Deck of Dragons

thumb|Deck of Dragons by [https://www.instagram.com/p/CVr6RpxqoU8/ SimiofDoom] 
The Deck of Dragons, sometimes referred to as the Fatid,Gardens of the Moon, Glossary, UK MMPB p.707 was the dominant oracular system worldwide, with the exception of the Lether continent which used its predecessor, the Tiles. It is possible that the card deck could be succeeded by the Coins in the future.
The Deck consisted of a series of cards depicting the members of the pantheon. The Deck accurately portrayed the pantheon, with new cards added as necessary for new members. Most cards represented entities with specific roles in Houses, with a few non-aligned cards that were without a House. During a reading, these cards might be animated.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.90 - example
According to Quick Ben, "... the High Houses of the Deck relate to certain warrens and as such they present a kind of window looking in on those warrens—conversely, of course, things can in turn look out from the other side, which is what makes a reading so... risky. The Deck is indifferent to barriers—in the right hands it can reveal patterns and relationships hidden to mortal eyes."Dust of Dreams, Chapter 5
left|thumb|Deck of Dragons by [https://www.instagram.com/p/CVsziRghZVg/ Corporal Nobbs] 
During a reading, cards were shuffledGardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.89 then dealt one at a time, with the resulting divination dependent on which cards came out. According to Hairlock, the First House set the course. Different patterns could be used to lay down the Deck. For example, in a spiral pattern, working through the entire Deck, the last card could signify either an apex or an epiphany depending on how it placed itself.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.144 Another pattern would be to lay in blocks (which way the local powers would oppose each other).
No two Decks were necessarily alike,Conversation with Steven Erikson about spirituality in Malazan - The Nostalgic Dragon - See 41:40 and the appearance of any card could vary by responding to local conditions. A card could change slightly of its own accord depending on where the reading was performed to indicate how the world and pantheon were unfolding. For example, during the events of Gardens of the Moon, the card of Oponn would probably show the Twins no matter where the reading was performed; however, because of the specific situation on Genabackis at that particular time, the card also showed a spinning Coin next to the Twins.
Not only the attributes or background of a card could change, but also the focus point of a card. Most positions in the Deck of Dragons depicted one individual, usually an Ascendant. A card often did not refer specifically to this Ascendant but instead could refer to a person in the local area whose role corresponded to the position portrayed. During one reading on Seven Cities, for example, the card of the Assassin of High House Shadow showed up, referring to Kalam Mekhar as the local Assassin as opposed to Cotillion, the Ascendant Assassin on the card. On another continent, the card would probably have a different look to it.
The person performing the reading could hold on a card and it was always their call to continue or end a game.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.91
==Organisation of the Deck of Dragons==
Listed as per the Glossary of Gardens of the Moon, UK MMPB p.707-709 unless otherwise referenced or in brackets. For associated Ascendants please refer to the page of the individual houses.
:;High House Life
# King
# Queen
# Champion
# Priest
# Herald
# Soldier
# Weaver
# Mason (Builder)
# Virgin
:;High House Death
# King
# Queen
# Knight
# Magi
# Herald
# Soldier
# Spinner
# Mason
# Virgin
:;High House Light
# King
# Queen
# Champion
# Priest
# Captain
# Soldier
# Seamstress
# Builder
# Maiden
# (Hounds)
:;High House Dark
# King
# Queen
# Knight
# Magi
# (Herald)
# Captain
# Soldier
# Weaver
# Mason
# Wife
:;High House Shadow
# King
# Queen
# Assassin
# Magi
# (Knight)
# Hound
# (Apprentice)
# (Mistress)
:;(High House Chains)
# Ruler
# King
# Consort
# Reaver
# Knight
# The Seven of the Dead Fires
# Herald
# Magi
# Cripple
# Leper
# Fool
:;(High House War)The Bonehunters, Chapter 22, UK MMPB p.1025
# Lord of Wolves/Lords of War
# Hunter
# Guardians of the RoadGuardians of the Dead
# Mercenary
# Army-Soldier
# Lifeslayer
# Deathslayer
# Herald
:;Unaligned
: Oponn
: Obelisk
: Crown
: Sceptre
: Orb
: Throne
: (Chain)
: (Master of the Deck)
: (Lifeslayer)
: (Deathslayer)
: (Salvation)
: (The Apocalyptic)
: (The Shaved Knuckle in the Hole)
==Known Readers of the Deck==
Though anyone may have picked up and used a Deck of Dragons, not everyone had the capability to utilize its predictive powers. The following were known readers within the Malazan Book of the Fallen series:
* AgaylaNight of Knives, Chapter 3, US TPB p.138
* Fiddler
* Ganoes Paran
* GwynnKellanved's Reach, Chapter 19, US TPB p.292
* HeukReturn of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 7, US HC p.283
* HrathReturn of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 3, UK PB p.116
* Iskaral PustDeadhouse Gates, Chapter 6, US HC p.164
* JadeenKellanved's Reach, Chapter 4, US HC p.61
* SlateReturn of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, UK PB p.92
* SpindleMemories of Ice, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.142
* Tattersail
* TayschrennGardens of the Moon, Chapter 9, US HC p.214
* TiserraToll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.610-612
== Readings ==
====In Gardens of the Moon====
*Tattersail - She was a skilled and experienced Adept and performed several readings during the events in Gardens of the Moon. She used lacquered wooden cards.
**The first reading was shortly after the Enfilade of Pale in the company of the newly soul-shifted Hairlock.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.89-91
**Her second was a few days later, at the behest of Tayschrenn who was blocked in his own efforts to read the Deck.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.108-110
**Her third reading was a complete layout of the Deck in an effort to sense the motivations of all the players surrounding the coming convergence in Darujhistan.
