Free wisdom card readings - for characters and all!

[zeeth_kyrah]

Greetings! I recently had an inspiration for something I could do to contribute to a few DW friends, and tonight got a push from a couple of my spirit guides saying "Do it!"

I'm offering free wisdom card readings from the Hero's Deck, a collection of 36 cards in 3 groups. It's essentially a summary of archetypal Hero's Journey fragments, including Heroic Aspects, Heroic Gifts, and Heroic Challenges. The twist on this reading is, I'm offering these readings particularly for peoples' characters, whether from stories and poems, games, or whatever venue. I'll be answering in character as a traveling bard and sage, Jewel the Water-Singer. Feel free to get creative, write intro text or descriptions of actions, or simply ask questions of the diviner. Jewel will answer as many as four questions for you, though your character might want to offer a gift for more than two.

(If you want a reading for yourself, go ahead and ask, I'll answer this one in character anyway.)

Since anyone can ask, character or not, the usual local-world warnings apply. (Federal law says this is for entertainment purposes only, I'm not a licensed anything, and so on.) The readings will be open from the time of posting until Tuesday, October 2nd, Eastern (New York City) time zone to give those with little warning a chance to drop by.

And with that, the local marketplace now has a busker with a small folding seat and a small pop-up table, where sits a woman dressed in red-striped pantaloons and a player's (actor's) fancy green velvet blouse with pale undershirt. She has a mouth organ (harmonica) and a small thumb piano with her as well, and alternates playing tunes and singing snippets of folk song, and giving readings to her audience. On the table is a blue silk bag upon which sits the box holding a deck of cards. Next to the bag is a large quartz point with unusual clarity and a hint of rainbow in its facets. This person would not seem too out of place in a Spanish or French Renaissance marketplace, though she looks somewhat Iranian or Lakota. (Perhaps she is of mixed ancestry?)

The bard calls out, "Come one, come all for the wonders of heroic wisdom! Let the ancestors witness, for life is the play and we are the players! Who will partake of these insights? Let Jewel the Water-Singer tell you mysteries from the further realms! Ask once, ask several times! Gifts for the sage are also quite welcome!"

Comments

[alexseanchai]

A small pale—woman? it's hard to tell—wanders through the marketplace. They're wearing dark blue jeans and black sandals, a blue Sailor Moon T-shirt and a copper-and-malachite pendant; their strawberry blonde hair is tied back in a low ponytail, though some strands have escaped the deep green ribbon, and copper-wrapped lapis stones hang from their ears.

They spot the rainbowy reflection of the quartz point first, then hear the bard's call. Tentatively, they approach her.

"Hi," they say when she turns to look. "Do you—can you help me figure out a dream I keep having?"

Perhaps the bard has second sight enough to see, echoing this stranger, a Greek woman of the same age, barefoot and garbed in a linen peplos dyed a deep green and pinned with copper brooches, with ribbon the same green binding up her dark hair.



[Thanks for this—that's actually more characterization I've gotten written down on this story since I thought of it in January! I think what I'm hoping for from Jewel's cards is some story direction. I have the premise clear, I just don't know what to do with it! And the character hasn't got as far as asking the actual question, to be clear, it just feels more in-character to wait for Jewel's answer, or something?]

[zeeth_kyrah]

The bard smiles broadly. "Oneiromancy has saved my life more than once," she declares. "Do tell me of your dream.. or if you would rather I draw without knowing, this I can do."

If she sees the echo, she gives little reaction.

[alexseanchai]

"Thanks," they say, nodding, and take a moment to collect their thoughts. "The dream—I'm on a riverbank, near the shore. Sunset. I'm holding a drop spindle, but I have nothing to spin. And a voice says—and I can't pronounce the words, but what they mean is 'pray, but swim'. And a lightning storm rises over the water."

They pause. "It's been just like that every night for a week and a half."


[As author I'm referencing a particular Aesop but my character hasn't heard it.]

[zeeth_kyrah]

"Mm," comes the reply. Jewel considers, then idly pulls the cards from their box and shuffles them once.

She looks up to the querent. "It seems to me that the storm will not destroy you if you are swift. A card or two should clarify what you are being given, however."

After sliding several cards aside, she draws one and flips it over. "The Fallen chases you, I think. And while faith might grant a better escape, it would be a mistake to wait for a huntress to destroy this thing for you."

[alexseanchai]

[Thank you! I need to think through the flash of inspiration that gave me—but it wouldn't be in character to just vanish, so do you mind if I come back later?]

[zeeth_kyrah]

[Sure thing. :) ]

[alexseanchai]

"The Fallen?" they ask, head tilted as though listening to something no one else can hear. "And—are they chasing me toward something, or away, or just to catch me—"

They pause. "That's too many questions, isn't it. I should—" They reach for a purse they're not carrying. "—bring my purse next time! Um. Do you take payment in jewelry?" They gesture at their head. "I made these earrings."

[zeeth_kyrah]

Jewel shrugs. "I doubt this deck could answer directly about the Fallen; it speaks more of players than of paths. That said, I do not wear earrings. While beautiful and often valuable, I find that the less an enemy grabs in a fight, the less I am torn."

She pats the body of the thumb piano, hanging from her belt, and flicks her fingers over its tines. "Instead of this gift, which I suspect will be needed for your own path, may I suggest you bring back a song from your journey? While I prefer folk dance, I like many styles, including various tribal songs."

[alexseanchai]

"Oh!" One hand leaps to their earring. "I...huh."

A thoughtful pause. "I think," they say finally, "I can do that." Their hand falls to their pendant, one fingertip running up and down the copper spiral. "And that gives me something to look for.

"Thank you," they add. "Will I find you here again?"

[zeeth_kyrah]

A smile and a sharp nod affirm the bard's next words: "You shall! The seasons blow me about from time to time, and the life of a traveler is hard, but this is a profitable market and I would hardly ignore the lively city about it."