The Forsaken Hero

”You didn’t,” Elise breathed, face pale.

”I’m not sure what you’re accusing me of, but you’d best have proof if you think we did wrong. The elves aren’t like the barbaric lands of Blacksand. They believe in equality, truth, and justice. Your slander and harmful rhetoric have no place among them.”

A murmur of approval rolled around the room, elves nodding in appreciation. It wasn’t often they had an inquisitor’s approval.

”What do we do?” R’lissea whispered, biting her lip.

Elise straightened, addressing the chamber as a whole. ”There are months yet before the demons will fall upon this forest. I ask that you delay making a decision on this matter until that time.”

”I see no reason to consider their proposal any longer,” Lord Ellenwinter said. ”Surrender to demons? What would ancestors think? What would our children think? Any elf with a shred of dignity will never allow their honor to be trampled on by such savages. Be it now or in a hundred years, my answer will be the same.”

We turned pleadingly to Lady Whitemarsh and Lord Splitbark. Lady Whitemarsh’s eyes were on Selena, watching her closely. After a moment, she sighed and shrugged.

”I see no disadvantage to extending this discussion. As long as peace is on the table, the demons will restrain themselves from a full assault. That gives us more time to prepare and secure our flanks against the Risen.”

”I’m of like mind,” Lord Splitbark said, nodding sagely. ”Time is our most precious resource. It would be foolish to waste this opportunity.”

Lord Ellenwinter snorted. ”Fine, if you’re agreed to the idea, I have no room to argue. Let the farce be extended.”

”Four months? We can hold our confirming vote on the Autumn Equinox,” Lady Whitemarsh said.

The other ancient Lords nodded their approval.

”Then we have no further business to discuss in this audience. Thank you for your time, Lady Lastlight,” Lord Splitbark said.

The room burst into conversation as the Tribunal fell silent, elvish lords and ladies murmuring as their gazes traversed between our party and the inquisitors. Lord Evlon favored us with a triumphant smirk, turning and stalking away with his revenue. I placed a hand on my stomach, feeling a swell of nausea. How could something like this happen? How could the elves possibly ally with the church?

But there was nothing more we could say. The guards closed in, escorting us with hostile expressions back the way we had come. Korra and R’lissea looked worried, but Elise was crushed. She trudged behind us, hands limp at her sides, blinking furiously to keep tears from gathering. If she were a demonkin, there was no doubt her tail would be dragging, just like mine was.

”You did your best,” I whispered, slipping my hand into hers. She didn’t return my grip, so I just held it, rubbing the back of her hand with my thumb. ”It’s the church. We just need to prove we’re telling the truth, and they’ll believe us.”

”It’s not that simple,” she whispered, a tear finally escaping unchecked. ”The elves...they want to believe them. I don’t know what the Divine Throne offered, but they’re willing to risk the extermination of their people to accept it. Or, at least,” she hesitated, ”Their leaders are. I doubt the common people know how bad it really is.”

As we exited the Grove, coming to our carriages, Korra sighed, shaking her head. ”Selena, your people are terrible.”

Selena raised an eyebrow. ”What makes you say that?”

”I don’t care for the politics, but that Ellenwinter fellow? How dare he insult Elise like that?” she said, gritting her teeth. ”Decorum and tradition be damned, if he ever tries that again, I’ll kill him. You and Aerion are the only ones in this overgrown city that have a chance and stopping me, now that I’ve broken through, but don’t think I’ll let you.”

”You’ll do no such thing,” Elise said, frowning at her. ”This isn’t about killing the elves, but saving them. Otherwise, we could just leave, and the demons would take care of it.”

”An idea I’m not opposed to anymore,” Korra muttered.

”Korra...” R’lissea said, ”Even if we could let the innocents die, we have to save the shards. For Xiviyah, remember?”

”I know, I know, I’m just saying...we don’t need the elves alive to do that. And we certainly don’t need Ellenwinter.”

”If we do that, the church will know our plans. It’s already suspicious we’re trying to save the shards,” Elise said. ”I don’t know if the church can destroy them, but are we willing to bet on that?”

”Fine, we’ll do it your way. But don’t think I’m letting it go next time,” Korra said. She turned to me and frowned. ”What are you smiling at?”

