The Forsaken Hero

Fable stumbled back as the inquisitors unleashed their attacks. But as their faces lifted and eyes filled with triumph, he spun, using the momentum of their own techniques to bring his tail around in a vicious arc. His fur hardened into spikes, smashing through buildings and leaving deep furrows in the cobblestone streets.

The appendage swept into the flanking party with the force of a falling mountain, breaking through their guard and sending them flying in all directions. One screamed as his wards shattered, blood arcing after him as he crashed into what the remains of what looked like a bank. A priest rushed over to him and gasped, the blood draining from their face. They threw themself into the ruins and dragged the man out, revealing the gaping hole in his chest where one of Fable’s spikes had punctured his breastplate.

”Keep its attention!” Rodrick shouted, helping another of his men up by the hand.

Dalen gritted his teeth and ordered his party to engage again. Fable hadn’t forgotten them, however, and their cries rose as his paw crashed down on them again. Without his wards, the inquisitor failed to position his shield in time and was sent spinning into a building. He emerged a second later, coughing blood, and was picked up by a priest. Green Life Magic clashed over him as another managed to pierce the cloud of discordant mana caused by his failing wards and raise another shield.

The battle raged on, a whirlwind of flashing steel, explosive spells, and desperate cries. Every swipe of Fable’s paws broke the inquisitors’ formations, scattering men and women. Arrows from the rangers clattered against his fur, clustering around his mouth, nose, and eyes, but could do nothing but annoy him. Archers were a terrifying opponent for most monsters to face, but they relied heavily on imbuing their arrows with magic to cripple, slow, and disorient their opponents, something made impossible by the starry light radiating from his fur.

The seconds dragged by, each more tense than the last. Shouts, screams, and the thunderous clash of steel rang in my ears, every explosion causing me to shrink further away from the battle. Fable lashed out with several fifth and sixth-level techniques a second, but the inquisitors barely held on. It was only their cohesion and the strength granted them by the Crystal Enchantment that kept them alive, but even that was starting to slip. The priest’s mana pools were beginning to dwindle, and the front-line warriors no longer responded as sharply as they had before.

Oddly enough, Fable’s coat was crimson with his own blood, but he hadn’t slowed in the slightest. He attacked with the same speed and ferocity as when he began. My wards hadn’t flared up since he struck the High Inquisitor, which meant he’d avoided using any seventh-level attack. Was his mana getting low?

One glance at his soul showed it burning as brightly as ever. So why wasn’t he leveraging his level advantage against them? Was he afraid of too much collateral damage, or...

I looked at the sky, and my brow furrowed. The skyship had vanished from its post above the keep, but it hadn’t come for us. Instead, it was a small dot hovering over the mouth of the canyon some miles away. Streams of brilliant light poured from the cannons on its hull, kicking up plumes of smoke, fire, and magical residue within the mountains.

I glanced back at the demons the inquisitors had slain and tightened my grip on my staff. The crystal enchantment smothered Luke’s presence, but it had been a while since I’d seen any sign of him in the city. Had he retreated to his army and started his attack? Did he... leave me behind?

A blinding light rose from a section of the city some distance away, drawing my gaze. Squinting against the glare, I made out the high inquisitor, soul ablaze with a seventh-level technique, streaking toward us like a comet. Fable hadn’t noticed it yet, and even if he was overwhelming the squad of elite inquisitors, a seventh-level technique could change things in an instant!

”Fable!” I cried.

He didn’t respond, my voice swallowed in the cacophony of the battle. Gritting my teeth, I pushed my panic through the bond, but a wave of excitement suppressed it. Again, I tried to warn him, and this time, he turned his head mid-leap and fixed me with his shining golden eyes. His roar crashed over the city, filled with confidence.

I forced my hands to relax and smoothed out the folds of my skirt, only to bunch them again as the High Inquisitor pierced the battle. Fable lashed out with a paw, but she released her mana and dodged with a burst of speed. Allana shouted and thrust her spear into his shoulder, penetrating several feet before releasing an explosion of sunlight.

