The Forsaken Hero

A shimmering tear appeared in the air, a seam of space itself pulled open to reveal another view entirely. The library courtyard was on one side, but on the other, the sandy floor of the Colosseum. I gave a tentative look at Emlica, and when she nodded, stepped through.

There was a slight tingle as the air shifted, charging with mana. Not from the rift itself, but the battle raging beyond. The rift had opened in the mouth of the narrow canyon leading into the arena, but I let out a squeak as I staggered back, startled as a fiery explosion rolled up the wards just a handful of steps away. When the fires died, they revealed Korra and Gayron, locked in battle against Ernyst. The remnant wielded his sword in a relaxed manner, his sword never moving quickly, but always arriving in time to parry a slash from Gayron, or one of Korra’s punches.

They broke apart, their auras fading as they turned toward me. Korra’s face lit up with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and she rushed through the wards, wrapping me in a hug that drove the air from my lungs. I let out a weak gasp, my face smooshed against her breasts, and returned her embrace.

”Xiviyah! You did it!” she cried, pulling back with her hands on my shoulders. Her eyes shone as she stared at the open rift.

My tail swished despite my exhaustion, and I took her hands. ”Come on!” I said, tugging her after me, through the rift.

She shivered as we stepped through, looking around the library courtyard, her lips slightly agape. ”It really works. Not that I doubted you, but...wow. You’re incredible!”

”Hmph. I suppose she deserves some credit, but the spell’s design accounts for most of the success,” Emlica said, leaning against a nearby pillar, her arms crossed.

Korra rolled her eyes. ”I’m sure you helped. But Xiviyah’s amazing, and don’t pretend otherwise.” She squeezed my hand before letting go, her smile returning. ”I’m going to get Gayron!”

”No need,” Gayron said, stepping through the rift. ”I’m already here.”

Korar grabbed him, giving him an excited peck on the cheek. ”Isn’t this awesome? We’ll never have to walk anywhere again!”

”Or fly,” he added, nodding.

”Well, um...assuming I’ve been there before. Or seen it,” I said, rubbing one of my horns. ”And it takes a lot of mana. The rifts have only been open for like a minute, but it’s already used just as much as casting the spell itself did.”

As she nodded, undeterred by the explanation, I examined the rift more closely. It looked like someone had thrown a rock through an invisible window in the air, a narrow opening with jagged black cracks spiderwebbing away for a few feet before vanishing. It hummed and crackled like lightning, the cracks extending and shrinking erratically. Nothing at all like the warm, consistent swirls of a gate.

I let the gate close, the cracks shrinking and pushing the passage closed until it vanished entirely. Then, with everyone’s eyes on me, encouraged by Korra’s grin, I began to cast again. I failed, of course, but the next time, I succeeded, taking only ten minutes to craft the eight magic circles. Half the time of my first success.

This time, when the rift opened, we stared into a window of the Sunsinger’s garden, where Fable and Sari played in the garden. Fable immediately perked up, his tail freezing mid-swish. Sari, who had been chasing it, leaped on it, hugging it to her chest and rubbing her face in its fur. She froze, her own tail stiffening, as I stepped through and she sensed my aura.

”Xiviyah?” Her eyes went wide as she met my gaze. She quickly let go of Fable’s tail, her ears twitching in embarrassment. ”I wasn’t–er, we were just...” Her eyes strayed to the rift, and she gasped. ”What is that?”

I giggled, ruffling her hair, though I had to reach up to do so. ”You don’t have to justify playing with Fable. It’s good for both of you, I think.”

Her cheeks warmed. ”Yeah, but...that’s not a gate. What did you do?”

”I learned a new spell!” I said, moving over so Korra and Gayron could step through. ”See? This way, you won’t have to walk all the way to Brithlite!”

She stared at me, her ears sticking straight up, as a slow smile spread across her face. ”Really? Did you tell Elise?”

”You were the first one! Aside from Korra,” I said, smiling.

”Then we have to tell her. She was just complaining about how long it was going to take to get to the Empire in winter.”

I chuckled as she scampered off, paused, turned to see if we were following, before running off again.

”She’s got too much energy,” Korra said, taking my hand as we moved after her.

”That’s what I said about you,” I said, squeezing her hand.

She turned with a sniff, but couldn’t help a lopsided smile from sneaking through. I felt a pair of eyes on my back, and glanced back, finding Gayron staring at me, or rather, my hand in Korra’s. I stuck out my tongue, and blushed immediately after, my tail twitching in embarrassment as he chuckled.

”What?” Korra asked, side-eying me.

I quickly shook my head, looking straight ahead. ”N-nothing.” I squeezed her hand. ”Just glad you’re here.”

