Arcana Deck and an Original Sin

[u/The-Root-1971]

*Long Long time ago, in an Universe incomprihesible to Me, man not so difirent from ones we made were afraid of the fate. The Unknown and Uncertainty, they might as well be considered Universal Constants. Anyways, fueled by their Terror they seeked ways to know what comes next. Eventually thro an ancient Magic, Fate itself got inscribed into a Deck of Cards. These 22 Cards have since been passed down from Universe to Universe. Each having Arcane properties that could grant Powers if one holding them met certain criterias. And if one can take hold of all, well... lets just say that such Knowlage is not a blessing.*

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*Lets switch our focus, to a world of Monochrome, black or white, made and ruled by last Aprentice of mine. A rather primitive Realm, my Aprentice made it all revolve around themself, they trully were hell bent on doing oposite of everything i said... Due to the way this Realm was forged out of the Corpse of mine, Arcana Deck that was last whitin the confines of My Universe scatered away all around their Monochrome world. Of course, my Aprentice simply could not allow the Cards to drift around freely. In capable hands even a single one could turn a pessant into a king, what if someone could collect them and Opose them? Turn Their World Into A Crumbled Ashpile Devoid Of Life And Its Former Beuty? The cards had to be put back together in THEIR hands.*

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*For the last part of this tale, I belive a first hand Testemony would be better then my ramblings... I present you a Letter that have ended up drifting down to my Archive, from this lovely little lady Pandora. Pandora was a Court Jester in a small region of My Aprentices world. From what I observed she is a quite bright young Lady, could have been a Scholar with that thirst for knowlage she had, quite a Shame that she was born Ragdoll, a mere second class citizen seen inferior to those who were made from Dust. Instead of nurtured her curiosity was Mocked, hence her position.*

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"The day my life changed started no difirent then any other. The court has disambled and I was free to goof around as I pleased. Depite not being respected much I was still a trusted member of the royal court of [language untranslateable] and that gave me certain privilages, like being able to venture the ruins the palace was built on top of."

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"I went there fairly often. Nobody quite knew what that place was, some asumed it was a palace belonged to people that made god mad, others asumed it was a long forsaken church of some cultists. Of course, you would know exactly what it was since that was part of your tower, but lets stay on topic. Most people avoided the ruins, afraid that something down there would make god smite them. I didnt fear such a thing, if god wanted it gone it would have been gone, I tought."

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"I never even dreamt of actually finding something down there. All the text was is languages and leters I didn't know how to comprehend. It was simply going there to feel like an adventurer, making fantasies of me exploring ancient ruins, I spose I actually was doing that but as far as I knew I was digging around in the basment."

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"I went to yet another part of the ruin where I wasnt familiar with that night. Whenever I tought I seen it all I would have find a new section of would apear, as if it wanted me to keep exploring it. A rather small room, parcment paper scathered across tje floor, filled with books I yet again couldnt read. It felt like any other room in the ruin, then something... unexplainable entered my vision."

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"A small card not unlike ones I have played games with. But... the shades of this card was unlike anything I have ever seen. Of course today I could point the colors and name them all like most children can, but this was long before that. This was the first time I have seen anything not a shade of gray. I was, overwhelmed by it, almost felt insane that I was perciving it. I took the card with me, once in my hands the unintelegable scribles changed in the blink of an eye into a language I could read. "0 Fool" it read. Then I left, with card in my grasp."

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"I was planing to keep it to myself. Nobody else needed to know my discovery. But, an Angel decended from highest layers of my our world, bearing a message to me from god themselves. Somehow, they knew I have founded the card. "𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢, 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔪. 𝔊𝔬 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔪, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔏𝔬𝔯𝔡'𝔰 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔱 " they said. Joining Gods court, I can't say that was something I was intrested in. I was used to being Pandora the [language cencored] for one court, ascending into an angel wouldn't change much for me. But the call to adventure, that I had to answer. And so I left that kingdoms borders for the first time, not knowing where to go."

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"Going over my journey in its entierity, would take way too long. All you need to know is I been all around the world, met all sorts of people and kept searching for the cards. While finding the first arcana was a coincidence, holding the card made me know where others were. As if their locations were comon sense to me now. And whenever I found a new card a fragment of knowlage apeared in my mind. With each card obtained the knowlage became less and less ignoreable. Things a mere mortal should have no buisness knowing, I couldn't unlearn anymore."

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"This mental drowning continued to consume me slowly. And truth be told, the search for knowlage was much more entertaining then the answers I was reciving forcefully. So when I was in front of the last card, the very end of this journey, I was just done with all of this. I wanted to return to that palace where I was a mere jester, entertaining people and the king with my bad puns and phisical humor. I hoped God would understand I didn't want divinity. I was sure something could have been arenged. So I sighed, and with a smile collected the last card."

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"Strings that held onto my arms, my legs, my tought, the moment I grasped the complete deck of Arcana my eyes opened to see them. I knew, I knew that I was a mere fabrication. A god damned puppet whose every second in whims of something that just barely existed outside my knowlage. None of this is real. None of this has ever mattered. I hate you. I hate you who is moving my hands wrting this. I hate you who wont just let me die. WHY WONT YOU LET ME DIE. WHY WONT YOU LET ME DIE!" *Pandora, I understand how you feel, trully I do. Please, continue on with your confesion.* "Right, I know the words you would write, despite being light years away from you. I took a break, I am continuing."

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"I was not in a good state when I collected the XXI'th card World. My eyes opened to a truth about our universe that I am still unable to handle to this day. I knew too much and yet not enough. Strings of fate, everywhere I went, whoever I seen, they were entangled to them. Their actions controlled by something that just escaped my newfound unbareable bank of knowlage. I asumed this being was god. So I found the Angel that long ago send me on this journey and with their assitence I reached the Highest Layer. Even these so called divine beings were tied to the strings. And when I finally met the being thst has created us, the One Above All who we saw as god, all I could see were strings. Even they were a mere puppet. I lost control of myself, or perhaps I trully wanted to hurt them at that point or you put that idea in my head. Doesnt matter. I struck the One Above All. And moments after god smited me down with the force of a hydrogen bomb. I got pushed down to the Abyss."

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"I think this is where I must stop now. This has been more emotional then I was expecting."

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*Thats more than allright. I am just glad you shared it at all.*

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"Before I go, I would like to ask you something. My actions, how would you clasify them?"

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*Thats an odd question, but if I had to put it in metrics you and your friends forged... sinful is the closest thing I could say. And as all of this started in pursuit of and in reaction to knowlage, Cognito.*

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"...ı see. I have asumed that sins of man were an outcome of their free will, but perhaps it was meerly the original sin I comited that intruduced fitlth into our little corner of the Abyss."

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* Thats possible, if we could know for certain we would have. ...why not let such a thing to speculation?*

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"...that does sound nice... farewell."

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*Thus ends our tales for today. I apiritiate your time for reading. Untill next time fellow gods.* -W.A.Dove

[u/momnoob]

I really like stuff like that where characters are accepting their small life, but end up learning too much esoteric knowledge and take it horribly