Salīa spent the start of the party tracking down food.
"I'm done being bullied by that bushbaby," she groaned, caressing the ache in her stomach.
She'd approach some people, and they'd excitedly kneel and show an x, and with twinkling eyes would ask what they did to afford the honor of her presence.
They probably expected this exulted royal and ethereal being to speak all floridly and offer some sage advice to last them lifetimes.
But instead, she pointed diffidently but determinedly to their filled bowls and asked, "Where's the food?"
They'd try to show her, but it seemed the food kept eluding her. For the most she'd get was another gourd of juice.
She'd follow the wafts of various aromas, only to be led to pots still being cooked and fires still roasting.
Eventually, a smiling, rotund woman who was stirring a huge pot to the rhythm of the music gestured for Salīa to sit on a blanket filled with cushions, nestled comfortably in the grass.
She seemed to be a mute but threw up a finger to show that there'd be some food ready soon.
Having seen that there was already cooked rice, she was tempted to impolitely insist on only having that in the meantime, but a man said, "Why don't you join us for a game while you wait?"
This voice…
Whoever this zazi was, he was cloaked.
Even so, she was almost certain that it was that maghān of many years ago that she last saw arguing in her defense at a tavern and then again that night in the Senai Seas when she swam with Lulu.
He may have been somewhat masked, but she saw the markings that inked the side of his handsome face.
She never got to speak with him again since that time, and so she felt a fluttering nervousness being beside him.
He studied her, his soft eyes tracing her slowly.
"I didn't know you were a zazi."
"I'm not. You know I'm not from here."
I don't know where from, but I do know that much.
"I stop by from time to time, spend time with the people, and look out."
"Look out? For what?"
He shrugged. Then nodded to the nearby table. There was a board game of some sort and five people hovering around it, opening up for Salīa to see.
After nodding to a player, the youngest, a boy around her siblings' age, raised his hand excitedly.
"I'll do it," he said, sticking his tongue out at the adults around him who seemed to want to explain too.
The maghān nodded for Salīa to go ahead, and so she stepped up to the table and glanced at some cards.
"Tarot? For divination?"
The little boy gave a nod and adjusted his glasses.
"It's similar, and we use it as part of what's needed for Celestial Court. It's a game some outlanders traded and taught us, trading us a few boards."
She looked around, seeing that quite a few tables were full of people playing this game.
"There's a journey board like this that starts from outward in, like a spiral, so that your characters can take steps. The first one to the last step wins.
Like esche, you can make it two-player, but its original form is to have four players. Each player on the board is distinguished by their carved pieces."
Carved figurines of different characters were shown. But when Salīa peered over, she saw that other tables had different ones.
"We have a whole box of figurines that we collect from toy stalls because we lost the original pieces. But as long as you attach your pieces to its tribe, it'll be fine."
"Its tribe…"
"Like the four key magic tribes that descended from the Quadrant Lands."
"Shh," an older girl hushed him. "You'll get us into trouble."
Salīa smiled.
"I don't mind. This seems fun. What else do I need to know?"
The boy beamed.
"To play, we use truncated, eight-sided dice. The number determines how many steps you move forward."
"Why eight-sided?"
"Because there are seven chakra points. Whatever number you roll is matched to the chakra and determines the theme of your trial when you move."
Looking at Salīa's baffled expression, he went on.
"Your pieces act as founders of the tribes, or nations, as we call them for safety. But to keep your nation standing and in harmony with the realm, it's only natural that you'll encounter trials each step you take forth.
If you roll a five, you move forward five steps, but you'll face a trial related to the heart."
"What if you roll an eight?"
"Then you've earned yourself a smooth journey. You get to roll again and move that many steps over, without a trial for that round."
Salīa looked at the board. It seemed simple enough.
"How do these trials work?"
Out came the tarot cards. First was the minor arcana divided into its four suits.
"Tarot cards have been used in place of the original design due to the magic ban.
For safety, we call each nation the nation of cups, wands, swords, or pentacles.
But in order, it really means the Hikami Tribe – followers of Muna, the mother prophetess, the Gazmaian Tribe – followers of Perso, the father prophet, the Umkhilo Tribe – followers of Hatō, the brother or son prophet, and the Desarali Tribe – followers of Sari, the sister of the daughter prophetess."
Even though magic has been banned with harsh consequences for those even suspected of using it outside of the minimal, low-ranking limits, it seems people were still drawn to a game connected to the infamous magic tribes that were driven out and executed.
Someone's hand spread out a suit.
"Each suit has thirteen cards, which belong to the relevant player to represent their associated nation. There are fourteen cards – from the ace, two to ten, a princess or page, a prince or knight, a queen, and a king."
A finger tapped the cards.
"Each nation has its powers and faults, as each card within its suit has its individual strengths and weaknesses.
Choosing the right one during trials will be one of the most important considerations when playing. There are rules for how many times you can play a card and how to reuse one if you've lost it.
Cards with dual meaning, such as the knight, can also be used once more in either the same trial or another trial as a prince."
"It really is like a nation," she observed. "What about the rest of the tarot?"
The major arcana was spread out.
