Nigkala Tales Pt. 20: Stormy Weather

"Demons are real?"

"Yes, though I have not fought one. Kate Demon Hand, however, summoned one and made a deal several hundred years ago. Now her soul pays the price."

"Kate Demon Hand?! You fought her and survived? She's one of the deadliest mages on the planet."

"She was. And she was the deadliest one, not one of. But it was my combat skill in the martial arts that felled her. Having a fifty-pound stick hit you upside the head is rather difficult to handle."

"My dad taught me to stay away from powerful mages. They would be the death of me."

"Well, I must disappoint your dad, as I am fairly powerful as a mage. That storm you were inquiring about? That was me. A ritual I was performing here got a bit out of hand. Fortunately, I was able to keep the damage down."

"Impossible. That hurricane was far too powerful. No mage can handle that kind of power."

"That wasn't a mage's power, but a priestess's power. Lord An has said I am the most powerful priestess he has ever had. That also means I can also access his power and channel it to my desire. I poured that power into a magic ritual."

"You can channel the power of a god?"

I smiled, then pointed to each side and willed a lightning bolt from each hand. Zap. Zap. "Yes, I can."

It took him a few moments to pick his jaw up off the ground. "That wasn't a spell."

"I have other tricks." I then willed a whirlwind appear to one side. I kept it small, maybe ten feet tall, but it picked up the sand easily. After leaving it there for a minute, I dismissed it.

"How the hell can you do that?"

"Being a priestess allows me access to his powers. But I serve him second. I first became a priestess of Queen Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of sex and war. Ever see any of the Nigkala movies?"

He immediately blushed and looked away.

"I see you have. What you see now is a disguise. I am Nigkala, both in reality, and the character. As a child, I patterned my life after her. It turns out she was real, and her goddess took notice of me. Ever since, my life has been far more interesting. Later, I picked up a major talisman of An, and it chose me, which made me his priestess as well. I currently have four major talismans, and nine minor talismans."

"You made or took over all those talismans?"

"I take it you don't know the difference, then?"

"What difference?"

"Major talismans are given by the gods to whom they choose. They are far more powerful than the minor talismans that mages make. I assisted a friend in making my first talisman. It helps hide my power. I have freed four talismans, and they choose to serve me. I unmade another, and I am working on the others from time to time. When the time comes, I will help you make or take over a talisman, if you want."

"This is a lot to handle. I don't know if I can."

"Lord An thinks you can. Let us begin. Please sit." He was about to say something about no chairs when I summoned them. "Now, meditate, and I will enter your thoughts, and I shall bring the site to you."

He nodded, and we sat. I also meditated, and reached out for the site. I sent it the idea of being given a guardian, and that I wanted it to share some of its power with the guardian. When I felt it understood, I brought in Bret. Speaking directly to him, I introduced the two.

In thought, I said, "Bret, will you accept the responsibility and duty of being a guardian?"

He spoke, "Yes."

Back in thought, I said, "Then let it be. Please come together and meet your partner." I then encouraged both to share a part of themselves. While the site had done this several times with me, for Bret, it was new, and wondrous. When I felt they had achieved their link, I faded out of the three-way sharing and left them to their thoughts. It was nearly an hour before Bret came back to the world.

"I never knew such could be possible."

"Magic is a secret world. It has possibilities undreamed of by mere science. It also has dangers and nightmares that must be faced. I shall be your teacher for a while, and not just for magic. I will teach you how to fight in hand to hand, and with magic. But tonight, your homework is to learn about Sumeria, and their gods, especially Lord An and Queen Inanna. I shall return tomorrow." With that, I ported home.

Over the next few weeks, I learned a lot about Bret, and I ported us to my home and showed him my library. In the next few months, he faced other mages, and overcame them.

But that is another story....