The Forsaken Hero

The sun shone brightly overhead, the sky clear and cloudless. Brilliant sun beams descended through the thick forest canopy, dappling across patches of soft earth and plush undergrowth. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, caressing my face.

I looked around, failing to comprehend the scene around me. Last I remembered, I was sitting on my cot, listening to Elise and R’lissea...ah, a vision.

Once that clicked into place, I looked around with new eyes. The paradisiacal beauty was unlike anything I’d seen before, like taking the ancient, rugged woods of Heartland and placing them in a youthful state of eternal spring. Life Magic wove through every bush and branch, and the air was clean and fresh, heavy with the aroma of blossoming flowers and...decay.

A few faint ribbons of black mana snaked through the forest, carrying a taste of undead mana. Curls of black mist crept over plants and trees, slowly siphoning their life forces. It was gradual, hardly noticeable even with the Oracle of Eternity. A secret poison in a verdant paradise.

”This way!”

A familiar voice, strong and feminine, carried through the forest. I turned, lighting up as Korra came into view, jogging through the trees. I was slightly less excited to see Gayron behind her, yet perked up again as soldiers of the Last Light Company followed after.

They slowed to a stop, and I had to step aside so Korra didn’t stand exactly where my soul form was. It wouldn’t hurt anything, I would even even feel it, yet sharing a space with someone always felt weird.

As the soldiers filled the woods, setting down packs and weapons, Korra called a few scouts and rangers.

”Any sign of the Risen?” she asked.

They all looked to Gith, who shook his head. The ranger looked older than I remembered, with gray streaking the sides of his hair. He shook his head.

”Damn,” Korra muttered. ”I was hoping we’d catch them by nightfall. How the hell are they moving so fast?”

”Jenna claimed she sensed magical residue some miles back,” one of the other scouts said.

”There’s probably a lich with this group,” Gayron said. He folded his arms. ”At least we’re not wasting this trip on a few zombies and skeletons.”

”It must be enhancing their movement,” Korra sighed, and touched her temple. ”Gods, I wish Xiviyah were here. She’d find them in like twenty minutes flat.”

Gayron chuckled. ”Might as well wish she’d send us another demon, too. But don’t worry, I have a feeling we’ll see them sooner rather than later.”

Korra’s eyes lit up. ”Really? Did you hear something?”

He shrugged. ”Not many rumors make it past the Risen Lands, but I’m positive the Descent has happened, and the demons have passed the Plains. Assuming Luke remains in control, and Xiviyah’s with him, they can’t be far.”

Korra bounced on her feet, aura jittering. A translucent water dragon curled around her forearm before dissipating into water droplets.

”Finally! That’s enough rest, let’s hunt some Risen!” she said, pumping her fist.

The soldiers froze, many not even having made it to sit yet.

”Uh, my Lady? Perhaps we should let them rest a bit,” one of the scouts said, scratching the back of his head.

Korra glared at him. ”What? How can you just sit here after hearing something like that? I’m all fired up now!”

Gayron chucked, placing an arm around her shoulder. ”Maybe we should go ahead. We can let them rest and catch up.”

”No, we’re with you. The Oracle asked us to protect you,” Gith said suddenly. He turned, gesturing at a captain. ”Get everyone ready to move. Let’s hunt some Risen.”

The soldiers shook their heads ruefully, but obeyed, rising and giving crisp salutes. As they made ready to march, the vision started to shake, rapidly dissipating.

I woke with a start, staring up into soft, green eyes. My heart raced until I recognized R’lissea, and she stopped shaking me.

”Shhh,” she whispered, nodding at a still-sleeping Elise.

I yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. A cool breeze drifted through the tent, making me shiver. It was still dark outside, but I felt surprisingly well-rested considering everything that had happened the day before.

Fyren had taken me directly to R’lissea after I saved Luke and demanded she look over me. Villie had healed most of my injuries, but R’lissea took care of the few scratches and scrapes I got from being too close to Luke and Rash’alon’s battle. Despite my protests, I was sent to bed almost immediately after.

And then there was the vision to think about. With the stress of the battle, and the conflict with the elves imminent, it wasn’t too much of a surprise my mind wandered there. I must have inadvertently triggered a vision.

I smiled faintly, absently stroking my tail as I thought of Korra. She looked well and happy, even if Gayron was still there.

