2950: Anamnesis

[Vladim]

Anamnesis (n)

\ ˌa-ˌnam-ˈnē-səs \

1. a remembrance of the past.

2. Platonism. the recollection of innate knowledge from a previous existence.

 

OOC

Rolling on the Major Arcana card deck (1d22-1) for Shadow... 16: The Tower.

First entry: 6 of Pentacles & the Empress.

Character gender... female (2).

[Vladim]

Act 1: Pentacles

Opening prompt: You wake up in an unfamiliar place, seemingly within a town or city. You cannot remember who you are or why you are here. All you know for certain is that you are not in your home.

 

Six of pentacles: There is someone at your side. Who is this person? What do they say to you?

 

The Empress symbolism: Waite defines her as a Refugium Peccatorum — a fruitful mother of thousands: "she is above all things universal fecundity and the outer sense of the Word, the repository of all things nurturing and sustaining, and of feeding others."

 

(Image credit: True Black Tarot deck)

[Vladim]

(Image credit: Over the Garden Wall)

 

♫ Journey OST - Nascence ♫

 

At first there was silence. She reluctantly stirred, unsure of leaving her slumber. The sound of swift, swirling waters slowly seeped into her half-conscious mind, summoning her back to the waking world. Soon, the song of the stream filled her ears, combining with the chirping of birds that came from high above. She drew in a breath, and the scent was pleasant: fresh air, and the smell of wet moss.

She opened her eyes. Trees above and around her sheltered them from the bright sun. At a distance she saw a lone figure, slender and fair and crowned with a flower-wreath. The figure did not speak, but her words echoed in her mind regardless.

"Seek the source. The stream will guide you home. But do not drink from its waters..."

She opened her eyes again-this time in truth. There was no lone figure, and her fair features faded from her memory at once. Her hand move upwards, nursing a bad headache. She was alone in the glade, and the stream-song beckoned her.

[Vladim]

Act 1: Pentacles

Ten of pentacles: When you focus, you can grasp the edges of a hazy memory from just before you fell unconscious. What do you remember?

 

Strength symbolism: According to A. E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Strength card carries several divinatory associations: Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours.

[Vladim]

A crow cawed loudly and jumped off its perch, flapping its wings as it flew off into the forest. The sudden sound startled her, and without thought or hesitation, her hand at once closed around the sword-hilt that lay about her waist. She drew the blade, fearing no foe, but there was no-one to fight. Yet the simple act reminded her of old strength and movements practiced to perfection.

She had unsheathed her blade before: not that long ago, she thought. A feeling of peril filled her as she retrieved the hazy memory: it must have been right before she had fallen into slumber, but she recalled no more.

[Vladim]

Act 1: Pentacles

Three of pentacles: You open your mouth and hear yourself speak. What is your voice like?

 

Fool symbolism: According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Fool card is associated with: Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment.

[Vladim]

Slowly, she sheathed her sword, and she looked about her. But she neither heard nor saw anything that could prove dangerous. The scene was tranquil, and under different circumstances, she would have marvelled at the peacefulness of the forest. Yet she felt unable to relax or rest, and uneasy with her surroundings. They felt false to her, though how or why, she could not put to words.

She got to her feet, staggering as she rose. She strained to walk to the stream-side, and at length looked at her reflection. The shifting surface distorted the image, but even without it she would not have recognised the determined face looking back at her. Then, she remembered her thirst, and almost without being aware of it, she begun to place her hands in the waters... but soon she realised what she was doing.

"No." 

Remembering the warning, she stopped. There was no-one here to hear her save herself. Her voice sounded familiar, like a potent childhood memory whose source she had long forgotten. It was clear, and even confident, even if she did not feel that.

[Vladim]

Act 2: Swords

Opening prompt: After getting your bearings, you walk around town. You know this town. You know it well, but you cannot remember it.

 

Eight of swords: You pass a place of worship. What is this place? How do you feel when you look upon it?

 

Fool symbolism: According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Fool card is associated with: Folly, mania, extravagance, intoxication, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment.

[Vladim]

(Art credit: Nate Hallinan)

♫ Journey OST - Threshold ♫

 

The cacophony of the Market-Pool filled her ears, and yet it did not help her remember. She had hoped that walking by the quays would jog her memory, as she thought she recognised the streets of Esgaroth, but it felt like a scene from a distant dream, or from a life that had passed long ago. She was sure that the place should feel familiar, but her mind was not yet ready for the revelation.

