Dark Times - League of Legends | Fanfiction
Originally written and published on 30/03/2013;
English is my second language and it shows;
I was a teenager
Summary: Jax is a survivor. He will now fight through loads of challenges to survive, or even end the torture fallen over Valoran. Will he succeed?
Chapter 1
It was, as Malzahar foretold. But the one didn't live long enough to see the end of the old age. It was now sure, half of Valoran turned against it's other half. But they were taken by surprise. First, fell the Institute. The mighty walls and towers trembled under canons, catapults and bombs. Death waged, summoner fell to the earth, slaughtered, dead. The champions who werent part of "The Federals" ran, retreated or fought. Sadly, those who stayed didn't make it. Those who ran found refugee in the forest of the Rift, deep in the forest wich grew bigger every second. They lived in long solitude. Well, at least so long to be able to settle and hide their traces from the world. But... That's not where the story starts, sadly for you. It would be a really short story, if we began with the end. It all began one night, when the Institute Of War was asleep, peace was ensured...
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The night was unnaturally dark. Starless, moonless. Jax was sleepless, as usually. His hood was down, revealing the strange golden hair, wich was literally golden. His face remained hidden, as always. The grandmaster at arms was resting in his hammock, for the man refused a bed, unlike most of the champions. His trusty old lantern rested next to his hand, His muscular blue skin covered in scratches. He was a really amazing figure, honey to the heart for females and 'another strong guy who wants to beat me' for the men. Not in the circle of champions. Sure, there were some who would like to spend a night with him, but his idea was different. Jax was staring at the wall, wondering if it was really as hard as others said. He jumped off of the hammock and walked out, covering his hair with the hood. A night walk wouldn't hurt him, would it now?
As the grandmaster at arms passed by neutral champions' rooms, he grew in his emotion. His emotion was fun. Excitement. That was his spirit, as he called it. The Institute was a great place to wonder about, looking at the statues of ancient beings that no longer resided in Runeterra. He, of course, had seen them countless times. But right now Jax decided to watch at them, admiring the fine work, the realistic impressions, everything about them. He thought, that when he dies his statue must be raised to give the cubs a view at a real champ. The grandmaster at arms didn't notice when he entered the central area, where everyone could spend time in the park or at the Sinfull Sucubuss, even at PanthePies. Everyone who worked at one of those places was special. Morgana, the fallen angel took care of the 'S.S', Pantheon baked his Pies at 'PP' and Zyra was the gardener of the park. There was a gym too, Mundo's job. It was peaceful, to fulfill whatever the champions needed when not on the Felds of Justice. There was a reader's club led by Ryze, 'An Adventuring Poem', wich was Karthus' studio. Jax just passed by, ignoring it all. He wasn't interested, also if he was, there would be no one to serve him so he kept going. The grandmaster at arms still watched around him, exploring the place for another once, adding to his ridiculous number of such walks. He also knew there were a lot of night dwellers in the Institute. Twitch, for an example. The humanoidic rat was shy, so he kept to night life. Simple for beings such as him. Jax just smiled.
The thought of the smelly mousie made him chuckle. He was so into his thoughts that the man didn't notice the three stealthy figures sneaking after him. When Jax turned around a corner, he found himself looking at Jericho Swain. Unordinary, he thought. But then, those three figures leaped at him, disarming the grandmaster and holding his arms behind his back. He felt three blades at the area where his neck was supposed to be, Swain's spell holding him tight to the ground and a silencing rune on the back of his head. He tried to struggle, he knew that this was against the rules and if they were not listening to the rules, he could even take them all four, but their cowardice was to no end. His brass lamppost fell on the ground with a silent thump and he felt that they did whatever they wanted to him now. Swain sighed, nodding to the three behind him. The general moved close to Jax and his raven flew in the air, a few inches from it's master's head and started channeling the well known ray of magical energy, drilling into his soul. Then, the grandmaster understood. Conspiracy, he was to be assassinated. He smiled. Swain didn't notice because of his mask and placed a hand on Jax' face. The grandmaster at arms felt his very soul be taken away, passed by to the mage. He winced. The last sound from Jax the general heard was that wince. Then, the lifeless body fell on the floor.
"Initiate the attack. We got rid of the main threat. This land is ours, probably we will share with our allies." Swain whispered and chuckled, retreating to the shadows, leaving the grandmaster's corpse on the ground. When they all have left, the lamp on the lamp post started glowing, like when he used his ability he called 'Empower', but he wasn't holding it to fuse mana into the lamp. The light formed into a trail and fused into Jax. He winced. His head tilted right and opened eyes. Jax stood up, shaking and coughing, but still stood. He wasn't easy prey.
Chapter 2
Jax started walking, his body shaking, his lungs struggling to inhale air. Remaining dead was... Risky, in a lot of ways, but also one of his priceless skills. At the point when he was able to die, he was almost dead by Swain's magic. The master tactician swallowed his soul, a risky and dangerous action, but he was no newbie in the art of magic. Actually, Jax would have really been dead if not for his love for the lamppost. He fused a part of his own soul into the experimental weapon, wich made him connected to it do death, or quite immortal. What happened when he was fused with the light from the lamppost was his soul, the chunk he infused into it. And now, Jax was fine, breathing, walking, moving and pretty much alive.
So the grandmaster at arms started limping towards the headsummoner's chamber. He now quite ignored all of the decorations, the pretty statues, pictures. Even the little sharks wich lived in a fountain at the middle of the park didn't draw his attention, as they normally did. Jax was now fully focused at his trail, to go and tell to the headsummoner of the attempt at his life. This was one thousand percent against the rules, wich meant Swain would be... Punished. Jax' steps echoed through the empty corridors of the Institute, his eyes ran from point to another. He was aware of his surroundings, not even Kha Zix could escape his gaze in that moment, but nothing passed by the grandmaster at arms. He reached the door to the headsummoner's chamber. It was a heavy, five feet wight and ten tall gate, covered in golden scribes, also had four handles. He knocked, sighing upon stopping his movement. He was in a bad shape after playing dead, wich was quite ordinary, knowing he used that skill really rarely. Jax heard light footsteps, then the door opened enough to reveal the headsummoner's white beard and hair, along with the thin, golden eye glasses. He was old, wich could mean he was clever and had knowledge. Wich wasn't far from the truth.
"Jax? What are you doing here at that time of the night? Don't you sleep?" The old man asked, his eyes bending at the words. He didn't quite like the grandmaster at arms, but didn't seem to like anyone at all. Jax coughed.
"An attempt for murder has been made and I was the target. I would like to announce it to the other champions. Immediately." The champion answered. The old man infront of him nodded and closed the door. After about twenty seconds he opened it, his purple robe touching the floor, while the runes over the cloth shone. He clapped with his hands and smiled to Jax. This was a rare occasion to happen, every champion had to be summoned in one exact place. But it was no chalenge to the headsummoner. Jax blinked and found himself surrounded with sleepy faces, who were all familiar. Sleepy champions. All had their weapons ready, the only thing they could do in a few seconds. Most of them, who were human, had their sleep - robes on, while the non human were in their normal appearance. Heimerdinger was one of those with ordinary apperarance, holding an invention, half finished. They were all looking at the headsummoner, question in their eyes. Wukong stepped forth, his eyes were darkened, his usual grin wasn't there.
"Why are we here? Why did you interrupt our sleep?" He asked, his eyes flickering with anger. For him, interrupting someone's sleep or nap was a crime, maybe even a sin, because he loved taking a nap. The headsummoner nodded and pointed Jax, who was using his lantern as a walking stick. He coughed.
"There's been an attempt for murder in between those walls. Who was the target? Me. Who was the murderer? Well, he is the only one not here. And I adress a Noxian, who has a lot of political and magical power. Why are you here? Because you will help find him. Simplicity is all you need to be able to find General Jericho Swain." Jax explained, his tone raspy but sure. Damn, they are taking it very stoic, congratulations! He thought. A lot of things happened after this, all at once. Darius spun, his giant axe cutting through flesh and decapitating Ashe and Sivir in two, Sion mauled Volibear, Singed poured a bottle of poison over Quinn, Urgot fired at Tristana, Jayce made a Heimer - Pancake, Vi slammed her fists into Garen, Lux was stabbed by Katarina, Talon raked around, cutting through Vayne's throat, Blitscranck released a load of electricity, shocking everyone around him, Le Blanc killed Karma, the gates of the Institute broke wide open and started pouring warriors from Noxus, Zaun and Piltover, at the end catapults fired giant stones, immolated. Swain led the charge, throwing a sphere at Jarvan IV, almost killing the prince. Jax wanted to go in battle, for he was made to do this, but one of the random catapult strikes landed right next to him, sending the grandmaster at arms flying towards PanthePies. He fell to the darkness almost immediately.
Jax tried to get his consciousness back, but saw only flames and corpses, the desperate screams of soldiers and dead friends. He heard Caitlyn scream, saw her and then a hammer rammed he head, it flew about twenty feet untill landing. He fell back to darkness second time he regained himself, he saw Darius laughing at Draven, who held the bleeding Teemo in his hands. The glorious executioner's devilish grin was gone, replaced by a really alien emotion for Jax. Darius was laughing, pointing at Draven and wincing the same time.
"What have you done? Why brother? Didn't we want peace?" Draven's weak voice sounded through the burning area. Only forty champions were still fighting, but a lot were dead. Darius laughed again.
"Don't you recognize progress, brother? Noxus was finally united, Piltover and Zaun joined us, so we progress! The world will be ours, Draven!" Darius looked like Mundo. Draven sighed. He was not happy. Not at all.
"But... But why kill all of them? Why kill all those innocent souls, innocent people? They would have not been in your way!" Jax was amazed to hear this from Draven, who found joy in killing. But something wasn't the same as before. Draven has changed, he was protective, the grandmaster at arms understood. Darius stopped laughing. His face was dark. Covered with the stains of murder.
"You have grown weaker, brother. You are not worthy of the united world! You are not with us! And if you are not with us... YOU ARE AGAINST US!" Darius barked and leaped towards his brother, axe over head and ready to kill Draven. Then, the executioner spun his axes and met the huge weapon with them, blocking the strike none could. Jas was amazed again, Darius shared it. Draven then moved like lightning and cut through the axe's handle, destroying the weapon. He ran back, deeper into the Institute, still caring Teemo, the yordle maybe dead by now.
"Follow me, champions, we are escaping!" He shouted a few times, everyone who heard him ran after him. Jax wanted to follow, but felt a shoe on his back. The grandmaster at arms turned his head and recognized Swain. Although his consciousness was fading fast, he was able to understand the last words of Swain.
"Well played, Grandmaster, almost outsmarted me. Who knew you were such a tactician..."
Chapter 3
Someone was humming. Jax realised someone was actually humming. A little song, childish melody. He winced and rolled, unable to see anything.
"Ah, sleeping beauty is awake! The prince came!" Someone commented, the humming stopped. The voice was really familiar. Jax opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by the sunlight. It took quite some time until he recovered, but when his gaze stabilized, he was greeted by a man made entirely of coal, had burning torso and his hair was fire. He was a magical creature, known to Jax by the name Brand. The grandmaster at arms stood up and looked around. It was... Strange. There was tall grass, ponds, trees. Just like a forest. Then old white stones came in to vision, reminding to Jax where he was and what happened.
"You know what? I don't think you have anything against me, do you? Because, you are not saying anything so I thought that you don't like me. As a person. Why?" Brand started shooting questions around, while chasing butterflies. He looked like a little kid.
"I don't have anything against you Brand. But, tell me, do you know what happened here? Why does this place look so ancient yet is the remains of the Institute. Why are you here? And mainly, why are you chasing butterflies?" Jax answered with his own question. Brand immediately covered his hands behind his back and started whistling, trying to look the most innocent he could. Jax smiled under his mask, while stretching his arms. The burning vengeance suddenly started walking towards a little shack, wich had a huge sign in front of it. The sign said: 'Brand Lives Here. Do not make him burn down the forest!' Quite interesting, knowing the nature of Brand, who loved burning things. Jax followed, without any idea what else to do. The shack was nicely decorated, a bed next to the left wall, a table in the middle and a kitchen on the right wall. Really simple but nice, Jax thought. Brand, surprisingly, extinguished his flames so that he wouldn't light the house on fire and sat on the chair next to the table, inviting Jax to sit on the chair in front of him. The grandmaster at arms sat and looked directly into Brand's eyes. Those eyes were full of fire, and fire that was torturing, murdering or terrorizing. That was Brand's fire, it was written in his eyes. But now... Something had changed. Brand had another kind of fire in his eyes, one of great sadness and naiveness. He felt somehow weak, Jax understood, Brand who was a strong foe felt weak and useless for the first time.
"What is it, Brand? Will you answer my questions, why don't you help the champ?" The grandmaster at arms asked, his idea of a weak Brand growing bigger into his mind. Brand sighed. He was quite amazing now, after all that time spent silent.
"You know, Jax, nothing is the same. This place, the ruins of the Institute, is slowed in time. I asked Zilean do it. All on all, nine days passed since I came here and Zil did his job. You were here all the time and I was about to cremate you, but something told me you weren't so dead as the others. So yes, I waited for you. Next up, why am I here you would ask, won't you? Well, Noxus and it's allies quite likely already rule over Valoran, so in exchange for my help to get rid of summoners along with the other of us who were held captives to the Institute. This is my reward. Remain undisturbed for endless times but don't leave. It suits me, for I've lost a friend of mine. Do you remember Fiddlesticks? He is dead. Butchered by Rengar when the attack started. The kitty cat was about to butcher me too, but I was lucky his leg was hit from some soldier and my chance to burn him was there. Only ashes were left after the beast. You know, this... Changed me. I thought that after we get out, me and Fiddle, we would bring terror to the world. But he was dead, so I requested loneliness. I earned it. When I returned here, the corpses of the dead lew all around the ruins. I did my best to cremate them, then buried the urns. It was quite saddening, so many lives lost to some unknown cause. I made my shack and started playing around like a kid. Ha ha ha..." Brand answered Jax' questions who looked at the Burning vengeance. It was, in fact, a weak Brand. The grandmaster at arms nodded for him to continue.
"Well, that concludes the story. But know time here is slowed. I think that a day here is equal to ten outside of the ruins. So you will have quite the task getting along after five months. I mean it, only fifteen days passed here. But out... Only one hundred and fifty." His face made a hilarious grin. ( I mean that :O ) Jax sighed. How could this be possible? A hundred and fifty days and he didn't wake up? That would be bad.
"So, what are you going to do now, Jax? Going to leave and enter hell? Because outside it is hell, literally. And answer my question." Brand turned the conversation. Jax sighed. It was quite strange for him to answer to the burning vengeance, but he tried his best.
"Well, I am going to investigate, to search for survived summoners. If I can't find any, I will just... Don't know, do my mercenary job, probably." Upon saying this, the form of the dyeing champions passed throught his mind. No." No. I will stand against Noxus. Even if I am alone, I will stand against them to avenge our fallen brothers and sisters. I will avenge Fiddlesticks. I will avenge Ashe and Sivir. Heimerdinger wont remain forgotten. I will avenge all of them, so I could rest at night, and be left unhaunted by their spirits, pointing at me, their eyes saying it - 'Why did you survive?'. No. I will avenge them, so their spirits may be put to rest, their innocence restored and those traitors - punished. And if I am not Jax, then I won't do it. But I am Jax. So this... Is my quest!" Jax couldn't belive his words, let alone Brand. The burning vengeance nodded and pointed the door.
"You may leave when you want. I don't have anything against you, but there is nothing that holds you here, plus there is no food. As you know I don't eat so... Bye." Brand waved as Jax walked out of the shack and closed the door. Actually, he didn't intend to leave quite right now. Jax would visit the graves, to see who actually died. The grandmaster at arms walked through the forest to an end of the road. The remains of the wall lew there, but in front of those remains were resting grave stones. They were all melted into the forms of the fallen ones, the one representing Fiddlesticks made with the most care and work. The little Nunu was smiling while Willump looked behind him with a silly grin. Amumu was holding hands with Annie, who's bear, Tibbers, walked behind them like a guiding light. Garen was next to Lux, whose smile was still there, but was not as lively as... Well in life. Ashe hugged Tryndamere while Anivia and Volibear were playing cards. Graves and Twisted Fate were laughing together, frozen in the sculpture. Jax sighed. There he was, in his full glory, the artisian at war, holding Leona with his spear hand while his shield covered them both. Wukong was happily laying on the cloud. Rengar... Well, Rengar was hitting Kha Zix, wich was quite funny, meaning the fact that Kha Zix didn't have a head. Fizz was looking at the coast that didn't exist there. Caitlyn was smiling all alone, while Quinn was looking at Vayne with a puzzled look on her face and Valor seemingly whispering something to her. Heimerdinger was standing beside Ziggs, both holding a turret and a bomb. Tristana was talking with Corki, although the words were soundless. Alistar rested on a stone beside Maokai and Malphite. Zyra was smiling to her plants. And they were all in a circle around one person. Probably Brand's best friend or something. Nocturne. The eternal Nightmare looked at Jax, his eyes digging into his soul. Even in death, he was terrifying. Xerath, Ryze and Syndra were studying over a book. That concluded the sad collection. It was really sad, because he knew each one of them in life, but wasn't beside them in death. Jax sighed. It was getting darker, so he decided to leave the safety of the Institute's ruins. He climbed over the wall like Wukong climbed over it so long ago. He jumped of as Rengar used to leap against his prey. And landed as Pantheon crushed the land after his infamous MANdrop. Started slowly walking away from the past. The past, that might be his future.
Chapter 4
Jax was walking, walking led to thinking, so he was thinking. Those who died were merely the half of all those who resided in the Institute. Was it truth that no Ionian died then, because he didn't see any statue of theirs. What about those who ran deeper into the burning sanctuary? So many questions and no answers. Why werent there any answers? Jax kept to thinking and wondering about the fate of those who survived, not taking notice in the sudden disappearance of the forest around him. The grandmaster at arms also didn't notice the caravan with loads of cages full of men and yordles. He also didn't catch a glimpse at the thugs who immediately ran towards him. When he saw them, it was too late. A mage shocked him with electricity, while the men started beating him. He couldn't hold his lantern and it fell on the ground. When the grandmaster was at the breach of consciousness, another person left the carts wich continued moving. He was riding a horse and had really expensive clothing.
"Stop!" Said the person. He was old, white beard and hair covered his head while his cheeks were adorned by wrinkles. His eyes were really light blue, almost white. Un natural eyes, Jax thought. Surprisingly the thugs immediately stopped beating him. The noble, as the grandmaster at arms thought, unmounted his horse and caught his hand, probably to inspect it.
"He is strong. We will be tanking him as another... Recruit." He said and let go, mounted his horse and went after the caravan. The thugs looked at Jax and signaled one of the carts to stop. They opened one cage and threw him inside it, locking the door. He sighed. The cart kept going, slowly and really annoyingly, but kept going. Jax tried to sleep. Surprisingly, he succeeded.
His eyes opened. He sighed. The night sky was simply looking at him, as if laughing to the grandmaster. He winced and stood up, to a sitting position. It was almost dawn, so he just waited for the others to wake up, his intention to ask them where are they going. The day of the attack was at 3th of April, 23 CLE. Now, he wanted to know wich day it was, why were they in cages and where were they headed. Jax waited, in a meditating state, so time would go faster for him. The grandmaster heard someone wincing. His eyes opened and inspected the carriage. A man, with black skin and bald head, was filling a wound on his arm with... Smashed bread? That was so wrong, it would just speed up the process of infecting and probably attract maggots.
"Hey, don't. That's really bad, you don't know what will happen to your arm if you do it with smashed bread. Try with some improvised bandages." Jax offered, surprised by the surprised look the other man gave him.
"Thanks, I guess." He said and removed the food. His hand was seriously wounded, the skin was ravaged. A sharp sword wouldn't do it, because it would simply slice through. It was a dull blade wich probably hit a lot of times, seven to be exact. His mind wandered around the ways to remove the infection or cure the wound. Sadly, a lot of herbs were required and there was going to be a lot of cord. Jax sighed.
"Hey, will you tell me wich day are we? Because I have a memory span and don't quite remember." Jax started asking and searching for answers to his questions. The other man looked and smiled.
"Hah, it's the 1st of May, 24 CLE. You know, it's been quite some time since I talked to someone like that. Carelessly. By the way, my name is Randrek. Nice to meet you..."
"My name is not important now. I want to know where are we headed and why are we in those carts. I am not a fan of being caged against my will." Jax interrupted. His voice was low, dangerously low. More than one year? But how? Didn.t Brand say that only fifteen days passed, or... The time before he settled there, or Brand just got it wrong. Jax sighed. He was quite lost right now, his whole purpose unknown. Yet he told Brand all those things... Randerk started at Jax with something that might represent awareness. He coughed to attract the grandmaster's attention.
"What do you mean you don't know where are they taking us? This is a 'random gladiatory slave' caravan. They take people they find all alone on the road and just... Well, capture us, close us in cages and travel to Noxus. There we are sent to the arena, where we fight to the death. There is no way out. Well, except one, but it is counted impossible. To be awarded a wooden sword. The wooden sword is worth a man's life. Too much. The only way to be awarded a wooden sword is to become so wanted by all the owners, that the one who found you would have to either sell you or give you the wooden sword. This marks your freedom. You can go wherever you want once you earn your freedom. As to why are we in the cages? Simple. We are now slaves to the horseman." Randrek explained. Jax sighed. He was in a truly different Valoran.
"You know wha-" Jax started.
"Oh my God, we are here." Winced Randrek and interrupted the grandmaster. And yes, they were truly at the gates of Noxus. They were massive, the blood - red flags covered the wooden wings on each side. There were multiple guards who guarded them. One of them walked towards the leader, the noble who left Jax' life to remain safe for now. They spoke about something for some time, then the guard started inspecting the cages. Jax immediately understanded that they will recognize him so he got his capes off, leaving only one to cover his skin, he also wrapped a bandage around his lower neck to prevent anyone from seeing the multiple eyes. Randrek was quite strange, sobbing and wincing at every sound. He was probably afraid from something. The guard passed by them, taking a look then returned to the first carriage. The gates then opened. Jax was led into Noxus.
Chapter 5
Jax was eyeing the crowd right now. Well, this was his only job right now, knowing his position. So, he was eyeing the huge crowd in front of the coliseum, wich was mainly nobles and some average people. The building they were standing was huge, capable of containing a crowd double the size of the one waiting in front of it. The caravan turned and passed around the coliseum, then entered through a backdoor. There, about a hundred thugs opened one cage per thug and led the slaves out in a giant hall, wich was under the arena, from Jax' calculations. After they got him out of his cage, he was led towards a room out of the hall. He felt heat there, and saw it. A metal stick with horrid sign at the end was stuck into a fire, where it had become red from the heat. They pushed him on a table and held him really tight. He already knew what they would do to him. Jax was going to be marked as property. He was property of whoever owned the caravan, so he was now nothing more than an item in the eyes of that man, money - maker. Jax felt the heat of the metal stick close to his left arm. Then the agonizing touch of the metal, it blazed his skin. He wanted to scream, but put himself against it. Only a wince escaped his lips, but he felt his skin melting under the 'loving' touch of the metal. When the stick was removed and put back in the fire, he was thrown into a barrel of water, so the mark cools down. Steam left his arm, he felt so refreshed at that point. Then, he was rudely pulled out and thrown into the hall. There he rested a few seconds before lifting his gaze. Those who passed through this before him were staring at the markings or covered them with cloth and bandages. Jax looked at the scar, to examine it and was surprised to find the delicate work that was left. Yes, it was painful, yet the sign was a work of art. A big 'G' with a small wolf on the lower half. He stood up and walked to the other slaves and waited for everyone to be prepared, for he was ordered so. When everyone was marked, the guards, no, thugs stood behind them, the noble man came. He had the mark, big 'G' with a wolf in the lower half, but it was only a necklace. His clothes were red, his hands covered with rings. He stood in front of his belongings and sighed. The thugs immediately slammed the legs of the slaves with their whips. That meant kneel. Everyone except Jax kneeled. Although he earned about ten hits with the whip, he didn't kneel. The noble man looked at him, raw interest uncovered in his eyes. Jax just stood there, stoic as he was and looked back.
"Kneel before your master, slave!" Said the thug behind him and slammed the whip with full power. Jax winced, but stood. The thug sighed and pushed him to his knees. The noble looked at the scene with the same amazement as the other slaves. He nodded to all his belongings and coughed.
"Welcome, to Noxus! Here, you are nothing! Just my property. And as my property, you shall call me 'master', although I will tell you my name. I am Grom Wolfhowl. Your owner. You are here to fight for me on the Coloseum and bring me money. I will feed you and keep you in shape good enough to be able to fight. You are money - makers. Nothing more. And I will not tolerate self obedience. You obey me, not yourselves. Now, you will be given a plate of food and after you eat it, the show will begin. Be sure to survive." He said, smirking evilly. When Grom Wolfhowl turned to walk out, Jax smirked too. An arena? Well, hell it would be, he has spend more than ten years on the arena! How would this one be different to him? Fight to the death. Simple. The thugs led the slaves to a huge table with more than a hundred seats and made them sit. Randrek sat next to him. They were given the 'Dish'. Jax tasted it and coughed. It tasted like puke, maybe it was even puke. He just pushed it aside, ignoring the stares the others gave him.
"You must eat, otherwise they will think you are trying to kill yourself or to be unable to fight, wich will lead to the whip." His friend whispered between a few bites of the strange food. Everyone was eating, with hands, slurping it or licking it. Everyone with Jax as the only exception. One fat man looked at him and coughed.
"Are you going to eat it?" He asked, his stare shot directly at the food. Jax just pushed it towards him and the fat person devoured it with the speed Cho'Gath devoured yordles. After ten minutes of eating, the guards led them to a hall wich was like an armory and ordered the slaves to arm themselves. Everyone started taking the biggest weapons and heaviest armor, thinking it will ease their survival. Jax was only examining the exit. A huge door, composed from metal sticks. He smiled under his hood. Randrek walked next to him and coughed to attract the attention of the grandmaster at arms. Luckly, it did. But it also attracted the attention of many others.
"Umm... You have to arm yourself. Do you think we stand a chance? Especially unarmed? They have carts with horses, bows, spears, shields! And skills, most importantly. We have nothing like this. So at least some armor can save us!" He said, pointing at the weapons and armor. Jax chuckled and walked in front of the items. He examined them carefully, calculating the weight and protection they could provide. He took only two similar shoulder pads and a helm. Didn't take a weapon. Then, he armed himself, actually covered his head with the helm and put the pads on his shoulders. Everyone in the room looked at him surprised and quite amazed. Outside were already heard the cheers of the viewers. The thugs pushed slaves forth, to the door and retreated. The gate slowly lifted, revealing a circular arena covered with blood - stained sand. Jax was the first to walk out, willingly. The others only watched at the giant crowd at the seats four feet over their heads. The viewers were surely stunned at the appearance of one slave who willingly walked out, unarmed. The others were pushed out by the thugs and the gate closed. Jax watched at the opposing gate, wich was just opening. His legs twitched and he increased the distance between him and the others. Splitting up would make it harder for the enemies to kill them faster. Jax then focused on the crowd, willing to see a familiar face. Darius and Swain, he recognized. They were in a separated chamber wich had a plate roof to protect them from the sun. Swain was in royal armor, wich meant he was 'king of Valoran', while Darius had a pretty decorated armor and a new axe. He was the general, Jax thought. They were also looking at him, but no one would be able to recognize him in such amount of clothing, except the ladies he slept with. Randrek followed, surely wanted to stick up with him. Jax didn't have anything against it. The other man had a plate armor, a shield and a long spear, all in a pretty bad condition, while the grandmaster at arms chose the best conditioned items in store. There, the gate opened. And ten carts with spearmen and archers shot out, yelling and laughing. The crowd exploded. Jax was in the right corner of the arena, followed by Randrek who was only two feet away. The others were stacked up and tried to make a formation to protect themselves. Jax knew that the bowmen would kill a lot, then those with spears would ruthlessly butcher what was left. So he separated. Nine of the carts headed for the big group, but the last one noticed that he was unarmed. He smiled under the helm. That would be fun. They charged. Jax prepared. The archer shot an arrow in his direction, he simply dodged it. A clumsy shot, compared to Varus and Ashe. The grandmaster started running, not away, but right against the cart. None expected this so he had the element of surprise. Jax was about three hundred yards away when his legs twitched and his muscles shrank, only to shoot him in the air, his body flying on speeds unknown to any moving invention, right against the spearman who was driving the cart. He heard the scream of the man and then clashed with tremendous force into his body, throwing him off of the cart, the horses loosing their lead. Jax tried to infuse mana into his hand but was weak, the bigger portion of his soul missing made it impossible for him to do such a thing so he just slammed his fist into the spearman's stomach, a scream of pain escaping the man's mouth. Jax then formed a mace of both his hands and slammed them with full strength against the man's chest. Although it was covered by plate, he still felt bones cracking. The man screamed in agony. The grandmaster felt the bow stretching and only a second before the arrow imbued itself into Jax' back he moved aside, letting the shot finish the man underneath him. After that he ran to the center of the arena, attracting all attention to himself. The remaining carts raced towards him, while the slaves who survived started at him. He lifted his arms in the air and shouted.
