22 Themes: The Major Arcana

Welcome!
For the month of February I will be taking on a small project wherein I write twenty-two (22) drabbles about a certain set of characters that found me in a dream. Each drabble must follow the theme of one of the twenty-two cards in the Major Arcana of a Tarot card deck.

The purpose of all this is for me to develop these characters, and their world in a fun and creative manner. I may even find a plot for them! Anyone who would like to do the same with their own set of characters is more then welcome to! Comments and criticism is also welcome.

The Cards
Please Note: I was going to try and write a definition for each card, but then I though that might be welcoming a debate so I have decided not to. Everyone is free to interpret the cards as they want. With each story I will include a quick line describing how I interpreted the card for my use, but by no means does that mean that is how everyone else should use it.

0 – The Fool
i – The Magician
ii – The High Priestess
iii – The Empress
iv – The Emperor
v - The Hierophant
vi – The Lovers
vii – The Chariot
viii – Strength
ix – The Hermit
x – Wheel of Fortune
xi – Justice
xii – The Hanged Man
xiii – The Death
xiv – Temperance
xv – The Devil
xvi – The Tower
xvii – The Star
xviii – The Moon
xix – The Sun
xx – Judgement
xxi – The World


Others Who Are Writing

Batsy

Disraeli

Characters (In progress)

Hero (Barrow): The main hero character of the story.
Age: 27
Features: He is tall, and solidly built. He is a great fighter, but his personality is somewhat weak. He is easily swayed by people who are firm in their beliefs, and is too trusting of others.
Background: He comes from a small mountain village where in his elder brother is the chief. Feeling inadequate next to his brother’s strength and accomplishments he leaves his home declaring that he will save the world. From what no one really knows.


Chief/Elder Brother (Kailas): The brother of the hero, and chief of a small mountain village. He protects a great secret.
Age: 31
Features: Tall and strong like the hero. He is a great hunter, and a formidable politician despite ruling only a village. He in confident in himself, and firm in his beliefs. He can be stubborn, and that tends to get him into trouble.
Background: As chief he protects a strange secret, and certain events in his past make him a hard person to deal with. His wife Qwin was killed under suspicious circumstances.


Qwin: The late wife of the chief. No one knows how she died.
Age: N/A
Features: She was delicate, but strong.
Background: She was not married to the chief long before she died. No one knows clearly the circumstances of her death, however it troubles the chief greatly.


Twins: A pair of young men who meet the hero and decide to travel with him.
Age: 23
Features:[/i] Medium height, fair and dark haired. They look exactly the same, but personality wise they are nearly opposite. They do share confidence in themselves, and a mutual dependence on each other.
Background: They are runaways who do not speak easily about their past. They are from a wealthy family, and find it difficult to survive on their own.

Elder Twin Bri: Bri is extroverted, laid back,and mischievous; he often gets himself and his brother in trouble. He depends on his brother greatly.

Younger Twin Quinn: Quinn is very introverted and stoic. He is often the voice of reason, but also has a great deal of pride. He has a scar under his left eye marking him as the younger twin. He also depends on his brother greatly.

Good luck on this, I look forward to seeing how it comes out. I like the arcana's a lot, and you have inspired me with ideas to do some more drabbles. thank you, i look forward to your work and good luck.

Thanks! You are welcome to give this a go as well. Please let me know if you do! :D

I unfortunately don't know the tarot cards well enough to feel I would do well if I did, I might try on my own drabble some time and tell you.

Drabble: 1
Word Count: 142

0 - The Fool: Often the lead character, he plunges forward with everything he has heedless of consequence.

Cool air picked up dry fallen leaves and spun them round in tiny vortexes. Villagers plodded on with their chores without seeing the tiny spinning worlds that lifted danced and died in mere seconds. Barrow saw them, and he saw how much they resembled the world he lived in. The villagers woke, worked, and slept as the leaves rose and fell in the wind, but where was the passion. Where was the deep fervor for life and living? They existed in a pleasureless state, the whole world did.

But Barrow would fix that. He hefted the heavy pack over his shoulder and turned from the wind and leaves and slow unhappy villagers, and left. When he returned the world would be different; he would save it.

Drabble: 2
Word Count: 206

ii - The Magician: The male power of creation; creation through willpower and desire.

