Ep. 21- A Brief Interlude
ext. night sky
The night sky. Twinkling stars. Black and purple swirls of galaxies numerous and indeterminate. Mother Moon, in her usual glowing image, is at center. She speaks directly to us.
MOON
My, my, we’ve been away for some time now. So many new friends and such an intense battle. You all must be feeling just as frazzled as our poor Alice. Well, never fear, Mother Moon is here to help set you all straight and make sure we are on the same page, what with all this talk of “fallen cards” and “fajro juice” and queens, knights and magic powers.
The stars swirl around to illustrate her points as though she were a teacher referring to a blackboard. The first shape they take is that of a starry outline of the Fool’s tarot card.
MOON
Let’s quickly review. Every person or being within Arcana- and indeed, within The Real, where Alice hails from, has a card. Think of it as their soul, or like a battery that provides power for their potential. Now, most people never tap into the full potential of their card. Alice is a rare example- though you’ll have to wait to learn why! But the beings within Arcana- like the Queen of Swords, the Knight of Cups- are born with an understanding of what their card is and some knowledge of how to access its power. Their strength is determined by ranks- usually a number, 2-10. The strongest get “face ranks” such as Queen, Knight, Maid or Page. The most powerful are called Aces, but we won’t see them for some time. They each belong to one of 4 houses based on their symbol- the sword, the wand, the pentacle or the cup. The members of these houses are typically referred to as the “minor Arcana”.
The stars then reassemble to show outlines of the Pale Horse, the Devil and the Hermit.
MOON
And then we have others like the Pale Horse, the Devil, the Hanged Woman and the Fool. They have extremely powerful cards that grant them special abilities and great status within Arcana. They are unique- they stand alone with no House. Although they may ally with others, they are often left to look after themselves and their own agendas. They are called the “Major Arcana”. Think of them like the Greek gods of legend. They have always existed and yet they still live day to day just like any mortal- and there can be only one of them at any given time. One Pale Horse or one Devil, for instance. There’s more to it than that- such as the question of if a Major Arcana can die, or how Alice came to possess such power herself- but that’s all for later in the story.
The stars then rearrange once more to show a set of cards upright, then flipping over.
MOON
You heard the queen talking about “reversed” or “fallen cards” and are wondering what that’s all about. Well, it’s quite simple. If you shuffle a deck of cards and draw them- some will come out upright and some will come out upside down- or, in different terms- reversed. This can also be with one’s card. Perhaps you’ve thought of a friend as quite “bright” or an acquaintance as very “dull”- that’s an inherent assessment of one’s card alignment! It’s neither positive or negative, as in most cases the alignment of one’s card is not something that can be helped. However, in rare cases, there are those who might choose to “reverse” their card for their own reasons. Perhaps they’ve rejected their role within their house or wish to attract less attention from other more powerful cards. Sometimes, it can be a punishment thrust upon a person- reversing a card often severely limits the power of a person’s card or causes untold calamity on them, personally.
The stars form an outline of The Tower.
MOON
The stories say the only way to change the alignment of their card is to visit The Tower. But I wonder if that really is the only way? Perhaps our new heroes will find out as they continue to travel together. And I’m sure if we continue to listen that each of them will tell us all about their alignment- and how it came to be. I have a feeling each story will pleasantly surprise you. Some you won’t have to wait long for- like the Queen of Swords! Others will take a good deal longer- what fun would it be if we knew everything there was to know about Alice right off the bat, for instance? I suppose you could say the real story of this journey through Arcana is about potential- and what one can do to affect their destiny in the face of overwhelming adversity. I’ve been up in this sky since the beginning of time and even I can’t wait to see how our new friends do. Can you?
