Amdirlain's PoV - Hades

When Amdirlain stepped out of the gold pane, Damon froze in mid-word with Medusa, who sat nearby. She caught him mentally setting aside their idle chatter to follow his duty.

He shook his head and looked up at Amdirlain in concern. "It concerns me that another dire challenge will occur."

"They're mostly scaled for mortals to tackle, Damon. I'm not Mortal."

"You're not Mortal?" Damon gulped.

Amdirlain slowly shook her head. "That doesn't seem to make a difference to the trials, and I've only three more to go. Let's move along."

Though Damon tried to conceal it, he eyed Amdirlain nervously as he led the way to the next stone gate and opened it for her.

Her next arrival point was again underground, though this time, there was a fresh breeze and the sound of dripping water. Beneath the damp limestone were scents of great cat, goat, snake, and a distinctly draconic odour of charred stone and flesh. As she slipped between the stalagmites and columns, Amdirlain looked around for a path going upwards until she rounded a curve in the cavern. There, she spotted a ray of dim light from a white opening in the roof and a rag-clad boy, not even in his teens, hog-tied on the ground. Despite the bonds digging painfully into his limbs, he lay there silently. Beyond him was a passage into the cavern, the stalagmites broken, the rocks cracked and scraped by enormous claws.

"Who put you here?"

The boy jerked his head up, eyes bulging in fear. "I'm an offering to the Chimera so it doesn't come and take all the food."

That explains the odours.

Though Precognition pointed upwards, a Spell flicked from Amdirlain and sliced through the bonds. "How many times has it eaten you?"

The boy shrugged stoically as he sat up and rubbed his wrists. "Everyone died because of me. I fell asleep on watch and didn't cry a warning to the village in time."

"So they keep offering you to the monster."

"Yes, whenever I wake, they bring me back here."

Analysis revealed his name as Theodulus.

"Is it alright if I call you Theo?"

"How did you know my name?"

"I've got some magic at my command."

Amdirlain remained composed, not wanting the boy to mistake any reaction for contempt towards him. Orbs of grey ectoplasm formed around her and sped off through the cave network and outside. Above them was a thick forest where Amdirlain found a few well-tracked paths winding between the trees. The damage left by the creature's trek led to an empty cul-de-sac strewn with a few types of fur, snakeskin, and rough plates akin to a Red Dragon hatchling. Sections of the walls bore rough white marks and deep scratches.

A remote orb wrapped around a scale and zipped back to her as Amdirlain helped the boy to his feet. She extended her senses through her hand and caught the themes of self-loathing chaining him. "Have you been down here long?"

"If you are a Witch, please leave me and save my family," pleaded Theo. "The Chimera must have already left today. They won't know it's coming for them."

"You can call me Am. Would you provide me with directions to your village? Then I'll see you all to safety," reassured Amdirlain, as the orb delivered the collected scale to her free hand. She took in the details of his Soul, which made it clear he hadn't survived the Chimera's attack; he had failed his turn on watch and hadn't been the first to die, so guilt rampaged.

He wasn't on watch alone, but he blames himself.

The boy gave directions, and Amdirlain redirected the orbs to scout for the village. She found a lion-bodied Chimera with a trio of heads—Goat, Red Dragon, and Lion—savaging villagers and livestock alike. Her telepathy reached past the animals in the forest to confirm that Theo was the only Soul associated with his village.

His expectations trap him here; he expects to be punished, so the memories place him here.

With the sympathetic link of the scale and the scrying perspective, targeting it was simple. A Seeking Lightning Spell released a barrage of bolts that raced through the gap in the canopy and smashed down upon the Chimera a few kilometres away. The first bolt incinerated all three heads, and the follow-up strikes smeared its ruined corpse across the field. Precognition registered the trial's success. The experience notification from the destruction felt oddly hollow to Amdirlain, even as it advanced her newest Class. She sent the orb outwards and found more locations where bound souls were punishing themselves.

