The Forsaken Hero

As the divine presence of Fate left the priest, Korra stared at me, eyes wide. ”When did you learn to talk like that? It was like you were an entirely different–.”

She broke off, the wonder turning to worry, as I sagged, exhausted. It had almost been too much to hold it all in, and now that the false god was gone, I finally allowed the storm raging inside to show. All of the stress, fear, and pain came out at once, and had she not caught me, I would have fallen.

”They killed her,” I sobbed, burying my face in her shoulder. ”They killed her!”

”Shhhh,” Korra murmured. She pulled me tight against her with a hand on my back and softly stroked my hair with the other. ”It’s alright now. He’s gone.”

”How could they do that? How can they replace her so easily? Why do they want to hurt me so much?”

She remained silent, allowing my tears to flow, just gently soothing my cries and letting me talk. Eventually, my sobs stilled, and my tail stopped trembling, and I looked up into her eyes, finding comfort in the soft, warm love I found there.

”I wish I knew more,” I murmured, resting my head on her shoulder. ”About anything he said. I don’t understand how they could do that, and then expect me to obey..”

She shrugged, the motion sending a wave through me. ”I suppose it proves the sheer arrogance of the gods. But you, on the other hand–” she pulled back to arms distance, looking me square in the eye, ”–I can’t believe you called a god a dog. Not that he didn’t deserve it,” she added hastily, ”but I thought for sure he’d kill you.”

I nodded, rubbing away the last of my tears with my sleeve. I’d never spoken to anyone like that before, and my cheeks took on a hint of red just thinking about it. ”I...I don’t know what came over me, I was just so scared and confused. He couldn’t have hurt me, though. The gods have limited power in these worlds. That’s why they send heroes, and occasionally archons. He just tried to intimidate and threaten, but when that didn’t work, all he could do was leave. Every second he spent here required a massive amount of power, something a minor, now faithless god-like Fate can’t afford to squander.”

She gave me a strange look, finally shaking her head. ”How do you even know so much about the gods? Not even the Fathers in the church could say as much with confidence.”

My staff felt cold in my hand, sending a shiver down my spine. I stared at it for a moment, then, with a deep breath, returned my gaze to Korra. Time to share another secret. ”Fate visited me often, speaking or even appearing in many of my visions. She taught me a lot about fate and the truth of the gods. There’s a lot of what she said that I still don’t understand, but before she fell, she appeared in Enusia, in the flesh. The other girl, the demonkin she summoned to free me, said she wasn’t dead, but what’s going to happen to her now that her domain was stolen? Will I ever be able to see her again?”

Korra sighed heavily. ”I don’t know, Xiviyah, but this might be something we should think about later. I think it’s going to get dangerous if we stick around for too much longer.”

I followed her gaze, catching sight of a few curious eyes shining in the alleys around the church. They crawled over us, lingering on my horns and tail, not missing the priest collapsed at our feet. From their dress, they were nothing more than the typical lowlife, but any conflict here would surely escalate.

Reluctantly, I gathered myself and nodded. ”You’re right. I can’t let something like this stop me, not when we’ve come so far.”

Together, we left the priest lying where he fell and pushed through the double doors of the church. It must been grand once, but years of neglect had not been kind to it. Dust and cobwebs painted the tiled ceiling and chandeliers, the windows stained with soot. As with Westfall Village, the people of Heartland had not taken kindly to the holy war declared on the beastkin, many refusing to enter the church even to visit the Shard. The statues surrounding the shard were dim and dull, but their eyes seemed to follow me as I walked, cold and hard.

The Shard was smaller than others I’d seen, barely half the size of the Shard in the Divine Throne, but it held a similar radiance. Rainbow-colored light refracted through the countless facets, breaking free of the crystal and splattering the dusty walls with dancing light.

Korra walked straight up the shard, staring at it a moment before shrugging. ”I guess that priest outside was supposed to be watching this? If he’s not around to stop us...” she smiled grimly and reached forward.

The moment her hand brushed the smooth, glassy crystal, light erupted from her fingertips, spreading through the crystal. It concentrated at eye level, forming a sort of screen behind one of the larger facets.

Name: Korra, Betrayer

Race: Human

Status: Fallen Hero; Water’s Blessing;

Abilities: Mana: 9th; Affinity: Water; Magical Arts (4th); Water Mastery; Tranquil Soul

”Betrayer, hmm?” Korra smiled, nodding in approval. ”I like the sound of that, though I’m not exactly sure what this ”Magical Arts” thing is, though.”

”Perhaps it’s the Shard’s name for your magical techniques?” I guessed. ”It did the same thing to my Soul Casting. Honestly, I thought it was weird because it’s just a technique for casting, but the Shard seems to consider stuff like that an ability.”

”Ah, that makes sense. Other than all that nonsense about being a fallen hero and the betrayer, I guess it’s pretty much the same as last time.”

Nodding slowly, I gazed at the screen scanning over the information one more time. ”Tranquil Soul?”

