The Forsaken Hero

R’lissea raised her staff high, the emerald set atop gleaming brightly. I shielded my eyes as it emitted a pulse of mana, and the elemental dragon raised its head. It was heavily damaged and leaking mana from several fatal wounds, but elementals didn’t feel pain, nor could they be crippled like ordinary creatures. Their power came from mana and sheer mass, not muscles that could be easily torn.

”Come back,” I whispered, laying a hand on my breast and pushing my feelings through the bond to Fable.

The giant, hundred-foot-long wolf slashed the dragon once more with his claws before leaping back. After giving it a final, menacing growl, he bounded across the battlefield, going out of his way to trample several groups of enemy soldiers.

The dragon’s wings had been torn to shreds, but it quickly reallocated matter from the rest of its body to mend them. It leaped into the sky with enough force to crack the ground, flapping hard to gain altitude. After aligning its titanic form, it shot toward us with a miniature sonic boom, arriving just as Fable touched down behind me.

The landing of the two monsters shook the earth, and I stumbled back, falling against Fable’s waiting paw. I was barely the size of his toe, sinking into fur so thick it could have padded an entire wagon. The strands were soft but coarse, and I whimpered as they dragged across the sunpurge.

By the time I clawed free of his fur, the dragon had collected R’lissea and the exhausted Fate Hero. The elf girl stood on its head, gazing down at me. She bit her lip, deep in thought, before giving me a final nod. I half-raised my hand in farewell, but they were already gone, flying back up to the ship that continued to rain mana upon my allies.

No sooner had the dragon carried them to safety than it began to collapse, having sustained too much damage in its brutal clash with Fable. My wolf let out a triumphant roar that nearly shattered my eardrums, then shrank back down to his condensed form. He padded over to me, a deep rumble of satisfaction in his chest, and licked my hand affectionately.

”Stop that,” I muttered half-heartedly, pushing his head away with a smile.

The tide of the battle had turned. The relentless boom of the mana cannons hadn’t ceased, but the Last Light Company no longer feared their power. They charged through explosions, arrows, and entire battalions, shredding everything in their path. Enemy magic fizzled harmlessly against the golden aura of Grand Aegis, and weapons froze, unable to cross that final inch to touch their bodies.

The Church and Brithlite forces crumbled before the unstoppable onslaught, their soldiers falling by the hundreds. They were helpless against the empowered Last Light Company, utterly incapable of even touching them.

It was a scene of such overwhelming carnage that I’d only witnessed once before, long ago, at the Ice Gate. The demons had descended upon us in a relentless horde, beckoned by the Ice Serpent. Back then, there had been only three hundred brave members of the Last Light Company before it grew into the mighty army it is today. They had held the line then but now used that power as the aggressors.

As the seconds ticked by, the mana cannons began to fall silent, one after another. Bethiv led the vanguard right up to the city gates and blasted them apart with a devastating seventh-level technique. Our forces poured into the city, rapidly taking the outer walls and towers, turning the siege weapons against their former owners.

I smiled grimly as the Church experienced the true fearsome power of the mana cannons—from the receiving end. Our mages had studied the few we’d captured, discovering they were surprisingly easy to use. All it took was pouring mana into the crystal core until it reached critical mass, unleashing a devastating sixth-level attack. It was simply a matter of aiming it in the right direction before overloading it.

Bright flashes, accompanied by plumes of smoke, erupted across the city as the Last Light Company targeted the remaining towers and mana cannons, turning the enemy’s own weapons against them. Without the risk of friendly fire, they also bombarded the positions still holding out beyond the walls, clearing a path for more of their comrades to break through and enter the city.

”Quite a sight, isn’t it?” Gayron remarked, coming to stand beside me.

I glanced at him, my tail twitching in surprise. ”You’re finished? Where’s Victor?”

The demonkin snorted, tossing his head dismissively. ”For all his talk of ideals and justice, he’s awfully quick to run when the battle turns against him. Pity that, I was hoping to kill him here and save Luke—or us—the trouble later.”

I shivered at his casual tone, instinctively taking a step away from the Apostle. ”I-I see,” I mumbled.

He didn’t seem to notice my reaction or the reluctance with which I stood beside him, tail twisting anxiously. ”Where’s Korra?” he asked, his gaze scanning the battlefield.

