The Forsaken Hero

Starfall Keep hummed like a beehive as Bethiv led us from the council room. Luke slipped away before I could catch his eye, vanishing into the aether in a sudden puff of stars that left the air tasting of ozone and cold magic. I folded my arms, my tail giving a restless, agitated flick. A prickly sensation rose in my chest—why did he have to be so comfortable using Haven to move around? This was supposed to be my realm.

A heavy arm draped over my shoulders, making me jump slightly. Korra’s laughter echoed against the high stone walls as she pulled me into a lopsided side-hug. Before I could regain my balance, R’lissea reached out and took my other hand, steadying me between the two.

”You don’t have to pout, Xiviyah. He’s just going to prepare his horde for the move,” R’lissea teased, her voice humming with soft amusement.

”P-pout?” I stammered, my cheeks warming. I was overly conscious of my tail twitching. ”But he didn’t... I mean, I didn’t even get to, um, you know...”

”You wanted to say goodbye?” R’lissea finished for me, her eyes softening.

I lowered my head, my face burning, and gave a bare, microscopic nod.

”You’re far too sweet for your own good. The only goodbyes I ever get from Gayron are a friendly shove or a sock in the arm,” Korra said, though she steered me forward with a grin. ”But enough of that. Bethiv’s waiting for us. You’re going to love what he’s got to show you!”

”You already know about it?” I asked, scrambling to keep up as Korra’s long strides nearly dragged me off my feet.

”Of course! Not all of us were sleeping the week away,” she said, throwing a playful wink over her shoulder.

”Don’t pretend you didn’t spend ninety percent of that time in the arena,” R’lissea said, casting a sharp, sisterly frown at Korra. ”And please, slow down. You’ll pull her arm off at this speed.”

Korra immediately eased her pace, though her grin remained infectious. ”Sorry, sorry. I’m just excited. But seriously, Xiv, it’s that cool.”

We entered the inner courtyards, sheltered by the spiraling, translucent walls of the keep. Starlight fell between the ribs like sunbeams, glinting off armor and mixing with swirls of mana across the orderly cobblestones. The environment hummed with activity, and in a way, reminded me of the campus of Western University. Groups of mages in twos and threes crossed the courtyards, their heads bent over scrolls as they moved between the various halls and facilities. Remnants drifted among them, teaching loose classes around the fountain and towering statue of Fate. Their spells and lessons were of spells and theories from worlds longs forgotten. I didn’t even recognize half the runes they used, but the Fatesworn followed with rapt attention, casting circle by circle after them.

There were dozens of evolved demons scattered across the grounds, with a surprising number engaged in study and training. It was a bizarre, beautiful friction: seeing the monstrous, scaled bodies of the demons carefully holding delicate spellbooks in their massive claws. Like they were nervous about breaking them, it reminded me of the way Luke held me, and a small smile touched my lips.

”We’ve turned the keep itself into a proper headquarters for the mages,” Bethiv noted, slowing his pace as he saw me looking around in awe.

”And the demons... they’re really practicing?” I asked.

Bethiv shrugged, a hint of hard-won pride in his weathered face. ”It seemed only natural. This is their home now as much as it is ours. We’ll need every ounce of skill and ability we can muster to defend it.”

”Besides,” Korra cut in. ”The demons are immortal. It’s much better to have them fight first, before mortals risk their lives. Worst case, they take a few months reforming here in Haven.”

”Not the way I would put it, but it’s true,” Bethiv said. ”The Fatesworn are mine to command, and I won’t allow the severe lack of discipline that plagues demon hordes. Powerful evolved demons are skilled and strong, but most lack the intrinsic drive or vision to rise beyond mere beasts. They’re not too different from the farmers and cobblers we trained in Brithlite, or the elves we’ve taken on since. Most just need some guidance.”

”They work well with the elves and humans,” R’lissea observed.

”Yes, we’re finding that as well. I believe we’ll get a better look at it ahead.”

