The Forsaken Hero

Aerion went silent, eyes narrowed at me, searching my face. I returned his gaze calmly, reassured by Elise’s hand.

”I carry the divinity of Fate,” I continued. ”To claim it and properly instate their new god, they must first kill me and take it. That’s why Lord Evlon has hunted me across the northern continent, and why he’s going so far as to call an arbiter.”

”I figured it was something to do with that, given the change of power and your identity as the previous fate hero, but what makes this so pressing? You’ve held it for a year now, right? On the scale of immortals, they could wait ten, twenty, even a hundred years for you to die naturally, and it couldn’t make that much of a difference. Not worth the resources they’re burning now.”

”Maybe, but it’s...different.”

”Different how?” he pressed.

I hesitated again. Was this secret something I could share so freely? I had Silent Stars active, as I always did, yet it wasn’t spies I was worried about.

But, I’d already come this far. And knowing Aerion, he’d likely piece it together based on what I’d already told him anyway.

”This isn’t just about Enusia,” I admitted. ”This realm is but a battlefield in a larger war. The new god of fate has some semblance of control, and has likely already established his own fledgling divine realm, but to be without his divinity...he’s little more than an imposter.”

Aerion nodded slowly, understanding dawning in his eyes. ”Which means the gods are without their oracle, and are moving blind.”

I nodded. ”Fate is the only real advantage, the only unique power that they held over the demons. And right now, I have it.”

”But they have a fate hero, too, I understand.”

”It’s different. It’s easy to follow a few threads in a tapestry, for that’s all that this mortal realm is. The divinity allows one to step back and view the whole work, to see every string, every color, every intention.”

”You claim to be able to do such?”

I let out a short, mirthless laugh. ”Hardly. It’s not something mortals can comprehend with our limited capabilities. It’s given me some power, yes, but mostly, I’m just holding on to it. Keeping it from them.”

”And the original fate goddess? The church claimed she was dead, but I presume she’s hidden away in your special realm?”

My heart lurched at that, and I took my twitching tail, smoothing it in my lap. It wasn’t unsurprising that he could surmise as such. ”Something like that,” I admitted.

He stroked his chin, gazing at me with the same calculating intensity Emlica did. ”I’d like to meet her, one day. I have a lot of questions to ask an immortal. But first,” he said, turning to Luke. ”Your presence finally makes some sense. I couldn’t figure out why you were here while your hordes scoured the rest of the continent, but knowing this, it’s only natural you’d wish to keep the Oracle from falling into the gods’ hands. She’s the only real advantage you have, the only curtain on your otherwise massive window.”

”Perhaps once, but Xiviyah is no tool to be wielded. I have no claim over her, no more than the church. She’s free to do as she wishes.”

”Unless it’s leaving the manor alone,” I muttered, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

His brow furrowed. ”No, that’s not...wait, are you teasing me? I...you can do that?” he asked, staring at me in blatant disbelief.

Elise let out a peal of laughter, and R’lissea stifled a giggle. Even Selena cracked a smile, shaking her head.

”Don’t worry, we were just as surprised the first time,” R’lissea said.

”I...I see,” Luke stammered, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. Oddly enough, he looked almost...cute. Like Sari, when her tail wagged. Great, now my tail was twitching again.

”Alright,” Aerion said, clapping sharply, bringing order back to his study. ”I’ve got a much better idea of the pieces on the board. Presuming your visions are accurate, Xiviyah, I’m beginning to understand why the gods want you back so desperately. To know the future as it comes...truly a wonderful ability.”

I shivered slightly, feeling his gaze linger on me a touch longer than it should have. Or maybe it was just my imagination. I trusted Aerion about as far as I did Jessia, which is to say, not at all.

”Our biggest concern is going to be that arbiter,” Aerion said, pulling out a sheet of parchment. He dipped a quill in ink and began to write, continuing to speak as he did so. ”Selena, if it comes to it, how do you feel about your chances?”

”I’ll die,” she said simply.

He nodded. ”I figured as much. Your only ninth-circle spell is hardly geared for combat.”

”Not to mention he’s geared for melee combat,” she added. ”Any mage would be at a disadvantage.”

