The Forsaken Hero

Despite my every effort, I wasn’t just fine. I lay on my bed, just staring at the ceiling, until the sun climbed over the wall, streaming through the curtains. I was aware of the Star Guards’ souls hovering outside my bedroom door, shifting uneasily, but I couldn’t raise myself, or even wipe the excess moisture from the corner of my eyes.

Luke had left. I wasn’t going to cry anymore, but...he was gone.

My hand rose to my chest, closing around the ring, the cold gold cutting into my palm. I still couldn’t feel him. Not even a smidge of his soul or aura.

It had to be Jessia. But why hadn’t Luke told me? Did he think leaving me with this horrible emptiness was more bearable than a constant reminder? At least then I’d have something to cling to.

Closing my eyes, I let the ring go, my hand falling limply to the bed. If I stayed here any longer, immersed in these feelings, then I really would start crying again.

With a heavy sigh, I rolled out of bed. My body groaned in protest, resisting my efforts to dress and brush my hair, but I pushed myself anyway. I had fought arbiters and survived inquisitors. No matter how heavy my body, I could still get dressed.

In the end, I managed to squirm into a beautiful red heart-land dress, tied with a black sash. But my motivation failed as I slipped into a pair of soft red slippers tied with ribbons that laced up my ankles to my knees. With some trepidation, I rubbed the Sunsinger ring on my fingers, summoning some maids to help with my hair.

They ignored my bleary red eyes, cheerfully pulling my hair back and brushing it in long, shining curls. The Star Guard loomed in the doorway, watching me with worried expressions. I didn’t meet their gazes, keeping my hands clasped tightly in my lap, staring at the floor.

”Is something the matter?” Luxxa ventured once the maids had finished and left.

I shook my head, biting my lip to keep it from quivering. I was afraid that if I spoke, I wouldn’t be able to keep the sob locked in my throat from escaping.

”Was it a bad dream?” Jenna asked, gliding around me. She tried to take my hand, but I pulled away, keeping my hands tightly clasped in my lap. She pursed her lips in a pout. ”Aw, come on. Don’t be like that.”

”Jenna, give her some distance,” Luxxa said. ”My Lady, would you like to go for a walk? Get some air?”

I nodded, and when the knight reached for my hands again, I let her pull me to my feet.

”No fair,” Jenna grumbled.

As we walked through the door, Kahlen stiffened, glancing at the empty floor in the corner of the room. Right where Luke and Jessia had disappeared.

”My Lady? Did something...happen?” he ventured, fidgeting with a sword he had absently summoned.

”No, everything’s fine,” I managed to say without my voice cracking.

He nodded slowly, his gaze lingering, before he abruptly turned and strode after us.

A cool breeze drifted through the gardens, rustling the leaves and caressing my cheek. Hints of yellow tinted the leaves of the small, neatly trimmed trees, and I shivered whenever we passed beneath their shaded boughs.

”Fall comes quickly here,” Luxxa said, stretching out her hand and plucking a yellowing leaf from above. ”Won’t be long till the snow starts.

”Snow? Here?” Jenna tilted her head. ”I thought the Archmage’s magic kept it eternally spring.

”It will,” Gith said softly. ”The most we’ll see is it getting a bit chillier.”

Luxxa let the leaf slip between her fingers. ”I suppose that’s true. I was thinking of the forests in Heartland. We usually had frost on the ground by the time the leaves started to change.”

”I bet they’ve already had the first snow there,” Jenna said. ”The seasons change a lot faster up north.”

”Do you miss it?” I asked, turning to face them. My tail switched anxiously as they looked at me, my fingers digging into my skirt.

”Of course we do,” Jenna said. ”But, how do I put this, the Brithlite I miss is the Brithlite of the past. I never had much family left, and my friends were all in the company. Sure, there were a lot more opportunities to have fun and, er, entertain myself, but I gave that all up when I accepted Bethiv’s order to serve you.”

”My family was killed,” Luxxa said softly. She looked up, eyes widening as I gasped. ”No, please, do not mourn for me. It was a long time ago.”

”You were a noble, weren’t you?” Jenna asked.

She nodded. ”Yes, but I remember little of it. My father was involved in enforcing policy regarding adventurer and mercenary law, and rubbed shoulders with Commander Bethiv more than a few times. He interfered with the Circle’s operations more than once, much to their frustration. One day, he and my mother went on a routine inspection of one of the guildhouses in a city on the border. They never arrived.”

