Order of the Chosen

   A bell chimes above my head and the sweet scent of incense hits my nose as I walk into the small shop from the cold. It’s always warm and comforting in here when winter comes around. I can hear the trickle a water fountain and the shuffling of papers. As I walk in further, I take in the familiar surroundings of The Oriental Cure. The old, red carpet is warm and inviting and all of the walls are lined with wooden shelves cluttered with peculiar vintage trinkets; truly a professional organizer’s dream come true. Nearly everywhere I look is a dragon of some kind. On every shelf is a dragon in a different pose, holding a different object, with a different candle, with a different incense stick. The rug on the floor has a big golden dragon in the center, the wallpaper is red with a golden dragon print, and little dragon charms are always on the front desk which is off to the right side of the store.

   “Mr. Akisato?” I call out as I unbutton my black winter coat. I hear the papers put away and an Asian man seemingly in his 50s comes out from behind the wall that separates the front of the small shop from the back. His face lights up and he adjusts his reading glasses down his nose so he can see me better.

   “Ah, Haakon-kun! Welcome back, it’s good to see you!” Mr. Akisato walks up to me and takes hold of my hand with both of his in a firm handshake. “It’s been a while since you’ve come here! Have your bathing herbs run out? While you were gone, we’ve finally gotten our garden finished and planted. We’ve got all of your favorite herbs growing out back and soon you will get them fresh straight from me!” He chattered excitedly as he walked me into the store, obviously very proud of the garden he’s been visualizing ever since he started renting the place.

   “Oh, that’s great! No, I haven’t run out yet. I actually wanted to ask you about something.” I motion that we should move over to the counter and he quickly escorts me over, taking his place beside the register.

   “What is it, Haakon?” He looks up at me curiously and straightens his thrift store sweater vest.

   I reach into my coat pocket and grasp the cold metal object. As my fingers make contact with it, a slight buzzing runs through my hand. I take it out and place it on the black marble counter between Mr. Akisato and me. It’s a circle pendant of shiny metal with a strange symbol pressed into it, or maybe it was made in a mold. It has a loop at the top where a string of black leather turns it into a pendant. Mr. Akisato lets out a “hmm” as he picks it up and examines it through his reading glasses.

   He puts it down and pulls out an old, dusty book from under the counter. The book is leather bound and has golden corners. He licks his finger and flips through the pages, and I notice a section where every page has a few different symbols similar to the one on the pendant. With another “hmm” he closes the book and replaces it with another one that’s black and not falling apart as badly. Almost every page in this one is filled with the strange symbols. I wait patiently for him, but Mr. Akisato flips through this one and puts it back, too.

   “Well,” he starts, returning his attention back to me, “it’s clear to me what this is, but I don’t have many details to tell you about it.” He picks my necklace back up to look at it again. “It’s talisman of some kind. This is actual silver and the symbol on it is a sigil.”

   “What is a sigil?” I ask him curiously.

   “A sigil is a symbol that is linked to a spirit, deity, energy, or archetype. The most common sigils used in neo-Wicca are Norse and Theban, but this is more similar to the Goetic kind which means it’s likely attached to a spirit of some sort by a person or group that likely practices a form of Kabbalistic magic.”

   “I don’t really know what all of that means, but are you sure?”

   His eyebrows come together as he inspects the talisman some more. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve seen these before… I think we should- oh, wait a minute.”