Thinking about what it would be like to write a book about a villain. A villain who prevails over the hero. A villain who is not a sympathetic character, but who is fucked up insane. It would be a challenging read because the reader would not be inclined to like the protagonist. I often wonder how I could accomplish this. The best way, I think would be to just start writing and see where it takes me.
Four months ago I moved to this city to begin a new life with my boyfriend. I had a tough time finding work and, while looking, I heard the call of the Deep. I embraced the dark and the magic I found there reached out across causality and intent. I poured my emotions into it moreso than my thoughts.
My emotions informed the magic that while I wanted a job, I didn’t just want “another job”, I wanted something more; something I can embrace, believe in and grow in. I also wanted variety. I wanted to work with people, to have clear and attainable goals. I wanted to feel good about myself again.
The results are in and I got exactly what I wanted. I have not one but two jobs. One at a bookstore and another at a natural cosmetics store. I’m working for two ethically-minded companies who value people not just as walking wallets, but as people with values, beliefs and lives that matter. Companies that don’t just say they believe in giving back to the community, but back it up with programs and policies that are a major focus of their business. Companies with practices and products that I actually use, enjoy and like to talk about. I don’t have to force myself with either of these jobs, like I have with others. What I will be doing will flow naturally from who I am as a person and as a witch.
The best thing, though, is that none of the jobs that I applied for, that I didn’t really want, even ever gave me a phone call back. The ones that I did want, however, I got. And I applied for a lot of jobs, too. On a very personal level, it’s clear that this wasn’t just chance. I created this. This was the work of the mysterious.
“I have many names, horse rider. Harvester. Angel. But in the end. I am the end. Or perhaps I was always the beginning. Whom am I?”
Answer: Death, The Grim Reaper, Angel of Death, The Harvester of Souls, The Rider of Death, Upon a Pale Horse
“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come and see!” I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.“
“In the darkness most people will huddle around the fire and look into its warm bright flames, but sometimes there is a person whose face turns away from the light and looks into the dark of night. They know the light blinds so one cannot see what hides in the shadows or see the beauty of the night with its moon, stars, nocturnal creatures, and dusky colours. Such persons who chose to see the unseen are often shamans, witches, spirit workers, and other walkers between worlds. Come with us away from the fire and learn how to see in the dark”… more
Starbucks, Dulux Paints, Indigo, SGI, Shoppers Drug Mart, Hilton Garden Inn, Best Buy, Federated Co-operatives, The Body Shop, Siemens Laserworks, Ramada Hotel, Lush, Novozymes BioAg, Bluenotes, Venmar CES, Culture Craze, Hobbyworld, EB Games, 7-11, The Source, Bench, Safeway, Town Shoes, Jysk, Wireless Wave, American Eagle Outfitters, Air Source, HMV…
Would someone please hire me already?
Black gemstones symbolize self control and resilience. Black stones have protective energies in the sense that black is the absence of light, and therefore, can be used to create invisibility.
While white reveals, black conceals. It is seen as a restful emptiness into which anything may emerge and disappear once again.Every aspect of this color has significance beyond our understanding.
Black is so beautiful…
It’s been said that if you want to get better at writing, then you should just write every day. It doesn’t matter what you write or how good or bad it is - just bloody write. So, here I am doing a bit of practice.
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“I don’t know what your damage is, Heather, but I’m not human. I am a vampire, okay? I can’t just not be a monster, okay?”
Nico was a mess; a young, quasi-androgynous vampire whose designer clothes were wet with the blood of half a dozen victims. His warm crimes were staining the white carpet. He was visibly upset as he pleaded his case before a gorgeous, porcelain-skinned woman with snow-white hair and minty green eyes. She was stretched out on a long white couch, wearing delicate, opalescent layers of white silk.
“Not human? I suppose you’re some kind of fungus then?” Alice said. “You know, Nico, just because you don’t have a pulse doesn’t mean you can divorce yourself from humanity. If you think all it takes is a change in diet and some photosensitivity to excuse your behavior, you have another thing coming.”
Still upset, Nico was feeling a little confused, not fully understanding the Witch’s point. Before he could open his mouth to reply, she continued, as she is often want to do.
“You are human, Nico. You have a human body with a human mind and a human soul. I can see it as plainly as your nose. Your resonance is different from that of most people, yes. You are supernatural now, yes, but no less human. Your kind would do well to remember that, perhaps some of you would find the salvation you seek more quickly.”
Alice rose from her couch and gestured to the paper wall on the west wall, it slid open seemingly on its own but Nico could see out of his peripheral vision that a solemn-looking man in a black uniform stood on the other side. With both hands he carried a wooden box that appeared to be an ornate humidor. He approached Alice and stood silent to her right.
The pale Witch opened the box and the scent of sandalwood filled the air. The silky red cushioned interior held a spool of white thread and a small pair of silver scissors. Alice removed the spool and silently asked Nico for his left wrist. He offered it and she began to wind the thread around his wrist.
“This is the first and last time I will correct your mistakes, you understand.” Alice spoke and her words were charged with a cooling sensation that sharpened Nico’s hearing. “This is your first offense, and I allow my contracts the chance to fuck it up only once. If you fail to acquire the lead coin again, it is of no consequence to me. You are the one who wishes to enter the Underworld. Failure means you will lose your chance.”
Alice tied off the thread, tight. Nico could feel it cutting into his skin as though it were made of something stronger than cotton.
“There’s something in this for you, but I can’t figure out what it is,” he said.
Alice returned the spool of thread to the box and picked up the silver scissors. Her sight was focused on the thread around Nico’s wrist.
“I often wish I could afford the luxury of secrets,” she said. “If you’re successful and you make your way into the Underworld, it provides me with a sympathetic link to that place. A link that can never be broken. You would be the vehicle of my connection to the Great Below, and the lands of the dead are rich with forgotten magic, history and artefacts.”
She traced a finger over the threads binding Nico’s wrist and he could feel a cooling sensation run up his forearm and through his body.
“Sounds like you’re getting more out of this than I am.” He said.
“All things in balance.” Alice retorted, sliding the open scissor blade between the threads and snipping them all in a single action.
Nico was startled by his own reflection staring back at him. A mirror, he realized. Looking around quickly, it took him a moment to figure out where he was. The bathroom in Howl, the bar he had been in just hours before when he had gone on a frenzied killing spree. There was no trace of blood on him; his jacket was not in tatters.
There was a knock at the door and Ben poked his head in, “Yo, Nico, let’s go already!”
The young vampire’s eyes widened as he thought, “Ben … you’re supposed to be dead.”
About The Blackwater Testament
