Under some trees, Day 51 A.F

I awoke to a throbbing pain in my head, causing me to curl my knees to my chest, clenching my eyes shut. Blood pooled on my upper lip, streaming from my nose. I wasn't sure if I stayed awake the entire time, but it seemed as though the sun had moved far across the sky before I could lift my head off the soft fern that served as my pillow. Odd. I distinctly remembered using my hair. Perhaps I just hadn't noticed the plant.

I shuddered at my vivid dream. That red headed witch's cruel laugh rang in my ears with terrifying familiarity. I'd seen her before, if not in so much detail. She'd starred in a few of my more disturbing paintings before the Flood. But I'd never seen her talk to Matthew.

Absentmindedly, I wiped at my bloody nose, resting my red stained hand on the fern plant's soft leaves. They seemed to tremble under my touch with an awareness that pulled on my stomach. The leaf curled around my finger, the comforting pant growing larger before my eyes. Soon, the fern was twice the size it had been, delicately caressing my hand. Shocked, I remembered the enormous ivy plant that had grown in my bedroom before the Flood. I had a nosebleed that night too...

Connecting dots that didn't seem like they should be able to connect at all, I dabbed a bloody finger onto the blade of a nearby grass. The plant instantly trembled, stretching higher as if fueled by my blood. My lips parted in awe.

Curious, I willed the grass towards me. As if pulled by a string, the blades leaned forward like they were searching for the sun.

I wanted to experiment more, but I remembered that I needed to relieve Tybira of her watch duties so that she could sleep.

I glanced over my shoulder, but Tybira was missing. Warding off the initial chill of panic, I leapt to my feet, spinning frantic circles. No sign of her.

I was alone.

I'd never been truly alone at any point I could recall. I'd always had a friend or relative within shouting distance. But now? All my friends and relatives were gone.

Nervous, I peered at my surroundings. It seemed to be midday, the sky a cloudless blue. That did nothing for my worry. I didn't know this territory, but I did know that if animals survived the Flood, they'd be desperate for whatever fresh meat they could find.

A distant chorus of wolf howls sent shivers down my spine.

So some predators had survived the Flood.

I wasn't afraid of wolves. From time to time I'd hear them from my bedroom before the Flood. They didn't cause any harm other than stealing the occasional sheep or goat. But now, with food scarce, a pack of wolves might decide human flesh would be an appropriate meal.

The fern and grasses leaned towards me, brushing green against my skin. They tickled me, comforting me. Even the oak tree at my side seemed to stiffen, as if preparing to strike.

As the howls grew louder I leaned against the tree, foolishly praying that the bark would conceal me. As my fingers pressed against the rough bark I felt power radiate through me, sensing the life of the tree, ancient and magnificent. The wood thrummed with an awareness that flowed through my being, warming and comforting me.

The entire tree twitched as another howl pierced the air, sounding just behind the trunk. I didn't want to peer beyond my oak, staring into the predator's eyes. I could feel my tree shift, the wood groaning to life.

"Ayesha?"

I whirled around, feeling my nails sharpen with fear. The tree's powerful branch swung foreword as if blown by a incredible gust of wind, swinging towards the source of the voice.

A high-pitched yelp echoed as an immense wolf—larger than any I'd ever seen—made contact with the branch, being thrown backwards. The tree sensed another presence, swinging the opposite direction.

"Ayesha!" A girl dodged the branch, but it followed her from behind. She cast me a panicked glance, face betrayed. Tybira had returned?

"Wait!" I screamed, not wanting the oak to send Tybira flying as far back as the wolf had.

Instantly, the tree stopped, groaning to a halt. The vitality remained in the wood, even if the oak was immobile.

"Ayesha..." Tybira panted, struggling to her feet and eyeing me warily. I couldn't blame her. I'd be wary too. Had I somehow controlled the tree?

"Are you alright there?" called another, familiar voice.

"Fine," Tybira managed, not seeming surprised by the stranger, although my claws tingled anxiously. "I just fell."

"Well, let me help." From behind a nearby collection of rocks stepped out a figure.

-DON'T LOOK AT THIS HAND. LOOK AT THAT ONE.-

A stared at a young man clad in a red robe, holding a wand to the sky with one hand, vines trailing above him, and pointing to the ground with the other. Before him, a table had somehow materialized, a golden cup, a glinting sword, a wooden staff and a pentagram lying on the top.

I blinked and the table was gone.

All that remained was the young man, wearing only a white top as he hurried to Tybira's aid. He offered her his hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Enki," Tybira sighed, glancing at me awkwardly. "I told you to stay by the wolves."

"Sorry," he mumbled, following Tybira's gaze to me with a frown. I wondered if my hair had returned to the odd red color. Who was this man?

"Let me explain," Tybira said, kneeling on the ground. The man and I followed her lead. "While you were asleep... I know I shouldn't have left... But that voice... It kept going. It was so close, almost calling me."

"That's probably why it's known as the Arcana Call." The man chuckled. His eyes twinkled mischievously, lips always curled into an amused smirk as if he was the only one aware of some hilarious joke entirely lost on the rest of us.

