Shanku was taking her long walk in search of the northern kurach, and happened across a woman being harrassed by a bandit, whom she then dispatched in her usual manner. Shanku turned to leave before the woman could panic like all the others did, but to her surprise, the woman did not. She stopped Shanku by grabbing her hand.
"You're not scared?" Shanku asked cautiously.
"Not of kurach," the woman smiled warmly. "Allow me to give you something in return for rescuing me."
"No reward is necessary," Shanku said quickly as the woman sat down and spread out a cloth on the ground.
"Aren't you curious?" she asked coyly as she produced a deck of cards.
"Now I am. What's with the cards?" Shanku asked.
"Come, sit," the woman gestured.
The woman shuffled the cards thoroughly, and then fanned them up before Shanku. "Pick ten," she instructed. Shanku's ears twitched once in excitement as she carefully chose ten cards and laid them down.
The woman picked them up and arranged them carefully into the shape of a star of six cards and a staff of four.
"Your present influences," the woman said as she pointed to the center of the star. "The two of Water. Love. Compassion. Respect. Harmony."
"Well, you certainly have been the nicest one to me after running off a bandit," Shanku said sheepishly.
"Your current obstacle," the woman nodded and pointed to the bottom right of the star. "The reversed five of Fire. Disagreements. Bickering. Discord. Hassles."
"What else is new?" Shanku sighed.
"What recently caused this obstacle," the woman pointed to the left of the star. "The ten of Air. Hitting bottom. Endings and beginnings. Tears. Betrayal. Martyrdom."
Shanku looked at her curiously. "Uncle Turai...?"
"What laid the way for this problem," the woman continued as she pointed to the bottom left of the star. "The queen of Water. A good woman who loved you. Tenderness. Emotions."
"Arloda and I were close, and I guess I was friends with Sigrid at the end, and they did suggest I start coming up this way, but 'love' is a strong word... Or Ma?" Shanku asked, shocked. "What does my mother have to do with this?"
"What you wish to achieve," the woman smiled and pointed to the top of the star. "The reversed seven of Fire. Aggression. Defiance. Beating the odds. Success."
Shanku grinned devilishly, thinking back to when she was exiled, and how she was still thriving despite the Elders' curses. She had even proved herself to be a fine huntress during her stay with the Highland kurach.
"What lies ahead of you," the woman pointed to the right of the star. "The queen of Air. Honesty. Experience. Toughness. Independence. Good humour."
Shanku smiled hopefully. "Does that mean I get to find the elusive kurach of the far north?"
"How you currently are," the woman smiled coyly as she continued, and pointed at the bottom of the staff. "The four of Earth. Possessive. Controlled. Blocked. Clingy."
"H-hey now!" Shanku huffed. "I've come a long way!"
"How others see you," the woman nodded and pointed to the next card up the staff. "The knight of Fire. Adventurous and restless. Daring and foolhardy. Full of energy, passion, and hot-tempered."
"Well I am now," Shanku grumbled.
"Your hopes and fears," the woman continued and pointed to the next card. "The eight of Earth. Artistry and talent. Diligence. Power and success. Progress in your career."
Shanku looked at her curiously. "Well, I did want to be a good hunter, and I've achieved that. But I'm not sure how I could be afraid of it..." Then she thought to how she had been hunting bandits, and it had backfired on her by making those around her fearful. She shifted her weight uneasily.
"Finally, how your life is currently headed," the woman finished. "The queen of Fire. Cheerfulness. Assurity. Honor. Resourcefulness. Perhaps a leader someday."
"Well, that was unexpected," Shanku muttered, dazed.
"Have I helped you to understand yourself?" the woman asked her.
"Brought up enough bad memories, that's for sure," Shanku said softly.
"You have a bright future," the card reader replied.
"Leading the Sylvans? Yeah, right!" Shanku scoffed.
"The cards only show what is possible. Your future is your own decision," she stated.
"Um, who was the good woman who caused me all this trouble?" Shanku asked quietly.
"I do not know, but you may. I'm a card reader, not a mind reader," she stated. "Fare well, young kurach." The woman rose, bowed her head to Shanku, and disappeared down the forest path toward the next town.
Shanku sat in silence for a few moments, thinking over the card reading the woman had given her. Then she went on her way.
This was supposed to be part of the 24-hour Comic Challenge 2015, but my desire for clean art slows me down too much. But, I rather liked the story and decided to finish it anyway. This is set during the time Shanku has left the Highland kurach to seek the ones far to the north, and has entirely too much fun harassing troublemakers along the way. And since 2015 was spent with me heavily indulging in my occult interests, it ended up being about cartomancy. What made this short story particularly fun is that I actually did the Celtic Cross spread on Shanku with some playing cards just to see what would pop up. These are the actual cards in the order they came. My ability to read them coherently, however, continues to be a work in progress.