”How long do you think you could stall him? With you two out of the equation, I’d estimate our forces are roughly equivalent to what the church and nobles can bring against us.”

”What about the talismans?” Elise asked.

He flashed a smile. ”I’ve got a plan for those already. They lost that advantage as soon as we became aware of their existence. I’m more worried about the skyships and whatever tricks the inquisitors have. And the Justice Hero.”

”Lord Evlon has hunted us across the continent,” I said softly, balling my hands in my lap. ”I want to end this once and for all.”

”I agree,” R’lissea said. ”Especially concerning Victor...this is Sylvarus’s fight.”

”I’m afraid I can’t agree to that,” Aerion said. ”At least, not for you, Xiviyah. You going to them is exactly what they want. If I were them, the moment we found you, I’d pour every resource we had into capturing or killing you.”

”I don’t have the power to stop the arbiter if he wants to disengage,” Selena agreed. ”The only way I can think of keeping him engaged with me is if he had nothing, and no one, more important to fight. I have to be the biggest threat, else he can just ignore me for his true goals.”

”But I...I want to fight. I can’t sit by and do nothing,” I protested.

Luke nodded. ”I’m willing to grant my power to you as well, but I’m not leaving Xiviyah. I doubt Fyren, or her wolf, will be convinced to either.”

Aerion pursed his lips. ”That would be...unfortunate. There are fewer than half as many skyships in Sylvarus as Xiviyah described in her vision, meaning most will be coming from the front lines. We’ve heard no reports, and I’m confident the Whitemarshs haven’t either, which indicates their return, meaning our enemies likely commandeer them. We have no measures to counter them without catastrophic collateral damage. If you’re going to withhold so much of your power, we’ll have no other recourse.”

”Luke...” I whispered, looking at him. As much as I valued his presence, I’d seen how much destruction the skyships could cause. If there was another option, I couldn’t justify risking the lives we were trying to save.

Luke folded his arms. ”I’m not here to fight ships regardless. My prey is inquisitors, or emperors willing, that archon. I’ve no care for your politics or internal strife.”

”I could do it,” R’lissea said, then paused, ducking her head slightly. ”But I’d need Fable. Or Borealis. Or both.”

”I...could ask them,” I said, shifting. ”But I still don’t want to sit to the side and watch. Can’t I do something?”

”You can,” Elise said, putting her hand on mine. ”What if you focused on using your support magic, like Nexus, and maybe, if you’re feeling strong enough, shielding the city from the destruction of Selena’s fight. Throwing around such high-level spells will kill tens of thousands if you don’t.”

”But that’s not really...” I hesitated, biting my lip, then nodded, staring at the ground. ”Okay.”

”As for you, apostle,” Aerion said. ”If you’re truly willing, Selena could use all the help she can get. You’re durable enough to survive some hits, especially with Xiviyah’s magic supporting you.”

”Fine, but only if we guarantee enough protection for Xiviyah in my absence,” Luke said.

”I’ll be fine,” I mumbled. ”Especially if I’m...in the back. I have the Devoted.”

The meeting continued, but I stayed quietly in my seat, unable to muster more than nods or mumbled answers to questions regarding my visions. It just didn’t seem fair. They were risking their lives for me, going so far as to fight a ninth-level archon. But this was my fight far more than it was theirs. Shouldn’t I be allowed to help, too?

In my melancholy, my mind drifted elsewhere, to something that had been bothering me since I’d woken up in Luke’s arms. It was Victor; he shouldn’t be here. He’d gone north, where the church had lost all presence to the demons. Never mind his change of heart, how could he turn up here? There was more, too. Something about that scene of him killing me felt wrong. It had happened so fast, and the vision had broken right after, I hadn’t had time to properly observe everything, and couldn’t shake the feeling that I might have missed something. But what was it?

The strategizing went late into the night before it finally ended. Korra joined at some point, aghast at being left out, but I barely noticed. As we separated, and I started toward my quarters, Elise caught my hand.

”Xiviyah, I know you wanted to fight, but...this is for the best.”

”It’s fine,” I said, kicking my limp tail behind me. ”I’m just...thinking. About Victor. It doesn’t make sense.”

”That he betrayed us?”

”Yes, but...not really. He was smiling, Elise. Like he was happy to kill me.”