The Forsaken Hero

The sight of Sari hugging Alverin’s leg drove a spike of fiery anger through me. The black tendrils of her slave crest were mixed with the shadows of a Heart Crest, practically smothering her soul beneath their combined weight. It hurt, watching her cling close to the king, looking at me with eyes filled with fear and disgust.

”Take them!” Bethiv commanded.

The Last Light Company sprang into action, collapsing in on us from all sides. I shrank against Fable’s side, feeling incredibly small against the tide of soldiers. We were a small party of fifth-level soldiers and adventurers, yet faced with a sixth-level threat leading a hundred fourth-level soldiers. Alverin himself, a seventh level, seemed content to watch the battle, but his presence was a looming threat that all but doused our hope.

”I’m sorry,” Orion said sadly, lifting his sword. ”I hope you’ll forgive me for what we’re about to do.”

He met Bethiv mid-air, their swords scraping together in a storm of sparks and magic. Luxxa shouted a chant and summoned vines to impede our foes’ movement. Jenna did likewise, calling forth gales of wind to destabilize their advance. The strength of our enemies was much higher than the previous soldiers and guards we battled, lessening the impact of their magic, yet it allowed us to avoid being overwhelmed in the first instant.

”Luxxa, hold them off! Ranged target their mages, the rest of you try and break through to the Shard!” Orion shouted, grunting as he narrowly avoided a devastating strike from Bethiv. Their fight was far from even, but with my magic, he was managing to hold his own.

A hail of fire, sunlight, and lightning surged toward us from the back lines of the Last Light Company, enveloping us in a storm of death. Before the smoke had cleared, Gith and Jenna returned fire with much greater effect, dropping several mages before the melee soldiers had recovered. A few tried to erect barriers to protect themselves. But I dispelled them with a wave of my hand, breaking the defenses and disabling their mana for a short time.

”Xiviyah,” Korra said, jumping back to me from the battle, ”Can you break through? We’re not going to be able to hold them off for long. If that bastard for a king takes action...”

I nodded, sobering up at the thought. The battle had reached a delicate balance, a stalemate of sorts, but that only lasted as long as my wards did. The moment the onslaught of attacks depleted the Blade Ward, we would be quick to fall.

”Then let’s even the odds a bit,” I said, taking a deep breath. ”Nexus!”

My soul shuddered as I drew upon all of my remaining mana, casting caution to the wind. This was no time to hold back, not when Sari’s fate hung in the balance.

There was no need to cast a new Nexus, not when the existing one held true, so I used the modified variant that allowed me to rope new individuals in. I’d first experimented with this in the Ice Gate, but hadn’t recovered enough to perfect the method. But even with the many deficiencies of the crude spell, I had enough for a single target.

Bethiv’s eyes widened as my magic latched on to him, penetrating deep into his soul. The moment of hesitation was all Orion needed to drive his sword through his guard, scoring a shallow wound on his side. The commander cried out and dropped to his knee, clutching his head as, one by one, my spells flickered to life around him. The curse trembled and shook, but had nowhere to run as Adaptive Resistance dissolved it like acid.

When Bethiv finally looked up, he found Orion standing over him, a smile on his face and hand extended.

”Welcome back,” he said simply.

Bethiv clasped his arm and allowed the soldier to drag him to his feet. He seemed completely bewildered, but as he looked around at the blood and carnage, his eyes narrowed. By the time he found Alverin standing before the doorway, his face turned stormy.

”Alverin!” he cried, voice thick with fury. ”Stop this madness!”

Alverin frowned, finally noticing the changes in his strongest subordinate. ”Pity, it seems the slave’s magic is as I guessed. No matter, though, I’ll be ready the next time we meet.”

”There won’t be a next time,” Bethiv answered for me. His eyes flashed dangerously, filled with the gathering power of his soul. ”You’re answering for your crimes here and now, brother.”

The king chuckled, seeming completely at ease with the threats. ”Bold words, but how confident are you that you can fulfill them? As you know, every one of your men will die before they allow you within a step of me.”

As the fight began anew, I turned to Korra, who had remained close by to protect me.

”Korra, I’ve got to free them. Please, buy me some time,” I replied, hunching over Fable’s back.

”Got it. Fable and I will hold the line,” She said, flashing me a smile.

