Introduction to Soul Jars

Short book synopsis
In the City of a Thousand Towers, millennia after her death, Galáteia awakens in a new artificial body without any memory. A magical soul from the ancient imperial family, she and her magic are bound to serve her creator. Immediately, she is given her a knife and pointed towards a rival's tower...

Meta

Genre

High fantasy with romance subplots.

Story type

Short story or novella.

Location

Amathus, the City of a Thousand Towers. A city-state led by all-powerful Merchants-Mages who wage deadly wars against each other in all impunity.

Unique selling point

Explore the conflicts between the powerful mages ruling the empire, as well as the relationships they have with those that are subjected to their rules.

Tone

Bleakcore.
Power is everything in this world, and the powerful do not hesitate to enslave or outright murder the weaks. Society is not built to serve the greater good but to keep the majority subjugated to the will of a few. They do not build public infrastructure but monuments to their personal glory. And even the powerful constantly fear being upstaged by a rival and pushed down from their pedestal.
The only hope anyone has is to find the secret of the legendary ancient magic of the mages-kings, as being able to reproduce their feats would ensure anyone's safety and to propel them at the top of society.

A tower by AmélieIS with an image from rajeeblochanchand on Pixabay

Setting the scene

The world

Amathus used to be the capital of an immense empire home to the legendary Propoetides Mages-Kings who ruled over the whole continent and beyond. But after the imperial line died, the great empire fell, its magical knowledge leaving with it. Amathus has never been the same since.

It is only in the last century that Amathus, now a city-state led by a council of Merchants-Mages, rose again from its ruins—quite literally as its thousands of towers stand tall above the ruins of the underground ancient imperial mausoleum. Nowadays, the city is in the middle of a magical technological revolution that sees it once again admired by the rest of the world. However, its own society is still catching up to the recent evolution and struggling under the rule of its all-powerful leaders.

Magical technological advancement

In modern Amathus, fighting and murdering your rivals right in the street or in the air are perfectly valid tactics to climb up the social ladder. The new innovations have even led to the creation of magic able to enslave the will of people. Even worse, artificial bodies can be brought to life when bound to a soul. And any soul will do.

The inhabitants of Amathus are magically weak and make mediocre slaves. The mages themselves have learned to do the proper rituals to protect themselves. But someone just had a bright idea. What about the souls of the legendary mages-kings and the imperial family, all resting neatly inside their soul jars in the mausoleum right under their feet? Well-protected mausoleum, but it is not as if anyone is going to come and interrupt the search...

Main character

Galáteia is a princess of the ancient imperial family whose soul was left in a soul jar in the imperial mausoleum. She suddenly awakens in this new world in an artificial body and without any memory, with someone calling herself her mistress putting a knife in her hand and pointing her towards the tower where her enemy resides...

The instinctive knowledge she has of magic helps her survive a few encounters against rival merchants-mages, but she knows this is not going to last. She needs to recover her memories and knowledge of her full magical skills if she wants to free herself. The answers surely lie in the mysterious and dangerous mausoleum below the city, but her mistress is keeping a close watch over her. Galáteia is now quickly running out of time.

Galáteia and the mistress by Annie Stein (nnie)

Conflicts

The danger presented by the Merchants-Mages should not be underestimated, even if they cannot achieve the same thing as the Propoetides Mages-Kings. After all, even if they cannot faithfully reproduce things like automaton soldiers, they found a work-around with their artificials and their use of souls. In addition, the Merchants-Mages are all utterly ruthless with no regard for anyone but themselves. Each of their towers is highly protected, and it is only a question of time before they realise the loophole Galáteia is using to get in and kill them. And then, there will be little she will be able to do to defend herself...
Galáteia herself has no memory. What magic she can do is extremely limited, and she also lacks the context of modern magic to make sense of the situation and reverse it to her advantage. The secret to her past surely lies in the imperial mausoleum, but its protections are still active and fierce, making it a deadly place. Even if Galáteia manages to escape her new mistress' watch and go there, there is no guarantee that she will survive for very long, let along find the answers she is looking for...

What to read next

A short story featuring Galáteia's return to life, and a presentation of her character.