The Tarot Cards

High schooler Clara Marsters was on summer break when she found a magical tarot card that would change her destiny. The card teleported her onto the dying world, Gaia, as the card's new master. There she met Alex, the mysterious yet familiar talking tiger, who came to assist her on her quest to collect the remaining cards. In order to save the world and get back home, they must travel through the kingdom of Burkhart, solving puzzles and braving the trials of the cards. Unfortunately, she has to worry about more than just the trials; others want the magical power of the cards, and they'll stop at nothing to get it. How far would you go to save a world that isn't your own?

A bright light flashed beside Clara as she slept, sprawled out on her bed. Ugh, what was that? She thought, cringing as she forced her tired eyes open. 10:30am I'm not going to be able to fall back asleep; might as well get up, even though there's not much to do here during the summer. Not without Alex... She stretched her arms out and ran into something hard on the pillow next to her. It was a long playing card with a red and yellow star pattern on the back, and a travelling figure on the front, with the caption at the bottom, 'The Fool'. The person on the card resembled her, with their long brown hair with parted bangs, and a black messenger bag. Weird. Who would make a card with me on it? Wait, how did it get here? Clara was home alone; she had no siblings, and her parents had left for a vacation out of the country last week, missing her birthday like usual. No one else had keys to the house, so who could have put it there? Her neighbour, Derek, whose younger brother Alex used to be her best friend, might try to prank her with it once upon a time, but it seemed unlikely now. A chill ran down her spine, and her stomach dropped. Is someone else in the house? Careful not to make too much noise, Clara checked her room for anything abnormal. Her double-hung window overlooking the driveway was still locked, and everything was in its regular place. The bookcases full of games, DVDs, manga and figures were all in order. A stack of neglected sketchbooks sat on her desk, and the plethora of stuffed animals stayed lined up on her double bed. She flung both doors to her closet open and forced her clothes out of the way with one hefty push. Empty. No one else was in her room. Clara slipped out of her pyjamas and into a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt; the same clothes she wore on the card. She slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, with the card tucked inside, ready to go to the mall, grab some grub, and probably run into friends in the meanwhile. But first, she had to make sure the rest of the house was secure. All three bedrooms were clear of any intruders, or any visible evidence of there having been any. Bathrooms, cleared. All windows and doors locked. How in the world did this card get into my room? An uneasy feeling loomed in the house, so Clara gave it another once-over before she decided to spend the day out of the house. Maybe they already left, and I don't want to be here if they come back. Really wish Alex was here... He would've stuck to her until she felt safe again. She grabbed her keys out of the bowl near the door, pulled on her hiking shoes, and readied herself to head to the mall. The front door opened to a grassy field swaying in the wind, instead of the driveway of her suburban home. In a daze, she staggered out of her house. Hills and trees surrounded the field in the distance, and sunlight beamed down on her without a cloud in sight. What's the hell is going on? Her stomach sunk as dread overtook her, and she scrambled to get back inside the house. Stumbling over her own feet, she slammed the door shut behind her. Completely bewildered, she leant against the door and slid to the ground. "This is just a dream, this is just a dream. I live in a city; the suburbs, where your neighbours are too close, and the streets are paved. It's just a dream," Clara rambled, nodding along to her own thoughts. Clara pinched her cheek. "Ow! Okay, not a dream." She rubbed the sore spot. Maybe it's a hallucination? Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she got back to her feet and slapped her cheeks lightly. Definitely wide-awake now. Back outside, the grassy field remained. Clara grabbed a handful of grass. Smooth, soft and slightly damp, it's too real to be a hallucination, but how could my house have moved, or my door be turned into a portal? After taking a couple of steps out of her house, a dirt path appeared underneath her, curving into the forest. "The path will lead you to the Magician," a deep, raspy voice came from beside her. She froze, heart racing as she glanced beside her out of the corner of her eye. A massive orange cat with black stripes and icy blue eyes sat down next to her. A tiger? That can't possibly be who spoke. "Please, do not freak out, Clara Marsters." He bowed. "Ha... I must be hallucinating; there's no way this tiger next to me spoke, or that he'd know my name." "You're not hallucinating." "Then I've just gone insane. I'm completely over the edge, or maybe I got drugged. Or, this is a really elaborate joke, and you're a puppet or have a voice box." That doesn't make sense, either. None of this is right. None of this can be real. "I am real and this is no joke," he said as he took a step towards her. "Okay, officially freaking out!" Clara tittered. I've definitely lost it. "Please, calm down, Clara; I mean you no harm." "How