Fable threw back his head and howled, releasing dense clouds of golden stars. They swirled around as he swelled beneath me, rapidly expanding to dominate the room. The tower that housed the Shard of Omniscience was immense, but certainly not built to house a fifty-foot wolf. His length was nearly half of the radius, pushing back our enemies with his size and presence alone.

”A bold move, but ultimately futile,” Alverin chuckled, his voice reaching my ears over the din of battle. ”How long will you hold out, killing your own allies? I’m anxious to see the moment when you realize the truth and despair. Weep for me, Xiviyah. Embrace the truth, and I shall set you free.”

Gritting my teeth, I urged Fable onward. Soldiers pressed in on us from all directions, but he cleared their ranks in a single leap. A few moved to intercept us, but even the powerful fourth-level warriors of the Last Light Company were little more than ants beneath his paws, swept away with a single strike.

He lowered himself to the ground just long enough for me to slide off his back, softening my fall with a soulcast Gentle Winds, a spell I invented by modifying Binding Wind. No sooner had I landed than a dozen soldiers charged our position, but Korra arrived in their midst, fists darting out like serpents. I turned my back to them, trusting the two to protect me. The soldier’s screams soon proved me right.

The Shard of Omniscience glittered with reflected light, catching the brilliant streams of fire, ice, sun, and lightning and sending the colors spinning around the room. It was mesmerizing, and I reached a hand out to it and pressed my palm to the cool crystal. Words began to materialize on the surface, identifying my soul, but I had no time to wait for them to clarify. Instead, I activated the Oracle of Eternity and began to examine the golden chains binding the Shard.

To the Eyes of Fate, the Shards of Omniscience had appeared as incomprehensible beacons of mana so bright I couldn’t look directly at them. I’d suffered similarly with the passive effects of the Oracle of Eternity, yet the moment the stars appeared and the curtain of fate rolled back, the whole world dimmed and faded away.

It wasn’t that time had stopped, not this time, but everything else seemed pale and insignificant before the majesty of the shard. Even the shouts of my companions and the screams of the wounded and dying soldiers blurred into obscurity as every rational thought fled my mind. It was simply glorious.

All of fate seemed anchored to this point, a beautiful, shining web of stars and mana, intertwined together in a pattern only a god could fathom. It made the grace and majesty of a ninth-circle spell a shadow before the sun, barely worth a second glance at all. This was a work of the Divine, something so pure and perfect mortals shouldn’t dream of interacting with it.

But the heavenly visage was marred by darkness, taking the form of the golden chains encircling the shard. In my eyes, their presence was nothing short of blasphemy, a crude mockery of the height of magic. A crack in a mirror, rust on a blade, a slave among kings. How could one twist such beauty for such vile purposes? And to what end? Why would the church work with Lord Byron to develop something this awful?

Filled with a righteous fury, I dove into the enchantments woven throughout the chains. Fortunately, it was an easier task than understanding the sophistry of the Shard itself, and within a few seconds, I’d gleaned the general workings. Whoever crafted this magic item seamlessly wove Curse and Fate magic together in a unique hybrid. Fate magic to marshal and channel the shard, Curse to control and blind the souls. The focal point was a large crystal floating like a console beside the shard, likely the trigger point Joel had mentioned.

Still lost in my own little world, the battle forgotten, I stepped closer to it and rested my hand on the uppermost facet. It pulsed hot like a beating heart, and a wave of nausea swept through me. The crystal seemed to hold all of the fear, hatred, and resentment of its thralls, smoothing them over the foul power of the Heart Crest. A shudder ran down my tail, the tip flicking in agitation. I had to destroy this abomination, no matter the cost.

With a deep breath, I summoned my staff and began to cast. It was my first time attempting anything of the sort, yet with a model before me, I quickly completed an array capable of connecting my soul with the Shard of Omniscience. My eyes glowed gold as mana flooded my soul, filling me with warm, euphoric bliss. Power coursed through every fiber of my being, instantly replenishing what I had expended thus far.

But the tide didn’t falter, flowing into me like an ocean intent on filling a single cup. A stab of fiery pain drove into my soul as the old, semi-healed scars groaned, bringing tears to my eyes. I didn’t have long before the Shard consumed me entirely.

Time was short, but it was enough. I soulcast a simple third-circle spell, Dispel magic, and directed it at the crystal humming beneath my hand. When I spoke, my voice was a faint whisper, trembling from conviction as much as pain.

”Be free.”