The Forsaken Hero

The following events were a blur, a hazy recollection of Luke’s army withdrawing peacefully. The next thing I knew, I was blinking awake in my tent, wrapped in Fable’s comforting warmth and familiar scent.

”Good evening,” Elinore’s crisp voice greeted me.

I yawned, mumbling an incoherent reply as I slowly blinked the sleep from my eyes. Everything ached, as expected, but not as intensely as I’d feared. The sunpurge was a dull throb at the back of my mind—unpleasant, but not debilitating. My soul, however...

Tears welled up as I reached for my mana. It hadn’t been a dream. I was healed.

”Xiviyah, are you alright?” Elinore was at my side in a flash. ”Where does it hurt? Damn it, I thought I had healed everything.”

I shook my head, looking up at her with tears shimmering in my eyes. ”I’m alright. It’s... it’s gone. My soul is healed.”

”I should hope so,” she huffed, relief evident in her voice. ”After that stunt you pulled in the gate... it’s a miracle you succeeded. A miracle indeed.”

Fable let out a whine of agreement, leaning over to give me a friendly lick. I giggled and pushed him away, wiping his sloppy kiss from my cheek with the sleeve of my nightdress. I couldn’t even muster up the energy to be mad, not right now, at least. I was healed!

”What happened?” I asked after giving Fable a good scratch between his horns.

My memories of the gate were sharpening with each passing moment, but remnants of Luke’s emotions still clouded my mind. I remembered healing my soul, the clash between the divine and infernal armies, and being captured by Gayron. The latter memory sent a shiver down my spine, and I absently touched my side, tracing the small white scar his claw had left on my sunpurge. But there was something else, a nagging worry lurking on the edge of my consciousness like a gathering storm.

Elinore pursed her lips, making a clicking sound with her tongue. ”Too much to explain right now. It’s been almost a week since the battle, and everyone’s been busier than ever. We’re still camped in front of the gate, but—”

”Sari!” I interrupted, sitting bolt upright. A sharp pain shot through my side, but I brushed it aside with a whimper. ”Is Sari alright? You guys were outside the gate when everyone attacked!”

”Sari is fine. She’s visited you every day. A couple times, actually,” she replied with a faint smile. ”I’m sure she’ll be along in an hour or two, just like she usually is.”

I sighed in relief, easing myself back against Fable’s side. The lingering pain from my sudden movement flared again, and I winced. His tail flicked in concern, and he rumbled a low growl of warning.

”Sorry, I’ll be careful,” I murmured before returning to Elinore. ”I thought I heard you say we’re still camped outside the gate, but it’s been almost a week. Shouldn’t it have collapsed by now?”

”That’s one of the mysteries our mages are pondering right now. Unfortunately, they’ve been unable to find any meaningful answers and have all but given up. There are no demons left in the gate, and it seems to have paused its descent. Otherwise, even if you hadn’t destroyed the gate core, it would have broken by now.”

I had destroyed the gate core? My brow furrowed as I searched through my memories of the battle. When had I destroyed the gate core? The last I remembered was holding it in both hands after healing my soul, and then...it was gone? I frowned and rubbed my horn, my tail twitching with uncertainty. It couldn’t have just vanished, could it?

I shook my head. That was a worry for later. For now, I had another question. ”Elinore, how am I?”

She paused, looking over at me from where she was preparing another salve for my sunpurge. I didn’t specify what I meant, but there was no doubt she understood.

”Not bad,” she said, though I noted the hesitation in her voice. ”Your soul reached the beginning stages of seventh level. It’s had a remarkable impact on your sunpurge too, all but confirming our theories about the relationship between that dreadful affliction and the soul. I don’t think we have to worry about you using magic anymore, but avoiding any physical labor or strenuous activity would still be wise. Like being captured by a demon, for instance.”

I nodded, flushing slightly at the passive accusation. ”That was...necessary. I think.”

”The reason doesn’t matter, Xiviyah,” she sighed, shaking her head. ”But that’s nothing I haven’t told you before, so I suppose I’m just beating my head against a wall at this point.”

”Sorry,” I said, rubbing my horn ruefully.

”What’s done is done. Now, how are you feeling? Would you like another dose of the salve?”

The tent flap burst open before I could answer, and Sari ran through. She looked around the tent wildly, eyes shining with unshed tears, until she found me nestled against Fable’s side.