”Well, I’m not about to leave you. Not after that prick went ahead and vanished,” she said.

I nodded, a lump forming in my throat, stalling my smile. I hadn’t exactly hidden that Luke had left. Given how much time we spent together, it was inevitable she’d notice anyway.

”I still can’t believe he’d just disappear like that,” she muttered, scowling at the ground.

”I can,” Gayron said. His finger strayed over his Wayfaring Compass. ”When Luke claimed leadership of the horde, he took on a lot of responsibility. To deny that might be fatal, or end in the horde’s rebellion. They’ve even tried to recall me many times.”

”And you don’t answer?” she asked, surprised.

He snorted. ”Why would I? Being an apostle’s cool and all, but to be honest, I only accepted the Fire Emperor’s call because I was furious with the world. Being a slave and all sucked, but...eh.” He shrugged. ”I never would have gotten this strong if I followed the horde around like a lapdog. I bet I could beat any of the other apostles except for Luke in a fight. Easy.”

”Ironic,” she chuckled. ”Remember when you tried to kill us? Luke was the one who stood in the way, and you had the temerity to remind him of his duty.”

”Yeah, yeah, I remember,” he muttered, his tail twitching. ”You don’t have to remind me.”

”Is that really why?” I asked, peering at him. ”Why you don’t return, I mean? Because you’re stronger?”

He shrugged. ”Not really. That’s just the excuse I give whenever they press me.” He lengthened his stride, catching up with us in a single step, and laced his arm through Korra’s. ”She’s the real reason. No amount of fighting or destruction could be worth leaving her behind. And whenever we’re together, we always get plenty of that other stuff anyway.”

”You’re sweet,” Korra said, giggling as his tail rose, brushing against her thigh.

The lump in my throat thickened until I had to swallow it, blinking away the moisture that misted in my eyes. They were so casual about it, so...lucky.

No, it wasn’t luck. It was a choice. They made theirs, and we...we made ours. Or Luke did. And now we lived with the consequences.

Korra and Gayron were quiet, sharing a look before Korra cleared her throat.

”Hey, uh, Xiv? You don’t need to worry. He’ll come back for you. He promised, remember?”

I nodded, managing a weak smile. ”I know.” But that didn’t make it any easier. ”I just wish he were here right now.”

”He would be so proud of you, seeing you learn such a hard spell in only a week,” she said.

They tried a few more times to lighten my mood, but I remained somber as we reached Elise’s quarters. Sari was already inside, the door left open a crack. Elise beamed as we entered, stealing me from Korra in a fierce hug.

”You can really teleport us?” she asked, holding me tight.

I let myself soak in her warmth, not answering right away. Afraid that, when I did, she would leave and start her scheming all over again. My tail curled around my ankle, begging her to stay. She did, holding me loosely even as I pulled back to answer.

”Yes. I think I can take everyone to Brithlite.”

”Everyone? What about the supply caravans? The soldiers?” she asked, a furrow forming in her brow.

”You can bring everything,” I said. ”I can’t make the rift big enough, yet, but Emlica said that once I get the spell down, that should come naturally.”

”If it only took you a week to learn it, we might be able to leave in only another,” she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. ”That means...our timetable slowed down. We were supposed to leave in a few days. But, at the same time, it’s also advanced by months, so...”

She giggled to herself, finally pulling away and going to her desk. She asked Sari to find her a quill and set about writing a missive. When she finished, she blew on the ink to dry it, rolled it into a scroll, and sealed it with wax. I recognized her signet ring. Not because I’d seen it before, but because it was the same crest she had in my vision when I saw her negotiating with Prince Benjamin, the then emperor of Blacksand. Had Aerion made it for her?

”Thank you, Xiviyah,” she said, calling a servant and handing it to her. ”In one of the visions I caught from your aura, I saw so many dead because we weren’t arriving till spring. With the fields barren and no life mages, thousands starved or killed over scraps. But now, if this works out, we can stop all that. I’ll have Commander Joel have the Company’s mages and logistics begin preparing more provisions immediately. We never could have carried surplus supplies with us across the continent, but if we show up with enough to fill their storehouses, we’ll have no trouble swaying their loyalty.”

I nodded slowly as she explained another half-dozen advantages from one simple rift. She lost me almost immediately, and I ended up raising my hands in surrender.

”Elise...,” I said, interrupting her with a helpless smile. ”I want to understand, but I’m going to have to leave all that up to you. I just wanted to help, so...I’m glad.”

She nodded enthusiastically. ”You did, Xiviyah. With this, we have every chance of making a difference.”

”Every chance of becoming queen, you mean?” Korra teased.

She nodded, letting a bashful smile slip. ”That too. But we’re going to save so many lives along the way. And it’s all thanks to you.”