The Court of Souls?

by Andur

  He was vanquished by the heroic Akkadian deity Ninurta, using Sharur, his enchanted talking mace, after seeking the counsel of his father, the god Enlil.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Clan: Carissimi

  Elona, 13 years old

  “Why do I also have to be tested? I remember everything! There is no reason to put my life at risk,” Quianna complains, burying her face inside her bedsheets.

  I pat her back, trying hard to hide my mischievous expression. So if she already remembers everything, then why stay here in the first place? “It's okay. You are very strong. Stronger than I was when they threw me into the pit. It's a ritual which everyone has to take and you even have advantages.”

  She looks up. “What advantages?”

  I count with my fingers. “Yggdrasil just reached our new hideout at the desert's fringe. His roots had less than a year to dig into the ground. So first, the tunnel system can't be that big. And second, there can't possibly be as many vermin as I had to fight. Third, you are stronger than I was back then. I am sure you will make it.”

  “I'll die! I am not as good as you are at memorizing patterns! If what you told me is true then I'll die of thirst before I see the daylight again!” She slams her head into the pillows and continues to grieve.

  “Where is the powerful Siren who challenged a god?” I ask.

  “Not at home! The Siren was stupid for challenging a god! It was what got her killed,” she mumbles.

  I already open my mouth to dig a finger into the wound when Yggdrasil suddenly shakes. “What was that?”

  “An earthquake?” Quianna asks and looks up, hope in her eyes. “Maybe the maze will get blocked by falling rocks?”

  I shake my head and get up, feeling another quake. “This is something else.” I leave Quianna's room and head for the balcony where I find Chloe and Shawn staring intensely at something below us. I reach the balustrade and strain my neck to get a look. “What by all the heavens!?”

  What's happening down there is mind blowing. A huge monster is trying to fight its way towards Yggdrasil, but several smaller figures are trying to hold it off. The monster looks like a troll which was mixed with a ram and sprouted wings. The entire thing consists of molten lava and is seventy metres high. There is a huge club in his hand. As it swings the club at one of the small figures, the target evades in a smooth manoeuvre and a shockwave runs outwards from the impact zone.

  Droplets of molten lave fall from its wings. Where the droplets hit the ground, they sprout smaller versions of the monster. Two of the eleven immortals who are fighting the creature have a full time job with swatting its minions.

  “I think you have seen enough. Go back inside.” Chloe grabs me and pulls me off the balustrade.

  “No! Mom, I wanna see! What is that thing?” I ask.

  “One of the stone spirits which reside in the rocky landscape close to this place. Why don't you let her watch, Chloe. I think the higher immortals who are on guard duty have it under control,” Shawn suggests.

  Chloe doesn't listen at first, but when we are joined by Quianna, Chloe's attention is pulled towards my little sister. Her whining always weakens our mother's resolve. In the end we are allowed to watch the fight, but Chloe keeps holding our hands, ready to make a run for it any moment.

  “Why is it attacking us?” I ask. I was speaking more to myself than anyone particular, but Chloe assumes it was directed at her.

  “Normally we reside deep in the desert where bigger monsters don't venture. We already told you that there are creatures out there in the world who can endanger a god. Since we are now at the south-western fringe of the desert, we will frequently have to deal with such attacks. The monsters of this world sense beings like us and attack them when they venture into their vicinity.”

  “Beings like us?” Quianna asks.

  Shawn grimaces and places a hand on his heart. “People who have a soul. We don't know the reason for it, but the native lifeforms of Dedessia are out to kill everything that has a soul. They aren't half as aggressive towards each other as they are towards us. It is as if we don't belong here. We think that monsters like that stone spirit down there are actually higher immortals who never regained their identity.”

  “But wouldn't that imply that they were born like us?” I mumble.

  Chloe shakes her head. “Not really. Who says that a soul always has to be caught by a body which can support intelligence? There are spells to hold souls inside inanimate objects and there is a lot of wild magic in Dedessia. Far in the east is a zone which is littered with storms of raw magical energy.

  “Sometimes creatures of unimaginable power are born in those storms and they venture out into the world. We think that all of Dedessia's native life was created in such a way. It's entirely possible that the process by which these creatures are born is also able to capture a soul. It's the only explanation we have for their strength and their skills.”

  As Chloe finishes her explanation the creature opens its mouth and shoots a stream of fire at one of the eleven immortals who are fighting it. Suddenly I recognize the long, green hair of the person who hides herself inside a bubble of green energies. “Is that Titho? The Dryad who visits Doreen so often? But she is a higher immortal.”

  “All of the eleven people down there are higher immortals. If we send lows and mids against that thing we would have to expect many deaths,” Shawn answers with a grim voice.

  Eleven gods are having trouble dealing with one of this world's creatures? How strong is this thing? I watch as the golem is showered in all sorts of attacks and spells. The explosions and shock waves are shaking Yggdrasil like a twig, but the creature barely takes notice of it. When its club comes back up from another swing he actually manages to hit one of the immortals and sends him off towards the horizon on a ballistic arc.

