Elemental Ascension by E. Hardcastle

Author:E. Hardcastle [Hardcastle, E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Curious Cat Books
Published: 2023-07-09T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The Tower

Hopes and fears were dominant in Ash's mind, more so the fear of death than the hope of a future. He wasn't at all stunned to see the Devil in this position, with its open palm, beckoning him to take the character's hand and be led astray. This card was Ash's shadow self, the term a Cartomancer used to recognise Ash's dark side.

What had he repressed? How did he indulge? What was he manically addicted to?

“The Devil comes when you are at your lowest,” Brogan went on to explain. “He offers you many gifts, temptations and promises. Sometimes, we cannot resist him. But you, Ash the Elemental, must see through these niceties. You hope for a future though you believe you face only death; this curse you speak of masks the truth, and so you are allowing the Devil to lead you blindly, praying that by accepting your fate, you can numb your pain. We both know that is futile.”

The cabin seemed suddenly darker. The candles didn't quite offer the same comfort and warmth they had a few cards ago, when he'd pulled the Lovers. The melted wax at their base was ominous, and spilt over to form cream icicles.

“There are parts of your past that cause you great shame. You loathe who you once were and fear that man exists within you still, perhaps only in part. But you are learning to identify what scares you, and you are challenging these debilitating beliefs.”

“So, I should confront my shadow self?”

“Aye, because in doing so it will lose its hold on you.”

Would Ash feel free and alive if he was to release his past mistakes, and not allow the way they made him feel, or how they affected his present actions, to control him?

He grinned. It was an illuminating idea.

“Are you ready for your final card, Ash?”

He sat back and gestured she ought to draw this for him. If the pattern so far had taught him anything, it was to expect a major arcana card, something life-changing and eye-opening. This last spot on the cloth was where his reading concluded. The outcome.

Brogan wasted no time. She flipped the top card, and Ash faced the misunderstood image of the Tower.

The Tower, in Brogan's deck, was a grassy hill, alive and pretty in oranges and greens. Animals pranced, but they seemed scared, because a bolt of lightning had struck the peak, and rocks were crumbling. Were they happy to be living in the safest part at the foot of the hill, or were they actually fleeing? Ash pondered the implications of this card. So often, it was assumed your life would come crumbling down around you, when in fact, the Tower was a new beginnings card. It could point to a crisis, but most likely, it symbolised a sudden change—destruction must occur to purify something else.

This was how Brogan explained the card to Ash.

Overall, it was a gloomy idea and it created a sense of moodiness in the cabin as Ash came to terms with what aspect of his existence would need to tumble in order to rebuild elsewhere.

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