Amdirlain crouched and hugged the child. "I've killed the Chimera. You can relax, Theo, as you warned me in time. You didn't fail in your watch."

He shuddered in relief, and the quiet child relaxed. When the first tear broke free, he wept into her shoulder; the silent tears turned into racking cries that echoed through the cavern. His hands twisted at the fabric across the back of her shirt, and his thin frame shuddered with desperate misery. Amdirlain stroked his hair and waited until his tears had run their course.

Finally, as his tears settled, she absorbed his Soul, and Phoenix's Blaze bore her aloft, leaving a flame dancing in her wake. As the wings of her sigil flared outwards, Enervating Aura extended past them as she sped away to collect the nearest Soul her orbs had found.

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

Before she returned to the golden pane, she'd spent days spiralling outwards from the cavern entrance, covering vast tracts of land. With her aura stretched out, she pushed her speed to collect hundreds of thousands of tormented souls. The leading edge of her aura slew the monsters that drove their suffering before they were even aware of her presence.

The cavern lit up from flames roiling beneath her flesh as she landed before the exit.

Extinguishing her sigil, Amdirlain stepped into the wormhole. When she emerged from the churning tunnel, she winked at Damon before he could ask. "I had to kill a Chimera, but then I took care of some other monsters."

Amdirlain only finished motioning Damon to lead the way when a wave of presence rolled over them. Damon's and Medusa's eyes widened in disbelief.

At the end of the passage stood a faded image of a Grecian woman, wearing a gleaming white dress and a shawl to conceal her hair. Her oval face and fine features were familiar to Amdirlain, but her skin was translucently pale. The woman's eyelids snapped open, revealing pupil-less black orbs, yet Amdirlain sensed no hostility from her.

She resembles Hestia, but she is certainly not.

Amdirlain stepped forward, shielding the pair.

"Greetings, Am. I'm Hestia's daughter, Lysandra. My apologies for interrupting you, but hopefully, I can help with your goals."

Daughter? When did that occur? Hestia discussed providing aid, but did she deliberately have a daughter who could assist?

Amdirlain walked forward to the end of the path so she could lower her voice; neither Damon nor Medusa followed. "Is Hestia all right?"

"It is good to meet you, cousin. Hopefully, I can help you, but I was only born yesterday—maybe reborn is a better term. Mother expects to recover. My father, Eleftherios, is watching over her. My apologies for startling your companions. Might I join you properly?"

"I vouch for my child." Eleftherios's voice whispered in the gap between them.

"I don't need help that urgently."

"Am, please let me help you. I want to be doing something through my own agency, not pushed by another's hand. I swear it'll make sense once you hear my song."

Amdirlain held in her shock. "Very well. You can join me here. How did Hestia know the name of the Aspect of Death?"

Lysandra's image solidified, and she motioned upwards. "Lerina provided the name of her great-grandfather. Mother had asked her about any being like Thanatos in this realm."

"Is it safe for you to be here?"

Does she know what she's getting herself into? Eleftherios better not have pushed her to help. Putting even a divine child to work immediately feels so wrong.

She nodded casually. "I've been able to claim this once-shared Domain, but its existing rules restrict what I can do. Still, I'll maintain control until we finish your objectives here."

"How much did Hestia share of what I told her?"

"I don't know if she shared all of it. I was born knowing a lot, and my parents shared other things. You should know this place will still decay, as I've only paused it while you complete your task. We should destroy it in a way that lets us eliminate whatever opposition is present when we're ready." Lysandra's hands squeezed into fists. "I can feel them beyond your shining armies; they are such horrid creatures. Their foulness sticks in the back of my throat."

"Yet you've taken over the Domain. Perhaps you should relinquish it and leave."

"Think of it as having temporarily assumed control. I'm not keeping this place. The inflexible rules of Hades are unpalatable. This place needs to be scrubbed clean."

"I'm not used to strangers just turning up to help."

"Frankly, I expected you to attack, so I manifested the image first. My Father vouched for me, but can I tell you anything to reassure you? I don't know everything about the situation, but I'll answer you truthfully." Lysandra shrugged broadly. "If I don't know an answer, we can seek it together."

