Forbidden Lore of the Gitany
By Cesar Tourneur
This volume contains a collection of notes and stories about the Gitany, and focuses particularly on their use of the Cosmos deck. Generally, it tends toe sensationalistic rather than scholarly, making the useful information difficult to extract.
Possession of this tome is worth **** Research Points per session. If delivered to the Church, this tome is worth **** Church Prestige Points. With a year of study and **** Research Points, this tome will provide information on the topic of Cosmos Deck Lore.
Many have heard the legends of the Gitany tribes, the heretical nomads who wander Komaru. However, few have actually truly understood the secrets of the terrible, mystical people. They are a fiercely secretive people, determined to veil their hidden lore from the eyes of normal men. Nevertheless, through years of patient observation and conversation, I, Cesar Tourneur, have managed to learn the truth about the Gitany. Prepare yourself, because the genuine secrets of the Gitany nomads are even stranger than the wildest of tales!
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The Gitany were not always nomads. Originally, they lived on the south of Komaru, in the lands now known as the Plains of Crystal. On the Plains of Crystal, they raised great castles from Mourn's bones, twisting them into blasphemous recreations of the human form engaged in lewd rites. In their obscene cities, they grew proud and powerful, until the day the Light itself saw their swaggering pride. In less than a moment, the Light seared the cities of the Gitany to glass, and the few survivors were scattered and forever after cursed to wander the earth.
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The legends of Gitany stealing babies are based on fact. Many of the Gitany are infertile as a result of the Light's Curse. Because of this, their only chance to perpetuate their kind comes from stealing children. However, they raise the children with great love and affection, and I have seen, with my own eyes, Gitany-raised girls and boys who will turn their backs on their true noble parents to return to their Gitany abductors.
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I have befriended a Gitany girl by the name of Kaede. She dresses in a rainbow of silken scarves, and copper rings encircle her wrists and ankles. She is entrancingly lovely, and I hope that I can get to know her better. One legend suggests that Gitany girls who take normal lovers grant them great artistic brilliance but drain their blood away. If that is the case, I would gladly accept both fates to hold smoky-eyed Kaede in my arms.
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One false legend about the Gitany concerns the practice of stealing the dying breath of convicted criminals. In all my time with the Gitany, I never once observed any tendency of the Gitany to investigate the dead or the dying. I can only assume this superstition is based on some lie aimed at slandering the Gitany name.
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The Gitany do indeed treasure the Cosmos decks they possess. Many are ancient indeed, engraved upon metal or strange transparent materials that much stronger than glass. The Gitany say that, in the ancient days, they called upon the Asuras to Twin the Pattern, allowing them to produce more Cosmos decks. Today, however, they simply pass decks on by hand, and each has become a treasured keepsake.
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I have had the opportunity to study a number of Cosmos decks, and while most have a very similar set of cards, some are noticeable different. I asked a Gitany elder about this, and he told me that there are different kinds of Cosmos cards. Some are very rare, while some are quite common. I asked him how many cards there really are, and he grunted and smiled, murmuring "As many as stars in the sky". For once, I feel that he was simply exaggerating.
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Having won the trust of the Gitany after the harrowing battle against the wolves, I have attempted to learn more about the secret names and patterns of the Cosmos deck. There seem to be ascending levels of power within the cards. Here are four such patterns.
* The Light of Perfection, the Restoring Sun, and the Eastern Furnace are a rising pattern, and their names are Solariel, Amatera, and Serapion.
* The Mirror of Light, the Mirror of Desire, and the Crystal of the South are a rising pattern, and their names are Mirariel, Speculus, and Kaijikisaki.
* The Darkness that Devours, the Shadow Guardian, and the Westward Ocean are a rising pattern, and their names are Nyctariel, Yorutsuki, and Oborekomu.
* The Pathway through Shadow, the Owl-Eyed Seeker, and the Shield of the North are a rising pattern, and their names are Seiriel, Sadalmelik, and Talitha. Furthermore, one of the elders, while deeply intoxicated on flame powder, told me that the Breath of a Thousand Flames came next in the sequence. He would not tell me its secret name, though, and I could not find such a card among the Gitany decks. He may have been senile.
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During the evening's entertainment, there was much dancing. I watched, as usual, but tonight I was not fated to sit by the outskirts. As I watched, the elder's daughter Kaede came to me and beckoned me to dance with her. I had danced in my home village, but I had not truly lived until I danced with the Gitany. For hours I whirled and spun with Kaede, our arms twined about each other. Afterwards, she fell into my arms, and the entire camp cheered me with a rousing round of applause. It seems we are to be married!
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Since the destruction of the camp at the hands of the Hawks of Light, I have spent many sleepless days and nights fleeing for my life. I struggle to remember the Kaede I danced with, not the dying girl on the end of a Church pike. With my last breath, I have found a scrivener. It is my deepest hope that my experiences with the gentle Gitany people will save others of the kind from the fate that befell my companions.