Three Months Before Marked! Kyle Age 18!
Kyle wanted magic, needed it. A lifetime of despair and abuse, magic and the hope for the power that the vamps were said to have...well it was all that kept him going. He studied magic for years, everything from every culture. He had just left foster care, and finally felt like it was the right time to tap into what he had explored.
He knew that most would never buy into magic, but something had changed. Only recently, but it had changed. He started to feel this odd pull, a magnetic sort of thing, whenever he walked by certain places. When he started to cast rituals, something only possible now that he lived on his own, he felt cool energy soothing his skin. He felt the elements when they were invoked, a dull radiance that he could only barely touch.
It was like a veil was on him, masking his potential...
He needed to overcome this, and so he started to study harder, learning of every sacred place, of healing rituals from pagan tomes, of goddesses of power, of methods to offer sacrifice to empower himself and create a bridge of power.
When Samhain came, he found his chance. It was a sacred day, when the veil was thinner, and so if there was ever a chance he would find his peace, it was then. He fled him to a local garden, where there was a massive willow tree, the most potent place he knew of. With a bag of carefully gathered supplies, he pulled out Sage. Normally he would purify with Sage, but he did not care what energies he summoned, as long as he got his way, he would make almost any trade to survive this horror show that was death.
He moved fast and swiftly finished setting up his salt circle. With all he was, he started to cast his ritual, one he made, tweaking and adjusting until it was perfect. He started to chant, summoning the elements to bind the spell as one.
"Air, blow free and clear, breath in power for this ritual. Fire burn brought, illuminate light and dark, all paths toward life and freedom! Water wash clean taints that weaken this ritual. Earth, with your might, lend us majesty and power, nourish this ritual! Spirit, bind light and dark, life and death!" There was a sudden listening presence, and he knew that his ritual was starting to take real effect, even as he continued his prayer based ritual. "I offer it all, all that I can and more. I offer myself, let me live and grant me the means to empower myself. I send this call out, to anything, anyone, I don't care. Help!"
And his voice literally rippled out before he he felt that listening presence move. That presence washed through him, and that terrifying something grabbed his soul, pulling up and away, out of his body and into a realm of gray light...
Someone had answered his prayer, but who?
Falling out of the gray, into a field of endless shimmering silver grass, Kyle found himself wondering. "Where am I?"
"You are in the Other world." He jumped, turning to face a stunning woman, her face shimmering with inhuman light. He could not really explain her features, only that they were not that of any mortal. It was like the shimmery vamp energy that defied explanation on steroids. "My name is Hecate, and I answered your call."
Eyes wide, he kneeled. "Thank you!"
She smiled. "I did not ask you to kneel, nor do I ask that you blindly worship me as Nyx does. No, I ask nothing of that nature. I am a goddess of choice, of crossroads, and your choice and desire for magic called to me. I was curious, and so I summoned your soul... I will send it back."
"So that means that the ritual didn't kill me?" He asked, hopeful and afraid.
She nodded. "You channeled enough magic, that it had the effect of awakening a significant sensitivity to magic, one born of your harsh studies and the connection all beings posses. You must continue to tap into this power, grow into it if you wish to become great as is your wish. I will not bless you, I refuse to allow you to rely on me as all those vampyres obsessively rely on Nyx.
"You have no innate or blessed power, the offering was too weak to access greater powers. Follow the path you make, and I foresee that it may in fact be possible for you to gain the freedom, power and purpose you seek. Now go, back to your body, and to the world of the living. Know that you have gained my curiosity, I will be watching."
And with a flick of her fingers, he flew back, through space and light, back to his body where everything had changed.
To his shock, his candles were still flickering, and the herbs were still smoking. All was well in that front... and yet everything was so vastly different. He felt a buzz around him, tasted the sweetgrass and it's heavy magic, drank in the mystic energy of the night, heard the echo of power from the sacred space he was on. Like a veil had been lifted and he could taste the powers so hidden away before.
What really stood out was the shimmering, heat like energy he felt and tasted around him. A silvery potency that seeped in and out of the world, making him wonder it's truth.
Reaching out, knowing he had to hurry, he gestured to the spirit candle to end the ritual, only for the damn thing to fly into his hand. Spirits majesty flowed into him, the power of the soul binding the world as one. He knew it was no affinity, somehow, but he knew that he had done that. "I have access to magic now... what else can I do?" Slowly dismissing each element, he gathered his supplies back into his basket, hurrying away back to his apartment, thankful to have no roommate.
As he sat down, he meditated, breathing in and out. Immediately, he felt that silvery power filling him, strengthening him. Without understanding what he was doing, he started to comb through the air, pulling the energy of out the air and into a thread of shimmery, gray power. Amazed, he turned his eyes to the candles on his desk.
"Candles, hear this desire, burn bright as I desire." he flicked his fingers, feeling a drain of power, only for the candles to burst into silvery flames that died into regular orange. "Shit... I guess this makes me a hedge witch now... how to do I grow in strength, how do I find my path? First things first, I need to learn this power of mine, less I kill myself practicing it..."
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.