"This can be regarded as the fifth tribe. I heard the outlanders say it's the Kalala tribe, which faded years before the ban of magic. I don't know who they descended from or about the magic style used, but I know it has some links to ancient Crystali."
Interesting. The major arcana is not really a structured suit like the rest, so how would that work?
"Again, we just refer to it as the namesake of the game, Celestial Court."
Fingers tapped lightly on each card.
"There are twenty-two cards in the major arcana, and whichever you encounter will be the creator of your trial and may even pass on a blessing or curse after it if you aren't careful."
How ominous. But I feel a bitter resonance with the current path of my life.
"The twentieth card is Justice, one of the twenty-two celestial creators who'll trial you. There are three ways a trial can conclude.
You could pass. You could pass and earn yourself a blessing, such as the gift of the Scripture of Judgement, stacking more in your arsenal to approach future trials.
Conversely, if you fail a trial, you could earn a curse, such as that lightning bolt called the Wrath of Judgement, forcing your piece to take up to eight steps back. It'll certainly be a burden that you'll have to shed alongside your next trial."
I hope my journey isn't as unforgiving, although I would be open to as many blessings as any celestial creator would want to share.
"A card to be wary of or sometimes thankful for is the unnumbered card, which some regard as zero and twenty-two, is The Fool."
Salīa looked at the card showing a young spirit with a knapsack, standing open-heartedly at the edge of the cliff as if soaking in the sun.
"It's in the deck of the celestial court or fifth tribe, but it's some say it's a representative of a sixth tribe."
"Sixth?" Salīa arched her brows.
"Who knows for sure?
But all you really need to remember is that it is a wild card. A symbol of new beginnings and cycles, limitless possibilities, and freedom. All grand things.
Yet look at the fool again. What do you make of this being?"
"That they're starting a journey."
The others exchanged looks.
"Do you see this person as a wanderer who travels freely, made rich off their calling, or do you see them as a beggar who travels naively, lost off being led astray?"
"It's hard to discern what their path is exactly."
"Exactly. The Fool can either leap high above the celestials or fall low below the mortals, and so will be your trial."
Why do I get the strange feeling that this has something to do with my path, too?
"Lastly, are the blue cards and the red cards determining the last details in shaping your trial."
Both sets were laid out beside each other.
"For each trial, you'll randomly pick one of each. The blue holds the benefits or virtues, while the red holds the obstacles or vices."
The cards were turned over.
"You might be familiar with these, as these are from the tables showing the houses of being and ruins of none."
"Those tables haunt me no matter where I go," Salīa muttered.
Of course, it had to come up again.
"There are thirteen virtues and thirteen vices, but to keep it surprising, a standard is to have at least three pairs each of both sides so that none can bend the cards and easily know where they are upon shuffling."
"What difference would that make? You still get one of each?"
"Yes, but if you get an obstacle like anger, getting lucky enough to also receive the benefit of its opposite, patience, can cancel it out."
Salīa lingered on it for a while, then swept up the dice.
"So, if I roll a five with the theme of the heart, I can only move when overcoming a trial," she lifted a piece. "If I happen to pick the card of Justice, it could be that the trial is about deliberating a case where one of my people killed her lover, but she reasons it was justified. To deliberate this is the Queen in my suit."
She pulled the card out.
"If the obstacle happens to be anger, then it may be that maybe I was friends with the lover, and so I'm not moving in a just way, and just want to punish the person without listening.
Yet if I get the benefit of patience, my council can soothe me, evening out perspectives and letting me hear witnesses sincerely so that I make the right decision.
Maybe the defendant was nearly killed by their lover, and they acted in self-defense. And so, I might let her do some charitable work in penance, but they will not be imprisoned. Is that right?"
The boy smirked and said, "Almost."
He tapped on the Justice card.
"There will always be a non-player to decide on the extent of the trial based on the cards chosen and dice rolled. This player doesn't move on the board, but is the gateway between other players passing it."
"I see, so a deity figure that pulls the strings and gets joy over the twists and turns in the player's life?" Salīa couldn't help but be upset about this, as if she were personally being wronged.
"Exactly. But that isn't all you have to keep your eye on."
He tapped the other suits and moved a few pieces on the board to demonstrate.
"Other nations can play a role in the verdict of your summation. It is up to the non-player or deity to decide what's fair or foul, yet other nations are permitted to either support or hinder you.
They can just be observers or maybe mildly approve or disapprove. But they can even take it a step further and support you if you need it, forming alliances.
Conversely, you might have some enemies who can pick a card from the suit to challenge you and win your trial instead. It does great things for them, but terrible things for you."
"So, on top of it, we also have a game of thrones," she scratched the crown of her head. "Thank you for teaching me."
She had learned enough of the game, which many were taking great joy in. For her, however, it was too familiar with her imminent journey at this time.
The boy pouted, finally showing his young age, and said, "You don't want to play?"
That's a good question.
"One day," she smiled, patting his head.
She turned to the maghān, but he was nowhere to be seen.
A deep inhale of the air and a grumble from her stomach brought her back to what she was looking forward to. It seemed the pot was finally done being stirred, and others were dishing up.
But just then she heard something outrageous.
A giggle.
"Bazil?"
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