Fable roared and spun violently, forcing the other inquisitors back with his tail. Allana gripped her spear as she was jerked back and forth, hanging on for dear life.

Finally, the force became too much, dislodging the weapon and flinging her across the street. Crimson blood spurted out as the spear ripped free, showering across the street like rain. I gasped, biting my lip as Fable’s excitement surged, his tail wagging even more violently.

Fable lunged after the High Inquisitor, leaping over Dalen’s head and slashing through her wards with a titanic paw. She fell back, the blade of her spear sparking as she parried a massive claw. He snapped at her, and she deftly dodged, slashing his muzzle with her spear as he bit into the earth she’d been standing on.

The seconds bled together, until a minute had passed, and then another. Allana and her inquisitors fought for all they were worth, lacing Fable’s pelt with ribbons of blood and gore. The wolf, however, fought with deliberate ferocity, never faltering, but always just a little behind, his attacks too slow or weak to land a decisive blow.

At last, the inquisitors flagged. They were battered and bleeding, with nearly a quarter of their numbers lifeless on the ground. The priests were slumped and exhausted, and the rangers had long since run out of arrows. Without their support, even the wind blades generated by Fable’s attacks ripped at the warriors, slowly wearing down their stamina.

Fable silver fur was matted and tangled, dyed crimson from nose to tail. Dozens of jagged wounds gaped his chest, head, and limbs, with some deep enough to expose bone. The inquisitors were covered in his blood, as each time their weapons bit into his flesh, it showered down upon them.

”We’re not getting anywhere. We should fall back!” an exhausted Dalen shouted.

Allana clenched her jaw, shooting me a venomous look. ”After all this? We’ve come too far to give up now!”

Fable’s hind leg snuck around Rodrick’s shield, slicing a fifth-level warrior apart. The man screamed and fell into three pieces, neatly cut apart by Fable’s claws.

”Damn it all! Lord Evlon’s going to have my head,” Allana groaned, ”But you’re right. We can’t risk any more lives here. I’ll hold it off. Pull back and wait for reinforcements. They can’t be far behind us now.”

”What about you?” Dalen asked, grunting as he deflected Fable’s snapping jaws.

She flashed him a gritty smile. ”Don’t worry about me. Even if I can’t kill it, there’s no way this thing can stop me from escaping. If it were that fast, it would have passed over us and attacked the back line already. It could have ended this fight minutes ago.”

I tilted my head, but my confusion was smothered by the burst of smugness emanating from Fable. Ever since Heartland, my wolf had relied on his speed and agility. He fought against enemies an entire level higher, like Vithrass, the leader of the Circle in Heartland, by relying on that strength. So now, against an evenly leveled High Inquisitor and the most seasoned party we’d ever met, why hadn’t he done exactly as they said?

”Why are you still holding back?” I whispered, biting my lip until it bled.

The battle quieted as the inquisitors pulled away. Fable watched them motionlessly, allowing his natural regeneration to ease the blood flow from the most recent bout of wounds. Allana stood interposed between him and her limping party, spear gripped tightly in both hands.

”Too cowardly to finish us?” she asked, staring at me between the towering gap in Fable’s legs. ”After everything you’ve done, you’ll just let us go?”

”What would happen if I did?” I asked.

She snorted, tossing her blood-crusted hair. ”Mercy doesn’t suit one who’s chosen demons over their own world.”

I shook my head, tail curling limply around my feet. ”You’re wrong, inquisitor. There’s room in this war for mercy. There has to be.”

She raised her spear, pointing it at me. ”Come, monster. Allow me to teach you the light you’ve forgotten.”

My shoulders slumped, and I shook my head. ”As you wish. Fable, finish it.”

She smirked, her soul blazing with the beginnings of a seventh-level technique. As she took her step, accelerating toward me, Fable released his aura. His full aura. Allana’s eyes widened and she stumbled out of her technique.

”Run!” she screamed, thrusting her hand toward her retreating allies.

But it was too late. Fable had already vanished.