The Forsaken Hero

”Damn it all!” Victor’s fist slammed into the table, shattering it into pieces. ”That filthblood killed Levin?”

My first vision in a month came without warning, plunging me into the middle of a hot argument in a faraway inn. Across the ruined remnants from Victor was Grace, casually seated and sipping a pint of ale. Around them, much plainer, more ordinary folk tried their best to ignore the two high-profile individuals currently disturbing their meals.

”That’s what Korra said,” she replied evenly. She eyed the broken fragments of wood littering the ground with distaste. ”Have a little poise, Victor. We can’t have the common folk thinking heroes are so volatile and immature.”

He glared at her, clenching and unclenching his fists in his lap. ”How can you be so calm about this? Levin’s dead, Grace. Dead. And you just let his murderers go.”

”Murderers? He attacked them first, Victor. Is it not just to defend yourself?”

”Just? Justice is the action of the law. We’re above that law, Grace. The gods would trade an entire kingdom for the life of a single hero, two, even. That filthblood has overstepped her bounds this time, and I’m certain she won’t be spared the wrath of Enusia. In fact, I’ve already received orders to take a team and apprehend her for judgment and kill any who stand in our way.”

Grace sat up at that, her eyes sparking curiously. ”A special mission? Why didn’t they send me? I’m a full half-level stronger than you, and I’ve fought them before.”

”You lost,” he said, glaring at her. ”What kind of hero throws away their advantages for a ’fair fight’ anyway? Besides, you’re obviously friends with Korra. It’s clear she’s betrayed us now, as well, so they can’t send you. You’d be blinded by your preexisting friendship and be unable to properly administer justice.”

She just rolled her eyes, shrugging off the accusation with a yawn. ”Whatever. It’s not like you’re going to be able to capture Xiviyah anywa–”

”The traitor,” he interrupted, correcting her. ”Filth like her doesn’t deserve a name.”

”Oh, shut up. Xiviyah already means ’defeated one,’ doesn’t it?” Grace said, ”Regardless, you’re almost out of time. If they manage to meet up with the anomaly before you hit them, you’ll join Levin in the dirt.”

Victor stood quickly, the motion sending the table fragments spinning across the bar. ”What happened to you? Levin was our friend, Grace, not some common foot soldier to die. Why are you so cold and disdainful?”

She sniffed and brushed a shard of wood out of her lap, letting it clatter to the floor before responding. ”Levin died an honorable death in battle. I respect that, but not the man who tried to assault a helpless girl barely able to stand. Korra told me what happened, how he tried to kill her and Xiviyah for some twisted sense of honor. His wounds at the hand of that blasted fire demon nearly drove him insane, and he paid the price for his arrogance. I respect the strong, Victor, not the cowards. Which one are you, I wonder?”

Victor glared at her for a moment, then spun in a huff and strode toward the door. ”Just hold the line here, against the demons. As soon as I return, we’ll kill that ’apostle’ or whatever she calls herself. Then we’ll be rid of both our problems and can focus on taking down the final demon force, led by that demonkin bastard.”

His final words faded abruptly as the door slammed shut behind him, and Korra let out a breath I hadn’t realized she was holding. She held her cup in both hands, staring down at the swirling ale. Her grip tightened suddenly, and she looked up, staring at something far away that only she could see.

”Be safe, Korra,” she whispered, eyes glistening with worry. ”Please.”

I awoke with a start, covered in a cold sweat and trembling with exhaustion. I’d forsaken the bed as normal and was snuggled deep into Fable’s fur, but the dull ache of the sunpurge drove any thought of sleep from my mind. My shoulder hurt especially, and I found I’d accidentally rested my weight on it during the night.

With a soft groan, I sat up. Images of Grace and Victor flashed behind my eyelids as I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes. It was dark outside the tent, the air bitter and cold. A thin veil of frost crusted the white canvas of the tent, lit by the waxing moon positioned directly over my head. It had been a month since we fled Bluegate, and I was beginning to grow tired of this same scene every single morning.

