The Forsaken Hero-Chapter 1026: Starfall Keep

"It’s beautiful," I breathed, clasping a hand to my breast. Something stirred there, a warmth, a yearning, for the emotion that twisted the remnant’s voice. The same feelings I’d felt for Westfall Village, the same sorrow I had at leaving it. The feelings of home.

But they weren’t my feelings, but Jasrin’s. Perhaps it was only fair. They bore my strong emotions, and I resonated with theirs. My eyes still misted, nostalgia for a time I’d never lived and a place I’d never been, welling up within me.

"You call this a keep? Anything less than a fortress seems inappropriate," Avrass murmured, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "But then again, why not a work of art? Perhaps Lady Xiviyah sums it up best. This place is a beauty to behold. I can only imagine its glory back then."

"Yes, it was glorious." Jasrin straightened, reclaiming his smile. His sorrow faded from my heart, yet I still felt fond of this place. An imprint of his emotions, or my own, I couldn’t tell. Nor did I care.

"You’ll really allow them to live here?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

He shrugged. "I don’t see why not. Ever since Haven restored it, we’ve poked around a bit, reliving the good days, but there’s little use we remnants have for a fortress. You living folk will find it far more suitable for your tastes."

I nodded mutely and followed as the group moved into the valley. It felt even bigger on the inside, but the rangers seemed untroubled by the hike. My legs were starting to tremble a little, but I hurried after them, not wanting to be left behind.

"How many men can be stationed here?" Avrass asked as we passed by the first of the barracks.

"Twenty thousand, though we never numbered more than two," Jasrin said. "It just felt right when we were building. Perhaps now we know why, given the way the Oracle’s forces continue to grow."

"They’re still enchanted?" I marveled, staring at the massive buildings around us. "I can’t believe any spells lasted this long."

"Strong enough to withstand any mortal magic short of a ninth-level spell," he answered proudly. "But I’ll admit I, too, didn’t expect them to weather time. Perhaps the realm had a hand in restoring them upon manifesting this island."

"Haven?" I asked, glancing beside me.

"It’s true, my Lady," the spirit said, appearing with a faint smile. "And would you like me to carry you?"

I shook my head, then paused, biting my lip. As the smiles around me widened, I shook my head harder. "I-I’m okay. Really!"

It wasn’t long until I regretted the decision. Aside from my physical exhaustion, my soul was still drained from the intensive exercises with Emilca the day before. But for some reason, I couldn’t stomach the idea of letting someone carry me. Not just for the humiliation, but...they weren’t Luke.

We stopped once more to rest beside another barracks, and while I caught my breath, the rest of the company crested the ridge. As they stared at the gates and valley beyond, Avrass chuckled.

"Heh, look at them gawking like children in the city for the first time."

"Not that you looked much different," Jasrin said.

The ranger rolled his eyes. "Perhaps Lady Xiviyah, but this isn’t our first time seeing the wonders of Haven. I’ll admit, though, that this place is certainly impressive."

"I-I wasn’t gawking," I mumbled, warmth blossoming in my cheeks. "It’s just...beautiful."

"Think we can claim this one for the Rangers?" Avrass asked, glancing up at the barracks looming over us. "It’s got a good feeling around it."

"You’ll want that one," Jasrin said, pointing above us.

I followed his finger and gasped. High above, perched on the mountain peaks, was a tower. My stomach flipped as I pondered the height, and I quickly looked down again. It had to be a thousand feet above the valley floor.

"We called it the Aerie. It gives a view over the entire realm and has the most comfortable barracks," he explained.

"Hmm, we’ll check it out."

We waited until Bethiv and the first of the soldiers caught up before proceeding again.

"You look a little pale, my Lady," Bethiv said as he walked beside me.

"I’m alright. Just a little tired."

"You shouldn’t have hiked all the way up here. Emlica will be upset with me if I wear you out before your training."

"I wanted to. It’s your new home, and I...it wouldn’t be fair otherwise."

