The Forsaken Hero

The shout rose across the line, and the Crimson Guard retaliated. Fourth-level spells rained on the enemy, a wave of death that swept across the front lines. Any who got within a hundred yards of the trenches was cut down in an instant, taken by arrows, long-ranged magic, or evaporated by the lances of the skyship. The army of the divine ground to a halt, completely overwhelmed by sheer firepower.

The Star Guard blazed trails across the sky, heading on an intercept point for the inquisitors. Had the eighth-level warrior been with them, I might have been worried, but it was just the mage. And there was no way they had enough time to cast an eight-circle spell before they engaged, so they’d be fine. Probably.

But even with the might of Celestial Grace, I didn’t wait to see if my three companions could fight so many on their own. I drew on the Aethereal Prism again, beginning to cast. My soul couldn’t handle another eighth-circle spell, not after everything I’d put it through so far, so I began casting sixth-level Elemental Spirits as quickly as I could.

Thousands of tons of rubble and debris rose across the battlefield, forming into thirty-foot hulking figures with club-like limbs. I ordered them to charge toward the inquisitors, hoping they could take at least a few blows for the Star Guard.

”Now, about those mists,” I said, turning to the rift. I exhaled slowly, rekindling my connection with High Valley. It took me only a few seconds to attune to the realm, and the shock was a lot less this time. Watching Haven work before had reminded me of the time I’d used the Oracle of Eternity to mend the fabric of Haven so long ago, just on a scale I couldn’t yet comprehend. But something like this, closing a wound opened by equally crude minds, took a single thought.

The mists shifted to my will, flowing closed, sealing the army of the Divine in. With senses beyond my natural vision, I could confirm almost 4,000 hostile signatures within the barrier. Still, unless the inquisitors found time to open High Valley, that would be it. No more reinforcements for either side. We were outnumbered seven to one, but given I was the one with the Skyknights, that suited me just fine.

Now that the realm was closed, no one, not even Fate himself, could tell what was happening within the valley, which was just as well, because the Star Guard had finally met the inquisitors in battle. Luxxa charged directly at the enemy mage, who had forgone offensive magic to ward their entire party. Sparks showered as her blade skated off, but the secondary effects of her combat art hadn’t been offensively minded. Green life magic surged across the ground, and thick, gnarled roots exploded out, grasping for legs, weapons, and anything they could tangle.

One of Gith’s arrows, sheathed in a purple aura I didn’t recognize, ghosted through the barrier, taking a sixth-level inquisitor in the throat. He staggered back in surprise, pawing at the wound. The spurt of blood dwindled quickly, and the light faded from his eyes before his companion’s life magic could reach him.

One gone, just like that. And from a single sixth-level arrow. The reality seemed to sober the inquisitors, just as it did me. Gith had an art that could pass through wards? What remnant had he dragged that out of? And would it work on my spells? I wasn’t like the inquisitors, who could now be on guard against it. Wards were my only defense.

The other seventh-level inquisitors charged, but Luxxa’s art clawed at them, hindering their approach. When they finally broke through, the Star Guard were ready to meet them. Luxxa took them head-on with my Elementals, focusing purely on keeping their blades and spells from reaching the other two, while Jenna’s magic flashed past her, aiming to wound or blind, and letting Gith aim for mortal blows.

But that left two: the eighth-level mage, and the strange, seventh inquisitor. Mana gathered around them, forming eight magic circles. My chest tightened as I felt the power swell. A fire spell, not a sun. And a large-scale destruction one at that.

I couldn’t let it land. An eighth-circle spell was more than the Guard could handle. It would devastate the entire valley.

”Kahlen?” I asked, turning toward the church.

The demon was here, streaming through the air. He pulled up short, snapping in front of me. He read the urgency in my voice, and offered a hand. I took it, and he pulled me to him, lifting me with a single arm. I closed my eyes as we left the wall, soaring toward the inquisitors.

”Not too close” Just far enough for my magic to be in range.