Fable stirred as I stood, yawning wide enough his jaws could have fit around my head. I stroked his cheek lovingly as he looked around as though wondering why we were awake right now.

”Sleep well?” I asked.

He blinked several times, adjusting to the darkness. My tail swayed back and forth as I threw my arms around his neck and nuzzled him with my cheek.

”I had a vision,” I whispered in his ear. ”Finally.”

He tilted his head in confusion, and I pushed him playfully. ”Don’t look like that. We’ve been marching for like a month now without any sort of direction. Everyone’s been so kind and patient so far, but I can tell they’re starting to get antsy. If we keep going like this, we’re going to run right into Brithlite City, and we’re not ready to do that yet.”

Fable whined in agreement and rubbed his head against my chest. His long, silky fur sent a wave of titillations across my skin, and I giggled. Sometimes, it was hard to see Fable as anything more than my sweet, dependable wolf. The fact that he could turn into a fifty-long monster didn’t even seem real.

”Alright, let’s get going. It’s early, but I’m too excited to sleep. I finally had a vision!”

Having this much energy so early in the morning was uncharacteristic, to say the least, but that was expected. A month of waiting, of hoping fate would give me some direction had finally paid off.

After dressing, I started running my comb through my hair, but the tangles felt especially bad this morning. I didn’t even last three minutes before throwing down the comb with a huff, returning it to my spatial ring, and leaving the tent. No matter how much time I spent, Korra would just want to ’fix’ or’ touch it up’ anyway, something I was perfectly content to let her do. Being fussed over like that was a little embarrassing, but, to be honest, I looked forward to the sensation of her running her fingers through my hair and caressing my head.

The camp was still and quiet, every soldier in their tent. The only signs of life came from the sentries posted around the perimeter, their watchful eyes roving over the rows of canvas and lightly forested woodlands around. Korra’s tent was just a few dozen feet away from mine, and as I made my way over, a shadow detached from the darkness and fell in behind us.

”Good morning, Gith,” I said, smiling at him faintly.

He raised an eyebrow at my uncharacteristic greeting, even more so at my smile. ”You’re...in a good mood.”

”Am I?” I rubbed my horn, feeling a little bashful. Even if it was the truth, it was still hard for me to admit it to someone other than Fable. Being in a good mood felt dangerous, like it was inviting misfortune. How many men had I known who would break a smile just for seeing it? That was one of the reasons I’d never allowed myself to learn.

Ever a man of few words, Gith moved straight to the point. ”Did something happen?”

”Not really, it’s just...I know where we have to go.”

”Oh. That’s good.”

Like that, we both fell silent, and another smile tugged at my lips as I realized that might have been the longest conversation I’d ever had with him. That was one thing I had in common with him over the rest of the Star Guard: a tendency to speak only when spoken to, and few words at that. He wasn’t shy like me, simply preferring to observe and prepare his responses, but the result was the same.

Fortunately, we arrived at Korra’s tent before things got awkward. ”Korra,” I called, knocking on the exterior tent pole. ”Are you awake?”

I heard a muted groan and some shifting about, then the tent flap opened, revealing a disheveled Korra. Her short brown hair was a ragged mess and she wore a loose nightdress that hung askew, one sleeve trailing over her shoulder, revealing a bit more of her skin than was intended.

”Xiviyah?” Her eyes brightened the moment she saw me, her drowsiness vanishing like morning fog. ”What are you doing here so early? Normally I’m the one that was to wake you up.”

”I had a vision,” I said, my tail swishing slightly again. ”I saw Grace and Victor and learned where we need to go. At least,” I hesitated, my tail falling still, ”I think so. They seemed confident we were heading there, and it makes sense.”

”A vision?” she repeated, ”That’s great! It’s been like a month, right?”

I nodded. ”Yeah, though I’m unsure if everyone else will like it. It’s going to be getting a little colder, I think.”

She froze, the smile fading from her lips. ”Oh. You mean...?”

”It’s time we approached the anomaly.”