The Forsaken Hero

”So, you know Lord Sunsinger?” Lord Ashton asked, coming closer.

Jenna and Gith tensed, but he raised his hands, showing he was unarmed.

”We’re guests at the Sunsinger Estate,” Jenna said cautiously. ”This is Lady Xiviyah. She was just targeted in an assassination attempt. We were securing her safety.”

”Beautiful, slender, red hair, a demonkin...” Lord Ashton mused. ”You must be the Oracle? The leader of the demons camped to the east?”

I nodded, and he sighed, shaking his head.

”Then that demon...?”

”It’s mine,” I admitted. ”Elves in black robes attacked us. He was just defending me.”

”I see. Assuming you speak the truth, and Lord Sunsinger vouches for you, I can release you into his custody. Where is he?”

”He...had business to attend to. He left right before the assassins struck,” I said.

”Hmph. Convenient.”

I turned, sensing Kahlen approaching. With him was Luxxa. She had a long cut on her arm, but neither had any other injuries. As they approached, she whispered a few words and summoned a wave of Life Magic, stopping the bleeding.

Kahlen had four swords fanned out behind him, each dripping with crimson blood. The guards tensed as he approached, drawing their weapons.

”Kahlen, stand down. We’re safe,” I said.

He nodded, letting his swords vanish. The blood, devoid of surface to cling to, splattered to the ground. The guards closest to him flinched, edging away from the cold look in his eye.

”Are you alright?” Luxxa asked, slipping through the gap and reaching my side.

I nodded, touching my throat. ”He...missed. Thank you.”

”No, thank you. The heads up about the antimagic came just in time.”

”Antimagic? ” Lord Ashton asked intently. ”These assassins had such weapons?”

Luxxa nodded. ”Knives, arrows, and a single sword. Cut right through our wards. The rest of their gear was standard for their level.”

”How many were there?”

”Eight. Now two,” Kahlen answered, staring at the elf. ”And who are you?”

”Lord Ashton, captain of the city guard. Until we can clear your story, you’ll be in my care.”

Kahlen looked him up and down and snorted. ”Fine. But only as long as Xiviyah wishes us to.”

”Did you see Aerion?” I asked.

Luxxa nodded. ”He arrived just as we chased them off. We would have pursued him, but he told us to get to your side and make sure you were safe. There might be more enemies waiting for a chance to strike in the confusion.”

”I wouldn’t count on it,” Lord Ashton said. ”The Dark Guild rarely strikes during the day, and will most certainly lie low for a while now that they’ve failed. You’re defenses must be quite formidable if striking you in the open like this was the first opportunity they were willing to gamble on.”

For Lord Ashton’s apparent authority over us, he was remarkably friendly. There was always a sense of distance, but it lessened as he continued to converse with Luxxa and Kahlen, getting the whole story of the attack.

As my heart rate slowed, I began to observe our guard more closely. Unlike the first squad, they were all younger, some appearing closer to my age, though I knew they couldn’t be less than fifty. Almost all of them had a red thread tied around their spears or sword scabbards.

A sudden rush of sensations caused me to wince. I pressed a hand to my chest, focusing on the soul mark. It bubbled with the fury of a thousand demons.

”Xiviyah? You alright?” Jenna whispered, nudging me.

I blinked, coming sharply. ”F-fine.”

”Are you sure?”

”Yeah. Just speaking with them.”

She raised an eyebrow. ”Them?”

”Zephyriss, and Borealis. They sensed my distress and, well, I had to reassure them or things would have escalated too much.”

She snorted softly. ”I bet. A demon lord descending on the city would certainly raise the tensions a bit.”

”That’s why we’re here,” Gith said. ”To ensure they don’t have to. Of course, we might have to resort to that if it were the inquisitors behind it. Because they’ll just try again, and we can’t risk you like that.”

We waited in silence for another twenty minutes before the first guard patrol returned. With them was Aerion, a stormy look on his face. His aura was agitated, lashing out randomly, making the guards shy away from him. It calmed when he saw us, but the shadow in his eyes remained.