It had been many days since she had woken up by the shores of that stream. She had eventually managed to find the path, and through it the way to Lake-Town, guided on occasion by the Fair Folk of Mirkwood, or travelers journeying from east to west and back again. She had managed to piece together what might have happened to her, and already could guess at some answers... but the ones that mattered most to her remained elusive.

Who was she? And how had she found herself in the forest?

Presently she turned her attention to a pair of quarreling men. Merchant and customer argued loudly about prices, and some previous arrangement that was now being reconsidered by one party. Quickly the disagreement escalated to shouts and accusations, and the pair was close to coming to blows when others joined in, seeking to prevent it. It was not an unusual scene, but still to her it seemed strange and alien.

She took a step back, and then another, and soon she sought a calmer place. Coin and gold ruled this city, worshipped like a king or a god. Had she once done the same? She searched, but the memory did not return, yet the thought implied that the answer was tantalisingly close: within reach, almost, if she could but stretch a little.

[Vladim]

Act 2: Swords

Nine of swords: Someone is having an argument in the street. Does this remind you of an argument you’ve had?

 

Death symbolism: According to A. E. Waite's 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Death card carries several divinatory associations: End, mortality, destruction, corruption; also, for a man, the loss of a benefactor; for a woman, many contrarieties; for a maid, failure of marriage projects.

[Vladim]

She had left the Market-Pool behind, but there was no respite from the bustle of the city, nor the quarreling that she had witnessed.

Presently, her ears caught a loud exchange happening behind the wooden walls of a house that stood above her. She made out two voices: a man's and a woman's, and what was being said suggested that this was a disagreement between husband and wife, or at least a pair of lovers.

She caught herself eavesdropping: she did not know why, but the quarrel reminded her of something similar that had happened to her not long ago, and someone she could not quite recall. It had a sense of finality to it, or at least so she felt and thought: as if the relationship, whatever it was, would not survive it.

She wished to linger for a while, her curiosity getting the better of her. Perhaps if she listened for a little longer, she would remember. But this was a private matter, and soon she felt too embarassed to be intruding thusly.

[Vladim]

Act 2: Swords

Seven of swords: You find yourself walking through a market. Which stall are you drawn to?

 

Sun symbolism: This card is generally considered positive. It is said to reflect happiness and contentment, vitality, self-confidence and success. Sometimes referred to as the best card in tarot, it represents good things and positive outcomes to current struggles.

[Vladim]

She could not fully fathom the how or the why, but her footsteps slowly took her away from the markets and towards the artisans' district, until she found herself at millers row.

The sweet scent of freshly-baked goods was overpowering. It was not just hunger: the smell was intimately familiar, and it made her feel safe. Here was home: of this she was certain. She must have grown up here, or somewhere nearby, and now recalled vividly fragments of her past: of helping her mother and father mix water and flour, knead dough and bake bread, and of white boards and stained aprons and waking up before sunrise and feeding the ovens with firewood.

She was a baker's daughter, then-or perhaps had been in a life that seemed much too long ago.

[Vladim]

Act 3: Cups

Opening prompt: You manage to find your home. The façade is unfamiliar. You fish the key out of your pocket and open the door.

 

Seven of cups: The walls are adorned. What is hanging from the walls of your home?

 

Wheel of fortune symbolism: A common aspect to most interpretations of this card within a reading is to introduce an element of change in the querent's life, such change being in station, position or fortune: such as the rich becoming poor, or the poor becoming rich. (Note: card is replaced by Destiny in the True Black Tarot deck.)

[Vladim]

The key could fit. She turned it, slowly and apprehensively, both excited and fearful of the prospect of uncovering her past. The lock gave a click, and then yielded; the sound made her heart beat faster, and for a moment she hesitated.

It was a small dwelling, but she found herself recalling it, and feeling the place familiar. She looked at the walls past the entry-room: they were plain and unadorned, but her eyes were soon drawn to a great map of Wilderland secured against the wooden planks. It was of good make, and it bore markings: her markings, she thought, testament to plans made not long ago.

Before her lay the route of a journey that she had intended to undertake. It begun in Lake-Town, and it terminated at some indeterminate point in the Northwest, in wild lands empty and lawless. The destination was marked by the drawing of a broken tower, yet there were no words to explain it further.