The Forsaken Hero

As the Elemental continued to lope across the spire, I shared everything I could think of with Fyren, from the dragon’s attack patterns to their powerful abilities. There was so much more to say, but with this, he would have enough to figure out the rest. I was relieved to see he listened with rapt attention, occasionally stroking my hair as he continued to shelter me in his arms.

He frowned as I finished. ”I don’t like it. If everything you’ve said is true, we don’t stand a chance to defeat them. It would be better to flee and wait for the descent, then take them with full demon backing.”

”I won’t abandon them when they need me the most. And even if we lose, you’ll just return to the demon realm. You can just find another cause to be devoted to in some other world.

”It’s not like that, Xiviyah. If you stay and die, everything we’ve worked toward will–”

”You said the devoted randomly chose a cause to support, and that I was that cause. I know I don’t matter to you, and I’m just something to keep your immortality from getting too boring.”

He hesitated, his fingers digging into my shoulder. ”Xiviyah...”

I placed a hand over his, giving him a sad smile. ”It’s okay. I’m so happy you’re with me, even if it’s just for a little while. But until then, please stay and fight with me.”

Something flashed through his eyes. Guilt, regret, frustration- it didn’t matter. What I was saying was unfair, relying only on the things he’d shared and none of the greater purposes I’d glimpsed in my visions. He didn’t know that I knew, but saying it like this made me feel gross inside, like I was manipulating him. It was, in a way, but nothing else I said would convince him to allow me to stay.

”You’re too much, you know that?” he said with a resigned sigh. ”There’s more at stake than that.”

”So you’ll stay?” I asked.

”For now, but we’re fleeing if it gets too dangerous. I refuse to risk everything just to save a few people. Are you certain I shouldn’t assume my demon visage?”

I nodded. ”Your flames just trigger their regeneration ability. Just use raw magical techniques with your sword.”

Fyren started to nod, then abruptly lifted me off the ground, turning about and cradling me to his chest. I squirmed but froze as a shockwave washed over us. I couldn’t see anything past his broad shoulders, but something struck us. I screamed, clinging to him as we were thrown into the air.

My chest tightened, making it impossible to breathe. Memories of the abandoned city, of falling from Borealis’s back with R’lissea, flashed through my mind. When we hit the ground, I would be tossed free, injured if not killed. It didn’t matter that this had happened multiple times already, and I’d always been fine; this was for real. Any second now, and all that would be left would be pain.

We hit hard, jarring every bone in my body. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for his grip to slip and to be thrown onto the unforgiving ground, but his arms remained tight about me. His aura flared, and our momentum died.

”Easy there, I’ve got you.”

Fyren’s voice was low and soothing, like the crackling embers in a fireplace in the early morning. He touched my cheek, wiping away tears. I hadn’t realized I was crying, but my shoulder shook with sobs.

My feet touched the ground, but I fell forward, wrapping my arms around Fyren’s waist. His aura flared again as another shockwave struck us, shielding me from the blast.

”Xiviyah, we have to move,” he said hurriedly.

I shook my head, gripping the ridge of his breastplate. ”N-no...don’t leave me.”

He held out his hand, and his sword flew over. He caught it and hefted me with his other arm, launching himself away. I caught a glimpse behind us as one of the dragon’s tails obliterated the manor courtyards. Was that what had struck us? How had we even survived?

Fyren winced as we landed some distance away, stumbling a step. His face tightened as he glanced over his shoulder. I squirmed out of his grip and placed a hand on his chest, casting a life spell. He sucked in a sharp breath as the magic swept through his body.

”You’re hurt!” I whispered, hand curling against his chest. ”Regenerate!”

I bit my lip, holding back a whimper as my soul protested the sixth-level spell. I regretted nothing as his expression relaxed, and he took a long breath.

”Those bastards hit hard, don’t they.”

”I-I’m sorry, I cried, hugging him fiercely. ”I knew it was coming, I just–”

”It’s alright, Xiviyah. I’ve faced worse than that in this realm alone, and I expect to again before my missions are complete.”

”I won’t let it happen again,” I said, looking up and meeting his gaze. ”We’re going to win this time. I promise.”

His lips twitched. ”You should know better than to make promises you can’t keep.”

A dragon roar caused us both to turn. The dragon, which had crashed into the ground, rolled across the spire, writhing as glowing chains of mana shot out of the ground to bind it. Ninth-level pressure radiated from the spell, making it difficult to breathe, but the dragon tore the chains apart as if they were string.

