A Duel Between Kingdoms: A Fresh Start

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ADBK: Wodan the Resident of the Forest

Epithet: The Treeborn Warrior-Guru

Voice Actor: Darin DePaul

Tribe: The Earthen Monarchy

Biography: Although some of the Plants in Earthen Monarchy can by ironically animalistic, some have reached a higher point of consciousness. Enter Wodan, an unusual Warrior that is composed of various plants. His origins are unclear, only that he was another student of Exodia, and often spoke with Obelisk before the Egyptian Gods left the Duelscape.

He considers himself a Warrior-Guru, sort of like a Shaolin Monk. He teaches wisdom to those who seek it, and trains those who seek his experience in combat.

Wodan also has a wife named Demeter, though you may know her as the Rose Spectre of Dunn. Although loyal to Truesdale, Wodan is also a member of the Kindred as an ambassador.

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ADBK: Copycat

Epithet: The Faceshifting Prankster

Voice Actor: Tara Sands

Tribe: The World of Toons, The Kindred

Biography: An unusual being, Jeremiah Copycat is a former Exodia student that loved pranking his classmates by imitating them physically and in an acting sense.

However, despite his immaturity, Stern Mystic saw great strength in Copycat, and has trained him on how to use his powers in a more constructive manner. Eventually, he became a Spellbinder, and even got a spot as a Toon World resident after saving Graverobber and Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon from a rampaging Mad Sword Beast.

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A Belated Introduction

Okay, I think that's enough files for now. We can finally properly introduce this thing. This is A Duel Between Kingdoms, an ongoing-ish series focusing on a world where the duel monsters of old survive, fight and coexist.

There are many factions, some more malicious than others, but their exploits echo throughout the ages. The most prominent factions include:

The Kindred: A group of Spellcasters, Warriors, Beast-Warriors and so on that have banded together to keep the peace and practice magic. They're led by the Dark Magician and his Spellbinders, along with the Arcane Knights of the Pentagonal Summoner.

The Dragon Republic: a Rome-based senatorial body consisting of the consuls Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon. They bested their godfather, the mighty Five-Headed Dragon, and rule a floating mountain with Greco-Roman style architecture.

Between these two are a host of other factions, including the benevolent Kingdom of the Fairies, the neutral Luminous Clouds led by Sanga of the Thunder, the undersea kingdom of Atlantica, and the Highlands near the Kindred's home of Spellhenge.

But not every faction is benevolent, the Kindred themselves are often harassed as they attempt to protect the Duelscape by the Undead Oligarchy. Formerly led by Summoned Skull, he was deposed by the Zorc, the dark master of the Pit of Hate.

They've allied with ne'er-do-wells across the Duelscape, including the Undead Hordes led by Pumpking the King of Ghosts. Although technically neutral, they do cause problems for those living in the swamps and bogs they call home.

There's the Arthropod Empire, home to the mighty Insect Queen and her generals. They live in Beetle Woods, from which they attempt to colonize and take over the Duelscape for their own consumption ends.

Next is the Dragon Horde, the polar opposite of the Dragon Republic. This dictatorship is ruled by Five-Headed Dragon, a primordial beast who wants to rule all he surveys. The problem is he's also a little lazy. He's willing to work with beings outside his tribe to get the work done, and this makes this one of the Kindred's most paradoxical fights.

And finally, there's the Machinations, led by Perfect Machine King, he loathes all organic life, and seeks to decimate and rule over the remains. They're the one enemy that even the Arthropod Empire and Dragon Hordes fear.

Stay tuned for some actual adventures involving these characters!

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ADBK: Dharma Cannon

Epithet: The Labyrinth Sentries

Voice Actor: Richard Steven Horvitz

Tribe: The Machinations, The kindred

Biography: Besides the big generals, Perfect Machine King has also created armies of cloned weaker Machines to serve as infantry and other functions.

