[Okana's Tent] The Future (solo)

[Vizyous Aconitum]

The disorder of Alvadas was still growing on Vizyous, as eager as he was to be living in the city of Illusion. When he walked in search of the tent owned by the same Konti woman that Doddel Asperenus wrote of, his patience was tested as what he thought would have taken only half a bell took nearly thrice that, the streets always seeming to take him back to where he started. Kalinor had been dark, lit well enough for traders in certain places, but it's only disadvantage was the lack of light throughout the rest of the settlement. It's layout was organized, as was it's methods of travel, and even most caves settled by Webs were meticulously set up. No, the only disadvantage was the darkness, but even that was nonexistent for a spider. In comparison, Alvadas was a city of havoc and clutter, it's buildings always shifting as well as it's streets and climate. It was only with Ionu on his side that Vizyous found the treasure he'd been looking for, the large tent striped in an aged yellow that might have once been white and dull red placed in the space between Matilda's Jewels and the Sunken Conundrum. The alley was just large enough to fit the tent, it seeming to be placed there on purpose and making the Symenestra wonder if the Konti fortuneteller minded being put so far away from potential customers.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

As Vizyous approached, he could feel the Konti's gaze on him even through the thick fabric of the flap that covered the tent's entrance. The Symenestra had never personally met a Konti, only having heard of them among Kalinor. He'd glimpsed one that was brought back as a surrogate, only to hear later that her child didn't have a speck of Symenestra in it and was a complete disappointment. Why the child was so shunned wasn't completely grasped by Vizyous, as the women were a beautiful, naturally gifted race just as his own were. Casting aside these thought, he pulled back the heavy flap enough to slip within the tent, finding himself beginning an intense staring contest with the fortuneteller. The woman was as pale as a Symenestra, perhaps from sitting inside her tent all day, and her hair fell long, a familiar shade of white. Again, Vizyous wasn't sure why the child was so shunned when Konti appeared so much alike his own. His amethyst eyes gazed into her own continuously, clawed hand letting go of the hold he had on the flap. It gently but firmly swung shut behind him, sealing him in with the woman whose expression had a thin wall between being intensely enchanting or eerily impassive. Never had Doddel said in his journal that Okana was such a apathetic woman. Unknowing to Vizyous, the fortuneteller had been studying his aura, drawing only one important fact from it that she could use for later. "Have you come for your fortune, Symenestra?" Her voice was deeply feminine yet it's richness was stifled by it's absence of emotion. She continued on, knowing his answer, "1 silver miza is your fee."

[Vizyous Aconitum]

Vizyous was mildly curious why his price was lower than Doddel's, but thought that perhaps her prices had lowered after time-- after all, the old man had visited her a great many years ago. While still spectacle about whether Okana was truly a good fortuneteller, he withdrew a single silver miza and held it in his palm, showing her it. The tent was completely empty of tables, chairs, or any other kind of furniture. Okana herself sat on a plain rug, and seeing no where else for him to be, Vizyous joined her on the ground, placing the miza in between them. The fortuneteller gave only a glance at the miza and confirmed that it wasn't an illusion before looking into her customer's amethyst eyes once again. He was of the spider-like race, a man that practiced trickery and had been devious in the past, possibly even wicked. Blood had certainly been spilled, but it was old and dried. From within a pocket she withdrew a deck of cards, holding them in her hand securely and retrieving the miza with her other. "What would you like to learn of the future, Aconitum?" She paused, "Or would you prefer the past?" Okana's eyes were intense and dead at the same time, perhaps on purpose to help Vizyous think more of himself than her. His discomfort at the mention of the past was discreet, yet the aurist picked up on it, tucking that hint away for later. "Was I correct in coming to Alvadas?" To the Symenestra sitting across from her, she may have appeared to not respond, not have acknowledged his question. She repeated the question in her mind, however, and got a feel for it, dissecting it. Aconitum was unsure about the future he worked towards, unsure whether he should have left his past ways of killing. Okana closed her eyes, putting together the information and finally began the reading for her customer. Vizyous observed with curiosity as Okana began quickly shuffling the deck of cards fluidly as if she'd been doing so her whole life. There was no break in the movement and if she was deliberately placing any cards in a certain way, the Symenestra wasn't able to detect it; the Konti wasn't, though, and while she shuffled for a few silent moments longer, she focused on the question. "What will he find in Alvadas?" She asked out loud, a second later placing four piles of cards down. Her stare went from the stacks she'd created to Vizyous, reading his slightly overwhelmed expression easily however not interrupting her concentration to explain what she'd done. The Konti perfectly withdrew the top card of the right-most stack, "Left, right, up or down?"

