The Forsaken Hero

Early the next morning, I sat on the edge of my cot with my hands clasped in my lap. Elinore stood beside me, her eyes closed and hands on my shoulders. Soothing pulses of Life Magic flowed through her hands into my body, easing the ache of the Sunpurge and warming my soul. As her spell drew to a close, a shiver of pleasure trickled down my spine and tail, and I let out a contented sigh. In the weeks of travel, the Life Mage had made incredible advancements in her treatments, combining the special salve and her magic to wipe away almost all of the pain.

Gradually, the soft, green light faded and Elinore opened her eyes. She sagged in exhaustion, but let out a long, satisfied breath. The soothing comfort lingered after she stepped back, and a loose, dreamy smile fluttered across my face.

”Thank you,” I breathed, ”It feels...wonderful.”

She smiled tiredly and dragged a sleeve across her forehead, wiping away the loose sheen of sweat. ”You’ve made remarkable progress. See what happens when you actually listen to me?”

I looked down, nodding meekly. ”I’m sorry.”

Elinore laughed, a soft musical sound. It wasn’t something I often heard from the stern woman, and my head rose again, eyes wide.

”You’re always so timid,” she said, shaking her head, ”But it makes me wonder how you possibly get in so much trouble.”

I nodded, not entirely sure what to say. Eventually, I swallowed and asked the question that had my stomach doing circles. ”So, um, can I go?”

”Yes,” Elinore said, her smile fading, ”But on a few conditions. The first is that you’re not allowed to use arrays. The second is that you avoid combat, or even physical exertion, at all costs. Your body has only just managed to stabilize, and even the slightest disruption to that balance might cause your Sunpurge to act up.”

”Is it really so bad? It only took a few weeks when Soltair hurt my shoulder. It’s been almost a month and a half already.”

”Your shoulder is a mere scratch compared to what that damned inquisitor did to your side. If I hadn’t arrived when I did, you might have been lost entirely. Severe Sunpurge has the potential to spread like an infection, slowly consuming your flesh until it kills you. I can’t think of a more agonizing way to die, though it’s eerily similar to what happened to the Earth Hero.”

”It is?” I asked, tail twitching in surprise.

She nodded. ”Yeah, though I’ve never seen corruption like that before. Normally it just warps the soul, but whatever demon he fought really messed him up. It might be a new kind of attack.”

”Oh.”

That wasn’t good at all. Infernal mana could twist lesser beings, and even powerful monsters if they embraced it, like the dragon, but humanity had always been ’safe.’ What kind of monsters would a human make if it could be corrupted like a wolf?

”Anyway,” Elinore said, standing. ”You’re mostly past the stage where it might spread, so just be careful, and you shouldn’t have any problems.”

”Alright, I will. Thank you.”

I left the healer’s tent a few minutes later, staff in hand, and nearly tripped over Fable. He’d been lounging in front of the tent, his great tail sweeping back and forth, pretending he was doing more than taking a nap. After catching myself with my staff, I rolled my eyes and gave him a little kick.

”Get up already. Korra’s waiting for us.”

He yawned, his massive jaws stretching wide enough to swallow a watermelon, then lazily stood. He gave me an indignant look and padded away. I smiled faintly, not missing the subtle, concerned looks he gave me, or how he coincidentally never strayed more than a few feet from me. With his sharp hearing, he’d undoubtedly heard what Elinore had said in the tent.

The Last Light Company had made camp on a ridge overlooking Bluegate Keep. Our forces were numbered just over fifteen hundred, a mixture of grizzled veterans, experienced mages, and recruits. Many of them had fought beside me at the Demon Gate, and greeted me with respectful smiles and salutes. Even those who hadn’t were friendly, though their presence still confused me. Jackal said their loyalty was a mixture of hostility toward the current regime and dissatisfaction with the various policies and decisions they had made. That didn’t seem enough to justify openly rebelling against Brithlite, but there was no doubt in their eyes.