"How did you get past the siege and take over the domain?"

Lysandra laughed softly. "Mother had a way that allowed me to go directly to Hades's throne room while shifting between planes. As for taking over the Domain, I don't know exactly how it works. I followed Mother's instructions and sat on his throne. Since it's ownerless, I could claim it, but I'm so new I don't have mastery over it. I have a question of my own for you."

"Sorry, I feel like I'm interrogating you."

"That's understandable, since I showed up and claimed a relationship. Eleftherios recommended I ask where you planned to take the souls in Hades. He suggested I could help the realm beyond your current needs here."

"I don't want to say the name here, as I'm unsure who might overhear."

"But you know the rules for the Plane you're taking them to?"

"Yes, I made it."

"Curious. Neither Mother nor Eleftherios told me that," murmured Lysandra.

"I thought the aspects couldn't help me."

"He isn't helping you." Lysandra winked. "He helped Hestia become pregnant with me, and my father is helping me. However, as I am neither Mantle holder nor Aspect, though her pregnancy only lasted minutes, my birth was hard on her."

"Might I examine you with my senses?" asked Amdirlain. "I'd want to know more about you before I allow you to be involved in my plans."

"I intended for you to hear me." Lysandra smiled understandingly and held out her hands to Amdirlain. Her theme conveyed a cold, quiet theme, like an empty grave or mausoleum awaiting the dead and offering protective care. It was an odd mix of Hestia's theme of haven and Eleftherios's as the Aspect of Death, yet there was a third ancient awareness—the spindle of fate's loom. The strength resonating through her was a flexible Power more akin to the Shen she had fought than her clash with static primordials.

Custodian offered me a spindle years ago. Was it fate's spindle? I need to set limits if she's becoming involved in Atonement. I don't want another loom forming from her.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Lysandra, you are what lies at the end of a Mortal's life. Do you agree you shouldn't measure a person's life when they are born? And that you will only find out how each spent their life when they arrive in your care?"

"I agree with both your requests. I know from Father that Death should only be a time of renewal for souls, a rest stop in a continuing cycle."

Amdirlain projected the rules she'd provided to Nazha, and Lysandra's amusement faded to a serene composure.

"You give the essence that makes up the most horrid a second chance while stripping their foulness. You're scrubbing the hearth that carries the spark of life on its cycle to a fresh start. That's wonderful. I once held the thread that formed so many blank souls." Lysandra's hands went to her sides, and she curtsied smoothly before Amdirlain. "I swear always to follow your rules for the souls, anywhere you would have me assess and tend them. Your rules have allowed me to see what is important to me and select my natures. Would you allow me in your service?"

Amdirlain risked Analysis and almost choked at the details.

[Name: Lysandra

Primordial Tier: 4

Nature: Death/Purification/Renewal/Journey

Rank: 1/1/1/1

Health: 104,000

Defence: 100,600

Magic: 102,300

Melee Attack Power: 101,000

Combat Skills: Primordial Will (15), Punch (1)

Details: First and only child of Hestia.]

"I didn't ask you to serve me. Why the offer?"

Lysandra offered her hands again to Amdirlain with a knowing look. "So you can hear my song and know my words and intent are true."

She lightly took Lysandra's hands. "That's a kind gesture."

The shift in Lysandra's theme was noticeable, as was the way the themes entwined in distinct elements with uneven proportions.

The selection of different natures increases attributes differently.

"It's clear from your rules that you want the souls to journey onwards. It inspired an understanding within me. Who wouldn't want to serve someone who can inspire them so easily?"

"I hope I continue to inspire you," said Amdirlain.

"Father said to trust that you would try to always improve things for those in your care," Lysandra smiled eagerly. "I didn't know your plans were so well-advanced."

"I know the rules will need refinement, so I expect you'll have suggestions for improvement."

