The Forsaken Hero

”A dragon girl? And she has my name?” Luxxa muttered, tilting her head. ”What the hell?”

The dragon girl charged, closing in on Fable in an instant. She was every bit as fast as she had been in her monstrous form, only now, she moved freely, untethered by her bulk. IN an instant, she arrived before us, swinging a fist wreathed in holy fire.

Luxxa lunged between us, barely managing to raise her shield in time. The impact rocked us back, and she dug in her heels, the dragon girl pressing on her in a flurry of blows. She had no technique or skill, just pure, raw fury and strength, landing hit after hit on Luxxa’s shield.

Kaheln reacted just as fast. I barely felt his presence appear behind me before his arm wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms to my sides as he plucked me effortlessly off my feet. His swords flew past Luxxa, slashing across the dragon girl’s exposed skin. She made no move to dodge them, but the blades left only thin lines of red in their wake.

”Her skin’s just as hard as her dragon scales,” he called, jumping back with me dangling in his grip.

Jenna cast a chantless sixth-circle spell, blasting her with lightning. Again, she didn’t bother to dodge, tanking the bolt head-on. It exploded on impact, wreathing her in scorching arcs of electricity. Luxaria hissed in pain, but like before, her skin barely blistered.

”Damn it, almost immune to magic, too,” Jenna cursed.

Angered by her lightning, Luxaria stomped on the ground, chasing after the mage. Jenna dove out of the way, and by the time the follow-up swing came, Luxxa had caught up, taking the hits with a grunt on her shield.

Kahlen landed lightly at the doorway of what seemed to be an inn on the other side of the ruined square. Fable ran over, letting me lean against him as the demon released me.

”Stay here,” he ordered, summoning several more swords. ”I refuse to believe we can’t match this beast.”

”Just break already!” Luxaria screamed, throwing all of her weight and mana into a punch.

It struck the center of Luxxa’s shield. There was a brittle crack, and Luxxa went flying. I threw up a hand, soul-casting a wind spell and catching her before she punched through a market stall.

Free of the knight’s shield, the dragon charged at Jenna again, but a sudden arrow caught her in the face. It glanced off her skin, slicing a thin line across her cheek. The wound was barely noticeable and would heal in less than a second, but Gith’s magic bloomed. Vines sprouted from her blood, thick and raspy, lined with long thorns. They failed to penetrate her skin, but she fell to the ground, ripping and tearing as the plants began to take root.

Kahlen arrived before she could free herself, throwing three swords at her in unison. She managed to raise a forearm in time and deflect the first, but the second grazed her stomach just beneath her armored breastplate, and the third left a deep cut on her thigh.

Her wings flared, and her soul ignited, wreathing her in fire. She rose into the air, her wounds knitting together in real time.

”Again?” I mumbled, pressing a hand to my horn. ”Is it just me, or...?”

Fable growled in agreement. Just like the Lava Dragons.

”Why are dragons so hard to kill?” I wondered to no one in particular.

Then again, Fable wasn’t so different. In fact, Fable’s regeneration might not be inferior to the lava dragons if he reached the ninth level. When. And if I were being honest, I wasn’t totally convinced he hadn’t actually stolen it from them in the first place. Or at least replicated whatever native art coursed through their magic. Like how I’d taken the foundation of my defensive spells from the canyon crawler. Despite our souls being bonded, there was still so much about the wolf I didn’t understand.

Luxxa touched down safely, shaking herself as my winds subsided. She whispered a healing spell, and a soft glow shrouded her, erasing aches and bruises. The dragon might not have broken through her shield, but its force had penetrated deep.

”Kahlen, what’s your take?” she cried, sprinting back into the fight.

Kahlen bore the brunt of the dragon’s attacks, agilely weaving around her brutish blows with ease. His swords found plenty of opportunity to counterattack, but their power just wasn’t high enough to penetrate her defenses.

”She’s a dragon,” Kahlen muttered. ”What the hell do you think we’re supposed to do? Just cut it till it dies!”

”Plan all you want. you’re all dead for daring to interfere with my master’s plans,” Luxaria spat. ”I’ll kill you myself!”