"Who wants a piece of the champ?" There was a dead slave next to him, a huge two handed axe in his hands. All the carts have already surrounded Jax, his smile growing. This wasn't the league. But... It was still hard for him to do it. His hand wrapped around the axe, his whole being trembling in ecstasy when he felt the crude work, but the strength of the weapon. All spears were pointed at him, while the archers were tauting their bows' string. Jax gave a laugh and leaped. After five seconds exactly he was in the center of the arena, but around him were the butchered corpses of all the archers and spearmen. He laughed again. This was great! A weapon after so long... Jax then looked around. He realised the crowd was really silent. Even if a fly buzzed, the whole area would hear it. Then, out of nothing, the figure of Reginald Ashram struck his mind. The grip on his weapon weakened. This... Was wrong... But he was doing it for his safety. This... Wasn't wrong. Self protection, that wasn't sin, that wasn't wrong. Jax placed the axe behind his back and made the sign for peace. Index and middle finger up, others lowered. Then, he left, the gate to the insides of the Coloseum expecting him. He was now known.
Chapter 6
They knew him as Jaximus. Since he joined the Coloseum, he was known to the viewers and 'master' as Jaximus. He liked the name, so he decided to tell them that he is Jaximus. He was now a celebrity, as many would call him. Known by most of Noxus, Piltover and Zaun, he has grown in reputation. The gladiator who kills for less than a second. Well, that was put to a question when he was sent against ogres, trolls and other beings who just had that anti-duying mattery as skin. That was when he took more time to kill them. Well, he was told that his dealings brought a lot of money to Grom Wolfhowl's purse, wich wasn't anything bad.
But, right now Jax was preparing for the most important match ever. He would face the champion, as they called him. They said he moved even faster than him so it would be a challenge. And Jax loved challenges. So, his hand rested on his hip, while the other held the big axe. The weapon was old and rusty, also pretty crude work for a man like him, but all that mattered for Jax now was the efficiency. And the axe has proven to be useful, similar to the lantern he had in the beginning of the journey. His eyes were tracing the sticks on the gate that led to the blood-stained sand. Jax had grown used to the sand. It was really good to fight in sand, because if it was dusty you could use it to your advantage, while if it was wet it still helped. His lips had formed a sly smile, his eyes clouded by determination. He was closer to the wooden sword, he felt it. The booming voice of the commentator sounded through the Coloseum.
"Greetings, citizens of Noxus! This is the match you have been waiting for. On the right, we have Jaximus, the new gladiator who kills in a second! His opponent will be the champion, Towerikus Backdoorikus! The battle will be furious! Who will win? We will see!" His words were and both gates opened. Jax didn't wait and walked out, lifting his hands into the air. The crowd went crazy, cheering at yelling. This was necessary, for the other one would have its favor. When someone had the crowd's favor, it was like the lizard's blessing. His axe spun around him, controled by his skilled hand and then landed in the sand. Jax smiled, the crowd loved him. Then, from the other gate slowly came out a figure, too familiar to Jax that it was painful. The robe was almost destroyed, only the back was left to cover the skin. He had a chest plate over his front. His boots had the little knives as always. His strange beard was there too. The helm had the multiple holes for his eyes. The sword flashed in the energy of the WUJU. Towerikus Backdoorikus was Master Yi, the last master of the Wuju style. Jax smiled, so did Yi. They started walking in circles around each other, their gazes piercing the other's eyes. Their minds frozen in a soundless conversation.
Towerikus Backdoorikus? How did you come up with this Yi?
Easley. Everyone knew me as a backdoor master, so I decided to rename myself. Haha...
What is going to happen now, Yi? How are we going to process? I don't want to kill you, you are a close friend of mine. Also the last master Wuju must live.
Well, my friend. We have to fight, but if we don't things will get worse. So, will we fight, my old friend?
Jax smiled. This was one old friend. The grandmaster's grip over the axe's handle tightened. This was going to be a challenge. Master Yi didn't show any signs of fear or excitement. He raised his two handed sword and smiled too. This would be really dangerous, Jax wasn't going to loose. But... Yi was his old friend. Maybe one of his only living friends. No. Jax gripped the axe harder. He would not lose to emotions. They kept circling around each other, searching for openings to attack. This was a really intense battle already, the professionals would say.
Darius knew who Towerikus Backdoorikus was. He was worried for the identity of Jaximus, for he couldn't identify the fighting style, also the manner of walking, speaking, weapon choice. He could not relate him to any of the champions of the league, because none except Noxians used axes. Swain was just looking at the gladiators down there, examining their appearances. This was going to be a fierce battle in Darius' opinion, but Swain wouldn't be so... Pleased to watch.
"Swain, will you watch with me?" He asked the Grand General. The mage looked at the hand and chuckled.
"Of course, my friend. People would think I don't like watching Gladiator fights." Ha returned and chuckled. Darius felt shivers up his spine. This was not right, that man wasn't normal. But Darius knew it, so he ignored the thought. The battle was about to begin, because Towerikus was closing the distance between him and Jaximus.
Jax started spinning the axe with one hand, preparing for the hit. Yi charged, his feet moving at increasing pace, the sword lighting on blue. Then the yellow flash appeared, Jax readied for the strike. He felt the assault, the wound over his health but didn't fall. Even though Yi's Alfa movement was strong, it was risky to use twice in the interval of twenty seconds. So, the Wuju bladesman appeared before Jax who immediately slammed the axe against the swordsman. He blocked. They started exchanging hits, blocking, attacking, dodging,lunging for an opening, backing. When Yi started moving faster and focusing on attacking, the grandmaster used that to fuse power in the axe, waiting for an opening. It came. Between two strikes, Yi leaped to try and slam the sword over Jax, wich was his mistake.
The grandmaster slammed the axe in his left leg, the power of the fused strike hamstring the bladesman. The crowd OOOO-ed. It has been silent until that hit. The wuju master fell on his right leg, opening the left side again. Jax slammed, this time Yi's shoulder. The sound of shattering bones echoed through the arena. Yi staggered backwards, blocking Jax' next attack. The grandmaster felt the surge of healing magic flowing through his opponent, visibly recovering his wounds. Jax used the moment to leap and strike once more, but Yi used his Alfa walk and dodged. The grandmaster side - stepped and Yi missed. While exiting Alfa walk, Yi slashed through Jax' stomach, but wasn't close enough to open it. The gladiator spun and landed a powered attack, shattering Yi's left elbow.
Then, the wounded released his ultimate move. The air around him started vibrating, while his speed increased to inhuman levels. Jax cursed silently and entered dodging stance. Yi started slashing through air and sand, but couldn't hit Jax who was just dodging, because he knew once he got under Yi's shower of hits, he would be in serious trouble. He could remain in that stance much longer if not for the unexpected Alfa walk, wich simply cut to bone. Jax' left shoulder exploded in pain, but the grandmaster used the moment to land the empowered attack. He was then surprised by a kick in the belly, wich almost send his insides flying out. Yi balanced his sword in front of his helm and whispered something. The dim blue burn retreated to leave white fire, wich raged with fury known to Jax only from his encounters with Renekton. The flame formed an upgrade to the sword, wich boosted it's length and no question - strength. Jax didn't have time to react and Yi slashed three times with the speed of light, maybe even faster. The grandmaster took the first strike and was immediately sorry for it, but was able to leap out of the way of the bladesman. He felt his left side as if covered with lava and poked with more than a thousand needles.
--
Darius was watching the battle with pure amusement. This was surely a sight to see, knowing that Master Yi should have already killed the other gladiator. But Jaximus was surely a trained fighter. Yi kept slashing against the other when his Alfa walk toggled and he started moving faster than anything in the world could, then his sword started appearing all around Jaximus and slashing through his skin and equipment. The poor gladiator didn't stand a chance. Yi was so fierce that dust covered the are where Jaximus was wich disabled any visible contact with them. When the dust fell down, everyone, including Darius, winced. The other gladiator was not only still alive, but was gripping Yi's neck in his right hand, while the left was searching for the axe. Rays of light surrounded his body. Then, the hand made the contact he needed to recognize who exactly Jaximus was. Jax. Only Jax could dodge or block attacks at such high rate of speed. The hand of Noxus decided to wait until the battle was over, then collect the winner.
--
Jax had to use his might. Well, at least the weakest portion of it. Rays of light circled around his body, giving him rock hard skin and improved senses. Yi was trying to free himself from the deadly grasp, but Jax tightened it. Then, the wuju bladesman entered Alfa walk and disappeared. The grandmaster sighed and took the axe. His patience was gone. Now, he was here to kill. And would kill. Jax turned to block an attack from Yi, whose blade was now covered in blood and the flame was a slight red. His speed was so big that Jax started sweating while blocking the attacks.
Then, he used the chance and grabbed one of the blade's piercings and slammed Yi with full force, the bladesman flying a few feet before landing. Yi winced when Jax was right next to him, they were close to a wall. Perfect, thought the grandmaster. His axe flew towards Yi's torso, hitting with the strength of a hundred, wich blew Yi right into the wall, a few cracks appeared. Two more. Jax told himself. The axe opened Yi's chestplate and showed the skin under it. One more. That strike would end the Wuju baldesman. Jax colected the power and slammed. The power fused into the weapon and shattered Yi's chest then his third strike brought immediate death to the Ionian. Yi breathed in one last time and the soul left the body.
In that moment, Jax wasn't there. He was in a desert. It was so hot in that desert that the air was dancing, the sand melting into glass and yet three statues towered over him. Jax didn't feel the warmth in his legs, but knew that his body felt it. Blood poured forth from his wounds, deep into the melting sand.
"Grandmaster... You, killed the last master of Wuju..." The voice was three, and those three were thirty. It echoed through the desert, deep in his skull and rang in his being. Jax felt the mere power of the voice, no, the voices and trembled.
"You have accomplished it. You destroyed Wuju, no longer anyone has the power of that art, of that style, of that power. But there is one thing you have to do. You, Grandmaster, you must contain the Wuju within you. Even if you don't want it, you will be forced to. Your task is simple. Follow the light we send you to Ionia, then to the Wuju Temple. There, you will lay the last master of Wuju and kneel before his corpse. Then, you shall be granted power. Power you have never dreamed of. But you will have to unlock it. And if you don't bring the last master at wuju to the temple, the light will blind you. Will deafen you. Will mute you. And, with time, will kill you. Your quest, begins now, Grandmaster."
Jax felt his whole being burned by the desert, when he suddenly was looking at Yi's lifeless body. The crowd was cheering, while a little spark of light led eastwards. He heard a voice.
"Champion, why don't you reveal us who you are, and then you might be awarded freedom and service in the Noxian army?" The voice was heavy and strong. Jax turned and looked at Darius. He was in the same place as the beginning of the match, but was standing. Jax turned and placed Yi on his back - an action that made the crowd stop cheering. He tied Yi's hands around his neck with a bandage from the ripped clothes. Jax stood in full size and height. Then, he slowly placed both his hands on the sides of the helmet and pulled up slowly. His eyes were now able to see. His nose was now able to smell. Darius' eyes widened. Then grew thin.
"As I suspected..." Was all he said. Then, the hand leaped from the place where he was, the axe behind his head and ready to kill. Darius was falling fast, the axe was horrid. Jax dodged. The hand spun and ripped through his back. Jax leaped towards Darius. The hand stabbed his right side with the sharp part of the axe, the side wich he used to do his hamstring move on his victims. Jax groaned, but didn't fall. He was bleeding badly, his reflexes were slowed and he moved really slowly. Darius leaped and slammed the axe towards the grandmaster, who stepped back just the moment the weapon was going to decapitate him. He didn't get away without a wound, the axe's edge left a grievous wound on Jax' face. The grandmaster yelled in pain. Then, determination ran over him as a truck. He spun the axe and slammed Darius in the chest. Surprisingly, nothing happened to the hand, he was only stunned, while the axe shattered. Jax felt that he must leave the arena. The grandmaster leaped to the crowd and started jumping from head to head. Upon reaching the end, he smiled and leaped on top of a building that was about fifteen feet away. No Noxian gave chase, they left him escape. He followed the blinding light, far, far, to the east...
Chapter 7
Jax didn't like swimming. It wasn't his hobby. But now, he was swimming for more than five hours in the cold waters of the sea, swimming towards Ionia with Yi's body on his back. Thank's to the grandmaster's endurance he could swim more without fainting. The weight of the Wuju bladesman wasn't anything for Jax, the water wasn't cold, so he would continue to Ionia. He was sure he'd make it, so the grandmaster swam forth, ignoring his inhuman wounds. He'd seen worse.
Three hours more passed, his body started feeling the cold temperature of the water. The waves were pushing him around, Yi's body started to weigh down. Jax swam forth.
Two more. His body was at the edge. He couldn't feel his legs, wich grew numb and then fully stopped. They still kept moving, only to get him out. His hands were cold and weak. Master Yi's weigh was just pushing him down. His eyes were red with the salty water, but he kept going. The water didn't help his wounds too. Now, he couldn't feel half of his body, but that was a relief because the pain was starting to burn him in agony. He now felt his way was longer, his eyes traced the horizon, searching for the isle. He just swam.
Five hours passed. The shore was clearly visible to him. But he wouldn't reach it. His condition was so weak, that even a baby, a few months old, would be able to beat him down. He was more like floating over the water than swimming in it. He gave up all hope a few minutes ago. His legs and hands were feeling less, his head hurt. But he didn't leave for the realm of darkness, though the offer was so tempting. He felt the waves, pushing him slowly towards the shore. He then... Thought he was loosing his sanity.
"He goes forward..." The voice was silent, almost impossible to be heard. It came from the depths, as a howl. Jax laughed at himself for hearing voices.
"Forward... Wasn't that your typo?" That voice was gentler, friendlier. Feminine. It contrasted the previous one fully, although something connected them. They both came from the depths.
"Well, it was..." The first answered. It was really, really distant.
"So, why don't we help him? Don't the others need him to be their ne-" The feminine voice offered, but was interrupted by the other one.
"Ok, ok... We will help him pass that task..." The male voice agreed with the feminine, a chuckle was heard and then Jax felt the water start massing behind him. The power of the sea entered his body, refreshing him and returning his powers. He felt a sudden end of the flow, then a tidal wave pushed him towards the coast. His powers were drained again by the wave, wich pushed him just a few feet in front of the beach. Jax stood up and started breathing heavily, his lungs absorbing the air. He realized that those voices werent just his imagination. They were something, a part of some group wich needed him to be a 'ne'. He laughed and was reminded his task by the blinding light wich led him up.
Jax looked around himself and noticed. The beach was empty, only stone and some sand. Most of the sand was used as barricades for the upper land, where guards looked at him. They didn't attack, although their weapons were drawn and some had bows, touted towards him.
"Someone is on the isle, without allowance." The monk said. His white beard was covered with drops of sweat. Irelia was the first to stand up, her troubled eyes dug holes into his closed ones. The others, Varus staring at the coast, Karma drinking tea with Udyr, Lee Sin humming something and Soraka inspecting her belt looked at her.
"And tell me, where is that person and is he armed?" Her voice, wich was really astonishing for those who didn't know her, her blue hair hypnotised them and at last her curves stunned them. She carried her blue jumpsuit and armor straps over it. She was in full battle readiness, as everyone else was. The monk nodded.
"He is unarmed, his appearance is... Cryptic. He looks like a walking corpse. And is a man." The monk explained. Irelia sighed and started walking back to her seat when a guard came, looking as if he saw a ghost.
"Captain Irelia, reporting from the coast. Unarmed man just left the sea, he is soaking wet and hurt really bad. He is also carrying the corpse of Master Yi, The Wuju Bladesman." Her breath stopped. Her heart missed a beat. Yi was dead? Who killed him?! Was it that man? She felt anger burning inside her. Irelia ran out of the tent, her blades circling around the graceful body of the woman warrior, mirroring her emotions. Their camp was close to the Wuju temple, so they could make quite a defensive play here if Noxus or one of it's friends attacked.
She saw the man. The others did too, except Lee, who felt the presence. This was a cryptic picture. The man was dressed in soaking clothes, purple soaking clothes, had the tunic cut on about ten places and a grievous wound ran through his face, wich was still bleeding. Yi was on his back. The wuju bladesman looked just fine, with the exception of three deep cuts in the chest area, wich cut to bone and probably broke his ribs. Irelia didn't move, she only observed now, as everyone else.
--
Jax moved forth. His body was forced almost over the edge. But he would stand and accomplish the task. The sun shined cheerfully over him, but he didn't care. The light blinded his vision, but his eyes didn't flinch. He saw Soraka walking towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder, offering to heal him. He shook his head and walked. She silently followed, the other champions of Ionia did too.
Jax had the Wuju temple in sight now. He was seeing the giant structure, the statues build all around it. He heard voices, whispering to him, pushing him forth. There, he was in front of the stairway, his left leg was the first to climb, then the right and the cycle started repeating itself. He untied Yi's hands and walked forth, carrying him in arms. Jax was at the entrance, the light shone from only one place, it shone from the center of the temple. He forced himself to reach the destination and placed Yi's body there. It was immediately surrounded by light, lifted just a few inches off of the ground and was then placed in standing position. Jax observed. His body felt heat. Yi's body started slowly turning into stone, creating the reminder of the last master of Wuju.
The desert with melting sand greeted him. But the sand was no longer melting, and was no longer sand. It was dirt. And from that dirt grew plants, weak and fragile, but still - plants. The statues towered over the grandmaster at arms. Their heavy gazes were staring into him. He felt the dirt under his feet change and become stone. The plants were already trees, grass covered the earth. It was almost magical.
"You brought the last master of Wuju, grandmaster. For this, we bless you with Wuju, the ultimate sword play. But your skill will be unlocked by yourself. We shall not interfere with mortals. Begone now, grandmaster at arms." The voices boomed, their statues were covered with vines, the trees were higher than them, a pond formed under the leaves. Jax was sent back to the world.
He fell to his knees. Exhaustion was taking over him. But then, Jax felt someone's arm on his shoulder. He turned his head...
--
Irelia had placed her hand on the stranger's shoulder. This brought his identity to her, it revealed him. This type of cloth was worn by only one person in Runeterra. She had feelings for him once, once before the Institute fell. She knew he was dead, that's what she thought of him. It was the one and only she ever loved. It was Jax. She felt tears in her eyes, but forced them away.
"Jax..." Irelia whispered to him, only he would be able to hear her. He nodded.
"Two hours... Noxus comes..." He answered. Irelia winced. Noxus was coming? She turned to Karma.
"Noxus is attacking in two hours. Prepare the men and barricades!" She told her friend. Then turned back to Jax. She noticed only two of his eyes were open. Irelia collected enough courage to move his hood back a little and saw the purpose. The other five were closed, affected by the horrific wound that ran across his face.
"Soraka, come here. Help him." She asked the divine to help Jax. She was about to cast the healing magic when his hand stopped her. He shook his head and stood up.
"Give me an axe and I will be fine." He said. Irelia nodded and dismissed Soraka. She couldn't belive, her Jax was alive. She would be with him again.
Chapter 8
Jax was amazed by the Ionians. In less than two hours, they dispatched thirty thousand warriors, set traps, prepared the temple for defense and splat the army in six squads. The grandmaster was right now leading one of those five thousand men squads, like the other champions that once represented the island. He was given food and Soraka healed his eyes, because he might just go blind. The barbaric monk Udyr was saying he didn't need the warriors with him, but was forced to. As to how did Jax know that Noxus was coming, he didn't. Just something told him to say it and he did.
The grandmaster was puzzled as to how did he have the Wuju right now, but couldn't use it. Those ancient master of Wuju who talked to him said that he has to unlock the power, but he didn't know how. Well, it didn't really matter, for Jax had to fight to protect Ionia. This was a real challenge, knowing the numbers of Noxus, Piltover and Zaun would be satanic. Before they left for the points to defend, the warriors sang a song, that didn't sound Ionian but was still a song for battle. The text was:
If I should return,
With my body on my shield,
Tell my son I chose to die,
Than yield...
Though my life may soon be gone,
I hope, you'll carry on,
Remember me as one who would not kneel...
Fight with blood!
Fight with steel!
Die with honor,
Never yield!
And went on in the same spirit. Then they left, following the champion they were assigned to. Jax didn't think that his condition would allow him to participate in the battle freely, but if the battalion they would hold against had a champion, then he would have to fight so he could protect the defenders from him. But he didn't want to battle a champion, in that state he would surely lose. But he didn't want to. He wanted to survive, probably lead the Ionians to victory. He wanted to be with... Irie. Irelia. He had feelings for the beautiful girl that led the Ionians as an army.
Jax shook his head and looked forth, to the coast. Nothing was the same as he remembered, years ago, three actually, there were children playing in the water, building with the sand, while their parents talked on the beach. Now it was a Rocky waste, the sand moved back in order to make improvised barricades. The weather was sunny a few minutes ago, but now dark clouds were stacking over them.
He forced his eyes to look, so he could recognize ships or something. He saw what he didn't want to. Piltoverian and Zaunite aircrafts were flying towards the island, while Noxian ships were crushing through the sea. He called a messenger.
"They are coming. Tell the captain and others." He ordered the lad, wich ran towards the temple, where Soraka was preparing her healing magic, so she could support them from afar. Jax sighed and turned. The air ships were really fast, almost on the coast. He realized something. They were going to bombard them.
"Shoot the air ships! Shoot them!" He yelled. His voice and order echoed through the squad and the archers lifted their bows. The crossbows started shooting and got one of the air ships down, while the others were damaged. The Noxians reached the coast by that time. The hordes started pouring from the ships. Jax lifted his hand and started spinning the axe he was given. The warriors lifted their weapons and yelled. The hordes of Noxus were charging, their fierce battle cry shaking the ground. Jax didnt care, he ignored them and started at his charging opponent. Talon's blade was burning with mythic fire, while the famed Noxian assassin was sprinting towards the grandmaster at arms.
Jax started spinning his axe, awaiting the young man. Talon wasn't planning on focusing on the grandmaster at arms, so he just watched as the Noxians passed around him. Jax prepared and when they were about to smash him he released a force wave wich pushed them back. This allowed him to simply cleave through their lines, but was still saving most of his energy for the fight with Talon. The assassin was idly looking at him, examining every move of the grandmaster, searching for weaknesses and strengths. This was a wary opponent.
Talon disappeared in a second. Jax felt the blade that was going to stab his back and dodged, then turned, mauling the young man. The hit itself wasn't strong, but was the power infused into it. Jax had the advantage on using his marked third strike. Talon didn't even wince, he just staggered backwards and threw a few shuriken stars towards Jax. The grandmaster made a rainbow - like swing, with wich he blocked the stars and counter attacked, cutting Talon's cape and it fell off.
The assassin lunged forward, cutting Jax' left hand and putting the silencing rune on his skin. This wouldn't stop the grandmaster, but would only slow him. Although Jax was silenced, his eyes narrowed and he slammed Talon's stomach, cutting it and his insides started pouring out. This was the end for the Blade's Shadow. But then, he disappeared again, replaced by blades which flew in all directions, cutting through warriors and Jax' leg. They started hovering over the ground. The grandmaster looked at the blood trail left by Talon's body and mauled the air next to him. Bones broke and a last shriek left the assassin's mouth, the blades returning to him and cutting through Jax' left leg again.
He kneeled, his limb in pain. Then he understanded that Talon was a kamikaze. He would sacrifice or win, but it didn't matter because Jax' attention was away from the warring forces. This was clever, yet brutal. The Ionian armies were pushed back by the Noxian hordes, the grandmaster was forced to signal for retreat. They ran towards the temple, setting the road on fire so they could reach the building.
Chapter 9
"Jax, finally!" Irelia shouted and waved to Lee Sin and Karma so they follow. The grandmaster looked at them. His squad was small, ten times smaller. The other squads were bigger or smaller, but was worried him was the fact that Udyr and Varus weren't there. The remaining champions stood in front of each other and examined.
"Where are Varus and Udyr?" Asked Jax. He knew the answer, but wanted to be sure. Irelia shook her head and pointed at a carpet. He walked next to it and lifted the cloth. There, under it, he looked at Udyr's deformed body and Varus' head. His eyes narrowed. Good fighters were dead. The Noxians were stacking themselves, preparing for another push.
"It is bad. We cannot face the Noxians at that rate. And I can't fight, so my presence will be on top of the temple, waiting. Sorry, my friends." Lee said while departing, walking slowly and gripping a wound on his chest. Irelia sighed. Karma shook her head. This would be a last stand, Jax thought. The enlightened one walked slowly to the eastern side of the building, where the camp of the wounded was. She would probably take care for them.
Irelia then turned to Jax. The grandmaster was still in his bad condition, but had gained a few new wounds. She looked fine, except a few scratches.
"Who was your opponent, Irelia?" He asked, curious. The will of the Blades smiled. Probably someone she didn't like.
"It was Cassiopeia. She tried to poison me, but I was faster than her. She is now a shattered stone statue. Prepare, Jax, the battle will be harsh!" She turned and walked to the west barricade. They would have to be careful. One champion per barricade, risky move. He smiled. Why should he worry, he could take two at once. His axe rested on his shoulder while he walked towards the northern barricade. Jax wondered who would be his opponents...
Lee sighed. The meditation he was trying to enter was eluding him, wich never happened before. His empty eyes narrowed as he concentrated harder, then heard it. The... Machine. Something was closing the temple, while he was resting. When he inspected his chest, the wound was almost gone so he stood up and walked to the terrace. The vision of life covered him and the blind monk started seeing the living around him. Just in front of him was an airship. He understood it not because it was alive, but because the workers formed a pretty decent shape, wich reminded him of an airship. He also recognized a person who was wicked and evil. The mad chemist, Singed. Lee waited until one of the workers walked out of the inside of the ship and then threw a sonic wave wich harmed the poor man only partially. The blind monk leaped and kicked the person in the chest, shattering his ribs and killing him. The body fell with a thump. Lee walked to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by an angry Sion.
Jax' axe cleaved through the incoming Noxians. The battle was fierce, every moment you were in danger, no place was safe. He wasn't attacked by any Noxian champion, wich only eased his quest so he continued to cleave through the warriors. He was simply cleaving through tall grass, there was no challenge in it for him. His senses were on the max, his speed was blazing, his power mountain - moving. The grandmaster knew one thing. That earlier or later they will lose. Then, he heard screams, many, hundreds. Jax turned and beheld Katarina spinning and throwing knives at the defenders. She was killing them too fast.
He charged his disabling skill and leaped. Jax landed on top of the red haired assassin and disabled her from doing anything except breathing. He mauled her three times for that amount of time, but she wondrously survived. Her knife stabbed his back, then she spun, cutting through the mark from the weapon and revealing Jax' back. Her face was senseless, only to kill. Her body disappeared in a puff of smoke. She probably thinks that her luck will strike twice, Jax thought. His hand gripped her throat. Katarina coughed. He squeezed with all his might. Her head flew a few feet away, while the body fell on the ground.
Jax looked around him and realized that the last ones of the northern defenders were pushed from both south and north. He leaped and ran westwards. His eyes were burning, his speed was titanic. The picture that revealed itself before him was grotesque. Irelia was trying to hold against Darius, Urgot and a man, who Jax couldn't recognize. The woman was barely holding them from killing her, when a surprising blow from Darius' axe hit her and she flew a few feet away. The strange man walked towards her, his obsidian blade prepared.
Marcus Du Couteau was enjoying the training session with the woman. But it was now about to end. After revealing himself from the shadows of hiding, the strongest assassin was finally having some fun. And this was really fun. The girl tried to stand up, but his foot stepped on her chest, while his blade was just about to stab her. But he decided to make her wait, pray for mercy. This didn't happen, because he was suddenly knocked back. Marcus quickly regained his balance, so he could see his opponent. This was... Amusing. The person who interrupted looked awfully, but his whole body was pulsing with energy and force. Darius winced in surprise behind him.
"Jax? How did you get here before us?" This was what the hand of Noxus said. Well, Marcus was in for a challenge. The way that man was looking at him was challenging. So, the assassin prepared his blade and used the move his daughter called 'shumpo' and Talon called a 'gap closer'. It was actually the famed flash of blades, wich would materialize five blades to stab the one who would be targeted by the assassin, so he could execute his attack faster and probably kill the target with one strike.
Well, that didn't work out. The one who was called Jax blocked all five blades and turned with really impressive speed to maul Marcus, who leaped backwards, expecting that the man couldn't follow. But was surprised when the other actually leaped after him and the axe in his hand gained a scary light effect. Marcus barely dodged that one, but was greeted by another, better executed one. That made Du Couteau to block, wich allowed him to stab his opponent, but couldn't do it because Jax dodged with skills Marcus didn't think existed. His opponent smiled and mauled the axe right at him, light bathing the weapon.
