He chuckled. Despite the usual Immature sterotypes, it was actually rather hard to be a genuine evil Witch.
Then his thoughts sobered up. The winter solstice may be a time of joy for members of Naturist religions, but for a Sunchild, it meant long months of having to work to satisfy his need for its lifegiving rays. He decided to wait a bit and let the Sun rise a little further before taking his Suncharge, leaving the Wiccans to practice their rites without interference.
For, though he could not directly sense the Power of Channelling, it reacted against his own form, as all Powers will, and it was the start of their Power raising which had awakened him. His charging would similarly become noticeable to them. It wouldn’t do any harm, but it would be distracting. Actually it would be very noticeable, for this was a Power Spot, a place where Channelling forces ran strong, as the original inhabitants, who had built the mounds on the site, had been well aware.
Bennu chose to pass the time and lift his mood the way many Matures would, by remembering musical performances, both Eldebrani and Earthly. (Singing was another possibility, but there his Partner was far superior to him. He could chant remarkably effectively, and she had chosen the flute as her preferred means of making music. They would have been a pair of truly powerful magicians had that been the Power they were born to!) Because of the complexity of sounds available from keyboard instruments, most Matures (despite Mira’s somewhat uncommon choice) learned to play them. Indeed, he had found time to try his hand at the Earth version, the piano, and had quickly become good at it. He had even read a book on its construction, so he could reproduce some of his favorites from this planet - Mozart was his favorite composer, a choice he shared with many of the man’s fellow humans. It was a pity he had died so young, for how many more works of beauty had died with him?
His mood having shifted again, his subconscious, ever busy making patterns, offered a fitting tune, an Earthly one that had been quite popular. Though musically simple - indeed, it was a form of “folk song”, both words and music did fit his mood. “A Winter’s day, in a deep and dark December, I am alone ...”
Yes he was! How his missed his home and his Partner!
And then he realized that he was less alone than he preferred. There was an all-too-familiar Presence out there, though the Power Spot, and the increasing Chanelling Power being raised by the Wiccans was distorting his - and surely Yago’s - perception. He stood up and strode out of the mound to take his Suncharge. He MUST be ready for the upcoming battle!
His subconscious offered up another snatch of song, oddly enough by the same performers, this time directed at Yago. “Hello Darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again ...”
Bennu faced East, into the teeth of an unusual cold wind, and unbuttoned his shirt. Shreds of cloud were scudding across the sky, heralding a rapidly approaching backdoor cold front. Just as well he was taking his Charge now, for the Sun, still low in the sky, would soon be completely obscured.
Even for a Mature Adult, it was not easy to concentrate sufficiently to complete a prolonged Suncharge while protecting his exposed chest from excessive heat loss, keeping track of Yago somewhere out there, AND dealing with the distraction of a steadily more powerful Channelling charge building up quite near him. Somehow he managed to, thanked The Light that Yago had not attacked until he was as able to defend himself as best as was possible, and reset his metabolism.
Yago was puzzled. Bennu was certainly nearby, but it was proving difficult to locate him amidst the distortions. He dropped to the ground - and found his usual appearance as a Cloud of Blackness instantly warped into the form he had first confronted Bennu as - a four-legged Beast with glowing eyes.
That seemed odd to him, but, much to his surprise, it worked! NOW he could locate Bennu’s mind, and he strode forward to attack, confident that his opponent would, as always, let him strike first.
He loosed his first Mindblast and Bennu, his Medallion flashing, parried it. That was to be expected, as both were pretty sure the first attack would not succeed. But what was that flash of light as Power blocked Power, or the thunderous CRACK! that Yago heard through Bennu’s mind - or the shudder the very Earth gave, which even he could feel through the form imposed on him? Mixing Powers was dangerous, and considerable strain was building up in the immediate area.
The coven of Wiccans nearby was composed of local residents of various ethnic groups. The Indians’ tribal structure, with its rites and rituals, had long ago been dissolved by the White Man, so some of them were glad to find a religion whose practices at least overlapped those of their ancestors - and which would accept them as equals. Indeed it was they who had led the others to their Holy Place when the coven first formed. All had been puzzled by the strange distortion in the Channelling field that was rapidly growing nearby.
Puzzled but not afraid, for who - or what - ever was generating it was most definitely on the side of Good. And then they sensed another Presence, an Enemy of the first. The Evil in it sent a shudder through them, but its Evil did not seem to be directed towards them.
Then came the first attack, its force pressing against the Channelling Power of the area. The form Evil took became clear to all present.
Mike Little Horse, an Indian member of the Coven: “AIEEE! The Red-Eyed Wolf is upon us!” He recoiled in horror, nearly breaking the Circle in the process,
Sue Jones, High Priestess: “Steady, steady! Keep your hands joined with those of your neighbors or you will release the Power we have built up, placing us all in grave danger.”