Amdirlain paused as Lysandra twitched in surprise. "You'd like my counsel on matters regarding souls? I'm only new."

"You won't always be, and I don't want you to hold back. While I might not always follow your suggestions, I'd welcome your input since you'll spend more time on the Plane. The final say on the rules would still be mine, as I need to balance them against other concerns."

"Very well, I agree. I hope you'll forgive me if I ask questions that seem obvious to you."

"Will you also agree that the souls you watch over won't leave with you if we part ways?"

"I agree."

"Then we have an agreement, Lysandra." Amdirlain stepped close and kissed her cheeks before hugging her. "I'm pleased to meet you, cousin."

Lysandra clung to her for a time before she let go. "A strange first meeting, but I hope our work together lasts until all grows cold."

"I hope I can add enough to the realm to continue its growth."

"That's fine with me," said Lysandra. "I want an extremely long existence. I'm not a nihilistic idiot."

It could be time to move along.

Amdirlain waved at the gate behind her. "Your timing was impeccable."

"Oh, I've been in Hades's throne room for hours. When I sensed your return, I thought I'd best introduce myself before you started on the next labour. Task." Lysandra nodded to the sealed gate. "Whatever you want to call these. I can't change the fact that you must complete twelve to access the shrouded maze beneath this place, yet I have more control than Mother could manage from Laurelin. The remaining trials will be simple, like the Chimera you fought, but I've no control over the maze."

"What do you mean when you call it shrouded?"

"It feels alien and ancient compared to the Domain, and I can only sense the outer corridors. The surrounding wards seem as much to keep it contained as to secure the contents from thieves." Lysandra fidgeted with the ends of her shawl.

I heard no Eldritch static within it when I was searching for the Soul jars. Did Hades encapsulate something that was already here, or is it something that predates the Greek Pantheon in the old realm?

Amdirlain turned back to the others, aware they hadn't moved since Lysandra manifested her image. "You might need to learn to pull in your Charisma, Lysandra. I want to introduce you to them, but they're awe-struck."

"I'm aware of who the Gorgon Medusa is, but I don't know the boy," said Lysandra, as she erratically restrained her Charisma's pressure. "I didn't know mortals were so fragile. Can you show me the mental image you use to control it?"

Medusa jerked at the use of her name, Lysandra's intonation tugging at her essence, even as Damon's mind flared in shock and fear at the monster Medusa being beside him.

"It's not just mortals. Your Charisma would cause most beings I know to seize up," observed Amdirlain. Lysandra drank up the projected knowledge Amdirlain shared, and the air about them shifted in a way Amdirlain was certain was at least partly from Primordial Will.

"Oops."

Damon's eyes bulged in their sockets, and as Lysandra's presence lifted, he looked at the three in confusion. Medusa's status in his mind was a near divine monster.

"At least you're just holding them in place. I had a lot of other issues with my Charisma," reassured Amdirlain.

Lysandra smiled sheepishly and played with a few loose tresses. "I didn't understand why everyone in the throne room was so quiet. I'd assumed they were in mourning for Hades. Shall we do these introductions? Medusa and Damon, right?"

He is a Soul in her Domain. She probably knew his name when she wanted to know.

"We heard you announce yourself, Goddess Lysandra," said Medusa, regarding her uncertainly.

"You told me your name was Megaera," Damon finally blurted.

Medusa wrapped her arms around herself. "Everyone who came to kill me cursed and yelled at me. Why would I give you my real name?"

He froze with his mouth open in protest, his eyes wild.

"My family has much to make up for, Damon, including their treatment of Medusa. Since all those directly involved are dead, perhaps you would assist me in treating her kindly," requested Lysandra. Her tone calmed Damon's expression, yet he paused long enough for Medusa's shoulders to slump. She slid away from him.

"I'll do my best, Goddess."

Lysandra sighed. "It's that way, is it?"

"Your family has its reputation," offered Amdirlain.

"Our family," Lysandra corrected primly.

"My branch was cast away, and they actively tried to snuff us out, so I'm not accepting responsibility for their reputation."

