Open Fates by Firelight

[Kaliope]

23rd of Fall, 514AV
The Changing Moons' Compound
Dusk

"And who are you, the proud god said,
that I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat,
that's all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold, a coat of black,
a tiger still has claws,
And mine are long and sharp, my lord,
as long and sharp as yours.
And so she spoke, and so she spoke,
that queen of Falyndar,
And now the blood trails o'er her hall,
and all the world lives in fear.
Yes now the blood trails o'er her hall,
and not a god to fear."

Kali looked up and smiled as the slender woman whose bell-like voice had been lulling her nearly to the point of falling into a trance spun about in a tight circle, ending the flourish with a bow. The two lute players who still sat beside the fire moved into another, jauntier song.

It was good to hear music again. In past days, there had been so much loss, so much pain for her people as they fought the fires. Many had been badly burned or lost their homes. Water reimancers in her clan had been called upon like never before, as had earth and wind... but not fire. Fighting fire with fire was a lovely conceptual analogy but had few true uses in life. Besides... She saw the looks many now gave her clan, as if the fire had somehow been their fault. Young reimancers were so carefully trained! Did they not know that?

"Do you know what that song is about, sweet one?" Kali turned slightly in her seat to watch a mother and her young daughter walk by, hand in hand. The sight was so surprising and welcome that it cooled the fire which had been warming Kali's chest and cheeks.

"A tiger that ate a man!" The child cried without hesitation, scrunching up her hands and her nose to growl at her mother before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Though they were nearly past, the younger Myrian could see the smile that lit the mother's face as she scooped her daughter up into her arms and spun about. "Close enough..."

Something about that seemed to annoy Kali, mildly. The child did not know the answer, so why did the mother not inform her? Every child beneath the trees and across the seas should have known that was a song celebrating the glory of Myri!

A deep breath made its way in and out of the young woman's lungs, bringing with it peace and a long-unheard voice. "Peace and patience, my child. You are a special one... You cannot expect all others to think and act as you do. Instead, try to learn from them..." Frowning, Kali tried to push the voice aside and the wetness in her eyes back. More and more, lately, she had found herself missing her grandmother, her mother, her sisters. It did not do to dwell in the past.

Instead, she would lose herself in the possibilities of the future.

With due reverence, she opened the small wooden box that had been cradled in her lap. Her fingers were gentle as they pulled free a folded piece of red fabric, much like that which lined the box itself. Using four stones, she laid out the cloth and held it in place. Next came the cards.

They had a peculiar sort of weight between her slender fingers as she grasped them, pulled them from the box, and laid them gently upon the cloth. Their faces laid upon the fabric, out of sight for the time being. Finally, her hands traced the wrinkled leather of the cover of her grandmother's journal and pulled it from the box as well. It was then laid atop the bottom right stone.

Closing her eyes, Kaliope breathed deeply until she felt a sense of peace. Her lips moved as words as quiet as breath left them. "Lady Avalis, I pray thine wisdom and guidance as I begin my journey forward in the art of divination and interpretation." It was a painfully simple prayer, but an effective one.

With that, she took up the cards and began to shuffle them slowly.

(c) Adelaide Sitai

[Seisyll]

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A calm silence had descended upon the young Ivyess Dhani as she listened to the words of the players in front of the substantial audience. Having only arrived in the fortress city of Taloba a few days ago - and then experiencing the misfortune of raging fires that engulfed and devoured a good portion of the city - Seisyll had not had the opportunity to watch or listen to the native performers. With her fabricated history, the Dhani did not fear that her own methods were different, but she was curious to learn of their ways. That was, after all, why she had risked execution to enter the city.

Many times, she had wondered what types of songs the Myrian peoples would sing - would they be songs of great heroic feats and battles, of jungles and giant tigers, of times past where Seisyll might learn of the reasons for the Myrian hatred of her own kin. Ever curious to learn, the recently matured Ivyess girl - who herself was learning to become a minstrel in order to keep herself afloat - attended the event, where songs were sung late at night. She was pleasantly surprised that the song she arrived to hear was about divine matters.

The songs that Seisyll knew personally were not particularly related to events or true people, unless it was related to her patron goddess. Her songs and tales were about nameless folk who performed ordinary tasks and had normal lives. These stories could be riddled with humour or morals which the listener had to discover. Seisyll wondered if the Myrian peoples preferred heroic feats... maybe she would attempt to learn tales which might allow her to slip more seamlessly into the hearts and minds of this society.

The song ended and a few from the crowd dispersed, at which point Seisyll realised that this event was not purely for song and story - other artists were performing their craft,and she watched one dark-skinned young woman separate herself from the crowd and slip into the corner. Inquisitive eyes continued to watch the girl as she flung a cloth over a relatively flat surface, and then she placed four small stones on each of the corners. Finally, she watched the Myrian pull out a series of cards. The woman was evidently preparing some form of entertainment, and the pale Dhani meandered over.

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