The Court of Souls?

by Andur

  Minutes stretch into hours as the map in my head grows bigger and bigger. Was Mom preparing me for this? Is it a sick test? The maze looks awfully similar to the synapses of a human brain. The caverns are the synapses and the tunnels represent the connections.

  Finally I come across something new. A shudder runs down my spine as a skeleton appears out of the darkness in front of me. My glowball illuminates the small figure as I walk around it at a respectful distance. It is lying face down in the middle of the tunnel. The skeleton must have belonged to an eight year old child, like me. There is long, silver hair on her, like mine. Though I have a few strands of black hair in between. And the dusty tunic also has a familiar feel to it.

  I am tempted to go on, but on second thought I stop. Did she also have to take this test? And if so, what killed her? Was she not good enough at memorizing patterns and lost her way? Then she wandered this maze until thirst and hunger did her in? I shudder at the thought.

  Or did something else kill her? If so, then it would be nice to have a clue at what forcefully moved her on to her next life. I step closer and turn the skeleton around, using my foot. She is still holding her glowball with both hands in front of her chest. It lost its charge since a long time ago. Right above it is the feathery shaft of a crossbow dart sticking out of her clothes. It landed right under her neckline.

  I gulp and kneel down, looking at the glowball which I am holding in a very similar manner. A shining orb of quartz which is spreading light in all directions. Not only does it illuminate my path, it also shines on me, turning me into a perfect target. So there is something in here which is smart enough to use a crossbow. Great.

  In absence of a better solution I rip off a part of her tunic and wrap my glowball in it, leaving just a small hole free. Now I have a torchlight which I can carry like a lantern. It isn't perfect, but it's better than nothing.

  Soon after I continue on my way I recognize the problem with this strategy. It's much harder to get a grasp on the root patterns without a proper light source. But I don't want to give the bowman a too easy target and so I try to deal with it as best as I can.

  When I hear sounds around a corner I cover the glowball and hold my breath. When the sounds don't become louder I walk closer while preparing myself for a fight. Slowly, but steadily I close in on the next tunnel entrance and recognize the orange light of a flame. Which maniac would light a fire in here?

  I peek around the corner and find four creatures sitting around a fireplace. They are roasting something which looks very much like a rat. The creatures themselves look like a mixture of gnomes and goblins and are armed with a variety of weapons. Knife, club, bow and one holds a spear. Gods! Are my parents mad? Those are dangerous vermin!

  But they are using the tree's roots as firewood. What to do? This time I was lucky and noticed them first, but what if we cross paths again and they get the first shot?

  This world is unforgiving. Either you grow up or you get eaten. My mother's words come to mind. I certainly won't turn into some damsel in distress! I won't get eaten! I'll be the hunter!

  I grab the cloth around my glowball tighter. What's there to fear? They are just four goblins, not even half my size! I spread my mana out through my body, then I charge with a war-cry into the cavern, flailing my glowball as an improvised morning star.

  ... okay, not really a war-cry. When my improvised weapon strikes the head of the closest opponent the resulting splash of blood and brain causes my voice to break. From then on it's more like a girlish scream of fear and disgust!

  My victim, who was taken by surprise, goes down and I hurl my weapon at the goblin with the bow, hitting his forehead dead centre. He too goes down and my glowball bounces around the cavern, causing our shadows to dance across the walls.

  I bend down and grab the kitchen knife from my first victim, throwing it at the goblin with the spear. It sinks into his chest and he drops his weapon with a gurgling sound coming from his throat.

  The wielder of the club jumps and brings the weapon down on me. I raise my left hand and block to avoid getting hit on the head.

  Pain shoots through my hand! I ignore it and reach for the opponent's throat. Then I squeeze. My inner mana manipulation gives me strength far above what's normal for my age. The goblin's eyes pop out and something breaks. With that I am the only one who is left standing.

  “Hahaha! See!? I can do it! What are a few squeaky goblins against me! E-”

  I wanted to call out Elona, but is that really me? I reach for my wrist and wince. It's not broken, which is good, but at the very least it is sprained. After careful consideration I choose the kitchen knife as my new weapon, then I retrieve my glowball and take a deep breath. How long have I been down here? A day at least. They could have given me water and food for this journey.

  But when I killed the goblins I started to feel better. It is strange. My eyes wander to the dead bodies and I get an idea. Or maybe I should call it an instinct? I reach down and touch the closest corpse. From one moment to the next it starts shrivelling into a mummy and I feel a surge of power flowing into me. I gasp as a shudder runs down my spine and I almost have an awkward accident.

  Since there was no toilet I also had to pee in some random corners like an animal. I hope the tree doesn't take it badly to be pissed on. It's a stupid, mythical, holy tree. Who knows what kind of issues it will get with things crawling through its roots. Though the goblins surely weren't any better.

  Following a hunch I try to repeat the process with the other corpses and get yet another burst of vitalizing energy. With two of them it works perfectly fine, but the fourth gives me just a mediocre boost of energy. It doesn't even shrivel up like the others. I dread the action, but I have to understand my ability. So I use the spear to lift the loincloth which is covering the goblin's genitals.

