Shiva and Ali's Romance

My name is Kali and I'm a genetic anomaly, what you would consider to be a mutant. We don't like to be called mutants. We find that term offensive. To us, it's like calling a woman a bitch, addressing a black person by the term nigger or calling a gay person by the term fag. There are lots of others like me out there. Ordinary men and women whom Fate chose to become living embodiments of human genetic evolution. We're out there and we're in conflict with each other. And the rest of the world. That's what sucks. We always have to look over our shoulders. There isn't a single moment where we can feel truly safe.

I was born in 2600 B.C. in the Province of Ajmer-Merwara in the historical Ajmer Region of India. The daughter of a simple farmer. I lived with my family. My father, Abhay Abhivav and my mother, Ahladita were simple people who lived off the land which had belonged to my family for many generations. Life was good. I had many brothers and sisters. Our lives were simple but satisfactory. The family nicknamed me Uttana, meaning 'tall one' because I was over six feet tall, heavyset and rather dark-skinned. Until a horde of barbarians from a faraway led by a mighty warlord invaded our land and massacred my family. They killed me too. I was nineteen years old at the time. An old maid by their standards. I wasn't to be married, according to my parents. They wanted me to become a temple priestess. I had mixed feelings about that.

The day my family perished, my whole life changed. That day I discovered there was evil in the world. In the farming country where I grew up, life was simple. Peace reigned and nobody bothered us. Then the invaders came and destroyed my entire world. And they also revealed to me something I hadn't known about myself. I was different from the rest of humanity. A genetic mutation which took place at my conception resulted in my being more than human. I was chosen by Fate to avenge my family's deaths and Mother Nature herself granted me the power to do so. You see, I was Immortal.

When I rose after being stricken by a savage horseman's sword, I discovered that I had healed miraculously. My body had the ability to regenerate. Also, I was stronger than any human being could ever be. The combined physical strength of fifteen stalwart men, that's the might which flowed through my entire body. On top of that, I could move at inhuman speeds. I could run faster than a wolf, one of the fastest and most resilient runners in the Animal Kingdom. Strength, speed, and accelerated healing. I had gone from an ordinary woman to a being with powers beyond imagination. Yet, it took my family's deaths to bring these powers out of me. I hadn't known about them before that day. But soon the world would know about me.

Thus began my journey. I roamed the valley in which I had spent my entire life, and found a small group of young women who had survived the deaths of their families. They were away when the savages came and slaughtered the men and women they loved. Away because they were working in the most distant fields. The fields consecrated to the most powerful gods and goddesses of India. These women were thirty in number. Like me, they were young and filled with rage. I joined them. We took up arms, and horses, and went after the savages who had slaughtered our families. In time, we avenged the deaths of the men and women we loved.

Throughout history, there have been reports and myths of warrior women in many nations. They were called Amazons. I was the truth behind these myths. I trained the first female warriors in human history. I made them strong, and ruthless. And I taught them to defend themselves and what they cherished. Soon, we numbered in the thousands. We were the sacred protectors of the Kingdom of India. Kings and Queens called us by name when men and women from foreign nations invaded our sacred land and threatened our way of life. We were not the prototypical man-haters depicted in many stories about Amazons or the vicious barbaric hordes. I wouldn't let the Amazon Nation stoop to this level. Not on my watch. We were the protectors of civilization. I wanted to make sure no barbarian ever slaughtered men and women from India again. In time, my exploits became legendary. The people of India worshiped me as the Goddess Kali.

And that's the way it was for centuries. I watched countless men and women die of old age as well as the ravages of disease, famine and warfare. I had power like no man or woman had ever possessed before but I knew I wasn't a Goddess. A Goddess would have the power to heal the body of a good man who was the cherished mate of one of her female followers. A Goddess would be able to snap her fingers and save thousands of men and women from a flesh-eating disease which the ancient world chose to forget. I was no deity. But what was I? I didn't grow old. I didn't sick. I was stronger than anything that lives. And I could move at speeds human beings could only dream of. I had been stabbed, burned, hung, crushed and drowned. I had been decapitated, and dismembered. Yet always my body grew new parts to replace lost or damaged ones. I healed quickly from even fatal wounds. Simply put, I could not die. So, what was I?

I didn't know until I met the one called Shiva. When we first met, I was amazed. He was unlike anything I had ever seen before. A six-foot-five, broad-shouldered and quite frankly huge young man with dark brown skin, long black hair and pale bronze eyes. He was ruggedly handsome. He was an Indian Prince traveling throughout Asia and had come at last to the Land of Ajmer-Merwara, the world-famous region of India whose King and Queen were under the protection of an Army of Women Warriors. When we first met, I was already five hundred years old yet he made me feel as giddy as a schoolgirl. Shiva had that effect on women. He was so beautiful. But that wasn't it. I looked right into his eyes and knew we shared a connection.

