The Court of Souls?

“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 a 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 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.”

That horrible day is still in my memory. At first I didn't grasp the full scale of the destruction, but a few weeks later even Ishaan had to admit that he overdid it. There was simply nothing left to hunt, so we had to relocate to another part of the tundra.

She sighs. “I know his temper and what I'm getting myself into. But I won't find peace until I have a long discussion with him. And I haven't told anyone about my intentions, so it's unlikely that our enemies manage to intercept me.”

I nod. “I certainly can't say that I think of it as a good idea. But if it is unavoidable, then you have to go.”

She nods and activates levitation magic, then she lifts off and shoots towards the swamps in the north-east, rapidly disappearing into the distance.

I chew on my tongue while I watch her departure. A severe case of domestic violence hangs in the air and I am glad that I will be far, far away when it happens. I just hope that they won't kill each other. Such a dysfunctional family.

“Where is she going?” Aswang's voice stops my daydreaming.

“To see Ishaan,” I grumble. The balcony seems to be a particular bad spot to be left alone.

“Oh, I hope that she didn't choose the wrong moment to run away,” he mumbles.

I take a look at his dishevelled appearance. Ever since we took over he has been trying to organize the ex-slave-soldiers into something like a security guard. It takes a lot out of him. “Why? Did something happen?”

“Yes, erm... there are a few unexplained deaths throughout the city. Doreen and Manti are already investigating,” he answers and pulls his eyes away from Tisha, who is nothing more than a small dot by now.

I tilt my head. “Deaths? There are always deaths. We may have freed the people, but that doesn't mean that they will turn into a functioning community over night. Why are you concerned by a few murder scenes.”

Aswang gestures for me to join him and after a few moments of consideration I decide to give up on my idle occupation at the balcony. I follow him inside and down to the courtyard.

“These deaths aren't normal. Doreen thinks that a spirit might be responsible. The bodies are awfully disfigured, as if an animal gnawed on them. Doreen suggested to hold the information back to avoid causing a panic.”

I listen up. “A spirit? How should a spirit manage to stalk through the city without being noticed?” I ask and lengthen my steps. Could this be another move by our opponents?

“That's why we don't want to cause unrest. It has to be one of the smaller ones. A rakshasa or a wendigo. Something along those lines. Or one of our citizens developed a nasty disposition for cannibalism.”

We leave the courtyard and Aswang guides me through the city. I decide to share my meagre experience with wendigos. “Wendigos act in groups as far as I know.”

Aswang nods. “Then that means it is a rakshasa. They are strong opponents and hard to find while they don't display their powers. I wonder how we got one in our city.”

I don't answer and keep walking. The damage to the city looks almost insignificant from down here and the people who pass us look happy. Or at least busy with their own problems.

After a while Aswang decides to continue the conversation. “So are you sure about this fusion? Can we trust Doreen? She is getting awfully familiar with the citizens and Tisha just ran off to sort out her own problems.”

I shrug. In fact I already know about Doreen's attempts to look good in front of our citizens. But I also invested a lot of time in getting familiar with the rescued slave soldiers. As things stand now, they follow me. And only me. “Let her. She will have a leading role in what we want to build here. So she has to get familiar with the people.”

Aswang tries again when I don't continue the conversation. “About Legna... how did it happen?”

For a moment I consider lying, but then I tell him the whole story. We have to start somewhere.

“Wow. She will be mad if you ever find a possibility to return her body,” Aswang answers after I have finished.

I nod. “I am already prepared for the fallout when she is born.”

“Born?” Aswang gasps.

“Elona and I will have a daughter, didn't we already tell you?” I ask.

Aswang shakes his head. “You said you are going to have a baby, but not that it is Legna! You are so dead if she ever regains that particular part of her memories!”

We reach a small shed at the side of a bigger building and Aswang gestures me inside. “We arrived.”

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