Catalena Teodorescu"Indeed," Catalena voiced, laying out nine cards, three by three, their images aligned toward Aendell such that the top row was furthest from him.
She passed her hand down each column. "The leftmost represents what forces affect the past, the central column, the present, the rightmost, the future."
Then, gesturing to each row. "The top are the supportive forces, the bottom are the oppositional forces, the central row are forces that play some part to be determined."
Catalena then paused a moment to let the words settle, then she added, "I will make some general observations: Note that no cards are in perfect alignment though several are close. But there are two in perfect misalignment. She indicated The Rabbit Prince and The Keep. Also, note that three of the nine -- she pointed to The Foreign Trader, The Twin, and The Owl -- are reflections of equal balance. This indicates to me that the overall reading does not seek to pull strongly toward a yes or no answer, but to leave the decision in your hands, perhaps better advised through this introspection. Let us proceed."
She gestured to the upper-left card. It bore a well-dressed reptilian humanoid with a malevolent red eye and backward-facing palms. It sipped tea sitting on the back of a naked, abject human. "Let us begin, in your past. Your strength has come from The Rakshasa. While this is a card representing subjugation, usually of the mind, note that it is misaligned." She indicated the book symbol in its lower-left corner. "So in this placement, it represents the throwing off of a limiting burden. Perhaps you have risen above some past oppression that supports you?"
Moving down, she came to a figure of a humanoid rabbit. It wore regal clothing and a crown and an hourglass about its neck. It's fine sword was ready, but shattered. "The Rabbit Prince, in perfect misalignment, so this is a strong card for the reading. It is a capricious fellow, a seeker of conflict. But he also represents nobility. Misaligned so, I might wonder if it may be a noble who has brought undue influence to the question without cause."
Finally, she came to a fairly simple image of an owl upon a branch. It held a needle and thread in its beak. "Opposing your strength is The Owl. Pure wisdom, made without sympathy or malice. The Owl may bind the thread of life together or tear it apart as readily."
"And so," she concluded, "Such are the influences to your question from your past. Let us now look to the present."
"The Foreign Trader," she intoned, describing the colorfully clad figure, bearing exotic goods but hiding his face. "This would be an auspicious card to have here in your favor if you were seeking a fortunate bargain, but that was not your question. It suggests to me perhaps the caravan of merchants that brought you here as a positive force in the present, or he is sometimes viewed in these lands as the sign of a Varisian, as we do travel and trade and wear our valuables upon our person."
"Influencing the present as neither ally nor foe, is The Queen Mother." Catalena dipped her head toward the image of an ant in crown and robes, caring for its grubby children. "The Queen of knowledge, but she withholds it from those who do not respect her and pay her homage. A Queen of the humble, the poor, the myriad." She touched her holy symbol of Desna and inclined her head again, confident in understanding the placement in the array.
Cat raised an eyebrow at the central, lowest card. "Hmm, interesting," she mused, looking at The Keep, a walled villa of handsome minarets, upon a block of stone which towered above a sea of angry figures upon giant mechanical legs. "The Keep is normally a symbol of silent strength, but here in this misalignment, it shows the danger of succumbing to weakness or temptation, or a greater strength in play may bring ruin."
She took a steadying breath and proceeded to the final column, what she had indicated was the future.
"Shall we seek to end on a positive note? Yes, I think we shall. So, let us first stay in the lower row and examine what opposes you in the future with this question." Moving her browned fingers, with coral-painted nails to her left, she pointed to a card of a frightening scene. A great beast of scales and tentacles surrounded by fire, swallowed hapless victims one after another. "The Fiend. Aligned, so a strong card. Always a sign of some great calamity, the deaths of innocents to some evil. Or metaphorically, I suppose, an end of innocence."
Bringing her hand closer to her side, she lingered over a pair of figures, nearly identical, only one bore a bared blade behind his back. "The Twin. A doppelganger. It shows indecision, a crossed-purpose, or divided loyalties. For a Harrower like myself, I am uneasy seeing it as it may also indicate an entire reading may hold a hidden meaning. But more like it may represent the crossroads of your decision as it neither hinders nor helps your future."
Catalena smiled at the final card. "What positive force does the future of your decision hold? It is The Dance." She showed a card of a woman in scarves, ribbons, bangles, and baubles whirling dexterously in pirouette with a filigreed baton surrounded by glowing spheres. "She is your only support in alignment and so is a strong presence. She represents staying in step with the Song of the Spheres, and knowing your own place in the greater good, and making decisions to preserve the delicate framework. To me, she indicates that the strength of your future is making a good decision."
She returned her hands to clasp her fingers together before her. "Or," she concluded, "Your strength of your future may come simply from a dancer."