The Forsaken Hero

I rode back to camp atop Fable, my tail shifting restlessly as I pondered the events that had just transpired. Before leaving for Haven, I’d had a nagging feeling that something was amiss, but the moment "Elise" walked into my tent, I’d nearly lost my composure. Even now, my heart ached, and tears threatened to well up in my eyes. Why did it have to be Elise? I was so close to her, yet so agonizingly far.

I pushed away the memories and worries about Elise, unable to dwell on them any longer or I might actually break down. Thankfully, there was plenty else to occupy my mind, like the upcoming battle or the enigmatic Jessia.

The Apostle of Secrets was dangerous; that much was clear. She’d presented two different faces, names, and at least as many personalities, but I doubted any of them were her true self. Forget guessing her motivations—even trying to keep up with her left my head spinning. Was she light and flirtatious, or a commanding presence?

The only thing I’d managed to glean was that I wasn’t her primary target; she hadn’t lied about that, at least. Probably.

Instead, she seemed interested in me because of some deal with Alverin, or perhaps her relationship with Luke, whatever that might entail. I could understand somewhat if it was the latter, but Luke and I weren’t exactly close. We’d only spoken a handful of times, almost always in tense, hostile situations. It wasn’t like she could capture and use me as leverage against him. I knew from our entanglement that he was far too single-minded to care if an exiled ex-hero like me was in danger. Right?

Which left only the first possibility. Jessia had mocked the Brithlitian soldiers when I proved her curse had no effect on me, claiming her role was done and the rest was up to them. She clearly had no love for Alverin, constantly insulting him when the soldiers weren’t listening, so why ally with him?

She’d used a fake name, Anna, so could she be trying to sabotage them from within? It seemed possible, but if that were the case, then why work against us? If she’d just stayed out of it and let us attack, even if we lost, we would have weakened Alverin’s forces considerably, making it easier for the Infernal Horde to sweep through later.

We reached the camp before I could come to any sort of conclusion, or even sort through the tangle of emotions swirling within me. Our mission in Liceria had been a success, and we’d managed to thwart the first layer of Alverin’s plan, but Jessia’s presence cast a long, ominous shadow over everything. At the very least, she seemed detached from Brithlite now, and hopefully, she would allow events to unfold without further interference.

But the encounter had left me with a sense of unease. She’d been able to shield her soul and true nature from the Oracle of Eternity, presenting herself as anyone she wished without a single outward sign. Combined with her ability to disappear and possibly even teleport, she was a formidable and unpredictable opponent. One I had no idea how to face and, hopefully, would never have to. Fighting the Circle and church without an apostle was more than enough.

The camp buzzed with activity, Bethiv’s orders having arrived well before me. Everywhere I looked, soldiers scrambled about in the dark, many utilizing light spells in their preparations. I smiled faintly as I recognized them as the ones I’d invented, which could adjust their brightness depending on the needs of the caster. Somehow, it must have made its way around. Perhaps Sarra, or even Sari, had shown them. I’d been instructing them both daily, hoping to leave some of my techniques behind when I was gone.

My influence didn’t stop there, though. As I noticed the mages casting protective spells, ordinarily, they’d wait for minutes before the battle. Still, they’d modeled their own spells on mine, maximizing efficiency and removing many effects that unsustainably drained their mana. Some of the more clever ones had even managed to copy the parts that removed the shockwaves that caused protective magic to create a chaotic field of mana when it failed. And yet others were using arrays to combine multiple protective spells—something not even I had studied much.