The Forsaken Hero

Gayron laughed and snagged Borealis, holding him awkwardly under one arm. The demon squawked louder and squirmed out of his grip, flapping to Fable and perching on his head. The wolf huffed but ignored him.

Gayron and Korra surrounded themselves with their mana. I squeaked in surprise, clinging to Korra as we lifted off the ground. Her face softened as my tail wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly.

”Don’t worry, I’ll go slow,” she promised.

At Korra’s assurance, I nodded, hiding my face against her chest. True to her word, the only real sensation of flying was the flutter of the wind in my hair.

As we rose above the canopy, I risked a peek and let out a soft gasp. There was nothing but devastation beneath. The center of it all was a crater some half mile wide, stripped bare of vegetation and soil. The mighty trees of Sylvarus had been rooted up and tossed aside like weeds, their trunks broken and branches shorn.

Other scars tore through the forest beyond the crater. Frozen groves, lifeless stands of blackened trees, and canyons carved deep into the earth. Faint wisps of Black Mist twirled into the sky, all that remained of the oppressive fog that had covered the forest.

”What was Verity’s purpose?” I asked above the whistling winds.

”Hmm?” She glanced down at me, raising an eyebrow. ”Not sure. I never really met her. But R’lissea said it was to recapture your divinity, right?”

I nodded, absently chewing on a strand of hair that had been blown across my lips. If that was what Verity had told them, it was what she believed. And from everything I understood about the gods, it made sense. They needed the divinity of Fate to raise a new God in her place. A true god. So why, then, had Verity said she wasn’t supposed to kill me? What other purpose could she have? And who was it that had lied to her? I knew Soltair was lying to her, but that didn’t seem to be what she meant.

I was left chewing on that mystery as we approached Sangra City. Skyships patrolled the skies around, hailing us as we flew between their hulls. The Windserpent was anchored five hundred feet above the city itself. The hull was damaged, covered in blackened pockmarks of withered scars. The soldiers aboard were bloody and battered, and the mages slumped against the railings in exhaustion. The deck had been destroyed where one of the mana cannons had been before, a gaping hole that opened up into the cargo hull.

Selena stood with Captain Rys beside the helm, looking over a scroll. Exhaustion strained her youthful face, the skin around her eyes tight with stress.

She looked up as we landed before them, smiling faintly. ”You weren’t kidding about that dragon. I’ve never seen anything so...”

”Awesome?” Korra supplemented.

She shook her head. ”I was going to say terrifying. To think it was only an empty, Risen shell of its former self. How something so strong could even exist, much less be killed, is beyond me.”

”You saved us,” Captain Rys said, nodding. ”If Lady Sunsinger is reluctant to face it, I’m afraid there’s nothing in our kingdom that could stand against such a monster.”

”I’m afraid we’ve only won a battle,” I said quietly. ”Connor will come again and again, until there’s nothing left. I hope whatever R’lissea managed to discover gives us an edge sharp enough to cut the Risen from this world forever.”

We waited almost an hour for the Skyserpent to find a place at the Skydock. R’lissea waited for us on the pier, hands clasped at her waist. She wore a solemn, tired expression, her face streaked with blood and grim. Her eyes brightened when we stepped off, and I ran to her, throwing my arms around her. She took a step back, patting my back as I hugged her.

”Glad to see me, or just happy to be off the ship?” she asked.

I giggled, rubbing my cheek against her shoulder. ”Both. How did it go? Korra said you managed to hold him off.”

”I did. And we discovered what he’s after. Did they fill you in?”

Korra came over, hands resting on the back of her head. ”Nah, I didn’t get most of what you were talking about. There’s a reason I gave up being a mage.”

”I thought it was for me?” I asked, giving her a blank look.

She chuckled. ”Ah, right. That’s

why. A hundred percent.”R’lissea cleared her throat, giving her a sharp look. ”Basically, Connor showed up exactly like you said he would. The guards outside the cathedral had no idea he had even entered. He seemed strangely, I don’t know, talkative.”

”He kept going on about ’Oblivion’ or something,” Korra said.

”Right, that. But it led to him sharing a little about his plans. The Undead God gave him a way to Corrupt shards. That’s the source of the black mist. Every shard he takes expands the range the Black Mist can freely flow.”

”That’s why Fate had Luke stay to destroy that last Shard,” I said, realization dawning on me. ”That effectively trapped him with Sylvarus as his only path for expansion.”

