Argosi deck

The Argosi deck, or 'true deck' is the cornerstone of the Argosi ideology. The Argosi believe that by accurately representing the structure of cultures in their decks, they can view, to a greater or lesser extent, likely coming changes in the world.

The true deck is made up of *concordances* and *discordances*. The concordances aim to accurately reflect the structure of major societies that the Argosi comes into contact with, while the discordances depict potential turning-points or catalysts for change. Like Kellen and Janucha, these are the unpredictable players.

## Concordances

"*The Concordances are hand-painted cards made by each Argosi teysan or student. They depict the structures of life and power within nations so that travellers may learn to safely navigate the world. Each suit represents a specific culture and the ways their people see themselves and those around them.*"*― A description of the purpose of the Concordances*

The suits within an Argosi's concordance deck aim to represent the different cultures that the Argosi comes into contact with; as such, any given deck may have more than four suits. Ferius' card deck contains suits representing the Daroman empire (the Suit of Shields), the Jan'Tep arcanocracy (the Suit of Spells, depicted as Septagrams), the Berabesq theocracy (the Suit of Chalices), the Mahdek (the Suit of Leaves), the Gitabrians, and the Zhuban (both unknown suits), although she only regularly uses and displays the first four. As each Argosi deck is unique to its maker, these suits are not fixed; an Argosi will create a suit for each culture they interact with, so the deck of an Argosi that does not interact with the Jan'Tep may omit the suit of Spells in place of another culture. Similarly, the suit iconography that refers to each culture may vary between decks, although most Argosi use the same suits for the major cultures, such as septagrams for the Jan'Tep.

There can also be variations in the number of cards a deck has within a suit, although any given deck will always have the same number of cards in each suit. The typical Argosi deck, however, uses the ace card to represent that culture's view of power (such as the Oasis for the Jan'Tep), along with four face cards.

### Meanings

The cards in a typical Argosi deck have parallels between the meanings of numerical values; while not all Argosi use the exact same correspondences, overall they tend to depict similar elements of a culture.

#### Two

"*Two represents the individual’s encounter with the other, with the sudden knowledge that they are not alone. Both love and hate can be found in the two cards, for they show both what we aspire to for ourselves and what we despise in others. The Jan’Tep are a people who measure themselves by magic. Those who have it are both the target of admiration and resentment, desire to ally with and desperate need to defeat. Thus the Two of Spells depicts that most fundamental of Jan’Tep rituals, the Mage’s Duel.*"*― A description of the meaning of the Two of Spells.*

The two of a suit represents the individual’s encounter with the other, with the sudden knowledge that they are not alone. As the Jan'Tep base their culture and personal worth around magical ability, the Two of Spells depicts a Mage's Duel. Similarly, the Two of Leaves is believed to represent "the wonder of encountering something different from oneself"; although the exact depiction of this is unknown, in the game between Kellen and Mer'esan using the deck that Ferius lends Kellen, the Two of Leaves represents Mahdek children.

#### Four

    "*The compass has four points: north, south, east, and west. These give us not only our sense of direction, but the very foundation of how we see the world. Thus does the four represent a nation’s most basic idea of what it means to be part of that culture. The Berabesq are a people of deep religious conviction, but that is merely the means by which they express a deeper faith: that of family. The family is the first tribe, the home, the ultimate duty. The Four of Chalices depicts the Berabesq household, with each member of the family in their perfect place.*"*― A description of the meaning of the Four of Chalices.*

The four of a suit represents a nation’s most intrinsic sense of belonging. While the Berabesq are a strongly religious culture, their most idealised element is that of the family. Therefore, the Four of Chalices represents the family, with each member in its perfect place. However, the individual Argosi's view of what the 'perfect place' is can be reflected in the cards. Ferius's depiction shows the mother and father placed equally, with the children at their feet, while Rosie's has the father above the mother, who is flanked by the children. Whether this depicts each Argosi's personal view, or their idea of the cultural view, is unknown.

#### Five

    "*The perfection of any structure is breached when a new element is introduced within. The compass has four points, not five, and to add a new direction is to render the map itself meaningless. Fives represent that which comes from without to break apart that which was once whole. The Daroman people are an empire, and what makes an empire vulnerable is not armies, but the enemy that sneaks inside to uncover its formations and battle plans. The Five of Shields depicts the spy who delights in learning those secrets that renders vulnerable that which was once impregnable.*"*― A description of the meaning of the Five of Shields.*

The five of a suit represents the outside threat to a culture. The Darome is an empire of great military ability, and so the five depicts not an invading army, but an enemy spy gaining information. While it is unknown what the five of other suits depict, Ferius' Five of Leaves may depict the Jan'Tep as an outside threat to the Mahdek, based on the genocide perpetrated by the Jan'Tep, or may reflect the historical cultural view of the Mahdek, and represent a demonic force, the ultimate 'outside threat' to the Mahdek culture.