I jumped, hand flying to my lips. I was smiling? ”I, um...I was just thinking. You stood up for me, too, back then. Before Alex and Soltair could...”

”That’s what friends do. We protect each other.” Korra nodded firmly. ”And now that I’m eighth-level, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. That high inquisitor looked strong, but I’ll keep training until I can kill him too, if he tries anything.”

”A good plan,” Aerion said, coming up to us. He’d lingered in the Grove, speaking with some of the younger nobles who had observed the event, but he was now alone. ”There’s no reason to give up yet. The longer this goes on, the more pressure Sylvarus will face from both elves and Risen. I’ll try and get a private audience with the three House leaders individually, and you might be able to make some headway. At the very least, you could figure out why they’re so firm in rejecting your offer.”

”And what the church is plotting,” I said.

He flashed me a smile. ”Exxactly! Also, it wouldn’t hurt to use that demon army of yours to help fight the Risen. That will earn us the approval of the people.”

”Which adds more pressure on the Tribunal,” Elise said, furrowing her brow. ”You’re right, it’s foolish to give up now. There’s a lot we can still do in a few months.”

”In that case, I’ll redouble my efforts to break into ninth,” Selena said. ”Even the council can’t ignore me, then. I hope.”

”Is that even possible?” Aerion asked. ”Without a ninth-level spell book, you’d have to scrounge up enough mana to use a technique, and those aren’t exactly your forte.”

She gave him a helpless look, and he sighed, nodding.

”I don’t suppose there’s anything else we can do,” he said. ”Just try your best.”

”Do you mind if I study and train with you?” R’lissea asked. ”I’ve been struggling to master high-level combat magic, and I heard you were among the best combat-oriented Life Mages.”

”Of course, child. Every morning at dawn, we can spar for a few hours. Then, in the evenings, we can study in our library. It’s not as vast or grand as the Duskwood library, but it’s got the expansive collection of Life Magic out of anywhere save, perhaps, the Divine Throne.”

”And absolutely nothing else,” Aerion added, grinning. ”Life Magic is literally the only thing our House Guard uses.”

With our plans set, we boarded the carriages and began the journey back to the Sunsinger Estate. I found myself staring out the window, idly rubbing my hand down the length of my tail and back up again. The gloom from our audience had lifted from my companions, encouraged by the plans we’d made, but I couldn’t shake it so easily. Lord Evlon and Father Ithris, the two who had tormented me since before brithlite, were here. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Even if we found where they were staying and attacked and killed them, we’d end up permanently aligning the elves against us. But were they bound by the same rules? They seemed particularly close to Lord Splitbark. Might they justify an assassination or kidnapping attempt against me as clearing the city of ’demon filth?’ Maybe it wasn’t so wise to have a balcony room, after all.

We arrived back at the manor before the sun reached its zenith. Korra and Aerion went off on their own, presumably to spar, while Selena took R’lissea to see the library. Elise vanished to her room, asking to be alone for a while. I worried about how she was feeling, but I could only respect her wishes. The last thing I wanted was to ignore her desires just like Alverin and the elves had. I knew better than anyone how powerless that made one who had been enslaved feel.

And so, left on my own with only the Star Guard for company, I drifted through the manor, exploring the grounds and gardens. There were several extensive sparring grounds in the outer courtyards, but I avoided those once it became apparent that Korra and Aerion had, indeed, decided to spar. The shockwaves were dampened, but if I got too close, it left my stomach unsettled.

I found a nice, if oversized, bench beneath a shaded orchard to sit on, idly kicking my feet in empty air. I tapped on my spatial, searching for the runic dictionary, but before I could retrieve it, the flutter of wings caught my attention. A blue-grey silhouette fell out of the air, alighting on the ground on wings of crackling storm clouds.

”Zephyriss?” I asked as she stretched, looking around the garden curiously.

Her gaze came to rest on me. ”I brought you someone,” she said, unfurling her wings.

My eyes widened as Sari fell out of the clouds, eyes wide and a little disoriented. She lit up when she saw me and ran up, grabbing my hand in both of hers, beaming.

”Xiviyah! We flew! Isn’t that awesome!”