The Forsaken Hero

The forest beyond the village was a twisted hellscape of what we had passed through. Until now, the land had been as ancient and untamed as Heartland Forest, if not even older. The trunks were massive, some dozens of feet around, and often towered hundreds of feet in the air. No monster or animal had dared get in our way, lest it be torn apart by the demons or corrupted by the ambient infernal mana, yet I had sensed many powerful creatures, some breaking into fourth level.

But now, as the Black Mist became more plentiful, the forest was a hollow shell. Wilted black crept into the canopy, deep green leaves wilting and fluttering to the ground. The boughs creaked and groaned in every slight breeze, and trunks were covered in disease and rot. Booms echoed through the distant woodlands as the occasional tree lost its roots and toppled to the ground.

”How could he do this?” R’lissea whispered, white-knuckling her grip on her skirt. ”Connor was always callous, but this...all of these trees...all this life...it was so precious...”

”It’s awful.” Elise was almost as quiet as R’lissea. ”I remember running through this forest on a diplomatic trip with my Father, before...”

She stared at her lap, face shrouded in shadow. My tail stirred, twitching uncertainly, as I thought of how I might comfort them. But another look at the deepening shadows of the forest had it drooping. There was nothing to say, no words of comfort. The forest was dying, and unless we managed to find a way to subdue the Black Mist, there would be nothing we could do about it.

The snap of arcing electricity drew my gaze upward. Zephyriss descended with her usual sort of evolved demons hovering behind her.

”There’s a city close to twenty miles west of here,” she said, alighting on the ground in front of Fable.

”City?” R’lissea looked up sharply. ”Is it Echo Hearth?”

The storm demon gave her an odd look. ”Never heard of it.”

R’lissea’s grip on her skirt tightened. I cringed, waiting for an outburst, but she took a slow, deliberate breath before continuing. Herr voice was much calmer than before.

”Is it in a canyon? The city, I mean.”

”Ah, that. Yes, it seems set in the start of a massive canyon.” A dreamy look crossed her face. ”The winds flowing out of the chasm were simply delightful.”

”And the people?” R’lissea asked, pale-faced.

The demon shrugged. ”Gone, or dead. The canyon was a swamp of Black Mist and Risen.”

”No...” R’lissea’s shoulders slumped, voice wavering on the edge of tears. ”I...I was there. They...They must have escaped...They had to...”

I blinked quickly, struggling to quell the rising wetness in my eyes. It wasn’t for the nameless elves I would never know, but for the sheer grief in her voice. I surrendered to the urge to embrace her, pulling her forward and hugging her tightly. R’lissea’s shoulders shook gently as she sniffled, fighting sobs.

”Maybe...they escaped?” Elise said, though from her tone, it was clear she didn’t believe it.

I looked over R’lissea as I hugged her, making eye contact with Zephyriss. She had returned to the air, hovering a few inches over the ground, watching us with a curious expression.

”Do the Risen we’re following lead to the city?” I asked.

She shook her head. ”No, a pack of Incinderus’s scions happened across a group of Risen that had wandered from the chasm.”

I nodded, letting out a heavy sigh as I idly rubbed R’lissea’s back. ”Fyren, change course and prepare for battle. We’re not leaving this city behind. We can check for survivors, and...do what must be done.”

Fyren frowned. ”Are you certain? This city isn’t small, and will likely take the rest of the day to clear. Can you spare the time?”

R’lissea looked up at me, eyes glistening with tears. My heart trembled, and I hugged her tighter. ”Do it.”

He exchanged a look with Zephyriss. After a second, they shared a nod, and a pulse of mana erupted from both their souls. The horde shivered as their marks lit up, coming to a stop. A moment later, Incinderus appeared. The three demons stared silently at each other for a few seconds.

Zephyriss broke off first, floating over to us. She held out her hand to R’lissea, who still clung to me.

”Come, Hero. Let us fly together. We shall see if any of your kinsmen yet live.”

R’lissea shivered in my arms. I gently pushed her away. She sniffled, drying her eyes with her sleeve, and nodded bravely.

”T-thank you.”

