The Court of Souls?

“In the Sumerian mythological poem Lugale, Asag is a monstrous demon, so hideous that his presence alone makes fish boil alive in the rivers. He was said to be accompanied into battle by an army of rock demon offspring - born of his union with the mountains themselves.

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.

.