can this be real?" she hissed, eye twitching. "Tigers don't talk like humans, and for whatever reason, you know my name. This is too bizarre to be real, so I'm just going to go back to bed and wait for all of this to vanish." Clara turned around and froze with her hand reaching out for her door. It was gone. Her house had vanished into thin air. A fleet of evergreen trees now stood in its place. "Where's my house? It was right here a minute ago, and I didn't get here by walking through a bloody forest." Her surroundings were changing too fast to comprehend. "What am I going to do?" she mumbled to herself. Clara pulled her cell phone out of her messenger bag; no signal and a low battery. Useless when I need it the most. She dumped the device back into her bag. "Please, come with me, Clara. I am here to assist you, not harm you. I am not your enemy." "Right, 'cause it's only natural I trust the magical talking tiger," she scoffed in disbelief. He took a few slow, cautious steps towards her. She gulped, unable to run away as potential scenarios raced through her mind. I'm going to be eaten. Probably a nice amount of meat on my bones, maybe a little fatty, though. She tensed up as he circled her, rubbing up against her like a house cat. The tiger sat down in front of her with his head held high and ears perked up. He peered up at her with soft eyes, waiting patiently. Why is he looking at me like that? "Okay, so let's pretend I believe this is real, and you're here to assist me. Why am I here? Wherever 'here' actually is." "This is the planet Gaia, a world parallel to the one you call Earth. You are here because the tarot cards were released and are in need of a magic source. When they go without one, they take it from Gaia, essentially killing it. You, a person with an ample supply of magic, were chosen by the cards to be their new master. It is now your duty to secure the Major Arcana tarot cards as their new master." "And if I don't want to?" "By picking up The Fool card, you have already been accepted and bonded to them." "So I have no choice?" "If you want to return home, you must first save this world. There is no longer a link between the two worlds; the last bit of connection was used to retrieve you, so there is currently no path back to Earth. Save the world, restore the link, and then you can use your powers to go home." I'm a chosen one with literally the weight of the world on my shoulders. Great... "Okay, I think I get it, but what are the Major Arcana?" "The Major Arcana are like trump cards, ranking above the Minor Arcana. They contain the spirits and magic of the legendary warriors that once saved the world. In order to prevent another catastrophe, the warriors contained their power in the cards, sacrificing themselves, but in the process, they bound the cards to Gaia as well. You have one of the twenty-two cards." Major? Minor? This is all too much. "How do I get the rest? Do I just find them randomly? Will they come to me if I travel around?" "The cards will lead you; they want a new master, but you will have to travel far and face many challenges in order to obtain them. Worry not though; I am here to assist you on your journey." He bowed his head once again. I don't really have a choice. If he's telling the truth about a parallel world, no one can come and find me here. At least he seems friendly. His eyes seem oddly familiar though, and something makes me want to... Clara slid her hand down the back of his head. So soft. He didn't shy away, so she kept combing her fingers through his fur. "What's your name?" "My name is Alex," he replied with a sharp, toothy smile. "Alex..." Clara nodded with a reminiscent smile. "I like it; used to know someone with that name. He'd probably be jealous I got to pet a tiger, since he loved them so much." Gosh, I miss him. "Are you alright? I thought you accepted your reality, but now you seem sad." She shook her head. "I'm okay, and considering the situation, I'm actually doing surprisingly well. Continuing to freak out won't help change the situation, so I have to keep a straight head." "That's a good way to look at things; it will help you on the long journey ahead." "What kind of trials or challenges am I going to face? I'm not exactly suited for extensive physical activity." "I cannot say, but for every card you obtain, your magic will get stronger." "Stronger? Like an all-powerful wizard." Clara's mind wandered. What kind of powers can I get? Would I be like a magical girl from anime? "Wait, but how dangerous will this be?" "Most likely, but I will do my best to protect you." "Thank you." "Are you ready to start your journey?" Not much else I can do. "Yeah, let's go. So, do we follow the yellow brick road?" "You mean the dirt path?" Clara laughed. "Yeah, I mean the dirt path." "Yes, it will lead us into the forest where the Magician awaits. Make sure you stay by my side; it would be bad if we were separated in this unsafe forest." He just had to say that. As they started down the path, a rumbling interrupted their silence. "Oh man, I didn't get to eat breakfast." You'd think my nerves would be enough to take my hunger away, but it never seems to. "Any chance there's something I can eat in this forest? "I wouldn't suggest eating any random fruit you find; my nose can only tell us so much about it." "Good to know." They approached the forest entrance shrouded in darkness, and a wave of anxiety hit Clara. "Ugh..." Do I really have to go in here? A whistling wind blew by, urging her into the forest. I guess that answers that.