Endur
First Post
(My fiance wrote this next post. Enjoy!)
Somewhere else.
Gerda wants to play with her new toy; Sybil sits closeby, her deft hands
working with a spindle and thread.
Gerda's "toy" is a humanoid form suspended from the ceiling.
"Sybil........have you seen how pretty my new toy is?" Gerda approaches the
body and reaches one decripid hand out to caress it. The humanoid in
question is a man; he halfway opens his eyes and flinches.
Gerda chuckles at his reaction. "What golden skin you have, my
dearest....what sparkling blue eyes....so haaaaand-some....one would almost
think you had the blood of the gods running in your veins...."
"He does," says Sybil. "He's a----"
"I KNOW what he is!" hisses Gerda angrily. "I don't need *you*, dear
sister, to give me lessons.....save those for your paltry human customers in
the village."
"Then the only reason for you to state what you already know is to inflict
mental torment upon the subject in question. Helpless in your clutches, you
are taunting that cleric with his lineage to mock him."
Gerda clapped her hands together and did a little hopping dance. "Yes, yes,
yes!!!!!!
"Did you hear that, Mr. Crying Priest? Mocking you is only the beginning. It
is only the first appetizer in a banquet you are going to share with me.'
Gerda wrapped her hand in a heavy cotton mitt and withdrew a long metal
skewer from the fire whose tip was now red-hot.
"And for the next course, I think we shall have....BBQ....."
Sybil hears the man's anguished screams rip the air, and smells burnt flesh.
She looked up from her spinning, and sees where Gerda has inserted the
cherry-red skewer. She watched motionless for some time while Gerda feeds
her dark desires from the man's pain and humiliation.
She stands up, and moves past the man. Something prompted her to turn her
head, and she found herself staring into moist eyes. She reads in his face
depths of terror that she herself has never known.
"Help me...." he whispers with what little voice remained to him.
"It is not my destiny to help you. I cannot cross what Fate
ordains."
Only a few feet away, Gerda stands on the other side of the hanging body,
grinning. They eyes lock for a moment; then Syblil moves on and slips out
the door without a sound.
***************************************************
Night falls in Twighlight Hollow. Shopkeepers close and lock their doors.
Farmer's wives rush home to fix the evening meal while their husbands lead
the herds back to the paddock to be fed and watered. At The Double Bolt
Inn, the usual crowd is absent, fearing to share the common room with a handful of strangers. A new announcement tacked to the wall promises a
reward for finding someone's lost cat; a ginger tabby comes out from behind
the bar and gracefully slinks underneath the table legs in search of scraps.
On the outskirts of the village hangs a sign illustrated with a golden
spindle and three threads. The shop's dark windows are suddenly illuminated
by a freshly-lit candle. One by one, many more candles are lit until the
room is filled with a soft glow.
When Sybil has finished lighting the candles, she withdraws behind a curtain
of beads into the back room and sits behind a table. She withdraws a small
rectangular wooden box from her robes. Made from some exotic wood from
foreign lands, the box gives off a deep, penetrating aroma that instantly
infuses the tiny room.
Almost reverently, the old woman opens the box and takes out a large deck of
cards and unwraps the silk cloth around it. She spreads the cloth out on
the table and places the deck face down upon it. Then she closes her eyes,
presses her palms together, and prays:
"Blessed Savras
The Colorless and All-colored
Servant of our Lady Mystra
Lend me thine third eye this night
My destiny belongs to Thee"
Then she solemnly begins the spread, speaking out loud softly:
First card: Significator
"The Significator reflects the situation, outer and inner, in which I find
myself at the present moment......"
She turns it over: The Ace of Wands.
"The Ace of Wands......The meaning of the aces in all four suits is an
initial eruption of raw energy....The Ace of Wands heralds an uprush of
creative energy...restlessness and dissatisfaction with present
circumstances are accompanied by a strong feeling that new things are
possible......."
Second card: Crossing Card
She turns it over: The 7 of Cups
"The Seven of Cups...representing the boon -- and problem-- of too many
possibilities in matters of the heart....the Seven of Cups augurs an
emotional situation where many potentials are evident, along with the
challenge of choosing and acting in realistic terms to make those potentials
manifest........."
Third card: Crowning Card
"The Crowning Card - describes the atmosphere and situation which
hang over the seeker in the immediate present........"
She turns it over: the Nine of Pentacles
"The Nine of Pentacles ...a card of reward and acheivement in one's
own eyes...augurs a period when one may be justifiably pleased with
oneself and with what one has been able to achieve...."
Fourth card: Base of the Matter
"This card describes the inner and outer situation, drive instinct or
aspiration which is really behind the apparent surface situation
reflecgted by the Crowning Card...."
She turns it over, and sees Mask standing at The Crossroads:
The Magician
"Mask points to potential skills and creative abilities which
have not yet manifested....He may appear as an upsurge of energy and
an intuition of exciting new opportunities....The Fool is blind,
through his meeting with Mask, it becomes clear that the
journey is possbile........"
Fifth card: Past Influences
"...describes the inner and outer situation which is now passing out
of the seeker's life...In the past it was important, perhaps
representing a set of values which the individual held in high
esteem...now it has lost its potency and the seeker needs to let
go...."
She turns it over and the face of Tyr greets her: Justice
"Tyr is the image of Justice, and represents the uniquely human
faculty of reflective judgement and rational though....When he
appears in a spread, it signals the need for balanced thought and
impartial decision-making."
