Beneath the Horn

Leatrix knocked another reaper off his horse. How many was that now?

Despite the warden’s claim of killing them off, the reaper knights of Serenti Prison held back on her and Cinza’s account. She doubted they cared for the princess’ royal pardon, but their respect for the sacred order and the inquisitor’s office still held true. They aimed to maim instead of kill. That did not absolve them of murdering her allies, but it at least allowed this one-sided fight to be survivable.

But none of this would have meaning if Kyr Solian died. 

A horse dashed past her field of view.

“Kyyyyyyyrrr!!!”

Leatrix blinked, then turned to look at the direction of the sorcerer. The warden had his sword on the man’s chest as Roy galloped his horse desperately to reach them.

But there was no time. How could—

A beam of light flashed from the heavens above.

It was like lightning in a straight line. It hit the sword of the warden, then exploded around Kyr Solian in a thunderous clap.

Leatrix shielded herself from the explosion, then immediately looked back. What the hell happened? Was it magic?

Smoke wafted where Kyr Solian stood.

Cinza couldn’t have done it. Roy came from the magic academy, but he specialized in alchemy and potions. In fact, he was knocked off his horse from the impact. 

Who else was there?

Leatrix looked up at the sky and saw something glinting between the cracks of red. An eye. Something looked down at them.

A gasp was caught in her throat as shivers went down her spine. She blinked and the image was gone.

The beam of light came from whatever that was.

“Aagghh!” a voice yelled. The warden.

When Leatrix looked back, the smoke had dissipated and Kyr Solian stood there, blinking and confused. He raised his hands to his face... and his manacles crumbled.

“How?” The warden screamed. He was sitting on the ground waving his half-disintegrated sword. One of the reapers that held his scythe at Kyr Solian’s neck was knocked off his horse and laid on a patch of grass. His weapon too was partially destroyed.

The beam of light did that?

Mana rippled in the air.

It was as if a great swell of power gathered around Kyr Solian that made him… float. The man’s soul—his very essence—burned with power.

This was him. The master sorcerer. The pride of the Magic Academy of Vastille until they denounced his name. The man chosen to stand beside the greatest warriors of the kingdom to safeguard the chosen hero.

Leatrix trembled.

Her investigation led her to believe Kyr Solian as innocent. His whole trial was riddled with contradictory claims and dubious evidence. The inquisitor’s office didn’t care because the only hard evidence available pointed at Kyr as the killer. There was no one else to blame. More importantly, the late king pushed for it.

But there was more to this conspiracy, wasn’t there?

The prophecy and their legends.

The Specter.

And then there was that horn.

What was it?

To Leatrix’s surprise, and everyone else present, Kyr Solian’s horn moved. It did so earlier in the room of sanctuary when he got angry. But this time it didn’t simply rumble, it…

Unwrapped itself.

The horn unfurled in a twisting motion, resulting in two feathery wings of pure ivory. In the middle of it, previously hidden inside, was a circular eye. A third eye on Kyr Solian’s forehead.

Leatrix had just seen something similar. She looked up for a second but only saw the shattered sky. No, Kyr Solian's third eye was more similar to his own. Was this magic?

A thousand theories rushed through Leatrix’s head, but none of that mattered when Kyr Solian thundered with magic. He looked at the reaper knights who now circled around him… and disappeared.

He was suddenly behind one of the knights as lightning crackled around his body. He blasted the knight off his horse, then reappeared to blast three more in a chain of light. When the other reapers on foot charged at him, he exploded in a fountain of fire. Scythes melted and armors cracked.

Leatrix was no sorcerer but even she could see mana from the earth rushing upwards to envelop Kyr Solian. He was a fiery thunderstorm come to life.

When the dust settled and the fighting was over, moonlight shone over the sundered land.

Leatrix and Cinza walked closer to the man—if he was still that—and saw him weep.

Leatrix wondered at first, but all she needed to do was ask.

Kyr Solian laughed despairingly.

“I thought I could do it,” the sorcerer whispered. Around him were the bodies of the reapers and the warden, beaten and bloodied, but otherwise spared. When he looked at her, the wings on his forehead wrapped unto itself until it became a horn once again, hiding the third eye. “Despite my hatred… Despite all the pain they put me through these past six years…”

Kyr raised his right arm, swelling with mana, and pointed it at the unconscious warden. The man’s armor was half-torn, half-melted.

Eventually, the mana dissipated and Kyr lowered his arm. “I can’t do it," he said.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Cinza responded. “They killed our friends for simply being here.”

“Perhaps,” Kyr whispered. “But Aven wouldn’t let me.”

That was all the man could say before he collapsed into Leatrix’s arms. 

It was all he needed to say.