"Mother told me you've cleaned up many of the problems they left behind."

Amdirlain casually waved a hand. "It's part of who I am. I try to improve situations, especially when I find someone who has been victimised. Growth is an element of creation, and some growth comes from improving on what exists rather than working from scratch."

"If that's the way you see it." With a sad smile, Lysandra motioned to the next gate. "Custodian, if you'd open the next gate for Am."

At the reminder of his position, Damon straightened. "Of course, Goddess."

As Damon stepped towards the gate, Lysandra playfully tapped Amdirlain's shoulder. "I can sense the souls you have gathered. You won't need to worry about others. I've already worked out how to gather the rest when we're ready to leave."

Amdirlain mentally sighed in relief. "That will make things faster."

Lysandra awkwardly rested a hand on Amdirlain's shoulder. "Will you go directly to the plinth after here?"

"No, I've got to get two Prestige classes finished."

"Then, let's get this step in your journey completed. I've changed the selection of the remaining trials. The bull beyond this next gate would be a menace for a Mortal hero, but you'll need to contain it alive to pass."

Lysandra's declaration about the trial at least proved true. The white pane delivered Amdirlain to a field where a massive bull—twice her height at its shoulder—snorted and bellowed. Blood staining the churned field showed the price the slain farmer had paid for going near his cows. An armoured pen off to the side of the field had shattered railings that revealed how the bull had ended up among his herd. Beyond the fields' limits, a group of memories clutched at spears and lit brands as they frantically discussed how to deal with the bull.

Before they even noticed her, a Spell repaired the pen, and she telekinetically shifted the bull to it, ignoring its bellows of outrage.

The farmers raised a hue and cry at the bull's relocation, but when the white pane transformed, Amdirlain returned to Lysandra.

She greeted Amdirlain with a pleased nod. "The others will be just as easily resolved."

Amdirlain had expected the conclusion of the last trial to ease her concerns. Instead, as they approached the central gate, she felt increasingly tense.

Aware that paranoia had her retreating into silence, Amdirlain smiled at Damon reassuringly. "What form does my access take?"

"You should receive a pendant or ring with Hades's seal." Damon touched the stone on either side of the gate's seam and stepped back far enough for the doors to swing open on either side.

Despite being on the same oversized scale as the others, the central gate opened to reveal a normal-sized passageway only wide enough for four people to walk abreast. Torches along the sides let up, illuminating a long tunnel that expanded into a vaulted chamber at its far end, with a dais and altar in its centre. From here, Amdirlain could see the symbol of Hades embossed on the front of the altar, with its circle hovering about a bowl-like crescent supported by a cross. While the circle was a deep red, the rest of the crest was an electric blue.

"I'll come along to make sure it behaves," said Lysandra.

They walked forward, leaving Medusa and Damon behind; Amdirlain restrained a sigh when she noted Damon moving to sit against the wall away from Medusa.

I'll sort out a body for her to inhabit once I'm out of this Domain. I can base it on her sisters' themes.

"I'd like to let you teleport and use other powers, but the rules here are rigid," grumbled Lysandra. "Shall we fly, or do you want to continue walking?"

"Let's fly. I'm anxious about what's beneath the seal, so I'd like to be done with it."

"I can sense hundreds of monsters just in the outer passages of the maze. Though some are only as strong as the Chimera, others would challenge named demons."

"How much knowledge do you have?"

"Relative to what?" laughed Lysandra drily. "I have pieces of knowledge from three sources. Actually, four sources with what you've shared about your rules and controlling Charisma."

Who knows what's in its depths?

When they reached the first step of the dais, a silver plate appeared atop the altar. With its appearance, the red circle at the top of the crest radiated a glow that rushed over Amdirlain only to vanish. As it snapped off, a pendant with the symbol of Hades appeared, resting on the plate.

"It's safe for you to take," reassured Lysandra. "I also can't claim it for you. It's made for you alone, and the material would pass through someone else's fingers."

There isn't a lot of choice here.