*Fiddler - Fiddler's readings of the Deck took a form similar to card games, with Fiddler as the dealer issuing cards to players.
**The first such game to appear in the series was in Darujhistan.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 20, UK MMPB p.582-584
====In Deadhouse Gates====
*Iskaral Pust
**Pust performed a reading of the Deck foreshadowing the renewal of Sha'ik.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 6
*The Ladro Keep Reading
**Kalam Mekhar tried to avoid a reading of the Deck by an unnamed woman who was also sheltering from a sandstorm in Ladro Keep.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 4
====In Memories of Ice====
*Spindle
**Spindle performed readings in Caladan Brood's camp atop Fiddler and Hedge's gambling table. The reading was influenced by a new unaligned card that was painted underneath the table and revealed some of the powers working behind the scenes in the Pannion War.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.178-180
====In The Bonehunters====
*Fiddler
**Fiddler acquired a new set of cards with many new cards previously unknown to him.The Bonehunters, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.720 He dealt a game at the request of Adjunct Tavore before the Bonehunters returned to Malaz City.The Bonehunters, Chapter 22, UK MMPB p.1023-1027
====In Toll the Hounds====
*Tiserra - She possessed a Deck of the Barukan version which included several cards of her own addition, including The City (for Darujhistan) and The Tyrant. 
**She hoped to perform a simple reading to learn more of the troubles facing her husband, Torvald Nom. Instead, the Deck gave her a divination of the future with The City at its centre. The other cards were The Rope, Obelisk, Soldier of Death, Crown, Knight of Darkness, King of High House Death, King in Chains, Dessembrae, and The Tyrant.
====In Dust of Dreams====
*Fiddler
**He dealt another game at Tavore's behest in Letheras, though it was dissimilar to his usual style and was more of a reading than a game.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 3, UK HB p.100-105
====In Return of the Crimson Guard====
*Slate
**Slate attempted to perform a reading for Kyle. Before beginning, he explained the cards of the deck. He then abandoned the attempted reading probably because of what Kyle saw in the last card Slate had put down.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, UK HB p.91-93
*Hrath - During a reading his voice assumed a level of assurance and experience that belied his youth.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 3, UK TPB p.113-114
**Hrath read the cards for Ereko. There he saw the involvement of the Queen of Dreams, High House Death, Kallor, and the Soldier of Light. When he drew the final card, the King of Night, the most ill-omened card in the deck, he collapsed insensate.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 3, UK TPB p.116
====In Kellanved's Reach====
*Gwynn - He claimed that while he had no 'true talent' for reading the Deck, he still had "some small ability". 
**Having consulted the Deck every night for a month - with regard to Ullara - and finding that every night the "connotations" had been the same, the mage described what he had done to his Crimson Guard Commander at the Red Fort, Seth. Gwynn told Seth that he had used every arrangement and "permutation" with which he was familiar. "The Southern Arc. The Old and New House. The Great Circle". Gwynn felt that the readings were clear and that they indicated that Ullara had a "Fate. A Wyrd". Thus, Ullara should not be prevented from following it, whatever it turned out to be.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 19, US TPB p.292
==Manufacturing Cards==
Skilled artists or mages could copy or create cards or Decks. Those known to have created cards:
*MunugMemories of Ice, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.66-68
*OrmulogunThe Bonehunters, Chapter 16, US HC p.529The Bonehunters, Chapter 20, US HC p.623/627The Crippled God, Chapter 22, US HC p.670/681
*Spindle
*Tiserra
==In Memories of Ice==
One new addition to the Deck was the card/role of a Master of the Deck who could add cards and sanction new Houses. The position, unsought for, was occupied by Ganoes Paran.
==Trivia==
*Author Ian C. Esslemont, who devised the Deck, said the inspiration for it came from various methods of historical divination such as the Tarot, casting of stones, scapulimancy, or casting of sticks in Buddhist temples in Thailand. Not A TSACast: Fireside Conversations with Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont Ep#4 podcast - See 01:02:00 Steven Erikson also thinks some of the inspiration for the Deck Of Dragons likely came from Roger Zelazny's novel, Nine Princes in Amber.Not A TSACast: Fireside Conversations with Steven Erikson Ep#3 podcast - See 1:49:00 The authors devised schematics on how to lay the cards down for the Deck's use in their early role-playing games.
*In a 2020 interview, Erikson said the Deck was designed by the two Malazan authors to be "as fluid as possible" and they "wanted to make the readings situational so that they related specifically to the environments surrounding, and the circumstances surrounding, the person doing the reading at that specific time so that nothing is ever completely fixed and roles can be assumed." He confirmed that multiple roles in the Deck can be taken on across Houses by a single person.Gardens of the Moon - Chatting with Steven Erikson, part 2 - See 10:20 "It's also quantum--there's a kind of entanglement between the reader and reality through the Deck, and so the reader can actually change the outcome."Gardens of the Moon - Chatting with Steven Erikson, part 2 - See 14:00
*Erikson considered it "my inside joke" to lay out a book's entire plot in a cryptic and obscure fashion through a Deck reading that would only become clear on a second or third reading of the book.Gardens of the Moon - Chatting with Steven Erikson, part 2 - See 11:50
*Sometime before Gardens of the Moon's publication, Erikson produced four oil paintings depicting cards from the Deck of Dragons. He says they are "long lost--they're gone."Novellas (and more) with Steven Erikson - Smiley's Podcast - See 1:12:35
==Fan art gallery==
Day 31 - Deck of Dragons by Corporal Nobbs.PNG|Deck of Dragons by Corporal Nobbs
==Notes and references==
Category:Deck of Dragons
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it:Mazzo dei Draghi
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