The Forsaken Hero

Despite my brave words, my stomach was a knot of nerves by midday, my breakfast a distant memory. It only worsened as I visited Haven one last time, practicing with Emlica before returning to Enusia. And now, as the evening colors touched the sky, I couldn’t stop trembling.

”Stop worrying,” Korra said, nudging my shoulder with hers. She gave me a reassuring smile. ”You’re going to do fine. Even if you don’t, what’s a few more days of practice? It’s still better than the months of travel it would take.”

We’d spent half an hour traveling to the Last Light Company together, and now waited as they made their final preparations. I sheltered against Fable’s side, Korra relaxing into his fur beside me. Gayron stood over us, his arms folded, absently studying the Company.

The forests were thick, but they couldn’t hide the thirty thousand men and women, or hush the clack of their armor or the drone of their collective murmurs. Bethiv, Jackal, and a few other senior officers who had once led the company were in a small meeting with Elise and the new leaders, muttering together just out of earshot. We could have moved to join them, or at least listen in, but I didn’t feel like it.

”I know,” I whispered. My tail swished, stirring up fallen leaves that rustled in the gentle breeze. ”What if it’s not big enough, though? Or it collapses midway? Or...”

”Then you’ll try again,” she said firmly. ”And again, until you get it right.”

”It’s not that simple. To try something of this size, it’s going to take a lot of mana. I’ll be relying on the prism from the start.”

”Then you’d better hope it doesn’t fail. Sounds like you only got one shot,” she said with a teasing grin. I gave her a look, and she patted my head. ”I’m just teasing. You’ll be fine. I believe in you.”

I gave her a weak smile in return, my heart fluttering. ”Thanks.”

Sensing my hesitation, she sighed, pulling me into a hug. I rested my head on her chest, closing my eyes as she stroked my hair. Slowly, my breathing eased, and my tail stilled, half-curling around her waist, the end lost somewhere in Fable’s fur.

”What of Sari? I noticed you left her at the Manor,” Korra said after a few minutes.

I shifted, looking up at her. ”She convinced me to let her stay a few weeks longer, while Elise and the Company establish themselves. She’s learning a lot with Emlica, and I want to take her home personally, to Heartland.”

”That’ll give time for the real danger to pass,” she said, nodding thoughtfully. ”No matter how talented she is, or how much mana she has, she’s too young for the battlefield. And inexperienced.”

”I don’t think she’s ever been in a real fight before,” I admitted. ”But don’t let her catch you saying anything like that. She’s got almost as much pride as Emlica.”

”Probably why she likes her so much,” Korra muttered.

We shared a giggle, and I sank against her again. But the peace didn’t last long.

”They’re coming,” Korra said, giving me a final pat on the head.

I lingered, snuggling against her, until the audible pat of footsteps approached. Somewhat reluctantly, I pulled away, looking at the circle of familiar faces, and allowed Korra to raise me to my feet.

”Sorry to bother you, you looked so comfortable,” Elise said, giving me a playful smile. ”Are you prepared?”

”Isn’t that a better question for you?” Korra asked.

She chuckled faintly. ”I suppose so.”

”Wait, Elise,” I said, slipping forward and taking her hand in both of mine. ”Could I, um, have a moment? Alone?”

She gave me a questioning look. When I looked at her pleadingly, she glanced at Bethiv and Joel, who nodded back, stepped away, and turned their backs to us with the other soldiers.

”You too?” I asked Korra, my heart fluttering, afraid she might be offended.

But though Korra raised an eyebrow, she simply took Gayron’s hand and distanced themselves. I led Elise a little farther away, into a grove where we had some privacy, before letting go of her hand.

”A little late for parting words, no?” Elise asked.

I flinched, fidgeting with a long, crimson ribbon of hair. ”I know, I’m sorry. It’s just...I couldn’t find the right time. You were always so busy, and I was...” my gaze dropped. ”Maybe I was avoiding it a little. Because it means accepting that you’re leaving.”

Her lips turned in a small, worried frown. ”What is it? Did you have one last vision? A warning, or a prophecy?”

”It’s nothing like that, just...here.” Blushing, I summoned something from my spatial ring and pushed it into her hands

”A bracelet? For me?” she gasped. ”It’s beautiful!”

”It’s not much, not after everything you’ve done for me, but...it’s all I could do,” I mumbled, wringing my hands, and added, ”I worked hard on it...I hope you like it.”

Elise raised the bracelet, a garland of vines and flowers crowned by a single snow white blossom, and slipped it onto her arm. The vines twisted, tightening until they fit snugly. The flowers glowed, filled with a soft golden luminescence.

