There are several approaches and several paths to magic. That was what Jake was doing. He wasn’t content being the Jew even culturally- that his adopted mother and father raised him to be. Maika was also on this boat, and despite being a practicing Norse pagan, was very much culturally Jewish. But Jake? Jake abandoned it, and refused the label- the culture- the holidays. God pushed him away, the angels confirmed it. It was something he knew, and no amount of church meetings or talks with his catholic friend Jeromy was really going to change that in him. Some Jews did magic but now we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

There are many “paths” one might approach magic from. The “left handed path” was the one Jake chose. A term originating in Hindu circle’s later appropriated by White occultists like himself, it seemed to him to mean becoming divine, serving no master, and being one above all. That’s what Jake was on, that’s where Jake was going, that's where he wanted to be. The right handed path was more Maika’s speed. It was the path of becoming one with divinity rather then separate from it. Becoming one to your gods, rather then above them or equal to them. These two were such a separate pair, it’s very weird in retrospect that they ever became friends.

On Jake’s journey he had seen a lot. Met alot of people, many gods. If they’re not relevant to the story we won’t speak of them. But it happened. It certainly happened. He even met fae, and I’m sure we’ll recount that eventually. After a certain point Jake found that he just was able to pick up whether or not somebody was human. Whether or not they were a god in disguise easily seeing through it. But in general while he focused on demons he tried at least he attempted to make room for deities. He married Loki, the norse god of trickery, and while god spousing is it’s own topic, something of magic in the witchcraft community, he made friends with Woden who kept him at arms length. Athena occasionally guided him and tested him, Apollo and him interacted, and Eros and him had a very let’s just say “interesting” relationship.

Once Maika and Jake were in the car. It was a lyft, because at the time neither could drive. Jake was going off about how he angered Apollo. Jake was on the spectrum and whenever he mildly upset somebody if they took distance from him he had a tendency to believe at least at the time that they hated him. So he was saying that Apollo hated him which wasn’t true but Jake believed it to be. Maika’s mouth hung open in a bit of shock and he put his hand to his face and furrowed his brow and said in his high pitch voice. 

“You’ve pissed off more gods than Percy Jackson!”

“I know that’s the problem!” Jake laughed. 

“Just stop pissing off gods!” Maika countered

“But it’s me!” Jake retorted.

“Yeahhhh” Maika whined.

“I see your point,” he continued.

Once Jake brought this up to Zues. Zeus countered. “Stop saying “you’ve pissed off more gods then Percy Jackson” it’s fun a little anecdote. But if you’ve actually read that book series, you’ll find that he’s angered quite a few of us, and we favor you. We like you. So stop saying it.”

Truth be told Jake was in the god’s good graces. After a few times he had even received a few gifts, some with strings attached from a few gods, and Zues had even commented that he liked Jake’s very public journal that he had dreams of publishing one day. Jake wanted people to know where he had been. One day he knew he would tell them, or maybe get others to tell the story for him, he was friends with a writers club and he knew a few writers who could easily pass his story off as fiction if the need arise. All he knew was that one day he was going to tell, even if people didn’t believe him as he did. Be it as fiction, an epic, or as an anonymous account.

Jake soon discovered when working on himself that he had “aspects”. An aspect is a connection a secret half almost. Another part of you. When it comes to divinity on the other hand, an aspect is like an invisible connection. Jake shared a few aspects with a few gods. He didn’t know why. But sometimes they approached him. Sometimes he was lucky enough to get a name. 

Jake often felt comfort in the shower. So sometimes he did what witches refer to as “spirit work” in the shower. Talking to gods and goddesses, familiars, demons or just general spirits within it. Jake Caloway from the second he turned mad, knew he was more than human. In many ways that experience opened up his mind to many possibilities and unlocked within him much much power. In fact it was receiving great power in a lot of ways that drove him insane in some regards, at least the second and third time throughout the five years. But no matter where he had been, who he had trusted, how he identified, or where his mental health rang true one thing was certain. Jake Caloway, was no longer human, if he had ever been.

Jake undressed. He often liked the shower. In the mental hospital he was once forbidden for days from taking any do to showering so much do to that being his only form of coping mechanism. Not only was Jake assaulted physically as in fights, where he never punched back, attacked verbally, discriminated against, and raped, but he was frequently abused by the staff in the mental hospitals where he attended. They never cared for him, called him a name that for him was dead and in the dirt, treated him poorly and made him very suicidal. While the hospitals cured his schizophrenia they made him far far worse then when he went in.

But back to the point. Jake took comfort in showers. So sometimes when his aspects needed to greet him they greeted him in the shower. This time specifically was provoked by a talk with B., his familiar, via who he was, and who he needed to be, and who was attached to him. He also got done talking to a god earlier that day, a god who wanted him to face these things.

Jake sat in the shower. He felt an interesting presence come over him. He sat down as he usually did. Unaware of how this presence would manifest opting for a more invocation sort of route. Given the chat he just had with one his gods, he knew he would be facing himself soon. So here he was. Facing himself. An old version of himself. B, spoke up.

