The Forsaken Hero

In the space of a single heartbeat, the city had transformed. It looked like a hurricane had torn through, stripping the streets of cobblestones and tearing buildings apart. The few fighting against Borealis lay strewn about, lacerated with long talon marks across their throats and chests. They twitched feebly, the last of their blood pulsing from their wounds.

The peak eighth-level inquisitor fared no better. He lay on his back beneath Fable’s paw. A single sword-sized claw punctured his chest, nailing him to the ground. He gasped, feebly groping at the paw. With a callous growl, Fable twisted his hand, and the inquisitor jerked. Blood pulsed from the wound, slowing as his strength faded.

I looked down, gripping my staff tightly. A terrible fate for a terrible people.

”This is...impossible...” he gasped, before letting out a final shuddering breath and going still.

”Did he just...” Luxxa started.

I tried to answer, but my throat was too dry. I just nodded, gripping my staff tightly.

”Do you mind, my Lady?” Kahlen asked, gesturing with a sword toward the corpses. He licked his lips. ”Not every day you receive such an opportunity.”

I shook my head, but didn’t follow his blade. I didn’t need to see it again.

”Your wolf is terrifying,” Jenna muttered, shifting her weight uneasily. ”That was a peak eighth-level inquisitor, wasn’t it?”

Again, I could only nod.

As Kahlen and Borealis began to feast on the departing souls, I sat down heavily, resting on the stone battlements of the wall. Already, there were shouts approaching us, auras brushing against mine. The stars were too faint to notice in the daylight, but they resonated with the incoming souls, curling around them, beckoning them on.

Slowly, my nausea started to fade. Not just from the sudden, grisly end to the battle, for that was only a minor part of it, but from deep in my soul. Fable had drawn on the Oracle of Eternity, using a power that had lain dormant for many months. Before, I had always felt the strain, but this time had been different. Was it because he was eighth-level and required so much more to slow time?

Maybe it was also because of Borealis. Luke and my other friends had once practiced joining in if I initiated it, but the fate demon had no such experience. It had to be Fable who brought him along. Or maybe...

For a second, it had felt like there was something more, that the Primordial Mark had activated. But it had been too quick to tell, and given the backlash, I didn’t even want to think about experimenting with it now. Maybe once I’d broken through, and my soul was strong enough to bear the strain.

”Would you like us to take care of this?” Luxxa asked, nodding toward the approaching soldiers.

”Please,” I mumbled, shivering as my soul shook, settling.

She turned, leaping from the wall. Gith and Jenna stood over me, looking around warily. We had slain every inquisitor I’d seen in my vision, but they were taking no chances. I didn’t complain.

The to arrive was a small patrol of fourth-level soldiers, led by a mage. His face tickled my memory, but I didn’t spend any effort trying to recall it. Luxxa approached him, ready to assuage their suspicion, but they just seemed confused, looking around until they saw me. Their faces softened, and though the conversation was a muted buzz, I felt nothing but relief coming from them.

It was their souls that drew my gaze. They glistened almost as much as the Star Guards, glowing with faint inner starlight. It was that light that called to my aura, drawing it like oil through a wick. I could almost sense the beginnings of their thoughts. Their wariness of the battle’s scars, their relief at seeing allies, and the goodwill they all harbored toward me.

I was caught studying the phenomenon when Luxxa returned and offered me a hand. I took it, and she raised me to my feet before catching me around the waist and setting me on Fable.

”They offered to escort us to the Company’s headquarters,” she explained. ”Lady Lastlight is there, and will appreciate a personal briefing. And it’ll give you a safe place to rest while we prepare to return to Sylvarus.”

I nodded, uncertain if she was asking permission or not. Probably the latter, given her stern look and firm tone. Like she was scolding a misbehaving child.

But I was content to let them lead. With Sari already back in Heartland and the inquisitors slain, my main reasons for coming to Brithlite were fulfilled. There was nothing left but to meet Elise and see for myself what they had accomplished in the few weeks we’d been apart.

Fable flicked my shoulder with his tail, and I got the hint, hugging him around the neck. I let out a small squeak as he dropped over the edge of the wall, landing with barely a jostle. Another score of soldiers had arrived since the first, but the mage had sent them onward to investigate the assassins. Luxxa explained they’d be looking for clues about where they were staying and their objectives, as well as securing the artifact if it survived.

Brithlite was even more desolate than it seemed from my visions. As we walked through the streets, we passed small groups of citizens huddled in the corners of buildings, sharing scraps of dried meat or stale bread. They watched us with wide, fearful eyes, but when they saw the Last Light Company armor, they seemed to relax.

Things did improve as we neared the city center, leaving the abandoned regions behind. There was less rubble in the streets, more open markets, and more people. We passed a large building, easily five stories tall and without windows, with an open entrance covered by a canvas pavilion. Soldiers of the Last Light Company worked within, moving crates and burlap sacks. A small line of townsfolk gathered, taking the goods as they were processed.

”One of the temporary granaries we established with the supplies we brought,” the mage said, nodding to it as we passed. ”It’s the only way we can keep order, for now. The Life mages are working with growing some crops, but it’ll be a few weeks before they’re ready to harvest.”

Soon after, we arrived at the plaza serving as the city center. Here, there were just as many soldiers as there were civilians, all moving with purpose and direction. There were even smiles here and there. A small group of children ran from ahead, ducking between the stalls of a small morning market that had formed in the time since our arrival. They stopped short upon seeing Fable, their eyes growing wide as saucers, and turned the other way and fled. I watched them go, a smile touching my lips. Some things never changed.

The clock tower of the improvised Company Headquarters rang in non as we approached. The guard, recognizing our auras as much as Fable, saluted, opening the small gated courtyard to us.

”Right here, my Lady,” the mage said, leading us into the building proper.

I slid off Fable’s back, Luxxa catching my hand to steady my landing. The doors led into a grandiose lobby, where soldiers sat at tables, looking over maps. They looked up as we arrived, eyes flashing in surprise.

The building was old and worn, but had survived the worst of the war without real damage. The interior even retained some of its old charm, with plush carpet rugs and ornate moulding around the edges of the ceiling. A few bare spots on the walls showed where some paintings had been taken down, and recently, by the lack of settled ash and grime in those spots.

”Please, follow me,” a fifth-level man dressed in ranger green and browns said.

The mage left us there, stopping to brief one of the high-ranking officers in the lobby. We moved down a hallway, took a flight of stairs to the second level, and arrived before a nondescript door. The ranger knocked on it.

”I’ve brought your guests, Lady Lastlight,” he said through the door.

There was a pause, and then the patter of footsteps. The door opened, and Elise appeared, looking haggard, with dark circles under her eyes. But she lit up the moment she saw me.

”Xiviyah!” she cried, throwing her arms around me. ”You’re finally here!”

She dragged me in, shutting the door before the Star Guard could follow. I giggled at her enthusiasm, but she just hugged me tighter, her eyes closed, breathing deep.

”Gods, I missed you,” she murmured, rubbing her cheek against me.

I giggled again, content to let her embrace me. I’d never seen her look so tired before, even on the longest nights and in the worst negotiations in Sylvarus. If she needed someone to squeeze for a little bit...she didn’t even need to ask.

After a long moment, she let out a sigh and opened her eyes, loosening her grip slightly. ”Please,” She said, her brow creasing again. ”Tell me that mana from earlier was yours. I can’t handle another rogue mage getting loose in the city.”

I smiled, taking her hands. ”Sorry about that. Things got a little out of hand.”