Luckly, he couldn't land it because Darius pulled him and tried to cut him in half. Jax simply jumped and spun, hitting Darius' chest with force that knocked him off the ground, sending him backwards. Now that was an enemy Marcus dreamed of. He did his move again, this time executing an attack right after he appeared behind the man. He blocked, spun and mauled, the assassin blocked and executed the 'rake', Talon's favourite move. Jax dodged and leaped towards Marcus, executing relentless series of attacks. Luckly, Du Couteau blocked them all.
Urgot got in the fight, firing bolts of pure plasma, wich would melt any human's flesh. Jax leaped to the undead spider like warrior and disarmed him, cutting through both his hands, then spun, landing a perfect finishing move. Urgot fell on the ground, perfectly dead. Darius then appeared behind Jax and cut through his back. This would be the end of that warrior. Darius was about to cripple Jax when something strange happened. His axe was deflected by a shield, spinning rays that made passing through it impossible.
Darius was amazed, his eyes revealing fear for some, but then that fear disappeared. It would be easy for him to break the barrier. He leaped, his muscles exploding, then, he brough down the axe, hitting the barrier with full strength. It didn't break. It stayed still, protecting Jax.
The grandmaster was using all of his might. All of it. It was really hard to contain it, but he didn't care. Right now, his mind was blank, only focused on Darius and the other man. His being was consumed by hatred. They hurt Irelia. They hurt his Irie. They would pay. But, now then, Darius was really dangerous. When he used the guillotine, Jax had to put great effort in maintaining the might. This was a fair battle. Really hard and dangerous, but fair. His axe was running through Darius' armor, trying to break it. Sadly it was way to strong and reinforced. The other man was just watching. Probably regaining his strenght.
Then, his axe was met by the dagger, the wielder grown faster and fond of himself. His speed grew bigger and the attacks he started landing on Jax were really strong. This was a horrific opponent. The blade started piercing through Jax' defense, them might maintaining him unharmed by the obsidian blade. Darius was now right behind him. This was getting bad. The huge axe wiped through his back, the might blocking it. He started spinning the axe around him, making the assassin run backwards. This would finish them. But, Darius slammed the lower end of his axe in Jax' back, wich made him fall to the ground. His might broke. But he stood up, eager to fight more.
Marcus grew annoyed with the nut he was fighting with. That Jax was a stubborn freak. But Marcus wasn't even trying. Then, it happened. The speed of the purple warrior grew to impossible levels. The strength of his attacks grew two times bigger than his previous. Marcus was surprised when he was able to break through the assassin's defense and mauled his ribcage. This was ugly. The famed Noxian general groaned and charged. His blade was burning with fire. This strike would finish the fool.
Jax dodged. Partially. The strike was so strong that even his dodge ability couldn't save him, the blade stabbed his left shoulder. He roared in pain. The world started spinning, black spots covered his gaze. He saw the assassin smirking. But Then a strong hand wrapped itself around his right arm and pulled. Darius cursed, but the words evaded Jax' ears. He found himself on an airship, Lee trying to navigate it. His eyes were already closing, but he saw a giant green pot shattered over a man who looked like Singed, while a green corpse lew a few feet away. It missed almost every limb it had. Lee whispered something and Jax fell asleep.
Chapter 10
Irelia woke up. She couldn't belive she lost to those Noxians. What she saw before fainting was Jax leaping like a fool against them in his crying condition. Now she could hear the rumbling sounds of an airship. She could feel the silent shaking of the construction. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing a butchery, Jax laying in the middle of it. She crawled to him slowly, placing a hand over his shoulder.
"He is sleeping. Do not worry my friend." It was Lee. His voice came from the front of the ship. Irelia stood up and walked out of the cabin full of corpses. It was quite interesting, knowing they werent hit by any weapon, only fists and kicks landed on them. Her eyes fell over Singed. This was a scary picture. His armor was ripped apart, while his famous pot was broken and his body was almost covered by the liquid. She also recognized Sion's remains. Only hands and a leg, the other parts surely fell off the ship.
Irelia walked next to Lee and yawned. She was safe with him, as far as he knew. He was a real warrior, probably stronger than her so she trusted him. The blind monk was trying to navigate the ship, wich was a complete disaster. He was blindly rolling the controller. Surprisingly, they have not crashed yet. She walked next to him and took the control in her hands.
"How are you, Irelia? Did you sleep well?" He asked her. While he was her friend, she knew of the fact he was not a good thing for Ionia. He did a bad thing in the past, one that banished the Kinkou order. Well, he didn't actually banish them, but they were angered for the fact none of their best ninjas could beat him, the fact he was stronger than most of them made the leaders angry. Then, they threatened that if Lee doesn't stop practising his art they would kill him. Well, he didn't stop but they couldn't kill him and so they left. The Kinkou were strong. But Lee was stronger.
Lee Sin searched for a place to sit. He landed next to Jax. His feet were exhausted, he was exhausted as full. His vision uncovered Jax. The grandmaster at arms lays there, almost dead. Three days passed since he picked them from the battlefield. Lee instantly knew the dark secret of that man who fought against Jax. It was general Du Couteau. The one who disappeared with the previous head summoner. Lee sighed. He would sleep, when he sleeps, he dreams of that night.
--
Akali was walking with her comrades. They ignored the rain, their task was simple. Find and scare of Lee Sin. They thought that Lee didn't know of their presence. But he knew. He was at maximal concentration, because his life depended on it. They would kill him if he tried to do something stupid, but would still try to kill him because he didn't want to stop practising his art. They silently took their positions and started waiting.
"Show yourselves, Kinkou. I know that they sent you. I know, and I have nothing against it, but you must reveal yourselves." He said. First to blow his cover was Shen, the Eye of Twilight. Then came Kenen, the Heart of the Tempest. Last came Akali, the Fist of Shadow. They had surrounded him. His eyes narrowed, although they couldn't see it.
"What is the task you come here with? I would like to know." He told them, smiling warmly. They were still his friends. He would not be unwelcoming to them. Akali walked towards him and Lee stood up. He didn't want to be surprised by them. She had sorrow pouring from her, meaning that her whole existence was sad now. Why would she be sad?
"Lee Sin... The Kinkou order is greatly assaulted from the fact you kept practising in the same fighting styles as us. You are no member of the order, so you cannot do it. We are here, to sentence you." With those words she threw one of her weapons at Lee. He leaped aside and threw the sonic wave, yelling his trade mark shouts. Akali was hit, wich allowed him to seize vision on her when she threw her smoke bomb. His body shot towards her, his leg pointed right against her chest. She winced when he kicked her, staggered and was blown away from the smoke when he kicked her with more strength. She dashed towards him, aiming to stab his chest. The iron will of the monk didn't allow this to happen as he blasted the ground, the force wave knocking Akali and then he crippled her. She started moving slowlier. He felt the Heart of the Tempest charging towards him at incredible speed.
The eye clashed in Lee, knocking him up a little. The blind monk threw another sonic wave wich allowed him to get out of Kenen's way. His leg smashed Shen's jaw, knocking him up a little and forcing him to back away. His dagger flew towards Lee, who grabbed it mid air and redirected it towards the yordle. Kenen blocked it with his shuriken and charged against the blind monk. Shen dashed through Lee, wich made him want to attack the eye. He simply slammed the ground and forced them away, while making his way to the exit. The fist kicked his back and cut it. He narrowed his eyes again and shouted. He was angered. His leg covered itself with fire and he slammed the female ninja right against the wall. The power of the kick was alone enough to kill her, but Shen's shield saved her. She smashed in the wall, surely fainted.
Kenen shrieked and the storm surrounded Lee. He turned and threw the sonic wave against the yordle, but it dodged. Fast, he was. Lee smashed his hand in the ground, sending crippling waves towards Kenen, who threw an energized shuriken against Lee. The iron will of the monk was again his savior, but the yordle didn't have such luck. His movement slowed, he started staggering to keep himself on his feet. Lee released another sonic wave wich hit Shen. The eye was finally in the battle.
The blind monk leaped towards Shen, who threw his dagger and unsheathed his swords. His vorpal blade hit Lee, allowing the eye to slash through his back. Lee slammed he ground, force field slowing Shen's movement, followed by the sonic wave and the dragon kick. They all ran back to the gate. Akali's eyes were filled with rage, Lee could feel.
"We will leave you. But we were not allowed to kill you, because whole Ionia would be after us. You are lucky. But we do no longer serve Ionia. We go to Piltover!" She shouted and ran, followed by her friends. Lee sighed. He would try to stop them, but knew it. They were no longer his friends, his sparring partners. His eyes narrowed. So it ends...
--
Jax looked at Lee Sin. He was sleeping, like the grandmaster did just a moment ago. His shoulder was burning, but he ignored it. Jax stood up and walked, in search of Irelia. Her slim figure was leaning over the controller. He smiled, knowing she hadn't noticed him. Jax sneaked close to her and hugged her. She winced, then chuckled.
"You are awake Jax. You know, I think you are quite... Well, foolish to leap in battle like that." She concluded, smiling. He laughed. They both laughed. Irelia's beautiful voice made him feel alright, although he wasn't. Well, it didn't matter for him. His axe found it's place stopping the controller from moving. He spun Irelia so she faced him. Her blue eyes looked in his, while his did the same.
"I love you..." He whispered and removed the lower half of his mask, then kissed her. Irelia returned the kiss, closing her eyes and blushing lightly. Jax decided to follow her example and closed his. Irelia returned the hug and when they separated, she placed her head on his un hurt shoulder.
"I love you too, Jax..." She whispered to him and smiled. Her body needed sleep, but she didn't want to let go of the moment. She was with Jax. Irelia didn't feel when she drifted to sleep in his warm embrace...
Chapter 11
Gordoth looked at the massive doors of the Institute Of War. His robe of summoner was new on his body, although he was a senior summoner for more than two years now. His long black hair was hidden by the cowl, his initials were written over the unique robe. As a senior summoner one was allowed to create a robe suiting his likings, initials on it while the colors wich represent the summoner covered the sides. His bag was hanging lameley from his back, full with his personal belongings.
He smiled, seeing the Institute again was a good thing for him. His absence was surely noticed by some friends and champions, let's not talk about Draven, The Glorious Executioner. Draven was his best friend, who suited Gordoth perfectly, because of the endless ego and wish for attention. But while Draven could always be in the spotlight, Gordoth was stuck in the Shit league. Yes, that's right. The Bronze league wouldn't let go of the summoner, who desperately tried to get out of it.
But, that's a topic we will discuss later. Now, we must focus on the bag. The object was full with something, brought from his mysterious trip. He smiled when the content made a clanking sound. The bag was surely heavy, wich was no problem for him because he kept his body in great shape.
The dark boots made the cracking sound when he walked forward, looking at the Obelisks at the entrance. The purple diamonds over their staves shined with power, one that could instantly kill someone with bad intents. The gates themselves were powered by crystals and diamonds, making sure that they will hold at full strength. But they were opened, a greeting sign.
The person on the entrance had a few others behind him. His hair was held in a manner strange and unnatural for everyone, his moustache was curved and only one in the whole of Valoran. His outfit was a flashy one, a lot of collars and white fur over the shoulders. The shoes were one of extreme price, as they were light and pretty, but also couldn't be pierced by almost anything. The strange weapons on his back were the trademarked axes he used, wich could spin at great speed. But, as dangerous he would seem, he was a really good person, at least for those who knew him. Right now, his face was adorned with a happy smile, one of great concern and happiness. This was Draven.
Behind The Glorious Executioneer stood a few figures. One was of a slim woman, who had fox like features, a tight red outfit wich was quite revealing. She had a little bell, hanging from her chest to her stomach and lower. She had nine white tails wich were playfully moving behind her, while her ears were the color of her obsidian hair. They were also from a fox' body. This was Ahri, the well known nine tailed fox. She was also a friend to Gordoth, but maybe came mainly because Draven asked her. They had romantic things happening between them when Gordoth left. That was about a month ago.
On Ahri's left towered a demi - god. He was a canine, although had more knowledge than any of the champions, even combined. This was Nasus, he was the mightiest librarian ever, but also a really dangerous enemy. His red yellow eyes dug holes in Gordoth's skull, but the summoner didn't care. The fur Nasus had made him look like an overgrown golden retriever. But his black staff talked different. His sandals were something Gordoth wore in the summer, but it was quite funny when people looked at him and whispered about the strange shoe wear.
Gordoth was surprised to see a sinister figure lurking behind his canine friend. It was a thing really rare, as this was one of the most famed assassins the summoner knew. This was a personality mad, crazed and at the same time always mocking and joking. The smile on his face made him look horrific, yet friendly. His eyes, lightly blue, cold as winter pierced Gordoth. This was The Demon Jester, one the summoner didn't expect to see here. This was the only champion he used as jungle pick, but didn't summon him often. But, he thought that even that heart frozen to kindness would hold warmth. Shaco probably didn't think so.
Speaking of unexpected figures, the silhouette of a yordle made it quite nice. The cheery figure of Te emo, The Swift Scout was a little surprise for Gordoth. Teemo was a rare pick for the top lane, also serving as middle controller. His blonde fur was short, yet his cheeks were red for some reason. His cat like ears poked through his cap, the goggles he never used covered the front half of the helm. The bag of scrolls was again there. Strange.
Yet there was one special person there. He was Ionian, one that Gordoth had summoned quite often in the short time he was able to before departing for the unknown lands he explored. This person was a strong man. His hair was long, long enough people thought it was a scarf. A red band covered his eyes, the blindness that had cursed the monk for burning himself in the name of his country's freedom. This was Lee Sin, The Blid Monk, and an old friend to Grodoth.
The summoner made three steps and Draven charged. His speed was still amazing, after so many times Gordoth summoned him. His strong arms extended, greeting Gordoth for a hug. The summoner extended his and was grabbed by Draven, who almost squealed when his friend was in his hands. Gordoth laughed at this sign of a friend's feelings. He saw Ahri chuckling, Shaco was hysterically laughing and rolling on the ground, while Nasus smirked and Teemo smiled. Lee only looked, as it would seem to an onlooker.
After Draven held Gordoth in his tight hug, he let go and smiled. Then, hit the summoner's back, laughing.
"Next time at least say that you are leaving! The whole Institute was worried for you!" He proclaimed. Gordoth smiled. The whole Institute was worried for him. He was in the spotlight. The summoner nodded, happy to see his friend.
"I missed you too, Draven!" He said, a wide smile on his face. Draven grinned, showing his snow white teeth. Gordoth walked alongside his friend, greeted Ahri, Shako and Teemo. Upon reaching Lee Sin and Nasus, he stopped. The canine was looking at him with unhidden question, as to where he was, while Lee simply smiled. Gordoth hugged the blind monk and shook Nasus' hand.
"You know, Gordoth, only a few summoners leave the Institute. You must be proud of yourself. Also, someone said you earned quite the Influence while out on that journey of yours. It is enough for two champions of the middle rank, or one of the top. Be shure to choose wisely. Also, I would like to talk with you about your... Abscence." The demi - god said. His paw let go of Gordoth's hand and smiled, then left in his direction. The summoner scratched his beard and walked with Draven to the cafeteria.
"Gordoth!" Someone yelled. The door started shaking from the knocks. It was important. The ex summoner opened his eyes and made sure not to wake Sona up, if she wasn't already waken, and walked out of the hut.
He knew that when chosing the Rift as the refuge camp, he wouldn't mistake. The magic flow, now free from the chains summoners set up to allow battles, was restoring and increasing the grow speed of everything in the forest. This was why he chose that destination, because it would cover their tracks.
His dark robe floated behind him as he exited the hut and greeted Draven. The glorious executioneer changed a lot, because the quest of taking care for the whole camp was a task hard. The ex noxian didn't smile any more. The time wich passed after their leave of the Institute, he was never letting a grin creep to his face. No smirks, no smiles, no nothing. You wouldn't be able to recognize him.
"Gordoth, bad news." He said. The ex summoner's eyes narrowed. What would be bad news? Draven sighed and looked at his friend.
"Ionia has fallen. Only three survived." This was really grim. Three? Champions, random soldiers?
"Lee Sin, Irelia and Jax."
Chapter 12
The Piltoverian technician looked through the window that adorned the eastern side of the tower. His hands ran over the buttons, which led to connection with the terminal of the air ship that was closing it. He recognized it as one of those which were sent to Ionia, for the invasion. He had the question in mind, why would it return allone? He lifted the microphone and placed it two inches from his mouth. Connection was succesful.
"Commad tower here, Please identify yourselves." He said calmly. The doors opened and led a figure in. This was the new 'leader' of the protection of Piltover. He was known as Zac. His whole being was rabid and cursed, because he was an experiment which succeeded and created an intelligent mass of cells. He was called by the younger citizens of the city of progress, the green jelly. Jelly. This was not a pretty thing, the technician knew. But what could he do? Nothing.
The blob-blob which was heard at every step that Zac made was quite annoying. But what annoyed the technician the most was the strange way he talked.
"What is that ship doing here? Weren't they at the island... Ionia, it was. Tell me or a big fist might just slap your head..." It was very low pitched, also he was acting quite much. But his aura was yelling 'I am bigger than you, I can kill you!' , which made people listen to him. The Piltoverian technician was no exception.
"I repeat, Please identify yourselves!" He ordered, looking at the vessel. Zac grunted and started humming something. The technician felt beads of sweat running down his forehead. He repeated the command a few more times, while Zac kept humming, quite likely ignoring the man desperately trying to establish contact.
--
Meanwhile, on the air ship Jax, Irelia and Lee Sin were preparing to make a run for it after landing. The man who was asking them for identification started annoying Jax, so he ripped the speaker out, disabling connection. They were headed to the port, which was situated right on top of the radio tower. Seems that Piltoverians love their space.
In an instance, one moment the ship was still flying, the next it started shaking wildly, which sent Irelia tumbling into Lee, who fell on the ground. Jax held onto the controller, trying to regain control of the ship. A few coughs escaped the vessel and it started falling, so fast that they'd be dead if a giant amount of green ooze didn't wrap itself around the ship and stopped it's fall.
Jax turned, only to be greeted by Zac. His usually giant attire was now hilariously small, but that was understandable, because he used most of his mass to stop the ship. He looked as if he was gonna blow. But he didn't. Instead, the Secret Weapon placed the vessel on the port. Irelia, Jax and Lee burst through the crowd that was formed there, running as fast as they could. They knew that the Piltoverians were allied with Noxus, so they had to hurry.
All of a sudden, a giant blob fell in front of them, shaking the port. Our heroes switched their direction fast, leaping from the port onto another structure, which had a big roof. Surprisingly, it was flat, so they didn't have problems standing on it. Right then, the blob fell yet again, but it immediately formed into Zac who slammed his hands into Jax, throwing him backwards. Irelia and Lee zoned him and covered the hulk in attacks, but he didn't seem to feel it.
Zac sped towards Jax, who leaped in the direction of Irelia, gaining distance between himself and the huge jelly. He turned swiftly and cut through his hand, removing the limb and slowing down the experiment. Sadly, it reformed almost instantly, which forced Jax back, while Lee kicked off Zac's head. It appeared once again. But, that time the Secret Weapon grabbed his own nose and blew, which sent forth a giant amount of jelly. Jax and Lee leaped backwards, but Irelia was covered and slowed by it. Zac then released a barrage of attacks on her, slamming her lithe body with his giant hands.
Jax and Lee both jumped towards him, covering the hulk with attacks and vicious strikes. He laughed and jumped in the air. His trump card, Jax remembered.
"Get away from him!" He yelled, but to late. The jelly-blob-'o-jelly landed on top of all three of them, sending our heroes flying. Lee was the first to regain his footing and shot a sonic wave towards Zac, which was closely followed by a roundhouse kick. His form shook, but didn't fall apart.
Luckly, Jax could launch himself at Zac, cleaving through his body with a mighty slash. The Secret weapon hissed and blew into a shower of green particles, many of them falling on Jax and Lee. Irelia walked next to them and placed a hand on their shoulders.
"Good. Let's go now." She said and started jogging. The other two followed her.
Chapter 13
The red cloak gracefully glides behind him, while the wind blows his hair backwards. The dark passage which splits Northern Valoran and Southern Valoran is filled with skeletons, some older than a millenia, while others fresh. The nails scratched the stones which dared to go higher, while a vicious grin adorns his face. He has a mission, one of complete and utter importance. To find the armor. He had left Noxus long ago, before the assault on Ionia, and now he stood in the passage, where the armor was last seen. It would be given then to his leader, who would earn great power from it.
His eyes ran across the walls, searching for a crack. None were registered. He sighed and looked around himself, looking for something suspicious. A sword buried to the hilt in the cold stones, but it didn't seem as something unusual. After all, here he could see skulls buried on the same level. He made a few more steps, toying with his unusually pale hair.
Then, his legs lost their footing. He started falling, but didn't panic. Looking around himself for a sharp stone to catch, he saw what he was looking for. A cavern. His hands swiftly shot towards the edge and grabbed it. Not a sound was heard. When he pulled himself up, dusting his clothes off, he started to look around. Nothing unusual, except the utter darkness which covered the area. His fingers searched in the small pockets of his blood red coat, expecting to find something.
A little ring was placed on his fourth finger and light illuminated the cave. A little curve appeared at his mouth, weak sign for a smirk, or a smile. His feet started clanking on the stones and rocks, while he explored the cavernous depths. The secret of that man was his blood. It was cold, as if he was dead. But he was not quite dead yet, he was alive. The grand hall he walked in started shrinking, until he had to walk with his head lowered. This was quite annoying to the man.
The hall he entered was not the same as the previous. Bodies. A trail of dead bodies adorned the floor, leading like a route towards a city. The deeper he went into the cavern, the bigger the body count became. Then, out of nowhere, a memory appeared in his mind. 'Leave nothing but a trail of bodies!' This was... Quite the same. The man, or to be correct, creature which said those words was a hunter, one of the few which survived the attack on the Institute. He was one of those towards which the explorer felt fear. He had seen him countless times cleaving through five or more of the most elite champions in the League. But, now he feared him not. Because his power was magical, and the hunters... Was physical.
The bodies formed a circle around a hole in the floor. The man neared his hand to the entrance and saw blood. Rivers of blood running down the stairs. When he turned his head towards the corpses, he recognized the armor of Demacia. The fools. They came before me, in the attempt to take the armor. But only those with true strength can take it! He thought and spat on the nearest corpse. It was easy to understand that this man disliked Demacians. He was probably Noxian. Venturing deeper into the cave, walking down the bloodied staircase, the wanderer seemed to regain some of his strength. When his descent ended, he saw a thing not meant for mortal eyes.
A body. It lays in the center. On a rune. That rune was supposed to infuse power to the person who stood on to of it. But it seemed that the body couldn't use the power well enough. Pure curiosity overwhelmed the wanderer, and he walked close to the corpse. It was feminine, more importantly of a young female. It's armor was red by the blood which was spilled all over it, while most was probably hers. A hood covered her hair. The wanderer kneeled and placed his hands gently on the corpse, then rolled it over.
He winced, hiding his mouth with both his hands. The woman's face was shred to pieces. The skull was untouched, but all of the face was cut in thin lines. The eye balls were also cut in pieces. Everything which could symbolize who that person was in life was gone, except the golden hair, which still fell gracefully down her side. The wanderer's eyes went wide, when he saw a white baton. Which in life belonged to Luxxana Crownguard. He panicked and fell to his rear, a silent scream flowing from his mouth. Impossible. How could she have died? She was better than him, so if she would die, on top of a rune, how could he even dream of living.
Silent whimpers started echoing through the room. He was sobbing, while thinking. How could he even survive in that place, when a whole army couldn't? Then, a silent mumble echoed.
"...for Vigor..." Was all the voice said. Then, out of nowhere, a red sword, red because of the rubies which adorned it, stabbed him. Through the left shoulder, to the right. The blade went like a hot knife through butter. The handle was held by a hand covered in a dark glove. Up from the gauntlet, the color of the armor was the same. The only place unarmored was the head. Two blue eyes, piercing his own stared in his very soul. The man looked familiar to the wanderer, but he couldn't remember where he knew him from. Then, all of a sudden, a shield mauled the head of the pierced person, almost knocking him out. He couldn't move, but felt pain that was way too familiar to him.
"Taric?" He asked, his voice like a melody. The other man still stared daggers at the intruder, although now it made a resemblance. It was in fact, the Gem Knight. Just with a different weapon and armor. Then, the wanderer tried to wake the once good and friendly man Taric was. "It's me, Vladimir! Don't you remember your old friend? Taric?" He asked, a little bit of panic filling his eyes. The Gem Knight just shook his head and stated one thing.
"You are here for the armor, are you not?" He asked. Vladimir then understanded that his chances were gone. He instantly formed a pool of blood under Taric, escaping from the sword. Expecting the knight to start stumbling away, he just disappeared. His breathing was not registrable, nor was his blood flow. Vladimir silently cursed.
"I know you have the armor. After all, it was yours once!" He started, wondering if he could snug it away from the knight. "I heard your rambling not once, and I now know it was true. 'Sapphire, for divinity!' Hah!" He continued to attempt angering the gem knight, or at least to take his attention away. "I know your whole armor is made from sapphire. I know it makes the wearer strong as a God! But why would you keep it for you? Why not give us, the ordinary people an attempt at playing gods?" He asked. His patience was slowly slipping away.
"This world has suffered from magic enough. I will not aid this!" He heard the calm and notably deeper voice of Taric. He sounded so serious. "Come, sit next to me so we can talk about it." He offered all of a sudden. The hemmomancer deformed the blood pool and walked slowly, with extreme caution towards Taric, who was sitting on a stone. Vladimir was in front of Taric, when the knight's sword flew towards the noxian. A force, one of unrelenting power blew the hemmomancer, who felt how his legs wouldn't move, while the other part of his body was being blown away. Taric's body flashed in fron of him, and with one swift motion beheaded him. Vladimir's head fell to the ground and blew up in a blood well. His body repeated the process.
Taric silently looked up, towards a crack on the ceiling. It was becoming day time.
"I think i should go and see the survivors..." He thought loudly, although no one would be able to hear him. Except the souls of those, who were trapped in those caverns...
Chapter 14
Taric's eyes narrowed when he reached the tundra. Frozen waste, where nothing could live, except the Freljordians and the ursine. But, after the fall of the Institute, war shook the lands of the tundra. Traitors killed their own, while the tribes battled for leadership. The ursine had declinced the war at first, but when the camps around their lands started growing, and the others asked for allegiance, Volibear, being the leader of the bear-like tribes, had to make a decision. But he didn't. He led his people away from Freljord, in an attempt to save them from the harm of war. They almost would succeed. But sadly, The Winter's Claw ambushed them. Slaughtering the ursine. Volibear was the last one standing. Seeing that the fate of his people was sealed, he charged against enemy lines, and men fell, not by tenths, but by hundreds, thousands. At last, the great ursine felt his power leaving him. His body, the mortal shell which nestled a great soul and will, was broken. He fell, and never rose again.
The gem knight sighed, walking down the Iron Spike mountains, looking at the frozen abyss below him. His blue eyes were staring deep into the horizon. After the battle near Colrdirn's pass, Volibear's body was taken by the Avarosans and berried as a war hero. Those responsible of his dead were crushed by the angered peace makers, and so Tryndamere won the war. Although he had a deep wound in his heart, caused by the loss of his beloved queen, he still ruled rightfully. Then they marched against the so called Watchers, whose force was all centered in one thing. Trundle's tribe of trolls. When Trundle fell by the king's hand, Freljord was now Avarosan. They have won.
And just when they were about to leave for their homes, hell poured over them. Noxus, Zaun and Piltover arrived, decapitating them mercilessly. Now, all that remained from the Freljord were the white blankets of snow, which covered the land for eternity. Taric walked down the road, which led to the gates of the lands. They were abandoned and destroyed, burned, covered with blood. The Gem Knight calmly walked through them, expecting to see tracks of war and destruction. But, he was something different. There was a giant graveyard on the inner side of the gate. The stones where thousands.
Taric's eyes started darting from grave to grave, hardly being able to belive that someone would spend so much time in digging graves, except if it was...
"Yorick?" Asked Taric. His voice echoed through the tundra. No one answered it. His eyes narrowed and the Gem Knight walked on the way, a little path between the stones. It led to a small shack, unburned, still standing and probably inhabited. Just then, behind it, was situated a big stone gate. It was the entrance to a stairway, which soon disappeared under the snow. A slim smile appeared on his face, when he understanded that this is the place he needed to go in.
Slowly he walked towards the wooden shack, a bit curious about it. His steps led him to the door, and he knocked. Waiting a few seconds for an answer, he started looking at the furnishings around the door. Nothing unnatural. When no answer came, he knocked a second time, but louder. A muffled groan echoed from the insides of the shack, then footsteps were heard by the gem knihgt. The door slowly creaked open, and a burly man with black hide and long beard appeared in the crack. His eyes were different, for the left was missing, and the right still remained.
