The Hero’s Right Hand

After half a century of failures, people expected little of the sword. Bandits commonly attacked small towns, regardless of its fame. The weapon was simply a monument— a marker of which town was being pillaged. 

My friend Aisha and I were stationed near some merchant stalls to guard during an attack. I did my best with a shattered blade, but I was on my last legs. Aisha was worse off with a deep cut through her right eye. I'm not sure if it was her lack of depth perception, a stroke of luck, or desperation but she stumbled next to the sword, Valefor. She briefly hesitated before gripping the hilt. In a swift motion, she rended the blade from stone and bisected her assailant. The blood slid off along with years of rust and debris. The silver blade shone as brightly as the day it was forged. 

The bandits froze. I saw an opening to pummel one to submission, but didn't get a chance to do more. Aisha tore through the remaining bandits with ease. Already adept with a blade, her power was unprecedented.

The aftermath of the attack left me dumbfounded. It was as though no one cared about the bandits. Even people directly affected had more interest in Aisha than their own wellbeing. 

From that moment, her life changed.

The town elder pulled Aisha from her position as a guard. Workers emptied her home and moved everything into a secure hut near the commander’s tower. Swordmasters from around the world came to train her. Even a world renowned healer came to our town to return the vision to her eye. At least, that’s what she told everyone else.

“It’s actually a conduit, Kargon,” Aisha said while stirring her third cup of tea.

“Your eye? Isn’t Valefor already a conduit?” I asked.

“Backup.”

“I’d love to see the idiot that tries to take your sword from you,” I replied, nodding at the sheathed blade on her hip. “Do you use both to cast spells? Do you need to?”

“No. Valefor is enough. My eye is just a backup. Aside from being functional again, I shouldn’t need to use it,” Aisha explained.

She finished her drink, hugged me quickly, and then left the bar. Another night of training. She only briefly informed and updated me before returning to her new life. I thought it would last a few weeks, maybe months. I’ve never wished to be right so badly. 

Instead, her training regimen lasted over a decade.

To compliment the town’s hero, the guards trained more harshly than ever. We held ourselves to a higher standard. There was no more freedom in our actions or style of combat. We were expected to fight in a manner similar to Aisha. Not that the commander or town elder asked her. She had no idea what was happening aside from the few things I could tell her. My swordsmanship fell short of the captains’ expectations. I never so much as received a conduit to test, let alone wield. I remained a lowly town guard, unworthy of the front lines, incapable of fighting alongside Aisha in the oncoming war against the demons.

News of the Hero Aisha’s awakening spread worldwide. Most people were overjoyed that we would have someone to face the demon king. Others were frustrated that the Hero didn’t hail from their realm. Even smaller-minded people cursed that a woman had drawn Valefor. If it bothered Aisha, she hid it well. I watched over her the best I could with the little information I had.

Until even that came to an end. The town elder announced Aisha’s departure a year in advance. Everyone spent nearly the entire time preparing a grand party. Visitors arrived from every corner of the globe to see the Hero off . The week before she left, the town had more visitors than ever before. 

I wanted to mingle but the guard commander’s tower called me. I had long expected to be fired from my position. Instead, I found the commander and town elder arguing with Aisha while a dozen warriors of different styles stood by.

“There he is!” Commander Ivana exclaimed. “Kargon, sit down.”

“He really doesn’t exude reliability,” Elder Niko sighed. “Aisha, you can’t be serious about this.”

“I am,” she replied.

Bystanders shouted their refusals. A few began to verbally assault me.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Commander Ivana sighed. “Aisha wants you to be her guardian.”

Elder Niko threw up his hands. “After we went to the trouble of gathering so many warriors far better trained to be her guardian! They’ve traveled the world! Fought countless battles! Some even came out of retirement for this opportunity! And she wants a simple soldier to go with her. Not only that but the WORST soldier in Neves!”

The warriors barked their insults again but Aisha silenced them with a ferocious slow stare. Each of them stood at least a head taller than her, yet still cowered.

“He was never meant to be a soldier,” Aisha replied calmly. “No amount of training would allow him to unlearn the ways of a monk.”

“Five years of his youth is not enough time for him to be a formidable monk,” Commander Ivana said.

“I agree. However, over the last fifteen years he has not stopped training. For every hour he trained as a soldier, he trained two in the ways of a monk.”

Commander Ivana scoffed. “You’re saying a 24 year old child had the forethought and patience to train alone?”

Aisha didn’t answer and turned to me. I furrowed my brow and held her gaze. How did she know I was still training? I never mentioned it beyond when I returned from my pilgrimage. Aisha cleared her throat and tilted her head towards the commander and elder who were patiently waiting.

“Yes, ma’am. My masters drilled the importance of continued practice into me,” I answered. “Whenever I felt I was stagnating, I would send them a letter. In turn, they would instruct me on how to find the path to move forward.”

Commander Ivana nodded and said, “As much as you fail as a soldier, I can’t say you don’t give your best effort. I believe you.”

“But that’s still not enough to be your guardian,” Elder Niko complained.

