The Teller of Small Fortunes

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, emotional abuse, and death.

The Teller of Small Fortunes reimagines home as a state of belonging defined by meaningful human connections rather than physical structures or locations. Tao’s evolution from solitary traveler to a member of a chosen family demonstrates how a sense of home can emerge through relationships that offer trust, acceptance, and loyalty.

Tao’s status as an immigrant in Eshtera establishes her profound loneliness early on. Though she has lived in Eshtera since childhood, her Shinn features and her magical abilities set her apart everywhere she travels. Further, she even experiences rejection within her own family as her stepfather pressures her to assimilate in Eshtera and her mother fails to defend her from the Guild of Mages. To protect herself against further rejection, Tao builds emotional barriers and adopts a solitary existence, traveling with only her mule Laohu. Her defensiveness manifests in her first encounter with Mash and Silt, when she immediately tells them: “I’ve nothing of value. I’m just a traveling fortune teller, I’ve no trade goods in the wagon” (27). Her immediate suspicion of their intentions stems directly from her childhood wounds and her cultural displacement.