The Arcana: All the Roads (Portia's Route)

Chapter 1

Every place has something magical about it. Some places have beautiful architecture or beautiful scenery surrounding it. Some have talented merchants and artisans. Some have actual magic. Even fewer places have all of those things; one such place is Vesuvia, the cultural center of a very magical world. Within this city lied a small magic shop run by a magician and his apprentice.

Asra was said magician. He was a polite, white haired young man who had a specialty of reading tarot cards, the Arcana. The Arcana were a group of deities that communicated to talented magicians through said cards. Asra was good, but the only person better than him was Tallis, his apprentice.

Tallis was something of a mystery. Where did she come from? How did she come into the teachings of the famous Vesuvian magician? Not even she knew that. All she remembered was waking up one day next to Asra and being told her name and occupation. Anything beyond that, she had no idea. Despite this, she managed to make a small name for herself, accepting that some things cannot be changed.

But that doesn't mean the past cannot be revealed.

On one particular night, the fog was thick, which shrouded the streets in a milky glow, almost like gossamer. Tallis liked nights like this. Quiet. Tranquil. She looked out the upstairs window, down at the barely visible cobblestone roads then shut the curtains.

She was a very pretty girl in her early twenties, though she didn't really know. Her hair was a midnight blue that became royal in candle light and hung straight against her back. Her skin was a warmer shade of ebony and her eyes were a light bluish-grey. She and Asra were the same height, though his curls gave the illusion of an extra inch or two.

She walked downstairs to where Asra was putting things into a bag.

"I'll miss you," he said. Asra was almost always on the road and typically put Tallis in charge of the shop. This was one of those times. It was also his habit of not telling her where he goes on his trips; he was an enigma to her. But she had long since stopped questioning things that were out of her control.

"Must you leave tonight," she asked.

"It's the dead of a moonless night. The right time for beginning a journey. His violet eyes twinkled they way they always did when he mused over such things. This was a trait the two of them shared. They always found the smallest things beautiful and poetic. "Here," he pulled out a small felt bag, "take this. For you to play around with while I'm gone."

Tallis squinted slightly. Gift giving was not something they usually took part in, especially unprompted like this.

"My tarot deck," he clarified. This was Asra's most prized possession, his own magical creation instilled with great power. Why would he just give it to her?

Tallis blinked. "You think I'm ready, Master?"

"You're still calling me that," he said quietly. "You know I can't answer that for you. You've made incredible progress, but you still won't let go of your doubt. Do you think you're ready?"

Tallis gave him a skewed smile. "Why don't we ask the cards?" He returned her smile and said, "Excellent suggestion." They walked through a set of gauzy curtains to a circular table with two stools. "It's been a while since we've practiced."

"Because I've perfected it," Tallis inquired teasingly as she sat down on one of the stools.

"Have you now," Asra teased back. "You really are gifted. I shouldn't have expected any less. Well then. Let's see that perfect technique." He placed the cards in front of her before sitting opposite her on the other stool.

Before she can pick them up, she jumps as something brushed against her ankle. Looking down, it was a long purple snake named Faust, Asra's familiar. Faust slithered to Asra, who picked her up, allowing her to slither up his arm.