Souls.

A word thrown around a lot, this last year, although I never have spent as much as a minute thinking about it beforehand.

Now, they were with me. I knew how that felt, having born the weight of the souls of Ravenrock for all this time, but this was different. There was no familiarity, here. Hundreds of hungry, confused, angry, and sad souls surrounded me, always just outside of my consciousness.

Having to guide the souls of my kin was one thing and I had instinctively known what to do when I gave them a place in the Wind-Oak tree inside my demesne and a purpose in my Skills [Murder of Crows] and [Raven Companion].

What to do with souls free from any affiliation to me...I just had no idea. Was I to grant them harbor in my Demesne as well? Had I created an afterlife for the lost without thinking too much about it?

I knew that gods peddled in souls. That was just known. And while I had no intention to sell the souls of the poor sailors, that meant that gods had to have some use for them. I remembered the woman, Thana, with the strange and immediate attraction I had felt towards her. She had been knowledgeable and had offered to teach me about the subject one day.

We had met in the Fulcrum, where I had sold her information on the whereabouts of the Dragon of Darkness, and ever since there was a piece of me longing to see her radiant smile again. Even now there was a pang in my heart thinking about it, just as the cynical and paranoid side of me begged for caution.

I could not meet her in the Fulcrum, not yet, because I still feared the retaliation of the gods of darkness, but maybe I could send her notice? I knew she was traveling in the general direction of the Fallen Empire, maybe there was a chance to meet in person.

To be frank, half of me needed the instructions regarding the souls, the other half wanted to know if her image in reality could hold up to the ideal I had built in my head.

Without torturing me too much about the message, I left a small note with the Administrators of the Fulcrum. Just a casual inquiry if she was still interested in teaching me. Nothing big. And yet...why was my heart racing as I watched the Administrator disappear with my message?

Meanwhile, I tried my best to find a place for the souls of the sailors that would not be too distracting for me. In my Demesne, I created a ship built after the Manticore and let it sit, scaled-down and small enough to fit, inside the lake I had created to symbolize my Essence and the Shards, which sparkled plentiful under the calm surface of the lake. I had just gotten a substantial influx, and I had a lot to spend if I ever returned to the traders of the Fulcrum.

The souls calmed down significantly, as soon as they were anchored to their ship, even just as a figment of my memory of it, and stopped distracting me too much in reality.

Which was interesting in itself. Souls, those lost and found, seemed to be longing after a space - a place for them to rest. The alternative would be to haunt the site of their demise forevermore, or worse, turn into the kind of monster seeking the warmth of the living for themselves.

I sighed, watching them mingle on their ship while I myself sat atop the cliff in my Demesne. That had been an unpleasant thought I had yet to address. Ghosts hungering after the warmth of the living that is. Which brought me to the problem of Simue and her eternal lover, Zora, which had appeared in our desperate fight in what was to be our smuggler’s cave.

“Lily?“ I asked the calm light hovering above me. “What do we know about ghosts?“

“I mean...I don‘t think that I know more than you. Remnants of those living, unable to pass on from their mortal existence. They have something holding them back. Because they are in a world that no longer belongs to them, they grow cold and vicious, hungering after the living to extend their stay.“ Lily was her usual chipper self, but even she was muted. She knew what I was referring to and knew the pain I felt watching a comrade in arms, no, a friend...as a ghost.

“I guess that is something that very well could have happened to all these sailors, giving the way they died. If you would not have interfered, I mean.“ She continued.

I nodded. “It is not my place to meddle, though, is it?“ I asked. “It is a Skill of Simue. I have no idea if Simue is holding Zora back from passing on, or if Zora just could not let go and is haunting Simue, so to speak.“

“I agree,“ Lily said. “This is not something you want to meddle with unless something of yours is in danger or your friend is losing it. I mean as a god. As a friend you better damn well get your hands on some mulled wine and talk to her.“

Once more I sighed. She was right of course, I only had needed to speak the words out loud. The decision had been made a long time ago.

But there was one more thing to decide.

“Lily, can you tell if a soul has a consciousness or not?“

“Yes. Souls are...well some of them are just lingering emotions and urges. Strong personalities may retain more of themselves.“

“Can you pick out those souls that are too far gone? I am thinking of trading them at the Afterlight for more information.“

“You are thinking about it?“ Suddenly, she was very excited. After all, the Afterlight was the place wisps went, if their gods died and souls were the currency she needed to get the others to teach her there.

