NaNoWriMo & Tarot: The Avarice Key
The Story
In the shadow-streaked corridors of the Mundus Society, Helen's heels clicked a staccato rhythm, each step a sharp punctuation to the tumult in her mind. Helen, mage and member of the Society, is in an empty classroom, She has been preparing to perform a ritual in secret. It isn’t that she isn’t allowed to do magic after hours, she’s high enough in the society ranks that she can pursue her own research, but this spell…it attempts to bring back someone lost. Not just deceased, but their physical body lost to time and space. And that someone is so near and dear to Helen that a feeling like wild desperation creeps up her back and causing sweat to bead on her forehead.
In a bowl grind the following: a handful of rose hips, lavender, trumpet flowers, honey, and other various oils and herbs. Slather the sigils on the wall with the concotion and outline the doorway you wish to create in the mage’s own blood. Helen feels her nerves begin to build.
She’s double checked every inch of the ritual, she’s drawn the appropriate sigils on and around the outline of a doorway she’s created in her own blood. Just as it said to do.
As she begins the incantation the door outlined in blood bursts into blue flame, the smell of herbals perfumes the air in a heady way, Helen continues to chant; calling forth that which has gone into the ether.
There’s a flash of light and a force pushes out from the center of the door so strongly that Helen is lifted off her feet and thrown across the empty classroom. She loses consciousness but not before registering the faint sound of pattering feet and the snapping shut of the classroom door.
When she awakens…
it is to the morning bell signaling the start of another day at the Mundus Society and despite her throbbing head she rushes to clean up evidence of her ritual. What she can do about the scorched wall, she doesn’t know, but she shoves a wheeled blackboard in front of that wall and hurries away from the scene.
What had she done? The ritual, dark and desperate as it was, had been a gambit teetering on the edge of sanity. And now, this botched attempt, leaving behind only the scent of burnt herbs and a scorch mark on the wall of an otherwise sterile classroom.
Helen's thoughts raced as the morning light filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting kaleidoscopic patterns on the ancient stone floors. The Mundus Society, a bastion of arcane knowledge, hummed with the quiet intensity of a thousand secrets. Here, in these hallowed halls, magic was both the lock and key to the universe's deepest mysteries. And yet, for Helen, it had failed to unlock the one thing she desired most.
The throbbing in her head mirrored the beat of her heart, a relentless reminder of the night's folly. She had played with forces that many deemed sacred, treading a line that even the Society might not forgive. The repercussions of her actions were as yet unknown, but the fear of discovery was a cold hand around her heart.
As she mingled with the other members, exchanging customary greetings and hollow smiles, Helen's mind was elsewhere. The sound of pattering feet, the snapping shut of the door—these details haunted her. Had her ritual summoned something unintended, something that now lurked in the shadows of the Mundus Society?
The day passed in a blur, the usual lectures and magical exercises nothing but a backdrop to her inner turmoil. The scorched wall hidden behind the blackboard was a silent testament to her transgression, a secret that burned as bright in her mind as the blue flames of the ritual.
As dusk fell and the corridors emptied, Helen's resolve hardened. She would uncover the truth of what she had unleashed, no matter the cost. She had to. It was the only right thing to do. And that’s ultimately Helen’s guiding star, her deep sense of what is right.
In the world of magic, some doors, once opened, could never be closed. And Helen, mage and seeker of forbidden truths, was about to step through one, into the shadows of the unknown though she did not yet know it. .The sigils on the wall had burst into blue flames themselves, burning bright but scorching nothing they touched.
Helen felt a knot in stomach. A sure sign that something bad was around the corner. She knew she needed to get help but she couldn’t turn to anyone here. It was time to head into town. She needed answers and she dare not ask for them within the halls of the Mundus Society; to do so would only lead to her revealing she had a ritual of higher caliber and failed. No, that she most certainly could not admit.
Tarot Break Down
Note: These cards were all drawn at random. Next blog post you will see a spread where I have chosen specific cards to represent any characters that appear in the post. Similar to a Significator for a living person, this will serve as a significator for the fictional characters.
Because this first snippet had to set up a way for the events to unfold. I was surprised when I pulled the High Priestess as the main character. To me this screamed witch. I actually looked at the Page of Cups and combined both of these cards so that not only is she an important character to focus on but instead of another body for the supporting character I want to highlight her naivety.
She seems to think she knows what she is doing. But does she? Perhaps not. She’s going based on her gut. But her instincts are clouded by her desire for this to work. What was it actually supposed to do? Well, the High Priestess seems to be guarding a portal. I wonder how this could come into play.
The POV is, for me, a hard one to define and spoke more to her character as does the Page of Cups. With the 9 of Cups we have this overwhelming wish. There is a reason for doing this ritual and not just because it’s Tuesday night and she’s bored. The 9 of Cups is also called the Wish card at times. What is her wish? How does a wish play into this? What desire is driving the bus?
How to address the issue? Well, Helen needs more information. Time to make a trip into town. Maybe she should have gathered all of her information beforehand? Isn’t she a member of the order she’s holed up in? We don’t know why she felt the need to perform this ritual in secrecy but seems ego and hubris have come into play here. Wishes are simple things and don’t hold much place for hubris or ego.
You’d think she had more brains before action. Bad academic, bad! The issue itself centers on resources. Does she have everything she needs? Spells require an energy exchange. What did she give up? Anything? Can you expect a good outcome without giving anything of yourself?
Likely outcome? The chariot. She’s set something in motion but take note of the chariot driver’s lack of reins. Seems like they’re at the mercy of wherever this wants to go. That’s a scary, volatile feeling.
