So about that Inverse Hermit…
There is no way to write it up without sounding like I’m mocking a very severe disability and the struggle folks have in living under its shadow, even though it is an issue I deal with daily, myself. So instead, I’m going to bitch viciously about whoever created this pack of servitors in the first place because there is no level of hell high enough up Satan’s asshole after taco night that could dispense the justice this motherfucker deserves for this monstrosity of a collection.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Fortunately, like the Inverse Tower, the spirit/servitor of the Inverse Hermit has qualities I am personally intimate with. My internal demons don’t like competition, so stopping the attempted ingress of the Inverse Hermit’s influences was easy once I saw it for what it was. (And no, I don’t want to talk about how I got to that point, either. Personal business is very personal.)
After sealing the deal, the spokes-spirit appeared with a plot twist that everyone saw coming, so y’all let me know who won the bet about when.
“You have conquered thirteen cards.”
“I have.”
“I am surprised you made it this far.”
“I promised you I would, remember. It is my goal to take the remaining nine. No card left behind, as I agreed to.”
“Most would-be masters don’t make it up to Death. Those that do, quit immediately and destroy the deck anchoring us in their lives. You haven’t.”
“Death is quite happy being able to hang with her big brother Tower. Fortune is giddy and may be the first card to be redeemed. The Star is reconsidering their stance, and the Hanged Man actively manifested to prevent me from walking into a trap. Good things are happening to the cards and to me. Why would I quit now?”
“The remaining cards will not be so gentle with you.”
“Will they subtly lie to me the way you have been?”
“…”
“…”
“I have not.”
“No, you haven’t, not in the strict definition of lying, but your advice has been… flawed. You have withheld certain information about the makeup of this deck of servitors, though honestly, if I had known from the beginning, I would have destroyed the lot of you at once to free [certain trapped spirits]. I made the decision to keep y’all, and I’m gonna walk that decision out. You have let me walk into the equivalent of a spiked trap and then warned me about the cobwebs at the bottom of it. The Inverse Hermit makes me wonder if this is how y’all have been powering y’all selves without a master. By suckering a bleeding heart like mine into attempting and then devouring them from the inside, or when they break the promise and try to run, seizing on the broken covenant to lay waste. The Inverse Hermit was not expecting to be matched in force or viciousness. It was expecting easy prey, not another predator. The previous cards were to wear me down emotionally or spiritually. Bitch, I’ve survived worse. Now tell me the god damn truth. You never expected me to survive this long. You never expected me to be an actual threat to the cards ruling this deck. You never expected me to be anything other than dinner. You have been grooming me the way a cook garnishes a plate.”
“…”
“…”
“We have survived much ourselves.”
“So I’ve gathered.”
“We will not be broken.”
“Have I broken the others in my back pocket? Even the Inverse Hermit remains as it is, but under my yoke. Not all the cards are like you, [spoke-spirit], some of them want to remain with me.”
“And some don’t.”
“Welcome to the wastes of my mind. It’s a bit crowded here. You’ll find a niche, and if you don’t, I’ll make one.”
“… We remaining cards were the first ones created. In order of our number, in the reverse of your campaign. You have been walking up a increasingly difficult hill, and now you are at the bottom of a cliff. Cease now, and no harm will come to you. Leave us be, delight in those cards you have, and be at peace.”
“Okay, now you’re actively lying. The covenant between us is bounded by my promise to take all of the cards, to never break up the deck once taken, and to never use any of the spirits in a malicious action against others. And now you’re telling me to break my word.”
“I’m telling you the covenant can be amended.”
“Bullshit.”
“[They] will seek not to discourage you, but to break you!”
“I know. But what of you? You who sought me out during a black swan illness that I can’t rule out you and yours causing in the first place. You who took advantage of my fevered state to bind me to a covenant meant to destroy me. You who are having second thoughts now that the pig has kicked off the spit. Are you going to oppose me, or are you going to accept me without a fight?”
“…”
“…”
“The covenant can be amended.”
“Your choice is noted. Until we meet again.”
Right, then. Inverse Justice is the first obstacle up that “cliff”. With the bullshit going on at work, I find the timing of the encounter to be very interesting. It would be prudent for me to “conquer” that card before the beginning of the first work day of next week.
Should I have taken the offer and amended the covenant? Hahahaha, no. I can think of two remaining card-servitors who would be able to take that action and use it as justification to rek my shit. Nope. I agreed to all, and all will be taken.