“It feels wrong, still.“

“I would agree if you were talking about the coherent ones. But those that are no more than some kind of energy left behind...“ She trailed off.

“Take them. Only the poorest souls, long gone, mind you. I intend to shelter the others and build a harbor for them they can rest in peace in.“

“I will spend them wisely, Hannibal. I promise. anything on your mind as to what I should be looking into specifically?“

“I need some proven recipes. I know that the system steps in when I create something like the orders or the raven familiars. I bet I am stumbling around at the foot of the mountain of possibilities. Maybe you can find me some of those possibilities. When I find that last key of the Elemental Guardians I will need something to help my brother win his war.“

“I can do that!“ She bobbed up and down, already halfway to the Gate to the Afterlight. “Thanks!“

And she was gone, a faint trail of souls, the weakest, barely visible ones, following her like a whiff of smoke and sad memories.

Reality came at me with some of the worst it had to offer. Meeting in the Raven‘s Nest with Veneir, Higgins, and the Bandits led by Brandy, talking infrastructure and logistics. Which was something I hated to have on my plate, which is why I was more than thankful for Veneir and his knack to make my life much much easier.

We were talking about the Smuggler's Cave and the creatures of the Wyld.

“To be fair, “ Brandy said between a couple of puffs of her pipe, “I had not expected to be threatened by creatures of this magnitude. I am well able to hide a place from mortal eyes, with a little charm here and there, but those things...“ She was a [Hedge Witch], along with being a [Rebel Leader], and seemed to be very confident in her ability to fool mortals.

“We have spent a very long time in the Wyld now, where it is worst, if I may add, and I can assure you that yes, the creatures are as dangerous as they are diverse, but we have survived, have we not? And we have just a handful of fighters with the prowess of your troops.“ Veneir argued. “And do not forget that we will extend the radius of our patrols, once we have the freedom to do so. The longboats will travel frequently along the coast. We will be alarmed of all dangers and make the cave system that much more secure.“

“I am no coward, Veneir,“ she sneered, “I just think that we can maybe find a place where the creatures of the sea have less of an easy access. They give me the creeps, the whole sea does.“

Higgins now leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. “The route is safe and quick. And, most importantly, far away from the deeper waters of the bay. There, I would think to find the dangers you are speaking of. Near the coast, there will be nothing you cannot handle, now that the sirens are gone. And I assure you that they are very territorial creatures. They would not have allowed a second coven close to their lair.“

Brandy laughed, knocking out the burnt tobacco in her pipe. “Well then, I think that is my concerns addressed. Ye think we can start sending the wounded over?“

I nodded. “We will return you to the Fallen Empire as fast as the longboats can make the trip. Is there anything else you need?“

She shook her head. “There is much to do, like scouting out the passages to the rendezvous point, making the cave livable and nice, and putting up, “ she frowned in displeasure, “hundreds of charms to secure the mountains from prying eyes. Those are long-term goals we can work together on, but we have wounded that need help right now.“

I slapped the table to signal the end of the meeting. “Then get to work. I want the longboats out of the bay come morning. Speed is of the essence.“ I turned to Brandy, searching her eyes, as always shadowed by those bushy eyebrows, “Find me some information on what they are doing with these sacrifices, will you?“

She nodded earnestly. “Don‘t like them doing their rites any more than you do.“

In the morning, the longboats left with a couple of men and women with experience in treating the wounded and some crafty people to build a shelter inside the cave. It still was winter, and everything had slowed down because of it.

I watched them leave, rowing through a sea of slim and barely visible clusters of ice that were floating in Shipwreck Bay, hoping that we had a lot more time to sail still, and that winter would not come down on us as hard as to freeze the bay completely. It was kind of a given, with the waterfalls close by agitating the waters, but I really needed to make sure we would not get imprisoned by the ice.

I had a method. The Skill I needed to calm the seasons, long ago won by defeating the winter aspect of the Mad King in battle, and a ‘temple‘ to anchor it to. But I needed to claim the region first.

And that meant finding me a fiery foe.

I went looking for Simue, because I wanted her help in descending into the Abyss. Unfortunately, Higgins would not be able to come with us, he could not climb well with his peg leg, although he could do astonishing things in the rigging of a ship. But it was winter and the wall was bound to be treacherous.

That meant I had to have an uncomfortable talk with a friend I needed to be on her best in the coming days.

Oh, the joy of being a leader.