Bennu looked at Yago in pity. “So this is the one who would rule Eldebran. Look at yourself, stripped of your body and its senses, now trapped in the form of a beast. The very ground we stand on rejects you. GO!”
Under the circumstances, Yago might have considered abandoning his current attack. The area was affecting him rather badly, for, though its Power, being that other than his, would not directly hurt him, the place was Holy, and therefore opposed to Evil in any form. But that would have involved turning tail - literally - and Yago would never give Bennu that satisfaction. Not that Bennu, being Mature, would have felt other than relieved not to have to attack another intelligent being.
He started to reply, but found that in this form, he could only growl. Crouching down, he prepared to lauch another attack, this time intending to “spring” at Bennu’s throat as he did so. Somehow that seemed to be required by the rules of this strange place.
And then a rift in the clouds allowed a thin shaft of Sunlight to beam down upon Bennu, highlighting his form. Yago couldn’t notice and Bennu had no reason to. The coven was another matter.
Mike: “Who fights the Great Enemy? Surely he must be a god, though our legends do not speak of one such as him, nor of the strange Power they use to battle each other.” (Pausing as the sunbeam limned Bennu’s body.) “We should be very grateful to the Golden One.”
Sue: “They seem evenly matched.”
Mike: “We MUST use our Power to help the Golden One!”
Sue: “We have seen the result of their first clash. If we get involved, it might well be fatal. Is this the will of the coven?”
Mike: “If we do not and the Golden One loses, we would rather be dead than live under the Paw of the Wolf. We can all sense how Evil he is. I say that we must chance it.”
The Priestess heard the rest of the members speak up. All felt it necessary.
Sue: “Very well. We will release our Power at the Wolf just as he is about to start his attack.”
Yago’s form left its feet as his mind lauched itself at Bennu. Both Bennu and the coven countered with their own Power. He was struck by both a high level Mindblast and the full Channelling Power of the coven. The two Powers mixed ... and all found themselves hurled into Blackness.
Yago was cast into the Darkness from which none should return - but it was only his mind which found itself there. Thanks to his relationship with the Shadow Lords, it was - barely - strong enough to avoid dissolution, and it was still bound to his body. He slowly found his way back to the planet, but it was long months before his mind recovered from the experience and he could build up charge to again be a threat to Bennu.
Bennu awoke to find himself with an assortment of nicks and bruises, courtesy of the local gravitational field and the rather hard surface upon which he had stood, but it was some minutes before he finished resetting his mind and could think about helping others.
He walked painfully over to the still unconscious coven members, being unwilling to waste his limited amout of Suncharge on things his body could take care of. Even his cuts, which he usually immediately Healed, would have to wait. His immune system would protect him. The others, too, had various uncomfortable but non-serious cuts and bruises. Most of the damage was purely psychic from the backlash of the Powermixing explosion.
Fortunately! THAT was something he could use his Healer’s abilities to help them with without having to draw upon his own Power, and he went from victim to victim helping their minds recover from the ordeal, learning of their thoughts leading up to their intervention in the process.
By the time he finished with the 13th the first was groggily waking up. Soon enough all were eyeing him with either great curiosity or greater awe, for some did indeed think of him as a god.
Mike: “We owe you a great debt for defeating our Enemy the Wolf. And now we see that you have helped us recover. What god are you?”
Before Bennu could reply, the Priestess spoke, for her Sensitivity was high, as it should be as Priestess, and they were still on the Power Spot. “Forgive me if I am wrong, but somehow I do not believe that you are actually a god, though I do not know what you or your Enemy actually are, or with what you fought.”
Bennu: “She is right. Both of us are from another solar system, he in Exile and I and the Partner I seek here to help your Race prepare for a potentially dangerous encounter. And it is I who should be grateful to you, for I truly do not know who would have won the battle had you not risked all by intervening. Still, though Yago is not a native Enemy of yours, he would rule you all, and he would be just as oppressive as your ‘Red-Eyed Wolf.
"In any case, as a group of Channellers, you are the type of Earth humans who are most ready to receive the Gift I bring, if you wish to.”
Bennu then explained what Maturity was and what it offered. The coven gladly accepted and, over the next few weeks, he brought Maturity to the few who had the Talent to become Healers themselves. And, by staying at the Power Spot, he guessed - correctly - that it would disrupt Preminger’s ability to locate him. And then it was time to leave, to go back out into the dangers of the World of the Immature - and to know that a few more Adults would spread the Gift of Eldebran.
Copyright Feb 8, 2004 Richard Kaplan