The Forsaken Hero

Our guards waited for us at the bottom of the stairs. The inn was quiet, the light of the fire gate burned low enough to stream directly into the room, painting the empty common room in crimson light. It was too early for evening patrons, but the innkeeper stood behind the bar, polishing away. Seriously, did they ever do anything else?

Orion and Luxxa wore their enchanted armor and carried long swords, no longer concealed beneath their refugee disguises. Gith looked as he always had, cold and solemn, save for he wore a long bow strung across his back. It was unlike any bow I’d seen before, almost as tall as he was and strengthened with powerful fifth-level enchantments. Jenna leaned against the wall, a faint smile on her lips. Her cloak was gone too, exposing her rather revealing garb for all to see. We were inside, yet her long, flowing hair drifted on an unfelt breeze, her eyes deep and dangerous as they were beautiful.

All four of them turned to look at us, their eyes sweeping over our attire. Orion frowned, lingering on my thin, off-shoulder dress and nearly sheer white cloak.

”Are you sure you don’t have something else you’d rather wear? While beautiful, your clothing is not particularly suited for battle.”

I fingered my cloak self-consciously. ”My cloak protects me. I’m not strong enough to wear even light armor. It wouldn’t do me any good, either. I can’t use defensive magical techniques to reinforce armor against attacks.”

Jenna smirked. ”Finally, someone who sees it my way. You could stand to show a little more though. There’s a strange correlation between the amount of skin you cover and how half-hearted men are about attacking you. Besides, you’re already adorable. Just think what a little make-up and a lower neckline would do!”

I turned away with a blush, my tail twitching in embarrassment. Luxxa cuffed Jenna over the head and was about to rebuke her when Orion chuckled, pulling the two apart.

”I’m glad we’re relaxed, but that’s enough foolishness. We have a battle to win, and the longer it takes, the more prepared they are going to be. Let’s go.”

The city outside was eerily quiet, swallowed up in the shadow of the demon gate. The gate itself was hidden behind the massive outer walls, yet all eyes were toward it. A solemn hush smothered the bustle of the marketplaces. People scurried to and fro, headed home, occasionally glancing up with fearful eyes at the crimson aurora that stained the sky. It was as though the entire city held its breath, waiting for the inevitable.

”Come on, let’s go!” Orion said, breaking out onto the street.

With determined strides, he led us through the winding streets, each step taking us closer to the looming citadel. The huddled crowds parted to let us through, eyes fixing on mine and Fable’s features, and whispers spread through the streets like wildfire. I shrank back at their hostile stares, each ”filthblood” and ”demon” making me flinch.

It wasn’t all bad, though. As word of our coming spread, people moved to clear the streets, not willing to risk a confrontation with our small, heavily armed party. Without the fear of trampling innocents underfoot, Orion picked up the pace, accelerating until his movements began to blur. The others moved to match him, but as I tried to keep pace, I lost my footing and stumbled.

In a flash of silver, Fable was beneath me. The next thing I knew, I was hanging on for dear life, grasping his fur tightly as the streets blurred beneath us. Korra giggled at my terrified expression, maintaining the speed while looking as though she were jogging.

”Maybe we all should have ridden him!” she cried. ”We would have gotten to the citadel in like three jumps!”

”You just want to ride fable again, don’t you.”

”Guilty,” She said with a shrug and a smile.

I shook my head, taking deep breaths until my heart no longer pounded against my chest. The sudden shift had been too much, but as I adjusted my grip and fell into a proper riding position, I relaxed my grip.

As the walls of the inner districts loomed ahead of us, Gith gave a warning. ”Checkpoint ahead!”

Immediately, the others tensed, looking ahead. True to the ranger’s senses, a large body of soldiers stood before the access gate. They shifted uneasily as we approached, but their weapons were already bare, flashing with the reflected light of the demon gate.

”Jenna?” Orion asked, glancing at her.

”On it!” she said, sounding far more excited than the situation merited. Her voice lowered in a rapid chant, magic circles and runes spinning around her outstretched hand.

”Halt!” A guard with a crested helm stepped out before our rapidly approaching party, voice stern and commanding. ”Lay down your arms and surrender. You will be detained but not mistreated.”

Unfortunately for them, his admonishment took the same amount of time that Jenna took to cast her spell.

”Windsweep!”

