As Calen pulls out his scroll, he pauses for a moment. The screen showed two odd options, local and global, with local leading to a list of Malina, Teddy, and Cobe. It took a moment's hesitation, but seeing no other option, he tapped on each name and typed out "Just touching base. How is everyone?" before sending the message to his "new friends." It wasn't a second after sliding his scroll away that he heard the voice of the Aisa calling back to him.
"Oh, one more thing, I nearly forgot."
"Don't worry about the drink, in all honestly I'm a bit of a light weight when it comes to the devil's drink." Calen remarked humourously as he turned to face his former short term drinking partner. Quickly realising it was something more important Calen quickly added. "But of course it would be churlish to refuse Madam Aisa." Calen made his way back so Aisa didn't have to risk being over heard. The old woman still hadn't done anything aggressive but none the less Calen's hand dropped to the hilt of his weapon taking an unhealthy amount of comfort in it's presence.
Aisa gave a faint laugh and shook her head. "The drink isn't a problem." Her face seemed to be a mix of sullen and relief, almost as though she wasn't sure if she were happy or not. "I'm... well, let's call say I'm a fortune teller. I can feel something great in you, you'll do great and terrible things. Of that I'm sure." Aisa laid her hand down on the bartop, with her palm pressed against the wooden surface. "I've held onto this one for a long time and I think-" She paused for a moment. "-I know you're one of the ones who should know."
Aisa's eyes suddenly fixated on the back of her hand and it wasn't until now that Calen noticed the noise of the bar had entirely disappeared. A quick glance around revealed that others were still talking, laughing, sharing toasts but not a single sound came out. The silence was split by the old woman's scratchy voice which now seemed to come from somewhere very, very far away. Unease crept back into Calen's heart and mind and he gripped his weapons tightly yet the feeling to flee never came.
"The game had been set for many years.
Twenty-one pieces on the board, the white outnumber the black.
I see seven little stars, one orbiting another. They burn dimly against the blackness of space, and yet they refuse to die. Their stories are laid out, yet they strive against the strings.
Below them, fourteen little birds flitter around the dying flames of a once great star, one of four now broken to three. Each has their reason and each with their own end to meet.
The Liar soars above those they’ve tricked only to fly into the flames as they stare down at their victories.
The Hypocrite welcomes The Stars, naïve in their youth, with open arms and turns them to weapons for their own selfish wants and needs. So closely they watch their endeavours they fail to see the setting sun ahead of them.
The Three turned their backs on their past long ago, only to find the cobbled together family they'd abandoned waiting for them around every corner.
The Sightseer and The Progressive trade places, each taking part of each other with them. Their ends, too, change hands and in they find themselves envious of one another.
The Thorn stood in poverty, living day to day and job to job and on the pain of past failures. Only after many a great sin did they find their reason, and with it many others like them. They would find their place in everything only after they've gone through the pain of loss they put on others.
The Witch turns her back on her people, leaving them in favor of revenge. Vengeance is what she sought and she would have it as it would have her.
The Whisperer stood behind the scenes for years, and still they do, silently watching and directing far from the dying flames. Though they flitters with the other birds, they quietly move the stars, letting them breath and truly ignite their new flames.
The Counterweight had lived their lives on the sea, endlessly drifting from one place to a next, building relationships, trust, harmony, and then abandoning them in the night. It was by chance they returned to a spot they once thought lost only to find ruin in place of abandon.
The Shirk had spent their life in seclusion, hiding from their mistakes and letting others forget. Only at the end they find that their own memory is a fickle thing and that their own life was subject to being forgotten as well.
The Reborn had spent so much of their lives steeped in obsession they failed to notice as the coda had come and gone. Now they stand on the edge of a great cliff, teetering back and forth but never truly falling.
The Father spent their life in regret, gripping at the family they once had. Their deal with the devil lead them through horrors that they would forever remember, but they could once more hold their child. And that was all they ever wanted.
The Discarded had spent their life surrounded by their own plans and plots. In the end they found out how futile their meticulous planning had been and they too crumble.
The Ancient Slave had spent their life trying to bring everything back to how it had been before. Even with all the time in the world, the plans fall apart. Their aspirations crumble to dust. Their allies turn their backs as the sand from the hourglass slips through their fingers."
Aisa took a long, deep breath as the sound slowly returned to the bar. A small bead of sweat had run down the side of her face and dripped onto the counter, leaving a dark stain on the wood. With another long breath, she lifted her hand and underneath sat a small silver coin about an inch in diameter. Raised up from the small silver disk were fifteen small symbols, all similarly silver, and seven small stars, one much smaller than the others, covered in a beautiful golden metal.
Calen didn't recognize any of the symbols but one. The very center symbol, looked like it was a cleaned up version of the symbol of the White Fang.
"Take the coin. Maybe show it to Malina... or don't." Aisa laughed weakly. "I can't control you after all." She took another sip of her sherry, clearly savoring the taste before setting the glass down. "Now go on, little star." She said without looking back to Calen. "Do your great and terrible things."
