The Forsaken Hero

Fable lifted his head as the explosions rolled closer. A deafening blast followed each one, the noise tearing through the network of fissures and caverns beneath the tundra, reverberating through the Core Chamber with the ferocity of a roaring dragon.

I winced as one particularly loud explosion left a painful ringing in my ears, the sound sharp against my eardrums. My grip on the core tightened, and my tail began to twitch, tracing anxious lines across the fine powdery snow of the chamber floor. I was blind to the world outside the small cave, without the faintest idea who was attacking us, or why.

My soul was exposed and vulnerable, a brilliant flare to any demonic moths circling about. The gate itself was bait for Enusians; distant enough, it would make rallying any sizable force difficult but big enough it couldn’t be ignored. It would have to be one of those two forces, but the question remained: which one?

Another explosion shook the ground, shaking small chunks of ice from the ceiling. I flinched as one landed beside me, stabbing into the ground beside my tail. Whoever it was, demon or martial, was close.

As anxiety latched onto my heart, squeezing tight, my gaze settled on the core. Millions of glistening threads of mana extended from it like a spiderweb, trailing off to the most distant depths of the gate. An idea blossomed in my mind, and I reached out to the Ice Spirit, gently tugging on our bond.

It responded almost immediately. "Yes, my lady?"

I hesitated a moment, chewing my lower lip thoughtfully. "Do you, um, know what’s going on out there? The battle, I mean."

"I’m afraid the task at hand limits my senses. I was uncertain how powerful the infernal mana would be, and mobilized my entire being to shield you from its might.

"And? Do you really need all of your power to protect me from the taint?" I asked, more curious than anything.