The Court of Souls?

by Andur

  Doreen doesn't wait for Quianna to fully regain her senses. “What's the last thing you remember?”

  A stupefied grin appears on my sister's face. “I was taking a little time off to refresh myself with Takea and Mio. A woman has to look pretty for her prince, or he might not consider courting her. I had hoped to lure Antonius into one of the private bedrooms and devour him whole. A week of sticking with each other and he didn't even try to initiate something. He is so shy. And to think that my big sister is suddenly ahead of me in all departments, when she was just a wallflower for all these years. Soulmates are cheating...”

  Her eyes start flicking left and right. “Where am I? Why?” She looks up and surveys the room. Her eyes land on Antonius who studies her with a raised eyebrow.

  “Did you hear what...” Her voice trails off as he nods enthusiastically. Then she curls up into a ball. “I want to die!”

  Antonius sighs. “I didn't search for you all over the place just to let that to happen...”

  “Searched for me?” Quianna asks dumbfounded.

  So we let her in on what we pieced together, but there is nothing she can add to it. She was just trying to get her hair in order when she suddenly blacked out. The next thing she knows is, that she wakes up in this room.

  It's infuriating that we don't know what's going on. And most important of all, where is Shade? I reach into the pocket of my dress and finger the two items which I begged Doreen to organize for me.

  “Antonius, have you seen Shade?” I ask.

  “No, why isn't he here?” He answers and surveys the room with a worried expression.

  “He disappeared while we were organizing a search,” I inform him.

  At first I intended to give Shade his present at the end of the festivities, but maybe putting it off for that long wasn't a good idea. Nervously, I run a hand through my hair to get rid of the itching sensation. Something about Antonius's story doesn't sit well with me, but I can't put my finger on it.

  I already intend on running out there to search for Shade, when the shadows move in the doorframe. They stretch and grow to turn into a dark mist. It is disconcerting to watch, but I still sigh in relief.

  A moment later a figure takes form and Shade steps out of the unreal distortion in reality. He spreads his hands and grins. “I am so glad that you made it back, Antonius!”

  The whole room freezes upon taking in Shade's appearance. His clothes are sullied with blood from chest to foot. “What happened!?” I call out.

  “Nothing worth mentioning. I was just spying around when I stumbled upon Antonius. He looked very desperate as he searched for Quianna. With no other lead at hand, I decided to follow him.” Shade walks forward to Antonius's side and places a hand around his shoulders, pulling him in and smothering him with blood.

  I notice that Antonius lost a little of his colour.

  Shade doesn't take notice of it. “Guess how surprised and relieved I was when he actually found her! He is a true man who takes care of his girl. There must be some kind of bond between him and Quianna. The garden was it?”

  Antonius nods.

  “Right! I already intended on coming out of hiding to join them, when I noticed two very suspicious people following him. When he reached the crowded areas with Quianna, they broke off their pursuit. I followed them back to their private quarters. Guess how surprised I was to find Takea on a bed and them talking about killing her to frame the master of Equilibrium. They had a very nasty script prepared to add fire to the blood feud between Equilibrium and Soistaat.

  “The fact that Morello, Feiran, Mio and Rhia were the orchestrators behind the events miffed me a bit, so I decided to rewrite the script...”

  He continues to fill us in on how he turned the torture scenario into a 'barely escaped from her captors' clutches' one.

  During the entire time Quianna held both hands above her mouth. But now she decides to speak. “I can't believe that Mio would do this! She was so nice. And what did you do to Takea! Is all of that her blood!?”

  “Most of it. Don't worry. I did nothing permanent to her. She is surely up and running around by now,” Shade answers. Then he returns his attention to Antonius.

  “My friend. It's so nice to meet you. I doubted you, but since I saw your determination first hand I guess we have to get to know each other. We are the partners of two sisters. That means that we have to deal a lot with each other.”

  Antonius shrunk and paled during the entire discussion. By now he looks very meek next to Shade. His sole response is a nod.

  “And I heard a lot of things about your history with various clans. You must have a lot of connections and intelligence to share with us?”

  Nod.

  “I am sure a man with your skills and resources knows of a way to inform Takea of Rhia's betrayal? Preferably one which doesn't place us in the line of fire?”

  Nod.

  “And... yes. Now that I get to sense your aura from that close, you are quite strong. Could it be that we've already met? I didn't see your face back then, but were you with the alliance's forces when we had a stand-off at Parle?”

  Nod. “Though I don't think it was me whom you sensed back then.”

  “It doesn't matter, I'll find that person at one point or the other. I will make sure to challenge you to a few duels once we are back. There is nothing more important than men getting to know each other with their fists.”

  Nod.

  Quianna gets up from the table and pushes the two of them apart. “Stop sullying him with blood. I don't know what's going on, but stop intimidating him with your threats! What's really going on?”

  Shade raises both hands. “We just had a conversation from man to man. I respect his devotion towards you. Maybe you two should retreat and have a talk?”

  My sister snorts and pulls her boyfriend towards the door which leads to the baths and sleeping rooms. “Come.”