”What happened to them?” I asked, twisting my dress in my hands.

”I never found out. But I believe Alvarin had something to do with it. That was two decades ago, when I was just a girl. As my house collapsed, the Commander took pity on me and brought me into the company.”

”Hardly a place to raise a child,” Jenna said.

Luxxa said, ”I was already twelve. Perhaps I’m a little less stiff and formal than the normal lady, but I’ve retained as much of the mannerism and instruction from my childhood that I could. All the Company did was teach me to fight and give me a purpose. And, though I never expected it, a chance for vengeance.” She cleared her throat, scratching her cheek. ”Sorry, all that to say I have nothing for me in Brithlite. You’ve already given me the chance to make peace with my past, and now, I have nothing more to live for than ensuring your safety and happiness. Even without my duty binding me to your side, I would stay here regardless.”

”What about you, Gith?” Jenna asked, nudging him with her shoulder.

He shrugged. ”Nothing more to me than you already know.”

”I don’t,” I said in a small voice.

He blinked, looking at me, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

”Would you tell me?” I tentatively asked.

He exhaled softly. ”Fine, but only this once. It’s not remarkable enough to make a tale twice. My family was from a small town in the wilds between Heartland and the Blue Canyon. Years ago, when the Last Light Company was still just an adventuring team, they came through and hunted down some monsters, giving us some problems. Avrass, their only ranger at the time, noticed my small skill with a bow and mentored me while they rested in the village. I inadvertently gave away my ability, and he recruited me. I’ve never been back.”

”Not even once? To see your family?”

”We weren’t particularly close. I was fourteen when I left, the age when I would have been apprenticed off to a local woodsman or farmer, anyway.”

”But...don’t you miss them?”

”Perhaps, but my role was with the Company, and now with you. When all this blows over, maybe I’ll go home. See if the old man is still kicking.” He smiled faintly to himself, but straightened his face as soon as he noticed. ”That’s all there is for me, my Lady.”

”And me?” Kahlen asked.

Jenna chuckled, punching him playfully on the arm. ”No one cares about you, demon. Except me.”

Kahlen snorted. ”Is that so? Perhaps I, too, miss my home.”

”Do demons have homes?” I asked, eyes wide.

”No. The Infernal Realm of Blades is the first I remember. Think of it like a mortal realm, filled with nothing but the infernal mana, blades, and endless hunger. That was some thousand years ago, by Enusian reckoning. Little changed, until I was blessed with this evolution in the wake of your victories. Perhaps, one day, I’ll look back at this realm as home. The first place I received true intelligence and purpose.”

”That’s sad,” Jenna said, though by her tone, she didn’t seem particularly sympathetic.

”My Lady? Would you mind if I asked about your home?” Luxxa asked.

I was quiet for a long time, my tail twitching restlessly as I thought of how to best reject her. They’d never talked about their homes or previous lives before. How could I say no after they’d been so open?

”If you don’t want to say, that’s alright. I know it must have been hard, even before you awoke in Enusia.”

I nodded, a lump in my throat. But as they began to walk again, I reached out, catching her hand, not entirely sure what I was doing.

”I...I wasn’t always a demonkin,” I whispered hoarsely, not meeting her gaze. ”I was a human. Like you three.”

They started in surprise, but quickly settled, leaning forward. They barely breathed, as if afraid they’d scare me back into silence. My tail continued to twitch, and I gripped her hand, wishing it were as big and warm as Luke’s.

”My world didn’t have magic. It didn’t have monsters or shards. It didn’t even have swords. We did, once, but that was a long time ago.”

”Really?” Jenna asked.

Everyone gave her sharp looks, but I nodded.

”Really. It’s hard to describe, but there were marvels and luxuries you can’t even imagine. The cities were massive, entire kingdoms in and of themselves, with buildings that rose higher than any tower. But the people...” my voice fell to a whisper. ”...the people were the same.”

I took a shaky breath.

”I was excited when I was summoned here. Maybe...maybe this world would be different. It wasn’t at first, but now, I think that it is. Back in my old world, I didn’t know anyone like Korra or you. Like Lu--” I choked on the name, biting my lip so hard I winced.

”Like Luke?” Jenna asked, tilting her head.

My breath caught, blinking away tears as they welled up again. ”Like Luke.”