Home.

Please let me go home.

The golden blade clashed against my armor, sending magic sparks into the air. Another blow came at my side from behind, as the mace forced me to the ground, digging my knees into the dirt and scattering grass into the air. I held my weapon in front of my face, defending as I clawed backwards, chest pounding in pain as my heels dug deeper, struggling to find traction on the slippery ground. There was a crash from above as a silver blade slashed between the golden armor in front of me, chest plate falling to the ground. A hand appeared from between the crowd of bodies, reaching for the now-exposed magic. But, before the misty cloud could reach their lungs, another golden blade soared from above, taking the outstretched hand with it upon impact. It rolled on the ground in front of me with a haunting thump.

I staggered backwards off the ground, ears ringing and dulling me to the chaos of sounds thundering all around. I lifted myself up, catching my breath as I scanned my surroundings. It seemed for every red caped knight we were lucky to absorb, three more would take their place.

I turned, stumbling into what looked to be a clearing in the crowd, only to find the fallen copper body of the wyvern, magicked body still warm and steaming in the morning air. I took the chance to dive forward and underneath its bent black leather wing, desperate to catch my breath and gather myself.

As I sat, crumbled in the leathery shade, knees to my chest, I watched the golden feet dance with leather boots from below the wings arch. Back and forth, back and forth, until there was a scream, and the old pair of leather boots fell backwards. There, in the dirt before me was the kind old root seller, glassy eyes staring back at me through the darkness, unmoving.

No need to repay me. Just have my back if you see me out there.

I let out a scream of frustration, rushing forward at the golden boots from under the wing’s arch, and pushing the armored body with all the force I could gather. There was a thunderous impact as the Halmore armor clashed against the golden steel, and both of our bodies flew into the ground with a clamor.

The fire in my chest burned brighter than it had ever before as I found myself on top of the knight, sharp armored knees pinning his arms to his sides. With a scream, I lifted the helmet off his sweaty, reddened head. His brown eyes bore into me as he cursed and spat at me, kicking his legs to escape. I placed both my hands on the sides of his face. I was still screaming.

Then, something strange happened.

Instead of the automatic transformation into white mist, I felt a painful familiar pang of pain trickle through my blackened left palm. I froze. The angered eyes turned suddenly afraid, and Selphena’s soldier began to buck wildly under the weight of my armor.

You can really make him suffer.

I braved a quick glance behind me to see the back of the old woman’s head, gray and matted hair on the ground. Her hand still grasped a long, well-worn blade at her side. She still wore a heavy coat over silver, broken armor. A life spent fighting, surviving, hiding away. What had she done to deserve this end?

What did she do so wrong to deserve slaughter?

And before I knew it, the kindle inside of my core began to boil, magma hot, as the pain shot through my palms. Every fiery frightened tear, every shaking and defenseless mess I’ve ever been, every stinging slap to the side of my face, all of the pain blackened the magic of my hands as I pulled and stabbed beneath his skin. I was blinded with pain, burning through my arms and body, as the face beneath me began to bubble then slither away into tiny fragments and crawl beneath my shaking fingertips. The pooled magic stayed there, swirling gnats in wait beneath me where the knight once lay. I froze, staring into the pool of black, suspended like ink in water, beneath me.

The flames at my core felt cold now, heavy and empty beneath an invisible weight. There was freedom, but like a scream into an abyss, I was left with the aftermath, throat raw and aching. It was a gasping breath of air after swimming too long beneath the water, only to find I was still in the middle of the ocean.

My hands were still shaking.

What have I done?

“May I?”

It was Aixel, crouched beside me and gesturing to the pool of black void magic. He was smiling, with black eyes more wild than I had ever seen. I looked up to see that Ciro was also there frozen and staring at me, silver armor spattered red.

I gave a short nod at Aixel, still frozen where I crouched, and he lifted the pool away with a flex of his fingers. He then gave me an odd pat on my back, before disappearing once more into the surrounding chaos.

“Mira?” shouted Ciro as he slowly made his way towards me.

Suddenly, a golden knight charged between us, sword above his head and aiming for Ciro, who, in turn, pushed him away with his halberd with ease, flipping off his helmet in the process. As the knight’s golden helmet spun through the air, Ciro held up a hand, and the soldier turned into white mist in Ciro’s lungs before the soldier seemed to realize what had happened. Ciro continued his slow walk towards me, unfazed.

“Did you just do what I think you did?” he shouted, voice muffled under my helmet and ringing ears.

I nodded slowly, looking between him and the now empty armor beneath me. My hands were still shaking. He lowered to my level, and put a hand to the side of my helmet.

“Are you okay?”

“I… don’t know,” I answered slowly, voice not sounding like my own.

Beyond, I heard the air piercing guttural call of Doris, and a shadow loomed overhead of her growing silhouette, newly fed by the magic that was once beneath my fingertips. Ciro looked up and laughed.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” he said, offering his armored hand towards me. His eyes turned serious. “I’m not sure how you did that… but I think we have a lot to talk about once we’re done with this mess, girl.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

He pulled me off the ground and put my weapon back in my trembling hand.

Another knight charged, and Ciro knocked the sword out of his hand with ease. He then knocked the pole of his halberd against his head, and the knight fell to the ground. He kicked off his helmet with his boot.

“Here,” he said, “Drink up. It’ll make you feel better.”

He was right, it did make me feel better.

I turned to the old woman, still on the ground, and frantically reached for the chain around my neck, but Ciro stopped me. He placed a hand on my arm, pulling it away.

“Let her rest, Mira.”