“I don’t want a ‘guardian’ who thinks they are above me or need to protect me based solely on how long they’ve lived. I want an equal. A traveling companion - not a guardian,” Aisha said angrily. “Not to mention, we lead lives spanning a few hundred years and I haven’t even hit my first half century. I’m sure you realize how long this journey will take. I’d much rather have an ally who is likely to be around for the whole of it.”

Elder Niko grumbled, “He doesn’t even have a conduit.”

Surprisingly, Commander Ivana responded to the childish statement.

“We will provide him with one. That is, if he accepts the role of being Aisha’s guar- traveling companion.”

“Wait, Aisha. Why me?” I asked.

She shook her head and sighed. “For years you’ve said people would bend over backwards wanting to help me. Are you really gonna say no when I’m personally asking for it?”

“Of course not-”

“Then say yes,” Aisha demanded.

I took a breath. “Absolutely. The Hero asked for me, after all.”

The next week blurred together. Few people were excited about me being the Hero’s first party member. There were plenty of better guards who were our age that could help her on the journey to defeat the demon king. But I didn’t have time to figure out Aisha’s true motives.

Blacksmiths and armorers tried to recruit me daily to use their equipment, but the only person I wanted to work with was our local leatherworker. I wanted a bag, some tough but light clothing, and that’s it. He postponed all his other projects to get my equipment ready within the week. Thankfully, Elder Niko was forced to cover the payment. I’m sure he hated every moment of it but with every passing day he had less opportunities to complain.

I think that’s why only Commander Ivana was around when Aisha and I went to the tower to retrieve my conduit.

“You know how this works, right?” Commander Ivana asked while she welded the links of a bracelet tightly around my wrist. A small ruby shimmered at the center of the chain.

“It lets me manifest the magic attributes I was born with,” I replied. “We tested them in school.”

“Right, your generation learned about this in your youth. What kind of magic do you have?”

“Self-immolation,” I said.

Commander Ivana wore the same face everyone else did when I answered this question. Shock with a twinge of concern. She looked at the bracelet, seemingly ready to rip it off my arm.

“Kargon, explain,” Aisha groaned.

“Right, sorry. I can wreath myself in fire. It doesn’t affect me but I can set things ablaze upon contact,” I explained. “And if I’m making contact with another flame, I can snuff it out. More fire requires more effort.”

“That doesn’t seem versatile enough for this journey,” Commander Ivana said.

“It’ll be fine,” Aisha said. “Come on, we need to get the last of our stuff in order before we head out.”

Before the commander could stop us Aisha exited with me following closely behind. Others tried to get our attention but Aisha told me to ignore them. 

If people could see Aisha behind closed doors they’d realize how the constant attention annoyed her. Over the last week she’d given me a crash course in what to expect from the general public but I don’t think any amount of warnings would have prepared me for them. Shaking hands and kissing babies was the easiest part of the job. Some people would ask us to do them favors or deliver items in the guise of quests. In reality they wanted to be part of the Hero’s journey. Aisha mastered the art of turning people down.

We passed by my house and Aisha smiled softly at me. I’d been abruptly moved to secure housing after I’d agreed to join her. My parents sent word they’d deal with whatever was left at home but it didn’t matter; I would never see it again. Aisha apologized profusely for not warning me I’d be pulled from home so suddenly. I told her it was unbecoming of a hero. It wasn’t her fault. Elder Niko had rushed to make an announcement to the townsfolk and they started hounding me. Home wasn’t safe and I’d accepted it.

In reality, Aisha didn’t leave the command tower in a hurry so we could “get our stuff in order.” She just dreaded the upcoming celebration and wanted as much time to herself as possible beforehand.

“Why don’t we just leave?” I asked.

“And what, get to the party early?” Aisha scoffed.

“No. I mean, we’re all packed. Why don’t we leave?”

“We’d get caught,” Aisha said readily. Though she sounded confident her face revealed she was less than. “Wouldn’t we?”

“Not by the outsiders. And there’s routes in this village that only you and I know, remember?” I replied.

“And some of the people we grew up with,” Aisha amended.

“Do you think they’d give us away?”

Aisha shook her head as she looked down. With an almost deliberate motion, she interlocked her hands, extended her thumbs and laid her head against them. A habit from our childhood she was well aware of. And if she hatched a plan while thinking that way, it was bound to work. 

“Do you have any idea where we’d go?” I asked.

“Balur, the home of the first Hero. The elves said they’d help me find my way,” Aisha answered dryly.

“How would we get there?”

“Carriage on the outskirts of town. But if we sneak out, one of us would need to drive.”

I smirked. “Easy enough. I’m guessing the carriage has all our supplies.”

“Yes. And our equipment is here,” Aisha said as she stood up from her chair. Meticulously, she donned her armor. Her chestplate reflected the dim candlelight above. Her leather under armor hugged her form. Even within its sheath, Valefor seemed to glow. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. As Aisha pulled tight the buckles on her boots she said, “This is your last chance to turn back.”

I tossed her rucksack over as she straightened out. She hadn’t noticed me getting ready while I’d been asking questions.

“People will bend over backwards to help the Hero, right?” I asked.

She smirked. “With me.”

Two words she’d said since our childhood while leading our friends through the town. The words she’d uttered when we discovered the very path we were using to sneak out.