The moment of the turn always thrilled Ren, and it was apparent on her face as she watched him. She held her breath as his hand reached out, as the card scratched against the wood of the table and whispered to its other side. She chuckled. She should have guessed that he would draw staves; given the shimmer of his horns and the blood on his back, it was not surprising that there were three. They faced Volans, right-side up. The little man in the illustration stood between them, gazing at the sea as an ethaefal might. But were his eyes full of sorrow and longing, or of foresight and resolve? “You have lost something important to you,” she observed, eyeing the spirals that sprouted from his head. “But that is much clear. You overcame your hardship and emerged hopeful.” She tapped the card thoughtfully as her mind wandered between its meaning and what little she knew if her guest. “You must have had help; you would not have survived this long, if you had not. But the suffering we address on this night must be one you faced alone. An internal one, perhaps. Can you say what the powers want you to remember? You do not have to share it, if you prefer it.” She sat back, wondering how much he knew of the process, the cards and he fortune they told. When his musings were complete, she would nod to the two stacks he had made and say, “Choose one and split it again.” OOCI figure we’ll do a basic three-card reading. I know Volans’s past, but you might choose the present card since you know his current situation better than I do. |