The Forsaken Hero

Zephyriss appeared to me at the cathedral of fate a few hours before dawn struck Enusia. I stood in the lower chambers, kneeling by myself, my hands clasped in my lap.

”Is it time?” I asked, exhaling softly.

”What do you like about this room?” she asked curiously.

I rose to my feet, gazing at the murals in front of me. At one in particular. My hand rose as if on its own, resting against the cool wall.

”I...don’t know,” I admitted, meeting the gaze of the man peering through my fingers. The Father. ”He just...calls to me. I don’t really understand it.”

”I wish I remembered,” she said, gliding forward, alighting beside me. ”But that was so long before I gained any consciousness. Or maybe it wasn’t. I could have been a demon emperor, for all I know. Hah, could you imagine? Me?”

”Yeah,” I muttered, spreading my fingers slightly. Two shining souls appeared, a gold and a...black. ”You’re definitely petty enough to be a god.”

”Emperor.”

I turned to her, smiling faintly. ”Is there a difference?”

Her face turned in a pout. ”Of course. One’s selfish. The other one admits it.”

”I guess that’s true.” I turned, letting my hand slide off the wall. I really didn’t know what had drawn me here after soaking in the hot springs. It wasn’t the first time, though. It felt sacred, and with what was to come, it felt right.

”Oh, yeah, by the way, the Lord of Ash said the apostle’s horde is getting ready to move.”

”He couldn’t have told me himself?” I asked, touching my temple.

She laughed, falling in alongside me as I left the room, ascending to the main hall of the cathedral. ”I volunteered.”

”Oh?” I side-eyed her. When had she volunteered for anything?

”Remember how you can call a remnant to fight for you?”

I hid a smile. So that was it.

”Well, I was thinking we should try it out with us demon lords. Just, you know, as a test. You like tests, right?”

I rubbed my horn, pretending to think about it. ”You might be on to something. Incinderus has more offensive power than anyone else here. He might be the best for such a huge battle as this.”

”What? Incinderus!” She squawked, thunder crackling in her wings. ”Me, Oracle! I meant me! I’m clearly the better option. Don’t you remember how we took down those skyships?”

I hummed in response, the tip of my tail twitching in amusement. Her mastery of the skies was unchallenged, and I heard she’d been training Grace since we’d saved her, but she was hardly the first choice. For scouting, aerial combat, definitely. But in a large-scale war?

”I’ll think about it,” I finally promised, more to placate her than anything.

”Good.” She nodded, self-satisfied, and vanished.

The giggle I’d been holding back finally escaped, and I covered my mouth, though no one was watching. Of all the immortals, I understood Zephyriss the best. There were no secrets or plots to her, no secret names or missions. Just a free soul that went where the wind blew her.

The air changed as I entered the chapel, causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise. My staff appeared in my hand as I looked around, quickly finding the source of the buzzing in my soul.

”Ah, there you are, child,” Fate said, smiling at me gently. ”The Lord of Ash awaits you at the entrance.”

”Why is he here?” I asked, staring at the tall, intimidating figure next to her. He was strong and handsome, with glowing violet eyes and deep purple robes trimmed with gold. It was his soul that stirred the air that caused the realm itself to tremble from its weight.

He glanced at me, a small frown making its way onto his face, before turning back to the shard.

”This formation,” he said, gesturing to a random swirl of light within the shard, as if I wasn’t even there. ”This is the center of the localizing array. If we adjust it--” he waved his hand, and the color tinted slightly. ”See?”

”Magic, you’re being rude,” Fate said, putting her hands on her hips. It made her seem...motherly. ”Xiviyah has sacrificed much to be here. You should at least be courteous.”

”Time is limited, Fate. What one mortal thinks, let alone feels, is irrelevant.”

”Not her.”

That was enough to make him turn his eyes to me again, this time in consideration. After a moment, he nodded.

”A powerful tool there,” he murmured, nodding at the prism. ”And your aura has shifted from the last time we met. My servant here has told me much about the abilities you possess, and after seeing it for myself, I’d like to conduct some tests, if you don’t mind.”