In the Labyrinth of Treachery especially, there are unusual Machine Monsters that use their powerful radar and weaponry to protect their leaders Cannon Soldier and Labyrinth Tank.

This is the Dharma Cannon, made in the image of the Japanese-originating Daruma dolls. They're not the most durable of the grunts, but they serve as great minesweepers, that can spot the likes of Jirai Gumo and Dungeon Worm pretty easily.

That said, they're also easy to hack, and the Kindred-allied monsters have been able to add one to their ranks nicknamed Oni. So far, 'Oni' has been serving to protect the Guardian of the Labyrinth, since the other Tribes are equally adept in this never ending maze of insanity.

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ADBK: Giga-Tech Wolf

Epithet: The King's Pet and Protector

Voice Actor: Dee Bradley Baker

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: To help keep Machine King from falling apart at the prospect of taking over for his Perfect father, Robotic Knight built a pet for the relatively young android known as Giga-Tech Wolf. Standing about as tall as a great dane, this mechanical mutt is strong both in his sense of smell, as well as his combat prowess.

Fast on her feet, Giga can easily keep up with the likes of Strike Ninja and even Sasuke Samurai! She's also incredibly smart, being able to single out weaker targets and hunt them down like an actual wolf.

However, Giga-Tech does have one weakness; she's not the best at fighting more than four or five monsters at once, making her an easy target for those with a more mob-like mentality like the Arthropod Empire. That said, Giga-Tech is still a strong combatant with all the affection of a puppy, and all the ferocity of a wolf pack!

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ADBK: Sonic Jammer

Epithet: The Silent Saboteur

Voice Actor: Tom Kenny

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: No larger than a sparrow, this surprisingly elegant insectoid robot was intended to spy on the Arthropod Empire without being seen or heard.

Its secondary function is to sabotage electrical equipment, making Chiton the Basic Insect's battlegear fail to function.

However, while a powerful threat, it's also rather delicate, so if discovered, the Jammer can't defend itself beyond a swift sonic screech from its wings.

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ADBK: Inpachi

Epithet: The Vengeful Spirit of the Woods

Voice Actor: Clancy Brown

Tribe: The Machinations, The Kindred

Biography: Like a bizarre take on the infamous tale of Pinocchio, Inpachi was born of a mighty oak tree, carved into the body of a soldier. This was due to Pendulum Machine and Jinzo wanting to make an infiltrator so as to find out the secrets of the forest dwellers; specifically the Beasts led by Leogun.

Unfortunately for the two Machines, Inpachi was found by Jowgen the Spiritualist. Just to clarify, this was after his soul was revived by the defeat of the Reaper of the Cards. Regardless, Jowgen was able to immobilize and repurpose Inpachi as a spy on the Machinations themselves. He did this by imbuing the spirit of a loyal soldier into Inpachi's relatively hollow, silent shell.

And despite his seemingly weak visage, Inpachi's Splinter Fist is no laughing matter! His fast attacks make for a great offense against those like the Insects of the Arthropod Empire.

Inpachi also has a vengeful side, raging over being used as a tool rather than a true monster. Jowgen made sure to not follow the same path as Perfect Machine King by letting Inpachi do his own thing as well as performing his spy work.

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ADBK: Shapesnatch

Epithet: The Shapeshifting Mechanical Spy

Voice Actor: Tom Kenny

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: Created by studying and copying the monsters Copycat and Humanoid Worm Drake, Shapesnatch's main purpose is to infiltrate and take over townships, sometimes even whole kingdoms, and make them extensions of Perfect Machine King's Empire.

He's not a general, but his power is on par with Pendulum Machine in terms of using his innate skills. He often works with fellow snakes-in-the-grass such as Akikeisu, Dragoness the Wicked Knight, Kamionwizard and Monster Tamer.