"Anyway," Tybira continued, "I went to see what it was, when I was surrounded by wolves... I thought I was doomed. See, I was born in Rome. My father provided the animals that gladiators would fight in the Coliseum. Sometimes I'd train a few and they'd always win." Her eyes sparkled with pride at the notion of training animals to mutilate men for the entertainment of others.

I didn't understand how it was relevant.

"Still, even I know that a wild, likely hungry animal isn't to be toyed with," she mumbled. "I knew I couldn't hope to calm them when they completely surrounded me. I tried to run, but one grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. But then... and I don't really understand it... They bit me and suddenly stopped... They just lowered their heads in submission."

"When they bit her, they tasted her blood," Enki explained. "That's all it takes for those savage wolves to become a group of cuddly puppies."

"Cuddly until Gladiator tried to rip your hand off," Tybira added, smiling fondly as the wolf that had been hit by the oak tree limped back towards her.

I leaned away from the enormous creature. It gave me a growl of contempt before sitting beside Tybira. I wondered if it blamed me for its injury. Even more so, I wondered how Enki had ended up with Tybira and why she trusted him. How did he know anything about Tybira and her wolves? Did he know what we were? Did he have powers of his own?

"I heard the commotion and went to investigate," Enki informed, laughing as he spoke. "The wolves didn't take kindly to me coming too close to their alpha."

"Who are you?" I asked, confused by the entire exchange.

Enki looked at me in consideration, suddenly serious. Still, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "I'm Enki Velos. The Magician."

"He knows what's happening to us!" Tybira exclaimed. "I thought you'd want to know, so I brought him back. You'll tell us, right Enki?"

"Of course I will, sweethearts. Anything you want to know."

"And how can we trust that you're telling the truth?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well, that's on you, beautiful." Enki shrugged, still eyeing me warily. "I can't control whether or not you believe me. I can only pledge you the honorable word of Enki Velos."

Although I highly doubted the honorable word of Enki Velos, I did need answers. Enki could speak, but I'd decide what I believed; I wouldn't be as trusting as I had been with Shiva or Amire. "Fine."

"Why do we have powers?" Tybira asked. "Besides making us pretty amazing."

"I'm glad you asked." Enki grinned with excessive showmanship. His smirk widened and he met my eyes, then Tybira's, as if trying to make his response as dramatic as possible. "Have you ever seen a deck of Tarot Cards?"

"No." Tybira shook her head. "I've heard of them though... They're used for fortune telling, right?"

"Exactly correct, gorgeous." He nodded enthusiastically. "But they're also used for playing a game. What about you, love? Ever seen a deck?"

After shooting Enki an irritated glare, I racked my brain. Tarot Cards... I believed I'd seen them at some point. "Um... I think my twin sister used to have a deck. She used to show them to me."

"She could have been a Chronicler, or possibly a Tarasova." Enki shrugged.

"Tarasova?" Amira, Shiva, and even Matthew had used that word before, claiming that my Tarasova hadn't taught me well.

"Wise person of the Tarot," Enki said. "Each major Arcana has one, typically a member of their family. But they don't always know who they are, because sometimes Chronicles are lost, so their Arcana doesn't always know what they are. Even if the Tarasova does know and attempt to teach their Arcana, sometimes they're prevented by another family member who doesn't believe their claims."

I blinked. Enki must have spoken honestly. I didn't know how, but I could feel the truth ringing with Lalita's actions.

"And what's a Chronicler?" Tybira asked.

"Similar to a Tarasova." Enki shrugged. "Sometimes they're even the same person. A Chronicler records the story of their Arcana in a book that will be passed to the next Chronicler or Tarasova."

So that was Lalita's book!

It seemed like Enki had an answer to all the things I'd wondered since the Flood. "So, you had a Tarasova?"

"Yes." He nodded. "My father was my Tarasova and Mother kept my Chronicles. They both... died in the Flood."

"So did my mother," I offered, as if it was some form of condolence. Everyone had lost someone.

"I don't even know what happened to my parents and older brother," Tybira sighed. She'd been chained in Amire's laboratory before the Flood had hit.

"I'm sure they made it out," Enki promised, for once losing his arrogant smirk.

"I don't believe that," she muttered, eyes trailing to her three wolves that laid idly by. "You don't either. Amire mentioned that the Flood hit most of Europe. But thank you for trying."

Neither Enki nor I had anything to say to Tybira, so instead I changed the subject. "So we're... Arcana?"

"Think of the Tarot Cards," he pressed. Enki turned towards me, slightly less cheerful.

"Well..." I cast my mind back to before Lalita had fallen silent. "There was the Hermit... The Fool... The Priestess..."

"Exactly," he said. "That's us. There's twenty-two of us. I'm The Magician, Tybira is Strength--often known as Fauna--and you're The Empress."

"You have powers too?" Tybira asked.

"Definitely." Enki grinned, that mischievous light returning to his eyes at full force. "But my illusions aren't the only magic I can do, if you know what I mean."

Tybira giggled, but I rolled my eyes at his innuendo. An illusionist. Enki would specialize in making things appear differently than they really were. Was he too different than he appeared?

"But why exactly do we have powers?" I frowned. "Why are we born as The Arcana?"

"It's a Game, sweetheart," Enki said dryly. "And we're all contestants."

((Lots of things were explained! Not everything though. What do you think of Enki?))