Soulburned: The School of Souls

Chapter 8 (Part 2): Trials

Lyra woke to the sound of her professor clearing her throat.

"Tell me Lyra, since you've clearly already mastered the material, what would you have done differently?"

Lyra blinked.

I fell asleep in class again.

"Um." She shook her head. "I- I don't know."

"Pay attention, Lyra. I will not tell you again."

"Yes, professor," Lyra said, shrinking as far as she could into her seat. Someone towards the front of the classroom snickered.

"The question still stands," The professor said, now addressing the entire class, "Anyone?"

A boy a few rows over raised his hand.

"Cole."

"I wouldn't have seceded from the first place." the boy scoffed.

"Obviously, but we've already discussed their reasons. I'm asking specifically regarding the sacking of Kov. What decisions did they make that led directly to its destruction?"

Another hand went up, and the professor pointed at the student.

"They shouldn't have started attacking neutral caravans?"

"Good, what else?"

The class was silent.

"Come on kids, we've been going over this unit for months! Show some intelligence, is there anything else?"

Lyra's vision swam, then raised her hand.

"Lyra! Joining the lecture at last?" The professor beamed.

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"They shouldn't have attempted summoning the Accursed."

"Good, Why?"

"For the same reason, they shouldn't have started attacking our caravans... It forced us to get involved. We could have ignored a few missing wagons, but blasphemy?"

"Yes, but why shouldn't they have risked provoking us? We're just one city-state, we don't have a significant fighting force, even with our Soulmancers."

"Because of the Brow." Lyra said.

"Exactly. The only route through the Bistl Mountain range, colloquially known as the "Brow", runs directly through Sclera. If you want to even see the other half of the continent, you need to go through us."

"But," another student chimed in, "Why not just sail? All the coastal countries have ports."

"Of course, you can sail. That's why the Kovites took the risk! But they forgot something. What?"

Another hand.

"The Empire's Navy."

"Bingo. The Empire smashed the Kovite fleet to splinters in a single battle, then blockaded the entire country. Without being able to take in supplies through us, they crumbled. Kov was completely destroyed. Their Soulwell was commandeered by the Empire, and without a Soulwell... the now homeless Kovites turned full force to darker sources of power."

"Blood Calling."

"Yes."

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Lyra opened her eyes, once again in the white room. This time, however, she wasn't alone. The amorphous silver sphere had shifted into a vaguely humanoid shape and was now sitting at a...

Table?

Behind the figure and the out-of-place furniture, was the doorway.

Ready to go again? Or do you want to leave? Yes, you'd still die...maybe not as quickly though.

Lyra blinked. Her panic and anxiety were gone, now she only felt surprise. Surprise at the sheer... mundanity of what was happening to her.

"This isn't exactly what I had imagined when Master Hur told me there would be... trials," She said to the figure. "I'm not even sure what that was supposed to show. Intelligence? It was just a history lesson."

No, I suppose it wouldn't be. Everyone's initial trial is a bit different. I try to keep it fresh. Yinstrad's trials were quite different from yours. He didn't even get to meet me. I had him doing dungeon puzzles for months!

"But, a history lesson from primer school?"

I'm in your head, Lyra. I don't need the Trials. You do. Why did you need to show me that lesson?

"I... I don't know." She said.

And that's fine! Just know that I know.

"O-okay? Who even are you?"

I am Logos.