The Forsaken Hero

Borealis soared through the sky, his powerful wings beating a steady rhythm. The earth blurred beneath us, a dizzying expanse of colors and shapes. Now that my initial panic had subsided, I noticed the intense cold radiating from him, a consequence of his icy nature. Snow formed in our wake, a shimmering trail that followed us like a comet’s tail. It would have been a beautiful sight if I weren’t huddled a mile in the air with only Luke to cling to.

”I’ve never flown this fast in my life!” Jessica shouted, her voice barely audible above the roar of the wind. ”Why haven’t we been traveling like this the whole time?”

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. ”We can’t exactly move an entire army this way. Besides, traveling on the ground gives us more time to grow in power. The people we’re fighting have had decades, if not centuries, to hone their abilities. We’ve only been active for three years.”

Three years? If my memory served, I had been summoned two years ago. The first few months were a blur, trapped in the warehouse and then the Divine Throne. After half a year, during the Sun Festival, Soltair had taken me out into Enusia. Our journey lasted another half year, culminating in the Church stripping me of my title and abandoning me to Lord Byron. I couldn’t quite recall how long I’d endured his clutches, but I escaped sometime between spring and summer. And now, another year was drawing to a close.

I glanced at R’lissea, finding her lost in thought, her eyes distant. She blinked, her pointed ears twitching, as she felt my gaze.

”Next week,” she said with a small, knowing smile, anticipating my question.

”Thanks,” I murmured, rubbing my horn.

Borealis let out a screech, causing us all to jump. Jessia and R’lissea crept to his shoulder, bobbing up and down as the enormous muscle moved its wing. They were back a moment later.

”We’re almost there. A few more seconds, and we’ll be over the city.”

Luke leaned down, his voice soft in my ear. ”Are you going to be alright?”

I nodded. ”I-I think so.”

He stroked my back one last time before letting go of me. He started to stand, then paused, lips curving in a wry smile.

”You have to let go too, you know.”

I blushed, tail twitching in embarrassment as I let him pull out of my grip. ”S-sorry.”

”It’s alright. I like seeing this side of you,” He said, leaning down to ruffle my hair.

It took me completely by surprise, and I sat there stunned for a second. Then, as my wits recovered, I let out a small yelp and ducked, covering my head with both hands. ”H-hey!”

He laughed and patted me once more, his fingers trailing through my hair as he brought his hand away. I kept my head down, face colored in embarrassment, as he moved to join the other two.

”Xiviyah?” R’lissea asked, watching me expectantly.

I raised my head, staring at them blankly. They didn’t expect me to join them, right? Not that close to the edge!

”Your spell?” Jessia prodded.

”R-right!”

I shook the blush from my face and grasped my mana. ”Nexus.”

I wove Fable and Borealis into the spell, as well, just in case something unexpected happened. We were a mile in the air, but a demon as big as Borealis would never go unnoticed. The mana cannons weren’t equipped to track moving targets, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Once the Nexus formed, I linked Adaptive Resistance and the Oracle of Eternity to the whole party.

”There, see it?” Jessica asked, pointing over Borealis’ shoulder. ”That’s the thing that blocked me.”

”It’s massive!” R’lissea gasped. ”You made it sound like it only protected the city!”

”Looks like an eighth-level spell,” Luke added, stroking his chin thoughtfully. ”But to be honest, I have no idea what I’m looking at.”

I sighed, leaning back against Fable. Of course. Seeing mana didn’t equate to understanding it. And when it came to mana, Luke was almost entirely self taught. He didn’t have a background at a school like Western University or access to a library. But Luke should have known he wouldn’t be able to analyze the spell. So why...? ”Xiviyah?” Jessica’s voice interrupted my thoughts. ”Could you take a look at this?” Her tone was casual, but I caught Luke watching me with a flicker of apprehension. My shoulders slumped. ”Oh. You could have just asked.”

