"for the beauty of the rose, we also water the thorns."
Descendant of Loa lineage, Karliah Shango stems from masters of Haitian and the old Oyo Empire Vodou. After the nuclear wipe out, she finds herself thrown into leadership with little comprehe...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"The Seven Wonders is a rigorous test used among witches to sought out the next supreme. You've already demonstrated a few of the elements on the list including the hardest element of them all, descensum. So I'm more than sure this will be a breeze for you."
Karliah watched from the edge of her bed as Michael picked up a candle, presenting it in front of her. "First on the list is pyrokinesis, the ability to control fire."
She spared him a glance before plucking the candle from his hands. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, the wick suddenly igniting as she exhaled. Michael barely batted a lash before taking the candle back, blowing out the flame as he sat it back upon her desk.
"I need you to leave the room for the next one." He said.
She raised a brow, "Why?"
He answered her through an expectant gaze, breath bated as she stared back at him before reluctantly standing, trudging into her bathroom as she closed the door behind her. She crossed her arms, shifting on her feet for a mere minute or two, before being beckoned by Michael.
"Divination, the ability to locate objects without knowledge of their whereabouts," he explained, hands clasped behind his back. "I've hidden something in this room, all you need to do is tell me where it is and where I placed it."
"Your ring. It's on the bookshelf." She replied barely seconds after he spoke.
The man nodded slightly, "Where on the shelf?"
"Second shelf from the top, under the Nigerian spell book."
He tilted his head, seemingly impressed as Karliah went to retrieve it, standing on her toes to pull the ring from the shelf.
"What's next?" She asked, absentmindedly toying with the red-stoned ring before sliding it on her finger.
Michael's eyes drifted from the ring on her hand, back up to meet her brown eyes. "Vitalum vitalis, the ability to transfer one's life force to another."
He made his way over to a small table beside her bookshelf, a vase full of purple and blue hydrangeas sat upon it. With a sharp flick of his wrist, the flowers began to burn, their petals curling up within the flames.
After a brief moment, the flames dissipated, leaving behind the wilted and burned flowers. An annoyed sigh emitted from Karliah, "Those were my favorite." She muttered with slumped shoulders.
Michael held his hand out in front of the flowers, inviting Karliah to revive them with an exaggerated gesture. She looked between him and the vase of dead flowers before making her way over, splaying her fingers above the burned plant.
