adelistic

The fighter (Jacques) from my Curse of Strahd campaign suggested I try asking you for a reading! :)

My PC is a tiefling cleric named ✨Orianne✨

a whimsical, charming girl who’s struggling with her mortality and the fact that her adoptive elvish family will outlive her, leaving her forgotten and alone once more.

Currently in the campaign, she tries her best to help the people around her, but only ends up making things worse and leading people to their demise (a few people she helped were killed afterwards).

She feels lost and disconnected from her goddess Selûne, the Moon Maiden, which only makes her feel even more distant from her family (who are all clerics as well).

A different goddess has answered her prayers: Sune, the goddess of love and beauty, who is almost forgotten in the cursed lands of Barovia.

Orianne is struggling to find herself, to find the light in the darkness, to accept her mortality, and to endure the evil of the world. She hates herself for not doing enough—for not being enough—and fears that she will never see her beloved family again.

Welcome to Barovia, my dear. I know it may seem a terrible place when first you cross its threshold, a land of shadows and sorrow, but I promise you, not all is lost here. Many of us have grown to love its valleys, its quiet woods, even its storms. You, kind soul, are a welcome light among us.

The first to grace the table is The Beast. A high card, and I must tell you, it has been some time since I have drawn it for another. Its presence means this message carries great weight. The Beast speaks to the fire that burns within you, to the depth of your passion, to the way you chase goodness as though it were sunlight slipping through your fingers. It is a beautiful thing, this devotion of yours, this yearning to make the world gentler, but the card warns that even the purest drive can become a chain when it blinds the eyes. Those who hunger for control know how to play upon the hearts of the good. They will sing your own song back to you, promise you the power to do what you think is right, and in your faith, you may follow them into ruin. Take care that your compassion does not become the weapon another wields.

Next comes The Diviner, reversed. A continuation, yes, and a deepening of the warning before it. The Mists are thick with whispers, my dear, and though some voices speak with kindness and truth, many more hide thorns beneath their honeyed words. There are those here who wear the guise of righteousness, who smile and bless and speak of noble purpose, yet every phrase they utter drips with deceit. You, bright-hearted one, are drawn to such words, for they echo your own desires. Guard your heart against those who mirror you too perfectly, who promise only ease and certainty. The truest allies you will meet will not charm you, but challenge you, and they will love you enough to question your path.

Now we come to The Missionary, also reversed, and the heart of the storm reveals itself. This card speaks of false prophets and false faiths, of voices that echo divinity but carry none of its grace. Many who wander here have heard their gods fall silent, their prayers swallowed by fog, and in that silence, something else answers. Something clever. Something listening. It takes the names you once trusted and wears them like a mask. I have seen it too many times to count, my dear. Those who serve the light must tread carefully in these lands, for even the stars here can lie. If a new voice calls to you, do not rush to kneel. Watch, wait, question, and seek signs that cannot be forged. True faith does not demand haste; it invites discernment.

Ah, a dhampir. My second-oldest child is dhampir as well, so it’s a familiar ache to me. It’s rare to see another wanderer of your kind in these misty valleys, though your path has clearly been a tumultuous one. Let’s see what the cards whisper for you now.

The first to reveal itself is The Soldier. You wish to know why you were chosen, why a shadow reached out and fastened its tendrils around your soul. This card tells me they sought someone enduring, someone whose spirit would not shatter beneath the weight of their bargains. They have grown dissatisfied with fragile vessels, too many have failed them of late, so they cast their net again and again, and this time, it caught you. It’s a cruel thing, to be chosen not from destiny, but from desperation. Though you made your pact with trembling hands, unaware of the true cost, the ink is dry. They always keep the fine print blurred until it’s far too late. Next comes The Anarchist, reversed. This warns against folly. You cannot unmake a bargain by pretending it never happened, nor can you twist their promise to your own design. They are not so easily fooled. Many of us have signed our names where we shouldn’t, thinking we could outwit what lurks in the dark, and none of us are glad for it. These powers take more than they give, they always have, and they always will. Do not exhaust yourself trying to please them. Do not cut yourself open to earn their approval. Even if you shone like a star in their sky, they would demand more light. Stay true to your own compass instead. Your morals are still yours, even in their shadow. And at last, The Miser. A grim card for a grim truth. It speaks of those who are bound to sorrow, who cannot unmake what they have become. That is you, my dear, one of the cursed, now and forevermore. There is no escaping their grasp once they have wrapped themselves around your fate. But if you would reclaim even a sliver of freedom, live in defiance of it. They may tug your strings, but you may still choose how to dance. To live in spite of doom, to bring kindness into a world that offered you none, that is rebellion of the truest sort. Perhaps, in time, you will take up your own Anarchist’s mantle, not as their servant, but as a breaker of chains, un-reversing your previous Anarchist card to make it your own. Or you may walk the other path, as so many dark lords before you have done, gathering power until you no longer recognize the reflection staring back. That, too, is a choice. You may be cursed, my dear, but you are not without will. The road ahead forks in shadow, yet it is still yours to walk.