Taric felt some kind of recognition in that person, but it didn't seem so, as the brute who stood on the door was fully unknown to the Gem Knight. The man's garments were grew, chain armor, hiding only his legs, while it revealed chiseled abs and scars from many battles. The color of his only eye was really light brown, almost white. A strange thing occured in the following seconds.
The stranger grabbed Taric in a hug and started whimpering about something, although Taric couldn't quite well understand it. A few moments passed like that and finally the man left Taric, but led him into his house. Inside it was cozy, a fire burned in the center, meat hung from a few planks on the ceiling, a bed covered with fur was placed next to the left wall, while the right one had a small table, covered with a large sack. The container was full, as it was understandable from the bulge that occupied it.
The stranger pulled a small chair from under the bed and placed it in front of it, then offered Taric to sit in it. The Gem Knight sat, looking at the man with pure interest. He used his time to look at the little bed like thing next to the big one, where a small bulge curved the cloth which served as a cover for something. The stranger sat on the bed and looked at Taric with happiness the Gem Knight has seen only in people who had accomplished a goal of their life.
"It is you, Taric! I can't belive!" The voice was familiar to the Gem Knight, but he couldn't remember. The man's eyes were shimmering with excitement.
"Sorry, but I don't think I know you..." Started Taric but was interrupted by his laugh. When he stopped, a smile lit his face.
"It is me, Tryndamere!"
Chapter 15
"Try..." The Gem Knight's mouth formed something like and excited grin, but was more surprised. "Tryndamere? How? All that time you spent here... How did you even survive the Institute at first? I- I have so many questions to ask you!" Taric said, grabbing the barbarian king in a tight hug. He felt so happy now.
"Hahahahah... I am happy to see you too! How much time I spent here, all alone! Now I can tell you the story! What happened! How i happened! Ahahahah..." He was laughing, along Taric. Their eyes shone brightly, filled with positive feelings. When they calmed down, Tryndamere sat on the bed and looked in Taric's eyes. The Gem Knight looked at the barbarian, while he started wondering.
"So, let me start telling you the story of my way. My way from the Institute to here...
Tryndamere shouted, seeing the body of his beloved fall on the ground. Dead. His rage was fueled by this, and he turned towards the man who did it.
"DAAARIUS!" His voice echoed through the burning garden. The hand of Noxus turned to him, but was met by a devastating shout, which was mocking him, which was sitting on all he ever achieved, on his whole self. For a moment he felt like he was nothing. Meanwhile, Tryndamere charged against the brute of a man. His blade flew at lightning speeds, slamming into Darius' axe, which he was able to lift just moments before the blade slammed against it.
The weapons clashed. Tryndamere, fueled by his rage landed strikes on Darius, who was still weakened by the mocking shout. The king's blade cut deep into the general's left hand, which was the hand he held his weapon with. A thing to go for, in a lot of battles. But right now, Tryndamere only wanted to inflict more pain to the murderer of his queen. The barbarian knew only hatred and endless rage in that moment, all spewing towards Darius and his prized Noxus.
The hand of Noxus finally got a hang on himself, and started attacking Tryndamere with his own attacks, which had more force than the barbarian, whose attacks just cut. They were not landed with precision, unlike Darius'. The axe started cutting Tryndamere's veins, making him bleed and lose a lot of blood, while the force behind the attacks hit him more and more.
Alas, Darius leaped in the air and brought his axe down, in a beautiful swing, which would instantly kill the barbarian. A cry of agonizing hatred echoed through the Institute. The axe had landed, cleaving through Tryndamere. Where should now be falling a dead body, a living embodiment of hatred cleaved. The barbarian king's endless rage had made him immortal, his so called five second stand.
His blade started cleaving through Darius, cutting and cutting and cutting. The hand of Noxus started trembling, the wounds Tryndamere inflicted to him were monstrous. But then, just then, a thing that both of them didn't expect happened. A ray of blue light, sparkles, started draining from Tryndamere, crippling him. Hamstring his speed. Then, Darius took that as a gift from the gods and spun, the opposite direction to his usual, and stabbed Tryndamere's eye with the back of his eye.
The barbarian king fell to the ground and, seemingly, died. The source of the sparkling syphon was actually a bird. A raven, to be precise. Beatrice, to be the most precise we could be. Then, in came Swain, his long red cloak and robes, half covered by dark armor, adorned with golden trims. His face was hidden beneath a helm, while his hand held a staff. The staff was actually a cane, which looked exotic, just because he was the high general.
Darius nodded to him, and sprinted somewhere, probably to kill more champions. After a little, a cry was heard. They cry was recognized by Tryndamere,who was still alive, but didn't show it with anything. It was Draven, calling the champions who had survived to follow him in a swift retreat. Tryndamere didn't want to follow, but he couldn't do so also. Even if he could, he would be tempted to cut Darius to pieces more than running away like a coward.
A silent voice he heard then. It was the master tactician, talking to someone.
"Well played, Grandmaster, almost outsmarted me. Who knew you were such a tactician..."
"On the next morning I woke up, feeling the pain in my empty eye hole. Sneaking past the few remaining noxians, i made my way back to Freljord. Then... From that moment on, I think you know what happened, and what events occurred." Tryndamere finished his tale, looking at Taric. The Gem Knight was scratching his chin, thinking. He had changed really much since the last time the barbarian king had seen him.
His armor, once blue, was now black. Like ebon darkness. He had replaced the mallet with a sword, instructed with rubies, while his shield was green, covered with emeralds. A hood dropped from the back of his armor, showing that Taric didn't go by without hiding his face. Well, what wasn't hidden by his long brown hair, was hidden under the coul, Tryndamere thought.
Taric's eyes were tracing the whole room, especially interested in the little bed - like object. the barbarian king eyed the Gem knight.
"It is such a tragedy that Ashe or Volibear aren't here anymore...If they could but still be amongst the living..." A tear formed under his only functional eye. He was really sad. His gaze then turned to the knight. "Why did you come Taric? We have nothing left. Abseloutley. Nothing. What could a man like you want?" He asked.
Taric turned to face him. Both his eyes then flew to the door, and an idea formed in his mind.
"Let's go for a walk." He offered while standing up, walking towards the door. Tryndamere followed swiftly, but a bit of insurance was nestled in him. " Tryndamere, do you know what immortality is?" He asked as they walked in the waste. The cold wind didn't affect them, so they walked.
"Yes. It is the state of life where you cannot die..." The barbarian king said. Tarick tchked, and looked to the sky.
"Immortality is a place of the human brain, or just a creature's brain, which is locked to all of us. But, with enough patience and practice, some can, and will unlock it at all costs. Because, immortality protects you forever. You cannot die, cannot leave the world. There are forms of that state, but the most common one is unbeing. You call those who are unbeing, undead. Because they died once, and can't do it again. It is an easy way to enslave your soul in a body, but you pay a prize. You can never feel again. Do you understand?" Taric looked at Tryndamere, who simply nodded. "The second type is rebirth. You have seen it, in the cryptophoenix, Anivia. She is immortal, but also mortal, because she can feel pain, but never can die. Always rise again. The bad parts of this are to feel your body wrecking under the restless assault of time. Speaking of time, Zilean is immortal, but in the most terrifying way one could be. His being is trapped in the fabric of time and he cannot simply die. Even if his body is fully destroyed, he will come again. "
"But there are other types, right? Not only those." Tryndamere interrupted him. Taric nodded and continued.
"Another type of immortality is the pure variant. To achieve that state of immortality, the locked part of one's brain will be broken with force, force caused from the lack of space in one's mind. Xerath, for instance, is one of the few who were able to do this. Your whole life was dedicated to learning, and if you learn new and new things, you can, at one state become a being of just power and arcane energy. It is a state which allows you immortality, and endless amount of power surging through the body you occupy. One of the lesser types of immortality is the bodyswap. It is one of the most unrespected in all worlds, because when on the verge of death, you kill the soul of someone else, and take over his body. Even if it is the opposite gender, you still become accustomed to it. We have seen it in Lissandra, who is a witch. Simply chaotic being which cannot live a life of it's own, needs the bodies of others to feed on. Then again, that is not the only lesser type of immortality." Taric looked at Tryndamere and smiled.
"You, yourself control a type of lesser immortality, which makes you unique. Your inability to die in a battle is a unique gift, which has not been registered in so long that I don't think any mortal could have written it. Other types are of a more wicked state. You remember Zac? He is himself immortal in a way, because to kill Zac, you have to kill every cell which builds his body. When his... Body is exposed to too much damage, it will be blown up, resulting in a temporary disable for him. But it is almost impossible to kill Zac. Also, Aatrox is a case of great interest for me, because his immortality is a new type. One of which I have never met before." At the mention of the name, Tryndamere snarled. It was really easy to recognize that he didn't like the other man who had a type of immortality in himself.
"But do you know why I asked you?" Taric looked at the barbarian king. He lifted his shoulders, showing that he didn't have any idea.
"I asked you, because Volibear might have unlocked that part of the brain."
Chapter 16
"Why is it so dark brother?" The little boy asked, while his brother grabbed him in a tight hug and hid behind the wall. Their parents had went out of the house before one hour, telling them to hide if someone comes. This was not the normal thing to happen, when someone knocked on the door, their dad would usually open it and greet the guest. But, dad and mom were gone now.
The little boy is no older than five winters. His hair is brown, cleaned and combed. His eyes were also brown. He was not high, more like the average height for a five year old. The long fingers on his hands show that he would be a great scriber or musician. His brother is really different though. Dark, un combed hair flows down his back, while his dark eyes glimmer with a feeling he would not experience soon after the events taking place in the house.
After breathing a few times in and out, the older boy releases his brother and walks to the entrance to their house. His hands are quick, adjusting the so - called bomb, which his family had purchased on an auction just a week ago. It should blow in five minutes. Swiftly, the boy leads his brother to their room and lifts the carpet. The little boy is fast in taking his favourite toy - the figurine of a wolf.
The older brother opens a trap door, leading to the ceiling. He pushes the little boy down. The youngling starts descending down the ladder, while his brother went towards the door leading to their bedroom and closes it. Then he enters the basement with the little one and closes the trap door.
It was equally dark in the basement as it was upstairs. The little one prepares to ask again, but his brother started running off towards a little chest in the corner. He opened it and took a purse with gold, which is supposed to be able to sustain their family for ten months. He left the chest open and rushes to a pipe, which will lead them to the river one mile from their house.
The little boy is looking around, unable to understand, but his brother grabs his hand quickly and hauls him in the pipe.
"Come on, fast!" He says, while crawling into the shaft after the little boy. They start slumping towards the other end, which they cannot see, but know is there. A shout is heard, then the door breaks, because the crack was recognizable easily. The duo continue to crawl, while the younger boy doesn't understand what is going on. However, his brother knows.
After what seems an eternity to the smaller boy, he falls in the cold water of the murky river. Good thing they both know how to swim, because if they didn't, the danger they just avoided might have been a better option than drowning. The youngling starts flopping his legs and arms, trying to reach the coast, while his brother falls from the pipe after him.
Reaching the sandy coast, they turn and look at their home. Then, just after that eternity, the younger brother thought, an explosion echoed throughout the area, and the little hut they called home once, exploded.
The younger brother looked at the scene for a few moments, before realizing what actually happened. Tears flooded his eyes. He started crying, because it was normal for a child to cry. Yet, a thing so wicked would have caused anybody to cry.
"Draven..."
The glorious executioner opened his dark eyes, just to witness LeBlanc's beautiful face right above his. Her silky hair was probably tied in a pony - tail fashion, but when she realized he was awake, her lips curved into a smile. She kissed him lightly and sat next to him. Not that they didn't share the bed every night, but she usually got up really early, no matter what they did the previous night.
"What is it?" He asked. Her strange yet beautiful eyes narrowed. Draven got up and started putting the garments he usually wore. One of the privileges of being the 'father' of the camp was the personal hut. While other refugees had to share the huts with six or five more people, he had that one favor of being all by himself, and LeBlanc of course, in their own hut.
"It's that Rengar and Gordoth are waiting for you on the table." Of course, she was talking about the huge stone which was formed in a strange way, much like a table, where they usually met up and solved problems of the kind of security and food.
"What is the purpose?" Damn, I can't belive they got up before me. He thought, because he usually checked on the gates. His lover sighed and drew a hand along his left hand.
"Why always so serious? Can't you just act more like... Like..." She stuttered, searching for a word. Draven knew what she wanted to say.
"Like the older Draven?" She nodded. "He is dead. If I still acted like this, we wouldn't be in the position we are in right now. It would be much, MUCH worse." She was silenced by the answer she earned. LeBlanc knew that it hurted Draven to be so far from his home, he felt as if all the evil in the world had just knocked on his door, and he was unfortunate to open it.
He stocked his axes on his back and walked out of the hut. If someone looked at Draven now, and then remembered him as he was before one year. His hair now flung loose over his back, no longer held by the crown. Actually, he would still be wearing it, if it was not the only thing keeping Teemo's ribcage together. Poor yordle had the bad luck to get into Darius' way, which led to his infamous guillotine. But because of his speed, Teemo was able to dodge the killing blow. Yet, the axe literally splits his ribcage. Good thing that Draven was fast enough to slip the crown around his chest. And, as if a miracle happened, Teemo survived.
Draven's attire was no longer the fancy, strange garment he used in the times of the League. Now it was just a simple coat, fine pants and his old shoes. He never left his shoes. They were special to him, for some reason.
Opening the door, he walked out of their little hut and headed towards the 'table'. Looking around himself, as he usually did, his eyes hovering over the bigger huts which housed other champions. The main area, as they called it, was formed around the stone, with other wooden tables around it, represented the dining area. They all wanted to go back to their homes, yet if they left their cover, the Noxians, Piltoverians and Zaunites would chase them, and probably end their lives.
He made his way to the 'table', where Gordoth's robed figure waited for him. Strange that he couldn't find Rengar. The mentioned tiger placed his paw on the glorious executioner's shoulder.
"Bo." Draven almost jumped in the air. Almost. But his training kicked in and he remained calm.
"Good way to surprise somebody Rengar. Although, I don't recommend doing it here anymore." He replied. Rengar exploded in laugher, while Gordoth smirked.
"I usually leap towards my targets, with weapons aimed at the left side of their neck! You are lucky I just placed my hand on your shoulder!" The tiger managed to explain between bursts of laugher.
"So, what is it?" Draven asked them. Gordoth looked at Rengar, who was still laughing. I don't even understand why is he laughing... Draven thought.
"Rengar made an interesting discovery, which concludes of a blood bath and some recognizable bodies. Also a blood puddle, which reminded him of a really annoying Noxian." The summoner explained, then looked at Rengar. As if allowing him to talk. The hunter coughed and looked at Draven again.
"Vladimir, Lux and a whole Demacian battalion. Dead, in one cavern. Lady Crownguard was the last of the Demacians to reach the second chamber, where a third champion had resided not long ago. It seems that she battled that man and lost. A few months later, Vladimir joined the mass grave. He was beheaded by a man you now one too well. It was Taric. The massacre was Taric's deed. Seems he got quite powerful in that year we haven't seen him..." Rengar told Draven.
The executioner was shocked. Taric? He made the ant's way out of battle, and now? Now he defeated a Demacian battalion? Draven's thoughts raced.
"Where was he?" He asked. Rengar lifted a brow. "Where was Taric when you went there?" Draven repeated his question.
"Pfft. He wasn't there. Left, probably to the Freljord. It is a wasteland there, so no one would look for him. " The pride stalker replied. Draven scratched the back of his head, then sighed.
"Well, that's bad for us. If we had him on our side, we would not have to worry from attacks. Because a man who can defeat a whole battalion would be of use. But... He is gone. Far away, so we won't think about him." The glorious executioner replied.
Chapter 17
Tryndamere laughed a lot. Taric only stared at him, while his eyes were wondering about why he was so... Comfortable at laughing at things that are really important. So, after the barbarian king finished his petty time having fun, Taric was starting daggers at him.
"What is it, Taric? You serious 'bout this?" He asked, while the Gem knight just shook his head, turned his back to Tryndamere and started walking towards the stairway which was covered in snow and ice. The barbarian king stood idly for a moment, then walked after Taric, skipping a bit, probably to keep up to the speed which the Gem Knight was able to move at.
"Yes, of course I am serious. I never mock people. Or creatures." The gem knight replied. Tryndamere nodded and kept walking after him. After a few minutes, the barbarian king got the lead.
A few hours passed, lost in a silence. Tryndamere was always bragging about something, but Taric only listened. Nothing more than silent learning, as he called it later.
"You know... There is someone else in that tomb. Someone who guards it..."
"You talk about that guard as if you fear him." Taric mentioned.
"I fear no human!" Tryndamere snapped. "But... That thing... It just scares me..."
"What is that... Thing? Will you tell me Tryndamere? Because if I know, it will be easier for be me cut it down. Or kill it, if you may." The gem knight offered, stopping himself before a giant snow dune. The barbarian looked at Taric, confusion written all over his face.
"But how are you planning to beat it? It is said that the creature is immortal, that no one can kill it except its creator. And, as far as I know, it killed its creator. " Tryndamere explained. Taric nodded and they kept walking in silence, without knowing anything about that 'thing'. The gem knight kept thinking to himself, wondering if there was actually a champion in the League who was known for such... Achievements.
"Does that thing have a name, Tryndamere?" Asked the gem knight all of a sudden. Tryndamere snapped, turning and staring at Taric for a while. Then, he just sighed and sat on the snow, which was more like ice.
"They called his work a hack - job. Now, they are dead. He kept on becoming stronger and stronger while Noxus and it's allies waged war against all the world. We tried to unite, but couldn't. There were to many things that worried the other tribes, which disabled our ability of becoming a strong nation. Because of this, he kept feeding on the war and destruction we caused to each other. And when there was suffering, he called it a flavor. Then he started doing it. He started attacking us randomly, causing severe wounds to our lands. " He paused. Taric, as interested as he was, sat in front of him and put the question in his eyes. Tryndamere sighed.
"When the ursine were ambushed in the canyon... He knew. He laughed at us, for our inability to be aware. And then I realised, that if we actually had scouts, which was a thing we had to do, we could have known. We could have saved them. But he didn't stop there. One day, he freed himself from the chains and grabbed me. Flying off to the canyon, he showed me. Showed me how Volibear fought against Sejuani's hordes, all alone. One on many. Vultures waited for the broken shell, that once was a body. I saw the ursine, down to one knee. His enemies looked at him, with a smile of victory on their faces. He then looked up. Up to me. I-I saw it all. All of his pain, all of his hatred. I thought he would die then. But, Volibear alone would choose the day, he would become one with the storm." Taric was still captured by the story. He could say that Tryndamere had tears in his eyes.
"He raised hsi front paws in the air, lightning surged forth from the sky and clashed in them. A roar - one I have never heard and will never again hear - echoed that day through the whole of the Freljord. The ice and snow around him started breaking. It literally broke. Splitting, flying up to the sky. This was the moment he was supposed to die. But, when the lightning started raising him, attempted to make him one with the storm... He looked down. And with a loud cry, fell screaming from the seat of lightning. That day, I was truly afraid. Afraid for the only moment in my life. Because those screams were not meant for mortal ears! They were consuming, shocking, attempting to devour one's soul!" Taric started thinking about what such thing could cause so much fear in the heart of the only one who did not fear no man.
"His hands were covered with remains of the strom's embrace, his armor was shattered by the strength of the words. His eyes were never the same. Pure lightning emitted from his once calm, azure eyes. Then, the Winter's Claw was destroyed. Almost. He was on a rampage, mauling everything, cutting through armor, shields and such. It was horrific. i never thought anyone could muster such power. The Champions of the Winter's Claw attempted to stop him. Gragas, Sejuani, Udyr, Olaf... They were all doomed. The might of Lokfaar was not enough to stop this... This thing! His lightning leaped back at him, forcing the warrior to fight with his axes, but they could do Volibear no harm, as the Storm protected him as it's child. The battle ended as fast as it started. The only survivors of the Winter's Claw champions were Sejuani and Olaf, but the latest was at the brink of death."
"Why are you telling me all of this? Why don't you just tell me the name of the 'thing', and we will be done." Taric interrupted him. As much as he trusted Tryndamere, he didn't belive him entirely. He had seen all of those champions in battle, he knew that if this was true, the League would have been in a lot of trouble maintaining these powers. He started questioning Tryndamere's sanity, when all of a sudden his shoulders were grabbed and shaken wildly. When the barbarian was done, the gem knight was left dizzy.
"I am telling you this, because you have to know it! If you don't, you wouldn't be able to understand. You see, the 'thing' was barely holding me in the air when we left the castle, and by the middle of all this he was already flying freely, as if I wasn't there! He drains the whole being of war! It powers him! When he returned me, he waited until I put the chains back and powered them with Ashe's crystal material. The same she used to create her Enchanted crystal arrows she used on the field. When he saw it, he laughed and asked if he really thought that this would hold him. I believed him it wouldn't. " Taric started understating about whom Tryndamere was talking about. It was truly going to be a worthy opponent.
"The next day I retrieved Volibear's body, ordered my men to clear space in the crypts and placed him in the best coffin we had. Of course, after the one which... Ashe occupied... Then the 'thing' volunteered to become the guard of the tomb. I thought. I really thought for a long time. And I had to agree, if he would guard the tomb, no one would be able to leave it. This thing wanted to be safe, while I lost my people in the wars. He was going to become more and more empowered in the battles that I would lead. He is the aspect of war. " Taric knew who was that one.
"He is Aatrox."
Chapter 18
"Aatrox? Wasn't he free to go wherever he wanted?" Taric asked. He was a bit surprised to learn that it was Aatrox who scared Tryndamere. After all, the barbarian had faced off against the daemon a few times, and was able to achieve victory. A few times though. Being the man he was, Tryndamere had almost no chances versus the aspect of war, because of Aatrox' ability to steal from his opponent's vitality, which made him a master of surviving close calls. His blood well was also a task to overcome.
"He was, until we faced off in a battle situated on my lands. He challenged me, telling that he was superior. Happily, there was no war then, and when we fought, it was clear that I had the upper hand. He lost, and was forced to become a slave of mine for ten years. And he became a slave. I was surprised that he didn't run off as fast as Ashe died, but he said he was true to his word. That he held to his honor. When the ursine were ambushed, he became incredibly powerful. The pain he inflicted to me in a duel we had was immense. Just one strike, and I was to my knees. But he didn't attempt to take my life, for he was truly a honorable man. Or thing..." Tryndamere explained. It was truly an interesting thing.
Taric stood up and dusted his knees off. Extending his hand to the barbarian king, he offered him help to stand up. Tryndamere gladly accepted it.
"Come, let's find the tomb and see if Aatrox is going to be a challenge to me." Said the gem knight and waited, so Tryndamere could take the lead. After an hour, they reached a grim visage.
The once proud and high castle of the Avarosans was spilled all over the snow, some parts covered by it, others not so much. But one thing was visible. A giant hole in the ground, which emitted an orange glow. They walked slowly towards it, their eyes tracing their surroundings. Well, at least Taric did so. His eyes scanned the whole area, and using some of his magic, he was able to detect only one source of life - from the hole.
They entered, Tarc leading now. His blade was unsheathed, his shield at the ready. When they started descending the stairway, he was surprised to find out that a fire was in the middle of it, and the all too familiar figure of the aspect of war slept next to it. His body looked unusually fragile in the dim light of the camp fire. At least that is how he looked without the blade which he usually wielded with him. Now, it rested next to the wall. When Tryndamere made another step, it sounded painfully loud.
That is when the blade flew to Aatrox' open hand, who leaped at lightning speed towards Taric. Blocking the blow with his shield, the gem knight tried to counter attack, but the aspect was too fast for him. Twisting his body in an unnatural way, Aatrox attempted to hit him again. Yet the gems did their job, disabling almost all of his power, which resulted in a simple poke for the knight to feel. Another attempt, but Taric was able to move his sword on the way of the strange weapon Aatrox used. Thinking he would be able to counter attack after this, the gem knight threw all of his strength in a meeting the blade with the lower part of his sword, planning on making Aatrox' weapon to slide down, allowing Taric to make a wide swing which could turn the battle in his favor.
That was a mistake, he understanded a second later. The third strike of Aatrox' attacks was always enchanted with so much more power, that it was almost painful to block. Happily, Taric's strength only srved good for the knight, allowing him to take the blow without falling back.
Aatrox leaped a few feet backwards, inspecting his opponent. Taric did the same, and also tried to remember a few things of the fighting style which the aspect used. Then, he remembered. If he was able to dazzle his opponent, the battle will end. But sadly, Aatrox probably knew of his own weaknesses and tried to keep his distance.
Making a beautiful rainbow with his sword, two slashes, mimicked by power which erupted from the blade, flew towards Taric. He couldn't block them, so they hit him hard. He hardly acknowledged them, because the emeralds under his breast plate started working hard on restoring his strength. They circled each other, waiting for a mistake in the other's movement.
"Taric, I couldn't recognize you!" Aatrox said, a sadistic grin on his face. "Hardly anyone can recognize you without that pink armor..." The aspect explodes in laugher. It was really easy to understand that he was mocking Taric. Trying to make him lose his control. To make the wrong move. But Taric knew better. He kept circling.
"Wait, why aren't you wearing the pink armor again? Don't tell me, Ezreal doesn't like it anymore!" More laugher and teasing. Taric was thinking. Hardly, he couldn't zone the warrior. But if he made Aatrox think that his control was slipping away... Yes! That was it. He was going to trick Aatrox into attacking, getting closer to the gem knight so he could make it quick and painful.
A grin of anger and hatred appeared on his face, fully fake. A silent roar grinded up against his throat. Aatrox lost the smile and focused again. Taric got him in the trap. Making a step forth, the gem knight made a movement that was enough to throw Aatrox at him.
"Got'cha!" Was all Taric said before mauling the aspect's head with the shield. Aatrox' face was almost blown away, fully covered in blood. His jaw and nose broke instantly.
Taric was swift. Making gems to appear out of thin air, he reformed his sword into the trademark hammer. Mauling the earth, he cracked it. This sent forth a pulse of clean power, which almost got Aatrox down to his face, while it empowered Taric greatly. The gem knight's weapon flew towards Aatrox' right shoulder, crushing it with force rivaled only by Darius' guillotine.
A cry of agony shook the tomb. Aatrox was screaming, all of his honor gone. He was now just like a little girl, which had cut its fingers. But Taric wasn't over yet. Ordering the crystal which had surrounded him to shatter, he sent forth hundreds of shards which stabbed the aspect more than sixty - seventy times. Aatrox fell to the ground, attempting to rise again, but his knees were shattered to dust by the power of Taric's mighty blows.
It was over. The gem knight had won. It was as he predicted. Only one stun was enough to get Aatrox out of the way. Taric took a deep breath and sighed. Tryndamre looked as if he was slapped with a wet pice of cloth.
All of a sudden, a red light surrounded Aatrox. He rose to his knees which had started healing, then fully stood up. The sword flew right to his hand. The image of his face was not a sight anyone would be eager to see, but anger was clear on it. Lifting his sword in the air, he screamed.
"WITNESS TRUE POWER!" Which was followed by instant infliction of pain to Taric. Aatrox leaped in the air and started flying, while the sword in his hand became a blur of red and black. The gem knight was defenceless. Aatrox' blows were filled with hatred, and were sent with one only purpose. To kill. Taric knew that he still had the edge, but was pushed off of it really quickly. The knight wasn't going to die, that was for sure. But he might have just lost that battle, forgetting about the ability of Aatrox to leave death staring at him with eyes filled with surprise.
Then, as fast as he had risen in the air, Aatrox fell to the ground. A huge blade was poking out of his back, situated right at the point where his heart was. Probably. Tryndamere looked at Aatrox, who was coughing his own blood. He was actually drowning in it.
"Tryndamere..." He managed to whisper between his coughs. "...My greatest... Creation!" Those were his last words. He kept coughing for about a minute, and didn't seem to be going anywhere with his death, so the barbarian took his sword out of the aspect and with one swift motion he cut his head off. It bounced a little before falling still on the ground. Someone would have found this fun, but for Taric it was tragic.
"I-I will go to the other part of the crypt. There are two. The left is Volibears, and the right is... You probably can understand by yourself." Tryndamere whispered. He slowly stuttered towards the right entrance. Taric looked at the man, who had lost everything after gaining the ultimate peace. That man was a picture of pure sorrow. He didn't even take his sword from the ground, where it had fallen. His head was down, while his shoulders were lowered to a level Taric couldn't say was possible.
He noticed that the garments he wore were his royal ones. Not the usual hide skirt. Those were the blue and white robes of the king of the Freljord. He only listened now. Taric only listened, although he knew what was going to happen. And there it was, the screech from an opening sarcophagus. Then the heavy footsteps of a man jumping over something. And at last, the sarcophagus closed, devouring Tryndamere and his love...
Forever.
