The Forsaken Hero

We were quiet as we left the ashes of Jaedon behind. I leaned back against R’lissea, eyes closed as I pet Borealis, who roosted in my lap. My thoughts were filled with the countless lives I’d seen touched by the Black Mist, many of whom hadn’t even imagined its existence yet. It hadn’t spread far yet, but it would. Very soon.

R’lissea’s arms were draped around my waist. She caressed me idly, nor in any sort of sensual or intentional way, but as if she needed to do something, and pacing wasn’t an option when riding a wolf.

After a few long minutes, she spoke. ”Xiviyah, is everything alright? You seem...different.”

I tilted my head to look at her without turning around. ”Hmm? What do you mean?”

She bit the inside of her lip. ”I mean...you’re more confident. I never could have imagined you ordering the destruction of an entire town like that.”

”Was it wrong of me? Could we have saved them?” I asked.

”No, nothing like that. We still don’t understand what Connor unleashed on us, but anyone could see it was too late for Jaedon. I was just surprised at how decisive you were.”

”It’s because she finally slept by herself!” Elise said, laughing.

”What? No, not that,” I said, tail twitching. ”What you said last night made a lot of sense. I’ve been so worried about choosing the right path, I’ve forgotten that the choice was already made. From now on, I’m going to walk the path I’m on no matter what follows.”

”Last night? Did we talk about that?”

She sounded genuinely confused. Perhaps, were it Elise, I would pass it off as teasing. But R’lissea?

”Last night,” I said tentatively, ”On the hillside?”

”I’m not sure I understand. We fell right asleep after you got back, right?”

”Maybe you had a vision of something like that happening,” Elise suggested.

I shook my head, tail growing more agitated. ”No, I remember it...right? You really weren’t there?”

”Hey, it’s alright, no need to slap me with your tail,” R’lissea said.

I froze, snatching my tail in my lap. Borealis squawked, glaring at me, though I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d jostled him or stopped petting him.

”S-sorry,” I mumbled to both he and R’lissea.

She giggled, hugging me from behind and squeezing tightly. ”Don’t worry, I know you’re under a lot of pressure. It’s okay if you mix up visions and reality sometimes.”

I rested my head against her shoulder, but couldn’t dismiss it so easily. Putting aside the delirious state I was in during the Day of Cinders, I felt I had a pretty good grasp of when something was a vision or reality. I even tried to pretend the things I knew people would do weren’t real when I was interacting with them to avoid any sort of self-fulfilling prophecy or anything. Elise, for example, might one day become an empress, but I couldn’t treat her any differently because of that.

”Are you sure?” I asked.

”Positive. I didn’t even sense you leave the tent last night,” R’lissea said.

I flushed again, stroking the tip of my tail. Was I really so delicate she had to pay attention to me even while she was sleeping?

”But,” R’lissea said, ”No matter the case, I’m glad you’ve settled on a path. It’s been hard watching you struggle, torn between your fear and hope for the future. We’re beside you all the way.”

”Right,” Elise said.

I smiled, deciding to put the matter aside for now. ”Thanks.”

Our journey felt lighter after that, the shadows of Jaedon more distant. The last of the hills and trees fell behind us, leaving only subtle swells in the earth so shallow it was hard to tell when the ground was rising or falling. Occasionally, the rippling sea of long, green grasses opened up into tended fields of tender crops barely a few inches high. The occasional farmstead or village dotted the horizon. I held my breath as we passed those by, terrified some demon would break free of my will and ravage it. None did, fortunately, but I couldn’t relax until they fell out of sight behind us.

Fyren found us when the sun drew near the western horizon. I’d started to doze off, unable to focus on the spellbook I was studying.

”It’s started,” he said.

”The Descent? Already?” I asked, instantly alert.

”That’s bad, isn’t it?” Elise asked.

”It is what it is,” Fyren said. ”Technically, you could say the Descent began yesterday, when the first demon lords entered Enusia. But Incinderus and Zephryiss are special cases.”

”He’s here, then,” I whispered.

Fyren nodded. ”He is. Rash’alon, among many others. It’s normal to see one demon lord for each of the main attributes of an invasion. I suspect there might be fewer seventh and eighth-level demons, however. The Devoted used a large portion of the infernal mana built up in the Realm.”

”They probably won’t be pleased about that,” R’lissea said.

Fyren’s grin showed his teeth. ”Good. Every demon we stop from coming here is one less we’ll have to convince to leave the Elves’ shards alone.”

