The Forsaken Hero

"We go forward," I said, looking around the command tent.

The ring of soldiers looked at me intently, many reflecting acceptance or trepidation. Most were familiar to me, but I knew many of the senior squad leaders by little more than face.

With the addition of the different branches, the command structure of the Last Light Company had been consolidated. Commander Bethiv stood at the head, with Jackal and Joel serving as secondary leadership with the assumed rank of Captain. Korra and I were outside the command structure, though not a single soldier dared to disobey us.

"I see," Bethiv said, nodding. "In that case, we’ll break camp tomorrow and head toward Brithlite City. Jackal, Joel, see that your men are ready to move by dawn."

"Yes sir," the two captains said with a salute.

"One last thing," I said, looking around again, letting my eyes linger on the faces of each squad leader. "We are going to be marching through enemy territory from now on. Many of those we fight are going to be old friends, acquaintances, or even family. I need to know if you will stand by me to the end."

Bethiv let the question sink in, only answering after the last bits of hesitation faded from the eyes of his subordinates. "We’re with you, my lady."

I nodded gratefully and relaxed in my seat. The meeting ended with little further discussion, and the others filed away, save Bethiv, Korra, and myself.

"My lady," Bethiv began. His voice was soft and tired, and he slumped in his seat, letting a bit of his exhaustion show. "In all honestly, things aren’t looking great right now. We’ve officially made ourselves enemies of the church and kingdom, with no home or supply line to speak of. Fortunately, we have enough mages to sustain our needs in the way of food production, but our camp followers are in low supply. We have few blacksmiths, enchanters, and armorers. It’s probably for the best we don’t have a cavalry unit because there’s no way we could care for all the horses, or replace those unable to fight."