The Forsaken Hero

I left Haven with the Star Guard, returning to the church in High Valley without Rodrick. I’d tried to find him, but Haven had materialized, informing me Fate wished him to stay and familiarize himself. I left the gate open at the spirit’s instruction, leaving Kahlen to guard it alone. There was no reason to panic the slaves and refugees with a demon’s presence. Not yet.

”What happened? Are you alright?” Rylam asked.

His hand went to his sword as Luxxa, Gith, and Jenna appeared after me. He pushed between us, shoving me back with his arm.

”Who are you? Where did you come from?” he demanded.

”Rylam, please, it’s okay,” I said, hugging his arm. ”They’re friends.”

He glared at them, but allowed me to pull him back a bit, letting the StarGuard leave the church. Luxxa frowned at the foxkin. Jenna raised an eyebrow at me, and I hurriedly released his arm, clasping my hands behind my back.

”This is Jenna, Luxxa, and Gith. They’re here to protect me,” I said.

Slowly, Rylam’s hand relaxed, and he straightened, giving them a stiff nod. ”I could have handled that.”

”I’m sure you could,” Luxxa muttered, exchanging glances with Jenna.

”Where are we, my Lady?” Gith asked, moving to the courtyard gate. ”I sense many souls around.” He gasped as he looked past the gates, over the lake. ”This looks like Haven!”

”It is, in a way. A Haven in Enusia, a place for the free,” I answered. A small smile touched my lips. ”I found this place, like so many others. They’ve come from the ashes of war and slavery, and built something new.”

”High Valley,” Rylam said, standing beside me. He glanced at me and smiled, though his tail still swished agitatedly. ”You could be a little more straightforward, every once in a while.”

”I-I am!” I blushed, rubbing my horn. I was nothing like Fate, right?

Jenna giggled behind us, covering her smile. I shot her a glare.

Luxxa cleared her throat. ”My Lady, I don’t mean to intrude, but I must urge you to get some rest.”

I wanted to protest, but was betrayed by a yawn. I smothered it with a hand, my blush darkening as the others shared smiles.

”I can escort you to your room, if you’d like. Then, I’d like to have a talk,” Rylam said, giving the Star Guard a meaningful look.

Luxxa glanced at me, and when I nodded, answered, ”It would be our pleasure. We’ll sort out whatever trouble Lady Xiviyah’s gotten you into.”

He laughed, waving his hand. ”Oh, nothing like that. I’m hoping you can share a little about our mysterious Oracle here. I’m beginning to see I don’t know as much about her as I thought.”

Luxxa smiled faintly, giving me a long-suffering sigh. ”You have no idea.”

As Rylam led us across the bridge, he chatted amicably with them. I trailed along in the back, by Gith, weighed down by a mounting fatigue that seemed to worsen with every step. It had been one thing after another, from escaping Fate, to fleeing across Radia, and then the drain of reuniting with so many, of reliving the memories that had brought us together all over again. And all that with only a few hours of sleep.

”This is where you’re staying?” Jenna asked as we arrived at my quarters.”

”I know it’s not much for the Oracle, but it’s what we have to offer,” Rylam said, his ears twitching.

”It’s perfect,” I said, giving him a grateful smile.

”You might as well retreat to Haven,” Jenna muttered, shaking her head.

I shot her a look before curtsying to everyone. Luxxa caught my wrist as I tried to slip inside.

”Would you like me to stay inside?”

I hesitated, then shook my head. ”I’ll be okay.”

She wasn’t really worried about someone sneaking in, not when they could easily watch the entrance. And as much as I craved someone near, I needed some time to think.

She wasn’t really worried about someone sneaking in, not when they could easily watch the entrance. And as much as I craved someone near, I needed some time to think. Alone.

Her lips pursed, but I shook off her hand and shut the door behind me, sagging against it as it clicked closed. Seeing the Star Guard, feeling Rylam’s warmth, reuniting with Fate...None of them could fill it.

My hand curled against my chest, against the hollowness.

”Oh, Luke...”

A fresh wave of tears threatened. I didn’t fight them, letting them spill down my cheeks. Sniffling, I slipped out of my dress and crawled onto the straw mattress, curling up in the sheets. When I finally fell asleep, I was still crying.

Luke. The glittering stars of my soul space were cold and faraway, whispering his name. I focused my power, and a vision unfolded, whisking me away to a spacious chamber set with magic crystals. My chest tightened as I recognized it: the war room of the Divine Throne.

