The Hero That Was

“GOING SOMEWHERE, LORD SILVANO?” asked Amelia, facing him as he hung immobilized. Next to her, Sir Roderick and Nia drew their weapons, and turned to him.

“I was on my way to save you,” Silvano replied, making an effort to speak through the tight grasp of his bindings, “but it seems that wasn’t necessary.”

“That was very kind of you,” said Amelia. “And here I was under the impression you’d go looking for your friend Radomir. He isn’t doing well lately, I believe.”

“I’d imagine not,” he replied, eking out a short laugh. If Amelia was here, then the two that teleported behind him were probably Cerys and Xana, and Radomir was most definitely dead.

“Lord Silvano…” Nia gasped in disbelief, as she tightened the grip on her staff. Like many in Sylphadim, she’d long held the man as a role model and figure of trust. But now, she was on the verge of having to unleash her magic against him.

“He’s no Lord, Nia,” spat Sir Roderick, his face red with rage. “Everything clicked together when Her Highness outed you, Silvano. All the espionage, all the leaks, all the times we were sabotaged by the sniveling rat…”

The sheer depth of Silvano’s treason was difficult to understate, as he exploited his position as Hero of the Realm. All the wit, cunning, and experience he acquired as an adventurer had been turned against the Kingdom, and few had come even close to suspect him, let alone accuse him.

“I’m surprised she found me,” Silvano admitted, honestly impressed. “Last I checked, I didn’t leave any traces that led to me.”

He made no attempt to appeal his case. Silvano understood his position within the Kingdom better than anyone else, and he knew that, if the Princess helped the Thorns lay an ambush against him, then the evidence she acquired of his guilt was overwhelming.

“You didn’t kill us when you had the chance,” said Amelia. “Even the other day we met in town, we hadn’t realized it was you.”

“I’m aware,” he replied. “Seeing you alive after sending a death squad caught me off-guard. Not that it was personal, mind you. I just couldn’t let you find the Dead Tree, though it seems you did it anyway.”

And somehow, they flipped the tables on him.

“It was the bird, wasn’t it?” asked Silvano, piecing the clues together. “I mean no disrespect, but you shouldn’t have survived the death squads, especially Radomir’s.”

“You’re free to think what you like,” said Amelia, not giving an inch. “You’re about to meet the same fate as your lackeys, so there’s no point in telling you.”

“And what fate would that be?” he asked. “Considering everything I’ve done against Lady Faydan, she must have prepared something special.”

“Are you familiar with this?” Amelia replied, producing a rune-inscribed needle from her dimensional bag. It was an item Silvano knew very well.

“A spellbreaking needle,” he said. “That would explain why Radomir squealed. With a good enough telepath, even his mental defenses would buckle.”

“And so will yours,” Sir Roderick snarled.

Silvano laughed bitterly at Sir Roderick’s words. The man was incorruptible, but he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Fooling him had been easy, swearing oaths of fealty by his side, reminiscing the old days of Lightbringer.

“Why did you do it, Silvano?” asked Amelia, gazing into his eyes. “You were the Hero of the Realm. I looked up to you like a beacon of hope… yet you threw it all away. After all the years of blood, of sweat, of sacrifice — did everything you fought for as an adventurer mean anything to you?”

The question stung like a thousand blades.

He’d betrayed the title long ago, but there was a time when Silvano relished in it. Back when he first picked up a sword as a common boy, he promised his mother and sister he would protect them. He grew up dreaming of honor and glory, and hearing his name from the lips of everyone he walked by.

To this end, Silvano trained harder than anyone else, especially after his gift of magic awakened. He enrolled into the Adventurer’s Guild training program at a young age, passed every test with flying colors, and rose through the ranks like a rising star.

Throughout his storied career, Silvano made lifelong friends, foiled countless enemies, and even conquered the love of his life. By every measure, he had achieved everything he ever wanted… until the dreadful day it all came crashing to the ground.

“It was for Meredith,” he exhaled, weary and broken. “Every step I’ve taken since the day she died, it has all been for Meredith.”

The atmosphere hung heavy at his heartbreaking admission.

Amelia and the others had already considered the possibility, but in the end, the drive behind Silvano’s betrayal had indeed been his lost love.

“But you know she’d never approve of this!” said Amelia, her voice cracking.

Silvano fell quiet for a moment, all eyes on him until he replied.

“You’re right,” he said. “She didn’t. Meredith yet despises me, even now.”

Amelia and the others flinched.

“You couldn’t have…” Nia muttered, her eyes wide with shock.

“The Cult paid me in advance,” Silvano admitted. “They brought her back to me, and have kept her in their custody until I fulfill my end of the deal.”

“You faithless mongrel!” yelled Sir Roderick, before punching him in the face. “Do you have any idea what they’ll do to her? Any assurances they have given you will be void after today!”

“I know,” said Silvano, his nose bleeding from the hit. “Which is why I’d like to ask you to kindly let me go. But that’s not going to happen, is it?”

“Not a chance,” replied Amelia, gritting her teeth. “You dragged us all down with you the moment you turned coat. No matter how much you grieved at the time, no matter how deep the loss… selling your soul to the devils could only end in ruin.”

Her voice was damning. She loathed the idea of leaving Meredith, a fellow servant of Faydan, in the hands of the Cult, but Silvano’s betrayal left no alternative.

“I see you’ve never fallen in love, Amelia,” said the fallen hero. “You might have experienced familial affection, or a juvenile crush, but you haven’t truly given your heart to someone else before.”

She clenched her fists at his words. Frustrating as it may be, the traitor was right. Amelia had made it a point to keep everyone at arm’s length, so she couldn’t fathom why a hero like him would’ve abandoned it all for the sake of his partner.

“I sincerely hope you never have to face the same decision I have,” he continued. “To find yourself forsaken by the Goddess you’ve dedicated your entire life to, your only hope of survival lying in the hands of those you fought to destroy.”

“It will never come to that,” Amelia denied. It couldn’t come to it.

“Until Lady Faydan wills it so,” replied Silvano. He had experienced it firsthand.

“Summon your demon, cur,” Sir Roderick snapped. “We know it’s in your shadow, so call it already. Let us put this to an end.”

Silvano clicked his tongue in frustration. Just how much did Radomir tell them?

He was about to rattle Amelia enough to catch her off-guard, but Roderick was having none of it. If Silvano tried to mount a frontal assault, even the Death Knight would be unable to free him alive.

“If you insist, then…” said Silvano, his shadow swelling from under his feet.

Amelia drew her sword, taking a stance with Roderick and Nia by her sides. They were ready to deal with anything Silvano could throw at them, so the demon manifested behind him instead.

It shot forth like lightning, wreathed in crackling, dark energy, as it charged at the lone figure standing before the royal throne: Princess Camila.