Occult Shop

Later that day I found the old man by the tavern and disinfected the wound with some aqua vitae that I promised. With the small extra money I got last night I considered going into the tavern myself. But It was too early to drink and I figured I should visit the old woman that sold the herbs and the book to me in the first place. Entering the occult shop I was surrounded by unlight candles, trinkets, books, jars of botanicals, jars of animal bones, there was just so much stuff it was hard to maneuver around the place without bumping into anything. The store had two floors to it, and when I looked up I saw the woman looking over at me from the upstairs railing.

“There you are. I was sure you would return,” She said as she motioned with her hands to follow her. “Come, I am sure you came to talk,” she said. Walking up stairs, I was sure not to bump into anything, as I followed the old woman through some hanging beads into a secluded room. The room was full of smoke coming from suspended censors, their smoke falling down like gentle waterfalls, the only light coming from candles around the room. In the center was a circular table that a woman was already sitting at, and around the edges were blue tapestries covering every corner.

“Come child sit. The coffee is almost ready.” She said, motioning to me.

“Coffee?” I asked with a raised brow but she waved me off as she went through a door coming back with two small cups and an ornate brass kettle with a long straight handle, with designs of elegant flying whales etched into the metal.

“Drink.” She said as she poured into the cups, with the thick black liquid, up to the brim. I was not used to drinking this kind of traditional coffee. The modern cafe uses siphon brewers and light roasts. When she was down pouring she sprinkled a mixture of some kind on top of the cups. Putting it to my nose I could only recognize cardamom, but also something perfumy that I could not place; definitely not rosewater. I sipped from the top and was surprised by the complex bitterness, the spices, and earthy notes, balanced by some moderate sweetness from some added sugar.

“So you come here to learn. To control magic. To control the spirits you summon,” She said after a deep inhale of smoke which my mind was getting a little hazy from but it was pleasant.

“Yes…to learn whatever I can. And about my idol,” I said after a sip of the coffee.

“Your Idol? I suspected as much. Who is your Idol for some reason that is hidden from me,” She said, peering into me.

“Uhh. Soma is one of their names? The Ruler of the Celestial Tide. The Shahanshah of the Abyssal Realms?...uhh do you need me to go on?” I said not really knowing what to say.

“...my Idol, the great whale spirit knows of this one…but I am unfamiliar. They say their realms are distant on the far edges of the astral plane. I am sorry but there is little I know of this spirit. The edges of the astral plane are home to what we consider most foriegn to this world but now the awakening has happened that what is far away can be closed again,” She explained as her eyes darted around above as if she was searching for things in the smoke.

“Hmm. You have any idea what embracing my inner beast might mean?” I asked hopefully.

“Inner Beast…Inner Beast…sounds Like something one of the great predator spirits would ask but I don’t think that is right. Your spirit is not a predator…I honestly don’t have an idea. A monarchal spirit about embracing primal nature's sounds contradictory. Maybe it's telling you to find balance and to not be afraid to embrace such things when the time calls for it. But I could be wrong,” She said with a stern face.

“That would make sense accounting for other things they have said,” I said nodding.

“Ok. Back to business. You want to learn how to control spirits,” She asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Now I want you to free your mind. And have it wander to where spirits are right now, what do you see?” She said. Following her guidance, I let my mind wander, I could sense a spirit above us, this one was not calling out to me like the others. It seemed to be whispering to itself.

“I found something,” I said as I was focusing on the spirit. It seemed to be looking for something, researching something.

“Good now bring it forth. But focus on a purpose; give a task. Do not let it take advantage of you and get free. The easiest being to stay put in most cases. So bind it to a spot,” She said didactically. I thought about the space above the table and I pulled the spirit towards it and held it in place. What came out was a faceless creature seemingly made of smoke with four arms, two of each holding large old tomes, the other two flipping through pages, there were no legs, just a tail of smoke where the lower half should be.

