Nathan Flying Horse

Nathan Flying Horse Meets Fidel Gonzago

In 1876 Nathan Flying Horse met a man going by the name of “Doctor Calavera.” The man’s real name was Fidel Gonzago, an immigrant from Cuba. Fidel claimed to hail from a long line of wizards and witches. His people, the Taino and the Arawak, were native to Cuba and had been there for many decades before Columbus and the Spanish conquistadors. Fidel’s father had sent him to America to study the magic of the natives, as well as the other practices coming to the growing nation. Fidel had spent the last four years in New Orleans studying Voudon. Now he was traveling the frontier, learning the ways of the people before they were decimated by the white man’s progress.

Once informed of the shaman, Fidel was more than glad to assist Nathan in his learning. Nathan learned the secrets of fire magic from Fidel, and grew adept at divination. Fidel also taught Nathan the practice of sigil magic and symbol drawing. (The diary notes that Nathan published a treatise on this subject in the 1970s.)

Nathan and Fidel tracked the shaman to the deserts of Death Valley, where the shaman had assembled his followers and has begun his “Great Ghost Dance.” His goal was to bridge the gap between the worlds and thus allow the dead to walk the earth. The shaman stood before a giant bonfire, intoning incantations as his people danced around the conflagration. Above the ceremony the sky turned violent. A great vortex opened above the earth.

Fidel wasted no time: he blessed and enchanted a bullet, then fired at the shaman. The bullet struck the wizard in the chest and the shaman fell into the fire. The wizard rose quickly, his body engulfed in flames, the skin burning from his body. With a few guttural words, the shaman flung a giant ball of flame at his enemies. The heroes leapt out of the way in time to avoid certain death.

The shaman then turned and extended the flames of his body outward, engulfing the screaming audience of his followers. They were quickly incinerated in the blast. Nathan and Fidel quickly leapt back into action. Nathan cast a spell of holding which caused the shaman to pause and laugh, mocking the puny mortal’s attempt. This gave Fidel just enough time to enact their actual plan. Using a spell he and Nathan had devised for this, Fidel brought forth all his energy to combine the power and effect of several other spells. The intention was to bind, banish, and curse the shaman, then teleport and entomb him, returning him to intended place of rest.

With a blinding flash, the spell succeeded and the shaman was teleported, presumably to his crypt in the cave. But the success came with a great cost: Fidel was weakened and quickly grew ill, presumably the result of some curse by the shaman. Nathan attempted to heal and save his friend, but it was to little avail. He kept Fidel alive for another year while he looked for a cure, but in the end his friend requested he be allowed to pass on to “the great mystery which awaits us all.” Nathan traveled to Cuba with his friend’s body, where he met the Gonzago family. He ends the story noting that this began a long history of his association with the family.