#### Six

The six of a suit generally represents the notion of initiation, study, or exploration. The Six of Spells is titled the Initiate of Spells, a young man studying magical books. It is likely that the Six of Chalices represents a religious initiate, while the Six of Shields may depict exploration in a military manner.

#### Seven

The seven of a suit represents an unknown cultural aspect. The Seven of Leaves is said to depict a Mahdek Shaman, and so may represent further study, or greater understanding than the six displays.

#### Eight

The eight of a suit represents an unknown cultural aspect. The Eight of Leaves is known to represent a Warden, and so the eight may represent protection in some way.

#### Nine

    "*Though it is common to say that all things must end to make way for new beginnings, not all endings are so benign. Some deaths poison the ground itself, preventing anything new from growing. Nines represent that which a culture fears will destroy it. The Mahdek feared demonic forces more than any other enemy, and so buried their dead wearing fearsome masks thought to ward off such intruders. The Nine of Leaves depicts a corpse half-buried with no mask to protect them, leaving their souls to be feasted upon by demons and thus forgotten for all time.*"*― A description of the meaning of the Nine of Leaves.*

The nine of a suit represents what a culture fears will destroy it. Due to the cultural fear of demons, the Mahdek buried their dead in burial masksto ward off demons. The Nine of Leaves shows this practice unfulfilled, leaving a corpse with no protective mask.

#### Ten

The highest number card of a suit, the ten represents an unknown cultural aspect. The Ten of Leaves is titled the Speaker of Leaves, an unknown hierarchical position. This may be an equivalent position to that of a Jan'Tep Master, possibly representing the teaching of knowledge, or that of a Lord Magus, depicting political influence.

#### Queen

The Queen of a suit represents an unknown cultural aspect, although it is known that the Queen of Spells does not represent the Dowager Magus, due to her lack of influence over Jan'Tep society.

#### King

The King of a suit appears to depict the most culturally significant person in a society, although not necessarily its leader. While Darome is noted to have an Emperor, the King of Shields depicts the General of the Armies, showing the importance Darome places on military might. Similarly, the King of Spells depicts the Clan Prince, the most *magically* powerful figure in a clan, which due to the importance of magic in Jan'Tep society makes them the most influential figure as well.

#### Ace

The Ace of a suit represents how that culture sees power. The Ace of Shields depicts the Siege Engine, the ultimate example of Daroman military might. Similarly, the Ace of Spells depicts an Oasis, as a source of magical power.

## Discordances

### The Spellslinger

A Discordance created by Ferius Parfax to describe Kellen, displaying "a young man standing in front of an open road with a squirrel cat sitting on his shoulder and fire in his hands." (See the cover of *Spellslinger*)

### The Shadowblack

A Discordance created by the Path of Thorns and Roses to describe Seneira and the potential threat of a Shadowblack plague that she represented. It displays "a girl with black marks twisting around her right eye."

### The Mechanical Bird

A Discordance created by the Path of Rambling Thistle to describe the mechanical bird created in Gitabria and the potential danger of the artificial life that powered it.

### The Contraptioneer

A Discordance created by Ferius Parfax to describe Credara Janucha zal Ghassan, and her ability to create mechanical creatures.

### The Path of Shadows

A Discordance given to Kellen by Enna of the Path of Rambling Thistle to remind him of his promise to stop Ferius from having to kill for him.

### The Mechanical Dragon

A Discordance created by Ferius Parfax to warn of Gitabria's creation of a mechanical dragon as a weapon.

### The Crowned Mage\*

A false Discordance created by Ke'heops to allow him to communicate with Kellen over long distances. It depicts a crown held by two wooden hands, which the image of Ke'heops takes and wears when the communication spell is active. *Not a true Argosi card.*

### The Abbey of Shadows

A Discordance created by Kellen Argos during his search for the Ebony Abbey.

The Mechanical Bird DiscordanceThe Contraptioneer DiscordanceThe Path of Shadows DiscordanceThe Mechanical Dragon DiscordanceThe Crowned Mage False DiscordanceThe Ebony Abbey
## Trivia

* The cover art of the books in the series appears to be in the style of Discordance cards of the characters, especially the art of Kellen on the cover of Spellslinger, which appears to match the description of Ferius' *the Spellslinger* Discordance.
* The Argosi deck is clearly based on a tarot deck, with the Concordances representing the Minor Arcana, and the Discordances representing the Major Arcana.