“A Djinn!” She gasped surprised and the spirit's head turned toward her briefly before going back to its books. “I thought you would have summoned a small elemental spirit but this is something else. It’s–it’s a spirit of unadulterated desire for knowledge. You probably didn’t even notice the elementals, you are much more attuned with the abstract world, the world of feelings. Ask it a question be forthright,” She said in awe.

“Do you know of my Idol? Soma?” I asked sternly.

“Yes,” It said planely.

“What do you know?” I said as I focused harder.

“What do you want to know? We could be here for millennia on such a subject,” They said frustrated as they kept reading.

“What Does it mean to embrace my inner beast?” I asked forcefully.

“It means a lot of things. The title of beastmaker is as literal as it is metaphorical. It is to embrace the things of yourself you do not show. To bring to the light the parts of yourself in the dark that you don’t let see the light of day. To embrace and acknowledge all parts yourself to gain enhanced understanding and control. But Also to literally embody your beast to accept and transform into it. Like phases in the moon you need to be able to control the phases and degrees of your beast, as well as turning over to the blood moon when necessary. The blood moon being the most primal parts of yourself. The part that is capable of the things you normally wouldn’t be able to. The part that can kill without thinking,” It explained.

“What is my beast?” I asked a bit off put by the end.

“Your beast is that of the seductress, the succubus, and the lifedrinker. You have hidden and have been afraid of your sexuality for so long, you have been selfless and worked hard putting other always first, and always following orders. Your beast is that of overt sexuality, control over others, and literal life-drinking to take for yourself what will harm another in other words, overt selfishness. If you embrace it you can do many things. The inner beast is a source of personal power,” It explained with something mixed of admiration, pity, and sternness.

“What else does my Idol want of me? Did they like that I helped Roy?” I asked, wanting to understand the whole pact. But oddly I felt as if deep down I already knew what the meaning was they just confirmed it for me.

“They did. They appreciate whenever power is redistributed to what needs it or when something that has been neglected, unused, is used, and taken care of. And to do so without being seen is a plus. Your action took all those boxes even though it was not subtle,” It said plainly. And I could feel myself losing control as headache started to form and a sense of drowsiness hit me. The old woman must have noticed me faltering because her next instruction was,

“Now dismiss the spirit from whence it came. It is usually better than to let them linger till they disappear on their own. Though their stay on this plane can never be long, much less permanent but it is best practice to dismiss them yourself,” She explained as she put my cup to my lips so I got an energizing sip and I felt an increased flow of energy coming from her hands and into me. With her pushed the djinn back to the astral plane.

“You did a nice job, very impressive from a newcomer. I can tell you will take this quickly and will have no issue controlling spirits for longer portions of time. And to summon a Djinn is remarkable in of itself. I am afraid we might be too different. But I know of someone that can better teach you your talents. She was once a student of mine and has recently awakened as an Elf like yourself. Just tell her ol’ Kahina sent you,” She said as she handed me a card that read “Madame Cyra, Talismans, Charms, and Fortunes…144 Sybel Street”.

“Thank you. You have been such a help already,” I said genuinely.

“Child you are too kind. Djinn was right. You are a good kid. But it's ok to want things for yourself just don’t let it hurt the ones you love. Now before you go let me read your cup,” She said gesturing to my now empty coffee cup, a small patch of coffee mud at the bottom. When I handed it over she turned it upside down before swirling it around and turning it over again. Looking deeply into the cup her aged eyes darted quickly.

“It can see great changes coming your way but we already knew that…And you will be faced will a problem you will not be able to solve without fully embracing the darkness inside you, if you refuse then someone you love will be hurt forever,” She said slowly as she interpreted the meaning in the grounds.

“Don’t fret. It's impossible to determine when that might be. Nevertheless I am sure fate does not hate you so much that it will happen too soon. You will be ready but you must make the leap,” She added, giving me a pat on the shoulder.