”Probably,” R’lissea said. ”But what that means is we can’t stop him without destroying the shards. And if he happens to take one of the elves’... ”

”We’ll be forced to destroy it, breaking our vow.” I groaned, rubbing my horn. As if dealing with the church and noble houses wasn’t enough. ”But what are we supposed to do about it?”

”You could start by leaving your army here,” Selena said, joining us.

Beside her was Commander Whitemarsh. The moment he met my gaze, he lowered his eyes. My tail twitched, and I half-hid behind R’lissea before realizing it was in respect.

”The demons? But the elves...?”

”Will appreciate it,” the commander assured me. ”I’ve been receiving reports for hours from my scouts on the fringes. Apparently, they’ve been coming across hordes of undead locked in combat with demons. I can only assume this was your doing.”

I nodded, meeting Selena’s gaze. She gave me a slight grin.

”We just wanted to protect the innocent,” I said meekly.

He smiled. ”Is that why you took on the dragon? I was but a lad, but when we heard the tale of the Blacksand heroes sealing it away. Imagine my surprise when I heard they had been killed, and the undead hero managed to steal their corpse. To be honest, I hadn’t believed it, but to see such a great and terrible creature stretched across the sky...”

”It was quite something, wasn’t it,” Selena said, nodding. ”Its aura was at the peak of eighth-level, if I’m not mistaken. I’m not even sure I could have taken it.”

”That’s only because you’re a life mage. It’s a natural counter to your abilities,” I protested.

Her smile gained confidence. ”Or maybe you’re just that strong.”

”This is the monster that fought it?” Commander Whitemarsh asked, leaning over the railing.

I followed his gaze, letting out a small squeak of surprise at the sight of Fable lounging on the sloped roof of a turret connected to the wall surrounding the skydock. As if sensing my gaze, he glanced up, lips curving in a wolfish grin.

”Looks like someone got forgotten,” R’lissae said, chuckling.

I blushed, rubbing my horn furiously. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten, perse, just...Korra was only so big.

”He’ll be fine. He could jump here if he wanted,” I said. ”And it’s not truly dead. Connor managed to turn it into a lich.”

”Ah, yes. Liches. I’d like to hear more about it. Perhaps on our return journey to Duskwood?”

Selena cleared her throat. ”I haven’t had a chance to tell her yet. Xiviyah, we’ll be returning with Commander Whitemarsh on the Seraph. The Windserpent and most of the other ships will remain to safeguard the border.”

”Really?” I looked at the commander with wide eyes. ”And the crew...they won’t have a problem with it?”

His face fell, eyebrows hovering low over his eyes. ”Forgive us, Oracle, for the condescending treatment from before. Those who disrespected you have been assigned to remain here. I can guarantee your dignity on the deck of my ship.”

”You should go,” R’lisesa said. ”Elise needs support from a friendly face. Not that Aerion isn’t, but...you know.”

”What about you?” I asked, gripping my sleeves.

She shook her head. ”I need to stay here for a little while longer. Not just to fight the Risen, but to study the black mist. I made a breakthrough on some spells we came up with before, but they need more work. A few weeks, at most, and I’ll return.”

”Then we’ll stay as well,” Korra said, cracking her knuckles. ”Right?”

”If you want. Some more live combat is a good change of pace after all that sparring. I need to work those remnants’ techniques into my fighting style,” Gayron said.

I nodded slowly. ”I’ll leave the Last Light Company and the Devoted to you, then. Demons are a lot more resistant to the Black Mist than elves, so they can help penetrate where they can’t go.”

”Your aid is much appreciated. I’ll inform my commanders on the ground to avoid interfering with them,” Commander Whitemarsh said.

As I hugged R’lissea and Korra goodbye, the Windserpent left the pier. A few minutes later, the mighty Seraph slid into its place. Soldiers disembarked, carrying wounded and supplies to one of the courtyards outside the skydock. Commander Whitemarsh gestured with his hand, leading us on board. Fable hopped from his perch, joining us on the deck, and Borealis swooped from the sky, landing on my shoulder.

As the ship took off, I gripped the railing with one hand, waving to my friends below. I turned as they shrunk into dots, finding a place to lean up against Fable, resting my eyes beneath the last warmth of the evening sun. We’d won our first battle against the Risen, but this was only the beginning. The church, demons, Risen, and my forces were all finally in place. The battle for Sylvarus had truly begun.