It took two precious seconds to close within a half mile, deep over enemy lines. But if anyone looked up, all they would have seen was a silver blur.

That changed a moment later, as I channeled the power of the Aethereal Prism and conjured seven magic circles. They were small and condensed, only ten feet across, but each glowed with a terrifying seventh-level mana signature. That was enough to make any human in the army gape, staring up.

The mage noticed immediately, his lips drawing into a firm line. His circles spun faster, the runes appearing with lightning speed, but it was obvious his command of Fire Magic was more limited than that of his sun.

I was faster. I pointed my staff, releasing a pulsing stream of discordant fate energy. ”Orendaclysm!”

My spell struck their wards a half-second before his spell resolved. Cracks of molten energy spread rapidly, and the entire construct collapsed. It carried enough force to punch through the failing barrier, hitting the mage himself. It left him unharmed, but condensed around his staff, pouring into the long, gnarled haft with overwhelming force. Black fissures appeared, and with a sharp crack, it shattered.

I wasn’t certain what abilities the weapon had had, but the instant it broke, his spell imploded. The inquisitor screamed, gurgling blood as backlash ravaged his soul. The circles winked out, and the power condensed into a ball of fire at its center. The sphere pulsed and grew, rising like a tiny, angry sun that promptly exploded. I threw out a Link Ability, wrapping my Guard up in Adaptive Resistance.

The wave of fire crashed down like a tsunami, consuming everything within five hundred feet. I shielded my eyes against the glare, but I felt it. Men burned and died, reduced to ash and blackened bone. Hundreds of souls ripped from fate, from me, in the blink of an eye.

”Remarkable,” Kahlen murmured, the explosion reflecting across his silver skin. ”This is why demons do not rely on such means.”

”Kahlen, there’s a seventh inquisitor. Er, a weird one.” Seven didn’t mean so much now that a few had fallen. ”Can you sense him? Is he ninth-level?”

”There’s no ninth on this battlefield. Yours is the strongest soul I sense.”

I breathed an unconscious sigh of relief. It was possible the inquisitor had hidden his aura, as I did, but if he couldn’t sense anything, it also meant he wasn’t taking action.

We floated down the ground. The sandy soil was molten and baked, split with glowing red cracks. Sounds of battle came from up ahead, and through billowing flames, I made out Luxxa battling a seventh-level inquisitor. Their skill was about equal, but his movements seemed slow and sluggish. His face was set with determination, a look that didn’t fade even when she knocked his sword aside with her shield and buried her blade in his chest. A moment of shock as he fell, and then nothing.

Luxxa straightened, flicking the blood from her blade and turning to us. ”Kahlen? You abandoned the gate.”

”I come when my lady calls.”

She looked at me, lips pursed. I brushed past her, looking at the man she’d killed. It wasn’t just him, but several other white-robed figures sprawled across the ground. Kahlen squatted beside a mage, resting his hand on his chest, fingers splayed around a protruding arrow. He breathed deeply, absorbing the eighth-level mage’s fading soul.

”Where’s Gith, and Jenna?” I asked.

”Here!” said Jenna, coughing lightly as they flew down. ”One of those slimy guys almost squirmed away, but we caught him. Well, Gith did.”

”And the seventh?”

She shook her head.

”Did he even enter the mists?” Luxxa asked.

Of course he had. All of the inquisitors had...had he? I bit my lip, thinking hard, but I’d been concentrating on so many things at once, I’d lost track of him.

”Well, no matter. If he’s in the mists, we’ll find him. If he’s not, then there’s nothing to worry about. He couldn’t have seen you,” Luxxa said. Turning to the other two, she said, ”Gith, Jenna, sweep the Valley. Ignore the soldiers, for now. The Fatesworn can handle them without the inquisitors.”

”Maybe we were too cautious,” I murmured, easing against Kahlen with an exhausted sigh. Fable, Kahlen, the Skyship’s cannons...I’d been so certain we’d need it all.

But as I thought of the wolf, alarm spiked in our bond. I whirled, my tail going rigid.

”Fable!”