The Forsaken Hero

The gate to Haven swirled open like a summer cyclone, streaming stars instead of rain. All of my mana vanished into its depths, forcing it taller, wider, as large as the gate that called the Ally of Fate. Large enough to fit a dragon.

I fell out of Fate with a jerk, blinded and deafened by the intensity of three Ninth-level auras. My vision swam, filling with black dots. Feeling sick, I curled up on Fable, coughing weakly. Blood trickled past my lips, but I was too tired to wipe it away.

My staff burned hot in my hands, funneling the last remnants of my mana. The gate was massive, overshadowing the spire and still growing. The dragon snapped and diverted all its mana into stopping its charge, but its momentum carried it into the depths of the gate. Golden tendrils of mana snapped out of the vortex, ensnaring it like a fly in a web.

I closed my eyes, struggling to breathe past the auras weighing on my chest. Gold burned on the back of my eyelids, and I shivered as the gate consumed us. The shift was cold and jarring, leaving my body feeling...different. Like my body had been taken apart and incorrectly put back together.

Haven’s stars appeared overhead, their light blurred and far away. The peaceful skies shattered with a dragon’s roar, and a burning, sinewy line crawled across the sky. I blinked tears away and rubbed the exhaustion from my eyes, finally making out the dragon flying high above. It regarded the floating islands with a curious, hungry gaze.

”A friend of yours?”

I clapped a hand over my mouth, barely suppressing a scream, as Haven appeared beside us. He stood with his arms folded, regarding the dragon with a raised eyebrow.

”N-no,” I stammered, hugging my knees to my chest, staring at the ground. ”It’s... I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

”What’s this? A new playmate?”

My head sank lower as the remnant Jasrin appeared, the ranger looking remnant with the bow slung across his back.

A hand landed on my shoulder, huge and gauntleted. I looked up, teary-eyed, meeting Gathrin’s concerned gaze.

”Are you alright, child?” he asked.

I started to nod, then shook my head, resting my chin on my knees. ”I-I couldn’t stop it. We were too weak. Please, please help us kill it.

”Kill it? What a waste,” Jasrin muttered, slipping his bow off his shoulder. He flicked the bowstring, releasing a pure, melodic twang, like a harp’s string. ”A good dragon’s hard to come by, you know.”

”I-It’s strong,” I stammered, staring at them with wide eyes. How could they speak so casually about such a serious matter?

”Nah, it’s not that bad. Just a mid-ninth-level monster. It doesn’t seem too intelligent, either, else there’s no way you could have made it this mad,” he replied, giving me a wink.

I stared at him, no sound escaping my lips. A few more remnants materialized nearby, gazing up at the dragon. Their expressions ranged from wonder to amusement, but nowhere did I see fear.

”What’s going on? I brought a monster here,” I whispered, hugging my knees tight to my chest.

”My Lady, there’s nothing to worry about,” Haven said.

The spirit offered me a hand, which I gingerly took. He carefully pulled me to my feet, and when my knees shook, picked me up like a princess. I squirmed a bit before relenting, resting my head on his shoulder.

”So tired,” I mumbled.

”Don’t fall asleep yet. The show hasn’t even started,” Jasrin said.

Emlica, the lady of the library, approached us, her eyes glinting.

”You made wonderful use of your spells, though I question the decision to remain in fate so long. Better minds than yours have broken under less pressure.”

”I know,” I said, voice small.

”Enough, Emlica. Save the lecture for later,” Gathrin said, giving her a meaningful look. ”Preferably when she’s not already on the edge of tears.”

The murmuring stopped as the dragon broke out of its lazy circling and dove toward a tower on a remote island. A stream of fire, reaching past the threshold of the eighth level, screamed between its fangs, reducing the ancient stonework to molten slag. It let out a triumphant cry and pulled up, only for its head to whip around as the flames died.

A remnant sat on a chair, flipping through a book. The floor glowed cherry red except for a small circle around where he was sitting, leaving him completely untouched.

”Damn it, why didn’t attack us first?” Jasrin grumbled. ”Maybe it’s intimidated by our numbers. That’s it, everyone, move out. Nothing to see here, certainly no dragon to fight. Return to whatever hole you were hiding in before. Especially you, Emlica. No stealing this time!”