  It looks entirely too much as if the golem just swatted a fly in mid air. Titho immediately follows the immortal to aide him with her healing magic while the other gods double their efforts.

  One of the fighters fires a continuous white stream of energy at the golem's face, blinding it. Normally I would expect for such a spell to cleanly take off its head, but the beam of energy simply splits and sheers off.

  The opening gives the other immortals time to focus their attacks on the monster's arm with the club. Bits and pieces of the thing fly away until the entire arm is cleanly taken off. The monstrosity howls and starts retreating while the guards continue firing, but I recognize that they don't have their hearts in it. They are much more interested in cleaning up the creature's swarm of minions, ensuring that none of them stay behind.

  “Why aren't they killing it?”

  Chloe pulls me back into the house. “They don't want to tire themselves out for nothing. The thing has learned its lesson and won't return until it forgets that we can defend ourselves. And maybe it gets killed anyway when it runs into another spirit. It will need some time to heal and regenerate. Do you understand now why we prefer to live deep in the desert? Coming close to the habitable zones means that you regularly have to deal with those creatures.”

  Quianna focuses her gaze at Chloe. “What if we are attacked by two? Or a stronger beast?”

  Chloe bites her lower lip, but says nothing.

  “Then we all have to fight. And maybe a lot of us will perish.” Shawn answers the question without mincing matters.

  15. ~I am...~

  “Empusa was the beautiful daughter of the goddess Hecate and the spirit Mormo. She feasted on blood by seducing young men as they slept, before drinking their blood and eating their flesh. Empusa is pictured as wearing brazen slippers and bearing flaming hair.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Ice Tundra

  Shade, 11 years old

  “Do I have to call you 'Dad' from now on?”

  “No!”

  Legna had to die and Manti and Aswang are alive. It is so unfair! A
nd I also want to take it out on him. I decide to test my boundaries. “But I kind of want to, Dad. You know, we already have this father-and-son thing going on and I must say it works pretty well.

  “Camping out here in the wilderness while fighting mother nature. Just you and me, to hell with civilisation and all that. Wow, speaking it out loud sounds too trashy. I already asked myself numerous times why you took me in, but that explains it. You must have felt the ties of blood we share. That's the only explanation.”

  Aaand now I'll die. My mind must have shorted out! I am sitting on a god's lap. The same god who just created the scene in front of me. And he has one of his huge paws around my body! All he has to do is squeeze. First something important will break. Then my eyes will pop out while all kinds of fluids spray out of all my body's openings.

  No. That would dirty him too. He will simply kick me all the way back to Inanimatum. I am sure that he can do that. One well placed kick is enough. But if he kicks me that hard I'll simply come apart! It will be an even greater mess.

  Ishaan sighs wearily. “Should I poke out your eyes again? We could play that game all day long. Just so you know.”

  Hurray! He didn't kill me! I purse my lips. But the last time he poked them out it hurt like hell. And growing them back also hurts like hell! Now I know what he will do to me! He won't kill me. He will rip something off and grow it back! He will repeat the process until I see death as a salvation.

  “I guess you don't remember Tisha?” he asks.

  “No. My first memory is of me waking up inside the facility during the selection process. Then I was a slave ever since. Don't tell me that she is the reason why you pull off this loner thing out here? The letter said that she hurt you to the point of not deserving your assistance and you are still staying close like some kind of stalker? Don't tell me that you wait here for her and hope that she manages to escape?”

  Ishaan twists my arm to the point of almost breaking it. A clear sign that I've found the limits of his tolerance.

  “I would have gone and gotten her out long ago! But I couldn't. She has a slave collar around her neck. If I attack them, they will simply tell her to fight me to the end. Not mentioning that I can't take on their entire clan. Having to kill her with my own hands is the last thing I want.”

  “What is she? She must be strong if you can't subdue her.”

  “An Empusa. Long, flowing, black hair and a figure which makes you want to kill all the other males around you. I shouldn't have fallen for her. I knew that she also has feelings for that stupid bird! But my delusions got the better of me. I thought that she might fall in love with the titan instead of the shiny bird.” He balls his fist and shakes it at the horizon. “And then I had to find him and her in our bed!”

  “But you are the one who knocked her up. So it was your win!” I try to console him. But it backfires because he squeezes my hand a little more. A bruise is guaranteed! I don't think that my relationship with him will ever go beyond using the fact that he is my father as a way to tease him.

  And I still have to think about the fact that I have parents and how I felt about it.

  Though one thing is for sure. Having a titan as a father hurts!

  His voice changes to a defeated tone. “It doesn't matter any more. It has been years and who knows who she is by now? Maybe I wouldn't even recognize her. The slave collars do nasty things to people, even if they are able to fight the effects. By now I don't want to get involved in any of this. I am fine with this land and my shed.”

  “Sounds like the speech of a grumpy, old man. I, for my part, want to go back there and make them sorry for having ever existed!” I comment.

  Ishaan lets go of me and drops me off his lap. “You already mentioned that. That's why we will continue your training. The first point on our list is building a new house.”

  I look around. “From what!? You blew away the few trees we had!”