You see, Shiva was like me. What you people call a mutant. He was already famous throughout the world because of his power. Nature made him genetically different. As a result, he had powers which even I could only dream of. Shiva had a strength which matched my own. Also, he could move at speeds exceeding mine. On top of that, he had an ability I wished I had. There isn't a weapon made by man or by nature which has yet to overcome my regenerative powers. However, Shiva could do one better. He was invulnerable. Nothing under heaven could hurt him. I was amazed. This Indian Prince had been traveling the world, fighting against tyranny and the forces of evil. Along the way, he gained a reputation as being a wise man and a hero. I didn't know what to make of him. He was a charmer who said he came in peace. He had traveled a long way to meet the Goddess Kali.

I had my reservations about him. When you have lived as long as I have, you learn to be careful. One should always beware of those who say they come in peace. Often they hide evil intent. Shiva was a powerful man. In my experience, both men and women tended to do terrible things when they acquired power. I've served evil Kings and evil Queens. People whose cruelty left a bad taste in my mouth. How I despised some of the despots who ruled India. Shiva claimed to be different. He told me he had no desire to rule the world. He thought it was too great a place for any one man or woman to rule. I considered that. Given enough time, I could rule the world. I just didn't care to leave the Fatherland of India undefended.

Shiva told me of his travels. He had been to Greece, where learned men and women were living in some truly fascinating cities. He had been as far as Egypt in Africa, and seen the might of that nation. He had been everywhere, and seen men and women of varying races and cultures. He told me of wonders such as snow, something I had never seen. This filled him with awe and humility. I was riveted by his adventure tales. In five centuries, I had never left India. This man was something else. He also told me something truly strange. The world was filled with people like us. Men and women born with extraordinary abilities. I found that fascinating. Shiva told me some word of caution. Not every superhuman shared his respect for humanity. Many of these super-powered men and super-powered women saw themselves as Gods and Goddesses. In Greece, he had seen hundreds of them band together and conquer the land. And they forced the locals to worship them as Gods.

The idea of any people living under tyranny seriously angered me. I had dispatched many a despot in my time. I voiced this to Shiva, telling him that we ought to travel to Greece and destroy these false gods. He laughed, saying they had powers far beyond our own. I reminded him that in my five centuries of existence, I had yet to lose a single personal combat. Hundreds of people had raised weapons against me. Women as well as men. They all lost. Simply because I cannot die. Shiva looked at me gravely and told me there were far worse things than death. He introduced me to his older brother Rudra, a tall, handsome, dark-skinned young man who roamed the land like a madman, sputtering nonsense. Rudra was an amazingly powerful young man. He could generate electricity, and use it as a weapon against his enemies. He was not someone anyone should trifle with. He had been Shiva's protector in their travels around the world. At least until they crossed paths with some mutants in Greece, and fought a war they couldn't win. And since then, Rudra was a madman. He was harmless, though. He went about using his powers to heal ordinary mortals. Apparently, he could do that.

My heart wrenched when I saw what he had been reduced to. Rudra had a power which could change the world. What happened to him was a truly sad event. Unfortunately, that's life. Shiva and I spent a magical summer together, and I showed him the beauty of my little kingdom. A place where men and women lived peacefully without fear of attack from barbarians. He fell in love with the place, and with me. I loved Shiva with all my heart. I had never loved a man like that before or since. Ours was a passionate relationship. We were married before the King and Queen themselves. For the first, and indeed the last time, I was a bride. When Shiva asked me to return to his land with him, I had misgivings. He assured me I would become his Queen and the co-ruler of the land he would one day inherit. I wasn't worried about that. I worried about my people. The King and Queen assured me they would be fine. My warriors were well-trained, and feared no one. My kingdom would be safe.

Thus, I left with my beloved husband. We would have many adventures together. The kingdom we ruled was prosperous. And we had many, many magnificent sons and daughters born with extraordinary abilities. In time, they became legendary rulers of India and were worshiped as deities. In spite of Shiva and I's best efforts to dissuade them from doing so. But that's a story for another time. Many people make me out to be a ruthless, bloodthirsty monster and him to be the voice of reason trying to placate a madwoman. You can see for yourself that this isn't the case. History and mythmaking have a way of distorting one's perception of people and events. I'm just an ordinary woman with extraordinary powers who sought happiness, love, fulfillment and meaning. Just like anybody else.