”Is this a Nivalea?” she whispered reverently, fingering the delicate petal of the white flower. ”You mentioned you found some at the market, but...thank you!”

She threw her arms around me, hugging me fiercely.

”Y-You like it?”

”Like it? I love it! It feels just like you, like your aura. Like your hugs.”

”Really?” My tail swished, and I hugged her back, tears welling up in my eyes. ”I’m sorry, it’s not very good. I did my best, but...even Lady Newspring almost gave up on me. I barely got it to stick together long enough for the magic to take hold. Emlica enchanted it for me.”

”Enchanted? What does it--no, that doesn’t matter right now. I don’t care how

flawed you think it is,” she said, pulling back, a serious look on her face. ”To me, it’s absolutely perfect.”I gave her a wobbly smile, a tear slipping down my cheek. She gently wiped it away with her thumb.

”Hey, it’s okay. Now that you can teleport, I’m only ever going to be a spell away.”

”I know, but...Brithlite. It’s going to be months, at least until you get the empire settled,” I whispered, wringing my hands. ”I don’t know how much I’ll be able to visit after the invasion starts.”

”We’ll see each other again. I promise,” she said, gently, but with a conviction that stilled my quivering lip. ”But even if it takes a while, you’ll be okay. You have Korra and R’lissea. And Luke, when he comes back. You’ll be just fine.”

”I’m more worried about you. What if you get lonely?”

”Then I’ll have this,” she said, twisting the bracelet on her arm. ”Don’t you worry about me. I’ve survived far worse than being surrounded by a bunch of burly, sweaty soldiers who want nothing more than to conquer me a kingdom.”

I giggled, blinking away the excess moisture in my eyes. ”I suppose that’s true. You’re always so strong. One day, I want to be able to stand alone like you.”

”I think you already are. But keep working, alright? Next time we meet, you’d better be a ninth-level mage, hear me?”

”And you a queen. I know the people in the Last Light Empire will be lucky to have you.”

”What’s this about an empire?” she asked, giving me a skeptical look. ”It seems you know more than you’ve let on before. Which is crazy, given how many details you’ve shared. I feel like I know every single noble we’ll have to deal with from your visions alone.” She pursed her lips. ”But Last Light, eh? I like the sound of that. A reminder of where we’ve come from, of how close our hope was to being extinguished.” She nodded firmly. ”I hadn’t decided on a name yet, but it’s fitting. A tribute to you and the Company that redeemed Brithlite.”

I hugged her again before we rejoined the others. Elise wore her bracelet proudly, ignoring the curious looks and raised eyebrows. I couldn’t keep my tail from swishing happily, tainted though my joy was by her impending departure.

With little more ceremony, I took a breath and summoned my staff. As I began to cast, using a large clearing for a staging ground, Elise and Commander Joel began to address the troops, using magic to amplify their voices. I only half paid attention, all but droning it out as I realized they were just laying out the initial arrival strategy. I’d studied the outskirts of Brithlite city extensively in preparation and was confident I could place them just within the outer gates, in an old abandoned market. That would give them enough room to establish a base camp and subdue any resistance within the walls before anyone knew they were there.

”I’d hate to be the local warlord,” Korra muttered as I began working on the sixth circle. ”Imagine just owning your own city, and then bam! Army. Bam! You’re dead.”

Gayron chuckled. ”I’m sure there are far worse ways to go. After all, they’re going to be remembered as the first ruler ever defeated by an army arriving by teleportation.”

”The first of many, I’m sure,” Korra said with a chuckle. ”I can’t imagine it’s easy to plan or defend against this tactic. It’s a literal cheat.”

Someone shushed them, but I happened to agree with them, even if I lacked the concentration to say as much. Moving forces around like this might be commonplace on other worlds, but it had never happened in Enusia. Warfare was going to change forever.

Less than ten minutes later, the final rune snapped into place, and the spell flashed. Sweat beaded on my forehead, but I hummed in satisfaction as I lowered my staff. It was finished.

A reverent hush fell over the forest as a black tear appeared in the clearing, a hairline crack almost fifty feet tall that ran from the grass to the bottom of the canopy. With the sound of breaking glass, it expanded, swelling over thirty feet wide. The darkness twisted and cleared, revealing the ruined marketplace of Brithlite. The city was desolate and lonely, the sky a heavy gray. A frigid breeze gusted through the rift, sending a violent shiver through me. It smelled of distant rain and decay.

”Good luck,” I whispered, moving aside and standing near Korra. ”May the stars watch over you.”

”Until we meet again,” Elise said, giving me a final, resolute nod. ”Stay safe, Xiviyah.”

With that, Elise turned and stepped through the rift, leading the Last Light Company home.