Fate’s eyes narrowed. ”Magic.”

”Another time, then,” he answered smoothly. ”But I wish you well in this war. It would be a shame for you to fall after laying the foundation for such a great movement. I can’t remember the last time a single mortal caused such unrest amongst the Divine.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. So, I just dipped into a small curtsey. ”Um, thank you.”

He turned back before I rose, already working on another series of lights. Were the sparkles inside a shard really that important? They’d always just seemed like scattered, refracted light to me.

I leaned closer, drawing on as much of the oracle of Eternity as I could without drawing his attention. As I saw it, I gasped, my tail standing stiff in a line.

Those weren’t sparkles, and it had nothing to do with colors. Every ray of light, every reflected particle, was an impossibly intricate array of the smallest runes and circles I’d ever seen. There were billions of them, trillions even. Nothing, not even the ninth-level spell I was studying, came close to the complexity and scope of even one of them, and there were thousands.

I staggered back a step, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of such a thing. Shards of Omniscience, they called them. The church had taught that they were called that because they could read souls and understand any abilities, but this...? No wonder Fate spent every waking moment studying it. You could spend a thousand lifetimes and still only comprehend a fraction of the magic coiling inside. You might as well try to read a DNA sequence out loud! Not that I knew much about those, but still!

”Yes, child, an apt comparison.”

Fate’s voice woke me from my stupor, and I straightened, my tail curling in embarrassment. I gripped my skirt, and this time, my curtsey had a lot more depth. If Magic could really understand all that, let alone manipulate it, then I’d obviously underestimated the capabilities of a god. They might be petty, but–

”How crude,” Magic said, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. ”If you’ve nothing better to do, then please take your distracting thoughts elsewhere.

”Come, child,” Fate said, putting a hand on my shoulder and guiding me away. ”There’s something I must tell you before you go.”

I looked over my shoulder at the shard as Magic walked away. All of a sudden, our battle felt a lot less significant in the scope of things. Whatever we hoped to accomplish would be only a fraction of the work done here. No wonder the other gods had mocked Fate if changing a shard was what was required to rewrite the cycle.

Once we were in the outer courtyards, just beneath the gate, Fate turned, putting her hands on my shoulders, leaning so her eyes were level with mine.

”Listen to me very carefully,” she said slowly, as if afraid I might mishear. ”Our work is great, but yours is no less so. We cannot succeed if you die.”

”Yes, but that’s–”

”Listen.”

Something about the way she said it made my mouth click shut. I stared at her, my eyes wide. When has she ever been this direct? Not even when she abandoned me to Lord Bryon!

”The war that has been will be but a footnote in the war to come. Fate will tremble like it hasn’t since the Cycle was forged in blood and fire. It will abandon you. It will betray you.”

I paled at the intensity in her eyes, in her words. My tail curled, too frightened to lash. Her grip on my shoulders tightened.

”Remember this, little one,” she said with a tender softness, full of sorrow. ”If it comes to it, the place you once fled from is the only place you must flee. It will be your refuge from the storm.”

She brought her hand up, cupping my cheek. Her eyes glistened with something more than stars. ”Be safe, little one. May the stars never darken in your nights again.”

She pushed me gently back, and I reached for her, but Haven shifted, stealing me away in a shower of stars. I stumbled as cobblestone appeared beneath my feet, trembling violently.

”Xiviyah!” Korra was at my side in an instant.

I drew a few desperate breaths in her embrace before peeking up out of her arms. Bethiv, Fyren, Incinderus, and everyone were there. On the islands around, the entire Fatesworn waited, ready for war.

”What happened?” Korra asked.

I shook my head, lingering a heartbeat longer before pulling away. I gave myself a shake and drew to my full height.

”It’s nothing. The odds are just against us.” I forced a smile. ”But aren’t they always? Sorry for making you all wait, but I’m ready now. We have a war to win.”