The four magic circles flashed and vanished. With a roar, a torrent of compressed air burst out of Jenna’s palm, tearing through the streets and slamming into the guards with physical force. The soldiers were second and third level, wholly unmatched and incapable of withstanding a fourth-circle spell. Their screams filled the air as they were thrown back against the walls with enough force to dent their armor and snap the more fragile hafts of their spears.

Jenna closed her fingers in a fist and the tide of wind seized, leaving soldiers strewn about in all directions, many lying motionless where’d they fallen. A smile danced across her face as she stepped over the one who had challenged us,

”Should have asked nicely,” she said with a wink.

As we passed through the gates, my ears twitched, and I glanced behind us, searching for the faint sounds that rose on the edge of my hearing. I noticed Gith doing the same, only the mana circulating through his soul indicated he was using his ability rather than his natural senses. Nothing but the panicked crowds behind us, thrown into disarray by our sudden attack, met my gaze. Gith, on the other hand, tensed, his eyes narrowing beneath his cowl.

”There’s a group of strong presences moving toward us. Third, maybe fourth level,” he said.

Orion nodded grimly. ”The city keeps a high-level squad of soldiers on call at all times to reinforce the regular soldiers. They’re here a lot sooner than I anticipated.”

”I’ve got it,” Luxxa volunteered.

She slowed just long enough to change a spell, completing it by driving her sword into a seam between pavement stones. I clutched Fable tightly as the ground rumbled, Life Magic flowing penetrating deep into the earth.

A moment later, thick trunks, vines, and brambles erupted from the earth, winding up the walls and choking out the gate. In the following seconds, they grew into an impenetrable wall, a barrier with the effective strength of a fourth-circle spell.

”Impressive,” Korra muttered, giving the female knight another look.

Luxxa preened under the praise, but her face darkened as Jenna smirked.

”Yeah, not bad. A little slow on the cast though,” the mage taunted.

I nodded slightly, unable but agree. The sword in the ground was a nice touch, but ultimately unnecessary. Motions like that were common to facilitate magical techniques, but most spells were manipulated with simple hand gestures, or, in the case of skilled mages like myself, nothing at all. Even so, Luxxa was a melee warrior, thus relying on the more familiar motions of a magical technique probably felt more comfortable to her, even if it was a bit slower. The fact that she could even use fourth-circle spells despite only being fifth level was impressive. If she was this good with spells, then just how powerful were her magical techniques going to be?

Now that we were in the inner district, the streets were larger and the population less dense. We flew through the final quarter mile or so without meeting any resistance, only faltering as a horn split the tension, rolling out over the entire city.

”Looks like they know we’re here,” Orion called, ”Keep your eyes peeled for engaging enemies. We have to get to the inner courtyards before their mages mobilize, or we’ll never break through.”

The walls of the citadel rose above us, towering above the nearby manors and affluent luxury brothels. It seemed like it was finally time. I raised my staff and focused on the souls of our party, weaving them all together in a sixth-circle array. The strain on my body and soul wasn’t insignificant, making my Sunpurge tingle, but I let out a relieved sigh as the spell went off without a hitch.

”Nexus!”

Our guards faltered at the sudden appearance of a sixth-circle spell, eyes widening as it wrapped them up in mana and bound our souls together.

”How the hell did you cast that?” Jenna asked, her mouth dropping open. Her normally frivolous, carefree expression had cracked, revealing her shock. ”No chant, no circles, almost instantly too! That’s a sixth-circle spell we’re talking about!”

”Whose the slow one now?” Luxxa gave her a triumphant look, speaking just loud enough for the mage to hear.

Korra laughed out loud, and I smiled a little self-consciously, smoothing a lock of crimson hair behind my ear. It wasn’t fair to compare a mage of my caliber to them. They were still struggling with approaching sixth level, and I’d already attained seventh once. Perhaps, once this was all over, I could give them some pointers. But first...

Without hesitating, I added a few more spells into the Nexus: Encircling Winds, Aegis, Blade Ward, and Link Ability: Adaptive Resistance. Their surprise grew with each layered spell until even Orion almost missed a step.

”Don’t use all your mana, alright?” he said, giving me a dubious look.

I shook my head and let out a breath. It was tiring, sure, but once we reached the shard, it didn’t matter how drained I was. The church had figured out a way to draw mana from the shard. It was probably a closely guarded secret, but now that I had the Oracle of Eternity, nothing would stop me from stealing it. All we had to do was break through.