The Forsaken Hero

Scarcely five hours later, I was standing in the shade of a large tree where the Verdant Grove had once lorded over the forest. The massive trees fared better than they had in my vision when the ninth-level mana cannon had fired upon them, but they were still scorched and torn, with considerable gaps in the canopy from errant magical arts and spells. Much to my embarrassment, Elise had succeeded in persuading me to dress in Blacksand Style, in a pure white dress with crimson embroidery. A perfect fit, she said, for the occasion.

”Traitor,” I mumbled, glancing at her beside me. She’d gotten away with wearing a relatively chaste dress from her home country, with long, ruffled sleeves and a small keyhole slit that barely reached the hollow between her clavicles.

She giggled, patting my arm. ”Oh, relax. You look beautiful. But I think it’s your aura that’s got everyone staring. Aren’t you going to rein it in a bit?”

”I can’t,” I mumbled, tail curling self-consciously.

As much as I tried to keep my eyes on the ground, I couldn’t ignore the vast crowds of elves gathered in the ruined courtyard, perhaps ten thousand in number, maybe more. As she said, many--too many--were looking at me. They’d come from all corners of the city, backing the grounds that had, just hours ago, seen vicious battle unlike any Duskwood had suffered in a thousand years. The walls and smaller edifices were all but gone, erased in the heat of battle, while the long furrows and craters in the ground had been smoothed over by earth magic and sewn with flowers by life.

My companions and I had been given a place at the foot of the platform erected before the masses. Luke hadn’t yet arrived, but Gayron stood with Korra, their hands laced together, while Elise and I were together. Fable lay behind me, a silver mound of gleaming fur. My aura spread across the courtyard, a subtle golden mist that curled about the feet of noble and commoner alike.

”What do you mean you can’t?” Elise asked. ”Is it because of the lantern?”

I rested my hand on the Aethereal Prism, which hung from a delicate chain tied about my waist, warm against the skin exposed through the dress’s slit. By some misfortune, or perhaps design, it couldn’t be held within any of the spatial gear I had access to, and while I was fine to leave it secure in my room when I was on the Sunsinger Estate, I couldn’t risk leaving it unattended.

”Is it really that powerful?” she asked, peering at it curiously. ”It doesn’t seem all that remarkable.”

”Yet it is,” I said, my hand slipping from the crystal lantern to tug self-consciously at my dress again. ”It provided the mana for that cannon, not to mention the Aegis around the city, and I still haven’t detected the slightest decrease in its ability.”

”And your aura, it’s not...revealing anything, is it?” she asked.

I shook my head. ”No, I can at least control that much. No unplanned visions today, just a pleasant tingle.”

”Pleasant?” she shivered unconsciously. ”Maybe to you. To me, it’s strange. It makes my soul prickle.”

Before I could say more, I sensed a familiar aura above us, and my heart skipped a beat. A violet blaze crossed the sky, descending with a sharpness that caused my stomach to twist empathetically. It landed beside us, and Luke stepped from the light, his eyes lighting up as he saw us. Ignorant of the shocked gasps and stares of the elves, he approached. His gaze caught on me, and his tail went rigid. I squirmed under his appraising stare, gripping the hem of my sleeves to keep from fidgeting.

”Xiviyah, you look...” he stammered, finally managing to raise his eyes to mine.

”Beautiful?” Elise asked, nudging my arm playfully.

Luke’s ears turned red, and he coughed into his gauntlet. ”Right. Beautiful.”

I blushed, ducking my head. ”Elise wanted me to wear it.”

”She’s not the only one,” he murmured, taking my hands in his. His tail curled forward on its own, rubbing against mine. I barely felt it, lost in his violet gaze. His eyes sparkled, reflecting mine at me.

Elise coughed lightly. ”It’s about to start. Aerion just arrived.”

I nodded slowly, not really hearing her. But Luke moved, letting go of one of my hands to stand by the side, holding the other all the tighter. I gasped, remembering to breath, and flushed red as I noticed all the eyes on us. I shrank against Luke, but there was no hiding from the hundreds who’d witnessed the rather intimate moment.

