Kali

 

Background: I borrowed Kali from the Hindu pantheon.  In this religion, she is one of the fearful aspects of the Mother Goddess, Devi.  Devi has many forms: from the peaceful Parvati to the war-waging Durgha.  Kali, like several Hindu gods, has a dualistic nature.  She is sometimes seen as a restorer of balance, a giver of benefits.  But most often she is portrayed as a fearsome and bloodthirsty goddess of destruction and dissolution.  Kali is usually painted as a dark-skinned woman with baleful eyes and four arms. She wears a belt of severed arms and a necklace of human skulls (I tried to draw this delightful piece of jewelry, but the skulls looked more like they came from small animals than people).  This is the Kali I focused on for my story.  She is wanton and bloodthirsty, delighting in the dark side of sex and death.  She craves worshippers, but only for the sacrifices of death and blood they give her. Blood spilt in her name gives her more strength and pleasure.  In truth, Kali cares nothing for the humans who adore her.  She would gladly kill them, too, if the mood struck her.  Over time, her abilities have faded as people forgot her name.  She longs for the power over life and death that she once wielded over the lowly humans.  By allying herself with Hecate, a goddess of darkness, and Astarte, a goddess of war, she believes she can become the fearsome Goddess of Death once more.

 

Abilities: There once was a time when Kali could lay waste to whole countrysides with her gaze of death, but centuries of dwindling power have left her with only the touch of death.  She still possesses the power of teleportation like most of her kind, and her super-human agility and speed have also not been lost with time.  This makes Kali a tough opponent to beat in a fight because it is hard to even strike her.  Even if she holds still, she has four arms expertly wielding poisoned blades to block thrusts and attack at the same time.  The strangeness of four arms furiously swinging weapons is in itself a disconcerting distraction for her opponents.  She often toys with her enemies because she enjoys the rush of battle and the pain and fear she instills in those she fights.