Card Kingdom
Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East.
But, recently, a strange knight appeared... And three of the kings were locked away.
The remaining king put him and his strange son into power.
This land hasn't seen THIS much chaos since...
Ha ha ha... Well, you don't need to know about THAT.Seam, Chapter 1
Card Kingdom[note 1] is the Dark World located in the unused classroom of Hometown's school. It is the primary setting of Chapter 1 of Deltarune.
According to Seam, King, and the prophecy, Darkners once lived in harmony with Lightners. However, due to an incident that led to King's face being scarred,[1] Card Kingdom's denizens were locked and left in what they now refer to as a "prison". King swore vengeance against the Lightners, but some Darkners hoped the Lightners would eventually return.
Initially, the land was ruled by the four kings from Card Castle. Many Darkners, such as Jevil, Seam, the Royal Coat Rack, and the Puzzle Masters worked there. At some point, Jevil met a "strange someone", and his perception of reality changed. The kings requested his associate, Seam, to lock him away in a separate prison in Card Castle. Seam left Card Castle immediately afterwards in favor of collecting wares for their shop.
Before Kris and Susie's arrival, the Knight appeared and made the Eastern Fountain. Three of the kings were locked away, and the last remaining King took control of the kingdom alongside his son, Lancer. Then, King either fired or locked away Card Castle's staff and puzzle makers. He appointed Rouxls Kaard as the new puzzle maker, and ordered Lancer and the other denizens to attack the Lightners.
After Kris and Susie arrive in the Dark World, Ralsei tells them that a Dark Fountain has appeared to the east of Castle Town. It was prophesied that three heroes would seal that Fountain.
The party eventually reaches Card Castle. However, Lancer has the party captured and imprisoned in the castle's dungeon, fearing that they will hurt or be hurt by King. Susie eventually frees the rest of the party from the prison.
After defeating King, Kris seals the Eastern Fountain.
When Kris and Susie first arrive in Castle Town, they find that Ralsei is the only resident. Ralsei tells Kris to go to the unused classroom, and gather everything in there. After Kris gathers the things in the unused classroom, and returns to Castle Town, many glowing specks seemingly fly out of Kris while they fall. Once Kris lands, Castle Town is filled with the former residents of Card Kingdom.
Card Kingdom is divided into three main subareas.
Field is an area at the start of Chapter 1 after entering through the Great Door. It has several red trees, as well as a floor of purple grass. There are also several clock puzzles and signs inside Field.
Field features the Great Board as a sublocation, being seen at Field's end. It is a linear set of rooms found near the end of Field, with a black and white checkered floor. It has a few puzzles involving moving light patterns that send the party to the start of the room when touched, as well as the enemies Ponman, and K. Round.
Forest is the next area after the Great Board, it is composed mainly of red plants, like red trees and bushes. It also contains a variety of card suit puzzles, some for optional items and NPCs, and some required for progression. The Bake Sale is a sublocation partway through the Forest which contains 3 small shops, a shortcut door, and Malius. The Maze is a small challenge at the end of the Forest leading to Card Castle. It contains several enemies and obstacles seen throughout the Forest. This area cannot be backtracked to, as after completion, the end of the maze now connects directly to the beginning.
Card Castle is a 9-floor castle. There are 5 main floors which have an elevator connecting the top and bottom, 2 extra floors at the top (serving as the battle arena for K. Round and King), 1 basement prison, and a secret cell for Jevil. Several rooms and floors in Card Castle are shaped like various card suits.
- Many of the Darkners in Card Kingdom are based off of a set of cards designed by Tumblr user kanotynes.[2]
- Card Kingdom's playing card theming may be a reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the antagonist in which being the Queen of Hearts and her playing card soldiers. Like Deltarune, Alice follows a child traveling through a dream-like world.
- ↑ Card Kingdom is an unofficial name.
- ↑
But one day, the hand of a Lightner slipped...
— King, Chapter 5
...and disaster struck.
I was torn.
Torn with a scar that could be seen even from the back.
A single scarred king... that rendered the whole kingdom...
Obsolete.
We were banished, relegated to eternal darkness. - ↑
woah I'm actually done???? there's a good lesson here
— kanotynes on Tumblr, March 29, 2012.