”They followed, didn’t they?”

”As you said,” he replied. Then, turning to Lord Ashton, he brightened. ”Thank you for securing my guests. But I’ll admit I’m a little surprised to see you. Weren’t you rising in the ranks of your house? How did you end up as a mere captain?”

Lord Ashton made a face. ”I’m afraid my...perspectives weren’t exactly welcome in my house’s politics. Grandfather thought it best I get some practical experience.”

”Is that why you’ve taken off the crimson?”

Lord Ashton shrugged. ”No game lasts forever. It’ll be hundreds of years before anything we do or say will bear weight in the minds of the families. Before then, what point is there in trying?”

”So, fall in line and gather prestige and respect, so that when the time comes, you can be ready?” Aerion asked.

”Something like that.”

Aerion nodded slowly. ”Maybe the time isn’t as long as you think. The winds of change are blowing, Ashton, you’d best set your sails. But before all that, I take it that my presence here is enough to put your concerns to rest?”

”Yes. But a guard will be along to your estate shortly to collect a written statement concerning the incident. And you’ll need to personally appear before a district judge to testify as to why you left a party of non-elves without escort.”

Aerion winced. ”Gods, I hate this city.”

”The law is the law, and not even you are exempt from it,” Lord Ashton said with a sympathetic shrug. ”Just be glad I arrived when I did, or things might have gotten out of hand. Keep a tighter hold of their leash.”

Aerion waved his hand and strode away without another glance back. I looked between him and the captain before following after.

”What was that about?” I asked as we neared.

He gave me a side eye. ”Hmm?”

”The winds of change? It sounds so...poetic. You said something similar to the lady at the flower shop, didn’t you?”

”It’s just a dream. I have many friends who used to think the same, but the decades have taken everyone in a different direction. But never mind that now. We’ve got to get you back to the estate before the Ellenwinters strike again.”

”Ellenwinter? Like the noble house?” Luxxa asked as we arrived a the carriage.

He nodded. ”I tracked the survivors back to a place where the Dark Guild members hang out. I managed to learn the Ellenwinters had contracted them.”

He’d done a lot more than that, if my vision was anything to go by. I didn’t know why he needed them, and it was strange he left so much out, but I trusted Aerion far more than the noble houses. Every power he took was one less they had to employ against Elise.

”I’m glad it wasn’t the church,” I murmured, settling into my seat.

”If they could have, I’m sure they would,” Aerion said, climbing in after me. ”But this was actually good news, believe it or not. The funds and strings they had to pull to hire that many dark guild assassins must have been extraordinary. After such a resounding failure, I doubt anyone will try anything like that again.”

I was curious what kind of control he’d gotten over the guild to make such a statement, but I didn’t ask. There was still something that felt off about the whole situation, and that something was... Aerion.

Talking to him was like interacting with Jessia. There was always a mask, always a deeper layer. His words just true enough to believe.

”Do you know everyone in this city?” I asked.

He looked up, blinking in confusion. ”Everyone? There are hundreds of thousands of elves living here.”

”Then just the nobles?’

He chuckled, sitting back. ”No, I’m afraid there are thousands of those, too. But I’ve been getting around for like a hundred years. You’d be surprised how many people you can meet in that length of time.”

”Oh. There really are a lot of nobles, aren’t there? We seem to run into them everywhere. Even here, in the commoner district. Like Lady Newspring. Or were you planning all that?”

He laughed, shaking his head. ”No, no, she actually was an accident. But I’m glad we met. I’d been meaning to speak with her for a while. We actually attended the same academy when we were younger.”

”And Lord Ashton?”

”You’re getting pretty good with names, you know. That one was a coincidence, too. Though from the looks of things, I’m glad it was him. We served in the military together for a few years before I became an adventurer. But please, accept my apologies for that whole ordeal. I hadn’t realized things were so bad.”

The rumble of the road was our only noise for a few seconds.

”What do you want?” I asked softly.