Chapter 19
Jax fell to his knees, feeling how his heart was trying to break free from his ribcage. Irelia fell on her back next to him and started gulping the air hungrily. Lee simply stopped running and looked around. It was probably the most brutal thing Jax had ever done. Running for three days and nights without rest through the Ironspike mountains, after fighting with Noxians and the Piltoverians.
The armmaster attempted to calm himself down, to breathe slowly and deeply, yet he wasn't able to do so. They would have to wait so Jax and Irelia could get to their senses. About ten minutes passed.
Irelia stood up, dusted herself off and extended an arm for Jax. He took it gratefully and stood up, looking towards Lee Sin. He was casually standing in the middle of the clearing which they have reached.
"Lee, let's go." Jax said, after coughing a few times to clear his throat. They haven't been allowed to drink nor to eat for all those days, and it was reaching them. Thirst, hunger. Not to talk about exhaustion. Their escape through Piltover was not as challenging as they thought it would be. After the battle with Zac they had a few encounters with police parties, but they were not a challenge.
But their fear of standing against Jace and Vi was spoken of. The enforcer was brutal in her work, so they were worried about doing anything. Also knowing that Jayce was going to be there to help her didn't make any difference in their situation. Three exhausted and injured warriors versus two fully rested and in excellent condition was not fair. Not at all. Although, no one knew how Lee Sin fared. He didn't even sweat in their marathon through the Ironspike.
They started walking, headed towards the Institute, but their plans were only to pass there. Tell Brand hello, then go somewhere else. Jax still didn't know where to go. It was a hard decision, knowing that all the friendly settlements and city states were destroyed, but he still thought on going to Demacia. At least to see what had happened. But what if they went to the Freljord...
His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp object burrowing deep into his left side. He grunted, which got the attention of both his companions. Irelia rushed to his aid, while Lee started scouting the area.
Jax pulled the object, which was a golden shuriken. Only one person used that kind of weapon in all of Valoran. Of course, only one person he knew. Another one flew from the nearby bushes, that time towards his head. His axe flew towards it, but something else got to the strange throwable object first. Lee Sin's hand grabbed it. The monk spun and threw it in the direction from where it came.
"Run." He whispered. At first it didn't seem like either Irelia or Jax had been able to hear him, but the expressions on their faces changed a few moments after.
"What?! If we split up -" Irelia started.
"Run." Lee repeated. The will of the blades was eager to keep talking, to understand why he wanted to leave them, but Jax pulled her towards him and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened and she started struggling, her blades becoming aware of her emotions. Jax pulled her behind Lee and lifted her over his shoulder. He started jogging, after a silent 'good luck' towards the blind monk.
Lee nodded slightly and looked towards the bush where he threw the shuriken. Irelia looked at him as he took a battle ready position, his left hand behind his back, while the right was extended forward. He was going to fight them alone.
When Jax and Irelia disappeared behind the trees, Lee kept his stance. The battle would be harsh, probably ending with his defeat. But he had the hourglass. A lot of people thought that Zhonya was a mage. But in truth she was the only feminine monk in all of Ionia. To hide her weak skin behind something was going to be hard, because monks usually relayed on their will to keep their skin hard as an armor.
Being a woman was not a good thing, because it was almost impossible to keep your will iron, yet she created an object which allowed her to become invulnerable, her skin harder than steel. It was the hourglass. When she used it for the only time in her life, she became invincible. Yet, the hourglass was wicked in one way. It was going to slowly but surely start to turn the user's body into the golden statue, which it had been becoming with the uses of the hourglass.
Zhonya understanded that too late, when her lungs had started becoming pure gold, along with her heart. When she was able to turn back into her usual self, she didn't lose the golden light of her skin. But she lost her life, because taking the hourglass as a gift was wrong. It was counted as a sin by some, yet it was not. On the fields, the hourglass had become a famous tool for surviving close calls. Yet, he had obtained the original, which didn't create a stasis, and could be used as long as one wished.
But he knew the Kinkou had a team spirit, being almost unbeatable in fights involving a full team. They had been the sole party which hated him for what he was. No one else hired such a hatred for somebody, as the Kinkou hated him. They had left Ionia after a failed attempt to kill him, which was a bad sign for the future of the islands.
A smoke screen started forming around him. He knew that it was only supposed to weaken him, yet he was already blind and they couldn't hide in the shadows from him. He felt Akali's presence in front of him, then the little ninja and at last The eye of Twilight.
"Monk. Turn yourself in, so you do not die. You will live as long as you do what ever we tell you." Shen ordered. Lee shook his head slowly. The trio understood what that meant. Feeling the shuriken, short scythe and sword flying towards him, he allowed them to hit him. This allowed him to dash towards Kenen with the speed which the yordle could hardly beat.
Meeting the short creature with his fist, pointed towards his forehead. Kenen attempted to escape, but Lee Sin's fist made contact with the yordle's head and blew him a few feet backwards. Clapping his hands together, the monk hit the ground and a circle of psy energy flew from his hand. It hit Kenen again, shattering his jaw.
The short ninja was already at the brink of death, because he knew only Shen had durability from the three. The sharp side of Akali's weapon stabbed his shoulder, making him grunt, but his will didn't allow him to fall downwards. The scythe was usually followed by a kick, so he prepared to grab her leg and twist it.
He was right that she would attempt to kick him, but he was wrong. Shen dived towards him, cutting his chest, then stabbing his left hand, which allowed Akali to dive freely against him and kick the air out of his stomach. He flew a little backwards, but fell on his feet.
Akali held her weapons at the ready, while Shen looked at Lee with a mixed feeling. Of course, the monk couldn't see it.
"Monk, surrender now, or be destroyed!" He ordered. Lee smiled to himself.
"You want to give me to the Noxians? Well..." He started. The psy wave already flying from his hand and blasting in Akali's chest. Shen had anticipated it, as Lee knew he would. The shield around the woman started forming.
"I will give you..." He dashed, his leg pointed towards her chest. Shen was going to appear there, as he knew. Gold started covering his entire body, while fire burned around his feet. The eye of Twilight appeared in front of Akali, enforcing the shield around her with one of his own.
"A GOLDEN KICK!" Both shields shattered, while his leg reached Shen's chest. The fire devoured the ninja's skin and cloth. Akali flew backwards, jumping off of Shen's back.
Smoke flew all around the monk and the ninja. The feminine member of the trio looked with wide eyes. Waiting for the smoke to clear, she readied her weapons instinctively.
Lee Sin's right leg pointed through Shen's chest, the ninja's hands hung lifelessly down his body. The monk was entireley golden, a little dirty - golden, yet truly made from the metal. Akali's eyes were wide. Shaking the body off his leg, the monk turned towards her.
"Akali..." In a raspy and cryptic tone he said. He started walking towards her, with swift steps. She couldn't move. That thing got her off guard. A shout, almost childish sounding echoed through the valley. Kennen sped towards Lee, his body devoured by lightning. The monk felt the same thunder and lightning on himself, yet very distant. It was barely able to tickle him. He of course felt dazzled and stunned at first.
But after that feeling disappeared, he dashed to Kenen and swiftly hit his throat. The yordle froze and looked at Lee Sin's hand, which had been enough to cut it. The life left Kenen swiftly. He fell to the gorund, dead.
The monk turned to Akali once again. She was trained for everything. Yet this... This was monstrous. The monk was invulnerable, they couldn't harm him. She was still unable to move, because fear overtook her. No, fear was a weak word to describe what she felt. Akali was terrified.
Lee Sin started stuttering towards her. Slowly, almost painfully he walked slowly, his hands waving with the shakes of his body.
He finally reached her. Extending his hand, the monk tried to lift it on a level with her throat, but he wasn't able. Damn it... I won't be able to finish it... He thought to himself. Feeling his strength fading as fast as the light, he whispered something in Akali's ear.
Her eyes were still wide when he fell over her, covering her entire body with his. Strangely, his body remained almost weightless, even though he was a golden man now.
A dead golden man.
Chapter 20
Irelia was weeping. It was understandable, she was the last Ionian now. Although Jax didn't belive Lee was dead, he knew that it was almost impossible to remain alive after a battle versus three of the best Ionia had to offer. And yet, he had defeated Sion and Singed all by himself, why not defeat Akali, Shen and Kenen?
As much as he wished it was true, he knew that Lee was not alive anymore. The blind monk sacrificed his life to save theirs, so he planned on saving themselves. He was moving as fast as he could, towards the Institute. What was left of the Institute, at least. Brand will be welcoming, he knew. The burning vengance was no longer the creature which enjoyed killing things.
He was going to ask him a few things. First of all, where were the summoners. That as one of the things which troubled Jax the most. How could have all of the summoners disappeared in a second? This was more than strange. But Brand knew something about it. He said that both he and Fiddlesticks were hired to get rid of them.
Second was the question of where could they find refugee. He had already tried to go to Ionia, but immediately after he reached it the attack was situated. Jax didn't think that would offer them to stay with him.
And at last he would ask where did those who run with Draven go. If he was able to go with them, to find them, he would not have to worry about anything. But he had to find them first, which was not going to be an easy task. For they were refugees. They had to hide, in order to survive. If they were to be revealed, Noxus would send their troops and kill them, even though they were champions.
But then he thought that if they don't eat soon, they wouldn't be able to survive, or at least get close enough to the Institute grounds. But they also had to drink. They were hardly able to say a word before starting to cough. So, he kept jogging, although it was painful to him of sorts.
After half an hour, he heard the silent rumble of a river. Increasing his speed, he reached it and sighed in relief. It was just a pond, but a pond with clear water. Jax walked to a tree and left Irelia on in, the gentlest he could. She was sleeping. He descended to the level of the water and started drinking. The cold liquid felt as a health potion in the Rift. Refreshing him, giving him strength. The only thing it didn't do was to close his wounds. But that was too much to want.
After a good one minute of drinking, he finally separated from the water and decided to prepare a camp fire for a potential meal. But just as he was going to leave the little pond, he suddenly realized that if Irelia woke up before he was back, she would be shocked with his disappearance. Thinking a little, he scribed with his axe's hilt a few words on the soft ground and left.
A soft smell reached her nostrils. It smelled like cooked rabbits, although without the usual flavors of Ionian herbs. She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by a camp fire. Next to it stood Jax, who was preparing two toasted rabbits to eat. She crawled next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.
It was already dark and cold, but the fire and Jax' temperature warmed her, making her feel cozy. Jax offered her one of the rabbits. She smiled and bit the warm food. It was tasty, but she thought everything was going to be tasty at her level of hunger.
"Rabbit on a stick! Made by Jax, only for ten gold coins!" The armmaster joked. Irelia laughed softly, but then felt her throat burning. She was thirsty.
"There is a pond over there. You should drink some, because your throat must burn." He offered her. She nodded, but kept chewing the meat on the stick. He nodded and continued eating.
After they finished their meals and she drank water, Jax hugged Irelia and started looking at the sky.
"Irie, you know, why don't we go to the ruins of Demacia? No one would look for us there. I think that if we go to Demacia we could get some rest, and then probably start searching for the refugees Draven led out of the Institute." Jax offered. She sighed, yet nodded.
"But we are going to visit the Institute's remains first, right? You said Brand was there. He can offer us shelter, right?" She asked. Jax sighed.
"You don't know what is his house. It is only a hut, with a simple bed. Nothing more. We can go, to tell him hello, but what will we do after this? I mean, if we go to Demacia there won't be any shelter, because the Noxians probably burned the city to the ground." He explained. He thought about their situation. At first he was alone. Then, a whole nation took him in. The nation was exterminated, and only two were left with him. Now, only they remained.
"We have to sleep now. Come on, it won't hurt, will it?" He offered, a smirk beneath his mask. Irelia nodded and closed her eyes. She seemed to have no problem sleeping in his embrace.
--
The beast was on the hunt. While a lot of beasts hunted together, he was alone. He prefered being alone, because no one was in his way. So the beast was on his way, to hunt for his prey. Those who he was hunting were not far, he could tell. But their stench came over the mountains, and closing to the wastelands. It was going to be easier if he allowed them to reach the waste, because it was only fun if they ran.
A wicked smile curved the lips of the beast. His sharp teeth reflected some of the moon light, creating a spectral image of a wolf. The red eyes were much better than human, although they had once been such. Those days were wretched for the beast, for now he was free, feeling nor exhaustion nor hunger. Well, at least much weaker than when he was a man.
The beast sniffs the air, and an intoxicating stench fills his nostrils. The metallic aroma of blood is sprayed all around him. Looking around, he beholds a scene which would make a lot of human beings to wince. It just brings a smile to his lips. Three figures lay scattered on the clearing in the woods, the grass stained with the liquid which led him there. The beast kneels next to the closest body, and sees a man he did not expect to see. The blind monk was turned to the side, and he looked as if in a deep sleep. Although he was dead.
The other two forms were not so clear to recognize, but the beast was able to remember the stench of almost everyone. And everything. Those two were from the Knikou, counted as the best in their job. If they failed, he was called. The beast smirked. There was always a good feeling in a challenge. That meant the prey was strong enough. But he wondered, if two of those ninjas were slain by only one, why didn't all of the wanted stay and kill them all. At least they wouldn't have lost one member. The only solution was that they were injured and at the brink of collapse.
Because the beast knew both the survivors, he knew their weaknesses. And being injured was not one of them. But then he wondered where did the third ninja go, because if she wasn't dead, then why didn't she continue the hunt. He knew very well of her capabilities, and knew that she had the chance of capturing them. But aborting a possible mission was something strange. Did she sunder under the destruction of her allies? No. He didn't think so. Something had made her quit, and maybe even turn her back at those who put the quest on her squad.
Maybe she had betrayed them? Oh, nothing was sweeter than fighting other hunters. Killing her would make an excellent increase in his status... Why not. He smiled at his own thoughts and kept sniffing. Soon, he captured the stench of the third member of the squad. He was going to create a beautiful blood pile. Oh, not only a blood pile. Maybe even a gory puddle.
The hunter felt the chill in the air. For quite some time there was that chill. He couldn't say where it came from, but when he searched of answers, he saw only well hidden prints. Prints from hooves. There were two options. Either there was a rider following him all too well, or it was those celestial centaurs. He shivered at the thought of celestial beings, for it reminded him of a dead one...
The Blood Hunter shook his head and started walking in the direction of the third ninja. He was going to see to why she abandoned the quest.
Chapter 21
Rengar looked at the stones of the canyon. What a strange place was that, actually. It had all the kinds of things an army would need. Weapons. Armor. Even a few staves. But nothing to his liking, he knew. Only one thing was going to tempt him into coming here. And it had been able to tempt him into coming.
Draven and Gordoth had both asked him to go and search for Taric. Well, part of this was his own wish. He wanted to go out and feel the thrill of the hunt again. But sadly a few times he had to do things he didn't like. The plague jungles were one of those things.
He had, of course, already ventured there before, but now it was different. The dead were restless and it was quite a challenge to pass unseen. Although they had felt the warmth of life, they were not able to find him, because of his skills in the area of stealth. After a good while in evading groups of undead that were tempted in searching for him, he was able to reach the relative safety of the mountain pass. There, he had been once again been able to find the gem knight's stench. So now he was on his way to Northern Valoran.
The remnants of mighty armies were scattered all around the pass. It was really interesting, to see all those new armor styles, weapons and more tools of war. His eyes traced the borders of the horizon.
He saw a creature that was not supposed to be here. It was a green mantis, walking calmly through the rocky waste. Rengar placed his paw two feet from the insect. The mantis started climbing the hunter's limb, until he lifted it. Then, the creature stopped. Rengar looked at it with the usual interest which he showed towards that kind of insects. On the fields he had learned a lot of ways to dismember a mantis, yet all those which he saw were nothing more than defenceless creatures. Compared to the bug he wanted to smash.
It as the Voidreaver. Kha'Zix. That creature, that bug which was nothing more than the next tropfy. Oh, how much he wanted to dismember it once again, then to skin his pelt and place it on his necklace. The stupid bug was going to die one day, but it was sadly not going to be today. Rengar looked at the forest before him. He was happy that the rocky waste he was in was going to be replaced by a much more pleasant view. Or at least area.
After leaving the mantis on a leaf, he started jogging towards a tree. This was one of his favourite things to do. Climbing the tree, he reached one of the higher branches, he prepared himself on it. His legs twitched and he leaped from it. After flying a few feet from the tree, he landed on another one. Repeating that, he continued to move from tree to tree.
This was a thing he liked doing. But when something stabbed his left leg, he lost his footing and started falling down. Grabbing a branch, he was able to soften his fall, and landed on his feet. Looking around, he didn't see anything which could be of danger for him, then proceeded to inspect his leg. The object which had stabbed his limb was a spike. A really familiar, vorpal spike.
He spat on the grass and focused. His body started shifting under the strength of his focus, and golden light consumed it, creating a stealth for the pridestalker. Instantly, he felt how his senses were honned, and the figure of a creature he hated from the depths of his stomach.
The mantis was in it's active camouflage, the giant claws on its hands pointed towards the ground. The little wings on his back were twitching now and then, anticipating the moment to leap against its prey. And, at last, the spikes on its shoulders were rapidly increasing in size. Rengar smiled. In that moment the bug was in a bad position, because it didn't know where he was, while he could feel even the slightest move of a bee from one hundred feet.
Crouching close to the ground, he prepared. Sustaining the need to roar at the moment he leaped, the hunter left the ground and flew a few feet, towards the bug. His blades made contact with the neck of the voidreaver, and it leaped as fast as it could, but the bolla which flew from Rengar's hand was swift in catching it. The wings of the stupid bug were now useless.
Cursing under his breath that he had not been able to rip off the mantis' head, Rengar stood up and looked at his nemesis. Kha'Zix shook his head and stared daggers at the pridestalker. A sly smile curved his lips when a blood trickle run down the bug's throat. He knew that he was at the advantage.
The Hunt was on. Kha'Zix started to circle Rengar. The pridestalker smiled.
"What is it, Bug? Not so brave now, are we?" Rengar teased. The voidreaver ran towards the pridestalker and they crossed their blades. Kha'Zix swung fast and hit his opponent's shoulder. Rengar roared, stabbing the bug's left limb.
A shredding sound rose from the depths of Kha's throat, and his eyes widened. Swinging the claws of his hands, he attempted to stab Rengar's chest, but the hunter sidestepped and threw another bolla at the mantis. The tool tied around the voidreaver's legs and he fell to the ground.
Rengar laughed, this was the moment he expected for the time he had been an enemy to the useless creature. Making a wide rainbow with his weapon, Rengar removed Kha'Zix' left limb. Screaming in agony, the mantis disappeared. Smirking, the pridestalker looked at the blood trail which the voidreaver left. He saw the bollas falling on the ground, releasing the creature.
The pridestalker leaped right, just in time to dodge the claws which flew towards his head. Not loosing any time, he stabbed the mantis in the chest. Kha'Zix gave a heave, but three spikes flew from his shoulders towards Rengar. The hunter wasn't fast enought and the shots didn't miss. Stabbing his shoulder, paw and leg, the mantis was able to nearly take an edge in the battle.
Rengar leaped towards the bug, who was unprepared and they both fell to the ground. The hunter spat in Kha's face and started mauling it. Breaking a little of the chitin shell on his head, Rengar was pushed back by the voidreaver's legs. He lost his footing and fell on his back, but rolled over fast enough to avoid a stab which could be fatal.
The bug stabbed his stomach, savoring in the blood which flew from it. Rengar spat once again, grunted and swung the huge knife in his hand, beheading the mantis. The lifeless chitin shielded body fell on the grass, covering it with blood. Rengar breathed deeply, and sighed. He kneeled and discarded a bag from his belt.
It contained bandages and some healing potions, which he was able to get his hands on in the grand escape from the Institute. He swiftly covered his wounds with the cloth and drank one of the pots. He took his skinning knife out from another satchel, he went to the corpse and carefully discarded the pelt of the slain mantis. He then took his amulet off and placed it on the ground. All the bones and teeth on it were then covered with the pelt. Rengar took the necklace and tied it around his neck. He was the winner.
Spitting on the body of Kha'Zix, Rengar left, walking in the direction of the Freljord. There he was going to fulfill his task.
Chapter 22
The arm master watched the walls of the Institute. This was what he was in wait for. Returning back to the place where it all started was one of the things he needed. But after a talk with Irelia, he had decided that it would be better to keep their pace, and just go by. Asking Brand the question they would have to was not going to be short, so they have increased their speed, in order to be on their way to Demacia before night fell over the earth.
He leaped to the broken wall and extended a hand for Irelia, who took it and leaped down. Jax followed her, jumping back into the timeless void. They passed the statues, which were able to capture Irelia's attention, but she was quick with disabling her interest towards them. After all, the grandmaster had told her.
When they reached the hut, Brand was already waiting for them, a smile on his face. He was standing in front of a table with three chairs.
"Jax, how are you! I didn't expect to see you again! And I see you brought friends. How are you Irelia, nice to see you after two weeks!" He greeted them, shaking hands with the couple and inviting them to sit on the table. Jax sat on the left side, Irelia was situated next to him. Brand sat in front of them, smiling as he was smiling the day he discovered Jax.
"Why did you come back here? Did something happen? Did you defeat the Noxians all by yourself? I wonder how did they react when they saw one man alone against their armies, and how you ravaged-"
"Sadly, that is not the reason why we have come. Brand, the Noxians are now the rulers of Valoran. I don't know if any land is still holding, but against their power we are nothing. Just flies. They captured me the second i left your home, and was a gladiator for a few weeks after that. I had to kill Yi in order to survive, but then the masters of Wuju forced me to go to Ionia and place his body in the temple of his art. Then, just when I thought it was almost over, Noxus and its allies attacked Ionia. Only me, Irelia and Lee got away. But on our way here Lee had to stop the Kinkou from killing us, and he sacrificed himself for our well-being. And so we came here, with a few questions and on our way to Demacia. Will you answer my questions?" Jax interrupted him. Brand's smile was replaced by a serious expression.
"Fine. I knew that one day someone was going to ask me. To come and ask what happened that day exactly. I know you are going to ask me what happened with the summoners." Brand said. Jax nodded. He wasn't surprised.
"The summoners... It was worse than the case with the champions. We sealed the gates and woke them up. The plan was simple. Scare them off to the main chamber, close the doors and kill them all. Of course, we were five. Me, Fiddle, Nocturne, Cho'Gath and Renekton. When they woke up, the Noxians attacked. This was a bit off plan, because some of the senior summoners started teleporting away. Well, at least attempted to do so. We dispatched them first, then Fiddle was supposed to fear the rest off. That is when another part of the plan went wrong. Some decided to fight, and so Renekton and Cho'Gath were out of the way. They stayed to fight the rebellious, while the three of us led the horrified ones in the chamber. Just when we were about to start, the titans came in and started cleaving with us. When all the summoners were dead, the five of us had a share of laughs. We thought that it was now over." He paused.
"But it wasn't, right?" Irelia broke the silence. Brand laughed for a little.
"Damn, if it was over I was not going to be here. But then he came. That summoner. He was not the great one, because the latest was out fighting the Noxians. That one was the least concern for us until that moment. He appeared out of nowhere and beheaded Renekton in a swift swing with his sword. The four of us started throwing spells against him, but his magic was much stronger than ours. Nocturne decided to go in and attack him. At first it looked like the summoner was going to break, but then all of a sudden the eternal nightmare fell to the ground, screaming in horror. I was scared there. But, Cho'gath wasn't. His teeth dug deep into the summoner's flesh, tearing a lot from his left hand. Which disabled his spells, allowing me and Fiddle to start hitting him. What he did then was amazingly... Clever, to say the least. He spun in a way which made us throw spells at Cho'Gath's back, weakening the beast. A swift thrust of his sword and the summoner killed the terror of the void. " Brand paused again. It was a bit annoying.
"Wait, Renekton is a demi-god, isn't he? Then how could he die? Weren't gods and demi - gods immortal?" Jax asked. Brand nodded.
"Yes, you have a bit of sense in your words. Yet Renekton was not a demi-god in full strength. His madness had consumed a lot of his power. He had been mortal that whole time. So, when Cho'Gath fell to the cold marble of the Institute, the summoner looked at us. His long black hair covered a bit of his face, but I saw those eyes. Do you remember any summoners with unique eyes? Both of you?" He asked. Irelia nodded. Jax thought a little, because a lot of summoners had summoned him, but most of them had normal eyes. Most of them. He nodded.
"That summoner, The last summoner, was Gordoth. Seeing it with my own eyes made me think that it was possible in fact, because he had made a feature in battles. The duels between summoners, because he was called weak by others. After the dueling feature was introduced, he challenged half of the Institute and defeated them with ease. It is true, that if someone was destined to be the last summoner, it is Gordoth. He was known for sparring with the duelist and Tryndamere. Sometimes he even achieved victory in those sparring matches he led with those two champions. If there is any hope for the defeat of Noxus, Gordoth will have his role in this. I know it." Brand finished. Irelia looked surprised, but Jax only narrowed his eyes. It seemed that there was still a summoner.
"I need to ask you one more thing, Brand." He told the coal man. The burning vengeance nodded, his eyes narrowed as much as Jax'.
"Where did Draven go?" He asked. Brand sighed.
"Draven has removed himself and those who went with him from the map. He is invisible. A phantom. His refugee camp is a legend amongst those who survived, and who did not go with the Noxians. It is said that he left the world long ago, only to create a safe heaven for those who wanted it. Across the misty mountains, through deep dungeons and burning desserts. He led the survivors to a safe heaven in the Kumingu jungle, but no one knows. I do not. But if you want to find them, you will have to face the plague jungles. This is a thing no one wants to do, because the dead have been recently rising from their graves. It is in fact a dangerous task." The burning vengeance explained. A really different expression was plastered on his face, one of worry and thought.
"But you will leave now... Go there, or continue your road to Demacia. Sadly, you are not welcome here anymore... Not anymore..." Jax and Irelia stood up and started walking.
Brand had sent them off, away from all that connected them to the past.
Chapter 23
The inn was full of people, drinking and talking loudly about their own affairs. They had swords, crossbows and axes on their backs, while their mugs were always full of the liquid. A short man, who could be said to be a yordle walked around, serving the drinks.
The short person walked to another man, that one laying on the floor, resting his back against the wall. He looked almost as if he was dead, but the smoking pipe in his left hand didn't prove that idea. The stranger had black hair, reaching to his shoulders. He had a metallic carapace, covering most of his body, except his head and face. It was not an armor, more like an extension to his skin. His face had a short beard and moustache, but what people usually saw first was the fact that his eyes were two yellow spheres.
"Do you want something?" The short man asked, with a screeching and annoying voice. His head was bald, while a good portion of his left ear was missing. After a good minute, the bartender left, muttering something under his nose.
The stranger on the wall just kept smoking from his pipe, probably finding reason to live only in doing so. He had been dreaming recently, of a man, a cloaked man, who came to the tavern and summoned daemons, which then killed and killed, untill nothing was left.
Then, the door creaked. Almost painfully, it opened, to reveal a hooded man. He had a black robe, and was pulling a sword after himself. It was a normal sword, but he pulled it on the ground. It looked funny, yet also sad, because he was probably once a warrior who used the sword to kill men, and now he used it as a walking stick.
The newcomer caused quite some stir in the tavern, most of the customers stopped talking and looked towards him. He only shook his head, exploring the place, than walked next to the strange man with black hair. The latest kept breathing the smoke of the tobacco, and ignored the man who sat next to him.
The newcomer turned his face around, looking both at the empty space to his left, and the stranger to his right. His face had sharp features, the eyes of the man were dark and small. More like a pig's eyes. He didn't have hair on his face, no beard, no moustache, except his brows, but no one knew if he had hair at all. His hand was bony, as if he hadn't put even a crumb in his mouth for a long time.
His eyes focused on the stranger, who was smoking, with eyes barely opened. After a little bit of time, his eyes widened in surprise. Moving a little closer towards the stranger, the newcomer looked with shining eyes.
"Is that you, Victor?" Whispered the hooded man. The smoking person froze. The one who asked smiled widely and chuckled.
"I knew I was going to find a face which could help me. Don't you remember me Vic? It's me, Graves!" The outlaw looked happy to meet the machine herald, yet he was not going to earn a response from the man. Victor was not the same. He would never be the same.
"Hey, what you say I get a room and you get some sleep in it? How does that sound?" Graves offered, extending a purse, probably full of gold. Victor looked at him slowly, then nodded almost invisibly. Graves smiled and went to the bartender, to get a room.
While this was happening, Victor simply took one long pull from his pipe, and stood up. If he still had bones made from bone, they would start cracking and pop, but he had metal bones. And metal was perfection. He slowly walked towards Graves who just rented a room, and was going up the stairs. They entered the room, and the outlaw offered the herald to sit on he bed.
Instead of sitting, Victor hid under the sheets, then uncovered himself. Repeating the process, as if to decide which way it was better, he finally stopped on the second variant. Graves pulled a chair next to the bed and sat.
"Vic, are you going to tell me what happened with you after the Institute?" Asked the outlaw, after closing the door. The machine herald looked at Graves, while his eyes gleamed with a light which was not usual for them. Not at least on the fields.