”Ah, that. It just protects me from all sorts of debuffs and status conditions. It was nice when I was a priest, but I’m finding it much more suited to a melee role, especially because I’m building for evasion and speed. It’s pretty much impossible to catch me with snares, slows, or even curses, allowing me to remain free and mobile.”

Debuff? Classes? I shook my head, feeling a rush of déjà vu. It was like listening to Soltair all over again. From the context, at least, it sounded powerful. What would happen if I combined Tranquil Soul with Adaptive Resistance? Link Ability only went one way, but once I regained the power to cast Nexus, perhaps I could merge the two, or modify it in some way to share all abilities of linked souls.

Just thinking about it sent a shiver of anticipation down my tail. I was so lost in thought I nearly missed Korra’s nudge, looking at her just in time to hear her ask, ”What about you? Want to identify yourself?”

Clearing my mind, I looked up at the shard, squinting against the blinding cycles of mana curling within. Perhaps, one day, when I had more time, I’d be able to decipher the spell that identified souls. Then making a trip into a city, which was proving more and more dangerous, would become unnecessary.

It had been a long, long time since I’d gotten the chance to visit a shard, and I wanted to see the changes that had happened. But, after seeing the changes Korra’s betrayal gave her, I shuddered to think what might have happened to me. My goddess had died and the Divine had forsaken me. Could I even be called a hero at this point?

Sensing my hesitation, Korra reached down and grabbed my hand, smiling at me as I looked at her. ”You got this,” she murmured.

Nodding, I allowed her to draw my hand to the Shard, gasping as the flood of mana rushed through me. Small, neat words materialized on the surface.

Name: Xiviyah, Daughter of Fate, Forsaken Hero

Race: Demonkin

Status: Sun’s Divine Curse; Fate’s Blessing; Mark of the Inferno; Heir of Divinity; Soul Contract: Fable (Unique); Soul Contract: Ice Spirit (Ascended)

Abilities: Mana: 9th; Affinity: 9th; Adaptive Resistance (5th): Sun (7th), Curse (7th), Fire (7th), Ice (6th); Oracle of Eternity; Soul Casting (5th)

There was so much to see I didn’t even know where to start. There was the absence of my title as the Fate hero, and the number of statuses had more than doubled. The lave status was gone, but in its place, were names I had no real understanding of. Statuses weren’t simply descriptions, but real, tangible effects upon the soul. Mark of the Inferno had been there before, and the Soul Contract was understandable enough, but what was the Heir of Divinity? And when had I ever formed a soul contract with an Ice Spirit?

”Adaptive Resistance...wait, what the hell? Doesn’t that make you immune to all magic fifth-circle and below? How is that even fair? And what’s this ”Daughter of Fate?” Korra asked, brow creasing.

I could feel her gaze, but couldn’t take my eyes off the words. Considering everything Fate had done for me, the power, staff, and divinity, such a title wasn’t beyond expectations. But something about it set my heart aflutter, a thrill of warmth coursing through my veins. Daughter...could I really have that sort of relationship with her?

To her other point, Adaptive Resistance was constantly growing, but, unfortunately, even if the Shard placed it at fifth, it was useless above the level of my soul. Until I recovered to fifth level, which was some weeks away, Adaptive Resistance would be limited to fourth.

No, it wasn’t any of that which caught my attention, but rather the disappearance of the ability I had grown the most dependent on. The Eyes of Fate had received the Awakened tag at some point, something I still hadn’t figured out. But, before I could even begin to study it, things had changed again.

Oracle of Eternity. Looking back, there had been signs. After unsealing them at third level, they seemed to no longer require mana, and were active all the time. The visions, however erratic, felt more personal and intimate, showing me things I desperately needed to know, nothing like the vague futures and cryptic warnings I received in the Divine Throne. This evolution had to be related to the statuses I received, but what exactly it meant, and why it had happened to me, remained beyond my grasp.

I glanced down at my staff, running my hand up the warm, glassy shaft. What, exactly, had Fate given me? Her words, whispered in the dark, forgotten dungeons of High Valley, echoed in my ears. She had left one, final star. The Final Star.

The new god of fate had been incomplete, missing some final pieces to attain true godhood. With that realization everything became clear. Everything. This was why I had gained those statuses. Not for what I was, but for what I carried: Fate’s divinity, the very essence of her Divine Kingdom and domain.

But why? Fate had never been spiteful, always accepting what came with grace and composure. Even her fall was met with a smile, her attention focused on fulfilling her promise to me. So why rob the Divine of her power? Why lock it away and seal it to a mortal? What had she hoped to accomplish?

Somewhere, a hope stirred in me, but without more information, that was all it could do. Still, it was enough. She had a plan, a purpose. And, fate willing, I would be able to accomplish it. But first, there was someone I had to save.

Glancing at Korra, I gave her a slight nod. Her face brightened and she straightened, stretching her arms over her head. Shaking herself loose, she moved beside me, and together we left the church. It was time we headed to Brithlite.