RP: Card Reading
It's Gilday, Firetide 22 11:49:17 1018. The full moon isn't up. The tide is high and rising. A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's warm and there's a slight wind from the southeast.
A14: Society for Progressive Arcanists
On this rainy summer day, a sign has been posted outside the door of the Progressive Arcanists Society building, welcoming the public to come inside and see what the cards tell.
Inside, sitting at a table with a shiny, new deck, sits Ranik Fairhair, a pale teenager with white hair and white clothes. Resting on his shoulders is a live ermine.
The door opens and Arynel walks her way in. She seems to be almost unknown in here, but that's probably because she's not part of the society. She looks to Ranik, once she spots him, and puts her hand on her hip. "What are you doing?"
Ranik, shuffling a deck of cards, looks up at the Llyranesi that just entered and with a smile rises from his seat saying, "I'm trying out my new deck of divination cards. Would you like to be my first test subject?" He beckons to the seat across the table from him. <sildanyari>
Arynel looks at the cards and tilts her head. "Divination cards? Aren't they like fortune telling cards, like the gypsies used to use?"
Ranik rubs his chin and says, "Well, I did buy them from a Lucht trading caravan. And really, fortune telling is one aspect of divination, so I'd say Yeah. Mind you although I am a wizard, I don't specialize in the school of divination, so I make no claims of the reliability of your reading."
Arynel laughs. "It's one aspect of Divination, believe it or not. Luck. but it's mostly for entertainment, Ranik." She says sitting down across from him.
The young wizard resumes his seat, then says, "Well, thanks for being a good sport. So, do you want a general reading or do you have something specific you'd like to ask the cards about?"
Large courtyards. Tall towers. The grounds appear Rune, in miniature, which isn't surprising when one thinks about it. Aya expected the similarities, and sees even more when she steps into the ground proper. She still seems interested enough, looking over the construction and decor while she walks.
Arynel chuckles. "General reading. Just for amusement." She looks over her shoulder to see the mul and shrugs. "If I can wrangle her, she'll be next."
Ranik smiles. He hands the deck to Arynel and says, "Please speak your name into the deck, then cut the cards. Do you want simple, medium, detailed, or very detailed?" He looks at Aya and says, "Good day, Aya. Did you see my sign outside?"
Aya's head and eyes shift sharply at the greeting. There's a moment of evaluation followed by one snowy brow arching. "Sign? I didn't see one." Instead of looking back for one, she approaches Ranik. "Which sign is this?"
Arynel smirks at the deck. "Arynel. Medium detail." She says shuffling the cards with a lot more expertise than her profession would suggest. "here ya go."
Ranik tells Aya, "Oh, it merely invites the public to come in so I can try out my new deck of cards on them. Arynel here is my first taker." Then taking the deck back from Arynel, he deals the cards into a cross formation central-north-east-south-west, and says, "VIII - Strength at your core, the 3 of swords above you indicates that you are being watched over by three who would fight in your defense. The 3 of cups inverted behind you tells me that you have turned your back on an opportunity in the recent past. Under your feet, the seven of coins indicates that you have gotten where you are largely in the interest of making a prosperous living. Finally, before your face lies the Queen of Coins, but overturned. She indicates a reversal of fortune laying in your future, but not necessarily of the financial sort."
Arynel says, "decently accurate in a general sense. The three watching over me is the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. As for the opportunity I passed by.....that would be passing up on an offer to join the Society here, and joining the Shining Chalice Society."
Aya watches the cutting, dealing, and reading with apparent interest. "The cards look to be working. Enchanted?"
Ranik beams a youthful grin at the apparent success. "Fantastic. To my knowledge, the cards themselves are not enchanted. Certainly the Lucht that sold them to me didn't charge me what I might have expected for magical cards."
Arynel says, "they're likely not enchanted, just a really good guess. There more to them? or just them?"
Ranik nods. "I suppose I could cast Detect Magic on them. I'd never thought to check them out before. But, as I said, I'm no divination specialist, but I believe the theory is that supernatural beings or the arcane energies of the multiverse guide the cards and guide the reader. I am much more comfortable channeling the more brutal energies of the multiverse."
"Fascinating." The corner of Aya's lips curls upwards. "I would think that the energies of the universe would have much better things to do than play cards. Still, it's entertaining."
Arynel says, "That's because Divination is more subtle, and requires a bit of patience, Ranik. To read them, you have to have a keen eye, know what you're looking at, and have the patience to see how things pan out." She then takes a small breath. "Luck plays a factor too." She then shrugs and looks to the cards. "Sometimes energy can be gathered without meaning to....Aya, right?"
Aya dips her head to Arynel. "Some call me that, yes. Luck and observation seem a more probable answer when magic isn't involved."