After a moment of hesitation, Victor cleared his throat.
"A-after the Insitute?" He was not talking as he used to. His voice was no longer the deep and rough growl it used to be, it was now more like an endless cry, a sob. Graves nodded, encouraging Victor to continue.
"They... They killed my... My little Goldie..." His expression changed from an interest less emotion to a sad boy's face. The machine herald was probably going to cry. Graves tried to remain emotionless, only o listen to Victor's story.
"Why did they kill your..."Graves thouhgt that his little Goldie was Blitzcrank. "Little Goldie?"
"He didn't want to leave the Institute, because all his friends were there, you know? Teemo, the Ball, Oriana, Heimerdinger. They were all his friends. When I told my Goldie we were leaving, he decided to stay. I tried making him come back with me, back to Zaun. At first, my Goldie said he would come, and then we went there. We returned to Zaun..." He went silent after saying they returned to the city.
Graves was able to catch him off guard. He couldn't speak about Blitzcrank. But the outlaw wanted, no, needed to know.
"What happened after you went back to Zaun?" Questioned the gunman. Victor coughed, then looked at Graves.
"Well, yes. He went back, and I didn't know. He didn't tell me he was going I understanded, I immediately ran off, towards the Institiute. I didn't even take my cane..." He stopped again. Looking back to the wall, he asked calmly: "Can I have some water?"
Graves nodded and took the phone, with which he could order food and drinks. After a minute, in the room came a young girl with a plate, which had a cup of a colorless liquid, which she handed to Victor. The machine herald drank, then placed the cup on the night shelf next to the bed. Graves told the girl she can go, then turned back to Victor.
"When I reached the Institute, the others had already attacked. And as if fate laughed at me, as if it mocked me, I came in time to see my Goldie. But my Goldie was being cut into pieces by that... That Darius! He simply chopped on my child and when my Goldie couldn't move, he went to kill others. I took my Goldie home, and started nursing him to health. But they didn't leave me get him back to healthiness! They came, and burned him in front of me! In front of my own two EYES..." He started sobbing. The water in the cup had disappeared, Graves noticed.
"After this?" He pushed a bit. Victor looked at him. The golden light of his eyes was trembling. He sighed, and the tears suddenly disappeared.
"They took everything I had. Everything. I left Zaun, made a vow to myself never to return. One day in the dark forests about, I was given the letter. It said simply one thing. I didn't go there. It was a proposition to go to the camp, but I didn't go. I stayed." He finished.
"You know, Vic, that if they get enough forces, the Refugees were going to attack Noxus. And they could give you... I don't know, vengeance?" Graves asked. Victor's eyes lit. He stood up, and clutched his hand in a fist.
"You don't know how swift I would have been, if that were true. To make that Noxian feel the pain from the third arm... It would be arousing, maybe even enlig-"
Victor fell to the floor, his expression a mix between hatred and surprise. The dual knife slipped slowly into it's sheath, on the upper side of Zed's right hand. His fingers wrapped around the cloaking device and he pulled it, then smashed the machine on the carpet. He noticed the red blossom, growing under Victor. Metal is perfection, eh? Didn't look like it... His thoughts led him back to the Noxian general. Killing those who planned to attack them was... interesting. At least hearing stories was.
He kneeled next to Victor's immovable body, and grabbed his third arm. Pulling slightly, the knives appeared and separated the device. What did that tiger say, eh? Each trophy, a win? Nah, don't care. He simply had to collect those items and give them to that Swain, in exchange for money and security. Zed wandered on Victor's words. Killing Darius... What a fool, Darius was stronger than ever. Even he didn't stand a chance. Walking to the window, he turned to look at the herald. The blossom looked like claws, preparing to snatch their prize.
Zed's laugh echoed through the room, as the shadows started consuming him. What an easy target, he thought.
Chapter 24
Jax looked at the mountains. Irelia was not alright, seemed as if something infected her. Ultimately high temperature, wide pupils and sweating. He was trying to nurse her back to health, but he was not good in healing, like Soraka used to be. His options drastically fell, because he knew that no help would come from Demacia, because there was no more Demacia, while if he tried to find the Refugee camp he would have to carry her and the supplies he had been able to scavenge from a dead traveler, after killing those who killed him though.
He took Irelia on his back and started walking south, where he knew the camp should be. He had started climbing the mountains, attempting to avoid the pass, because the Noxian troops around it were a bad sign. He thought they had spotted him, so being in a hurry was the least people could say about him. The bushes rustle around him as he passed through them.
"You know, it is boring with you!" Someone said. Jax leaped, grabbing his axe and spinning at three hundred and sixty degrees, but he was surprised to be unable in discovering anything.
"Wow wow... Watch it! Stop spinning like a mad man! I don't want to go and puke on your head!" The voice was deep, and came from behind Jax. More likely from his bag. He placed Irelia on the grass and discarded his satchel. Opening it, he sighed. It was, guess who, Zac. The green blob had somehow appeared in his backpack.
"What are you doing here, Zac?" Asked Jax. He did not dislike Zac, no, more like the opposite. The big slime was a friendly person, who was funny sometimes.
"Hey, whats with the hurry maaan. Take it slooooow! Like me. You see, I am here from the moment you KABLEWWW me, and voala, I am in the bag talking with you!" It was more like his head, but Jax knew Zac could be any part of his body and still talk. Probably become a thing smaller than a yordle and walk along with him.
"Explain it!" He demanded, and sighed again when Zac started laughing and shaking the whole bag.
"HOHO, don't you see MAAAAAN? Don't you remember that I have cells? And each of my cells lives a separate live! So, I am clearly immortal! Know what? I bet that if you slurp some of me, you will become MOI! Buhahahaha! Wait, where are we? Maan it looks nice!" So Zac had used his so called passive ability to get in Jax' bag? A nice way to spy, but as far as he knew, Zac couldn't speak with other cells of himself except his head.
"What is the reason you didn't leave..." Whispered Jax, looking at Zac from above. The light around them started fading, but after a moment it went back to normal. The armmaster looked around, narrowing his eyes. Zac was about to say something, but a quick 'shh' from Jax silenced the jelly man. He listened for a while, and swiftly closed the bag, placed it on his back, took Irelia and started sprinting up.
"You hear that?" Someone shouted and footsteps started destroying the silence which had embraced the woods a moment ago.
Jax ran, his feeet moving as fast as he could. Zac made sounds (which were pretty much as if hitting a person's back while he was yelling the letter A continuously, like this: 'AAAAAAAA' etc.), while Irelia started waking up. Her head was dizzy without the bouncing which was caused by Jax' movements.
From the bushes appeared three men, who were really easily recognized by Zac, as he had plugged one of his eyes through the holes in the bag. They were Sion, Urgot and Warwick.
"Oooh damn, you are in DEEEP!" Zac told his carrier, while returning his eye to his head. The blood hunter prepared for a long chace, and placed his hands on the ground, using them like feet his third and fourth legs. His speed drastically increased, and he slowly started catching up to Jax. So focused he was, he didn't notice when the armmaster moved right swiftly and avoided a tree. Warwick... Well, he attempted to head butt it, but failed.
The chasers lost their target for awhile, and this allowed Jax to drop Irelia and Zac on the grass, muttering a silent 'protect her', then leaped out of the tall plants. Using his momentum, he kicked Sion's face and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. This was, sadly, his mistake. Urgot used his position retriever, which made Jax stand still, forcing him into an area where he was going to be attacked by all three them.
He lifted his axe, showing it to the trio. How exactly was Sion still alive, he asked himself. They looked at it, and Sion cackled.
"What is this, a stick with some metal? Hohoho..." He asked and started kneeling in his laugh, only not to fall. Urgot started cackling, while Warwick stared at the battered axe.
The Blood Hunter lunged towards Jax, who dodged the blow and was able to land a hit on the wolf man's left hand. Sion was already charging towards him, his eyes flickering with their cryptic force. Jax knew that they could paralize him, so he focused on blocking strikes, without looking at Sion's head. Urgot shot one bolt, which hit Jax' back, sending him forward, closer to the undead axe weaver.
The giant axe of the zombie slammed downwards on Jax' smaller one, which creaked painfully. What a waste, when he went to Ionia it was in a good condition. The armmaster leaped towards Warwick, slamming the axe against his cheek, pushing the beast off the battle. Just when he was about to attack Urgot, someone stuttered out of the bushes.
"Jax, what's going on?" Asked Irelia, looking sleepy and hardly holding on her feet.
"She wouldn't listen to me!" Cried Zac from behind her, who had hopped onto her back. Jax cursed and leaped towards Irelia, throwing her over his shoulder, meanwhile Zac grabbed the grandmaster's cape and started crawling towards his ear. Sion and Urgot ran after them.
He was slower than before, and now the duo behind him was able to get close to Jax, enough for Urgot to shoot his projectiles, without stopping his rush. The clearing expanded, creating a tunnel for Jax. He ran a few more minutes, then leaped into a group of trees.
Jax barely stopped himself from falling off the edge which appeared in front of him. Turning, he saw the duo, running towards him. Looking at the cliff, he cursed under his breath.
"What are ya gonna do, partner?" Asked Zac, who had gotten to Jax' shoulder. The grandmaster was quick, and switched Irelia's position from his back to his stomach. Zac was about to say something, but the Armmaster jumped.
"Damnit!" Screamed Sion when he saw the Grandmaster jumping off the edge. Urgot looked questioningly. "You know that there's a bounty!" Said the undead and snorted. Urgot nodded and walked back, allowing passage to his companion.
"You know, I really wanted dat guy... But, whatever, we get funds from the warfare!" Sion commented and spat on the grass. Urgot kept walking, staying behind a little, because the zombie loved to skip.
"Arhhh... So much bloodshed... This is my kind of PLACE!" Someone whispered and a black figure leaped from the brushes. Urgot couldn't even make a sound when two long blades cut his body in half.
"Urgot? Wat was dat?" Asked Sion, who was just turning around to see what was that whisper. Next to Urgot's corpse stood a tall creature, covered in metal. It's weapons were bloodied, while it's eyes sparkled with golden light.
"YOUR HEADS WILL ADORN MY WALL!"
Chapter 25
It was simply emptiness. At first, he had thought there was light, but then he realized that there was nothing, only ethereal space. This was quite interesting, because ethereal object were rare, and he himself had seen only a few. Strange thing, he didn't feel his wounds, and he remembered that there was a nasty cut across his face, which had gotten an infection, and he was going to have problems.
But now, he wasn't allowed to worry about wounds. He wasn't allowed to worry about anything actually, only think about it. Was he dead, was the first thing which nestled into his mind. He was not in Heaven, that was sure. But he wasn't in Hell either, because that method of torture was really infective. So he decided to look at himself, and there he was. Blue hand, purple robes, sandals. The battle axe was strangely missing.
He blinked once, and winced. Feeling the pull of gravity made him feel a Nausea, but it quickly went through, for a trained warrior didn't feel those things. The ground, which he was now standing on, was strange. Simply a plain... Desert? Passage? Rocky waste? In any case, it was really plain, just as plain as the roads of Demacia were. He blinked again, and looked up, towards the supposed end of the road. There was, sadly, no end to the road.
The Endless March...
He started walking, slowly, feeling his legs, his feet, if they were still the same. After a few test steps, he revealed that his feet were still the same, and a light jog was not going to hurt him. So he ran forward, and looked there.
Forwardsss, Forwardsss...
While jogging, he started thinking, because walking led to thinking, so why wouldn't jogging do so? And so he thought, that if he was not in Hell, neither in Heaven, where could he be? An endless hunting land? Was that where he had placed placed? And what if he wasn't dead, just in another dimension? Well, that was going to be a really dumb dimension, he decided, and a smile crept to his lips.
The wind blew at his back, while his robes, or at least the remains of them, flew towards. His eyes narrowed, as the flows of air turned surprisingly, and it blew in his face. His hair struggled to go free, in attempts to make him bald. His golden knots were blown by the wind. Rain started pouring over him. He sighed, and sat on the ground. Thinking it will take long, his eyes started darting over the ground.
Upon The Wind!
He noticed that the rain had made the earth brown. A few green sticks started tunneling their way out, showing the refreshing color of their beings. Their leaves shook with the force of life as their bodies grew. He smiled, but then silenced himself. The plants gained size, then their leaves blossomed. It was beautiful.
Nature can be a real Mother...
Jax felt strange. For the second time, he was seeing the transformation of a waste into a wilderness. The little and short plants had became a forest, a deep forest, which was surely going to become something magnificent in the eyes of those who lived in the woods. Then, stones started forming around the trees, then the purposeless rocks formed buildings, while other things started appearing. Tables, roads, lanterns. The armmaster even recognized his own lamp post, which had formed next to him.
He couldn't keep the smile within him, because his eyes were going to water if he didn't let it go. This was a truly, truly beautiful dimention. Jax started walking slowly, attempting to take everything he saw in him. The little doors, the big houses, the small chairs, the big stools, even the funny practise dummy.
Silhouettes started appearing around him, their faces where shadowed by darkness, yet he felt that he knew them. The first thing he noticed where the little people who were running around and throwing water balloons at each other. One was simply throwing balloons at them, but never seemed to miss, while another was placing down turrets and yelling 'eureka!', and a third was shooting them with a canon.
Jax saw one more thing, a giant tree walking along with a small fae. They looked to be in a deep conversation, because they didn't seem to notice the balloons which flew around them. There was one little man who was sitting with a woman, and they were practising throwing orbs at the same target dummy Jax noticed a while ago. There were those others, women chatting with each other, men playing poker and the currency seemed to be a beer. There were even couples, kissing or just looking at each other, smiling.
Then, the darkness which covered their faces lifted. Jax froze, and grabbed his heart, or at least the place where it should have been. His eyes widened, as the identity of all those men and women became clear to him. They were here, because they were no longer on Valoran. Jax fell to his knees. Here they were, the dead, the chosen dead, the champions. The dead champions. Impossible! He screamed in his mind, as his eyes watered.
"Jax?" A familiar yet annoying voice sounded from behind him. It was one of those, the dead champions. The grandmaster at arms turned and saw him, recognized him. It was Ziggs. The hyperactive bomb throwing yordle. Who had died in the attack at the Institute. A balloon splashed all over Zigg's head, and a laugh echoed trough the settlement. But Jax no longer found this place beautiful. It was cryptic, terrible.
"Hey, that's no fun anymore! We have the grandmaster. He came!" Ziggs triumphantly shouted. All of the champions who inhabited the village turned towards the yordle. Some started whispering, while other smiled and started walking towards him. Olaf, Master Yi, Udyr. They came in front of him, and started congratulating him about something. The grandmaster's eyes were still watered.
Syndra came, followed by the same short person, who turned out to be Veigar, but without his hat. She smiled at Jax, and looked at the others.
"It is him! We have to go and tell them!" She announced and all of the champions who were in the crowd. Olaf helped Jax up and they started walking on the cobblestone road, followed by all the champions who were dead. The grandmaster was stunned. H - How? If I am dead... Where is Irie? Where is IRELIA!?
"They will answer your questions, Jax. Do not worry my friend." Said Olaf, as if he had been able to read the mind of the Grandmaster. And there it was. A giant staircase, which led up. Olaf signaled their followers to stop, and left Jax to go up alone. The armmaster started ascending, slowly, but surely. He was going to get to the top, even if only to ensure himself that he was dead. Thrown to Oblivion by his own deed, by his own attempt to save both his and Irie's lives. He seemed to have failed in saving his.
Reaching the top of the staircase, he entered a grand hall. Behind him, two giant doors closed behind him. The hall seemed empty, but then different lights started appearing. Shadows were hiding in those lights. The green light, there were two shadows. Maokai, and Zyra, looking at Jax and smiling warmly. The blue light, Nautilus and Nami, simply looking at him, while the tidecaller smiled for both of them. The grey light, where Viktor was simply kneeling and looking at the floor. The yellow light, where Leona and Lux shined like suns. The white light, where Janna was smiling to him. The white light, where Anivia and Trundle had raised their columns of ice and were looking at the armmaster. And, in the end, the black light. It was not light, actually, it was more of a... Shadow. And, forth, from it surged a masked man. His purple coat was gracefully flowing behind him, a lantern lit a path in the darkness, while two red eyes started intently at Jax. Yorick, the gravedigger was looking.
"Greetings, Grandmaster Of Arms, to the hall of elements." They said together, in a booming combination of voices. "You have came. You will be gifted, as you are the chosen one."
Chapter 26
"NASUS!" Someone screamed. Draven was already opening the door by the time LeBlanc left the bed, yawning and stretching her hands. The Glorious executioner had taken one of his axe in the rush, in case it was something bad. But it probably was, because Nasus was not in the refugee camp. He sighed as he thought who it could have been. After Rengar had brought Jax and Irelia, along with a miniature version of Zac, Nidalee and Sona were next to both of the injured, counting Irelia's illness and Jax' broken bones and infected wounds. The treating had passed on for five days, with both of them in something like a meditative state, but much deeper. Irelia had been alright for the last day, and she was taking care for Jax, while Zac was explaining what happened through their journey, or at least what he had seen and heard.
Gordoth and Rengar were already waiting for him in front of the door where the scream had came from, and when Draven was close enough, the pridestalker opened the door. What they witnessed was probably what they expected. Irelia was sitting on a chair, situated next to one of the beds, while Zac was causualy looking at the ceiling in his small, improvised sleeping pen. Jax was in the bed, eyes wide open, chest heaving up and down wildly. He had been stripped of some of his clothing, just the part which had wounds on them but he didn't seem to nitce it, as he was mumbling something.
Irelia acknowledged them and whispered something to Jax, who immediately stopped talking to himself and straightened his pose. Draven was able to detect Jax' attempt to calm his heart beat down. The grandmaster at arms nodded in their position, after which they said their greetings.
"Jax, we have noticed that you had an interesting adventure on your way here, and Rengar is not sure if he was able to eliminate all witnesses of himself after you jumped off the cliff in an attempt to save yourself and Irelia, so if there is, by any chance, a possibility that Rengar has been followed and our camp has been discovered, we will blame it on you. Now, if you have anything to say, we will hear it gladly!" Draven announced and looked at Jax, dead serious. The grandmaster nodded.
"I understand you, Draven. But I will ask one thing of you. Take care of Irelia, because I am to depart as soon as I can run again, because I have a mission ahead of me." Jax answered, shocking everyone in the room, except Gordoth, who remained emotionless, pretty much like a statue. Zac looked at Jax, eyes wide, bigger than his head, mouth wide open in disbelief.
"What?! You never said anything about a mission! You and Irelia were pretty much like flies without heads before you went to Brand! And you never said anything about a quest or a mission or a task! Why would you hide this from your friends, anyway?" The blob asked, keeping his eyes the same way they were when he started to speak. Draven, Rengar and Irelia nodded in agreement to Zac's question, while Gordoth simply smirked.
"I can tell you that he hardly knew of it just a few hours ago." He simply said, his calm tone throwing everyone in utter confusion, if they weren't already in it. Rengar simply shook his head, trying to focus on one of the new things, while Irelia started whispering to herslef 'no'. Zac's eyes grew bigger, practically absorbing all the liquid his body could produce for the task. He looked really funny with that expression, but no one cared to look at him. Draven's eyes were wide, and the expression change ended with this. Jax had lifted an eye brow, but only he knew that he had done it.
"Well, yes, I was actually told recently. But I know that I have to find Nasus, because he will teach me how to use the ways of the Wuju style, and this is going to help me on the larger scale of my quest." Jax said slowly, allowing the other in the room to take their breaths and think of the possibilities.
"And what is that larger scale quest?" Asked Draven, scratching his chin. He looked up to Gordoth, who simply shook his head. Doesn't know it, does he now. The grandmaster took a long breath, and sighed. He scratched his forehead and looked up at Draven.
"Avenging all the champions who died that day." He simply replied. The glorious executioner's eyes narrowed. Was Jax mad? Irelia's eyes widened, and she was about to say something, but was silenced by an explosion. Smoke covered the sky and filled the room.
The trio was already on the move, alarming all of the champions in the huts that there was a breach in security. Shouting things of the sort of 'Go for the back entrance!' and 'We are under attack!', Draven and Gordtoh were able to get all the champions in a line and running towards the back side of the camp. Rengar had hidden in the shadows and was now moving towards the breach. To his surprise, the hole in the stones was caused not by an explosive, but by an axe. That axe was really familiar to him, as Rengar knew. It was Darius' axe, but when the bearer of the weapon appeared, he was not wearing his armor.
Darius was wearing Taric's equipment.
Chapter 27
A roar echoed through the camp, and Draven recognized it. It was Rengar, but he had never roared in such a way. Adrenaline pummeled his muscles and the executioner was already at the breach, and a figure leaped towards him. The bulk of his friend fell over him, almost tackling Draven.
"MY LEG! WHERE THE HELL IS MY F**KING LEG!?" Rengar screamed, and Draven saw that his left leg was entirely cut off, a clean cut at actually. Blood was pouring forth from the wound, and Draven felt his eyes widen. But then they narrowed. Sona had come over too, to help if someone was hurt and she almost winced at the sight of Rengar's crippled leg. Placing the pridestalker on her instrument, Draven turned towards the source of Rengar's suffering.
The armored man had a smirk on his face, one that Draven could recognize everywhere. Spinning his axe wildly, the executioner through the weapon towards his brother. It was not going to be blocked or dodged by the old Darius, but now he was able to simply grab the blade, and throw it back at it's owner.
"DRAVEN, GET OUT OF THERE!" Someone roared and pulled the executioner out of the axe's way. Gordoth's sword was in his hand, his eyes were burning. "RUN, TAKE THEM SAFE! I WILL DISTRACT HIM!" He roared again and pushed Draven back, towards the exit. Without hesitating, the executioner ran. He knew that Gordoth was going to fail. He simply felt it.
After Draven had ran off enough distance, Gordoth turned towards Darius. It was true, he was wearing Taric's armor. The same armor which was adorned with sapphires, and gave it's wearer divinity.
"Who are you to challenge me?" Asked Darius, smirking as he had demonstrated his newfound strength. Gordoth sighed. Grabbing his robes with his left hand, he discarded them, revealing simple leather equipment, which was going to allow him to move faster than The Noxian. Or so he thought. Preparing his sword, he looked at Darius.
"The one who will take the armor back to it's owner." He calmly answered and charged.
Golden light adorned his frame as he clashed into Darius, the later blocking the sword's blow with ease. Taric's armor was truly a weapon worthy only for it's creator. Gordoth swung his sword in a graceful rainbow, but Darius blocked and spun around, mauling the summoner's weapon with strength which rivaled even a god's. The Summoner was momentarily dazed, but was able to quickly regain his footing and dodged a strike of the axe. This was going to be a challenge.
His sword was engulfed in flames as he swung it towards Darius' neck. The Noxian easily deflected the blow, but Gordoth wanted exactly this, as his left hand shot towards, slamming The general's face with the strength of a thousand men. Darius flew backwards a few feet, but landed successfully. Cracking his neck, he smirked and extended his axe, which was engulfed by red light. Gordoth's body was pulled by the weapon towards Darius, and his head slammed into the latter's chest plate.
The Noxian didn't wait for an invitation. He spun, aiming for Gordoth's head with the claw of his axe, but in the last moment the summoner's left hand pushed the claw upwards, and it hit air. Pain cut through his hand. Gordoth leaped backwards and cursed multiple times as the wounded limb twitched and screamed in his mind. Cho' Gath's bite was still torturing the summoner, even after so many months. Gordoth lifted his sword in the air, and held it with both hands. The axe of the Noxian clashed against the blade with such power that it sent the summoner flying backwards about ten feet, even more.
He crashed into a hut, breaking a hole into the structure. Spitting blood, he cursed and stood up. Light engulfed his sword, and shifted it into a spear. Grabbing the hilt o the weapon with both hands, he started stabbing towards with in human speed. Darius was forced into defending and blocking blows which could be fatal if they landed. The summoner's hands started working on their own, as he started thinking wildly on a way of removing the armor, which was hardly going to happen because Darius was not going to lose consciousness in the middle of the fight. Which left him the only choice, which was the destruction of the armor.
Ducking, Gordoth avoided the axe's blade which almost sliced his head off. Charging forth, his weapon turned into a morning star and he mauled Darius' abdomen with all the strength he could muster. The Hand Of Noxus gave a mighty heave and flew to his left, crashing into another hut. Gordoth couldn't celebrate his victory for any longer, because Darius was already running towards him. The morning star turned into a scythe and with the blade of the weapon Gordoth met the Noxian's claw. Sparks flew from the metal edges, while both the warriors cursed under their breaths. Darius through all of his weight and strength into the push, and Gordoth used that moment to shift his scythe into a knuckle.
All the power Darius had been exercising on the Scythe pulled him down, and he almost fell from the trick. But as he was about to get up, an electrified blow hit him in the back of the head. Gordoth's knuckle flashed bright blue as he prepared for another blow, but Darius kicked his stomach, sending him tumbling on the ground. The Noxian spun his axe and brough it down, attempting to cut Gordoth in half. Lucky for the summoner, he was able to blink away in the last second, and the axe hit the ground. Leaping in the air, his weapon gained the form of a sword again and he brough it down.
A lightning bolt crashed into the summoner as he was about to stab Darius' brain. Gordoth flew a few feet away and landed on the roof of a hut, which couldn't hold and it broke under the weight of the armor and weapon combined with his own. He recognized the user of the spell. He had not been in such a position before, fighting against two opponents that rivaled gods, but he was a Summoner, and summoners were stronger than gods. Or a t least as strong as. The summoner fell in a bed, braking it too. Xerath's magic was really strong, able to bake a man alive with a single flick of a finger. Sadly, it wouldnt work on Gordoth. Clasping his stomach with his left hand, the summoner kept cursing until Darius broke the door of the room. Without hesitation, Gordoth shifted his blade into a throwing axe and it flew towards the Noxian, who took the blow. It was not what the summoner wished for, but he was at least distracted for a while, allowing him to focus on getting out of the hut.
A mighty leap got him flying over the house, landing in front of Xerath, who was standing still, and looked as if he was thinking about something. Gordoth's hands were engulfed in a black swirl, which didn't go further. Xerath used his powers and flashed away, using his electrical nature to move as fast as the light. The summoner cursed and formed a protective ward in his hand as the mage shot lightning from his hand towards Gordoth. The electricity clashed into the wards with a lud explosion. Gordoth smiled, because now he had a little bit of time to finish the sentinel. Clapping his hands, light flew from them, up, down, forwards, left and right. It had black sparkles combined with the light.
A pillar of Destructive energy formed, going higher than forty feet. Xerath's eyes would have widened if they could. but lucky for him, the spell took one too much time to trigger and he launched and electric counter attack, another pillar flew from the ground, this time not as high as the first one used to, but it rivaled the blow in power. Gordoth cursed when the pillars made contact and exploded. Blinding light consumed him, Xerath, Darius and everyone who was in range of the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Gordoth was on top of Xerath, his hands covered in the dark swirl. Electricity flew up, from Xerath's core towards Gordoth. The Summoner's face hid any emotion and it looked as if the electrical blow was simply a poke for the man. In fact, it was hell on earth for him, but he had to endure it. The dark swirl started consuming Xerath, it's energy coloring his energy into black. Just a little until it reached the core...
Gordoth felt the axe stab his belly from the right, and then he was pulled off of the sentinel. The pain caused from the axe was nothing compared to what he had felt while channeling his power in order to crack Xerath's core, but he felt something else. Rage, because he wasn't able to end the life of the mage. His eyes burned, and not even the mask could hide that. Turning towards Darius, Gordoth shot from the axe and crashed into the Noxian. Darius screamed when the summoner's right hand grabbed his face. The palm was on fire, burning through The Noxian's flesh and destroying his facial expression.
The power required to keep pain signals away from Gordoth's mind was tremendous, and he didn't know how long he was going to be able to keep it up. He was forgetting what his purpose here was. Not vengeance on Darius, but the destruction of the armor. Moving his hand away from the Noxian's face, Gordoth tapped the armor on a few places, then leaped from Darius. As if signaled, the spell which held the pain away broke, almost knocking the summoner out.
He fell to his knees and screamed. In the last moments of his consciousness he thought that it was going to be a pity. A pity he won't get to witness Draven's face when he saw Nasus.
Chapter 28
Draven kneeled next to the pond and sighed. He had given the lead of the camp's inhabitants to Rengar, who was now quite attached to Sona's instrument because of his leg. The Maiden of Strings was still able to play some of the melodies which could heal him, that could stop the bleeding. Nidalee had disapeared after they elft the camp, and now the only capable healer was Sona, who was not going to be able to do it any longer because those who were under Rengar's lead, which was everyone except him, Draven. The party had already left the four, and was now moving towards a second encampment which was hidden with less attempt, but the Noxians had ben able to do what they wanted. They have crippled the refugees, and with that they have probably put an end to the hopes of a rebellion Draven hid deep inside him.
