Queen of Games : Gambler's Paradise

**Queen of Games : Gambler's Paradise** is a Story Arc of the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in an alternate Interra and follows the perspective of Deviant Child Veroshka Belotchkina.

## Main Arc

### Win or Lose Everything

Passionate **Magic: the Gathering** player Veroshka is invited by Dinah Evershire to the massive Duskshire Dueling Academy, where cube drafting - the process of distributing a set amount of theme-chosen cards among a number of players - is extensively studied. However, when she arrives, she quickly discovers that the Academy hides more than it initially shows, and that people actually gamble with their lives when cube drafting.

As she sees with the privileged Drosera of Meletis and enslaved, unlucky Milo Delyoro, students' result and status is measured by their amount of **Stars**, a resource each start with one and gambles away for fame and prestige. Those with no stars are treated as animals and used as disposable slaves, while those with a massive number of stars are almost seen as gods and rule the place.

### A Calm Introduction

Veroshka faces off against Drosera and wins a star, enough to clear Milo's debt and saving him. Milo in turn helps Veroshka with learning about the school's secrets, including its hidden, night casinos ruled by Fushicho Nomizaki, one of the Student Council's ruling Queens. There, Veroshka meets with Melty Duncan, a slave that has chosen to live as such despite possessing an immense number of stars, and faces off against her, winning and taking possession of Melty.

Later in the day, Veroshka visits the school and faces off in a mechanically-enhanced, hologram-using duel against technology expert Ingrid von Fuedrick. After her success, she is called for one of Dinah's speeches, in which she calls her out openly for her cruel treatment of slaves. This attracts the attention of selfless Azata Bloomberg, a lesser member of the Student Council who respects Veroshka's views and challenges her in turn to test her talent, before joining her.

### Challenge of the Sun

All of these actions have however attracted the attention of Amalia Beatini, Queen of the Sun in the Student Council, who decides to test Veroshka even more. She first deploys Idunn de Courssombre as a teacher to evaluate Veroshka's chances, then directly uses her personal servant, Senestre Linnasteron, to challenge Veroshka to a rigged duel; she however did not count on Senestre betraying her and joining Veroshka instead.

Amalia immediately acts in return by sending assassin Delphine Bleucastel to eliminate Veroshka, and when the latter is victorious but weakened, Amalia arrives herself to challenge her, seeking to use Veroshka's "power" for herself. She gambles "everything" on her victory, yet ultimately loses, and Dinah herself arrives to deprive her of her title, much to the surprise and dismay of both players.

### Challenge of the Moon

Fushicho moves her pawns in turn, and when Veroshka, driven by Milo, is brought to watch a spectacle by Medley Quatrefeuille, the latter spices things up by challenging Veroshka to a battle. Veroshka barely wins, and uses this to force Fushicho into a position where she must either give up Medley's possession or protect Veroshka. She chooses the former, but quickly sets up a trap, calling marshal law as her status as Queen of Night.

Fushicho proclaims that anyone able to defeat Veroshka would immediately earn her entire stash of stars and status, causing several contestants to jump into the melee, including Phyrexian doll Velox Staxx and aspiring duelist Nephtys Krius. However, after one day, Fushicho's law expires, and by the Council's decree, she is forced to face off against Veroshka in battle. The latter wins, earning Dinah's promise to challenge her in turn.

### Challenge of the Stars

Before she can do so, however, the Queen of Stars and right-hand woman to Dinah, Mercy Quila, decides to impede Veroshka one last time. She first challenges Veroshka personally, then calls upon Amalia and Fushicho to form a massive challenge against Veroshka. Although at first victorious, Veroshka is eliminated during the last challenge, although she still advances due to Dinah having promised for them to meet up.

Dinah faces off against Veroshka on top of the school, speaking of Flux and her own experiences with the narrative, and revealing herself as a supernatural force behind the entire Academy. She challenges Veroshka both with Magic cards and with the very essence of her companions, enduring a final defeat after an extremely tight game. Although she lost, Veroshka still acknowledges her world's importance, and asks of Dinah to play forever with her, which she agrees.

## Characters

* Veroshka Belotchkina
* Milo Delyoro
* Drosera of Meletis
* Melty Duncan
* Ingrid von Fuedrick
* Azata Bloomberg
* Senestre Linnasteron
* Delphine Bleucastel
* Medley Quatrefeuille
* Idunn de Courssombre
* Velox Staxx
* Nephtys Krius
* Eterna Spencer
* Amalia Beatini
* Fushicho Nomizaki
* Mercy Quila
* Dinah Evershire

## Trivia

* This is the first installment of the **Queen of Games** series to study Limited formats (building decks from a limited card pool) as opposed to Constructed formats (where decks are build beforehand).