”Xiviyah!” she cried out.

I had just enough time to brace myself before she leaped forward, her arms wrapping around my neck and nearly knocking me into Fable. The great wolf shifted obligingly, allowing us to tumble against his soft fur, but the impact still rattled me. Tears welled up as her hands brushed against the sunpurge on my shoulder, but the pain was nothing compared to the relief that flooded my heart.

”You’re alright,” I breathed, hugging her back tightly. ”I’m so glad.”

She pulled back slightly, gazing into my eyes. ”Of course I am! The bad guys didn’t even spare us a glance. They charged right past our tents and into the gates.” Her face fell a bit. ”I wanted to try and stop them, but Elinore said I wasn’t strong enough. I’ll get stronger. I promise!”

I smiled softly, touched by the defiant light glowing in her eyes. The shadows that had haunted her heart seemed to have lifted, and she resembled the joyful girl I knew from Westfall Village more than ever since her capture.

”I’m sure you will,” I murmured, then winced as she hugged me tighter.

”All right, that’s enough of that. How about letting her breathe now?” Elinore asked, gently lifting Sari off my weakened body. ”I know you’ve got a lot you want to tell her, but Xiviyah just woke up. Give her some time.”

”Yes, ma’am!” Sari replied, holding her hands behind her back, but her ears and tail twitched uncontrollably, mirroring her beaming smile.

I settled into a more comfortable sitting position, resting a hand on Fable’s head. A deep, satisfied hum vibrated through his chest and into me as he closed his eyes, enjoying my touch. Sari opened her mouth to speak, then glanced at Elinore, waiting for her nod of approval before continuing.

”Guess what?” she asked excitedly. Before I could even attempt to answer, she thrust her hands out before her, one over the other, and spread her fingers wide. ”Lightning Ball!”

My heart skipped a beat as a magic circle formed between her outstretched fingers. Mana flowed from her soul—a second-level soul now—into the spell. A moment later, tiny arcs of electricity danced from her fingertips, coalescing into a small sphere of crackling energy between her palms. She beamed at me with pride, but her face fell as one of the runes in the circle flickered and vanished. The disruption broke the flow of mana, and the ball dissipated into fading sparks.

”Oh,” she mumbled, her ears drooping.

I shook my head in awe, reaching out to take her hands. ”Sari, that was incredible. I hadn’t even realized you’d broken through to the second level. And you learned to cast chantless?”

”Is that good?” she asked, still a bit dejected. ”All the other mages only use chants for fourth-level spells, so I thought... well...”

Elinore sighed and rested a hand on Sari’s head, gently stroking between her ears. ”I knew it was too much to let you train with them. The Last Light Company is full of prodigies and exceptionally talented mages. You just turned twelve, right? The fact that you can cast second-circle spells, not to mention chantless, is almost unheard of. I doubt even the heroes could do that at your age.”

I nodded in agreement, hoping to cheer her up. It wasn’t entirely true, of course, as heroes were an even less fair comparison than the mages in our army. Even I, despite the months of abuse and isolation I suffered in the warehouse at the beginning of my journey, had reached the seventh level after only a few short years. I’d faced every setback imaginable, including the literal shattering of my soul, and had been unable to advance for nearly a year. My soul was the weakest among the heroes and apostles, who had far more resources and training than I ever did.

Indeed, it wasn’t fair at all. But Sari was still the most talented mage I’d ever encountered. Selena would have loved to train her.

”Thanks,” Sari said. Her ears twitched as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Sari launched into a detailed account of her adventures around the camp, from pilfering cakes from the mess hall to secretly trailing the soldiers. I smiled and listened, basking in her pure, unadulterated joy, made even more precious by the darkness she had overcome. As the hour wore on, my thoughts drifted to Selena and Thron, whose smuggled books had allowed me to continue my magical studies and ultimately heal my soul.

It had been a while since I’d thought of my first friends in Enusia, though back then, I hadn’t understood the concept of friendship well enough to call them that. Hearing Soltair mention negotiations with the elves had brought Selena to mind, yet I had no way to connect with her or even thank her for her sacrifice. She had given up everything to steal the Final Star for me and given me a chance to learn magic. Without her and Thron, I wouldn’t have survived, let alone reached this point. If I ever encountered them again, I would show them their efforts and love weren’t in vain. I would show them I had learned to smile.