”What’s a dragon like you even doing working with the Sun Hero?” Jenna asked from her vantage across the square. She released several more bolts of lightning, and this time, Luxaria actually made the effort to dodge them.

”You know nothing about him, traitors!” Luxaria growled. For some reason, her glare was focused on me. ”The Sun Hero is the only light in this world. So long as he stands, the darkness won’t conquer!”

Over the next minute, the battle intensified. Jenna and Gith began to flag, their mana unable to keep up with the others. Luxxa was forced to turn entirely to defense, lest the eighth-level dragon break through. I felt no small amount of unease on the sidelines just watching, but it wasn’t without purpose. Luxaria’s soul was fascinating, and so was the way she used mana.

None of the monsters we fought had taken a humanoid form. Those that did, like demons, wielded mana in roughly the same way as the rest of us. But Luxaria still fought like a dragon. She used magical arts instinctively, without form or intention, blending fire and sun magic in seamless, ever-flowing currents that gave her both explosive power and incredible regeneration. Even if she hadn’t retained her dragon form’s hardiness, I wasn’t convinced the Star Guard had the power to put her down for good. It was all they could do just to keep up.

A violent shockwave struck the city, rippling through the buildings in a cascading wave of destruction. I cried out in surprise as rubble rained down on my wards, the inn collapsing on top of my wards. Fable released a burst of mana, knocking it away and obscuring us in billowing dust. I coughed more from habit than necessity, summoning a gust of wind to clear the air.

Overhead, Soltair and Luke engaged in furious conflict. They were visible only as motes of dark and light, streaking across the sky in zigzags. Where they intersected, the resulting impact shattered the very air, creating spatial rifts. It was impossible to tell who was winning, but the fact that neither had won already meant they were more evenly matched than either would want to admit.

I could see that the Fatesworn had reached the city and had begun assaulting the inner walls. Several keeps and positions had fallen into their control so far, but beyond what I could vaguely sense in my aura and from the demons bearing my mark, I was blind.

But that still left one matter unaccounted for, and the most pivotal of all. For this battle didn’t depend on Luke winning, or us defeating the dragon, but on opening the way into Radia. As long as the divine’s army was routed, even Soltair would have to retreat, or risk being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

I wished I’d come up with that on my own, but it was something made very clear to me by Bethiv and Fyren before the fight. Tactics really weren’t my thing.

”Jenna!” I cried, calling to the wind mage.

My voice vanished into the roar of battle, but miraculously, she heard me and streaked over. ”I’m here, my Lady.”

”I need to contact Bethiv. Can you find him?”

She hesitated, then nodded. ”Got him.”

I winced as she linked my mind with the Commander’s, unaccustomed to relying on someone else’s ability.

”Bethiv, we’re pinned down here,” I explained, and roughly outlined the situation.

”Understood,” he said when I’d finished. ”We’ve begun laying siege to the City Lord’s manor. Lord Amberhold himself heads the defenses, and it will take some time to crack the walls.”

”What of Tirthe, and Verity?” I asked.

”They managed to slip away in the chaos. I hate to say it, but your allies are easily distracted. I’m grateful for their assistance, but...”

I could hear the grimace in his voice, and cringed to myself. Of course Korra and Gayron had let them get away. They probably lost interest entirely after winning their fights and rushed to find a fight with the other Fatesworn.

”What about Grace?” I asked tentatively.

He sighed heavily. ”I haven’t the slightest, though, given that look in her eye, I suspect she’s hunting church priests or inquisitors. Gods know there’s enough of them out there.”

”Sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing my horn. ”I wish they were more reliable.”

”Eh, we planned for as much. What else can you expect when you take a few hot-blooded youths into battle? We play with the card we’re dealt.” he was quiet for a moment, waiting for me to speak. When I didn’t, he asked. ”What are you going to do?”

I turned, staring through the chaos into the distance, where the air seethed with infernal and divine mana. The clash of two titanic armies could be heard through the battles raging in the city.

”I think,” I murmured, nodding to myself, ”I think I’m going to end this.”