Luke didn’t seem to care, holding my hand brazenly despite my bashfulness. His thumb brushed against my knuckles, sending a shiver up my arm that had nothing to do with the evening chill. ”Let them look,” he whispered, squeezing lightly. ”Let them know no one’s taking you from me.

Aerion’s presence washed over the crowd, silencing the murmurs that had risen after Luke’s arrival. He climbed the stairs to the top of the platform, his crimson cloak billowing behind him. He was flanked by Lady Whitemarsh, who stood tall and resolute, and Commander Whitemarsh, who looked stern and imposing in his gleaming armor.

A soft boom sent a shimmer across the city as an amplification spell took hold. Lady Whitemarsh began to speak, her voice ringing across the city. It was much the same as Aerion’s little speech earlier, save that she spent considerable time going over the events, victories, and losses of the day before. The people listened with a sense of grim determination. But even as she proclaimed the mission of the Crimson Dawn and the renaissance they swore to bring to Sylvarus, the gloom never left, mingling with the ash that still drifted on the breeze like flurries of snow.

At last, her oration concluded, and she turned to Aerion. A hush fell over the crowd, a thousand breaths held in anticipation. Lord Whitemarsh stepped forward, a slender, golden circlet resting on a velvet cushion. Its design was simple but elegant, shaped like a wreath of interlocking leaves, with a single, luminous diamond at its center that flickered with flames caught within.

Elise leaned toward me and whispered, ”That gem...” Her eyes were fixed on the circlet, her usual composure giving way to something softer, more reverent. ”They made it from the ashes collected at the Verdant Grove.”

”Fitting,” Luke murmured.

Aerion approached Lady Whitemarsh and knelt before her, his back to the crowd. She carefully lifted the circlet and held it aloft, presenting it to the crowd. Its glow brightened, and I saw, with some concern, that there were several enchantments woven within it. They were simple, to protect it against time and increase its durability, but there was also one that bound it to an individual’s soul, like a spatial treasure. All of these enchantments drew mana from the environment to power them. And right now, that ’environment’ happened to be saturated by my aura. It acted like a drain in a basin, drawing the stars toward it as it gathered mana to bind to Aerion.

The circlet’s draw reached me, gently tugging on my soul. There was nothing dangerous about it, less intense, even, than connecting to a Nexus, but I shivered at the shiver touch. On the stand, Selena’s head tilted as she sensed something off, a small crease wrinkling her brow as she stared at the crown.

”What is it?” Luke asked a I squirmed, my tail brushing against his leg as it curled.

Before I could respond, Lady Whitemarsh’s voice rang across the city. ”Aerion Sunsinger, as the last remaining member of the Verdant Tribunal, and the final steward of Sylvarus, I crown you king. May you defend her forests, guide her people, and see her flourish for millennia to come.”

Aerion bowed his head, and Lady Whitemarsh lowered the crown, gently placing it over his pointed ears. My chest tightened as the gem flared, and a sudden wave of vertigo washed over me. My aura flickered, and for a heart-stopping instant, it was drawn into the gem. My vision swam as the Oracle of Eternity broke free of my control. Stars erupted around the Aerion, spilling golden light across the courtyard. Pressure gripped the courtyard as the golden radiance intensified, manifesting in winds that circled the dais, forcing all back. Selena caught Lady Whitemarsh, dragging the elderly elf back with a cry, using her aura to contain the storm.

I gasped, shivering uncontrollably, as I struggled to find myself amid the torrent of mana. Around us, elves straightened and collapsed, driven to their knees by the force of my aura. The stars seemed drawn to a few among them, and they collapsed, eyes swimming with stars. I groaned, pressing a hand to my head as their visions rushed through my mind, combining into an incoherent storm of thoughts, emotions, and senses.

”Xiviyah!” Luke cried, clutching me to him.

I clung to him, grounding myself to the heat of his skin and the touch of his body. Slowly, the storm of stars died, and my aura retreated, slinking back within my soul. The world came back into focus, and I found Aerion still kneeling, his head bowed, but the crown on his head gleaming. The flames within the gem had turned from crimson to gold, like flickering starlight. Whatever enchantment had originally been bound to him was gone, scoured away by my aura.

In its place was a seal of fate, imprinted with the Oracle of Eternity.