Jax was standing on the hill, looking down at the Shurima desert. He was like that ever since they left the safety of the camp. He stood in front of them, led them towards his destination, yet he still had to say goodbye to Irelia. They were together most of the time, while he only wanted to sit down somewhere and hold her in his hands, kiss her, embrace her. But he knew that he probably was going to have to wait for those moments a long time. He was never going to be able to do such things while under the foot of the Noxians.
Zac was simply interested by the adventure which he was going to see from the first seats. For him, it was all a game. Getting himself in danger, letting himself get hurt, allowing people get hurt. It was all a game for him. Even though he knew that normal people are not like him, he still acted the same way. It made him look big. But, now he was going to be somewhere, and he was going to be someone after it ended. Winking to the sun, he jumped off Irelia's shoulder and jogged towards Draven.
Lucky for him, the executioner saw him and offered a hand. Being the small pile of goo he had become, Zac was forced into crawling on top of Draven's hand and was lifted to his shoulder. When he made himself comfortable, he decided to stop doing anything and just... Wait. Wait for Jax to decide where their next destination was going to be. From that night on he was much more sure in himself than he had been before. Now, he was just like a leader, while before he acted like a lowly mercenary.
"Let's go. We don't have time to loose." Jax said. His eyes were narrowed, his lips were dry. The last water source they had discovered was far behind them, but sadly, there were no other sources of drinkable water in the near miles of way. He wondered what would happen with the other refugees, because Draven had decided to join them on their quest. Seeing Nasus was not going to be a casual experience, even after they all knew the librarian. The sun was high in the sky.
They descended the dune and continued their trek. The desert was something Jax had grown used to, he realized. Once in melting sands, once in the calm reaches of Heaven and now here, where the wind blew the sand in their faces, and hardened their search task. The grandmaster could ask himself how did he know where the Curiator was, but somehow he felt that Nasus was drawn to the Shurima desert, to Icathia. He had heard Kassadin's tale, searching for knowledge, but failing and getting a glimpse at the Void.
The sun was already hiding, behind the horizon and nothing had been discovered by the party, except a few stones and ruins. Jax was not exhausted, because the temperature change was a good thing. Now he could focus on moving faster so he doesn't freeze in the spartan conditions. His eyes were still as narrowed as bfore, but his lips were not dry. They had been able to discover a water source and drank a lot of it. He had offered his companions to stay, but they decided against it and followed him.
Although the sun was hidden, Jax felt that Nasus' sanctuary must be near. The amounts of broken obelisks and statues, along with other ruined objects was starting to increase. For mere hours they had seen more than a hundred of the ruins, while for the whole day the only signs of life were about five or less.
And, as they reached their destination, they stood in front of a grand temple.
"This looks... Pretty." Zac announced and smiled, but Jax didn't seem to find it pretty. It was something which brought memory of... The Void to him. Not that he had ever been able to see or feel the Void, but he knew of it. He knew it existed, and as always, there was something dangerous about this place. It was, the only place where he wouldn't dare go. Icathia.
"GET DOWN!" Someone roared and Jax met the sand from up close. Sounds of a battle echoed, then something broke. A scream adorned the waste and it went silent.
"No way..." Whispered Draven, as he started standing up. A few feet from them was sprawled a miniature version of Cho' Gath, but that one didn't look like the Terror. It was somehow black, and it's eyes were green. Also, the hole in it's stomach was pretty unsettling if you thought of it that way.
And there he was, their savior. Sandy fur, black tunic and sandals. The staff, which was supposed to be green, was now pitch black. As the Curiator turned, his yellow eyes burned with something which Jax could only recognize as anticipation. His whole frame was covered in blood, most of it wasn't his.
"So, they were not kidding. I didn't expect you so soon, however. The breach in the rift left my hands full, you know. Come on, we do not have time." He ordered and started jogging towards the temple. Jax nodded to his comrades and they followed him. Irelia was quite amazed by the way Nasus had appeared. She didn't know he can dash at the speed he had probably used there.
They entered the temple. And, Jax immediately realised that it was the countless books contained there that had brought Nasus, not the breach in the Void. Kassadin was there for that sort of things. There was, however, something strange about the whole area. It was heavy. The air. It felt as if the shelves and ceiling were made for beings greater than them. But, Nasus calmly sat in one of the chairs and nodded to the rest. They made themselves comfortable, and looked at Jax. All except Draven, who was staring intently at Nasus.
"I know, brother. I know. And I am sorry." He said, and Draven nodded.
"I need a moment alone." Announced the Executioneer and left them. Nasus sighed, while Jax snorted. He felt something in Draven which was not supposed to be there. Guilt. This was not something for Draven. It was probably heavy for him to admit, but the Executioneer felt guilt now. Jax knew it.
"I will ask you one thing, before I make sure it was they who sent you." Nasus started. His eyes dug into Jax, as never before. "Tell me, Jax. Why did you take them with you?" Was all he asked, and left himself to sink into the coach.
Jax didn't understand. They were his comrades. His team. He would never abandon Irelia, but Draven was not his burden. Zac however... He didn't know. True, the ooze was friendly and was in hopes going to help, but he might be a spy, after all. Jax sighed and nodded.
"They are my team. I do not leave them anywhere, Nasus. If you do not-"
"Don't you understand? This is the first test. The first lesson. Leave them, for you know how to work with a team. But, take them, and forget everything about being alone. This is the first lesson. Take them, and be weak without them, or leave them, and be strong with and without them. Tell me, Jax, how many times have you been able to stand alone versus an entire team on the Rift, just because of the fact you worked alone before joining, eh? I guess you remember. Tell me now, will you keep them, and when they are taken from you, will you survive? Or will you die?" Nasus said, slowly, with a tone which did not accept 'NO' for an answer.
Jax looked, eyes wide. Zac and Irelia had taken it the same way, but they both knew that this was Jax' trail.
The grandmaster at arms sighed and nodded.
"I understand. I do. But, they came with me all this way. What am I going to do in order to save myself from total exile if I send them away?" Asked the armmaster. Nasus nodded.
"No better way to answer. Short and sharp. Just as a Demacian's sword used to be. Speaking of which, have you visited Demacia after the Institute? Pretty gruesome. Noxians went rampage on the place. I think only Jarvan survived, but that was Zilean forced to curse him. Something like his own fate... Sad, what that power can do in the wrong hands. Jax, I will ask you now. Send them back where you came from. You cannot be accompanied on your way. Both Yi and Wukong were alone when they discovered the secrets of Wuju style. You will have to be the same." Nasus said again. Jax shivered. "I will leave you for a while, then return and we will begin."
The Curiator said and left. His giant frame weakly shaking. Jax sighed. He felt a hand creeping up to his shoulder. Turning his head, he looked at Irelia, resting against his back.
"I will do it. If it will help you, I will do it, Jax. You know me. I do not need you to watch my back now, when I have Zac. I will manage somehow, and when you are ready, we will kill those Noxians for what they did!" She encouraged him. Jax smiled weakly under his mask, and looked at the gate. Draven was not there. So... It was solved.
"Ok. Ok. Go, be strong. I beg you, watch out for every brush, every stick. Everything. Be like Lee, but with Eyes! This is what I ask of you, Irelia. Please, be careful." Jax whispered to her, and turned towards the door which Nasus used to leave. He heard the footsteps of his love, as she slowly left. He sighed.
Now was the time to learn again.
Chapter 29
Volibear roared, cursed and hit the stones of the cell, but it was useless. Taric was looking at his friend while he kept trying to do something, to get out or just bloody his paws.
"How Taric? How did we allow ourselves to get captured like this?" Screamed Volibear, and turned to the Gem Knight. Taric was simply looking at the wall, ignoring all the world around him. His eyes were focused on the cold stone, as he thought of what he spoke of with Nasus that week ago. It was a really, really intensive discussion, as they were trying to think of a way to allow Nasus have enough time on training Jax. And a distraction. Taric and Volibear were that distraction, and as much as the Gem Knight didn't want to involve the ursine, but he wouldn't be able to do it without him.
"We weren't careful, that's all. I think…" Taric answered to his question. The ursine turned to him and stared. Blankly, he nodded and sighed. Why did it have to happen to him, all the time? After all, the Gem Knight was the one who brought him back. But also the one who got him in the prison. Cursing once more, Volibear finally calmed down, and decided it was going to be good if he tried to rest. They had been on the move for days when the Noxians caught them. Nice to sleep, he though.
Taric sighed. Not good at all. It was ridiculous. How he did this to him and Volibear, only to allow Jax and the rest of the refugees survive. To get out, to cover their tracks. Taric cursed silently under his breath as his eyes slowly narrowed. It was darker outside. He stood up and walked to the bars.
Jax.
If the grandmaster was alive, they were fine. No threat could enter their minds and provoke them to do things they would be sorry for after they were committed. Taric grunted. He could break the prison walls with just his pinky finger, but he didn't want to. If he did, too much hope would be invested in him to guide Jax forward, but what they wouldn't know was that the more Taric tried to help the grandmaster, the harder it became for him to escape the Dream realm.
The awful side effect of the Gems. It could be a wonderful live in the Dream realm, but whenever the body outside was ready to be refilled with the soul, as a gem with an enchantment, the Dream realm became a nightmare. He suffered every single moment of his sleep, and whenever he tried to wake up, he was pulled back by hundreds of hands. And each day added one more. But if he assisted Jax, even in the most minor way, the hands added were twenty. Currently, five thousand Seven hundred and sixty four hands were pulling at him, trying to force him to go back to the dimension of Dream.
"Yo." Someone called him. It was not from far, more or less in the nearby cells. A man with dark, cocoa skin was looking at him. One of his eyes was covered with a bandage, while the other started deep into Taric's being. The man himself was skinny, but the weak muscles were rippling with energy and power. They could look weak, but they were far from broken. He was tall, and was hidden in the darkness of his windowless cell. His hair was long and black, but tied into strange tails. Taric nodded to him, and grunted. The hands pulled harder at him.
"I can feel it 'bout ya. You are no ordinary man, ain't ya?" Asked the person locked up in the cell. His hands wrapped around the bars and his head froze, eyes locked with Taric's. The Gem Knight could also feel it about the other man. He was limply staring at the blue eyes which made people feel uncomfortable around Taric. "I've heard of ya. Ol' man Garen kept tellin' us stories 'bout ya, Champions ya were called. Well, ol' man died like a champ. Just so you know."
"You knew Garen?" Asked Taric, surprise and distrust oozing from his voice. The dark skinned man laughed.
"'Course, we were in the same regiment. See, I was a Dauntless…" A sore feeling dripped from the man's words. He was honest, yet this was something which made him feel bad about it. Or, to be precise, sad.
"Demacia's elite, right?" Taric's mind puzzled over it. It was, indeed no coincident. The man slowly nodded and uncovered his left shoulder. Demacia's mark was tattooed on it.
"Yeah… I even got to know the Prince personally. But, damned be fate, I didn't die protecting the crown. I am just another orphan, looking at myself and pity is oozing from me. But it is self pity. The worst kind of it. I remember the days I was willing to cut my hands off, if it would be to save my lord's life. Now I cannot even curse the dogs properly. But you… You are a champ." Taric had noticed the change in his grammar. He also noticed where the man was going.
"No, I cannot come. I cannot help you. I cannot free you, because my being is punished for every wrong move I make. And, I believe that it will not be a good move to forsake any type of discipline and just go rampaging in the heart of Zaun. It is not possible we could get out un noticed." He announced, looking at the man. The dark skinned person smirked.
"Not that I care. You see, I was about to make a move. I was just waiting for a potential ally to aid me. But, if you will not come, why not wake the bear up, eh? He seemed pretty high in the skies of red when he was awake. " The prisoner commented. His hands started twisting painfully as the eye, the bandaged one, was uncovered, only to reveal six dots instead of the eye itself. There was the apple, but the other thing were missing. Only six dots, five of them forming a pentagon, and the last in the middle. Fire started dancing on his limbs, and they wrapped around the bars. With ease, he broke them and threw one of the iron sticks at the guard. He screeched as iron flew right through him.
"Oh, an' by the way… Mah name's Aradren!" He almost shouted, his grammar switching to the previous atrocious state. He started sprinting towards the corpse, picking up the sword of the dead man and cackled maniacally. Volibear almost leaped at the bars when the man left the dungeon.
"What the Hell?" He almost roared as his claws barely stopped themselves from cutting through the damned bars. Looking at the Gem Knight, the ursine felt almost touched.
"Volibear, I think we are leaving… And you can tear off those things." Taric coldly announced. Volibear roared in something like joy and with one swing of his paw the bars were gone. They started running towards the entrance of the dungeon, as the sounds of battle reached them.
"What aren't you telling me, Taric? Someone already here?" Asked Volibear, looking not really surprised but more like… Annoyed. What, was that Aradren going to take his fun? Taric was not on that mindset, however, and simply grunted in response. "Hey what's with the attitude man?" Almost roared the ursine, and Taric scratched his head. Something was really wrong here, at least he felt so. A presence he remembered was hovering in the air. It screamed for one thing.
Blood.
Chapter 30
The shiny day, bright blue skies, with white clouds adorning it. The forest was dark, and almost no sunlight made it through the thick crowns of leaves. There were you average birds, of course, but the whole being of the forest was unsettling. You could say it was the best choice for horrific tales, but I thought not about this. It was somewhat cozy in this place, although it's unnatural nature was a bit unnerving for some. I grunted when my foot contacted with a branch on the ground, knocking it away, signaling critters nearby that I was there.
With a sigh, I proceeded with sitting on the ground and grunting again. The handmade bow, strapped to my back, was disappointed. At least, if it was a living being it would've been. No catch today, that was not good. Yesterday I've been able to get my hands on a hare, and I was not well fed from it. Catch was getting more and more rare in those parts, as I moved North. But I had to go North. My destination was there, I couldn't ignore it. But, about the reason... I wasn't sure I was on the right way. Yet it was more or less just random walking around. I have started out south, it was far away from where I was now. Attempting to stick to uncivilized areas, I have managed to remain unnoticed... For no reason. But, it seemed that North I was going to have to avoid more things than before. Civilization was probably quite a lot in here, which meant more hunters would roam the woods and there won't be enough catch for me.
I spat on the ground and stood up. It was stupid, at least kind of. I was, of course, going to find a pond or something and get myself to wait and try to get some fish, but it was going to be a pain. He hated fishing. It was plain, but it was going to be good enough to feed myself.
I started walking around, looking at the trees. It was not your average dank and cursed forest, more or less, it looked like the cheery green woods I've heard existed in the North. Maybe that was one of them... Maybe. Oh, well I am not going to stay here until my feet broke under me. Strange, the sound a caravan was weakly leaking from ahead in the woods... I might be able to sneak past them.
Grunts and curses were present in the caravan's cacophony. My hand weakly went through the leaves and moved them aside. There were a lot of carriages, while four goons surrounded each one. The stock in those carriages was unsettling... Because, the stock... Were living people. Men, to be correct. They looked beaten, starving and exhausted to no end.
I barely held a wince in my mouth, as one of the goons pointed me and shouted something. I was probably hiding really bad, which probably costed me my cover. Someone screamed to capture me, and I just turned to run.
"Stop right there!" Someone roared and my head was mauled by something heavy. I fell on the ground, black rings started clouding my vision. I felt something warm trickle down my head. Two strong hands grabbed me, roughly, of course, and carried me somewhere. I grunted when he threw me on a wooden floor, and a door closed.
I lay there, breathing heavily, wondering where I went wrong, forgetting that my cover was awful. After a few minutes, I raised my head and saw black, metal bars running around me. A cage? Then it hit me. Those were slavers. I had no chance to do anything, for they were rich, and answered only to the nobility. I cursed my luck, and sighed. Laying back, as my eyes started closing.
"Don't go to sleep!" Someone whispered. I opened my eyes and rolled my head around. There, a black skinned man, with a bald head was looking at me. His shoulder was injured, and his eyes were wary of everything.
"Wh... Why?" I managed to ask, feeling dizzy as my mouth closed.
"Don't speak so loud!" He cut me off, with a whisper again. I nodded, and looked at him. Waiting for the answer, I tried to stand up, or at least sit, but it felt as if I was going to vomit when I tried. Laying back, I turned my head only to look at him.
"One lil' guy went to sleep, and those thugs... They got him out of the cage and raped him..." My eyes went wide. Rapist slavers? On top of that doing it to men? This was just wrong. Plain wrong.
"And... Poor boy couldn't even talk for a week after this, god bless to walk. It was animatistic. I don't wanna see it again, that's why I'm tellin' you..." He shrugged off. I knew he just wanted to be kind, but probably being a slave required heartlessness. I simply smiled.
"Thanks for saying this to me... I don't want to think how I would've felt. Thanks..." He just nodded. A while past without a lot of talking, but I knew I wanted to ask a lot of things. Sadly, I didn't think he would answer them. So, a slave, eh? How bad could this be? I mean, excluding the rape and itemisation of a human being. He could be a good servant... God bless if he got a good owner. But... Was the a way to escape?
"Hey... Um, name's Ryland, nice to meet you..." The same black man who had given me the advice to try and be a sleepless punk, but save my virginity. Although, I didn't know if it was counted as virginity if you have not been crazy enough to stick something up you ass, then I was fine.
"Hey, I'm... I don't know." Truth be told, that was true. I always ran around the dark woods, feeling no need of a name.
We stood in silence for a long while. Me, tinkering over what could happen if my owner, or whatever he was, decided to be an asshole and... Do that thing to me, would I be able to get through it? I didn't know.
"Where are we... Going?" This time it was me trying to start the conversation. And I did wonder, where were we going? I was probably not going to recognize the place we would be sent to, so me being me, I decided to ask, just so I didn't boil in the boring silence, which was disturbed only from the silent conversations led by the thugs.
"We were leaving Demacia when they captured you. I was a bit amazed by the fact they got a slave from so close to the city. Truth be told, I wondered if you were not going to be a noble out to hunt. But... You aren't." He answered. So... Demacia. What was that place either way? I knew I was going to be deaf and blind to the names and looks of those cities, but... They were strange. At least, the names sounded strange.
"I think we will drop off in Kalamanda, but... I hope we don't. I've heard stories about the arena there. They say that the gladiators can just slash off twenty armed slaves like us. I... I beg whatever God is up there we don't get thrown in that place." He shivered when he answered.
It seemed, that we were nothing more than belongings to the man who ran the caravan. I shivered. So they could throw us in that Hell Hole,called Kalamanda? And they would care less if we did get out of that challenge alive. They would make money either way.
I sighed. Maybe it was not going to be a good thing, being a good slave. Because there was the possibility to be thrown into Oblivion every minute of our lives. But... I didn't think I could escape, even if I wanted to. Ryland would know something about this.
"Hey... How long have you been a slave?" I asked him. As well as being an odject, he was a slave, longer than me.
"Well, I'm a slave since the Institute stopped the battle which was going to tear Kalamanda apart. I lived there, I had money, a home and a family, but the spells and warriors destroyed all of it. Something chose to let me live, and... Those thugs found me. I'm a slave for three years, and I have managed to evade the arena. But if I don't get a permanent owner any sooner, they will deem me unworthy and... Send me to that place..." I nodded. Now I understanded. A slave ended in the arena, no matter what he or she did. Well, maybe for the jentle sex it was not necessarily the arena. After all, women were not treated like men... I sighed as my stomach growled. How am I going to live with that empty belly?
Ryland's eyes drifted away as he lost focus on me. He was not a short person, yet he didn't look like an experienced man in anything. Yet, I already knew his nature was much more than a selfish human. I sighed.
After a few hours, and thousands screams of my starving stomach, the caravan came to a stop. Ryland sighed as a thug came our way.
"Ya slave, ya know da drill. Explain it to him." He unlocked the cages and I left mine. Ryland slowly crawled out of his, and walked next to me.
"It's time to eat. Do not leave the caravan or another hit on your head will follow. We will be given a bowl of food and then we are sent back to the cages." Ryland explained, looking at the grass. The landscape has changed quite drastically with the trip the caravan had made. Only grass remained from the deep forests I had been in when the day started. I groaned as my eyes fell on the rows and rows of men and women, all waiting in front of a wagon, one which probably had the food supplies. The slaves were all looking like Ryland, if we do not count the amount of bruises or their absence. All were exhausted, rib were visible from under their skin. They looked like... Undead, yet they were alive. I have seen the living dead, and even though it was only once, I had been terrified, I dumped everything and ran for my life.
Shiverring at the memory, I looked at the food we were going to receive. Something like a soup, but it was more or less too thick to be a soup. We also got a rough spoon to eat with. As I looked at Ryland, I felt that he was going to eat something he didn't want to. I realised that this meal was not going to be warm, nor tasty. At least it would feed us.
After a minute it was my turn. I was handled the bowl with the same thick substance and a spoon. Then it was the next slave's turn. Well, so it was my turn to go, find a seat and... Well, eat. So I looked around, searching for Ryland. The black skinned man was already digging into his meal. He looked like he was eating something really tasty, but in reality it was probably the worst thing you could eat. I peaked at mine, and felt sad, because thins kind of food was fit for swine and hens. Grunting, I sat down next to him and started munching. It was, indeed, disgusting. Awful taste, dry, and it was not a liquid at all. A few bites and I was already prepared to just leave it.
"If you don't eat this, you won't have any other food until tomorrow at the same time." I looked at Ryland, who was just finishing his meal, and I knew he was telling me the truth.
Somehow, with a lot of willpower, I finished mine too. With the wish to throw up, I was walking back to my cage, when a thug grabbed me by my shoulder.
"You, not yet. Tha wizard's going to have to mark you with tha spell." At first, I felt so terrified when I felt his hand on my shoulder, I thought that this was the end, the rape would follow and I wouldn't be able to do anything for a week. But, his voice was not threatening. I couldn't believe my luck when he led me to a small carriage and mad me go inside.
The atmosphere here was so much different from the atmosphere outside. It was dark, with the exception of a small lamp struggling to keep burning. I saw the wizard. He had all the properties of a wizard, with the long beard, the pipe, the robes. Only his muscles, which were easily visible from underneath the robe. One badass mage, I thought.
"Ah, there you are. I was wonderin' when you'd come here!" His voice was somewhat strange. A bit scratchy, as if a child was speaking, but with a little deeper tone. I tried to ignore it.
"So, let's get starting, shall we? I have to know your name, your age, your height, your skills in doing jobs..." I looked at him for a while after he asked me. Then, I realised I had to answer.
"I have no name, I am... 26 years old, I do not know my height, I do not know my skills at doing jobs." I replied to his question. And he looked as if I had mauled him with a wet towel. He rumbled about something as he stood up and walked to a small desk. There, he wrote in somethings.
"So, now, let's see here, we will call you 'The Nameless', you are 26 years old, you are 6.4 feet tall, and you are a hunter. Fine?" I looked at him amazed. Yes, I used to hunt in order to survive, but... How did he know how tall I was? Even I didn't know. I slowly nodded. That was why they called him 'the wizard', because he was able to learn those things from the air, I guess.
"How did you do this?" I asked, unable to keep my interest behind bars. He smirked, or at least I thought he did so.
"You barely fit through the door, which is 6.5 feet tall, and about the job... Well, the bow brought to me couldn't have been used for somethin' else in the forests. I deduced your being boy, now come here, I gotta mark you!" I walked slowly towards him, thinking about the thing he called deduction. It was interesting. He hadn't wasted time using his power to learn about me, he just used his brain. A wizard, no doubt. When I was in front of him, he grunted.
"Get that sleeve of your left hand, because I cannot mark you with it on!" I quickly complied, and when my skin was uncovered, he quickly chanted a few words and slammed his palm against my shoulder. Excruciating pain exploded through me, as I felt his palm burn into my flesh. After a second, it was over. I fell to my knees and started weakly sobbing, for I've never felt so much pain in my life.
"It's over. Now, If you try to run away, the mark will start burning, and cause you much more pain than I did while placing it. So, do not try to escape, okay?" I slowly nodded and left the carriage. The thug looked at me, still sobbing weakly and holding my left hand with my right one. There was... Something strange in his eyes.
"So, what's your name, kid?" He asked. His voice was the same, gentle voice which had scared me when I first met him. I slowly tuned my head to face him.
"Why are you trying to be... Friendly? I'm just a slave... You know, an object. A belonging to the man who owns this... Caravan." He looked at me, brow raised.
"If you think like this about your life, you are never going to get anywhere. You know, I was a slave like you once. But I was thrown in tha Pit, tha Arena I Kalamanda. And, since I was able to last for one month in there, my owner let me go. He was a good man, my owner. But, that guy, I've been on duty here for five years. No one was freed, which is bad. Five years... That guy loves the money he makes from you." So... He was a slave once. How did that matter to me?
I was already in front of my cage when the nice thug went off to his business. I crawled in, and started breathing heavily, thinking of what was about to come.
--
He woke up. Screaming, his hands grabbed his head and held it with all the strength he could. Blood poured from his ears, eyes rolled back into his head and started darkening while blood trickled from his eyelids. His hair darkened, while his hands and body build as a whole strengthened. His body's skin started shredding, and more blood poured from the wounds. After a while, he stopped. Silence fell in the small room, which was actually a cage.
"Black magic... Curse it." His voice cracked. Gordoth roared as the cell shook from an explosion outside. Another roar echoed from outside, this one however brought thunder with itself. He was weakened to no extend right now. His body in it's previous state was nowhere close to his full potential, but this one was even worse. And, after being forced to use the spell, Gordoth was weakened to a state that even Teemo, in his savagely crippled body was going to be able to beat the crap out of him.
Standing up, Gordoth slipped in his own blood, falling on the ground, and cursing wildly. The body of the slave was going to get used to his presence. And, he didn't kill the man. He absorbed his memories and was now part of him. A little while passed. Another explosion reeked outside. I better hurry. If I do not, the whole thing can fall on top of me.
Gordoth stood up, holding his left arm. Slowly, he creeped to the cage door. Placing a hand on it, the lock slowly melted. Time to see what is going on up there... He thought as his feet carried him up.
Chapter 31
Taric leaped out of the way. Another torrent of blood shot towards him, and he was avoiding the all. Well, almost all he could. One had landed on his left arm, and good thing he wasn't left handed. Vladimir kept being the same aggressive type, not on the defensive as always. He was just the same as on the fields, yet he was much more unpredictable. Even though it was three on one, Vladimir was still holding on, and was on the winning side.
Volibear was still weak from the reanimation, and was now trying to dodge the blood flying towards him, while The Demacian was simply holding his hand up. His left eye, however, was twitching wildly and tears of blood fell from it. Taric had no knowledge of this kind of magic, so he decided to ignore it for a while, or at least until they destroyed Vladimir. Or stopped him.
A fireball made impact with the Hemmomancer and the side where he was hit exploded in a bloody hell, and this destroyed his left arm. Taric smiled. That's my chance! He dashed towards his opponent and mauled Vladimir's head. The Hemmomancer flew twenty feet backwards and crashed into a wall. Taric turned to his right, where the entrance to the dungeon led. He was kindly surprised to see a familiar figure. Gordoth.
He was covered in blood and his body was quite bruised, but as a whole he was aright.
"Hail…" He said. Taric nodded.
"Taric, I can't fight… I am weak, and so I will have to leave you. If you can stun Vladimir for a long enough amount of time, we will be able to get away, but with him running around and firing at will, we are in trouble." Gordoth explained. Taric nodded, eyes narrowing. So… He was going to have to beat the way out, eh? Fine by him.
"Ok. You go, I will hold him off." Taric ordered.
"You armor is gone… Dar—"
"I know. But, it is not the clothes that make the person, eh? Now get out of here!" Taric parried and Gordoth left, along with Volibear and the Demacian.
Taric looked at them walking out for a while, then turned to Vladimir.
"Looks like I forgot to take care of your essence…" Lamely commented the Gem Knight as his body cracked. His eyes lit up, with their ordinary blue color changing to a cryptic white. His hair started floating behind him. Vladimir crawled out of the wall, his eyes flashing madly with their thirst for blood. No good, he could kill Taric easily while the gem Knight knew nothing of destroying essences. Yet, he would do battle. It was going to protect Runeterra... He knew that he had to defeat Vladimir, even if he died afterwards.
"Vladimir, tell me, why did you join the Noxians?" Asked Taric, trying to distract his opponent, even though he knew the answer. Vladimir laughed.
"You think I would've remained in a society full of peace lovers? Well, I might have. But war societies… Ah, this is different. If you kill somebody, they will ask if he was a spy, and if you say 'yes he was', they will let it slide. I can kill as many as I wish, without a penalty…" He kept talking, but Taric ignored him. Seems that I was right… He is wicked and evil. Taric thought. "And I will end your miserable excuse for a life, which will allow me to follow your friends into the hellhole they've dug for themselves…" Vladimir flew twenty feet away, digging through the wall which had stopped him the previous time, and fell on the ground. Rolling for a while, he stood up. Taric was standing in front of the hole in the wall. His hand was covered in blue shards, which strangely represented… Sapphires. It was impossible, at first, but then it turned out that his whole body was slowly being covered in more and more shards.
