Port Kar

If perception is anything like reality, I had already pegged the city of Port Kar. Dark clouds hung low over the sea faring skies, the docks littered with workers and those milling about, creating an influx of bodies that were hard to see past. I hadn’t really expected anyone to be waiting to meet me, but still I looked for anything that might be somehow.. Familiar.

My features were uncovered, save for the hood that was pulled down low, I lost in the darkness of shadows and silent intrigue. Woolen encased digits were capped protectively over the ancient deck for which I had been called, trusting little of those that were known for their thievery. I had only brought on bag, which was half slung over my shoulder as I made my way off the ship and into the main flow of cutthroats and pirates. Had they known me for what I was, no doubt I would have been given a larger circle to move in, one that parted the throws of lost and weary souls.

The ghostly whispers of cards had not ceased, they tormenting me the entire trip. I should be used to their terrors, their tales, their taunting cries, but I am not, nor will I ever be. They continue to disturb me.

And then I saw him. Darkness. Both smoke and fire came to mind, though no smile was offered in auspicious greeting, my slow path weaving, not away, but towards him. The ultimate outcasts. ‘And from the Mountain high destinies will be recited. Fate's will be decreed and devastation will find faction in the hold of others.’ Danger lurked at every corner, but not usually for one of my kind. I was listening to something that wafted on the breath of the wind. They spoke.

"Tal Lady, I am... Aiden..may I help you?"

I was afraid he could.

"You may, I am looking for House Desolate Storm."

I am used to coincidence. It is the very thread that binds us. He did know of it and he could take me there. He took to my side, guiding me through the lot of bodies and keeping me safe. 'Touch him, see if it is so. Tempt the tides of truths, for you own destiny lies beyond the rivers of a tenebrous path.'

I declined, trying to shush the cards that toyed with me.

'Touch him.' Insistent beguilers of worn faded rence they were, no easily giving up their wants.

"Might I ask your name Lady?"

'Release the frail fabric and allow the veil to fall.' I could feel it, the secret sorrow that so many tried to hide, but still it seeped through the veneer of flesh, to pool and form wounds.

“Astraea.”

Noachian encounters, of a life past desired a second chance. 'Touch.' One hand had escaped from beneath the cloak of inherent covering, to glide over his arm as my bag was reached for, he having taken it on our walk. I immediately drew it back and cradled at my breast. Confusion. It marred such pristine features, lips parting as if to speak before whispers had their way yet again. 'Follow, it is him, he is the one.' I had turned away so that he would not see my reaction, while mentally trying to shut the the cards out. "Do I know you? Have we met before?"

We had not. But I was so sure.

The cacophony of the cards cried out, searing my soul with uncertainty. I am often an invalid to my emotions.

He was leaving, much to my disappointment. I wanted him to stay. He wanted me to go.

"Stay with me." He had blurted it out. "In an Inn room. I will promise your safety.. sleep on the

floor."

The Burning was in the Blood, but the fear of fire was in my heart. 'Find him.' Had I? "An Inn? But it would be rude of me to dismiss the invitation. I have been sent for. I have accepted." And yet, I could feel the compellingness of the situation. I wanted to. It was almost as if.. I needed to. 'Touch.' My hand snaked out to touch him, the soft draw of yet woolen digits doused in want, escaping down over the side of his face, the touch quick, as if it had never happened. But I had felt it, the chill that wrapped around me like a damp cocoon, not because he was the wrong one, but because he was right. "Wait for me and I shall leave with you in a few days time."

He gave in.

So why did such reprisals make me feel selfish? 'Because you are, you are a woman and all woman carry that burdan.' This time it was not the cards that called out, but the voice of my father.

"Three days."

'No more..' Cried the rence.

"You are a Lamia.. aren't you?"

And the demoness within screamed, though there was only the heavy sounds of silence that surrounded us. "Some may think that, yes." It was all the explanation I would offer, he having reached out to touch those laconic spirits that dwelled within worn leather. My hand covered his before the faded squares of rence were retrieved and set on the couch next to me. "Cut the deck and choose."

The Nine of Coins. It is the card of Discipline, Self reliance and Refinement.

His mother was.. like me.

He stopped the reading.

"It is not a matter of what I think of you it, is what you are.. Sacred."

We continued.

The Three of Wands, Exploration, Foresight and Leadership."

Again he moved away, but the cards would not be silenced.

His third card, the card of his future, the Ubar of Coins. Reliable, Supporting.

‘He is the one.’

They promise.

An Invitation to Port Kar

I have been told it is a squalid city, too crowded, too dirty and far too dangerous for a woman like me. Thankfully, I have been invited by those curious as to what lay at the breast of my talents, or curse, depending on how one looks at it.

Maybe this is where I will find him, the man the cards taunt me about. Maybe the answer to the riddle of my life will be found in the noxious streets of this city I travel to.

I leave tonight.

Blood on the Cards

I have not slept in two days, the restless whispered words of rence unrelenting. They are pushing me towards something, though I do not yet understand what it is they want from me. “Find, find.. him..”

They torture me with incomplete information and then chastise me for not being able to follow along. I am free, and yet, I am not, my Master the scarred squares of wounded rence I carry with me at all times.

… And I cannot disobey.

Lend Me Your Ears

Boisterous betrayers they were, chocolates infatuation, a woman's bane and man's competition. Well, some men's competition, for me, there are no such games of enchanting smiles and guarded glances. What you see, is not always what you get. Woolen fingers dipped into the bag, another decadent treat plucked from wrapping and popped into my mouth. At least I could indulge in some sort of sin that would retain my status.