 “It really is you, a god of you, an aspect”. 

“Great” Jake spoke to his disgruntlement.

“I don’t know why he isn’t talking-” B, said.

“Who knows” soon butt naked Jake sat in the shower.

“Can we talk?” the spirit spoke through Jake’s lips. 

“Sure. We can talk” Jake Caloway felt as though he was speaking to himself. Maybe he was. “I’m you. An older version of you. I’m a god. An aspect.” Jake had so many questions. About where he was in all of this. Where he aligned? Who he was meant to be? Where he was meant to go. Why he was meant to go there?

Jake had a thought. (Who are you?)

“Who I am. We’ll get to that. For starters here’s a little about me.” the spirit spoke.

“And a little about you.”

“I’m sure at this point you know that you were a god.”

This was something that had been told to Jake. Over and over again. Confirmed by the Greek gods in his failed attempts at worship. Told to him by the demons he worked with. Confirmed to him by the Norse. 

“Theres something very evil behind your eyes. But now we’re getting off track” the man continued.

“You were never a god of life. Let’s get that out of the way. It’s a nice fantasy and one I know you like to hold on to. But you never were. You were…” he hesitated. “A god of death like me.”

“How are we each other?” Jake asked a little confused. He had been told he was gods before. That he shared a few connections with other people. That he was this deity, or that one. But very rarely had it ever been explained to him. The dark skinned man, with locks of hair, who he felt prosiding over him in spirit, spoke.

“So I’m going to explain this to you in a way that a child can understand cus you just don’t seem to get it.”

“Okay.”

“What we have is real.”

“Okay?”

“When someone is named after a god, like being named Dionysus or Hercules that’s a gesture, or a choice because they really adore them or like them? They are not literally the god, they are not an incarnation of that god, they don’t resemble that god? Right?”

“Right?”

“What we have. As aspects of each other is very very real. I am you. It’s an invisible tie. It’s not real in the sense that you lived my life, or you’re me reincarnated or that you have my history. But it’s real in the sense that, you and me are the same. There's a thread connecting us to each other! There's a literal union of our souls. It’s invisible. And when you die, because you won’t become immortal like Satan says, our souls will mismash in the afterlife but that’s getting into stuff I don’t really want to explain here” that last part was very fast paced.

“So I’m you?”

“I was surprised you’re White.”

“So we’re aspects of each other?”

“You’re a god. But I’m sure you’ve known that for a while now.”

“Yes I have. With the whole human sacrifice thing-”

“Woah woah woah. Wait hold up. Who told you about the human sacrifice thing?”

“It’s just something Apollo mentioned under his breath.”

“Well it’s true. But that’s a very dark part of you. Of us. And I don’t want it awakened. My name is Ah Puch. That’s who I am.”

“You’re Ah Puch?”

“I take it you’ve heard of me? I see that you’ve looked into Smite?” The god smiled.

“How do you feel about that game?”

“Oh I love it.”

“So you’re Ah Puch?”

“Well not exactly. He’s an aspect of mine. While we aren’t the same person. He’s a part of me and while you are clairvoyant, and have clairaudience, I doubt you could properly hear my name, so look into him, and you’ll find me.”

“But back to this whole I’m a god thing-”

“I sensed divinity when I talked to you-”

“Right right right. It’s something that’s been pointed out to me several times by several gods”

“Here’s the thing though” Ah Puch said.

“I’m not the only one. I mean gods reincarnate all over. Everywhere really. I mean do you really think Aphrodite only existed in Ancient Greece? She didn’t.”

“So who else was I?”

“Okay. So you were a god of human sacrifice but like I said that’s a very dark part of you. I don’t want you looking into it.”

“Why?”

“Because when you look into, that part of you? It will wake up. And you’ll become more like him. You’ll get hurt. I don’t want that for you.”

“Okay what else?”

“There’s an aspect of you I want to warn you about.”

“Who?”

“Wish Giver. We’ll call him Wish Giver.”

“Okay.”

“Have you ever noticed….” Ah Puch began to say.

“That when you want something it happens. All your life. It’s been happening. When you were younger you wanted glasses and you got them. When you were younger you wanted Bacney”- he started to laugh. “Sorry sorry” he continued. “And you got it. You wanted to refrain from braces and you did. You wanted book deals and you got it. You wanted friends and while you had to wait you got them. Even if you had to take action you got it. I can feel he’s listening now. It’s because of this aspect of you.”

“Really?”

“You don’t believe me?”

“No I’ve noticed” Jake commented.

“Right. So I can talk about him he doesn’t care. Wish Giver, is a very...how do I say this nicely, cruel god. He will grant your wishes, but sometimes they take time, and sometimes he’s downright cruel in how he grants them. But I’m sure you’ve also noticed that haven’t you?”

“I mean sometimes it comes true in a bad way but I’ve never been outrighted harmed-” Jake started to say.