The Forsaken Hero

The gazebo was silent save for the quiet bubble of the springs beneath our feet and the gentle breeze winding through the marble pillars. The prince stared at my outstretched hand. Small streams of starlight glittered around my fingers.

”To know the future is a burden of itself,” I said, ”Hope has no place in the heart of one who sees what is to come.”

Prince Benjamin took a deep breath and touched my palm with his fingers. A spark leaped from the contact, traveling through our bodies, making my tail curl.

Adaptive Resistance awoke, warming the depths of my soul. Starlight swirled around my arm, traveling toward him. Instead of fighting it, I let it flow unhindered. It came as natural as breathing, with none of the discomfort that had assaulted me before.

Benjamin gasped as the power of Fate enveloped him, thickening until we were both shrouded in a view of stars. It was warm and cozy, like cuddling up with Fable before a fire, or being held in Luke’s arms. From the prince’s expression, he felt the same way.

Something changed within my soul, nudging me to act. I obeyed, reaching out and grasping Benjamin’s soul with a few tendrils of mana. It shuddered in my grip, rejected my call.

”Relax,” I whispered, curling my fingers against Benjamin’s. ”Embrace the warmth. ”

He took a shallow breath and nodded, and his soul softened. With a thought, I twine his soul in ribbons of fate, pulling him into my soul space. His eyes glazed over with stars.

My visions shifted, drawn halfway between the darkness of my soul space and the evening light of Enusia. It was like seeing them both at once, overlaying each other, yet both held perfect clarity. I could see Belisa watching her brother worriedly, as well as Benjamin’s soul form kneeling in the soul space. It felt a little like trespassing, but I focused on him as a vision began to form. It was such that, despite fate’s proclivity to share the future, I had to guide and sustain it.

The vision that followed showed the spire looming above the Black Sand Caldera. It looked identical to how I remembered it, but there was a sense that this was far in the future. Dark clouds gathered overhead, lit by constant lightning. Thunder rolled across the sky, and thick sheets of rain descended on the caldera. Water cascaded from the terraces, flooding streets and gathering in ponds in every depression and chasm. The scars of the Day of Cinders were like small lakes, filled with mud and floodwaters.

Though we were far enough to look at the massive spire as a whole, I was somehow aware of the population going about their daily lives, wearing sullen expressions and casting resentful looks at the sky. None of them were alarmed by the rain, nor seemed to view it with anything more than an inconvenience.

The visions shifted, taking us into the palace at the top in a blur of motion. It had been rebuilt over the ruins of the old palace, with closed bridges connecting the underground tunnels laid bare in chasms. As we flew over the main courtyard, I caught a glimpse of the central ornament: a massive statue feature life-size depictions of a group of figures. There were two men, one towering above the other, a tall, proud woman, and two slender girls, one of whom was a demonkin. A massive wolf, the size of the others combined, stretched out behind them, forming a natural framing for the statue. The demonkin sat on its leg, hand resting on its cheek. There was a large plaque carved of obsidian, but the vision moved too quickly for me to read it.

The vision settled in a small meeting room similar to where we signed the treaty. It was a small, familiar gathering with a light atmosphere, with two parties on either side of a table. The first person I recognized there was Elaine. She looked completely unchanged, from her youthful face to the light in her eyes. It took me a second longer to recognize Benjamin sitting beside her, dressed in the state robes of the emperor. He looked close to thirty, but it was hard to tell his true age given his powerful, seventh-level soul.

Across from them were representatives of a power I didn’t recognize. The leader was a woman with long, golden hair and shining irises. She wore a transparent crown of golden crystal that radiated sun mana and seemed the same age as the emperor. She was strong and confident, with an eighth-level soul that commanded respect and authority. Her face and soul felt familiar, but I couldn’t quite place them. It was like an itch I couldn’t scratch, nagging in my mind throughout the rest of the vision.

She wore a broach with two runes emblazoned on it, written in such heavily stylized script that I almost couldn’t read them. The best I could do was approximate their meaning as ’final’ and ’sun’ or ’sunset’ if taken together. They were also on the uniforms of the attendants and soldiers with her, meaning they were probably the sigil of whatever nation she ruled.

At her side was a powerful, eighth-level foxkin wizard who looked no older than twenty. The foxkin’s dress was a pure white off-shoulder gown with a red sash and trim, remarkably similar to the one I bought with Tana. She wore it much better than I, however, with a curve and a bust that allowed her to take full advantage of the beautiful garment. Every article of clothing and accessory she had was enchanted with seventh and eighth-level power, making her positively glow in my eyes.

There was something strange about their souls. Or rather, their mana. It felt strange and alien, like entering a room that was a little too clean. Before I could truly examine it, however, the woman spoke.

”It gets drearier every time I visit,” she said with a gentle smile.

Again, her voice was incredibly familiar, but I had no idea why that could be. I didn’t even know what kingdom that was, much less its ruler. Given how far this was in the future, I might never meet them.

”How gracious of you to bring the light of your presence to our empire, Empress,” Benjamin replied.

The woman giggled, a surprisingly girlish sound that made the itch in the back of my mind worse. Who was she?

”Come on, Benjamin, why so formal? Can’t you use my name like you did last night? You were so kind and gentle...even an empress likes being treated as a woman.”

”Empress, that’s hardly proper,” the foxkin said, frowning at her.

The empress laughed again, a healthy blush staining her cheeks. Benjamin sighed, shaking his head in amusement.

”You never change, do you? Then again, a little cheer would do this place well.”

”I’d say so. But to be honest, it doesn’t seem like your reforms have been going well. Have the nobles been that resistant?”

He nodded. ”I wish every day I could have inherited an empire like you did yours. I would pay for a purge like the Fatesworn caused in the northern kingdoms. A fresh, clean slate with no nobles or traditions to get in the way.”

”Oh, they weren’t called the Fatesworn, then. We were just friends and...survivors, doing everything we could to make it through another day.”

They continued talking for some time, drifting through topics related to politics and difficulties in their empires. It was strangely loose and casual, with none of the secrets and word games I expected of nobility. Both the Emperor and Empress acted like they were the only ones in he room, talking, laughing, and confiding in each other. I didn’t understand anything of what they said, but it was clear to me that, perhaps, the only thing keeping them apart was their empires.

Fate had a strange way of blurring time, and soon, it was dark outside. The vision had only lasted a few minutes for us, yet several hours must have passed for the ones we’re observing. The fokin tapped the empress’s shoulder, barely suppressing her yawn.

”It’s time, your majesty. The envoy will be waiting for us.”

The empress sighed, pushing her hand away. ”Just a little longer, Sari, please. It’s so rare we get to speak in person.”

Sari? My heart stopped as I looked at the foxkin again. I could see it now, plain as day. The long brown hair, beautiful eyes, and unique ability wrapped in the folds of her soul. It was Sari. My Sari. The one I’d saved from Alverin. She was eighth-level? And had she made all those powerful magical artifacts herself? She wasn’t even twenty yet!

Another thought sent a shiver down my tail. If that was Sari, then who was the empress? Maybe there was a reason she felt so familiar.

But as I turned to her one last time, the vision faded, breaking apart into a thousand threads of light. Benjamin was thrust from my soul space, leaving us both blinking in the dying light of the Enusia sun.

”How was it?” Belisa asked, leaning toward Benjamin.

Elise frowned, touching his arm hesitantly. He looked at her, his eyes clouded and disoriented.

Are you alright? You look exhausted,” she said.

He nodded, rubbing his head. ”Confusing, but...informative. Everything I hoped it would be. Thank you, Oracle, for your wisdom. I’ll forever be in your debt.”