  When they are gone, Doreen tilts her head and focuses her glare on Shade. “That was strange. What's going on between you and Antonius?”

  Shade nods. Then he fills us in on a slightly different version of events. “...and so I thought that keeping Quianna in the dark may be a good idea. Young love is such a fleeting thing and I would hate it to lose such an important source of information as Antonius. Since, whoever is pulling the strings wants him to stay with Draconis, I wanted to assist him with Quianna. All he did so far was telling a slightly altered lie to keep Quianna safe.

  “I can't let a snake like that be with my daughter!” Shawn calls out. “I already lost one of my jewels this week! Loosing both of them is out of the question.”

  “Oh, shut up about jewels. Giving them such a nickname is so wrong,” Chloe groans.

  Shawn says nothing, instead he gapes at his wife, utterly dismayed.

  I massage my forehead and try to make sense of this web of half truths. “I guess that means we have to keep a close eye on Antonius.”

  “A very close eye,” Doreen adds solemnly. “I just hope that your desire to give Antonius a chance won't get anyone killed, or break Quianna's heart. When we have a quiet minute, we should have a very long talk with him.”

  Shade only nods since he doesn't have anything more to add. After a few moments of silence he follows Quianna and Antonius. “I need a bath.”

  Half an hour later we all are back together, cleaned up and ready to depart this unholy place. All of us are waiting at the big dining table in the conference room. We have already announced our intentions, all that's left to do is to wait for the bill.

  Again, I touch the present which I got for Shade. Well, this moment may be as good as any other. The others seem to be busy with each other. So I move closer to him and nestle myself at his side. “Shade? I have something for you.”

  “Oh? And what might that be?” He asks.

  I take his hand and smile. “Close your eyes. It's a surprise! To celebrate our reunion. I had it made according to my memories.”

  He complie
s and I take out the ring and put it on his finger. Then I put on my own. “You can open them again!”

  Shade opens his eyes and studies the piece of jewellery. “It's a fine piece of work. And it really looks like the ones Angrod and Celes had.”

  I nod. “It took a while to describe all the details to the smith. But that's not all! Channel your mana into the ring!” He follows my instruction and I do so myself. The rings glow up in a golden light which fades away soon afterwards.

  Shade frowns. “That's strange. I felt it tugging at my soul. As if to take an imprint. What does the ring do?”

  I hug him from the side and press my face against his chest. Oh, I am so glad it worked. You really are my soulpartner. “The smith said that marriage bonds work only between people who are highly compatible.”

  “Marriage bond?” Shade asks dumbfounded.

  “Yes! If we infuse mana into the ring, we can communicate with each other and share our feelings. In addition we always know where our significant other is.” I rub my face against him.

  “Always?” He tries to take off the ring. “It doesn't come off.”

  I purse my lips, puzzled. “Of course not. You would have to cut off your finger. What's the point in installing a hotline if the other end can throw away the phone?”

  He takes my hand and tries to take off the ring. Of course it doesn't come off. I feel the annoyance welling up in him, so I decide to show him the advantages of a magical marriage.

  I swing my leg over him, entangling myself with him. Then I start nibbling at his neck. “Do you remember our lives as Gideon and Cyla? They were natural telepaths, remember? Sharing minds, feelings and thoughts was second nature to them. There were some amazing things they could do with each other...”

  “Maybe.”

  I whisper into his ear. “These rings fulfil the same purpose!”

  “Oohh...” he produces an approving grunt and closes his arms around me.

  “Ahem.”

  I move my lips to his mouth and seek his tongue.

  “Ahem!”

  I sigh and pull away, glaring at my grandmother. She is waving a sheet of paper between her fingers. “Six rooms! You completely wrecked six rooms while you were here! Who do you think is gonna pay for that! What the heck are the two of you doing during the night.”

  Oops! “Well... we have sex?”

  Doreen glares at me.

  “Just be glad that they didn't find all our love nests.” That's why I bought the rings. Mind sex is much safer for the enviroment.

  32. ~Departure.~

  “Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that a living being can begin a new life in a different body after biological death. This is also called rebirth or transmigration, and is a part of the Saṃsāra doctrine of cyclic existence. It is a central tenet of all major Indian religions, namely Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Semper Fidelis

  Shade

  We are safely back at Semper Fidelis. The repairs of the city are progressing, but not as fast as I wish. Elona's parents returned to Yggdrasil, which is on its way to our safe zone. Though even at their best speed it will take them a few weeks to arrive.

  The rest joined me as guests in the palace. I sigh and let my gaze wander over the city. Sitting at the balcony and watching the people from above became a habit of mine.

  I am sure that my previous personalities would bristle with energy and set up a laboratory. Then they would recreate one invention after the other. But this world is different. I don't have the resources for such things. The fact that I am living in luxury doesn't mean that the rest of the people share what I have. Most of the lower immortals are living down there in the mud in medieval circumstances.