I nodded towards the distance, where I could sense a tremendous surge of mana. Storm clouds gathered overhead, drawn to the intense energy, lightning flashing ominously within their depths.

He sighed and shook his head, tail lashing in irritation. ”Of course she gets to have all the fun. The storm hero, was it? I bet she’s not a damn coward. Maybe I should go over and see if they’ll let me join.”

I glanced at him, slightly taken aback. The way he talked about this was completely different from Victor’s. He spoke as if he knew about Korra’s relationship with the Storm Hero, but how could that be? Shouldn’t he be just as determined to kill her as well?

Gayron let his gaze linger on the distant fight a moment longer before sighing and looking back to the city. He was quiet a moment, observing the one-sided slaughter, before shaking his head.

”Terrifying,” he muttered, though exactly what he meant by that was beyond me.

More footsteps approached, and Luxxa and the rest of the Star Guard ran up the hill toward us. They were breathing hard and covered in scraps and scratches, but lingering twines Life Mana showed Luxxa had healed the worst of their wounds.

Kahlen strolled up behind us, the large sword of the inquisitor he’d defeated resting casually on his shoulder. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged and swung the blade off, driving its point into the dirt with a thud.

”I noticed your apostle is woefully under-geared,” he remarked, his voice smooth. ”Perhaps this will be of some service.”

Gayron’s eyes narrowed as Kahlen stepped back, leaving the sword embedded in the earth before us. ”You seek to put me in your debt?” he asked, suspicion lacing his tone.

”Not mine,” Kahlen replied with a sly smile. ”My master’s. The Lord of Ash is always seeking new allies. Consider this a gift, not an obligation.”

Gayron snorted disdainfully, but his gaze remained fixed on the sword. I recalled overhearing him and Korra discussing the demon army’s lack of powerful enchanted weapons, as most of their combatants relied on natural weapons or raw magic. His own sword had only a few weak enchantments and would likely shatter the moment it clashed against a hero’s Divine Artifact.

Come to think of it, as I looked at him now, his sword was gone. Had he already lost it in the battle against Victor?

”Fine,” he conceded, his reluctance failing to mask the eagerness with which he reached for the inquisitor’s sword, pulling it free from the earth. He turned to me, his eyes alight with curiosity. ”What’s it got on it?”

I examined the sword for a moment, then shrugged. ”I’m not entirely sure, but it doesn’t seem harmful or inherently elementary attributed. The strongest enchantment on it is seventh-level, so it shouldn’t break easily, but you’ll have to ask one of the other mages later, someone who knows more about enchantments than I do.”

”Good,” he said with a nod. ”The last thing I want is for it to accidentally release sun magic or something.”

I shivered, feeling his gaze linger on me, and unconsciously touched my shoulder, just outside the boundary of the sunpurge. His body was far more resilient than mine, but if he took a direct hit from, say, Soltair’s most powerful magic, he might very well end up with a similar affliction.

”My Lady, should we proceed?” Luxxa asked, nodding towards the city. ”It looks like we’ve taken the outer districts and are now laying siege to the inner wall. But your magic doesn’t quite reach far enough, and pushing any deeper would put them at risk.”

I followed her gaze to the city. The ground the Last Light Company had taken was staggering. What they had fought for in the twenty or thirty minutes before I cast Grand Aegis was a mere fraction compared to the progress they’d made in the last five. I’d taken this hillside when it was deep in the enemy lines, but now that had shifted, we were protected behind several thousand allied soldiers. Even now, the vanguard led by Bethiv was battering at the inner gates, at the edge of the Grand Aegis’ membrane.

The remnants of the Church’s forces—mostly fifth—and sixth-level soldiers and mages—had retreated behind the inner walls to mount a final defense. The weaker ones had been cut off and were being systematically eliminated by the rest of the Last Light Company. The tide had turned so quickly that I hadn’t had time to adjust to the new situation, and we were already on to the next stage of our plan.

”Alright,” I said, climbing onto Fable’s back and settling into his familiar warmth. I looked at each member of the Star Guard, my gaze lingering on everyone but Gayron, whose presence still made me uncomfortable. ”Let’s end this.”