The Forsaken Hero

The ground exploded beneath Fable’s massive claws as he lunged forward. He moved deceptively swift for so titanic a creature, a silver blur of muscle and rage. Before the Inquisitors could react, his jaws clamped around Leera, sinking his fangs into her torso. Her scream split the clearing, a sharp, ragged sound that sent shivers down my spine. With a shake of Fable’s head, she was sent flying across the meadow, blood trailing in a crimson arc behind her.

”Leera!” one of the armored men cried, staggering back a step, his face pale.

The inquisitor kicked off the ground, leaping into the air behind Fable. He brought his sword down on the wolf’s flank, and, in a shower of sparks, the blade skittered off the hardened spikes of silver fur. Fable whipped around, his massive tail slamming into the man’s side with a sickening crack, knocking him to the ground.

Blood spurted from the inquisitor’s lips as the ground caved beneath him. The entire meadow trembling from the impact, sharp fragments of earth and crushed flowers rising about him in a crater. Before he could gurgle a scream, Fable brought his hind leg down on top of him, a single, scythe-like claw punching through his breastplate, pinning him to the ground.

The sudden carnage shocked the others into action, and two of the other Inquisitors engaged Fable. Their broadswords blazed with the power of fourth-level magical techniques, slicing through the wolf’s defenses, leaving long, bloody wounds from which blood flowed freely. Fable cried in pain, his voice tugging at my heart, but I gripped my staff, fighting down the impulse to shift the target of Blade Ward to protect him.

”I’ll take the Filthblood!” A large, bearded man snarled, charging toward me, his massive halberd held high. He appeared before me in an instant, his eyes burning with hatred.

”Sunstrike!” he cried, raising the gleaming blade of his halberd high.

The axe head blazed with glorious light, a second sun in the air me. A spike of terror drove into my heart, a painful tingle racing through the Sunpurge. The entire world seemed to slow, the weapon leaving a blazing arc in the air behind it. I tried to dodge, to throw myself aside, but my body was leaden, refusing to obey. The air wavered from heat, the grass beneath my feet had withered, the flowers blackened. My eyes darted to where the unfinished spell floated, useless. Too late...

The halberd fell hard, crashing into my shoulder with the force of a mountain. I cried out as the blade bit into my cloak, expecting to feel the blinding sting of steel, the world turning dark. But the seemingly delicate fabric rippled, the blow dissolving like sand in running water. In the stress of the moment, I’d forgotten the enchantments woven within the garment, a gift from Viriden.

There was the barest whisper of pressure on my shoulder, then the weapon glanced off, burying itself in the ground. A heartbeat later, the mana detonated, kicking up dirt and consuming me in a storm of Sun Magic. I cried out as the explosion assaulted my sensitive eyes, leaving me dazzled, blinding me with tears. The radiant eddies swirled around me like aggressive tendrils of mist, seeking to smother me, but a warm, pulsing glow in my soul rose to meet it, pushing back the burning light.

When the light finally faded, the inquisitor’s eyes widened, and he leaped back, hands twisting on his halberd. ”How the hell are you still standing?” he cried, ”Demonic filth like you should crumble to ash before the sun!”

I gasped for breath, blinking away tears. Each ragged inhale burned, and stubborn spots of black static still danced in my vision. Adaptive Resistance protected against magic, but after such a powerful attack, the power of the enchantments on my cloak was wearing thin. I trembled at the thought of receiving another attack–of cold, unforgiving steel slicing through my defenses, eager to taste my blood. My chest burned where the slave crest had been, fire lacing my flesh in a thousand invisible scars, where inquisitor blades had tortured me once before.

Driven by panic, I mustered the last of my mana, bringing the final runes to life. As the magic circles faded, the tension poured from me, my tail drooping with relief. A flicker of gold shimmered in the air around me as the Inquisitor’s eyes narrowed. He struck again, his blur of movement impossibly fast, but his axe froze inches from my neck, shivering against a translucent golden barrier.

He lashed out again, battering the barrier with heavy, two-handed strokes. Yet, despite his best efforts, not even the fourth-level magic blazing across his blade caused the slightest ripple in the ward. Out of breath, he staggered back, his eyes smoldering, and let out a strangled curse.

”Damn it all,” he growled, lashing out several times with no success. He spun back, glaring at his comrades on the other side of the meadow. ”What the hell are you doing? Hurry up with that demon and help me crack this–”

His words died as Fable’s roar split the air. A bleeding Inquisitor hurtled toward us at breakneck speed. My assailant scrambled aside, narrowly avoiding the human projectile, letting the other Inquisitor slam into the Blade Ward. Bone snapped and metal twisted, the sharp impact driving him further into the air. Blood spurting from the jagged claw marks on his chest, hot droplets splashing across my face.