  Metal is a rarity and if someone has a mentionable amount, the first he does is crafting a weapon. Creating the inhibitors from stone was a makeshift solution. If I could, I would make them from iron and insert a mana converter to make them self sustaining. As they are now, they need regular recharging.

  It even turned into something like a cult to infuse them with mana. When people heard about their function even regular citizens started charging them with what they can spare from their meagre mana pool.

  Well, it's an act of self-preservation. Attacks by other clans are a lot harder as long as the inhibitors are up and running.

  Then there is the information which we gained from Antonius. He is what most people would call a wanderer. Someone who frequently changes clans and location while searching Dedessia for a way out. Of course he doesn't have any secrets of the state to offer. The fact that he is a clan-hopper kept him away from the important decisions. But he knows enough to give us a better picture. His side of the story answered some questions but also created new ones.

  He is eighty-two years old and spent the recent time with Draconis. Before that he was with Imothep. Some might say that he is much too old for Quianna, but since we are all immortal that's actually not very much. When I take a look at Doreen I must say that a puny age difference of eighty years is nothing once you manage it to four thousand years.

  Maybe it would be good to start the story in a chronological order. Antonius knows nothing of the events between the old Semper Fidelis and Carissimi. What he knows though, is that most of the bigger clans have some sort of ties or agreements with the slavers.

  When the environment's extreme weather took a turn for the worse, the slavers became more active and aggressive, which resulted in the final attack on Carissimi.

  What's interesting though, is that Moonray ordered a full shut down on Draconis, just a day before Carissimi was attacked. It's another hint at his involvement, but also raises questions. Why did he fear an attack on his clan? It seems like the slavers aren't under his control, but he may be able to influence their actions.

  Then the alliance gathered their forces to confront the slavers. Though an important point is that one of Antonius's friends in Imothep let an interesting piece of information slip.

  When the alliance gathered its forces, the higher immortals of Parle and Inanimatum requested lodging under Imothep's protection. So in other words, they knew that big trouble was coming their way.

  Now it makes a little more sense that they simply packed up and left when I started my little rebellion. They knew that the alliance gathered a big force against them. They already thought about bailing out when the whole revolution hit them a few days before the expected confrontation.

  Maybe they thought that their enemies had made their move earlier and freeing the slaves was the first step to a full blown attack by the alliance forces.

  Now comes the tricky part about my first meeting with the alliance army. Antonius couldn't confirm that Lirian's attack on me was ordered. At least not to his knowledge. Though he doesn't deny that Moonray could have given the command. Lirian is held in close confidence by him.

  So I assume that Moonray planned to make this a violent confrontation from the beginning. There was no way out since Moonray intended to force the situation. Given the sizes of both forces, it would have been a hard blow to both sides. No matter the outcome.

  The slavers learned of this and decided that the losses aren't worth the effort. Well, maybe they intended to wait and see how things would turn out. But the revolution and loss of their slaves as fighting force certainly forced the decision to cut their losses and retreat.

  The question where they are hiding still remains. And I still need to know Moonray's motivations. It seems like he is trying to gather as much power as possible under his command. Facing the slavers would have been a temporary loss, but if he managed the aftermath correctly, he could have risen stronger than before out of the battle. Especially if he had managed to take over the freed slaves and the safe zone.

  So I assume that I am dealing with two forces. On one side are the slavers who are trying to keep all the other clans weak and occupied with each
other. Now that they were thrown out of their territories, they will try to regain their power. I start doubting my earlier suspicion that Moonray is allied to them, but I think that they have at least a way of communication.

  On the other side is Moonray who is also pulling strings to strengthen his clan. Though from talking to him I doubt that his motivation is just a desire for power.

  Does he want my mother? No, why the fusion with Carissimi? Doreen? I doubt that he is trying to get both girls.

  So if getting either Doreen or Tisha back is just another boon to him, the fact remains that he is fighting for every higher immortal he can get.

  And if I assume that he offered Carissimi to the slavers, then he doesn't even stop for his own family.

  “Shade?”

  I turn to find my mother standing at the entrance to the balcony. “Yes?”

  “I wanted to inform you that I'll be going on a short trip. The clan's affairs have settled down a little and you still have Manti and Aswang. And there are also Doreen and your girlfriend... I still find it hard to call her your wife since you just met. My trip will take two or three weeks at the most,” she says and bows to me.

  I sit up straighter in my chair. “I hope that you realize how grave the situation is. We still don't have a solid grasp on our enemy's intentions. What if they catch you while you are away? You at least have to tell me where you want to go. And take one of the locators with you.” I reach for my chest pocket and offer her one of the three expensive pins. I created them from the sparse amount of golden items we found left in the palace.

  The riots created a huge chaos and together with the fires we lost a good amount of our wealth and possible information about our enemies. The looters ransacked everything before we got the situation under control and now there are still a lot of valuable items circulating around the city.

  “It's not necessary. I won't be far. Just across the swamp to have a meeting with Ishaan.” Tisha answers with a downcast expression.

  I frown. “Sorry, but I really don't think that's a good idea. When he got that letter from you, he freaked out and flattened a few hundred square kilometres of tundra.”