The Forsaken Hero

I startled awake, my heart pounding with a profound sense of fear. A suffocating weight pressed down on my chest, forcing my breath into short, shallow gasps. My mind was foggy, and even though I managed to pry my eyes open, the world around me was a blur of unfamiliar colors and shapes. Sweat-soaked sheets clung to my skin, sending small, fiery tingles dancing through my nerves wherever they touched the sunpurge.

Panic seized me, my chest tightening painfully as something brushed against my hand. But then Elinore’s familiar voice cut through the fog, soothing my frayed nerves.

”Shhh, it’s alright. I’m here.”

I gripped her hand tightly, my eyes squeezing shut. The only sounds in the room were the agitated swish of my tail against the sheets and the frantic rhythm of my own heartbeat. Gradually, the terror began to recede, my heart rate slowed, and I managed to take an uneasy breath.

”That’s it,” Elinore’s voice was a gentle whisper, ”Just breathe.”

”W-where am I?” I stammered after several more breaths, my voice tight with fear.

Her grip tightened reassuringly, and I flinched slightly as her hand reached my head, gently stroking my hair. ”You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”

Safe. I certainly didn’t feel safe, and even as my vision cleared, and I began to make out my surroundings, the irrational fear that had jolted me awake refused to release its grip on my heart. Just where was this place?

The windows were covered with thick gray curtains, allowing only a trickle of light to seep through. The room was plain and unadorned, furnished with a simple wooden dresser, what seemed to be a closet, and a small table with two chairs. A plate sat on the table holding a single slice of bread, a cup beside it. There were a few herbs and other items scattered around them, but nothing I recognized. Had she received a new type of herb from her mentor? Where were the ones I was familiar with?

Elinore sat beside me on the edge of the bed, holding my hand in her lap as she stroked my hair. Deep lines creased her forehead, and her eyes were tight with worry, but she still forced a smile when our eyes met.

”Bad dreams?” she asked.

I shook my head. ”I-I don’t know. It was so dark, and I was alone. And then...and then...”

Had it really been a dream? I couldn’t remember the last time I had a dream, much less a nightmare, but for some reason, I felt I’d actually had a dream. The only thing I knew for certain was that it wasn’t a vision, not specifically, at least. And that it made me very, very afraid.

Elinore sighed, and her hands stroking my head stopped, resting heavily between my horns. ”Xiviyah, there’s something very important I need to ask. What happened in there? Do you remember anything?”

I groaned and rubbed my head, trying to ease the dull ache that throbbed between my eyes. ”There was the Circle... and a trap,” I managed to say, my voice thick with exhaustion. ”They knew I was coming. They tried to... to...”

Elinore’s hand resumed its soothing motion on my head as I broke off in a sob. ”It’s alright,” she murmured. Take it easy. You can share that part when you’re ready. Just tell me what happened to the Shard.”

That part was easier to explain, though as I opened my mouth, a sense of unease held me back. There was something...off about this. I glanced at the table again, where the slice of bread waited for me, moist and warm. Little waves of steam rose off, causing me to salivate.

But how long had it been sitting there? How could it still be hot?

”Yes?” Elinore prompted gently.

”I had to do it,” I finally confessed, pushing the feeling away. I was still confused and from waking up, and the lingering dream. That was it. ”I-I didn’t have another choice.”

”Do...? Do what?” she asked, her voice soft and encouraging.

”Haven took it. W-we had to contain the rift, and I didn’t know what else to do, and it was spreading so fast, and...”

”Haven?” Her voice was sharp now, laced with a sudden tension. ”Where is this place?”

I looked up into her face, my breath catching in my throat. Her eyes were deep and mysterious, swirling with an unfamiliar golden hue. It was beautiful, in a way, but it...it wasn’t Elinore.

My tail stiffened in alarm, and I sat bolt upright. The movement was purely reflexive, and I immediately regretted it, bracing for the searing pain. But, somehow, the pain never came. Every instinct screamed that I was experiencing the wrath of the sunpurge, but it was no more real than the occasional phantom burning of the slave crest on my chest. A mere memory.

”Who are you?” I cried, nearly falling off the bed as I scrambled away from the woman who wasn’t Elinore.

She smiled, the light in her eyes intensifying. ”Haven. It’s a start, at least. Pity you caught on so quickly, though.”

”What did you do with Elinore?” I asked, clutching at my chest as panic tightened its grip. My heart rate accelerated, and it was growing hard to breathe. ”Where am I?”

The woman stood and turned away, pacing back and forth as if lost in deep contemplation. She seemed to have forgotten my presence entirely, leaving my question hanging in the heavy silence.

”Haven... Haven... Knowing that one, it won’t be easy to find, if at all possible,” she muttered to herself. But her voice was morphing, shifting, becoming deeper, more masculine. ”If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s locked behind one of your abilities, but you’re only seventh level. It shouldn’t be possible.”

My eyes widened, and I scrambled backward, only to bump into the window. I glanced out, then froze in shock at the impossible scene before me. We were in a room floating in the void of space, with no ground beneath us. For a moment, it reminded me of Haven’s skies, but that illusion shattered as a ripple coursed through space itself. A flood of swirling colors followed, like a curtain being drawn back to reveal the stage, only it wasn’t a stage at all. It was a world. A miniature, self-contained world. And we were perched atop the central island, suspended in its sky.

It was so unlike Fate’s divine kingdom that I almost missed it for what it truly was. Grand cities adorned floating islands the size of mountains, and a sun-like orb drifted across the sky, casting a warm glow on the miniature world. Creatures, most of them not human, scurried like ants in the streets below or soared through the air like birds. Each radiated immense power, their souls surpassing anything I’d ever encountered. The only comparable beings were the Ally of Fate who had obliterated High Valley, and perhaps the enigmatic Arbiter.

At that thought, I realized what was amiss, and slowly turned back to face the imposter. Instead of Elinore’s aging face, I was met with the sight of a strong, broad-shouldered man dressed in flowing white robes and a cloak of deep purple embroidered with golden runes. He didn’t seem to possess a soul, or at least, not one I could readily perceive.

There had been only one other time I’d been unable to comprehend someone’s soul—when I’d spoken to Fate, my goddess, in my dreams just weeks ago. This was no mortal, and certainly no demon.

”Why can I not sense it?” the god’s voice echoed, filled with a mix of confusion and frustration. It was the same voice I’d heard when I’d first connected with the Shard of Omniscience in Bluegate Keep. ”How can it just be gone?”

Tentatively, I reached for my mana, holding my breath, hoping he wouldn’t notice. As soon as a trickle responded, I channeled it into the Oracle of Eternity, a desperate prayer in my heart. He froze as the ability activated, his eyes widening in shock, and whirled to face me. But before he could lift a hand or utter a word, I was gone.

I appeared in my soul space with a dissonant wave of mana, filling my soul with nausea, and causing my vision to swim. When it finally cleared, I blinked away the tears that had gathered in the corners of my eyes and looked around. The stars twinkled distantly at me, feeling cold and lonely. There was no sign of Haven, nor could I feel its presence pulsing in my soul. Fable, too, felt far away and distant, though as I clung to our bond, I felt his warmth spread through me.

But just as quickly, it was gone, and I shivered as a wave of cold dread washed over me. The fear that had been gathering on the edges of my mind like storm clouds finally broke, unleashing a torrent of impressions and memories. I squeezed my eyes shut, my tail going limp, as the fragmented pieces of my nightmare finally reassembled.

There was no cohesive story or clear narrative; only a single, overwhelming theme: I was running out of time.