### -> [[Roam]] I know I shouldn't be dabbling in this. I'm just a young dwarf, who *should* be interested in working hard and hardly working. And yet... the arts of the arcane seem to draw me in. That Ika character... she's such a beauty, but while she is taken, she did tell me that there was a mage that lived near my home... They live on the bottom of the mountains, while I the top, but it's not a hard trek for me to undertake. Today, I come face to face with them. They have invited me to join them in some kind of ritual, to hopefully assist me in what troubles me. Nothing much does - other than the desire to be normal - but sometimes I do feel split. I enter their abode - it's a purple room, with some occasional magic stuff strewn about. The mage greets me - they're about my height, surprisingly, despite being human. "Good evening. I go by Edgie. I've been expecting you, Yolk." I scratch the back of my head, feeling the smoothness of my baldness, probably indicative of my name. "I, uh, appreciate it?" "You have many questions. Please, sit down with me." Edgie guides me to their bed - it looks like something for a princess, though it too is violet - same as their hair. They must really like the regal feeling, I'd imagine. The cloth itself is also pretty soft - a part of me wonders if they really *are* royalty, or if it's just a façade for themselves. "It is my understanding that you are interested in the arcane?" As I talk, my beard ruffled. "Yes, yes... What kinds of things can you do with it?" "That is a lot to ask in a little, Yolk. I should demonstrate." They reach into their cloak, pulling out a deck of some kind. "Are you aware of Tarot Cards?" "No, not really. What are they?" "They are a way to divine the future. They are shuffled, the order left up to The Knights. Three are drawn, and they dictate what may happen." I nod. "Alright, hit me." "Very well." With a strange level of precision, and in spite of the softness of the bed, they shuffled the cards, over and over again, as if each shuffle was a test to see if the Knights were *truly* watching. They flipped the whole deck back and forth, its gold color shimmering and shining, until they were finally satisfied with the shuffle. They dealt out three cards face down. "You may reveal them in any order, Yolk." I mulled over my choices. I decided to go for option 1 - revealing Death itself - a man on horseback, holding a flag. I could feel my skin turning a paler white that I had never felt before. Then, the fear caught up to me. Edgie put a hand on my own. "There is no need to fear, Yolk. It is a common misconception that the 'Death' tarot card is an indication of one's passage coming soon. You should be happy to see the card - it is representative of rebirth." "R-rebirth?? So It *does* mean I'll die??" "You misunderstand me, young dwarf. It means that some aspect will change - whether one of yours directly, or your circumstances. The Deck of Arcana is very vague about these things." "I think I get it..." I flip over the second card - revealing The Lovers, a man and a woman standing in a field, barely clothed, with the sun overhead. "I assume this is also a metaphor?" "Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It merely represents a union of two things - it could be of romance, or of platonicity." "Platonicity? Is that even a word?" "Of a Platonic nature; of friends." I squint at them. "Are you some kind of Townfolk genius?" "I speak it natively. Everyone does, do they not?" "You don't read history books like I do. I was taught Dwarvish when I was just born, but then they switched over to Townfolk." "I am aware of The Great Language Union. I was not around for that event - I was still in training with On High." I do not think I could have looked more confused. I was wrong. "What is 'On High'?" Edgie looks at me, as if they've had to explain this a thousand times over already. "It is where most mages come from. I was born with the mixture of several forms of magic, and practiced there for aeons. It is how I learned my abilities." They sigh. "May we continue with the cards?" "Right, of course. Sorry." Hastily, I flip over the final card onto the bed - The Magician. Edgie explains this one outright. "It is a representation of holding everything required to succeed, in some form." I mull the cards over. "I can only do three, right?" "Despite the amount there are, the Knights prefer their rules of three. Though they rarely meddle in the affairs of the mundane, when there is magic involved, it is always in threes." "I see... Sorry..." Edgie notices my downtrodden tone. "I can tell you are disappointed with your reading." I scratch my beard. "I'm not disappointed, I just... wanted something else, I guess. It's stupid, I'm sorry." They tilt their head. "Is there something your heart desires?" I look down at the bed, then back up at them. "There's this girl that I think looks kind of cute..." "You have come to the arcane looking for relationship advice?" "H-hey, I just think Ika is cool!" I cover my mouth at uttering her name. She *is* cool to me, but I know my meager infatuation is fleeting. Still, a part of me burns for it. This was supposed to help quell the feelings - they now feel somewhat stronger, and it hurts. Edgie leans in, peering at me, almost angrily - almost, they seem to have no expression at all times. "You think the green haired one is desirable...? I think we disagree on that aspect, Yolk. I have read their aura, I have travelled with them for a time before you met them. Setting aside the issue of her current relationship, she is too dark for you. Her past is riddled with horror, her own habits involve pain - she is not useful in the slightest. You are not prepared for that, and furthermore, I can sense you are too young to be prepared for the burden of romance. Someone your age should be finishing schooling by now - are you not?" I point to my beard as a reflection of their incorrectness. "When you're a dwarf, you're done with school when you grow a beard. Then, it is time to get to work. I don't like working, though, so..." Edgie sighs. "That is your choice to make, of course, but do not let yourself get caught up in immature flights of fancy. There is benefit to being alone, I find." I scoff. "What would *you* know about being alone? You're roommates with a robot." Edgie points at me, for once, showing some tone. "Toby is a *Cyborg* and you will address him as such. And, besides, we are mere friends. I pay him my share of rent every month, but it's been made explicit between the two of us that it would be no matter if I could not, and likewise for him." I look down back at the cards. "Sorry, sorry... change is getting to me a little. My body is all sorts of weird..." I look back down at the cards. "Change... Relationship... Magician..." Edgie looks at me. "Most likely, it means that some part of you needs to change - you already have everything, you don't need romance." "Maybe..." I hold the Magician card in my hand. I have a bit of a revelation. "Maybe we could interpret this one more literally?" They tilt their head. "How so? These things are pretty set in stone." "Think about it. Change, Relationship, Magician. My relationship with the Magician will change." "And how do you suspect that will happen?" I hold out a hand. "Edgie, would you like to be my friend?"