The Forsaken Hero

R’lissea was a soft-spoken, shy elf with the youngest appearance among the other heroes. Judging by her small hands and girlish face, I guessed her around 13, but her ability to distill conflict was astounding. The other heroes settled down the moment she spoke, accepting her interruption with grace.

”Um, what did you want me to talk about?” She asked Soltair, making an effort to speak loud enough for everyone to hear.

Soltair smiled warmly, the earlier edge in his voice gone. ”Thank you. I thought we would summarize where we’ve been and how much we’ve improved the last five months.”

R’lissea took a moment to compose herself. ”I’ve been studying at the kingdom of elves, Sylvarus. I know it’s not much, but I’ve mastered several sixth-circle spells.”

The heroes reacted with surprise, and Alex leaned forward, mouth falling agape. ”Sixth-circle? And here I thought you’d be at four, at most!”

As the heroes looked at each other, impressed, I frowned, not missing R’lissea’s crestfallen expression. While Alex’s condescension might have been unintentional, I knew from experience that it hurt all the same.

”Oh,” R’lissea whispered, cheeks red with shame.

Everyone turned to glare at the Fire Hero, who shrugged dismissively. Ronin, who sat beside the Life Hero, leaned over, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

”Don’t let him get to you; he didn’t mean it like that. You struggled in the first month with learning even first-circle spells, which makes your current abilities all the more impressive.”

”Yeah, sure. That’s-” Alex yelped, reaching down to rub his shin and shot a glare at the War Hero. ”That’s what I meant,” he finished lamely.

”Do you ever think before you speak?” Ronin shot back, lifting his chin to glare at the red-haired youth.

”Eh,” Alex muttered, turning his head.

Soltair cleared his throat, gesturing to the next hero around the table. It was another girl, her body clad in tight leather armor. Electricity constantly wound around her irises, casting a soft, flickering luminescence over her flawless face. She seemed serious but had a small dimple that showed she often smiled. ”I’m Grace, the Storm hero. I was taken to the palace in the Cerxov Empire. I’m a seventh-level now, but capable of using a few third-circle spells.”

Following Grace was Connor, the Undead Hero. Similar to the War Hero, his god wasn’t a main god of the world, but somehow got selected for Enusia anyway. As one might expect, he was cold and reserved, dressed in all black and forever expressionless. I shivered as his gaze passed over me, as cold and empty as a freshly excavated grave. ”I’ve been attending classes at the Western University at the Edge of Radia. Both my spells and martial abilities have reached sixth level.”

After him, the Water Hero took a turn. ”Korra. I’ve been at the Oceanic Temple, and can cast a few seventh-circle spells.”

Unlike the Undead hero, who appeared indifferent to the world, Korra exuded a deliberate sense of restraint, as if she was guarding something deep within her. I couldn’t help but wonder if she carried some hidden burden or, like myself, had experienced significant trauma in her past life.

Her mastery of seventh-circle spells was awe-inspiring, and it hinted at the strength she had gained through her connection with the Water God. As a priest, her growth was dependent on the Water God. Having the virtue of being the specific god’s hero expedited her strength significantly but made her reliant on him.

Next in the circle was the hero who chastised Ronin, the Earth Hero. ”Name’s Levin,” he said. His broad face was worn and his hands calloused, but a kind twinkle brightened his eyes. ”I’ve been in the Flame Kingdom as well, and have reached sixth level in combat, fourth in magic.”

As the low rumblings of Levin’s voice faded, Alex stretched and cleared his throat. ”Alex, the Fire Hero. I cast my first seventh-circle spell last week.” Pride filled his voice, and he looked around as though seeking approval.

”You?” Soltair asked, slapping him on the shoulder. ”Now that, on the other hand, actually is impressive. I can’t believe you took your eyes off those desert women long enough to study magic.”

Although his words were joking, his tone was deadly serious. I raised an eyebrow, looking between them, but saw it went right over the Fire Hero’s head. Given Alex’s off-handed remarks from earlier, I guess it wasn’t too surprising, but his lack of seriousness illuminated his absurd talent.

If someone like him could reach the seventh level in scarcely six months, then what did that say about his gifts and abilities? Of all the heroes, I only knew something of the blessings given to Soltair, Ronin, and Victor, the rest remaining a complete mystery. From what little I had learned about abilities, Soltair’s seemed vastly overpowered, granting him mastery of light and holy magic at will. The grueling hours of practice and study I’d subjected myself to were wasted in the face of his blessings, handpicked by the Sun God.

”Xiviyah?” Soltair asked, nudging me gently.

I started, looking around to find Soltair had already finished introducing himself. I took a shallow breath and collected myself, doing my best to emulate Soltair’s strong confidence.

”I’m Xiviyah, the Fa-”

”Slave Hero,” Ronin interjected, his words slicing through the air, causing a hush to fall over the table. ”Xiviyah the Slave hero.”

His interruption struck me like a physical blow, further lowering my spirits. Although he looked at me expectantly, as though to finish after his correction, I couldn’t muster the confidence to continue.

”Ronin,” Soltair said, hands clenching into fists below the table. ”Would it kill you to show some respect?”

”What kind of respect should I show a slave, and a demon to boot?” The War Hero asked. He leaned back, completely relaxed, but his eyes narrowed to slits. ”Or have you been so sheltered you haven’t even seen them yet?”

Them? I could only assume he meant demons, but those hadn’t descended to the world yet. Soltair mentioned that they almost failed to stop a demon from descending when he killed the... oh.

But that didn’t make any sense. It’s not like all demonkin were evil, right? Thousands were living in the Beast Kingdom at the time, and although I had yet to meet any others, there was no way we could generalize them as such.

I waited for Soltair to deny it, but my unease grew as the silence dragged out. He continued to stare at Ronin, but I got the feeling that was only so he could avoid meeting my gaze. The other heroes had mixed responses, with some looking just as confused as I, and the rest having dark looks. Ronin smiled, finding whatever answer he was looking for in Soltair’s eyes.

”It seems I was mistaken, and yet you still allow that filthblood to follow you around like a dog.”

R’lissea tentatively raised her hand, raising her voice bashfully. ”Um, but Xiviyah’s from another world, right? She’s no more like the people of this world than we are.”

Her words stilled some of the conflicts within me, and I glanced at her. Her cheeks were flushed from the effort of intruding on the tense atmosphere, but I felt grateful someone finally took my side. Her point was something that felt obvious to me, yet never seemed to matter to anyone else.

”At the same time, demonkin are well known as creatures of evil,” Victor said, folding his hands together thoughtfully. ”The gods wouldn’t have given her that body without cause. Furthermore, it’s well documented in my previous world that the body affects the mind, through hormones and other stuff. I’m not particularly well versed in it, but there’s a chance she’ll be influenced by her bloodline.”

I felt a stab of betrayal at Victor’s words. His nature didn’t allow him to take the side of a demon, but didn’t he owe me a favor? Perhaps in his mind, not denouncing me outright was repayment enough.

”That’s not true,” Soltair said firmly, finally coming to my defense. ”She’s never done anything to suggest her nature is corrupt. I’d describe her as rather sensitive. When faced with the unfortunate circumstance of taking a life, she mourned for almost a day”

A heavy silence settled over the table, and eight pairs of eyes locked onto me. Soltair’s expression shifted to one of concern, realizing that there might be a misunderstanding. Even Connor, usually indifferent, looked up.

The Undead Hero’s eyes flashed, filling with interest for the first time. ”She killed someone?”