Soltair stood to one side, leaning against the wall. His arms were folded, and he glared at the floor. Trithe was beside him, her hands clasped, her eyes shifting nervously between the other occupants. Grizzled commanders circled the table, arguing over an illusory map showing all of Radia. Verity’s slender body stood among their hulking figures, a full head and a half shorter, yet dominating the room. No one dared look at her directly, much less meet her silver, pupilless eyes. Her aura caused my soul to tingle all over, and from the way the others edged around her, they were feeling a similar pressure.

”My Lord Fate,” a father said, resting his hands on the table. He lowered his eyes respectfully as the avatar’s gaze switched onto him, stern and sharp. ”I plead with you to consider taking action on the western front. The hordes broke through the Yorlin Kingdom’s army and are converging on Radia.”

”Is the Oracle among them?” Verity’s voice was soft, but it caused everyone to flinch.

”Well, er, our intelligence hasn’t reported that much, but it is possible she escaped in that direction. And it would be simple for you to eradicate their numbers with a swing of your sword. No filthy demon could stand against your grace and holiness!”

”Did I ask for flattery? Did I ask you to bother me with such trivial tasks?”

Suddenly, the floor must have become very interesting, because everyone was studying it. The Father who had asked the question swallowed hard, his hands trembling on the map.

”F-forgive me, my Lord, I only meant--”

”What I did ask for is the Oracle. Is it not your calling to root out the traitors and insurgents, yet you can’t find one single filthblood thief? I’m beginning to think your devotion is less than sincere. Or are you only pious when it comes to begging selfish favors?”

Fate brushed off the Father’s sniveling response and pointed at the map. ”What is this?”

My blood ran cold as I saw the golden cloud drifting over the mountains he gestured at.

”Oh, that, my Lord?” a different Father answered. ”It’s nothing, merely a rabble of slaves and deserters. And besides, it’s over a hundred miles away from Roann.”

Fate’s eyebrows narrowed.

”Er, that is to say, it wouldn’t be possible for the traitor to escape there. We have the place closely monitored and have received only a single report of anything unusual. There was an extraordinarily powerful adventurer causing some ruckus, but we confirmed they entered that place alone.”

”Yes, it couldn’t have been her,” another general said. Fate’s gaze moved to him, and he cleared his throat. ”You see, if she’s alone, as we guessed, she couldn’t have possibly reached there in a single day.”

”And if she flew?”

”She won’t,” a new, familiar man answered. Father Ithris appeared, breaking through the swirling stars on the fringes of the vision, entering the scene. ”Of that, you can be certain, my lord. Even on skyships, she locks herself in a cabin and never boards one alone.”

”It’s true,” Soltair said with a sigh. ”Xiviyah’s terrified of heights. She’d never willingly fly anywhere.”

”And the adventurer who broke through is a ranger,” the commander added. ”The curse prevents her from wielding combat magic and spells. She could never have caused the wounds reported in the incident. Not to mention they were alone.”

”My Lord, there’s one other thing,” Father Ithris said. ”This place, this refuge, holds special value to the filthblood. Given her experiences, she would never return there, even if it meant certain salvation. She is too weak, too frail, too damaged.”

I found myself nodding along, clasping my hands, praying he believed them. Everything they said was true. I alone knew how much it hurt to come back, and if I truly was alone, without Fable to do the walking and Jasrin to encourage me, I never could have done it.

Fate let out a heavy breath, folding his arms. ”Even so, you’re telling me there is a place, no matter how unlikely, that escaped slaves and filthbloods gather? And it just so happens to be entirely shielded from fate? And you didn’t think to mention it to me?”

Silence reigned in the hall.

”Send an army. I want every slave and deserter there brought here in chains.”

”My Lord,” a commander said hesitantly. ”The mists there...they’re unpassable.”

”I refuse to believe an eighth or ninth-level mage, even among mortals as weak as you, would fail to pierce it.”

The commander’s gaze fell. ”We can’t spare the resources. The demons might be scattered, but they’ll muster and return.” His gaze rose hopefully. ”But if you were to go, my Lord, you could tear it down in an instant, and--”

”Your excuses are irrelevant,” Fate snapped, cutting him off. He stared around the table, making eye contact with every general. ”Send everything. If your precious cities need defenses, trust in the Divine. But I need that oracle, and you will find her for me..”