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ADBK: Destroyer Golem

Epithet: The Twisted Golem

Voice Actor: Richard Newman

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: A giant in his own right, this corrupted golem is the elder brother of Barrel Rock, and was a student of Exodia before becoming a sentinel in the Wasteland. However, his contemplative life was changed when he was altered by Shapesnatch and Jinzo after spying on the titanic Rock monster and using Jinzo's Amplifier to extend his psychic waves.

However, an unlikely ally has come to try and save him recently; Julius Abercrombie, also known as the Magical Scientist, has been studying how the Rock monsters end up corrupted to Perfect Machine King's side, and being as ambitious as his former colleague Kozaky, vows to undo it with the help of Trap Master and Mind on Air. His fate is up-in-the-air at the moment, but Destroyer Golem seems to still have some of his old personality ticking away in his spirit.

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ADBK: Cyber Soldier of the Darkworld

Epithet: The Void's Invader

Voice Actor: David Kaye

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: After Slot Machine proved a successful prototype for tanky giants, Perfect Machine King set about work on an ambitious project: To invade the "Darkworld" that lay beneath the Mountain of Madness. Though nowadays, it's referred to as the land of the Undead Oligarchy.

At the time, Summoned Skull was still the head honcho, and this Cyber Soldier would soon become part of that crowd, and then promptly decimate it!

Or at least, that was the plan. By the time the first successful prototype was tested on some invading Undead Hordes, the giant robot was sent to Undead throne room…only to be destroyed by an upstart named Dark Master Zorc.

Specifically, Zorc sent King of Yamimakai, Neck Hunter and even the trickster Needle Ball to ironically decimate this Cyber Soldier in turn.

To avoid confusion, this soon-repaired giant was nicknamed Pluto (make your jokes here, we know most can't resist), after the Roman ruler of the Underworld. Now modified to better prepare for the Oligarchy's minions, Pluto has since been accompanied by fellow giant Cyber Stein, as well as the strange Plasma Eel.

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ADBK: Spikebot

Epithet: The Sorcerer's Death Machine

Voice Actor: Dee Bradley Baker

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: Before being nearly killed by the Machinations, Akakieisu and Reflect Bounder made another major Machine monster during their scheming days. Spikebot is an engine of destruction, with flails for hands and looking like a demon of metal straight from the depths of Hades!

However, he's also not much for processor power, choosing the attack first and ask questions never. As such, he was taken under the PMK's wing (so to speak), and placed under the command of the Gatekeeper as a guard of the Pyramid of Metal.

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ADBK: Gatekeeper

Epithet: The Sentinel of the Pyramid of Metal

Voice Actor: John DiMaggio

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: After various break-ins and blueprint robberies, Perfect Machine King decided to upgrade their normal security system into a full-on Machine to better deal with threats. Using some experimental vortex technology, his team of cloned worker-bots created a duo Machines that could guard the entryways into the Metal Pyramid.

Gatekeeper is one of them, and is the brains of the duo, his brother being Royal Guard. Now more sentient and stronger than just simply warning them of intruders, Gatekeeper and his blue and green twin proved hard to overcome undetected, though Strike Ninja still managed to not trip the system immediately, so Perfect Machine King has been trying to find a way to outsmart the elusive shinobi.

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ADBK: Gatling Dragon

Epithet: The Multi-Barrelled Juggernaut

Voice Actor: Kevin Michael Richardson

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: With Barrel Dragon proving to be successful proof of concept regarding dragonoid weaponry, it was only a matter of time before the Perfect Machine King created something with just as many destructive capabilities, but also kind of ridiculous.

Enter the mighty Gatling Dragon, arguably one of the Machinations' most dangerous weapon next to the King himself. He's also with a rather unstable AI, so he's primarily used during special occasions, especially in raids against the more benign Tribes, especially the fairly neutral Deep Valley natives.

His three barrels are about 230 kilograms each, supported by a frame capable of handling up to 40 tons of pressure, including his vast storage of custom cartridges. Gatling Dragon's normal power level can penetrate solid lead, with only certain metals being able to bounce back his shredding bullets.