A second later, he landed facedown in a cluster of white-petalled flowers. His chest rose and fell weakly; a trembling hand lifted, then fell limp, the light fading from his eyes. With every weakening heartbeat, blood pulsed from his wounds, dyeing the flowers a brutal red, until, at last, his chest fell still.

The remaining inquisitors stared, horrified, at the crumpled heap of blood and metal. They were fourth level, the same as Fable, yet the difference between their strengths was that of the heaven and the earth. Unfazed, Fable launched himself at the next one, catching the man’s desperate attempt to dodge with a paw the size of a small wagon, smashing him into the ground.

The bearded inquisitor’s face turned grim, his hands clenching around the shaft of his halberd. ”Aqua, damn it, get over here and help me already. We’ve got to break her or that demon’ll destroy us all!”

He began attacking with renewed vigor, his halberd a blur. The relentless flash of steel and magic sent me reeling, overwhelmed, and I took a step back, my tail twisting anxiously. He stood little chance of breaking through the fifth-circle spell, but a flash of unease sliced through me, cold as an inquisitor’s blade. Where was Aqua?

My eyes finally find the brown-haired inquisitor. She hadn’t moved an inch, but stood steadfastly, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. Her white cloak flared about her unflinching figure, born on the shockwaves of the battle, revealing the gleaming plate beneath. I stiffened as she met my gaze and offered me a mysterious smile, appearing completely at ease.

She met my gaze with a mysterious smile, appearing completely at ease. That smile twisted a knife in my heart, tugging at memories I thought buried. My eyes darted over her figure, trained to read minute shifts in posture, fleeting changes in her aura, seeking some deception...but there was nothing. She was as tranquil as the sea before a storm, an unknown far more frightening than the reckless assault on the Blade Ward.

My pointed ears twitched, and I tore my gaze from the inquisitor, focusing on the tree line behind her. There had been something...a strange noise, or perhaps feeling, registering on the edge of my senses. It was–there it was again, a low scraping sound, like a sword being unsheathed. An unspeakable aura swept across the meadow, sending a series of chills down my spine and tail.

A bloodcurdling scream rent the clearing, and I tore my gaze from the trees, finding Fable standing over the corpse of his prey. The bearded Inquisitor froze, his face pale, his grip on the halberd faltering. He backed away from me, eyes wide. Aqua frowned, glancing behind her, then broke her stance, diving to my side.

No sooner had she moved than the grinding sound intensified, growing into an ear-splitting shriek. The shadows swirled beneath the gnarled, ancient trees, parting to reveal a mass of swirling blades, gleaming silver shards against the bloodstained meadow.

In a flash of blazing steel, it shot through the air, passing through the bearded Inquisitor. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Blood spurted from dozens of razor-thin lines drawn through his body, painting the meadow red as his body shattered into a cascade of severed limbs. He collapsed, utter disbelief twisted on his face, the fragments of his eyes reflecting the monstrous blades.

I gasped, unable to wrench my eyes from the dreadful heap of gore. Bile rose in my throat, and I gagged, my stomach roiling. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of blood, oozing into my nose and clogging my senses. The inquisitor wasn’t even recognizable as human anymore, reduced to a bloody pile of armor fragments and mangled flesh.

”Well that’s......unexpected,” Aqua muttered, the word strangely clinical.

Her voice broke the spell, and I turned, catching sight of a white cloak just a pace away. My stomach churned with fresh terror at her sudden proximity, and I stumbled away, blind to the demon looming above me. Only as it shrieked, its cry slicing through me, the vibration of it jarring my teeth, did I turn to face the alien shape of a Blade Demon.

The demon was a twisting mass of blades, loosely assembled in a vaguely humanoid shape nearly twenty feet tall. There was no definite head, nor any real form, the whole creature shifting fluidly as it desired. A burning sphere of silver light pulsed within what passed for its chest, guarded by a cage of blades far thicker than the rest. Though it had no discernible eyes, the sphere of silver light throbbed, seeming to fixate on me with chilling intent, lusting for the pure, refined mana within my soul.

My eyes widened as I beheld its soul, a twisting mass of unpredictable chaos nearing the peak of fifth level. It was stronger than Fable, than Vithrass even, its aura filling the air with a dreadful hum. It was an evolved demon, breaking some semblance of control and intelligence, perhaps as much as a human.

Taking a deep breath, my tail lashing, I risked a glance over my shoulder. Aqua had fallen into a battle stance, her fists blazing with watery blue light, eyes flashing with intensity. She met my gaze, and a tense smile played across her lips–almost predatory. It was familiar, teasing at my memory, but I forced the thoughts away. She was an enemy, an Inquisitor! I stiffened, my grip tightening on my staff almost painfully.

”This looks...bad. It must have wandered from the front lines,” She said, turning her gaze back to the demon. ”Xiviyah, Is it too late to take you up on your offer of peace? I also have someone I promised to protect, and I can’t...I can’t afford to lose them again.”