Korra waited for us on the edge of the ridge, sitting on a boulder with an arm resting on her knee. Jackal stood next to her, stiff and disciplined as usual, along with four fifth-level soldiers. They were dressed in commoner’s garb, but the gaps in their dusty brown clothing revealed the glint of steel and leather. Powerful enchantments, visible to my eyes alone, encircled their wrapped weapons and bled through their cloaks.

Korra’s face brightened as she noticed our approach. ”You made it! What’s the word?”

”There shouldn’t be any problems, as long as we avoid combat and I watch my mana,” I answered.

The scrape of steel on steel sounded in my ears as Jackal folded his arms. ”That’s why I’m sending my best with you. Orion?”

Orion? My eyes lit up as the strongest among the four soldiers stepped forward and saluted. The shadow of his cowl did little to hide his familiar features or the warm smile on his face.

”Lady Xiviyah, it’s our honor to accompany you on this venture. As long as we breathe, no harm shall come to you.”

I nodded, taken aback by the conviction in his voice. Judging by the firm stances of the others, they felt the same way. As I scrutinized them, I felt a strange sense of kinship, detecting familiar waves from their soul. There were lingering traces of mana–my mana–mixed with their own. It was similar to Fable, if significantly less invasive, almost as if–

Orion smiled as my tail stiffened with shock, and said, ”These are the soldiers I’ve handpicked to come with us. They fought with us in the Demon Gate, and were among the ones you healed even the Archon had abandoned us. There’s no need to doubt their loyalty or commitment.”

So that was it. I accepted his words with a tentative nod, gripping my staff in both hands. ”I see. Thank you, then.”

Korra jumped off the rock and landed lightly on her feet. ”There’ll be time for a more thorough introduction later, so what do you say we get going?”

Jackal nodded and took a step back, waving us off. ”Good luck. Remember, your goal is just to gather information. With Xiviyah there, don’t you dare pick any fights. Your highest priority is bringing her back safe.”

”Of course,” Orion said, giving a final salute.

And then we were gone, picking our way down the blue rocks of the ridge. Fable remained behind, standing alongside Jackal and watching us leave. He was too conspicuous, unable to hide behind a simple cloak. Leaving him left me feeling vulnerable, and Korra must have sensed that because she quickly took my hand. I gave her a grateful smile, which she returned with warmth.

Bluegate Keep was a massive, sprawling network of walls, towers, and buttresses. It rested between the two large peaks that marked the only exit from the colossal canyon. The road wound up several switchbacks up the rim, guarded by several small forts and outposts. Any force attempting to skip the forts and scale elsewhere was easy pickings for the many archers, mages, and static defenses of the forts.

The city was designed simply, with only one thing in mind. Defense. The walls were over seventy feet high and thirty feet thick, with towers spaced every fifty feet. Mounted ballistae bristled from the parapets, enchanted with sixth-level offensive abilities. Every tower shielded a single glowing blue orb, part of a massive city-wide defensive system. Once activated, they could create shields capable of deflecting sixth-level attacks.

The armies of the Divine camped round about the city, blackening the dusty blue plains with their numbers. The banner of the Last Light Company was easily discernable closest to the main gates, placed as the first buffer against any invading force. The church’s forces wrapped around the city and mountains, a veritable forest of tents, banners, and spears. The Last Light Company outside the city numbered three thousand, but the church’s forces couldn’t have been fewer than fifteen.

Our path took us down the ridge to the road, where a constant stream of refugees flowed toward the city. These were the people who had lost their homes in Bluerock and were forced to flee before the demons arrived. Despite leaving so much later, our forces had easily caught up and passed the majority of them. The discipline and enhanced strength of the soldiers far outpaced the weakened commoners.

Korra led the way, attaching us to the back of a particularly large caravan about a mile from the city. I adjusted my cloak over my horns and looked back to make sure it covered my tail. Being spotted here would be calamitous for our plans, ruining any chance of a surprise attack.

Fortunately, our disguises held, and we mingled amongst the refugees, headed toward our first obstacle: the lower rim checkpoint.