I had found myself near a small outdoor café, one that boasted of both Salome’s presence as well as Malleus. I had not seen him since our reading or Salome for that matter. Once a hand I read for her, she paying well when the cards are kind, not so much when trouble rides on the wind.

Misinformed misadventures manifested by the fruit of whispers, those small tethering echo's that directed my voice to what lay in the past, present and future of each person I read for. I set the bag of sweets away, determined to earn a bit of coin along the walk of my street infested sojourn.

Ah, the righteous shall rule, with the backing of madmen and women with fortuitous plans.

I clasped the cards at my waist, shushing the rence that hissed with the telling of unwanted prophecies. It is bad for business if I were to approach such favorable clientele with a frown. I took a seat at separate table across from the.. happy couple, Malleus immediately offering greeting.

He had remembered my name.

I had planned on reading for Salome, that being the reason for my presence, but that hadn’t worked out, so instead I did the next best thing. I made an appointment.

Born within the chaos they will cry out, desperate souls destined to be heard. By the light of a fiery breath, they will cease, each turned inside out, their lies revealed. They weren’t quieting easily.

And for a moment, a single ihn within the walls of time, I thought perhaps he had heard them as well. But that would be.. impossible.

Or would it? Perhaps he will make a believer out of me.

Malleus the Maleficent

Thankless toils of cultivating circumstances proved unworthy for one auburn haired reader of the world, but then, I am not always attuned to only those of the wealthy. Even the benign servants of lower caste's were plagued with the possible transition of a bleak, or perhaps even brilliant future.. as well as past. Their's simply went unnoted in the over stuffed archives of Ar's Cylinders.

I was in need of coppers, my best place to find clientele the falls or springs. Usually the readings are of no consequence, but occasionally I find interest in those the cards whisper about. Today was one of those days..

I had met him near the gate, the faded squares of rence crying out that he was the man I must divine. At first I wasn’t even sure he would remember me, but he did, much to my surprise, though not my name. Had I ever given it?

I am a deity designed and defined by small squares of rence. It is how I am used to being analogized, the woman as seen by many as one of unwanted favors, doom and gloom. It would be no different today. “A reading for a copper, Sir?” My fingers wound around the still concealed deck, instruments of torture, or perhaps they were nothing more than benign impunities. Either way, they were what people feared, an uncontrollable alliance that led to a world darker than most would like to explore. A question he might have wished to never hear.

"Is destiny's path deliberate?" Hooked and reeled, curiosity a depraved emotion. "And how much.. for a particularly good reading?"

"Four copper."

Bench was borrowed, the cards liberated from ancient pouch and held out for him to cut and choose, though he hesitated. Time seemed frozen, an icy fable set in the land of lost enchantment, a child's fairytale that promised enlightenment, as well as entertainment. Or perhaps it would be a glimpse of how nightmares were born. I watched him, wondering if he would indeed dare divine declaration, or if he would draw his hand away.

He chose.

"The first card of your choosing is the Sacred Affliction. It is the card of introspection, searching and solitude. You are a man that bathes in stillness, one that often retreats into his own private world. You are experienced in the process of seclusion, finding comfort in the warm waters of loneliness, even though you are seldom alone. Answers are searched for, even before the questions are asked, your passion for understanding overriding the many other levels of your life. You are a man that seeks truth, but enlightenment shall never be yours, the shadows of falsities a disease you cannot cure. You are a man moving in the wrong direction, with a certain amount of shallowness and scattered activity, leaving you in poor council. Beware the quiet hum that you cannot shut out."

He seemed.. Agitated.

"Your second card is that of the Tarn..” Whispered plagued my thoughts, even as I was reciting what the cards were telling me. “There is a dominating presence within you…” I was suddenly cold, when only moments before I had been well warmed within the confines of my cloak. “..one must be careful with such power of presence, for it can divide and leave one to be helplessly led to the slaughter of souls." I could hear him breathe, the sound thunderous in my mind.

"This, the last card you have chosen, is the Ubara of Swords. It is the card of experience, of astuteness, as well as a certain honesty. But by the swords blade, honesty is two fold. There is too, within the woman you have chosen.." I tapped on the card at hand... "A thread of cunning and cruelty. A severity that can never been unraveled. Beware the borrowed knowledge and restlessness that echo of old concepts no longer working for you. Though you are not a man that thinks within the norm, know too, that a lack of pretense is both refreshing and informative, if one knows where to look. Beware most of all the unconscious acts."

He was a man uneased, the coppers clanging to the top of the bench seat.

"I should like to read again for you, another day, if you will allow such."

"That won't be necessary." Ah, the placating smile had disappeared. I shall not be gathering coin from his pocket again.. or so he thinks.

"Well then, that's a shame. As you wish, but I come here often, if you should.. change your mind and wish to peek into the corners of your darkest dreams." But even as I spoke the words, I knew he had already stepped into the nightmare.

"If you do change your mind though, simply think of me often, I will.. eventually, appear."

"Get those things away from me." So the inner turmoil erupted.

I am merely a woman kept in the pocket of Ubars and Administrators, visitant visions offered to those that can afford such nightmarish luxury. A tip of my head was offered the man that, at least today, hadn't gone to war with the voices in his head. But something tell me Malleus is a dangerous man, a man in which no woman in her right mind would toy with. I shall be careful to stay on his ‘good’ side, even though that ‘side’ often changes.

They warn.