Swamped

You definitely remember that your father showed you four-card readings. Beyond that, you're too vague on the details for the moment.

"Hmm, well. Four is the most common number of cards, could be either of the main ones but it could also be a lot of variants. Did your father place any importance on the orientation of the cards - that is, which way up they were?"

"No, now that you mention it, I remember he specifically turned the cards so they were all facing the same way. He liked things to be tidy like that."

"Hmm. Venton-based variants tend to emphasize the orientation, though Venton itself doesn't. Can you remember the cards?"

"Only the Four of Leaves. And I barely even remember the interpretation we ended up with."

"A shame. I suppose I can't help you more with identifying your father's preferred system unless you can find out more. But I can still teach you about the systems I do know, if you'd like."

"Hmm. How about we run through a sample hand? Let's say... Scholar of Stones, Seven of Wings, Four of Blades, Four of Leaves in that order."

"Okay, we'll start with Royce-Garral, since that's simpler. When there's a face card, that's always the Primary Card, so here we have Scholar of Stones. The Scholar is about observation, learning, wisdom. With Stones, that usually means you're going to face something harsh and learn a lesson from it. Now, before we get to the actual numbers, it's worth noting that you've got all four suits there. That can mean either balance, or ambivalence. All comes down to the numbers."

He pauses.

"Now, it's interesting that your example has a seven in it, as well as two fours. You know that four is a significant number, but seven usually is as well. I don't suppose you recall if your father mentioned anything about sevens?"