NEFERTARI
We've Become Disillusioned
So We Run Towards Anything Glimmering
Nefertari smiled easily as she shuffled her cards, listening to the mare as she asked about the tent. “Yes and no,” she said. “I put the items up myself, but they were graciously provided by the host court. I would not have been too keen on hauling things across all of Novus by myself. And while I’m of Solterra, I spent the winter months visiting Denocte and I wouldn’t want to imagine what the trek through the Arma would have been like had I needed to consider all of this frivolity.”
She cast her gaze out across the tent, admiring the faint sparkle that danced across the fabrics in the morning light. “Though it was quite kind of them to provide something so on theme.” The seer continued to run the cards over each other, waiting to hear what question, if any, this exotic creature might bring to her ears.
As the woman leaned in, the clairvoyant could taste the clove of her scent on the back of her tongue, the accompaniment of other worldly spices and oils that conjured images of desert oasis and cactus blooms, warm summer nights and shadows filled with passion. It stirred something primal inside the mare’s belly, but she pushed it aside for now. The painted woman before her exuded sensuality, and it was difficult not to mirror. She asked the one question that both excited and twisted Nefertari into knots.
The vague questioning of what the universe might have to tell someone always left room for great disappointment, and this was one mare that she had no desire to fall short with. Something pulled at the back of her mind, however, that she would be satisfied with the answer, whatever it may be.
The clairvoyant nodded, golden forelock obscuring her vision very briefly as she separated the deck into three distinct piles of equal size. She motioned for her patron to make a decision. “Which deck speaks to you? The fates’ answers lay between those cards.”
When Fever made her choice, the woman gathered the other cards together, pressing them to her muzzle in a silent thanks before setting them to the side of the table and clear of her working space. Nefertari began to place down the cards, first a single set of four, from left to right, then a second row just below the first. She flipped them over one by one, gentle in her motions.
First, a young filly alone in a meadow, only a sliver of a moon in the dark sky, glowing reflective eyes staring daggers from the shadows of the trees surrounding her. She curls into herself, staring frightened at the viewer. The lettering, turned so that Fever might read it, clearly stated this card as “Nine of Swords”.
Next, a hefty draft looking out over a garden, seven sunflowers blooming with golden coins for their center, a gentle smile on his features.
A stallion of earthen tones with stern features. The woodlands are woven into his mane, and a strange twist of antlers reach for the open sky. He is backlit by a bright bonfire, where faint figures can be seen dancing. He holds an elaborate torch, presumably the same torch that brought the flames to life. Below, his card names him “King of Wands”.
The final card of the first row depicts a full moon and a languid mare thrown into silhouette, a golden tear tracing the curve of her cheek.
The second row begins with another stallion, this one a draft beast with well crafted muscle, shoulders cloaked in rich purple fabrics and soft furs. He is surrounded by carefully maintained piles of treasure, from standard golden coins to chests nearly overflowing with jewels, artwork and tapestries displayed. He carries a particularly large pendant around his neck, a five-pointed star carved into the face of it, the card proclaiming him as “King of Pentacles”.
Nefertari continues to turn the cards facing upwards, matching the second row to their partner in the first. A white mare with ivory antlers, curling locks braided with flowers and vines. She holds herself with a quiet confidence, staring down the viewer with the grace of ages. She holds a stave, more of the same flora twisting around the thick branch as foals frolic in the fields of wildflowers behind her, the “Queen of Wands”.
A warrior at his post, young of body, but weary in features. He is cast in shadow, as one of many along an expansive border, watch towers fading into the distance. The gate he guards is made of nine thick branches, strung together with rough leather. This card is turned so that it faces Fever from across the table, the exhausted expression on the stallion’s face gazing off across her shoulder.
Finally, a maiden, thrown over her lush silks and bright pillows, languishing as three swords cross through her chest. Her face is twisted in sorrow as silver tears stream down her cheeks, inkwells and parchment are strewn, as if she has received some horrible news that has overcome her, flaxen mane staining red with the colour of golden blood.
Nefertari pondered these cards for a moment, fixating upon a particular pair before frowning. She pulled another card from the top of the chosen deck, laying it with the King of Wands and the Nine of Wands. Three performers stacked atop each other, a black Freisian at the base, hooves clustered to balance atop a large disk with a silver star embossed to it. His back cradles another disk in copper, a white mare perched atop it, holding another disk atop her head in gold. A final performer, a fragile looking foal, balances atop this golden disk, silhouetted against a full moon. The bottom foreground is obscured by what seems to be an audience, as well as the card name “Three of Pentacles”.
The mare observed the cards now, seeming satisfied with this further clarification. She began to speak, her words a stream of consciousness as she acted as a conduit for the stars, for the fates and the universe itself.
“We all have a drive for something more, to hold that which we cannot have. Yours… yours is different. Whether prompted by a desire for wealth, or goods, or just a byproduct of your actions, it has caused you to make drastic change. Necessary change, to better yourself. You are seeing the fruits of that labour now. Coming into your own, commanding respect, and power, and reveling in those things you have fought so hard to achieve. And why shouldn’t you?” The clairvoyant cast her golden gaze up and down the mare before her.
“Just look at you. You are the epitome of all that powerful women wish to be. Why not flaunt all that which the gods have gifted you? All that you have sacrificed to become? Queens are not made from fairytales and sweet dreams, but blood, sweat and tears. This you know well, and you have accepted that is what you must do to hold that which you desire. More than mere fame, or fortune, or recognition, but power, true power. The respect deserved by a woman who is not cut of the same cloth as those around her. Yet here…”
Nefertari pushed the collection of three cards forward across the table. “Here you are, basking in the glory that is yourself, and you are pushing away all those who are designed to aide you in what you seek. You have worked yourself to the bone in order to obtain this gift of recognition, and yet you use it to alienate those who may assist you in your journey. You did not come to me to know things of vague importance as told by the stars, no no. You came to this tent seeking one answer, and one answer only, and these here.” She drew attention to the trio again. “These tell me that you are pushing away your only chance of truly getting to know the answers to those questions that rip you apart at night. You had to claw your way to the top and in doing so have forgotten that you must work with others to achieve higher goals. You cannot do everything on your own, and to act as if that is the only way, as if you must, as if those around you are not good enough, will only push away the people who are there to guide you on the path to answers.
“You may not be cut from the same cloth, but darling, we are all woven as part of the same tapestry, and the more you fight that very fact the harder it will be for you to ever progress beyond where you are now. This is only the very beginning of your journey, and if you continue on this road…” The fortune teller shook her head, pushing forward the last two cards.
“You will only find heartbreak. Things are not what they seem, and the answers you seek are not the ones that you wish to hear. You must consider if knowing the truth is worth the pain, if fighting to see beyond the lies and the bullshit is worth it, even if it will not bring you any joy, or healing. You can continue to seek these answers, because it is in our very nature to desire knowledge, to know that which might destroy us. We are funny creatures that way.” The mare gave a sad smile.
“I cannot tell you whether you must turn your back on this journey or to follow it to the end. That is your own choice to make. But you must decide if the pain that will come, because there will be pain, that I can assure you… you must decide if that pain is worth the answers. Will you sleep more soundly to know the truth when you lay your head down to your silks at night, if you know? Or will the pain consume you and rot you to the core? That is what you must consider. And if you choose to pursue it?”
She lifted the Three of Pentacles so that it hung between the two of them. “You must learn to collaborate. To listen, to work with others. To create a balance. You cannot continue to be a one-woman show all your life. You must learn to accept the help that is offered you, and not push those away who might be your greatest ally, just because they differ from you.”
art by pacificdash character by scapeh table by sunny
