#how mayhem picked up AST

[ecosystem-administrator]

Shuffle

Post 5.0, no particular spoilers

Mayhem is interested in card divination.

It was a fine evening at the Crystarium, and Urianger was enjoying the hum of activity through the market square, from the vantage point of a cafe table a little bit out of the main push of traffic. He saw Mayhem coming before they spotted him, and nodded wisely at the bard's approach.

"Good evening, my friend," he greeted them with a smile, gesturing to another chair. "If thou hast come to speak, wilt thou not take thine ease? I hope naught else of urgency hath raised its head to break the evening's grace."

Mayhem smiled and shook their head, happily settling into the offered chair. "Nah, everything's quiet for now. I was looking for you, though. I've been meaning to ask - I know about the cards you use in battle, but the whole deck can be used for divination too, can't it?"

Urianger nodded. "It can indeed. The major arcana, aligned to the heavens, art considered the most powerful and recognizable; most divination is performed using them alone, particularly in the heat of battle where fates may turn with such speed. Yet if one doth desire a more nuanced interpretation of fate, 'tis quite possible to read with the entirety of the same deck of sixty employed in games of chance." Smiling, he pulled out his cards, first the major arcana he normally used in battle, and then from a side pouch the remainder of the deck. "Wouldst thou care for a demonstration? Combining them will take but a moment."

"If you wouldn't mind!" Mayhem's tail lashed eagerly behind them, and their ears wiggled with excitement. "I admit I've never been the most devout person, but it's such an interesting practice."

"I should be delighted." The cards were already flitting through Urianger's hands with practiced ease. Once he deemed them sufficiently reordered, he set the deck down and began to draw. "For simplicity's sake, our demonstration shall be the Trinity," he explained as he laid out three cards face down. "One card to illuminate thy past, one to indicate thy present condition, and one to divine thy future." He flipped the first. "The fourth of irons." The card showed a woman in manacles, running from a whip that lashed at her feet toward an open doorway, which showed an empty cell behind it. "Here thou canst see, she doth flee from torment into solace, though solace be a cage. Indeed, unless I recall incorrectly, thou hadst few companions before joining the ranks of the Scions." He shook his head, noting the way Mayhem's ears lowered as well. "Betimes solitude may be easier to endure than lashes."

The next card revealed a far more pleasant scene, a well-attended Bonding ceremony. The young lovers held one cup between them, ready to drink from it; four more were scattered about the table for the guests who cheered them onward. "Ahh, the fifth of cups. A joyful communion of souls, finding one another and affirming the bonds betwixt them. Yet 'tis not the completion of the suit, just as the binding shown is not the end some might suppose it, but a vow of perseverance. This joy and community will persist so long as all continue to maintain it in unison."

And finally the last was turned, to reveal the Ewer, the familiar sight of Thaliak pouring out a river from his mighty jug. "And the Ewer, upright. A fine omen indeed: a flowing bounty of life and of knowledge, springing forth by the will of Thaliak, guided and shaped by Nymeia. Doubtless thou wilt continue to be blessed with the knowledge and power thou dost need most; as the Ewer ruleth over the element of water, thou shouldst trust to thine intuition to access them."

He tapped the first card with a long finger, and then the second. "Indeed, this spread indicateth a thawing like unto springtide: for irons are ruled by ice, yet the other two cards are of water. Thou art freed now from the stifling of the past, and coming fully into thy strength and grace."

"That's certainly heartening," Mayhem agreed, eyes wide and ears perked with wonderment and sincere interest. "And fascinating! I think I see how it works - you have to take into account the images, elements, numerology, and the deities among the Twelve that rule over the suit, and how all those interact with each other, so each card has a lot of versatility, while still keeping a consistent meaning."

"Just so! Thou wert ever a quick study," Urianger smiled back. "Yet pray tell, what hath caught thine interest so regarding the lesser arcana?"

"Ah, well. It was just a convenient time to ask, since we have a little time off," Mayhem admitted. "Before I knew any of you, before the Calamity, I traveled as a mercenary for a bit, right? We played card games a lot, and on one trip, one of the others I was with had a deck like that - not just suits and pips, but full artwork on every card, each one seeming to carry a bit of a story with it. It stuck with me, so I remembered other bits and pieces I picked up as I kept traveling, how that kind of deck was used for fortunetelling and all. Wasn't sure I'd ever actually have the chance to stop and talk to an expert about it, but," a lighthearted shrug and flick of the tail, "here we are."

"Here we are, indeed." Urianger swept up the cards, and began sorting through the deck again to retrieve the rest of the major arcana. "If thou hast further need of lessons in the future, I am ever at thy service."