Fable rose, allowing me to keep a hand on his shoulder for balance as I cautiously approached them. Borealis’ back was enormous, easily twenty feet across, but it dipped and rolled like a ship on the ocean with every flap of his wings. The feathers were massive, some longer than I was tall, and glittered like sharpened blades. One misstep could send me tumbling into their razor-sharp edges.

R’lissea snatched my hand as I neared. I gripped her tightly as I peered over the edge, knuckles turning white with strain. A mile was a long, long way.

The city spread beneath us like an int hill, with people little more than tiny dots on the lines that formed the streets. The Keystone, as it was called, was nearly twice the size of the fortress guarding the Ingrid Alliance’s side of Tormod’s Breach. The empire had built it squarely in the middle of the canyon, meaning anyone looking to enter or leave the mountains had to pass directly through it. While it meant the city would take more heat in an attack, it also proved many times more difficult to take.

”It’s a city-wide buff,” I said, eyes settling on the crystal floating above the central keep.

”Buff?” Luke raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged. ”That’s what Soltair always called them. I think it has something to do with his old world.”

The radius of the crystal’s enchantments reached far beyond what I was used to, surpassing even the field that had protected the Western University. It was visible as a slight purple haze in a loose dome around the city, extending nearly five miles from the base of the walls. It was hard to tell how close it got to Borealis, but I doubted we could get much lower without falling into it.

”Any idea what it does?”

”It looks pretty normal, but there’s a magic type I don’t recognize,” I said slowly. ”It reminds me a lot of Fate, but it’s different.”

”Is that what’s causing the purple color?” R’lissea asked.

”I think so...wait, I got it. I think it’s...magic?”

”Obviously,” Jessia snorted.

”No,” I said, shaking my head. ”Like the type of spell is ’magic.’ Like a fire spell. It’s got the same feel as Dispel Magic.”

”But shouldn’t that all just be grouped under Fate Magic? That’s how the gods decided to split the various attributes up, isn’t it?” R’lissea asked.

”It should be...” I hesitated, anxiously chewing on a strand of hair as a gust blew it into my mouth. ”Unless...it’s from the gods directly. Kind of like how Undead isn’t one of the gods of Enusia, but Connor has Undead Magic.”

Luke’s jaw dropped. ”You think the god of Magic directly created this enchantment?”

”Or one of his followers,” I added. ”But they’d have to be powerful. Judging by the fact the enchantment is eighth-level, I say they’re probably the same. Maybe close to ninth.”

”That complicates things,” he muttered, gaze returning to the city.

”So why does it stop my ability from working?” Jessia asked.

I shook my head. ”I’m not sure, but it definitely isn’t targeting just you.”

”We already thought that, tough. Can’t you tell me anything else?”

”S-sorry,” I shrank back a little, stung by the irritation in her voice. ”I don’t think we should enter it casually though.”

”Do you see something else?” R’lissea asked.

”There’s at least three more effects on the enchantment. One looks like a general enhancement to those with human blood, while another resembles the spells I’ve seen that target demons. The third is...” my eyes widened, ”...curse magic.”

”Curse magic?” Luke’s head turned, watching me intently. ”Are you sure?”

I nodded, my lower lip trembling. ”It looks like it’s incorporated the Heart Crest into it. But there’s something different about it. It’s just floating, not attached to anything.”

”And the people?” R’lissea asked, shifting foot to foot, squinting at the bug-sized souls far below.

”Can’t tell. It’s too far,” I said, tail drooping. ”But...I’m worried.”

”If it’s just cursed magic, we won’t have to fear entering it,” Luke said, folding his arms. ”My aura passively dismantles foreign curse mana and steals their power. I might actually be stronger in such a field. The only problem is the precedent this sets.”

”All the more reason to destroy it,” Jessia straightened. ”So, we got what we need?”

Luke shrugged. ”Yeah, this trip has been good. Though, as long as we’re here...” he stretched out his hand, summoning his staff. ”We might as well leave them something to remember us by.”