  Goblin-girl. Why am I not surprised? This ability is so lewd!

  Distant screams draw my attention and I turn my head in confusion, holding the glowball higher. Something is approaching and I think it is coming from the left unexplored tunnel. I step close and peer around the corner. A crossbow bolt flies past my head by a hand's breadth.

  I count three, eight... forget about counting! I turn and run, chased by a mad horde of goblins.

  Without thinking I take the unexplored remaining tunnel and dash into the darkness, holding my trusty glowball while fleeing through the maze of caverns. Minutes go by, but the mob behind me doesn't lose my track. My breath gets heavy and there is an unhealthy stinging pain in my right side.

  Suddenly the tunnel ends and my feet slither over the ground to stop myself just in time.

  A big cavern! Bigger than anything I've seen so far. I can't see the other side and there is no ground. The drop must be at least ten metres. What if it is too much for me? But far, far above me is a distant light. Can I climb out? No chance, the roots don't offer a safe grip and the goblins will shoot me down with their crossbows. I turn around and see the first goblins appear in the tunnel behind me.

  My heart cringes and I turn back to the darkness under me. No other choice. I have to jump if I want to escape this. With dread I step out into the darkness.

  Stella Gejene would never run. She is a princess of Nict! Whoever stands in her way has to bow!

  Something tears through my mind, refuses to yield to the fear, exhaustion and pain. My entire body is flung around, another me is in control! My hand grabs one of the roots and pulls me back into the tunnel, turning around.

  My other hand draws a magical rune into the air and I recognize the magical system. It is old magic without the traditional spell formation, not reliant on using an outer magical system.

  A torrent of arcane missiles is flung at the pursuing goblins, shredding arrows and crossbow bolts together with their owners. The other me throws herself into the fight, slaughtering the opponents. Whoever gets close enough is slit open by my knife. Who decides to run is dealt with by using rune magic. I am exhausted and at my limit, but I
laugh like mad as if I've lost it.

  When I regain control over myself it is all over. I turn in circles but there are no more enemies, just dead bodies. My ragged breath doesn't calm down and I am aching all over. When I step backwards a stinging pain shoots up my spine and I fall, dropping the glowball. What just happened?

  Getting back up to my feet my eyes fall on the tunnel's walls and my shadow. It doesn't look right. I reach for my head and feel the horns which shouldn't be there. They are smooth and branch out into several tips while encasing my head.

  Then I feel the black, leathery wings which sprout from my lower back. They are the same as Chloe's and there are countless small scales on them.

  My last action is to trail my spine until I reach the tail and get a hold of it. The damn thing acts like it has a will of its own, but finally I manage to have a good look. It's like some dragon's tail and similar to my wings. Countless small, black scales reflect the light in various colours.

  That day Yggdrasil was the only one who lost a few leaves because he heard my scream.

  After taking a nap and drowning myself in self pity about my misfortune I move on. At least there were no more goblins. The worst thing was getting my wings and the tail under control. The tail I could hold in my hands, but persuading my wings to stay wrapped around my hips is a hard task. How to I persuade them to form a skirt like Mom's? It's like trying to move phantom limbs. I am pretty sure that none of the reincarnations I remembered so far had wings!

  It took me hours to return to the surface. Finally I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and stagger faster, still fighting with my wings.

  When I step out of the cave I find myself at Yggdrasil's foot and already awaited by Chloe, Shawn and Doreen. My little sister Quiana is being held by Lavada, the maid who is always cleaning our house.

  Mom steps forward and reaches into the basket in her hands. Then she throws some flower petals over me as if it is confetti! “Happy birthday! Oh, I am so glad that you survived our clan's initiation rite. I still remember how sad I was when my big sister didn't return.”

  Doreen nods. “I told you that she would have no problem with surviving the test.”

  Father steps in. “Stop it you two! Can't you see that she is shaking all over? And look at all that blood! What happened down there my little treasure? You can tell me everything!”

  Doreen makes a dismissive gesture. “Don't overreact. Can't you see? It isn't even hers.”

  That has done it! I can't take this any more! I throw the glowball in my hands with enough force at Doreen to shatter it upon hitting her head. That day was the second time she gave me a good trashing. But it was worth it because I added another cut to her forehead.

  9. ~Escape.~

  “An angel, especially according to Abrahamic religions and Zoroastrianism, is a spiritual being superior to humans in power and intelligence. Angels are typically described as benevolent, dreadful, and endowed with wisdom and knowledge of earthly events, but not infallible; for they strive with each other, and God has to make peace between them. Most of them serve either as intermediaries between Heaven and Earth, or as guardian spirits. They are studied in the theological doctrine of angelology. In Christian Science, the word "angel" is used to refer to an inspiration from God.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Clan: Inanimatum

  Shade, 9 years old

  I follow my daily routine with a solemn expression on my face. Since the slavers sent us on the race they also used us for duties outside the facility. Today's task is cleaning the outer walls. There is nothing that's more infuriating. We gathered and stole as many supplies as possible since we lost Manticore and Aswang. But we have nowhere to go. One might say that anywhere is better than here, but anywhere else means death as far as we know.