Amdirlain braced her shoulders, took all three steps of the dais with a single stride, and stepped forward to sweep the pendant up. The plate vanished after she claimed the amulet, and the symbol of Hades went black.

"If you lose it now, you'll need to do the trials again to gain another."

I'm not storing this in my Inventory.

A strand of ectoplasm became a simple decorative steel necklace, and Amdirlain fastened the pendant to it. She looped it around her wrist, and the pendant rested against her palm.

"I wish I could go into the maze with you," said Lysandra as they started back down the passage.

Amdirlain shook her head slightly. "Maybe the journey is calling to you, but it's safer if I handle it myself. We might get in each other's way when there is trouble."

"That's what I figured, and I don't know how to fight, except to want something to journey into death." Lysandra smiled sadly. "Which I've not even had cause to do yet."

"I've ended the lives of many beings."

"I sensed that when you held my hands." She looped arms with Amdirlain as they headed out of the tunnel. "Their deaths sit across you like a warm breeze. I think it's strange that people think of death as cold when it comes so often in heated moments of anger, passion, or screaming fear."

Ahead of them, Damon was nowhere in sight, and Medusa stood with her arms still wrapped around her stomach.

Medusa rubbed her hands along her tunic when they came within conversation range.

"Damon's gone to fetch a group to help move the disc." Medusa waved jerkily towards the metropolis. "He'd spoken to people to help later when we visited the city, but didn't expect you to be done so soon, so he needs to fetch them."

"There isn't a need." Amdirlain patted her shoulder and headed for the central steps of the stage, with Lysandra still beside her.

"Are you going to haul it out bare-handed?" asked Lysandra.

"I hadn't planned to," hedged Amdirlain. "I've got other options for moving items."

Lysandra's brows lifted quizzically. "Yet you could."

"Why do things that way?"

"To see if you can," countered Lysandra.

When Amdirlain reached the bronze disc set into the stage, the amulet she carried glowed. To her detection spells, the seal across the disc expanded outwards like a flower reacting to the dawn.

Telekinesis lifted the inserts along with the tonnes of enchanted bronze from the stone. As soon as there was a clear gap beneath its edge, the pit beneath it inhaled. The surrounding air rushed past their feet, and the downdraft had Medusa clutching Amdirlain's shoulder for balance. Amdirlain ensured the plate had fully cleared the stone lip before she sent it along the stage and out of the way. Once the metal was clear, the set of shallow stairs spiralling along the side came into view.

"Spoil sport," grumbled Lysandra.

Is she trying to be a baby sister or something?

"Should I lead the way or follow you?" asked Medusa.

"There isn't a need for you to come with me."

Lysandra fixated on Medusa. "I think that curse on your Soul has come to the end of its journey. Might I send it away?"

"Goddess Lysandra, I'd prefer to ensure Am can get past the guardian of the entryway," said Medusa. "She's already provided me the means to mitigate the curse."

"Consider the offer open," said Lysandra.

"Do we have to take the stairs? There are some traps on them." Amdirlain pointed to the spear trap on the third loop.

Lysandra shook her head. "I've gotten the pendant to extend to Medusa and altered it so the access will linger on her. It's probably best if you fly so Medusa can quickly get back out again."

Eyeing the bronze plate, Amdirlain moved to the edge. The shaft into the depths seemed to shift in size and height, and Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully at the dimensional tricks going on within the wards. Among the shifting distances, her gaze caught on marks along the wall that warned of traps.

How big is this place?

"Just as well I had that practice in the forest," said Medusa. "Flying is quite strange."

Amdirlain placed a Spell on them and lifted her feet from the ground. At that shift in position, Lysandra slipped her arm free of Amdirlain's and waved. "Take care."

"It's strange to be going in there with my body still attached." Medusa laughed shrilly and moved out over the pit.

"Come straight back after you open the way for Am; the maze hungers." Lysandra rubbed her forearms.

Medusa shot a nervous glance at Amdirlain, and they descended together.

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