( @deulirium
Here's the fortune for Sandeul, hot off the runestones! I hope both of you enjoy reading it.
I'm switching to posting these publicly instead of only PMing them, so it will beeasier for people to see the examples, but I'll PM it to you as well in a minute so you don't have to worry about losing track of your copy. It's also been posted to tumblr here.
Thank you again for your order!)
Kimer smiled brightly as his next customer paused in front of his stall, giving the small bird perched on the Skydancer's head an amused half smile. "Welcome, welcome. Which one of you is the consultation for, hm? Kidding, kidding of course. Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable."
Arlandria waited for Kimer's nod, then set six stones out in two lines on the ground between her mate and their guest. Kimer became very still as he considered them for a long pause before speaking.
"Hmm. I see a a newcomer stepping into your life soon, not an idle visitor but someone who will stop by out of necessity. Someone who will be brought temporarily into your clan or territory to assist with something- I suspect they are either a teacher who can help someone in your clan train in an important skill, or otherwise a scholar who has the knowledge needed to answer questions that you or someone else in your family has long wondered about."
"I cannot say whether this visitor is cruel enough to /mean/ any harm or not, but unfortunately they are quite abrasive and bullheaded; a person who looks out for their own goals without much concern for the fears or feelings of others. They are of the type who says hurtful things and then, instead of apologizing, insists that they were 'only being honest.'"
"Now that's unpleasant, but not really a bother big enough worth warning you about, except..." He tapped the third stone, the one marked with faded yellow rays for Light. "Except that while this person visits they will also have a habit of nosing in where they don't belong... of overhearing other people's conversations... peeking into other's letters... a habit of somehow knowing things they should not know and making themselves a nuisance. It is a threat to not only your own peace of mind personally, but possibly even to the peaceful relations of everyone in your clan, if long forgotten and forgiven grievances are somehow dug up."
"It would be simple to say that such a dragon should just immediately be kicked out and the mess done with, but it isn't that easy- this guest, however troublesome, truly does have something useful to offer you and your clan. There is a much better solution, one that will prevent problems but also let you take full advantage of this guest's wisdom while they stay over. And..." He paused to grin broadly up at Sandeul as though he was overhearing a wonderful joke. "If the well loved instrument at your hip means that you are the bard I would guess you are, it is a solution that you might thoroughly enjoy."
He rested his tail along the second row of stones, as if to underline them. "The thing to do with this troublesome visitor is to keep them busy. You must absolutely flood them with harmless knowledge of your clan, bland details about your territory, history that has nothing to do with your people personally, stories that are fictional but filled with names of dragons and places- overwhelm them with stories whenever you can catch their ear. Poems, historical ballads, notes and journals left out that look like temptingly sensitive personal information but are actually just unimportant lists of items and locations."
"If you can set this traveler's memory ringing with too many new stories to keep straight, they won't be able to tell apart what was a juicy rumor to share at just the wrong moment and what was made up. Imagine how their credibility will fall apart when they claim to be sharing a secret, but the person they are talking to realizes that the story they're sharing is from the make believe stories that you tell over a campfire at night! Being laughed at once or twice will extinguish their arrogant nature, and they will spend the rest of their time with your clan quietly behaving themselves to avoid further embarrassment."
