The Forsaken Hero

I burst from Haven with a resolute smile, face upturned to the evening sun. A few clouds drifted across the sky, and a stiff breeze rippled across the long prairie grass. Elise sat cross-legged in front of the gate, accompanied by Fyren in his human visage. He wore a scowl while she stared at the golden swirls worriedly, idly stroking a curl of golden hair.

They both jumped as I emerged, breaking into relieved smiles. Elise got to her feet and looked me over, her shoulders sagging as she found me unharmed.

”What happened? Why did you call Fable?” she asked.

As if to answer her question, Fable and Borealis came out of the gate. Borealis fluttered his wings, hopping from the wolf’s back to my shoulder. Both Elise and Fyren stared at him, then back at the gate.

”Fyren, I think we need to talk,” I said softly, stroking Borealis’s crest.

He nodded. ”Yes, I rather think we do.”

I turned and walked toward the tent. Elise stood motionless for a second before running after me, catching me in a few strides.

”Did you figure out a way to save the shards?” she asked.

”Kind of. But I want to wait to share everything with R’lissea, too. Do you know where she is?”

Elise glanced at a nearby pack of Devoted. R’lissea sat amongst them, staff held horizontally across her lap. Her eyes were closed, her long blonde hair swaying in the breeze. A soft green aura surrounded her, radiating across the demons.

Sensing our gaze, she opened her eyes and gave me a tired smile. She got to her feet and joined us in front of the tent.

”You’re finally back.”

”Was that healing magic?” I asked.

She shook her head. ”I’ve been thinking a lot about the Curse Gate. Villie’s magic was so strong I felt like I was a new apprentice all over again. I’ve been trying to adapt some of my other spells into support spells, like she showed me, and was using the demons as test subjects.”

”What?” Elise’s eyes were wide. ”Why would you trust them? What if they snapped and attacked?”

”I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I said, looking directly at Fyren.

He shrugged. ”No, most certainly not. I would never allow a demon with the Mark of Fate to hurt one of you.”

”The Mark of Fate,” I murmured, pursing my lips. ”To think you haven’t even been trying to hide it.”

Fyren’s eyes glinted. ”We really need to talk, it seems. Come, let us speak in private.”

He led the way into the tent. I sat on the edge of a cot, letting my tail curl into the blankets. Elise and R’lissea sat next to each other, looking between us hesitantly. Fyren stood with his arms crossed, watching me with unblinking eyes.

I took a moment to compose my thoughts, but the longer I waited, the harder it was to speak. Fyren raised an eyebrow, and my cheeks warmed. I lowered my gaze, hands tightly clasped in my lap. The thought of confronting him had seemed so simple in Haven, but here, under those red eyes...all my courage just melted away.

To my relief, R’lissea held none of my trepidation and broke the silence.

”What is this about?” she asked.

Her words gave me all the courage I needed. I took a deep breath and looked Fyren squarely in the eye.

”I know about the Primordial Mark.”

”The Goddess of Fate is a hard one to fool,” he murmured, rubbing his chin. ”I’d hoped to remain out of her sight for a little while longer.”

”Why didn’t you tell me?” I burst out.

The outburst startled even me. I bit my lip, gripping my skirt, as my tail curled under the intensity of his gaze. I waited for him to speak, but when he didn’t, and he didn’t seem upset, I pressed on.

”Fyren, I...why would you do that? Why would you put so much faith in me? Don’t you know that if I die, you could...you could too. Really die. Not just...go back.”

”Xiviyah, he’s a demon,” R’lissea said. ”Is this about the infernal mark? They’re made with the express purpose of being broken by death.”

Fyren sighed, letting his arms drop to his side. ”Perhaps it would be wise to share what your goddess told you. If there is anything she hasn’t surmised that I can reveal, I will do so.”

”Please.” Elise nodded emphatically. ”Don’t leave us in the dark like this.”

It was hardly the most organized and efficient retelling of what I’d learned in Haven, but bit by bit, the story came out. From the remnants’ shrines in the cathedral to the beginning of the Realm Wars, I shared everything.

”The Father. I wonder what he was like,” R’lissea said when I finished.

”Fate seemed to care for him deeply. At least, she was sad he was gone,” I said.

”Is he? You didn’t mention what happened to him, only that his realm was split up. He just kinda faded from the story,” Elise said.

”Well, I...I didn’t ask. She just seemed...lonely,” I whispered. I blinked and shook my head. ”But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the Primordial mark. Fyren, I ask again. Why? Why would you trust me like that?”