Somewhere else.
Gerda wants to play with her new toy; Sybil sits closeby, her deft hands
working with a spindle and thread.
Gerda's "toy" is a humanoid form suspended from the ceiling.
"Sybil........have you seen how pretty my new toy is?" Gerda approaches the
body and reaches one decripid hand out to caress it. The humanoid in
question is a man; he halfway opens his eyes and flinches.
Gerda chuckles at his reaction. "What golden skin you have, my
dearest....what sparkling blue eyes....so haaaaand-some....one would almost
think you had the blood of the gods running in your veins...."
"He does," says Sybil. "He's a----"
"I KNOW what he is!" hisses Gerda angrily. "I don't need *you*, dear
sister, to give me lessons.....save those for your paltry human customers in
the village."
"Then the only reason for you to state what you already know is to inflict
mental torment upon the subject in question. Helpless in your clutches, you
are taunting that cleric with his lineage to mock him."
Gerda clapped her hands together and did a little hopping dance. "Yes, yes,
yes!!!!!!
"Did you hear that, Mr. Crying Priest? Mocking you is only the beginning. It
is only the first appetizer in a banquet you are going to share with me.'
Gerda wrapped her hand in a heavy cotton mitt and withdrew a long metal
skewer from the fire whose tip was now red-hot.
"And for the next course, I think we shall have....BBQ....."
Sybil hears the man's anguished screams rip the air, and smells burnt flesh.
She looked up from her spinning, and sees where Gerda has inserted the
cherry-red skewer. She watched motionless for some time while Gerda feeds
her dark desires from the man's pain and humiliation.
She stands up, and moves past the man. Something prompted her to turn her
head, and she found herself staring into moist eyes. She reads in his face
depths of terror that she herself has never known.
"Help me...." he whispers with what little voice remained to him.
"It is not my destiny to help you. I cannot cross what Fate
ordains."
Only a few feet away, Gerda stands on the other side of the hanging body,
grinning. They eyes lock for a moment; then Syblil moves on and slips out
the door without a sound.
***************************************************
Night falls in Twighlight Hollow. Shopkeepers close and lock their doors.
Farmer's wives rush home to fix the evening meal while their husbands lead
the herds back to the paddock to be fed and watered. At The Double Bolt
Inn, the usual crowd is absent, fearing to share the common room with a handful of strangers. A new announcement tacked to the wall promises a
reward for finding someone's lost cat; a ginger tabby comes out from behind
the bar and gracefully slinks underneath the table legs in search of scraps.
On the outskirts of the village hangs a sign illustrated with a golden
spindle and three threads. The shop's dark windows are suddenly illuminated
by a freshly-lit candle. One by one, many more candles are lit until the
room is filled with a soft glow.
When Sybil has finished lighting the candles, she withdraws behind a curtain
of beads into the back room and sits behind a table. She withdraws a small
rectangular wooden box from her robes. Made from some exotic wood from
foreign lands, the box gives off a deep, penetrating aroma that instantly
infuses the tiny room.
Almost reverently, the old woman opens the box and takes out a large deck of
cards and unwraps the silk cloth around it. She spreads the cloth out on
the table and places the deck face down upon it. Then she closes her eyes,
presses her palms together, and prays:
"Blessed Savras
The Colorless and All-colored
Servant of our Lady Mystra
Lend me thine third eye this night
My destiny belongs to Thee"
Then she solemnly begins the spread, speaking out loud softly:
First card: Significator
"The Significator reflects the situation, outer and inner, in which I find
myself at the present moment......"
She turns it over: The Ace of Wands.
"The Ace of Wands......The meaning of the aces in all four suits is an
initial eruption of raw energy....The Ace of Wands heralds an uprush of
creative energy...restlessness and dissatisfaction with present
circumstances are accompanied by a strong feeling that new things are
possible......."
Second card: Crossing Card
She turns it over: The 7 of Cups
"The Seven of Cups...representing the boon -- and problem-- of too many
possibilities in matters of the heart....the Seven of Cups augurs an
emotional situation where many potentials are evident, along with the
challenge of choosing and acting in realistic terms to make those potentials
manifest........."
Third card: Crowning Card
"The Crowning Card - describes the atmosphere and situation which
hang over the seeker in the immediate present........"
She turns it over: the Nine of Pentacles
"The Nine of Pentacles ...a card of reward and acheivement in one's
own eyes...augurs a period when one may be justifiably pleased with
oneself and with what one has been able to achieve...."
Fourth card: Base of the Matter
"This card describes the inner and outer situation, drive instinct or
aspiration which is really behind the apparent surface situation
reflecgted by the Crowning Card...."
She turns it over, and sees Mask standing at The Crossroads:
The Magician
"Mask points to potential skills and creative abilities which
have not yet manifested....He may appear as an upsurge of energy and
an intuition of exciting new opportunities....The Fool is blind,
through his meeting with Mask, it becomes clear that the
journey is possbile........"
Fifth card: Past Influences
"...describes the inner and outer situation which is now passing out
of the seeker's life...In the past it was important, perhaps
representing a set of values which the individual held in high
esteem...now it has lost its potency and the seeker needs to let
go...."
She turns it over and the face of Tyr greets her: Justice
"Tyr is the image of Justice, and represents the uniquely human
faculty of reflective judgement and rational though....When he
appears in a spread, it signals the need for balanced thought and
impartial decision-making."
