Blood oozed between her fingers from the gaping wound as Selena tried to crawl away. “You? It was you this whole time?” She shook her head in disbelief. “You were my teacher. I trusted you!”
Morgan took another step closer, lifting the sword high above her head. “Yeah… You shouldn’t have.”
This prompt came to me like a flash of lightning! So many ideas hit me at once.
The Hierophant represents traditions, societal expectations, formal learning, and spiritual knowledge or truths. A lot of times when this card comes up, it indicates a need to question your own beliefs, making sure not to fall victim to dogma.
What if we couldn’t trust the institutions of our society to keep us safe?
The Queen of Swords is often described as cold and distant. She can be a harsh communicator, having experienced lots of pain and difficulty that drained any tolerance for half-truths. She’s intelligent and analytical and has no problem separating her head from her heart to make the best decision. Many associate her with solitude, writing, and the possession of expertise in some field.
I took several of these elements and made them literal. Our apparent villain is a teacher, attacking a former student, wielding a sword. Why might she be doing so? If she’s as intelligent and analytical as the Queen of Swords, is she doing this out of a sense of necessity? Where might that have come from?
There are so many directions this scene could go in! Tell me what you’d do with it in the comments!
P.S. The first of the Six Pillars of Story is Premise. In Plot Your Novel with Tarot, we dive deep into how to craft an interesting premise in the very beginning! Enroll before registration closes if you’re interested!