”How did you know it started? Is that just something demons can feel?” I asked.

”Surprisingly, no,” he said. ”The Descent isn’t an actual cosmic event or anything, just an agreed-upon time to launch the full-scale invasion. The reason I can tell is that I just felt several gates open a few miles ahead. We’ll be upon them before nightfall.”

”More gates? And they’re not ours?” I asked.

He smiled. ”’Ours’ now, are they? No, I’m afraid not. There might be Devoted scattered among them, but the majority will belong to those ignorant of or opposed to our purposes. While I don’t suggest eliminating them, we should approach with caution.”

I turned back to look at the horde following in our wake. They stretched out to the horizon, a haphazard line of demons with every shape, attribute, and soul strength imaginable.

”Um,” I said, rubbing my horn. ”How exactly do we do that?”

”Approach with caution?” Fyren barked a laugh. ”I suppose there’s not much we can do. I just wanted you to be prepared.”

As promised, less than an hour later, I detected a sharp rise in infernal mana ahead of us. A few minutes later, the first of several gates came into view. It dominated the horizon, if nowhere near the size of the one Incinderus had come through. Chillingly, it was made of dark black curse mana, emitting a seventh-level aura.

Beyond it, visible as specs in the distance, I made out three other gates. They were too far for me to get a good reading of their attribute, but two shone silver in the fading light, and the third was red and orange.

”A fire and two blade?” I guessed.

”Indeed. I can guarantee we have nothing to worry about from the fire,” Fyren said. ”Not even another fire demon lord would dare cross us now that Incinderus has personally accepted your mark.”

”Why not? Aren’t they the same?” I asked.

He chuckled wryly. ”He’d be offended to hear you say as much. But even if he were weaker, politics in the demon realm are relatively straightforward compared to those of the mortal realm or even the Divine. The first rule is that the strong dominate the weak. The second is that immortal beings hold immortal grudges. Demon Lords, especially.”

”Like Rash’alon,” I said softly.

He flinched. ”Right.”

A gust of wind drew my gaze up as Zephyriss glided down, doing a lazy flip before settling in the air a few feet in front of us. She was facing us, flying backward to keep pace with fable.

”I scouted the area,” she said. ”We’re not the first ones to discover these gates. There’s a small demonkin detachment guarding the curse gate.”

”Demonkin?” I frowned, sharing a look with R’lissea. ”And they were guarding the gate?”

”About twenty of them, all fourth and fifth-level. I could blow them away with a single breath,” she said.

”Could there be someone inside it? Maybe one of the apostles is trying to mark them?” R’lissea asked.

”Maybe it’s Luke?” Elise said.

I brightened, tail flicking, only for it to go limp. ”I saw a vision of him greeting Rash’alon. He couldn’t be here and there at the same time.”

”But the gates take a long time to break. Maybe he’s just checking in and then running over,” Elise argued.

Fyren coughed. ”Due to the buildup of Infernal Mana, it’s likely most of the gates opened during this time will break within twenty-four hours. It would be wise to assume that’s the case from here on out.”

”That fast?” R’lissea gasped.

”I’m afraid so. The days of heroes entering and closing gates are likely over,” Fyren said.

I rubbed my horn, thinking quickly. ”If it’s a curse gate, they probably serve Rash’alon. Whatever apostle is inside will be expecting an Ally, but he wants to take over the invasion.”

”You want to help them?” R’lissea asked.

I hesitated. ”I...don’t know. But if it is somehow Luke, or, um, one of the ones we know, then...maybe...”

”We should talk to the demonkin first,” she suggested.

I nodded. ”Right. Let’s keep most of our army back, then. So we don’t scare them.”

Fyren snorted. ”I’m afraid it’s too late for that. But, even so, it’s a prudent idea. If the gate breaks suddenly, curse demons will come pouring out, and a battle is guaranteed to happen. That kind of chaos would be disadvantageous for us.”

With that settled, we quickly made our plan. R’lissea and I, along with Fable and Borealis, would approach with Zephyriss and Fyren. Elise argued to come with us, but I managed to convince her to stay back and keep an eye on Incinderus and the horde. As much as it pained me to say, she hadn’t yet broken into seventh-level. The strongest demonkin was only fifth-level, but it was too close to risk.

With the horde staying behind, We moved ahead. Before long, the demonkin forces came into view.