Emlica sniffed, folding her arms. ”I go where I please, miscreant. And I think I’ll have this one. From here on out, we’ll be getting rather involved in this realm, so I’d like a chance to study one of its apex monsters to get a lay of the realm.”

”You want it alive? Fine, I can do that, but don’t you dare spoil the hunt,” Jasrin returned.

Emlica shrugged. ”Suit yourself, but I expected you to leave it’s mind untouched. And if just one of your arrows gets close to the library...”

Jasrin shuddered. ”Right, of course,” he touched his string again, and a glowing arrow appeared, already nocked. He glanced at Gathrin. ”You coming?”

The knight folded his arms, giving him a disapproving look. ”You want a meat shield? Find someone else. Try Vistran, or maybe you’ll get the nerve to ask Arantius.”

”Fine, have it your way. But don’t blame me if one of its attacks goes awry and hits the little lady.

I shivered as they both turned to me. Gathrin sighed and drew his sword.

”Let’s get this over with.”

”Oh, come on. Don’t pretend you haven’t grown bored guarding an empty city all day.”

The two lifted off the ground, streaking toward the dragon. For its part, the dragon circled the same island as before, launching experimental attacks at the remnant, none of which breached the circle. I didn’t recognize who it was, but the remnant paid it no mind, casually turning the page as he sat back in his chair, resting his chin on the back of his hand.

”What about the rest of them?” I asked, looking at the dozen or so remnants watching the spectacle.

”They would dare interfere with Jasrin’s hunt,” Haven said. ”Despite his looks and personality, he was the leader of the Fatesworn. I estimate his strength as ranking fifth, perhaps sixth, amongst the remnants.

Fatesworn? Yet another term from this realm’s past that I was previously unaware of. I glanced at Emlica and made a mental note to ask her later.

”Where’s Fable?” I asked as I suddenly noticed his absence.

”The wolf is with Villie,” Emlica replied matter-of-factly. ”His wounds were quite severe and required attention.”

I should have healed him.

”Not in your condition. I’m amazed you’re still awake,” Haven said.

”She shouldn’t be. Sleep, child,” Emlica said, holding her hand over my forehead.

A wave of life magic flowed into me, suppressing my thoughts. Darkness crept into the edges of my mind, and my eyelids grew heavy.

”No...” I whispered, fighting the urge to drift off to sleep. ”I have to see it through.”

My mind was too fuzzy for conscious thought, but my soul reacted to my feelings, growing hot within my chest. I gasped, and my eyes shot open as Adaptive Resistance purged the magic from my body.

”Child!” Emlica said, frowning deeply. ”Your body and soul are exhausted. It’s to the point I’m uncertain how you’re still alive, much less conscious. You abused your soul and now must live with the consequences. Right now, that means rest.”

”Not until I’m certain they’re dead.”

”I rather preferred it when you didn’t have a spine,” she muttered.

A distant explosion caused us to turn. The dragon had turned from its curiosity, hovering motionless in the air. Long streams of fire curled from its jaws, trailing like whiskers in the astral breeze. Its eyes were fixed on the two remnants floating in the air above it, Gathrin and Jasrin.

”Are they going to be alright?” I asked.

”I already told you everything will be fine,” Haven said patiently. ”Just watch. Allow them to fulfill their promises.”

”Please don’t surrender, little lizard.” Jasrin’s voice boomed across Haven’s skies. ”But if you do, wait until I get to shoot you a few times.”

The dragon coiled in on itself, releasing its full aura. I gasped as pressure mounted against my chest, quivering uncontrollably. Haven clicked his tongue, and the very fabric of the realm shifted, spacing out the distance between stars. The pressure abruptly vanished, leaving me gasping for breath.

”How did you do that?” I asked, in a daze.

”I simply moved space apart. It’s similar to teleporting but in the opposite direction. A simple matter for a spirit in its home realm.”

”Is that the best you can do? And here I thought Enusia had real monsters,” Jasrin taunted.

The same magic amplified his voice as before, yet it sounded far away and distant, as if he were several miles distant instead of a few hundred yards.

Gathrin muttered something beside him, and Jasrin glared at him.

”Fine, I’ll shoot it already. You’re such a spoilsport.”

The remnant flickered, and I squinted, unable to make out exactly what he’d done. But before I could even blink, everything turned white. The dragon simply exploded.