Ranik reaches under the table and pulls out a nice-looking box, showing it to Arynel. "This is all they came with." Then to Aya he says, "would you like a go of it?"
Arynel says, "You don't have to prove anything to me, Ranik. Just telling you what happens in Divination." She then gets up. "If you wish to try Aya."
Aya glances to the cards, from there to Ranik, passing Arynel along the way. After a moment of thought, her shoulders roll. "Why not? Maybe they'll assure me all desires are to be met and made..." She nods to Arynel as she takes the emptied seat.
Ranik sets the box down, opens it and then picks up the cards. After shuffling it three times, he puts them face down in the box, closes and re-opens it, then takes the cards out and reshuffles them three more times. He then hands the deck to Aya and says, "Okay. So, speak your name directly into the cards and then cut the deck, please."
Aya settles herself in to get comfortable before picking up the cards. "Aya" is stated softly to the deck while it's held near her lips. Afterwards, she cuts the deck. three times, before offering it back.
Ranik picks up the deck then asks, "Would you like to have a general reading or is there a specific matter on which you would like to consult the cards?"
After a moment of further consideration, Aya answers simply, "A general reading is enough." Specific matters would require specific details, which would complicate things. She sits back to observe the cards at work.
Arynel stands to the side and watches quietly, with a bit of a smirk.
Ranik smiles and takes a deep breath before dealing, following the same cross-shaped configuration as with Arynel. He says, "At your core, the King of Swords shows that you are prepared to not only fight, but to lead fighters with wisdom and power. Over your head hangs the Five of Coins inverted, signifying that monetary gain has never been a successful motivation for your truest efforts. Behind you, the Ten of Swords hangs upside-down revealing that you have left behind yourself a significant conflict, even a battle with a great host of belligerents. Under your feet is the Two of Cups, declaring that you have overcome some small but significant personal appetite or weakness. Finally, before your face lies XI - Justice. You are destined to be the agent that metes it out." He sets the remaining cards down.
Aya listens rather impassively. At first. As Ranik goes on, a brow lifts and lowers, as does one corner of her mouth. "Fascinating. I am impressed with your abilities, and your cards."
Arynel says, "it's one way to do fortune telling, but calling them Divination cards would be a bit of a misnomer." She says as she looks at her book for a moment...
Ranik shuffles the cards three times again, then stows them neatly in their box. With a smile, he says, "I am glad that you are pleased." Then to Arynel, "I'm not sure 'fortune telling' is an entirely accurate description either, but it serves its purpose, I suppose. Would you like to do a reading for me?" He offers the box to Arynel.
Arynel takes the cards and looks at them for a moment. "Hmmmm...." She says as she fans out the cards and looks at the faces purposefully. "The cards have been well taken care of."
Ranik settles in with expectation in his face.
Aya rises from the chair and steps aside to observe. "I suppose we'll see if the talent is more in the cards or the interpreter?"
Ranik smirks, "No pressure or anything."
Arynel picks up five cards and just arranges them with her eyes closed. Not squeezed shut, but just closed. She then opens her eyes and makes a face. "Ouch. Let's see. In your face is death, probably because you have to deal it out on a regular basis with your spells. At your heart is the inverted Wheel of fortune. You create your own luck, which doesn't always work in your favor. The 8 of coins is at your gut. You get by with what you have, but sometimes rely upon friends to assist you. Which leads to the King of swords at your back. You are frequently helped by strong friends. Not all of them see eye to eye with you. And finally the queen of swords is at your side. Men can be of great physical strength, while women tend to have great mental strength. It is not always the case. you are strong of heart and mind, if not of body. Just don't let your pride take you places your talents are wasted.
Ranik watches as the cards are laid, gulping nervously at the Death card. As Arynel renders her interpretation, he listens intently, then turns his head cock-eyed and says, "Curious, very curious. Well, I bow to your talents." Looking slightly unsettled, he says, "Well, it has certainly been... entertaining, but I need to go get something to... er, eat. Thank you both."
Arynel smiles. "I didn't use any spells. I just did what I thought of it. No one wants to see the death card, but you should also remember that Vardama is a lovely goddess and tries to get people to embrace death as a time of peace. Not something to fear. That....is Thul." She says as she puts the cards away. She also waves to Ranik. "Enjoy your food, Ranik."
Both of Aya's brows lift at the reading, though she reserves comment for a time as the eyes beneath shift from reader to read and back. When Ranik excuses himself does she nod to acknowledge his excusal and not until he has moved off does she ask Arynel, "Was it your hope to unsettle him?"
Arynel says, "No. the future can be a scary thing to look at, Aya, and not always good. You can't just see what you want to see. that's not divination, that's wishful thinking. You have to see everything, and pick through the possibles to find the probables. Which requires a lot of patience. Most races don't have enough time to do that, or the patience."