[Vizyous Aconitum]

Absent of knowledge and what his answer would affect, Vizyous thought of the first choice that came to mind, "Up," and the card was placed on the rug, face up. Before he could pay attention to the picture that it portrayed, Okana moved on to the next stack, moving right to left, and asked him the same question again. "right," the Symenestra replied, repeating the process two more times, answering left and down. As complicated as the reading seemed, it had taken less than half a bell. The four cards Okana had laid out made up the shape of a diamond, and now that his cards were set up she began to explain minimally. Her pale index finger gestured towards the uppermost card, the tip of the diamond, "The Hanged Man," her voice was technical, "this represents romance and relationships." Next, she pointed to the card that made the right point of the diamond, "Three of Wands, this is your finances. The Moon," this was the bottom point, "this is your health and well-being. Lastly, The Fool on the left represents what you work towards." Hearing names like The Hanged Man and The Fool didn't make Vizyous feel too confident about his future, however Okana began her interpretation of his cards. "The Hanged Man suggests that you will meet an individual or group of people that will make you submit and lose your control. Through this, you will gain something that's invaluable compared to your sacrifice." "Connected with this is The Fool, making it's meaning seem more positive than negative. While you'll be taking risks perhaps because this person, you'll be free and more blindly faithful about your future than you've ever been before." She studied his expression, seeing if he was content with her explanations so far and whether or not she'd need to embellish a bit. She still had his attention, so she continued on as she'd been doing. "The Three of Wands-- you're going to go through quite an evolution. Not only will you be free, but you will be searching endlessly for finances and stability. Again, this is more good than bad, suggesting that while you may not find what you're looking for, your changing, trying to explore new options." Vizyous liked the sound of that, despite the possibility that he may not find income. His expression brightened a bit, intrigued by her reading so far. "Lastly is The Moon, perhaps the most devious card of this spread, which seems to be the connector for each of these situations and represents your health." Okana's voice had a bit of life to it as she said this, causing a spark of both worry and excitement in Vizyous. "The Moon brings both fear and fantasy together, making a thin line between dream and reality. This is your reaction to Alvadas and illusion, the final outcome: while the gain of your sacrifice will outweigh the loss, you may very well lose parts of you that you thought you would never give up, altering you forever. Your freedom will no doubt be influenced strongly by illusion and your search for financial stability may turn into aimless wandering caused by dreaming and blind faith." There was a long moment of silence, and then Okana gathered the cards in her nimble hands, beginning to stack them together once again. Vizyous sat there, watching absentmindedly and considering what he'd been told. Ultimately, it was more interesting a reading than he'd been expecting, one full of both promise and warning. After the Konti had put the cards back her pocket, Vizyous smiled brightly at her, pleased. She was good. "Thank you," He simply said, not able to say much more to the woman until he saw if her predictions would be true or not. Vizyous stood, his legs slightly stiff, and was responded to with a mechanical, "My pleasure." Before the Symenestra left the tent, he couldn't help but think that Doddel had judged Okana so harshly because he was bitter about the truth.

[Cadence]

Name   Skills None   Lores Having One's Fortune Told Facing the Future   Ledger - 1sm Additional Notes:I liked your use of foreshadowing and I’m very interested to see what exactly you do to Vizyous in the future. It all sounds very ominous… can’t wait!