”Chains of Esther!”

Avant’s shout came from everywhere at once, bringing the spell to a climax. The dragon thrashed violently, biting and clawing at the mana chains that coiled around its massive body, binding it to the ground. Its scales vanished beneath the thick cocoon of magical energy. Despite its struggles, the shimmering chains held firm, tightening their grip inch by inch until the dragon was completely immobilized.

”What now? That won’t hold such a monster for long,” Fyren said.

I took a deep breath, letting go of Fyren and summoning my staff again. ”Avant did his part. Now it is our turn to do ours.”

The other dragon, realizing its companion’s plight, dove toward it, claws humming with gathered power. Fable materialized in front of it, jaws closing on its throat. He looked like a child hanging from an adult, but his weight was enough to destabilize the monster’s flight. Elaine lunged from his head and planted her sword in the dragon’s neck. Her mana exploded in an eighth-level technique, sending all three tumbling to the ground.

”Let’s go. We need to get behind it,” I said.

Fyren stared at me, then at the dragon. ”You want to get closer to it?”

”Please, you said you’d help, didn’t you? How can we fight it over here?”

He groaned, touching his forehead. ”By the Emperors, you do have a death wish. Didn’t you see what that thing did to us when it fell? What if it attacks us?”

Despite the groanings, he picked me up, carrying me with one hand as he gripped his sword in the other. I wrapped my arms around his neck, half-sitting on his forearm.

We left the ground behind as he jumped. The world blurred as we passed over the bound dragon, landing near where Fable and Elaine were picking themselves out of their respective craters.

”Is this the demon you spoke of?” Elaine asked.

”His name is Fyren,” I replied, voice quivering slightly. Did he have to jump that fast?

Fyren nodded curtly. ”Pleasure, Elaine.”

She shivered. ”Damn, that feels weird. I never thought I’d hear my name from a demon.”

”We don’t have much time,” I said, glaring at them both. ”Avant can only hold it for a short time. We’ll be without his support, too.”

”And? What would you like us to do?”

”Kill it. If we can do that, then maybe...” I spared a look at the bound dragon. ”Maybe we’ll have a chance.”

Elaine chuckled, adjusting her grip on her sword. Her skin was smooth after the Regenerate, but her armor was dented and battered, stained with blood and soot. Fable’s fur wasn’t in much better condition, but his eyes glowed with...excitement? Of course they did.

”Down you go then. You have no place in this fight,” Fyren said, lowering me to the ground.

I nodded, clutching my staff with both hands. ”I’ll support you from here.”

”Not too much, I hope,” he replied, ruffling my hair. ”You’re no good to us unconsciously.”

Elaine chuckled dryly, shaking her head, and I blushed. They’re smiles vanished as the dragon roared.

”Wait, one last thing,” I said, mustering my mana. ”Now that we’re all together...Mind Link!”

I took a deep breath, soul casting a fifth-circle spell. It wrapped around the four of us, settling in my mind and soul. It was cold, like dipping my head in a mountain spring.

”What is this? Why keep it out of the Nexus?” Elaine asked.

”Um, well, I wasn’t sure how it would interact with it,” I admitted, tail twitching. ”It’s a spell modeled after the ability of one of my guards. It will allow us to communicate telepathically.

”I wasn’t aware you had developed such a spell.”

I hesitated, my tail growing more agitated. ”I...didn’t. Not fully, at least.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as they accepted the answer and turned away, facing the dragon as it pulled itself from the earth. Fable’s golden eyes remained fixed on me, filled with bemusement. I flushed and turned away, twisting my staff in my hands.

”Get going already,” I muttered, pushing him away.

After all, I couldn’t just tell them how I’d learned it, or they’d never trust me. The spell was something I’d been working on in Haven, yet it was far from ready. I’d been so desperate in my visions that I’d tried casting it dozens of times, often with catastrophic failure. The mind was delicate, and messing with it led to effects as interesting and dangerous as entangling souls. I’d gotten lucky once and managed to cast a functional version, but any attempt to add it into the nexus had been...bad, to say the least. Those were the visions that stressed my sanity the most.

”Can you hear me?” I asked through the Mind Link.

”A little quiet, but that’s normal, coming from you,” Fyren replied.

Elaine nodded. ”It seems functional. Come, demon, wolf. Let me show you what it means to fight a dragon.”