She took the demon’s hand, allowing her to pull her from Fable’s back. Borealis hopped back into my lap, pushing his head against my hand. It should have been irritating, seeing his blatant disregard for the situation, but his weight was comforting in the absence of R’lissea’s warmth.

Zephyriss beckoned a large evolved storm demon over, a beastial cat-like creature with black feathery wings. It was massive, a head taller than any horse, with ferocious fangs and claws. But at the demon lord’s call, it knelt meekly, allowing R’lissea to climb on its back.

The elf looked forlornly at Elise and me. I gave her what I hoped was an encouraging smile and nod.

”Good luck,” I said.

She swallowed hard and gripped the storm demon’s neck. ”Thanks. You too.”

With that, the storm demons took off, disappearing in the blink of an eye. In seconds, all that remained was the smell of rain and a quiet boom of distant thunder.

”What are you going to do?” I asked, turning to the two fire demons.

”Attack from the front,” Fyren said. ”By the time we get in position, they should have swept the entire city.”

Incinderus nodded. ”Indeed. Once it’s clear, I’ll oblige the entire canyon at once. Large-scale destruction spells are my specialty, after all.”

”And the horde will take care of the rest. Many of the evolved demons lack sufficient power to resist the Black Mist on their own, yet the scions should be sufficiently strong,” Fyren added.

”Should we go to?” Elise asked me, moving up to take R’lissea’s spot behind me on Fable.

”That won’t be necessary. Remain here, away from danger. There’s still the other horde of undead we’re tracking, as well as whatever happened to the majority of Echo Hearth’s population. If they sense our life force and double back, things could get messy,” Fyren said.

”I want to go. She needs us,” I said, staring him in the eye.

He sighed, rubbing his head. ”If you’ve made up your mind, there’s no point arguing, then. Come, stay close.”

The horde moved quickly, tearing through the forest. Fable loped at a seemingly relaxed pace, remaining in the middle and away from the Black Mist. That wasn’t exactly difficult, given the near mile-wide spread of demons charging on all sides. Forty thousand demons were far from a subtle force.

The terrain shifted abruptly, angling upward in a series of rolling mountains. As we crested a rugged ridge, we broke through the trees, getting a view of Echo Hearth city.

The chasm R’lissea mentioned was like a massive scar in the forest, as abrupt and dramatic as the Blacksand Caldera had been in the desert. The walls were steep and sheer, dropping hundreds of feet and sprouting trees and flora from every possible surface. Rivers and streams caught the light of the sun, turning into ribbons of shining, silvery light as they emerged from the forest and plunged into the chasm.

The chasm extended from the horizon to just beneath our ridge, ending abruptly in a crater-like formation. A city rose from the depths of the chasm, spilling out of the crater into the forest beyond. It had no wall but those provided by the terrain.

The buildings, while not dissimilar from human kingdoms I’d visited, had a unique, graceful architecture, favoring wood over stone. They sprouted from every viable surface like the trees they mimicked, many being built on shelves of rock on the chasm walls and accessible only by ladders or stairs cut into the wall itself.

The scene would have been beautiful, idyllic even, save for the smothering presence of Black Mist. It rose from the canyon like fog, choking the city and surrounding forests. Little black dots of Risen aimlessly traversed the streets like ants. There were hundreds of them, but as Zephyriss observed, not near enough to justify a city of this size, which was big enough to house several tens of thousands. Hope swelled in my breast. Maybe some had managed to escape.

A bolt of lightning dropped from the clouds, landing on a tall, spiraling tower near the center of the city. It released a small shockwave that toppled the nearby buildings, kicking up a dust cloud hundreds of feet into the air.

”No survivors,” Fyren said darkly.

Another pulse of mana left his soul, leaping to Incinderus, who stood at the front of the horde. The distant demon lord took a position on a closer ridge overlooking the city and raised his arms, summoning an immense amount of mana. Eight magic circles blossomed over his head, extending a thousand feet wide. Even though we were a quarter mile away, the air thickened with his aura, my breathing growing tight.

A strange calm descended on the Risen in the city below, as if they were sensing the magic. Then, as one, they charged toward us. Fyren released another pulse of mana directly into the Primordial Mark, touching every demon in our horde.

”Kill them all!”