However, Gatling can sometimes go out of control, leaving the other Generals with little choice but to restrain him so he doesn't destroy them as well.

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ADBK: KA-2 Des Scissors

Epithet: The Precise Snip-Pincher

Voice Actor: Oscar Seung

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: Built from a similar model as Launcher Spider, this 'bot is nicknamed Des Scissors, after his snipping claws that can cleave through rock like it's made of clay. His patrol involves the ocean, where he often works with Ground Attacker Bugroth in attempting to claim territory along the Duelscape's coasts.

He speaks with a laugh that sounds like the sound his claws make as they clash together, almost like swords clanging into each other. His armor is rustproof, strong against pressure and heat proof, allowing Des Scissors to reach deep levels of the sea without fear of being crushed like a tin can.

However, he's far from invincible, usually being set upon by the people of Atlantica, especially the Roaring Ocean Snake, whose strength is more than a match for his surprisingly frail limbs.

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ADBK: Cyber Soldier

Epithet: The Machine King's Bodyguard

Voice Actor: Rob Paulsen

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: This roly-poly robot may be rotund, but this is by design. Created to be the bodyguard to PMK's nephew, Machine King, Cyber Soldier can roll himself into a ball and steamroll enemies like an Indiana Jones boulder! If that doesn't work, he also has a special trunk that shoots streams of fire at opponents!

Due to Machine King's desire to delegate and command troops from afar, Cyber Soldier doesn't get to see much action aside from the occasional escort mission. But when the Machine King is in trouble, Cyber Soldier will literally bowl over all in his way!

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ADBK: Cyber Raider

Epithet: The Raging Blue Puncher

Voice Actor: Keith David

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: At first glance, this particular epithet doesn't sound like much; but this powerful helmet-headed machine is a surprisingly advanced AI, whose main function is to be a versatile martial artist. Armed with nothing more than his fists and feet, this melee fighter is just as quick as he is deadly.

He was built to detect and combat spies after some of their former minions were reprogrammed to serve organic life forms. In particular, he was meant to combat Gadget Soldier, a former Machine General. He, along with the traitorous Fiend Megacyber, terrorized locations across the Wasteland, including Big Shield Gardna's former home of Deep Valley.

However, they ironically were stopped by the espionage trio of Ansatsu, Armed Ninja and Strike Ninja, who managed to outmaneuver the two, and poisoned Fiend Megacyber. The two have sworn revenge ever since, and now scour the Duelscape in order to find and kill the ninjas that stopped their rampage across the Wasteland.

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ADBK: The Fiend Megacyber

Epithet: The Treacherous Magical Warrior

Voice Actor: Kevin Michael Richardson

Tribe: The Machinations

Biography: Although the Perfect Machine King did indeed take over the long-forgotten village and slaughter the inhabitants, one magically-inclined Warrior survived and allowed PMK to turn him into a cyborg. This is him, the Fiend Megacyber; a fighter who was growing despondent over his people, seeing them as just mindless chatel who let PMK do everything without putting up much resistance to the Dinosaurs that battled them on a daily basis.

The then-mortal man known simply as Gerard the Wizardly decided that being a servant to the actually strong and capable Perfect Machine King was better than serving a kingdom so quick to give up its own autonomy to the same Machine that protected them. As you can see, the logic of some of these monsters isn't quite the same as our normal human logic.

Regardless, the now cyborg Gerard calls himself the Fiend Megacyber for his great strength and fiendish mindset. He often works with his mechanically built brother Cyber Raider, and the two serve as two of the many fighters that serve the Machinations Tribe.

He even has his own rival of sorts with, ironically, a Dinosaur by the name of Megazowler, who shares a similar amount of raw strength. Calm and collected, Megacyber will not rest, however, until the Dinosaurs are wiped off the face of the Duelscape, which has lead to the often autonomous king Black Tyranno's alliance with the Kindred.