The Forsaken Hero

The sky turned white as the false sun exploded. It burned like a sparkler, emitting bright, searing motes of light that rained down upon the earth like falling stars. Secondary explosions followed wherever they struck, tearing holes in walls, roofs, and cobblestone courtyards, releasing shockwaves that shattered windows and sent cracks spiralling through my wards. The falling stars grew denser and denser until every shadow had been swallowed up in terrible, blazing glory.

There was no time to think, no time to prepare a proper response. I moved on instinct, raising my staff and crying, ”Stop!”

At that simple, desperate word, the word froze. My soul shuddered as the oracle of Eternity began to drain my mana, drawing it so quickly it stole the breath from my lungs. I staggered, falling against Selena’s frozen form.

”Xiviyah?”

Luke’s voice pierced the haunting silence. He knelt on the ground some thirty feet from where he’d stood before the star exploded, a terrible burn revealing cracked, blackened skin across his shoulder. Arcs of sunlight flitted through the devastated tissue, knitting white lines of sunpurge between the blisters. He clenched his jaw and stood, wincing and clutching at his arm.

”One of those damned things hit me,” he muttered, staggering toward me.

”Luke...?” I breathed, going limp with relief. ”I didn’t think you would, um...”

”Remember?” He reached my side, dropping his arm to slide his hand around my back, gingerly lifting me from Selena. ”We trained for this, Xiviyah. I couldn’t leave you alone to do, well, whatever it is you’re doing.”

I leaned against him, eyes closing as I struggled to catch my breath. Gods, this wasn’t easy. I’d already let go of the ninth-level tome and most of my enchantments, but my mana was draining faster than I wanted to think about. And as it went, the burden on my soul grew greater. How long could I hold it? One minute? Two?

”Thank you,” I whispered, shivering as my tail brushed Luke’s leg. His warmth gave me some semblance of strength, and I pushed myself up, opening my eyes and squinting against the glare of the sun. The motes of light hung in the air like comets in a painting, but even so, they radiated blistering heat and power.

Padded footsteps sounded behind us, and I turned, eyes widening as Fable sprinted toward us. His fur was covered in long, bloody scratches, and his maw was dripping with crimson blood. Stubs of arrow shafts and broken blades were trapped in his fur, turning his already silver coat hard and spiky.

”You came too?” I asked, reaching up and brushing his cheek.

A spark leaped between us, a burst of soulspeak depicting a dozen inquisitors attacking him and the elves he sparred with. Several hostels still lived when he left, but there were more elvish soldiers than inquisitors left alive.

”Thanks for being safe,” I whispered, letting my hand drop. My fingertips came away stained crimson.

”So what’s the plan? Grab everyone and run?”

I shook my head, gazing at Selene. ”We can’t. She’s so close ot finishing the spell, and moving her will jumble the flow of her mana to the circles.”

”Then what about that? I’m not sure I want to be hit by another one,” he said, grimacing.

”I...don’t know...” My brow furrowed as I studied the false sun. The air was thick with ripples of mana billowing from it, growing denser the closer it was to the epicenter of the explosion. I felt like I’d seen something similar recently, but–

”R’lissea!” I gasped, my tail going stiff.

”Sorry?” Luke asked.

There was no time to explain. The glassy haft of my staff warmed as I tightened my grip on it, resonating with Adaptive Resistance. It grew hot within my chest as I flared it, stretching it as far from my soul as I could. It flowed along the frozen strands of mana that made up my aura like dew dripping down a spiderweb, extending to fill the courtyard. My legs trembled as the strain grew, and Luke’s grip shifted, taking more of my weight.

”What are you doing? It feels...strange. It’s knocking on the door,” Luke mumbled.

I barely heard him, so focused on expanding my reach that I lacked the concentration for anything else.

A shock ran through me as a strand of Adaptive resistance connected with one of the motes of light. The sudden surge of power running through the ability was like nothing I’d experienced since siphoning Nitha’lee’s ant-magic barrier. It was raw and untamed, ravaging my soul from the inside, even more abrasive than infernal mana. But as it reached the depths of my soul and began to distill, the discomfort gave way to firm, almost titillating warmth. My toes curled as the sensations filled me from tail to horn, and I relied even more on Luke for support.

