeva’s estate. The d400 Genies went with her, as they were fond of Scânteie and wanted to be where she was, for they saw her as their princess, even though she wasn’t one. Scânteie was instructed and trained by Maeva herself and she excelled in her assassination lessons, both in the classroom and on the field. Scânteie knew what she was doing was wrong, that it was angering Trigonous, but the harshness of life and the lack of “support” she failed to see from them, was the sole reason she was okay with walking away and embracing her choice to serve Canicious. Crime pays and evil wins and sadly, that is exactly what kept her in Le Jeu. She saw instant results with everytihng. Maeva was rich and adored her in fine clothing, her belly was always full and she never had to struggle for food or wake up in fear that someone who despised her race was looming over her with a blade to her neck.
As Christian she felt confined to a life poverty and struggle, but as a sinner, she believed there was liberty and benefits worth going to Hell for. Scânteie reasoned if Trigonous was a deity of ahavah and gave their creation free will, then they would respect her decision to leave them, switch fractions and leave her alone for good. She told herself this to sleep better at night, fully knowing at some point, Chalice would try to restore her back to Avril before her mind became smeared with a hot iron and her behavior forced the three of them to stop striving with her.
⚡️ Fun Fact: Scânteie Raji is the Christian version of Kate Marsh from Life Is Strange.