He rocked back on his heels, folding his arms again. ”The Eldest guessed right. We gambled on this mark because we are just that desperate. The Cycle is failing, Xiviyah, and a new one must rise to take its place, else all of existence is doomed to fall into chaos and oblivion. Demons are to consume, and gods are to create. Yet the gods have forgotten their purpose, and now there is nothing to consume. There will come a time when even the ancient emperors, children of the Father, will wander from broken realm to broken realm, searching for a shred of mana to consume.”

”That...doesn’t sound real,” Elise whispered.

Fyren shrugged, voice cold. ”And yet it will be. It may sound good to a mortal to have the demons shrivel and wilt, shedding power in the absence of assimilation and evolution, yet such a thing will bring ruin to all. Without the threat of the infernal realms, mortals will have no need of a gods’ power, and thus no need of their gods. The Divine Council will be forced to pursue alternate methods of generating faith, else they end up like the demons. And what can mortals do against gods but submit to their will, as slaves to their masters?”

Elise shivered, touching her chest. ”That’s...awful.”

”You sound like Fate,” I said, gazing at Fyren. ”She wouldn’t tell me directly, but I think she has the same fears. I...I wonder if that’s her plan. If that’s why she rebelled against the Sun God’s faction in the first place.”

”And maybe why the Life God wants me by your side,” R’lissea added. ”Maybe he believes in Fate, and that she can actually do something about this.”

I thought back to the God of Magic and his cryptic conversation with Fate. Was she trying to get him on our side? And if a powerful god like him were to join, what other parties might he influence? The Shards of Omniscience were the key to the Divine Cycle, and those fell under Magic’s stewardship. What connection did that have with the shard Fate was studying, and what of true mana?

”Faith,” Fyren murmured to himself. ”Yes, that’s a good way to put it. The stars have ever been a light to the darkness.”

’To?’ Not ’in?’ I looked questioningly at Fyren, but he didn’t clarify.

”So what exactly is this Primordial Mark? I get it was the first way the demon emperors controlled the demons, but what now?” Elise asked.

Her question jolted me back to the reason I’d been so nervous to speak with Fyren. I took a deep breath, rewording it even more directly.

”Fyren, please, no more riddles. Help me understand. Why did you allow Borealis to accept such a mark? And why would you?”

He was quiet for a long time, staring directly at me. His gaze was intense, burning a hole through me, but I didn’t shy away. Not this time.

At last, he nodded. ”Very well. You’re young and far from ready for immortal matters, but it would be myopic of me to withhold all information when even Fate shared a morsel. The truth is, Xiviyah, accepting a primordial mark was never my intention. Or, rather, it wasn’t even something anyone, myself included, considered possible. But once you showed that it was, there was no longer a question as to our course of action. It was essential to the cause of the Devoted that they bind themselves to Fate by whatever means necessary, and there is no more certain, no more decisive bond than a primordial mark. Just look at us as opportunists.”

I sat back, stroking my horn, staring at the ground. Assuming he was telling the truth, Fyren had just dismissed every theory and question we had had. Arantius alone had been right, putting it up to luck. Dumb luck and coincidence.

”Why would demons want to bind themselves to Fate?” R’lissea asked. ”Wasn’t she your enemy?”

”That, I’m afraid, must remain secret, for now. Everything you’ve heard so far is dangerous, but having that knowledge will bring the wrath of gods and emperors upon your head.”

”It can’t be that dangerous,” Elise exclaimed. ”Surely you’re exaggerating.”

Fyren chuckled, shaking his head. ”Were that I was, but no. I’m uncertain exactly what Fate is planning, but I will do everything in my power to make sure she accomplishes it. The other demons, and many of the gods, likely feel the same, only the opposite. None knows exactly her objectives, but all are terrified of her actually accomplishing them. If they suspect you know, they will send archons and avatars to this world unceasingly until they tear the information from your minds.”

”But if you don’t know what she wants, why can’t you tell us what you do know?” I protested.

”Because that information alone would be enough to incriminate you. A skilled manipulator would be able to piece together enough of the plan, as I have, to know she must be stopped at any cost. And that would mean killing you, Xiviyah. I cannot have that, especially now that my soul is bound to yours with a Primordial Mark.”

”But I–” I took a deep breath, consciously taking my hand from my horn. I’d been rubbing it furiously, and now it was starting to ache.

”Patience, Xiviyah,” Fyren said gently. ”Just know that the Devoted will continue to stand by you and fight for you. Besides,” He flashed a smile. ”Aren’t you just a little curious to see what becomes of the first-ever fate demons?”