The Forsaken Hero

I averted my eyes, avoiding Rasce’s stare. Tana coughed uncomfortably, leaning over to nudge him.

”That’s enough for one day,” she murmured. ”She’s been through hell tonight, as have we all. Let’s take it easy and ask the questions later. A little while longer won’t hurt.”

Rasce grunted, but reluctantly nodded. ”Fine, you’re right. And I’m sorry, Starlight. It’s not my intention to scare you. I only want to understand what’s going on, and what dangers we might meet because of you. Tonight was a good example of that, and we’re fortunate we even survived. It’s not something I want to see happen again.”

I nodded, a bare dip of my head, but couldn’t bring myself to return his gaze. Rasce had every right to inquire about my secrets, and I felt ashamed of my weakness and inability to earn their trust.

Fable hummed, a heavy reverberation deep in his chest. The vibrations flowed into my body, loosening my muscles and relaxing my mind. I absently rested a hand on his head, rubbing between his horns, tangling my fingers through the long, thick hair. The seconds passed, and, rocked by his gentle intonations, my eyes slid closed, and I fell asleep.

Scarcely had I closed my eyes than I startled awake, eyes flashing open. Terrible, cold tendrils laced through my body, clawing through my muscles and veins. Whimpering softly, I curled up tightly, nestling into blankets. They curled around me in a soft, loving embrace, practically a furnace of warmth and comfort.

Slowly, the cold left, leaving me shivering at their memory, tears seeping from tightly shut eyes. The blanket rustled and something slid across my cheek, dabbing at my tears. It was warm, and unexpectedly wet, carrying a familiar, musty scent.

”Fable?” I whispered, opening my eyes to mere slits. His large, golden eyes stared back at me, filled with concern, and he licked my cheek again.

Looking around, I found myself in the private dining room, curled up with Fable before the fireplace. The fire’s coals were dusty gray, leaking only faint traces of warmth. The rest of the party, the Dawn Blades, and the freed beastkin were strewed around the room, sleeping on tables, rugs, or bedrolls they’d proffered from their spatial items. Tana and Sorrin snuggled against each other, their backs to the wall.

I sat up, rubbing one of my horns, and looked around. ”Where’s Rasce?” I murmured to no one in particular.

”He left about an hour ago,” Dyson answered.

. I jumped at his unexpected voice, looking around until I found him sitting on the only couch, a sleeping catkin nestled against his arm. Her pretty face was streaked with dirt and tears, and she wore only rags, but she slept peacefully, her head on his shoulder.

Dyson watched me closely, holding his finger to his lips, and I nodded meekly.

”I’m surprised you’re awake,” he whispered, ”Things went pretty badly back there.”

I shook my head, leaning back against Fable and stretching. ”I’m...used to it by now. More importantly, what’s going on? Why are we all here?”

He cocked his head, glancing down at the catkin as she stirred. ”You don’t remember? We escaped here after that catastrophe at the warehouse. The Glossy Swallow’s always been friendly to your kind of people, and once we explained the situation, he was more than happy to offer us sanctuary. The guards have swung by three times since we got here, and he’s driven them off every time.”

”Is that why we’re all here?” I asked, gesturing around the room.

”Yeah, something like that. He’s able to honestly tell them we haven’t returned to our rooms since leaving, which I think they’ve searched every time.”

”Oh.” I looked around again, taking in everyone’s sleeping faces. Despite the night’s rest, everyone looked completely exhausted. Blood, grime, and undressed wounds glared against my eyes, and I winced, looking away. Had we truly been in such desperate straights?

My memories were hazy, everything after the cruel, agonizing torture a blur, but I knew it shouldn’t have been that close. Sorrin had broken through, allowing us to overwhelm Vithrass and drive him off.

I stroked Fable’s head, taking a moment to cycle my mana through my soul. I could feel faint, spindly traces of ice webbing around the pulsing warmth, remnants of the Chains of Darkness spell. They were slowly thawing, breaking off and dissipating, but it would be several days before I was free of their taint. Compared to the constant agony of my fractured soul, this was nothing.

”Fable,” I murmured, reaching out.

Stars flurried around my hand, forming the Staff of Fate. I grasped it lightly and stared at the blazing star at its tip. Fable touched his snout against my cheek, and a sudden tide of mana surged into me. My breath caught at the sudden influx of mana, and I closed my eyes in concentration, carefully weaving several magic circles.

