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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Endur" data-source="post: 1595683" data-attributes="member: 3346">(My fiance wrote this next post.  Enjoy!)Somewhere else.Gerda wants to play with her new toy; Sybil sits closeby, her deft handsworking 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 thebody and reaches one decripid hand out to caress it. The humanoid inquestion is a man; he halfway opens his eyes and flinches.Gerda chuckles at his reaction. "What golden skin you have, mydearest....what sparkling blue eyes....so haaaaand-some....one would almostthink 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*, dearsister, to give me lessons.....save those for your paltry human customers inthe village.""Then the only reason for you to state what you already know is to inflictmental torment upon the subject in question. Helpless in your clutches, youare 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. Itis 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 metalskewer 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 thecherry-red skewer. She watched motionless for some time while Gerda feedsher dark desires from the man's pain and humiliation.She stands up, and moves past the man. Something prompted her to turn herhead, and she found herself staring into moist eyes. She reads in his facedepths 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 Fateordains."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 outthe 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 leadthe herds back to the paddock to be fed and watered. At The Double BoltInn, the usual crowd is absent, fearing to share the common room with a  handful of strangers. A new announcement tacked to the wall promises areward for finding someone's lost cat; a ginger tabby comes out from behindthe bar and gracefully slinks underneath the table legs in search of scraps.On the outskirts of the village hangs a sign illustrated with a goldenspindle and three threads. The shop's dark windows are suddenly illuminatedby a freshly-lit candle. One by one, many more candles are lit until theroom is filled with a soft glow.When Sybil has finished lighting the candles, she withdraws behind a curtainof beads into the back room and sits behind a table. She withdraws a smallrectangular wooden box from her robes. Made from some exotic wood fromforeign lands, the box gives off a deep, penetrating aroma that instantlyinfuses the tiny room.Almost reverently, the old woman opens the box and takes out a large deck ofcards and unwraps the silk cloth around it. She spreads the cloth out onthe table and places the deck face down upon it. Then she closes her eyes,presses her palms together, and prays:"Blessed SavrasThe Colorless and All-coloredServant of our Lady Mystra Lend me thine third eye this nightMy 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 findmyself 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 aninitial eruption of raw energy....The Ace of Wands heralds an uprush ofcreative energy...restlessness and dissatisfaction with presentcircumstances are accompanied by a strong feeling that new things arepossible......."Second card: Crossing CardShe turns it over: The 7 of Cups"The Seven of Cups...representing the boon -- and problem-- of too manypossibilities in matters of the heart....the Seven of Cups augurs anemotional situation where many potentials are evident, along with thechallenge of choosing and acting in realistic terms to make those potentialsmanifest........."Third card: Crowning Card"The Crowning Card - describes the atmosphere and situation whichhang 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'sown eyes...augurs a period when one may be justifiably pleased withoneself 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 oraspiration which is really behind the apparent surface situationreflecgted 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 whichhave not yet manifested....He may appear as an upsurge of energy andan intuition of exciting new opportunities....The Fool is blind,through his meeting with Mask, it becomes clear that thejourney is possbile........"Fifth card: Past Influences"...describes the inner and outer situation which is now passing outof the seeker's life...In the past it was important, perhapsrepresenting a set of values which the individual held in highesteem...now it has lost its potency and the seeker needs to letgo...."She turns it over and the face of Tyr greets her: Justice"Tyr is the image of Justice, and represents the uniquely humanfaculty of reflective judgement and rational though....When heappears in a spread, it signals the need for balanced thought andimpartial decision-making."</blockquote>

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