Three days and nights past and Barrow began to wonder a great many things. Was the whole world simply the mountain? There seemed to be no end to the sudden rocky cliffs and drops. The grass seemed to grow thinner and thinner as he tried to reach the base. Were the tales of great cities, and vast oceans merely tales and nothing more? Or was he simply lost?

Another night, and another day still until a faint sound reached his ears. A persistent rap rap rap, almost musical, seemed to float up from an unknown source to intrigue him. Barrow followed the sound like man caught in a siren's call until at last it's source revealed itself to him.

Little wooden houses, some barely more then frames, in shaped so very unlike his village's huts, and on them men pounded nails into lumber. Barrow strode towards them, and planted himself right between them. He looked up at the strange buildings with wide joyful eyes, and the worked looked back at him with startled expressions. From seemingly nowhere a young man came, thick parchments with geometric lines draw across in coal clutched in his arms. The man smiled, and invited Barrow to join him to break fast.

I like your drabbles and I think this is a fantastic idea. :D I may have to do my own; I'm rather enamored of tarot cards. I'm having motivation issues with my novel-in-progress and maybe warming up with some drabbles would help me get into the swing of things.

If I make my own thread, I'll let you know. ^^

i plan to write my own story in my drabble now. I like your definition for the cards, clear cut and well done. Thanks for the inspiration.

I began my own drabble thread here and am using the Arcana theme. ^^ I'll continue to watch yours. :D

batsy and xemnas, i like the arcana series, thanks to both of you for posting drabbles on it.

Drabble 3
Word Count 207

ii - The High Priestess: Lady of dualities, light and dark. She tells us to re-examine how we have judged the world so far.

In city built high upon glimmering white towers, and red painted doors a lady weeps. Her tears drip fat and slow with a sorrow that fills her down to the marrow. In her life her greatest joy was the accomplishment of honouring her husband with not one but two sons with one single birth.

Her sons, her beloved boys, they were her entire world and yet she remembers not if she ever told them. If she had would they still be here? She lies on the bed that the twins had shared throughout their entire childhoods. They were always together, bound by the invisible thread that is known only to twins.

When her mother-in-law had come and said it was time to sever that thread, and her husband nodded with agreement she saw no reason to argue. It was she who had told the boys, now young men really, that they would be separated. The eldest was to be sent to a proper finishing school, to be groomed as heir. The youngest would be sent to learn the art of war.

She had underestimated them. They all had, but most of all she. She had tried to separate them, and now she had no sons at all.


Drabble 4
Word Count: 181

iii - The Empress: Mother of all things, giver of life, and goddess of abundase she can also be over protective and posessive. To act upon an idea before it is fully born.

To Qwin there was nothing as sacred to her as the secret buried deep within the womb of the mountain. She loved her village, and she loved her husband, but not so much as she loves this secret. In the dead of night she would steal down to the cave where the beloved thing was kept. For hours she would walk, though her legs ached, and her feet bled from cuts as she trod across loose sharp stones, until at last she reached it. It was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. Kneeling on sore legs she would whisper to it:

"Leave with me, become mine. You are my wish."

Sometimes it would reply, like a voice inside her heart. "Your wish is not so far from you, but it is not me."

In that time she would rage, but never would she touch the thing. She remembered it was forbidden. At least, at first she did.

Qwin does not remember trying to take it; does not remember the fiery pain, or her own cries. She does not remember anything anymore.

Drabble 5
Word Count: 167

iiii – The Emperor: A strong man. The need to rule one surroundings; the need to realise not all things should be controlled.

Standing under the entrance gate of the village looking down at his younger brother’s sheepish expression Kalias wondered if he was not completely justified in his anger. His fist clenched at his side until bloody crescent moon shapes formed on his palm. His foolish brother had not hinted at all that he might leave in all the years Kalias had known him, and left only a vague note to announce his departure when he did.

Now he was back, two strangers standing to either side of him, wanting to enter the village as if nothing at all had happened. Fah! Barrow was a fool, and Kalias told him so.

“Please brother is it important.� Barrow’s expression was pleading, but Kalias’ offence was great; he though he might never see his brother again.

“Is that all you have to say to me little brother? Be gone. Explore your world and be happy, you need not this village and it needs not you!� But Barrow did not leave.

xemsax i haven't talk to you in a while. I am glad you wrote more. I also did another one to magician now, but it is probably going to get buried in my drabble pages soon.