We passed through the secondary gates, emerging into the sprawling outer training complex, and I got a clearer look at what they were talking about.

To our left, a squad of Fatesworn drilled under the shadow of Starfall Keep’s walls. At the center of their formation, a hulking demon, some fifteen feet tall and shaped like a three-armed ape, gripped a scepter of tarnished silver, its head shaped like a claw, clutching a raw ruby. An elvish mage stood directly behind him, her hands glowing as she cast a chantless spell, while a trio of heavily armored human soldiers stood in a defensive formation in front of them, shields raised as they stared ferociously at the looming wall before them.

The demon finished his spell first. A jagged circle of infernal mana snapped into existence around them, crackling with the scent of sulfur and raw, oppressive heat. All of the mortals flinched, with one soldier taking an uneasy step away from the demonic flames. The Life Mage resolved her spell a heartbeat later, sending a wave of purple light outward that neutralized the demon’s spell.

”Dispel Magic?” I asked, glancing at Bethiv in confusion.

He smiled, though it was a grim sort of amusement. ”Yes. We’ve found that most of the difficulty in assimilating the Horde and Last Light Company comes from the difference in mana. We, mortals, have an instinctive hatred and fear of the infernal instilled in our very bones. It’s our instinct to reject and fight against it, even if we intellectually know it’s an ally.”

”So you’re practicing acclimating to it?” I asked.

He nodded. ”Something like that. The demons have a similar problem, actually, though theirs is the instinct to break and devour. But if those two forces are overcome, I believe the Fatesworn will become a fighting force unlike any other.”

”That’s the truth of it,” Korra added, nodding sagely. ”I remember the first couple of times Gayron and I sparred. I always got thrown off when he took his demon form. There was something about those claws that just felt... unnatural.”

”I don’t think I’ve seen him assume that form in a long time,” R’lissea said. ”Did something happen?”

Korra spread her arms in a shrug. ”He doesn’t find it super useful with the kind of high-skill fights we’ve been doing. Brute force only gets you so far, and with all of our training, his sword usually takes us a lot farther. He falls back to it if things get hairy, but he prefers to be a demonkin. For fighting, that is. There’s, er, other opportunities to explore that outside of fighting.”

A small, private smile tugged at Korra’s lips, and she reached up to scratch her cheek. When R’lissea raised a skeptical eyebrow at the expression, Korra’s face turned a light pink. She quickly blinked and covered her mouth, looking away.

”Gods, the two of you are impossible,” R’lissea sighed, though she was shaking her head with a smile of her own.

Bethiv cleared his throat, leading us further out into the open valley. The entire landscape was filled with the Faith-sworn, performing drills in much the same way as they had within the keep. The only difference here was the scale: many of them weren’t holding back their spells, letting them explode in bursts of fire, lightning, sun, and ice against the shimmering wards and barriers of other mages. Warriors wove through the crossfire, directly tanking lesser attacks or weaving around them with terrifying speed. The remnants seemed particularly active here. I spotted more than a dozen of them leading specific drills or exercises. One had even set up a sort of combat simulation, leading a few hundred souls against an equally sized force.

Despite the chaos, everyone stilled the moment we drew near, pressing hands and claws to their breasts in respectful salute. I greeted them with a smile and small waves, my heart warming as they preened with my attention.

As we left the keep behind, my attention was drawn to a starburst of light rising from across the valley against a flat face of cliffs in the direction we headed. It formed into a pillar of blinding radiance, surging a hundred feet high and releasing a shockwave that rattled my teeth and tossed my hair across my face. I shielded my eyes against the glare, squinting as Bethiv led us toward the impact site. As the light faded, I could just make out a few silhouettes standing in the lingering wisps of yellow and white. The air grew heavy and charged with a familiar, oppressive heat.

”Sun magic?” I whispered, a cold shiver running down my spine despite the warmth of the stars. ”Why are we practicing that?”