  What we are lacking is information and the slavers know that. They don't even bother to guard us because none of the free citizens would bother to talk to us. We have nowhere to go.

  And on top of it all, our time is running out. From observing the other age groups I am very sure that they will put the expensive version of the slave collars on us when we turn ten. Those won't need our names. Once we have those around our necks we have lost our chance.

  Frustrated by the hopeless situation I kick away a damaged bowl which was lying in my way. Once the dirt is off the street it isn't my business any longer. The bowl lands in one of the side-streets in front of an old man. He is sunken to one of the walls and looks like death itself. I recognize his face! It's the slave who saved me a year ago. I burned his face into my mind and it simply has to be him! He is even more haggard than when I first saw him, but that remarkable edgy nose and the slightly tilted eyes are hard to forget.

  My head snaps back to the wall. If I am right, then the slaver shouldn't be back from his round for at least another five minutes. I drop the bucket with water and the towel, then I hurry to the slave. “Old man, what are you doing here?”

  “Who is an old man? And can't you see that I am busy with dying?” asks the old man.

  “You? And why are you here? Didn't you have a job when we last met?” I ask confused.

  “Child. We are all immortals in this world. Do you really think that my outer appearance counts in any way? My master worked me to death and then he threw me away and bought a new slave. Oh, forget it. You are one of the child soldiers, aren't you? Of course you know nothing.” He coughs and spits blood on the ground.

  “Yes, please help me. I need information to flee from this place. I need to know where to go,” I beg.

  He opens one eye to look at me. The other is swollen shut. “A funny one, eh? You will never make it through the wilderness.”

  I clench my teeth. “All I want is the name of the clan which offers the greatest hope and a direction. I don't care about the possibility of dying. I just need a chance.”

  “Go north-west to where the ice titan resides. He will know that you entered his territory as soon as you leave the swamp. Maybe you can persuade him to let you live?” His opened eye wanders over me. “And then again, maybe not.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?” I hiss. Is he joking with me?

  “You wanted to know where you have the biggest chance and I told you. Nothing more, nothing less. Does it matter that the chance is still a zero with a few decimal places afterwards before you get to see the first number? At least you will probably see him before he kills you. He likes to talk to the ones whom he kills. The other clans will be hard to find or not much better than this one,” the old man mumbles.

  I glance back at the wall. “Old man, do you want to come with me? At least a part of the way?”

  He coughs again. “Now you are the one who is joking. Do you want to carry me?”

  I shake my head. “No. I am sorry, but you will die and your body has to stay here. All I can take with me is your soul.”

  His one good eye widens and he looks at me for a long time. “A shade and a soul-mage, eh? They confused you with a low? The slavers made a grave mistake when they let you live.”

  I ready myself to finish him off in case he screams, but he does nothing of the sort. “Fine. I am just a low, but I know a few things. I'll guide you a part of the way. At least until you need me. I am done with this world anyway.”

  “Until I need you?” I ask baffled.

  “Hurry. The overseer is coming! We can talk later.”

  The old man reaches for me and I take his hand, sending my mana into him. Strangely his soul separates easily and without trouble from his body. Apparently there is a difference if I take someone against his will. Or I am getting better. The old man's body slumps to the ground and is still. I hurry back to my bucket and try to look as inconspicuous as possible while I try to listen to the voices in my head.

  The other two are still screaming out their guts, but the new one isn't doing so.

  The first thing you should do is getting rid of the two idiots you have in
here. Did you intend to put their cages above a fire-pit?

  What is he talking about?

  Oh, gods. I joined hands with soul-mage who has no idea of his powers. At least you do it instinctively right. Listen well to what I have to tell you...

  I listen intently to the little knowledge my new lodger has about soul magic. Apparently I have two choices when I steal another soul. Either I can incorporate it into my own, or I can simply bind it to me.

  The first case is bad. Very bad. Doing it that way will gain me all the soul's memories and a huge mana boost. It's possible to lose your identity inside the foreign memories and at the very least it will drive me crazy after a while. It also makes the soul unavailable for other purposes. Though upon death the souls should separate and be released.

  The second way poses less risk. If they are simply bound to me I can talk to and interrogate them if necessary. It's like shutting them away within my mind. I can create any environment I want for them. It will grant me access to a part of their mana capacity and I'll be able to use them to perform a summoning or other sacrificial spells. If I put a stolen soul into an object and infuse mana into it I can create a summoning with all the soul's abilities until it uses up my mana and releases the soul.

  Either way, if I die the souls get freed.

  What's much more interesting though is the information about the various clans and their locations. I decide to trust the old man's words. He seems to have a good heart and already saved me once. In addition his survival is currently tied to mine. I can't see why he would want to betray me.

  If the old man is right, then the ice titan is my only chance. Going to Parle is as bad as Inanimatum. Carissimi is somewhere in a desert and on top their home is mobile. No chance to find them.

  Draconis is too far away and even if I reach their lands I still have to find their floating city. If the dragons don't eat me.

  Further south are a few clans which get frequently raided by Inanimatum, but there is a deadly mountain-range between us. Did I already mention that they frequently get raided?