It's in the cards.

[death_gone_mad]

Creative Expression...

What the hell? Diviners always have to be so ... indirect. What did that card mean?

███████ marched up into the foothills of the mountains that lay west on Pollnivneach. The sun hung in the sky and shone brilliantly. But ███████, the Sun's daughter, could not be seen by Tumeken, the Sun. Neither did the people of Pollnivneach see her as she was leaving. They saw Sumona. A completely ordinary Kharidian woman. Her red hair and red eyes were unusual, yes. But it wasn't anything special. She wasn't a demon; she wasn't the Devourer; she wasn't the Scourge of the desert. She wasn't a murderer.

She was completely normal.

The hills eventually stopped and turned into a plateau. Here lived Ali the Hag, in a nice thick walled adobe house. The woman who everybody thought was Sumona came up to the door and knocked. "Alice? Are you there? I need to speak with you."

Comments

[death_gone_mad]

"So the cards told you that. What else do they say?" There was an angry edge to Sumona's voice.

[myriadbeautiful]

And it scared Ali.

The other side of the cross? The hanged man. "The sacrifice. Indecision. Something you should embrace."

[death_gone_mad]

"The sacrifice? There won't be one. They won't get away with sacrificing only one of their brethren. They will all be sacrificed."

[myriadbeautiful]

She recoils a bit, but she is far too curious to stop the reading.

"The base of the staff represents your role in this. Its the ace of staves. Creativity, change, experimentation, and the appreciation of the beauty of people and nature."

It was the first 'good' card of the reading. "Does this mean anything to you?"

[death_gone_mad]

She began to laugh, then moved on to a full cackle.

"Creative Expression!"

That silly looking fairy that she pulled out of Tower's deck was still fresh in her mind. What absurd, tiny wings! What absurd, tiny eyes!

The appreciation of the beauty of man. She had meant to usher in the age of mankind, and she had eliminated man's competition, at least in the desert, but why was it coming up now?

[myriadbeautiful]

What?

"The card above represents the environment and the people you are working with. The three of stave, when reversed, describes dishonesty and conflict."

[death_gone_mad]

"That sounds to me like a description of the mahjarrat. It doesn't describe you, does it Alice?"

[myriadbeautiful]

She considered the question, then thought it better not to answer.

"Above that, is something unexpected, or perhaps your hopes, or your fears."

[death_gone_mad]

"The Tower. Death. Destruction."

"Rebirth, restart." She mumbled the last part. It was both her hope and her fear.

[myriadbeautiful]

"Not quite. It is reversed. It is a disaster avoided, a dramatic rescue, or a false alarm."

[death_gone_mad]

It had all been good until now, and then, Tower.

"What is next?"

[myriadbeautiful]

"The ultimate outcome if you pursue this course of action." She pointed to the page of cups, reversed. "Emotional excess, distraction, and seduction."

[death_gone_mad]

She sighed.

"It's never a straight answer, is it? Who is going to be … distracted?"

[myriadbeautiful]

"So, you see what I mean. It's vague, useless. Having a question on your mind helps, but things are never clear."

[death_gone_mad]

"Maybe a second question will clarify things."

[myriadbeautiful]

"Oh, no, that is going to cost you. That last one was a bit too intense."

She collected up the cards and began shuffling the deck.

[death_gone_mad]

"So what is it Alice? Do you believe in this or not? Or is just another trick to get money out of me?"

She fished out 7 gold coins out of a pocket and placed them on the table.

[myriadbeautiful]

"That was three questions."

She laid the deck down in front of Sumona and took the coins.

"Why do you call me Alice?"

[death_gone_mad]

"That's another question," she answered. "It's because I am not sick in the head like everyone else here. I am Sumona, my sister is Jesmona, you are Alice. Not Ali. You aren't from around here. No one here has green eyes."

She split the deck into five and restacked it, addressing it with the question, "Will victory be mine?"

That should clarify things.

[myriadbeautiful]

"Red eyes aren't common around here either. Don't think I haven't noticed. You aren't from around here, are you?"

"This sister of yours, I have never seen her. Does she have the same red eyes and hair?"

After the question to the cards, she asked, "What is this about?"

She lays down the cards in the same pattern as before.

[death_gone_mad]

"We are more from around here than anyone in town. And trust me, you have seen me, you have seen her. She exists, if that is what you are implying."

"You don't need to know any more than those cards reveal."

[myriadbeautiful]

"It isn't the cards doing the revealing, dear."

She took a peek at the card underneath, smiled, and took it out to show to Sumona. "And what brought on the question. You have been around here for longer than anyone. Those red eyes of yours."

The Devil.

[death_gone_mad]

"I am not a demon, Alice. I am not the devil, either."

I am much worse.

[myriadbeautiful]

"Your obstacle, avoidance of pain, obscurity."

Ten of Staves, reversed.

[death_gone_mad]

No one will remember your name, no one will ever worship you again.

"Tell me something I don't know."