The Forsaken Hero

As I idly played with the light, Selena leaned over, her vibrant emerald eyes reflecting the flickering magic. Her voice carried a mixture of awe and admiration as she spoke, a passionate voice mingling with a soft smile that illuminated her elven beauty. ”You possess an unparalleled gift,” she murmured, ”it has been centuries since a mage of your potential appeared.”

”I wish I didn’t,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. I watched through half closed eyes as the light scattered like pollen, its glow fading until the shade was dark again. I was only able to do this much because of Fate’s blessing, but I would discard that in a heartbeat if it meant getting rid of the curse and the revulsion of Enusia. The other heroes seemed to have such confidence and strength, treated like gods regardless of the time or occasion.

Selena lay a hand on my knee and gave a comforting squeeze. ”As a worshiper of the Life Goddess, I’ve come to learn about the sacredness of our time here. The birds don’t question their lot or frailty, but live with the gifts they’ve been given.”

I might have dismissed the sentiment from most people, but Selena shared, at least in part, some of my suffering.

”How can you see it that way?” I asked, my voice tinged with bitter curiosity. ”It’s not your fault you were born an elf.”

Sadness cast fleeting shadows across her face, yet a gentle smile washed the melancholy look away. I leaned forward as she spoke, her voice tinged with emotion. ”I should have passed the qualifications on my own. Most of my students excel beyond the mark, moving on to become great and powerful mages. But, the arrival of the heroes signaled the imminent demon invasion, and everything changed. beginning with the eradication of the Beast Kingdom, the world raises its guard and prepares for war. Even the elves, as peaceful and good-natured as we are, are seen as an unreliable ally. Of the twenty elves serving as instructors around the kingdom, I expect less than seven to meet the qualifications.”

”So few?” I gasped. Given their long lives, elves were naturally more skilled than humans. How could the kingdom give up on such talent so easily?

”That’s why I had to rely on the Divine Dew spell we worked on together. A modified chant, not just a spell, is irrefutable evidence of any mage’s prowess. They’d have lost all face if they turned me away after that.”

A melancholy stillness enveloped the garden, and I fell into a contemplative silence disturbed only by the faint rustling of the leaves. There was so much going on behind the scenes, both in the church and world, that I knew nothing of. The small window provided by Selene helped me realize just how small and ignorant my world had been. It wasn’t just us Heroes struggling in the wake of the demon invasion, but everyone.

Unbeknownst to me, an unexpected empathy welled up within for the Pope, burdened with the weight of the church on his shoulders. The Demonic Invasion was much larger than any kingdom, calling for the full attention and might of the entire world. To him, I was but a small facet of the larger problem, a risk and liability he couldn’t afford to let go. Was that the reason behind the general commands that forced me to obey anyone? Perhaps things were getting too big for him to focus on me and gave as general commands as he could, so that anyone could keep me out of trouble.

I sighed, feeling a headache coming on, like black clouds on the horizon. Trying to guess and understand problems that moved the world was a little out of my scope, and I was grateful for the distraction when Selena spoke again.

”Sorry for killing the mood there, and for borrowing your ear, but I needed to get that off my chest. Now then-” she abruptly clapped, startling me, ”-how about we get back to training?”

I began to nod, but stopped short at the mischievous gleam in her eye. ”What did you have in mind?” I asked cautiously.

”Isn’t it about time we duel?”

She waved her hands as my mouth dropped, laughter spilling between her lips.

”W-what? Are you insane?” I hoped she was joking, but she nodded seriously.

”Of course! What better way to evaluate where your at?”

I barely survived a duel against a hero capable of casting sixth-circle spells, even if he cheated with the church’s magic. Selena admitted one of the qualifications was a bare minimum of sixth-circle, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she could use seventh. Wouldn’t that just be suicide?

I shook my head, feeling a nervous flutter in my stomach. She smiled, not missing the anxiety on my face and laid a hand on my shoulder. ”Relax. It’s nothing like the deathmatch earlier. It’s perfectly normal for mages to engage in practice matches with their instructors. How else could I provide pointers on your experiences?

”Normal?” I asked, feeling that she was somehow tricking me. I doubted the elf had anything nefarious in mind, but I felt repulsed by her offer.

”Xiviyah, duel me,” she said.

I opened my mouth to refuse, but the slave crest registered it as a command. My mouth snapped shut, nearly biting my tongue as I stopped myself from refusing and replied with a simple nod.

”Okay. Take it easy on me.”

”Great! Let’s get to the training fields now. I’m supposed to take over instruction in about half an hour, so let’s be done by then.” She pulled me behind her with a happy hum, hand clasped around my wrist.

”Wait a second,” I cried, looking back at my cloak on the bench. Without that, wouldn’t I cause another panic?

She ignored me, taking it for petty resistance. Although she was a mage, her grip was like iron, clamped tightly around my wrist like manacles. How did she get so strong? Unlike my previous world, even normal people could achieve unfathomable physical strength, agility, and durability with training. The only limitation was one’s talent and bloodline, but it still required training! What was a slender and delicate mage doing strengthening her muscles?

Surprised by this discovery, I barely noticed when we crossed into the main gardens. The Training Grounds were bustling with mages, many wearing insignias or robes from all across the world. I had never seen it so crowded before, with barely room for a magic circle between practitioners. The Divine Throne was well known as the epicenter for progress, where the instructors would guide any who desired, which they likely wanted to take advantage of. Immediate whispers and hushed gossip rippled across the training ground as Selena shoved through the crowd. I ducked my head in embarrassment, feeling the weight of the pointing fingers and unfriendly gazes.

There were several wide sparring fields outside of the primary training region. All of them were occupied, but Selena marched up to the biggest one called the battling adventurers over. She glanced at me and lowered her voice, but my sharp ears heard the conversation even over the din of the grounds.

”This field is no longer available for personal use. Please vacate as soon as able,” she said, staring the mages in the eye.

”Like hell it is! We waited for over an hour to use this space!” one of the adventurers, a young woman wearing an indecent blouse and breeches.

”Excuse me?” Selena asked, raising her voice. The adventurers stiffened as a bit of her aura leaked out, stumbling back a few steps. ”Do you understand the consequence of disobeying an Instructor of the Divine Throne?”

”Instructor?” the girl gasped, face going pale.

”Forgive us, we didn’t know!” her companion, a light-faced man about thirty said, bowing his head apologetically.

”Yet you’re still here,” Selena said, her face darkening in a frown.

Without another word, the two ran off, the crowd parting for them. Many gave looks of pity, with many of the foreigners turning looks of condemnation on Selena. She let out an imperious sniff and gracefully tucked a strand of long, blonde hair behind her pointed ears, before her penetrating gaze swept across the gathered onlookers, eventually settling on me.

”This one’s open!” she said, as though I hadn’t heard the entire exchange.

I felt the eyes of the crowd turn to me, the whispers renewed to their original intensity, but Selena’s encouraging gaze drew me onward. What was she doing? She knew how I felt about being the center of attention, not to mention that the church wanted me to lay low!

When I was finally in my place on one side of the sparring circle, Selena clapped, the impact of her hands releasing a magic pulse that stilled the entire training grounds. I inwardly groaned as more people came to see what was going on, yearning for a cloak to hide behind.

Selena’s lips curved up into a mischievous smile and she held out her hand. Magical strands of light materialized out of thin air, binding together and condensing into a staff. ”Shall we begin?”