R’lissea touched my hand, startling me back to the present. ”Luke’s about to approach the remainder of Rash’alon’s forces. He said he wants you with him.”

”I bet Fyren’s not happy about that.”

She shrugged. ”He didn’t seem too mad. Mentioned something about an ’old acquaintance.’ Maybe he knows one of the demons or something.”

R’lissea helped me change into a dress, another of the Blacksand dresses, a white silk dress with crimson embroidery. As she started brushing my hair, I tugged at the neckline, trying to get it to cover as much of my chest as I could. A faint blush made its way onto my face as I drifted off in thought, wondering what Luke thought of the dress. He hadn’t exactly been in a place to notice it yesterday, but what if...

I shook my head, tail twitching. How could I think about that right now? And why was my heart racing like his?

”Hey, stay still,” R’lissea chided, ”I’m going as fast as I can.”

I squeaked an apology, blushing red, and sat still as a statue until she finished. Then, she was ushering me out of the entrance, where Fable and Fyren waited.

”Aren’t you coming?” I asked, turning to R’lissea.

She shook her head. ”No need to tempt them with two special souls, right? Besides, Elise will be wondering where we went.”

I took her hand. ”Okay, just...be safe, alright?”

She squeezed my hand. ”I was going to say the same thing.”

”Come, Xiviyah, we shouldn’t keep them waiting,” Fyren rumbled.

With a wave to R’lissea, I crawled onto Fable’s back and we took off, looping through the horde of the Devoted. The soft golden glow of my aura seemed brighter than I remembered, swirling in our wake in lethargic swirls of stars. It reflected off the eyes of scions as we passed, turning them gold. Or maybe...No, that was ridiculous. It was just a reflection. Demon eyes were red, or sometimes black. But not gold.

I looked up as Borealis announced his coming with a screech, before immediately ducking and covering my head. He landed with a tinkle of crystalline feathers, electing to perch on my shoulder. I slowly lowered my hands, and he hopped into my lap, nuzzling my chest. His head was cool and glassy against my skin, sending titillations down my spine.

”Don’t touch there,” I scolded him, ”It’s not proper!”

He tilted his head, and I giggled, scooping him up in a hug.

”Just teasing,” I said, rubbing my cheek against his wing. It wasn’t like he could possibly understand the nuances of clothing, and how touching a girl between her cleavage exposed by a low neckline was different than when her chest was covered.

I blushed at just thinking of my dress, again wondering how Luke might react. Butterflies swam in my stomach. Fable didn’t have to run this fast, did he? It would be okay to take a little longer, right?

All too soon, we left The Devoted behind. Luke’s horde was camped nearly a mile away, yet in only a minute, we were among the outer reaches of their scions. His demons were far from the well-behaved Devoted, growling, snarling, and fighting amongst each other. If I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed the Devoted had been sleeping as we passed by, and this was a demon’s normal resting state. None of their eyes seemed to reflect near as much gold, either.

Luke waited for us at the peak of a shallow hill overlooking his horde. Jessia, Evla, Edrin, and Constance were with him, as were a handful of evolved demons. Evla noticed us first, giving me a small smile before putting back on her callous mask.

Luke turned as we arrived, his face lighting up. For some reason, my heart accelerated, the butterflies growing more frantic.

”Xiviyah! I wasn’t sure if you’d come!”

He held out his hand, helping me from Fable’s back. I accepted it, my dress fluttering as he steadied me upon the ground. I held my breath as the motion caught his eye, warmth creeping up my neck.

”You...changed your dress,” he said, ”It looks nice. You look nice, I mean. In the dress.”

He turned away, coughing. Jessia broke into a chuckle, and Evla cracked a smile.

I tugged at the neckline, trying again to conceal just how deep it went. Why in the world had I chosen to wear this?

”T-thanks.”

He gave himself a little shake and seemed to notice he was still holding my hand. He quickly let it go, stepping back.

”S-sorry.”

”No, no, don’t blame yourself,” Jessia said, grinning wider. ”It is a beautiful dress. Rather...daring, no?”

I looked away, hugging myself. ”I-it was a gift.”

Evla nudged Edrin, glaring at him and Constance. They both started, wiping foolish grins off their faces and quickly looking away. My blush darkened. I hadn’t even realized they were staring.

Luke cleared his throat, recovering his composure. ”If we’re all here, let’s get going. I’d like to have this settled by dawn.”