The Forsaken Hero

The first match of the tournament put Soltair against Levin, the Earth Hero. Both wore gleaming plate mail and used swords, although Levin favored the heavy broadsword opposed to Soltair’s long sword. Even from the beginning, it was clear Levin didn’t hold up well against the Sun Hero, and was always on the losing end of exchanges.

”Is that all you have?” Soltair asked, jumping back to gain some distance. ”And here I thought we could put on a show!”

Levin grunted, not taking his eyes off his opponent. As Soltair’s feet touched the ground some twenty feet away, the Earth Hero brought his foot down hard, his stomp releasing a wave of mana into the ground. Although it was only a fourth-circle spell, the fact that the martially focused hero did it chantless was extremely impressive.

The ground trembled before the ripple, and Soltair stumbled, losing his focus for a split second. Levin wasted no time and kicked off the ground, closing the gap in a breath. His broad sword crashed down on Soltair, who barely managed to raise his blade in time. A thunderous roar shook the arena as the weapons collided, and Soltair’s sword trembled. The crowd watched with bated breath, but that was it. Despite the tremendous impact of the blow, he didn’t give an inch.

Levin faltered and leaped back as Soltair blurred, appearing behind him. Tilting his shoulder, he caught the Sun Hero’s sword on his pauldron, deflecting it into the ground. Maintaining his momentum, he swung his fist, catching Soltair in the side and sending him spinning away. Soltair twisted mid-air and landed on his feet. He staggered, clutching at his side, and the audience murmured in surprise. I leaned forward, wondering what the matter was, and my eyes widened when I saw the inch-deep indent on his armor, which I knew to be enchanted with at least fourth-level protection. I stared at Levin, wondering what kind of strength he had to possess to do that much damage.

Mumbling the words of a ”chant,” Soltair straightened as he healed himself. Levin grimaced, his hands gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

”I was wrong,” Soltair said, his lips curling up confidently, ”Let’s have a good fight, after all.”

”Of course,” Levin nodded, ”I’ll take you as often as you come.”

Soltair dashed forward, beginning another flurry of blows. Their swords moved so quickly that I had trouble keeping up, but it was clear Levin was struggling. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and he began to slow, allowing small wounds and injuries to accumulate. Despite the ferocity of the assault, Soltair’s sword seemed to inflict minimum damage, as though he were cutting steel instead of flesh.

After another minute, Soltair backed away once more. ”I have to admit, you’re an awfully tough nut to crack. I might actually tire myself out before breaking your defenses. Fortunately, swords aren’t the only thing I can use.”

Levin gulped, taking a steady stance and bracing himself. Several magic circles surrounded him, and he began emanating a soft, brazen light. At the same time, Soltair lifted his sword skyward, faking another chant. For a moment, nothing happened, but then people began to gasp and point upward at the sky. Craning my neck, my eyes widened in shock as seven massive magic circles filled the sky, layered upon each other to form a ring with the sun at its center.

As the spell finished, Soltair sagged, clearly drained of mana. Still, his face was triumphant as he called out, ”Solar Flare!”

An enormous pillar of light descended from the Sun, dropping through the magic circles and filling the entire Arena. Even protected by the barrier, I flinched back, the intense Sun Magic smoldering against my skin. The instant it connected with the ground, the beginnings of a roar touched my sensitive hearing before everything went silent, save for a ringing in my ears. A blinding flash of light burned through my tightly shut eyelids, stealing my sight, and I gasped as a searing pain stabbed across my exposed skin.

After several moments, my sight slowly returned and the light faded. Hairline cracks webbed across the interior of the barriers, sending shivers down my spine. Would anyone here have survived if the spell was slightly more powerful? But, glancing around, no one else seemed worried. Well, except for Korra, who leaned over, eyes flashing in concern.

”Are you okay?” She said, reaching out to touch my hand. She gasped, flinching back as she made contact. ”You’re burning hot! Quick, R’lissea, come here!”

I rubbed my aching head, still unable to hear her properly. Everything hurt, and my skin was red and cracked, like I’d fallen asleep in the sun for far too long. I flinched as a slender hand fell on my forehead, feeling like ice against my skin. A cool, refreshing sensation swept through my body, restoring my senses and suppressing the pain. The redness faded, and my body relaxed, feeling better than it had in days.

”S-sorry to trouble you,” I said, bowing my head to the petite elf.

”Not at all. What happened?” R’lissea asked, finally taking her hand off my head.

”Isn’t it obvious?” Ronin asked, rolling his eyes, ”She’s a demon. It’s only natural powerful Sun Magic hurts her.”

”Is this what you were talking about?” Korra asked, taking my hand in her own.

”Fortunately, the barrier was here, or she’d probably have been erased on the spot,” Victor remarked offhandedly, his eyes never leaving the scene below.

As callous as his words were, they reminded me of the fight going on below. Well, it wasn’t much of a fight, anymore. Soltair stood alone in the arena, raising his sword as cheers rocked the air. The entire stone floor of the colosseum was blasted black, with long fissures radiating out from the spot Levin had been standing.

”Not bad for a first match,” Ronin said, ”but I’m glad we got to see that now. Might be tricky going up against that sheer power unprepared.”

”Yeah, Levin’s unlucky,” Alex sighed, ”he’s got the strongest defense out of all of us, but he got hard countered. That spell takes a while to cast and is easy to interrupt, but he lacked the speed to take advantage of the opening. All in the matchup, I guess.”

”Is he alright?” I asked, looking at Korra nervously. Surely no one could have survived something of that magnitude, right?

”Don’t worry about Levin. Sun magic isn’t that effective on humans, remember? Beside’s, the safeguards of the arena summon a hero out before they die, so there’s never any real danger.”

I nodded, but still felt unsure. The barrier had cracked after all. The powerful wards had restored it to full strength already, but I felt a lot less safe knowing it was infallible. What if the recall function failed, and left a hero stranded before a deadly attack?

”Hey, take it easy. The arena’s been functioning for thousands of years. Why would something only go wrong now?” she said, giving my hand a comforting squeeze. ”Beside’s, I’m up in a few matches. Isn’t it bad luck to think like that right now?”

I nodded, taking a deep breath to calm myself. Alex and Connor left the box and headed out to showcase their skills next. Soltair and Levin replaced them moments later, chatting happily together about the fight.

”That earthquake trick of yours was pretty neat,” Soltair laughed. ”First time facing something like that. I think you might have had a better chance following up with a more powerful attack, though. Infuse some mana or use a spell next time.”

”Thanks for the advice. I’d return it, but I’m afraid your fighting was near flawless,” Levin said awkwardly, rubbing his head.”

”Nonsense. I made lots of mistakes, like when...did something happen?”

It was at that time they looked up, and saw everyone gathered around me. I reddened, averting my eyes and staring at the floor. Korra’s grip tightened, and I flinched, hoping she wouldn’t say anything. My fears were unfounded, as the snitch came from the other end of the box.

”Oh, nothing much,” Ronin said, looking down into the area, ”The demon just had a hard time with your fancy little trick at the end.”

”It wasn’t much,” I said quickly, ”R’lissea healed me right away.”

Soltair’s mouth fell open, and he sat beside me heavily. ”What? But the barrier was up, right? None of our attacks should have penetrated that!”

”I said it’s not a big deal.” Things were bad enough between us already, I didn’t need any more tension in the relationship.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes flicked above my shoulder, and he turned away. ”I’m sorry,” he muttered, ”even if you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

I nodded, looking up to see what made him turn away. Korra smiled at me, a small flicker of amusement in her eyes. ”What did you do?” I whispered, but she only shrugged.

”Shhh, pay attention, the next fight starting.”