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Previous: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 1

Kruk-Ma-Kali was born never knowing who his father was. His impoverished mother, Kona-Ranor, claimed that his sire was Pallas, the Titan of war and the husband of the River Styx. Pallas despaired of his punishment in Tartarus. His rage built for centuries until he freed his bonds and escaped. He blew past the minor demons of Tartarus and swam through his wife’s waters to freedom. Once on the surface world he engaged in sins of gluttony, lust, and debauchery. One of Pallas’s nights of freedom was spent with Kona-Ranor. At the height of their copulation she uttered the name of Zeus who looked down from the heavens at the mention of his name. Zeus saw Pallas and flung him back into Tartarus, but Kruk-Ma-Kali was already conceived. Pallas’s betrayal of the River Styx with Kona-Ranor ensured he would never escape again.

Kruk-Ma-Kali grew up on the fringe of his village in the Great Valley bordering the Shacklack Desert. Zeus sent visions to the local priest to convince him that Kruk-Ma-Kali was an evil soul. The priest spread ugly rumors about Kruk-Ma-Kali and his parentage, claiming that his mother was a whore and that his father was a hunchbacked thief. The other children excluded Kruk-Ma-Kali from their social circle and he became a target for bullies. To protect himself Kruk-Ma-Kali underwent a rigorous physical regime. As his strength grew so did his size. Soon the bullying stopped as it became too dangerous. The other children simply ignored Kruk-Ma-Kali.

When Kruk-Ma-Kali turned twelve his psionic power erupted. He found he could influence people’s minds, but had little control over how he did so. He wished the other children were his friends and they were, but only temporarily. He wished that he was invisible and then people walked by him as if he wasn’t there. He wished the village priest would recant the lies he had spread about Kruk-Ma-Kali and the priest did, but it was too late for anyone’s opinion of the outcast boy to change.

Kruk-Ma-Kali’s psionic abilities grew out of control when he used his powers against his mother. Kona-Ranor told him to chop wood for their fire. He refused and telepathically ordered her to do it. She completed the task and then broke free from his power. At that moment she realized the danger Kruk-Ma-Kali’s psionic strength presented to her and to the boy himself. He would need to control it or those he controlled would realize the invisible sword he held over their heads and kill him. Kona-Ranor confronted her son and convinced him to leave their village. He would go to the nearby psionic enclave and bridle his power under the tutelage of the psions at the Shacklack School for Psions.

Next: The Days of Kruk-Ma-Kali Part 3