”Starlight?” Dyson asked, glancing at me curiously. ”What are you...?”

He gasped as a large magic circle materialized underfoot, lighting the darkened room with a soft, green light. Ribbons of runes wound about in complex patterns, inscribing magic circles in shining layers.

”Mass Lesser Restoration.”

The circles flashed, releasing waves of green Life Magic. The light formed into twisting streams of mana, flowing into the bodies of the sleeping adventurers and beastkin. Bruises faded, and long, bloody lacerations knit together. The third member of the Dawn Blades, whose arm had been torn to shreds by Fable, groaned, shifting in his sleep as his arm righted itself, bones twisting together, the muscle restored.

As the light faded, Fable withdrew his touch, cutting off the flow of mana. The Final Star dispersed into stars, and I sagged against my wolf, panting heavily. The icy threads cut into my soul, but their grip had lessened, many of the threads torn apart by the sudden, expansive flood of Fable’s mana.

I opened my eyes, finding Dyson staring at me open-mouthed. ”Was that a fourth-circle spell?” he hissed quietly.

I nodded, pushing Fable away as he tried to lick my cheek again. ”It was an array, actually, so technically third-circle. There’s no kind of mass healing at lower circles, so I took the relevant runes from Mass Restoration and modified it to expand the Lesser Restoration variant. That one’s originally a third-circle spell, but the modification pushed it to-”

Dyson smiled broadly, watching me with amusement, a chuckle in his throat. I fell silent, clapping a hand over my mouth, and blushed.

”Sorry,” I muttered. At that moment, I wished for nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide.

”There’s nothing to apologize for. I’ve just never seen you get that excited about something before. It was cute.”

My blush darkened, and I grasped Fable’s fur tightly, squeezing his thick pelt until my knuckles turned white. My tail twitched, and I glared at it, daring it to do more.

Dyson cleared his throat, and I snuck a peak, finding him suddenly serious. I took a deep breath and relaxed, relieved to find the heat fading from my cheeks.

”That said, does that mean you could have cast a fourth-circle spell at any time? Or one of those...arrays? Why didn’t you free yourself and end the fight? Fable could have done more too, if he’d returned to his normal size.”

I nodded, nervously rubbing my horn. ”It’s because, um, well, because of Sorrin.”

”Sorrin?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

”If I’d interfered, he never would have been able to break through. I could have saved us once, but Vithrass was using this as a chance to test us. The next time we meet, he’ll be ready for whatever cards I have to play. But Sorrin’s strength is a permanent, undeniable asset. He can stand against Vithrass without relying on one-time tricks, as many times as we have to.”

”That’s...remarkably thought out,” Dyson muttered, rubbing his forehead. ”I wasn’t aware you were the type to consider things like that. But don’t you think it got a little close there?”

”The moment he didn’t use his full strength, it became obvious what his objective was. He wanted to taunt us, to scare us perhaps, but not kill. They would have used more Shadow Golems or thugs. I think it was all a sort of test, to see if we were capable of fighting our friends, and how we’d react to being ambushed.”

There was more, too, though I couldn’t bring myself to voice it aloud. Vithrass didn’t want to defeat us, he wanted to break us. Byron was the same. He could have claimed me at any time, but he instead did everything in his power to force me to surrender myself to him of my own choice. He’d mercilessly tortured those who grew close to me, leaving me alone. Had Aurle not persisted in her kindness until her death, he would have succeeded too. He had hurt and raped her countless times just to-

”Starlight? Are you alright?” Dyson asked, voice layered in concern.

I blinked, startled to find tears in my eyes. Sniffing, I brushed them away, and whispered, ”I can’t forgive him. This Circle... it’s just like him. They want to hurt and break and make afraid. Can we really fight them? Can I?”

He shifted, wrapping an arm around the catkin girl and hugging her close. ”We have to, For people like her. For Ror and Sari, for Sorrin and Tana. For you. We’re going to take them down if we have to invade every warehouse to do it. It doesn’t matter what they’ve done to you in the past, Starlight, you’re not alone anymore. We’re going to take them on together, as a team.”

No sooner had he finished, than Rasce burst through the door, breathing heavily. He carried a naked knife, the blade shining in the dying firelight.

”They’re coming,” he gasped, throwing closed the door. ”We’d best be ready to meet them.”