The next few moments were a blur as I defended myself upon the next onslaught. I once again lost Ciro, distracted by everything around me. I stepped over bodies, armor, and faces of those I once recognized. I moved automatically, whether from my training with Milea or the magic beneath my skin, I was not sure. Each step felt sure, each swipe of my blade precise, and I found I was able to take four knights in a row without error.

Yet, even with all my success, I began to notice less of my allies beside me. Around me was gold and velvet red, screaming and shouting, eager for my death. And, after several more brawls, I took another sweeping look at my surroundings as I caught my breath.

I was alone.

No familiar faces - not even void mage was seen in the crowd around me. And, in my panic, I was hit from behind. The blade hit my shoulder, knocking me off balance, and my knees hit the ground. I turned in time to block the second hit aimed at the back of my head with my falchion. The impact of blades crackled magic sparks as I fought against the force.

I looked around for any sort of help, and saw nothing but gold feet spattered red. They rushed left and right, looking for the next target, stomping the long grass flat as they reaped their way through.

I pushed the blade to the side with a final push of force, causing the knight to stumble forward over me. I tried to take the moment to recover, but behind the first soldier was another, then another.

Suddenly, there was a ghastly, guttural scream from beyond, causing the three knights to temporarily stop their charge.

I looked up to see Doris, head high above the grass as she fought against two griffins, each sharp beak snapping at her. One griffin was able to make a connection with her chest, and a spout of voided magic spiraled into its face. She let out a scream, shaking all around me.

I rolled to the side, using the distraction to escape. I felt the familiar pang of my heart, loud and debilitating under my now heavy helmet. I tried to slow my breath as I kept low, trying to avoid any eyes, but my black armor was easily spotted through the gold around me. My chest tightened as I tried to catch my breath, and I fell over once more into the grass, trying to find my strength. Something moaned behind me.

There was a young woman, silver and gold patchwork armor pinned beneath a long-dead snake beast. Her brown eyes had on only a thin film of white, and brown hair caked her sweaty forehead, helmet nowhere to be found. The snake was across her torso, and I saw a dark pool forming below where she lay, golden grass turning red. I took a deep breath and with all my strength, I took hold of her arms, pulling her free from the fallen beast’s weight.

I crouched over the young blood mage, putting a hand to the side of her face. Her breaths were slow, eyes wide and terrified as she stared at me. She reached a hand for my arm, and squeezed. She then began mouthing something.

Bring me back.

Her mouth then slackened and eyes went still. Her hand dropped to the ground.

My hand reached for my binding chain, shaking and clumsy in my haste, and I pulled the glove off of my hand.

No, we were far too exposed here.

Awkwardly, I pulled her underneath the other folded wyvern wing, hoping to be free of our enemies for long enough for this to work.

As my blood touched her tongue, I was gone.

I was in the mountains, looking out a window over the beautiful snowy range. I was wrapped tight in blankets, drinking something warm. A dog barked, and as I turned to look at him, I awoke.

The girl took a gasping breath, grabbing my arm as she sat upright. She hunched forward, metal clamoring against the Halmore armor as she wrapped her arms around me. She was shaking.

“Thank you, thank you,”she whispered, hugging me tight.

But, as I tried to respond, the words caught in my throat. My vision began to darken. I began to shake, suddenly frozen as I leaned my weight against her.

This was it.

At least I could bring at least one person back.

At least I could save but just one life.

At least I made some sort of difference.

The girl seemed to recognize my state and pulled away. She shook her head, moisture gathering in her eyes.

”I.. I didn’t know you were so low. I’m.. I’m so sorry… I’ll get you out of here. I’ll-”

But, before she could finish, there was a tear of light above us. I looked up to see a golden blade slashing through the leathery wing that gave us shelter. It tore, lower and lower, and the girl grabbed me close, pulling away as her back hit the great beast’s body.

The blade hit the ground, and armored hands pulled the leathery wing flaps open like curtains. Two tall boots stepped forward, light behind the towering soldier, shadowing over our shaking bodies. The girl pulled a silver dagger from her boot, pointing it upwards at the golden knight.

The knight crouched downwards and began a mocking laugh, stabbing his sword into the ground as he tried to gather himself.

“It’s a shame you have to look so pitiful,” he cried, helmet muffling his low voice. “Ruins all the fun.”

He pulled his blade from the ground, wiping the dirt from its blood spackled tip on his velvet cape, admiring its sharpness.

If I could just get to his skin. If I could just find a way to take off a piece of his armor. If I could just…

He took a step forward, attention now on us, and the girl pushed me further behind her. I grabbed my falchion from where I had left it on the ground, but found it far more heavy than I had remembered.

He took another step and swung his sword at the girl’s outstretched hand, sending the dagger out of her hand and far from reach. The point of his blade held at her exposed neck.

“By order of Selphena, I condemn-”

The ground began to shake, and the cries and shouts around us began to soften. There was then a shout from behind the leathery wing as another golden knight pushed through into the shade. He put a hand on the back of the knight before us. He was visibly out of breath and doubled over. The knight in front of us turned his head.

“Commander,” the new knight choked, “They’ve come. We need-”

“What do you mean, ‘They’ve come’?” the knight spat, shoving his arm off.

“Please- Look,” he coughed, and shoved the pieces of wing to the side, light flooding my vision.

The commander then turned, blade still aimed at the girl’s neck, as he looked out into the fields. Slowly, his blade lowered, as he became transfixed with a strange vision upon the horizon.

“Gods…”

I leaned forward, arms shaking under my own weight as they held me off the ground. The girl grabbed me, pulling at my arm. She was shaking me, and I looked back to see a maddening smile on her dirty face. Her eyes were wide and wild.

“The fae… The fae have come for us… The fae are here.”