He chuckled lightly, reaching over and patting my head. I blushed furiously, but didn’t duck away. The other soldiers shared chuckles, causing my tail to twitch.

Jasrin let out a huff. "No fair! She never lets me do that."

The gates of Starfall Keep were open at our coming. The courtyard within was circular, the keep and walls forming a ring around it. The statue of Fate dominated the center, standing in a pool some fifty feet across. The surface was glassy, overflowing over a low wall and collecting in a trench around the base. It was only knee deep and sparkled with flecks of starlight.

Jasrin spent the next hour showing us around the facilities. The keep extended far into the mountains in a network of corridors. There were endless halls and rooms, from storage rooms to internal barracks, to a chapel dedicated to Fate. There was even a small throne and audience chamber just within the inner gates. Even when we ended up back in the courtyard, his tour concluded, I had the feeling we’d only seen half of what Starfall Keep had to show.

"Well? What do you think?" Jasrin asked.

I sat on the low, smooth wall around the fountain, gazing up at the towering fortifications around us. "It’s...impressive. I especially liked the Council Room."

That room, in particular, bore an enchanted table capable of displaying three-dimensional illusions from memory. With that, it would be easy to simulate battlefields from my visions and prepare for wars we hadn’t yet encountered.

"It’s more than enough. The only downside is that it’s a little far from the entrance," Bethiv said, rubbing his chin.

"I can adjust the realm layout, if you desire," Haven said from beside me.

"You can?" I asked, staring at him with wide eyes. "This whole time? I walked...hiked...and you could have just moved it?"

His smile was gentle. "You wished to suffer alongside them, no? But even so, it’s not so simple as pushing a leaf across a stream. The realm must be closed from the outside, and it will take time to rearrange and make space for it closer to the entrance."

"If you need the gate closed, then I can’t be inside when it happens," I said, pursing my lips. "How soon can you do it?"

"It shouldn’t take more than a few hours. And the other mortals can remain within. They will simply experience some...discomfort."

"Nothing worse than what we’ve weathered. And we’ll be happy to do it if it means a more convenient deploy time."

Jasrin clapped his hands, making me jump, but he was just grinning excitedly. "Then Starfall can protect this realm once more! Any invaders will have to go through us!"

"Us?" Bethiv raised an eyebrow.

"Then, if you’re okay here, I’ll take my leave," I said. "Emlica wanted me back for some practice after today, and I think it’s later."

"We’ll be just fine, my Lady," Bethiv said, nodding at his captains. They nodded back, and he smiled. "We’ll take our time exploring this place and assigning quarters and tasks. It’s been a while since any of our company has tended crops or whatnot, but some manual labor would be good for them. With our life mages, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours a week to secure enough provisions for the entire company."

"Commander, if you don’t mind, there’s something I wish to discuss with you first," Jasrin said, looking serious. "It’s about the Fatesworn."

Bethiv gave him a ponderous look before slowly nodding. "Very well. The rest of you get to work. I want every corner and resource of this keep mapped and recorded. Then we’ll get started on allocating quarters."

As the Bethiv and the remnant entered the keep, the rest of the soldiers scattered, eager to explore their new home. Haven drifted closer to me, holding out his hands. I gave him a grateful smile and took it. The world twisted, and when it stabilized, I stood outside the library. I let out a long, tired breath, rubbing my horn ruefully.

"Regretting your decision?" he asked, teasing with a smile.

I shook my head. "No, but...teleporting sure is convenient. I can’t wait to figure out this Spatial Rift spell."

And motivated I was. For the rest of the day, I labored beside Emlica, casting the spell over and over, pushing my soul beyond the normal limits I imposed. The Aetherial Prism covered my mana limitations, the burden on my soul stabilized by the Soul Binder. And the constant backlash of failing so many high-level spells–which under normal circumstances should have crippled me many times over–was borne by Emlica’s strange ability. By the time I finally retired from Haven, so tired I could barely see straight, I’d finally succeeded in beginning the eighth circle.

By the time the week ended, I finally cast my first Spatial Rift.