  “So either you have to walk very, very far to find trees, or you use snow and build an igloo.” Ishaan crosses his arms in front of his chest, showing that he has no intention of helping me.

  I look around. “I think I'll choose option B. An igloo might actually protect us from the wind.”

  “Don't forget to make it big enough for two,” he adds sheepishly.

  “I swear, once I remember something useful I am out of here,” I mutter.

  “I won't let you go until you turn twenty-five.” Ishaan drops another bomb on me.

  I turn to face him, slowly. “What's the big idea? There is no way that I'll sit here, knowing that two of the only people whom I ever cared about are caught in that city. I'll go as soon as I am strong enough to get them!”

  Ishaan snorts and raises his chin, looking down on me with a high and mighty demeanour. “You can go when I say so. Not a minute earlier.” A grin steals itself onto his face and he stretches out his hand with his palm up. Suddenly a green sphere emerges from it, hovering just centimetres above his hand. “You will do exactly as I say, or I won't give her back. It's that simple.”

  I clench my teeth and my eyes wander back and forth between him and the sphere. I don't know why, but for some reason I know, I feel, that it is Legna. “You bastard! You had her all along! How? And what about the old man?” I step forward to catch the sphere, but he raises it so that I can't reach.

  “Ah! Not so fast little soulmage. I won't let you handle any souls until you remember how to do it. The old man, as you call him, is gone. He wanted to depart.

  It's not like I held her in solitary confinement like you did. She is asleep and she will stay that way until you are ready to leave this place. To be honest, I don't really understand how you managed to bind her soul to you.” Ishaan closes his hand around the sphere and it is gone.

  I gasp. When did I bind her soul to me? “I did nothing of the sort!”

  Ishaan shrugs. “Maybe not the -you- right now. But one of your previous selves created a soul bond between three persons. A triade. I know a little about soul magic, but creating bonds like that is beyond me. I am interested in learning to know what else you can do once you remember. It's possible that you didn't lie when you said that Inanimatum will wish that they never existed. Though first, you have to regain your abilities and become a god.”

  I furrow my forehead. “How do I become a god?”

  “You have to find your inner centre. It's a state of the mind which allows you full access to your mana reserves. Achieving this state is possible by perfecting your most noteworthy skill... or feature, whatever works best. Once you've found that state, you will ascend and become a god like me.” He gestures at the destroyed landscape to emphasize his words.

  “But don't ever fall to the delusion that this is a path without pain. You will be a shade, a god and a soul-mage. They will fear and hate you, no matter what you do. It's your fate.” Ishaan places his hands behind his back.

  “Why?” I ask.

  “I already said it. A shade may be weak, but he can go wherever he wants to. There isn't much which can stop a shade from doing as he pleases. Being able to walk through the shadows and change shape is a strong ability.

  Many clans use shades as spies and assassins. We will make you a god, which gives you more strength than a shade should have. And you are obviously a soul-mage. You can devour those whom you touch.” Ishaan stands up. “Believe me. Once they learn about your special combination of gifts, they will abhor you. They will realize soon enough that nobody can run from his own shadow.”

  I direct my gaze at the ground. If it is like that, then I'll have no reason for playing nice either. “How do we start?”

  “Of course we train!” A grin steals itself onto Ishaan's face. “And we don't stop until you bleed!”

  16. ~Raid.~

  “In literature and poetry, a shade can be taken to mean the spirit or ghost of a dead person, residing in the underworld. The image of an underworld where the dead live in shadow is common to the Ancient Near East, in Biblical Hebrew
expressed by the term tsalmaveth (lit. "death-shadow", "shadow of death"; alternate term for Hell). The Witch of Endor in the First Book of Samuel notably conjures the ghost of Samuel.

  Only select individuals are exempt from the fate of dwelling in the shadow after death, ascending to the divine sphere. This is the apotheosis aspired to by kings claiming divinity, and reflected in the veneration of heroes.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Clan: Carissimi

  Elona, 16 years old

  “How am I supposed to learn something about myself if Grandma doesn't allow me to leave Yggdrasil? It's like being grounded!” I scratch another number onto the paper. I call it scratching because that's exactly what I am doing. I am not writing, I am manhandling the pen and violating the paper to inscribe numbers on it! There isn't any other way to get rid of my frustration.

  “Sis, you know that Doreen won't allow us to leave the clan to explore the surrounding area. She wants us to be able to defend ourselves. And besides that, venturing out alone in this world is like asking for trouble.” Quianna plays the voice of reason, like always. My own voice of reason is missing in this matter.

  Her tail curls up behind her while she inspects my work. Then she points at the last line of my calculations. “Are you sure about-”

  I raise my hand. “Yes, Quianna. Please don't try to help me with the numbers. We both know that you have a special talent for randomizing them instead of doing an actual calculation.”

  Quianna presses her lips together, emphasizing those unbearably cute dimples of hers. They stand in complete contrast to her personality. She may be an idiot when it comes to numbers, but human relationships are frighteningly easy for her. She just has to look at someone and is able to judge a person's character. Then she wraps them around her little finger before they even realize what happened.