More tendrils of Adaptive Resistance connected with the sun magic, siphoning its power into my already burdened soul. It came too rough and fast, and I very nearly lost control of both the Oracle of Eternity and Adaptive Resistance at once. My efforts came to a halt as I took a few agonizing seconds to stabilize my soul again before continuing. This time, I manipulated Adaptive Resistance, carefully reshaping the weave of incoming mana to more closely resemble the delicate, infinitesimal way R’lissea’s soul had absorbed mana from the realm.

I was disappointed to find replicated the control her soul instinctively demonstrated while breaking through was far harder than it seemed. Adaptive resistance was a passive ability, and even with all the time and effort I spent learning to control it, it was still still and cumbersome. But, at the very least, I managed to manipulate it such that the flow of siphoned mana was bearable, allowing me to let out a long, pent-up breath.

Opening my eyes, I watched the false sun as my ability crept closer. Slowly, imperceptibly, it began to dim. As a whole, it possessed far more mana than I could ever hope to control. Simply trying would be suicidal and would have shattered my soul in an instant. But here, in between the stars of fate, it was possible one drop at a time. And with those drops, I could perpetuate the Oracle of Eternity just a little longer, buying precious time.

The minutes ticked by slowly, but the measured rate bore another cost, that of my strength. Between Luke’s arm and Fable’s flank, my feet barely touched the ground. Yet my entire body felt heavy, like I’d been dipped in wet cement. My vision grew blurry, and my concentration began to slip. So much mana moved through me that the sheer friction against my soul left me burning from the inside out: an opposite to the bitter cold of the shadows of Haven, but every bit as severe.

”Xiviyah, this is too much.” Luke’s voice was thick with worry. ”You’re burning up. You can’t handle this much mana!”

”I...have to...” I panted. The words came out slurred, matching the clarity of the thoughts that formed them. ”Selena will...I won’t allow it...”

But I knew he was right. Adaptive Resistance couldn’t handle it, even diluted through the current was. Unstrained sun mana had begun to build within my body and soul, causing my entire being to sting like it was sunburned. A familiar pain, one I’d known many times, yet unbearable all the same.

But what could I do with this mana? The obvious answer was to cast another spell of my own, but my body had reached its limit. Trying to cast anything strong enough to put a dent in the tides flowing through me would break what was only being held together by sheer determination. So what could I...?

My gaze drifted up to the magic circles hovering beyond the false star, and a thought began to form. An insane, ludicrous thought. I’d drawn mana from Sari’s soul when she’d broken through by virtue of my aura. I didn’t dare touch so unstable a connection as that, but with Selena, weren’t we bound by a Nexus?

”Xiviyah,” Luke said, eyes narrowing. ”I don’t like that look. You’ve done enough. Surely we can–”

”It’s not. It’s too much still,” I whispered, gripping his sleeve. ”Just a little more.”

Before I could convince myself otherwise, I drew on yet another bond, finding the threads of mana that formed our nexus. It was like opening a sluice gate, and the mana bottled up in my soul exploded into it. Her mana pool had been almost entirely dry, but it bulged as new, foreign mana invaded it.

That was when I realized my mistake. Selena was frozen in time. She couldn’t use that mana, which meant it would continue to build until it burst. Her soul would burst, and she’d never even know why. Had I just killed her? Had I killed Selena?

In that moment of terror, everything unravelled, and I succumbed to the exhaustion. The Oracle of Eternity unravelled, the stars of fate slipping back behind the curtains. Any control I’d had over Adaptive resistance slipped through my fingers as time resumed, and a veritable sea of sun magic cascaded into my soul. I didn’t immediately die, as I expected, but the pain was excruciating. All that saved me was the open channel to Selena, which eased the mounting pressure, taking more and more of the mana until I was little more than a conduit between them.

Then, all at once, the ocean dried up. The sudden absence was startling, a bitter, empty cold as fierce as the scathing sun mana itself. It struck me hard, a void within my soul so deep it gnawed through the pain, and continued to grow until it consumed me.

My body and soul grew numb, the pain retreating to the back of my consciousness. And even that faded as unconsciousness rose to grip me. All that I could feel was a pair of strong, gentle arms around me, and a sense of relief. Where I went now, no pain could follow. I’d done what I could. The rest was up to her.