"How—How are you doing this?" Roared Vladimir, terrified by the vast amount of shards which was spreading over Taric's body. It was well known that sapphires gave him his power, but without the armor, he was powerless. But, now then, how did he have so much strength to throw him through the wall and make him fly so far. Was he… No way! Vladimir used a spell of his and his eyes widened. It was as he feared. It was not Taric's armor, it was his bones and blood. They were made out of sapphires. His bones, at least. The blood only had little, little shards of sapphire which Vladimir almost couldn't see. "No…" He whispered.
"Yes, It is true. You are destined. You will fall by my hand, Vlad. There is no other way out of this madness." Taric's left hand started morphing into something like a shield. He smirked, for he knew he had terrified Vladimir, and now had the chance to take him down. At least, he hoped it would be easy to take him down as fast as he could. Then, the cackling came. Vlad was laughing uncontrollably, shaking and drooling at once.
"Yes! YES! I WILL PROOVE TO THE WORLD THAT ALL MUST COWER BEFORE THE VLAD!" The hemmomancer screamed and charged blindly towards Taric. The Gem knight raised his hands and dashed towards Vladimir. A torrent of blood shot towards the gem knight and he sidestepped. Vladimir screamed and exploded into a bloody mess, covering everything in a radius of five feet. Taric instantly started trying to remove the blood, but it had already started digging into his skin. He groaned and slammed the ground, shattering the crystal armor he had created around himself while fighting Vladimir. This successfully removed the blood, and the hemmomancer reformed in front of him.
"You survived that attack with nary a scratch to bleed from? Well… COWER AND DESPAIR!" Commented Vlad and reappeared behind Taric. The Gem Knight cursed under his breath and mauled the land, but this time, the explosion was greater. However, this time a beam of radiant, blue light flew up. Vladimir pooled himself so he would withstand the damage dealt from the attack. It looked like Taric's Radiance, which was his ultimate ability on the Fields Of Justice. It was, however, thousands of times more devastating.
Rocks and iron bars and doors and torches flew in the air, the land started splitting. Vladimir thanked god he had been clever enough to enter his pool mode, so he survived. Smoke covered the whole area.
When the smoke cleared, Taric was surrounded by a blue swirl, which Vladimir could say burned with extreme heat. It was something like Shyvana's move, but much stronger. His eyes left eye was closed, and his right one hat two irises. His muscles were cracking. Vladimir smirked in his pool. He was going to end Taric with one swift motion… All will cower before the Vlad…
The pool of blood slowly moved to Taric's legs. The Gem Knight didn't feel it. Vladimir slowly started materializing behind his opponent. The smile never leaving his face. When he was at the level of Taric's shoulders, Vladimir extended his hands, slowly, allowing his essence to swirl just a mere inch from The Gem Knight's back. A fist sent him flying through the air. Thirty feet, forty feet, fifty feet. He fell to the earth and sixty-seven feet. Taric's hand was outstretched in Vladimir's direction.
Taric's left eye opened, revealing a crystallized eye. His other eye, with the two irises, started crystallizing too. Vladimir groaned when he stood up. Taric looked at him, his hair flying wildy behind his back, even though there was no wind.
Vladimir appeared behind him, eyes bleeding, and his essence made itself comfortable into Taric's back.
"ALL WILL KNEEL BEFORE THE VLAD!" Screamed the Hemmomancer as Taric's body fell to the ground.
XAXAX
"Hey, don't stay there Taric! We have a game to win!" Ezreal smiled warmly in the Gem Kinghit's direction. The blonde boy with blue eyes and orange triangles beneath them was holding his hand out to his comrade. They had prevailed over an attack, but just barely. Taric smiled and took his friend's hand.
Even though usually it was the other way around, Taric didn't mind Ez giving him a helping hand. Damn, if he could just rest one day, he would leave it to Ezreal to take care of things for him. Taric smiled warmly and they walked forth.
XAXAX
"Taric!" Lux smiled in his direction. She was like the sun, and while Leona and Pantheon were a few feet from them, he didn't mind calling Lux his Sun. She was so… Innocent.
"What?" He asked, shaking his head weakly. The moment they had sat down on the small blanket he had started daydreaming. He did this a lot, back in the days… Lux puffed her cheeks and palced her hands on her hips.
"You were Daydreaming! Again! Seriously, I do not know if I should take you seriously as a boyfriend or just be a friend with you!" She complained, but when his hand wrapped around her little shoulders, she instantly sunk into his embrace. Taric closed his eyes and smiled.
XAXAX
"Taric, I do not know if you should look at me for too long… You might get some HAIR on your face!" The joke, which was not really funny, made Graves fall on the ground and roll around laughing. Taric scratched his chin, and after a while, joined the laugh.
"You know, I wonder how will you look with a beard! It might suit you!" Commented Draven, winking in his direction. Tresh just raised his shoulders. Taric smiled.
"You'll never know unless I try, will you now?" He asked, smirking in their direction. Graves looked disappointed, but Draven laughed.
"You are inheriting something from me, my dear friend! It is the need to keep your looks intact! Hahaha…"
XAXAX
"I do not know, we might have a problem if the Summoners catch us doing this…" Lux whispered, while Taric bravely looked around. It was a few hours beyond midnight, and they were alone in the corridors of the Institute.
"Well, I know you want that book really much, but cannot get it even by climbing on a chair, so I will get it for you!" Taric announced, smiling to his girlfriend. She reddened but kept going after him.
"But why do I have to come with you? I mean—"
"You know only girls can get the yordle snap trap pancakes! And, I happen to love those pancakes!" Taric happily exclaimed, a little too loud. He lowered his head, Lux doing the same, and they swiftly went to the cafeteria, since it was closer.
"KNOCKNOCK!" Someone shouted. Taric and Lux leaped off their feet and hid behind a wall. "Who's there? The Moon!..."
They both smirked to each other. Diana had once again started to get sleepless nights in order to worship the Moon. She was one strange person, Diana. Lux giggled silently, while Taric ran a hand through his forehead. She scared them good.
XAXAX
"Wow, Taric, you are amazing! You can beat the whole enemy team alone!" Ezreal exclaimed, smiling and waving his hands up in the sky. Taric smiled to his comrade and friend. Scratching the back of his head, he smiled.
"Well, you know this year the Summoners allowed me to fight a bit more freely!" Taric explained, showing a toothy grin to Ezreal. His smile suddenly turned to a frown.
"But… They will pick you much more now, and we won't be able to go out with Lux and Cait… And… We won't be in the same team a lot of times…" Taric grunted. He placed a reassuring hand on Ez' shoulder.
"Do not say such things! They will allow you to fight with more freedom too! We will be the best duo EVER!" Taric announced, smiling to his friend. Ezreal smiled to and they both laughed.
XAXAX
Vladimir looked at Taric. He was at his limits, but knew he had defeated the gem Knight. The giant hole through his chest was proof of it. Usually, this attack destroyed the whole body, but Taric was a special case. He was a strong man, and his abilities by far surpassed any of his previous opponents. He was planning to kick Taric's head, but something stopped him. A feeling of… Acknowledgement, and of thankfulness ran through Vladimir's cold heart.
An arm wrapped around his leg. Vladimir's eyes widened, and he screamed when Taric pulled his foot off. A sickening crack echoed through the dead land which was now this area, and Vladimir's scream accompanied it.
The Hemmomancer fell to the ground and coughed a few times. He was terrified by Taric.
"But… How? Your… Your heart was—"
"Destroyed? That's where you are… Wrong… My heart, is there, where my bones are… As long as my bones are all inside my body, I will live…" Taric answered, but coughs disrupted his breathing. He couldn't even cough blood, since his lungs were gone. He shouldn't be able to breathe or talk! But… He was… The Gem Knight.
Slowly, almost painfully, Taric slumped towards Vladimir, who was laying on the ground. The Hemmomancer's eyes were wide, he was terrified.
"I will end… You… And I will save them! They can not fight you… Only I can…" Taric told Vladimir. The Hemmomancer tried to move back, but his leg hurt really bad. He couldn't move, and so was going to die. Taric was going to kill him.
"And now…" Taric started, his right hand crystallizing, waves of cold and heat erupting from it. "I will take care…" The edge of his knuckles sharpened, and hardened. "That no one from them…" Blue fire erupted from the back of his hand, burning the side of his face and hair. "Has to fight… You…" The fist flew down, with the speed of light, the might of a giant, and the weight of a mountain.
The explosion echoed throughout Valoran. Almost everyone raised their heads to look, and saw, the beam of thunder. The ground shook violently, and the Elders whispered of ancient prophecies.
Taric fell, lifeless, over Vladimir. The Hemmomancer breathed inwards, outwards. Repeating this process a few times, he started screaming. After a few seconds, the screaming turned into laughs.
Taric's attack was focused into destroying a part of the body. However, his sheer willpower had destroyed most of Vladimir's lower half. Yet, his heart and essence remained, thumping and swirling. But he was alive. Which meant one thing…
All would cower before The Vlad.
Chapter 32
Taric woke up. A slight pain in his head signaled to him that something wasn't right. Slowly, his nose and ears started picking off his surroundings. He was laying on something... A bit hard and sharp, but mostly pleasant. It smelled and felt just like grass. He sniffed once, twice, and his nose picked on the smell of cooked chiken. His ears registered rumbling water and the crackling whispers of fire. His hands twitched and they were tickled by the streaks of grass. His feet lifted up, cracked some bones, and then fell down on the grass. He felt his mouth, and it opened in a pleased inhale. And, at last, his eyes slowly creaked open, revealing to him the beautiful blue sky, with small white clouds. He turned his head and green grass with random flowers surprised him kindly.
Slowly, the Gem Knight stood up, and with a groan, stretched his limbs. He felt quite soar, and it wouldn't hurt him to find the river and splash some cold water over his face. His nose, however, had other plans for him, and, without Taric allowing them, his legs moved in the direction of the chicken, getting cooked on top of a little fireplace. However, someone else was already there.
The man was tall, with black hair, not really long, but enough to reach his shoulders, yet somehow holding it's direction upwards, towards the sky. His broad shoulders represented those of a warrior, which meant that once in his life. However, the chicken looked like it was quite well cooked. That man could've been a cook, but with some nice body build. Taric went as to ignore his past and walked towards the small fire.
"Ah, Taric. I didn't think you'd be the first to appear here. But come on, have a seat." The man turned, and hazel brown eyes looked at Taric.
"Darius?" Taric asked, surprised to see the Noxian. He was supposed to be alive, wreaking havoc on Valoran. The Hand of Noxus nodded.
"Yes. We are in a place one too familiar to you." Answered Darius and patted on the ground next to him. Taric, choosing to sit down, made himself comfy and looked at Darius. So… He was dead? Did they manage do defeat and kill him while he wore the armor? This was amazing, decided the Gem Knight.
"They didn't kill me." He answered the unspoken question. Taric's brow lifted.
"Then what happened? Did… Someone from Noxus kill you? Or… I don't know… Maybe it was –"
"Something else. Much more bothersome than everyone you could think of." Darius interrupted Taric's thoughts, and his eyes narrowed. "I was betrayed, by one who I trusted with all my body and soul." He looked at Taric, and The Gem Knight remembered that day…
"Swain. It was Swain, am I right?" Asked the long haired warrior. Darius nodded.
"He knew I wouldn't join the cause, even thought it would allow Noxus to rise. Then, one day… He sent his assassins…
Darius almost leaped out of his bed. His hair was slashed by a small knife which flew from atop him. His hand wrapped around the handle of the axe, and he didn't hesitate to slam the weapon right there, right now. Wood splinters flew from the wall, but the hooded figure moved out of the way in the last moment. A red haired woman appeared next to the hooded one, and, at last, a shadow moved close to the duo. So… What were they doing here?
Talon appeared behind him, together with Katarina. They were going to attempt to do it swiftly, but he spun even before the blade masters could stab their blades in his back. They had to jump out of the way, but not before they both threw a set of knives at the Hand of Noxus. The shadow was, for now, simply watching. But, a very real blade adorned it's hand. And very real, red blood was leaking downwards.
Darius snapped. Draven. He roared and dashed forwards, completely ignoring the daggers which flew towards his massive frame. The door to his room was shut, of course, and he ignored it as his body collapsed with the wood, breaking it into pieces. The assassins followed suit, but were too late as a wardrobe was placed on the door frame. Darius descended to the lower level and entered Draven's room. Sighing, he smiled. The younger blood brother wasn't there, as he was probably having fun in some brothel. Darius groaned and left the room. He needed more space to fight with his fullest efficiency, so he entered a grand dining room.
Pushing the table to the windows, he looked at the door. Sure enough, the shadow appeared first. This time, however, the blade flew towards him. Deflecting it, Darius extended the claw to pull the assassin towards himself. As expected of the master of shadow though, the axe went through air. Ducking underneath another flying blade, Darius pulled the axe towards himself and spun. This time, the blow was blocked. Well, not really, as a grunt was heard from Zed, and Darius turned, while spinning his axe with the blade extended to meet his opponent. Zed couldn't block this one thought, and had to suppress a scream as the claw of the axe kissed his stomach, digging in through the light armor almost instantly.
Darius grunted. You're mine! He thought and spun again, this time cutting through Zed's knees and causing him to fall down. Time to end this little game… Flying up towards the ceiling, Darius prepared to slam the axe down on Zed, but he was unable to.
He heard the maniacal cackles of a familiar executor, and was frozen in the air. He saw the arrows, and cursed as he appeared in front of Sion. The giant blade of the Noxian general dug into Sion's axe, and the undead fell to his knees. Darius, however, saw the cask with the marking fluid. It exploded on top of him and the zombie, and because of this, Urgot cackled again and started shooting the sharp objects he usually used in the Summoner's Rift.
Darius cursed and slashed on a few vital spots on Sion's body and without hesitation leaped in the air. The undead, being unable to use his hands for Darius had disabled them, was split in two in less than ten seconds. Urgot was next, as Darius' axe flew towards him. A long blade, however, interfered, and his axe was unable to go forth. He pulled the weapon towards himself and felt the small dagger dig into his back. Curse those cowards…
He fell on his face, as his body was rocked by a few of the claws which were shot from Urgot's hand. Darius cursed and stood up, spinning in the process. No one was caught. The Hand of Noxus felt a trio of blades stab his hands and back, and he lost control over his body.
Grunting, Darius cursed the assassin's and… Died.
…They were cowards thought. Unable to take me on without my armor and their element of surprise. I died, before any of this started. I saw that they did something with my body, but… I couldn't understand what it was clearly at first. Then, I realized that it was actually some sort of a necromantic spell, but the effect was different. I was still here… In this dimension of afterlife… Nonsense…So, I looked at my body stand up, and with the probably most sinister expression in the world, it acted just like I would act when I was really angry. Though, I never got angry at anyone or anything." He finished. Taric nodded, but his expression darkened.
"I think they revived only half of your being. The dark half of your being… The evil half of it." Taric deduced, and nodded in Darius' direction. The Hand Of Noxus sighed.
"I knew those bastards would somehow manage to darken my days… But of course, thank you for telling me. So, do you want some Chicken?" Asked Darius, smiling warmly to Taric. The Gem Knight felt really unordinary, seeing Darius act so… Unusually.
"Has Gordoth passed by? I mean, he was supposed to be dead. Goodness knows you were the one who killed him. Or, at least that's what I heard. Soldiers speaking about you killing the last summoner. He was the last summoner, Just so you know." Taric asked, and Darius nodded.
"He was here, as a matter of fact. He spoke with Jebus and left shortly after. Jebus didn't seem interested, so I decided that they just had some talk. But, when you think of it, Jebus is always preparing for something. He is a strange fella." Darius answered, his smile returning to his face. Taric nodded, and started wondering, who cold that Jebus be.
"Well… Can I talk to that Jebus man? I think he could tell me a bit of this which I am looking for…" Taric asked, wondering if he could meet and speak with Jebus. Darius laughed heartily, and then placed a hand on Taric's shoulder.
"You can talk to Jebus, but he will probably keep mumbling about whatever he mumbles about, and will not answer you. But, he isn't crazy, if that's what you think. He is just… Unusual." Darius answered to the Gem Knight's question. Taric nodded, but still didn't really believe the Noxian. How could that man be in… Heaven, or whatever this place was, and be a bit crazy?
"I am interested in meeting him, so I will go and… Search for him." Taric told Darius, and stood up.
"He is just outside the forest. You will easily find him… He is not hard to notice." Darius answered to Taric's unspoken question. The Noxian's hand pointed North. The Gem Knight nodded and started walking in the direction he was pointed to.
After walking for about three hours, Taric noticed the amount of trees was lowering. And, the sky was darker. It seemed as if it was empty at first, but when the trees cleared, the skies were pitch black. Everything was black. Dark. Taric couldn't see almost anything. It reminded him of… The dream world, where the hands kept pulling him towards themselves. His eye twitched.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed his throat and lifted him up in the air. Two, blood red eyes stared at him, digging into his soul. He heard silent whispers, and the hands let go.
"Not guilty. Will be left to live. I have to prepare. Darkness is swallowing the lands. TerraRune needs the Savior." Silent footsteps echoed somewhere in front of Taric. He looked around, and, for the second time in his life, felt scared. Yet, this time, he was truly scared.
Who was this man, Jebus, and what was TerraRune? Taric didn't know, but he hoped to find out soon.
Chapter 33
As the weapons clashed, the demi-god smiled. Jax was improving faster than expected, he was, indeed, a great student and his title was not misplaced. The grandmaster at arms was much more than met the eye, because even though a lot of people could easily recognize him, they would not think he was something so great, because he was covered by all those torn clothes.
After Nasus had announced to the others that today would be a sparring session, Zac and Irelia had decided to come and watch how the grandmaster and the curator were landing blows and blocking others. The spar was already going on for a few hours, and Jax was having difficulties keeping up with Nasus. This was his limit, or at least the brim of the cup. The amount of hours Jax was spending to learn how to use the Wuju style, was about as much as Nasus spent on his books before they arrived. The demi-god was pleasantly surprised when Draven had told him of the refugee camp's survival. It was important that the rest of the champions, not affiliated with Noxus, lived through it. If they were to rebel against the evils of the High Command, led by Swain. Swain... He was truly an amazing tactician, because of his ability to hunt down Jax and try to kill him.
Yet Jax was much better than simple assassination attempts, and had developed a plan with which he managed to evade death. Something like the ancient Hokrukses, which Nasus had managed read about.
After deflecting another blow, Nasus found an opening and moved with as much speed as he could. Jax dropped his axe and lifted his hands in surrender. Nasus withdrew his weapon and sighed. It was a mbout a month since they had arrived, and no one knew about their location. The demi-god was pleased to know no one would interrupt his job.
"I think it is over." Nasus commented. "Yet this time you lasted much longer. Considering that you are learning for only a month. But, since you are our Grandmaster at arms, it is understandable." Jax simply nodded, putting his hands on his knees. It was impossible for him to keep entering the Alpha walk after the first hour. Although, there was almost nobody who could keep up with the Alpha walk. But, some could, and this would be bad for Jax, since his ability to kill an opponent swiftly depended on the Alpha walk.
Nasus turned to look at the viewers, who were sitting on the floor just outside the training range. Irelia was in a much better condition than the day of their arrival. Seemed as if the medicine Nasus was applying to her food was finally taking effect. She was almost allways sitting on the floor and watching Jax train. It was probably what brought her comfort, after what happened to her homeland and friends.
Zac, however, was a different story. He was a tidy little fella, who wasn't fit in the position of murderers, more like a hero, a savior of people. As much as Nasus knew he could be a spy, something about his personality told the Curator that Zac was no spy. The little green man was cheering for Jax half way through the sparring match, but at the end he went silent. Wasting so much energy in shouting one name was not a clever deed.
"Next time, you BEAT him!" Cheered Zac again and smiled. The grin looked goofy and stupid, but Zac meant it. He was adorable, in his unique way.
"Well, that's next time. For now I think you will need some rest, Ja-" He was interrupted by a shattering explosion, and with the ceiling shaking. Some debris fell down, but no one was hit.
Draven came sprinting in the hall, as surprised as everyone else.
"What is the meaning of this?" Nasus raised his voice, and its thundering strength overthrew the explosion's echo. He looked around, and then signaled the group to follow him.
When they reached the main entrance, they saw the reason behind the explosion. Three figures, familiar in their being and existence, were destroying random objects. One of then was a small, childish figure. The second was of a man, and the third was a spider-like being. Annie, Pantheon and Elise. However, when Nasus' eyes got a better view on the trio, he noticed that their skins and eyes were not what they had been before. Gray skin color, and yellow, dull eyes. Death reeked from them. But, strangely enough, they didn't seem to notice Nasus and his group. Instead, they were chafing after a familiar, white clothed black man.
"Lucian!" Nasus called, and readied his weapon as the trio of undead turned to look at him. He dashed forward, and his left hand extended skywards, calling the wither to bind the undead. The Purifier lifted his pistols, or whatever they were, and started shooting at the slowed enemies. At first it seemed as if the resurrected champions were going to fall easily, but the particles which Lucian shot were not affecting the walking corpses at all.
Nasus grunted, the wither would wear off soon, and it was not going to be a good thing. He grabbed the staff with both of his hands. An arm reached out from the ground, and wrapped around Nasus' leg.
The Demi-God pulled his leg and with the arm came a big head with a small body. Heimerdinger, at least what remained from him. Some of the yordle's body parts were flailing around as if he had no bones. Nasus managed to wring the undead off his leg, and looked around. Even more arms were starting to appear out of nowhere, and he could say he started recognizing some of the limbs' owners.
The hand of Renekton was the first to attract his attention. The scaly fingers wrapped around the sand, and then pushed.
"Run." He whispered. The others hesitated. "RUN, you FOOLS!" Roared the demigod, as his eyes narrowed. Jax whispered something and pulled Irelia and Zac with him. Lucian was looking for a while, staring at the creatures which resembled the Champions of the League. After a while, he nodded to Nasus and fled, following swiftly after the trio. Draven was the only one left. He only looked. Just staring into the undead monsters. Most he recognized, others his memory had deleted.
"Draven, I want you to watch over Jax. Will you do it?" Asked Nasus, clutching his staff.
"I… I will." Replied the Executioner and ran. Nasus grunted. There were about twenty or more undead Champions walking towards him. He growled and spun his staff.
As Nasus was engaging in a hopeless battle, a shadowy figure was climbing the roof of the temple, which now lays in ruins.
The demigod mauled and block, parried and chunked off giant pieces of flesh and destroyed everything his hands and weapon could reach.
Everything stopped.
Nasus couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. But his enemies couldn't move as well. They were frozen, in a stasis, something like the spell the summoners had used to stop a battle between Noxus and Demacia, which was about to destroy Kalamanda, a small mining village in the middle of Valoran. But this was much stronger.
A figure crawled towards him. Cloaked, wearing a white robe man moved slowly towards him. A short beard was covering the lower half of his face, while the left side looked as if it had fallen off at one point of the man's life, and was sued back up. There were a few pieces of leather strapped to his head, as if to stop wounds from reopening again. There was a circular object hovering above his head, but the interesting thing was that it had a crack in the middle, just above his forehead. There was a giant sniper rifle on his back, and it did look scarier than Caitlynn's weapon. There was also a smaller gun, more like a pistol, easily the size of Graves' shotgun strapped to the man's side. Last, but the most threatening of his appearance weapon, was a giant, two-handed blade. It was probably going to be hard for Nasus to lift it with one hand, but the man who was walking towards him was simply holding it in his right palm, barely executing any force at all.
"So… Thy Oath of Thy Nomad has been broken…" Whispered the man, who was starting to inflict more and more fear in Nasus, a feeling the demigod had not felt in a while. The ex-champion was starting to doubt the humanoid origins of the creature in front of him. He noticed the blade was covered in a grey substance, and underneath it had small runes scribed close to the hilt. What worried Nasus was that the material which created the substance was well known to him. It was used by him and the summoners in the days he would visit Renekton to see his brother. This material dulled the weapon's strength, made it heavier and completely removed the threat of a cut appearing on a hit person.
"Speak, for thy Savior has allowed it…" Said Nasus' companion, and the demigod felt a surge of tickling electricity run over him. His mouth opened wide. "Answer thy question… Is thy being here… Allowed by thy Savior…" Whispered the creature, looking at the ground. It's eyes were not yet uncovered, for Nasus felt they were something which would traumatize him for life… If he lived through this. He was afraid, yet he feared even more, because he knew what was the creature talking about. The Nomad had challenged Nasus in a duel, and they ended in a stalemate. The Nomad swore an Oath to aid Nasus whenever he needed it. However, he was no where to be seen when the catastrophe appeared.
"Where is… The Nomad?" Asked the demigod, trying to earn a glance from the man in front of him. He failed.
"Thy Nomad… Has been reduced to dust, and blown away in Thy endless Fire…" Whispered, once again, the creature. Nasus was almost amazed, for the man in front of him claimed that… The Nomad had lost to somebody, and was now burning in… Hell? But, that was hardly achievable, since Nasus and the Nomad were the only ones who could rival each other's skill in combat.
"How… Who… Reduced the—"
"Thy Savior…" Answered the creature, turning it's gaze towards Nasus. Two, red orbs started into his soul. Red irises, red eyeballs, everything as red. Bloody red.
"And Thy Savior…" His hand dropped the sword to the ground, and pulled the giant weapon from his back. Nasus' eyes tried to widen, but they couldn't.
"Will send Thy Enemy…" The weapon was inches away from Nasus' head. He could see the little fire burning down its throat, just like a dragon would do before burning its victim to a crisp.
"To burn…"
The weapon fired.
Chapter 34
Jax was running. Again. It had become something he could call a specialty of his. He was very, very good at running, because he had ended up doing it often. More often than he would have ever wanted to do it. In fact, he had done it more than he had ever thought he would need to do it. The weakening of his soul, as a result of his brush with death all those weeks, maybe even years ago, had left him weak. Weaker than he had ever been.
His might paled in comparison to what it had been before. His body had recovered, but to face the greater threats that hunted him and his companions, he needed to re-obtain his might, for it appeared as if he had lost it. Of course, there were other factors at hand. Other things to consider, other consequences to bear. He had only begun his journey down the path of Wuju, and yet he already recognized the great power that it offered him.
Yet, there he was, running. To his shoulder clung Zac, at his side ran Irelia, and behind them were Lucian and Draven. Lucian's sudden appearance was not something the Grandmaster at Arms had expected, for he lacked the knowledge concerning the Purfiier's state of being. As it turned out, he was alive and relatively well. One thing that stood out to Jax was the fact that Lucian had, seemingly, known where Nasus was. Had the explosion been caused by his scuffle with the living dead, or had the explosion been caused by the appearance of the living dead? Why had Lucian appeared there?
So many uncertainties clouded the Grandmaster at Arms' mind that he dared not stop his sprint, for he could find himself needing to speak to the Purifier, so as to get some answers. Some semblance of reasoning as to what had happened, something to sate his thirst for explanations. Jax truly needed to know more, for he still felt as a stranger in a time that was not his own.
They ran. The four of them fled, like cowards, for as long as their feet could carry them. The darkness of the night was washed away by the light of day, and yet they still ran. However, that would not last.
Irelia was falling behind. She had yet to recover from the ordeals that had brought her to the current state that she was in. Jax, too, was struggling. The physical exertion of battling Nasus, even if in a play-fight, coupled with his lack of rest, was doing grave things to his physical ability.
"Let's stop ourselves here.-" Called Draven, coming to a halt. Irelia and Jax, too, stopped running, and found themselves breathing heavily. Lucian, for some reason, appeared completely unaffected by their run. It could have been connected to his occupation, but Jax could not know at the moment. "- I think we can rest here. We haven't slept, and we aren't ready for a trek across the lands. On top of that, we don't even know where we're going!" Proposed the Glorious Executioner, to which both Jax and Irelia nodded in agreement. Lucian did not nod.
"The dead do not rest. Nasus bought time for you, but it will soon run out, unless we keep moving." Warned Lucian. His eyes were narrowed, as if some kind of wrath was burning within him. Knowing little about the Purifier's past, other than the fact that he hunted the undead, Jax could not tell why that anger hid itself within the marksman.
"Even so, we are not dead, yet. And, if we wish to remain not dead, we need to rest up." Said Jax. Lucian looked at him, and it was as if his eyes tested the mettle of the Grandmaster at Arms, in a way only the Purifier could. He shook his head and sat down on the ground.
"So be it. I'll remain on guard. You three should rest as much as possible. I'd say the dead will catch up to us in a few hours, so take a nap." The dark-skinned man spoke of this grave danger with an even graver expression, as if he knew what had come to pass.
Expressing their gratitude with silent words, Jax and Irelia lied down, bundled together in an attempt to provide one another with a measure of comfort. Zac, whether willingly or not, found himself trapped between them. He did not complain about it, though, so everything was left as it was. Draven stabbed his axes into the ground and looked at Lucian, who, in turn, looked at the Noxian.
Their eyes remained locked, and it was as if each pair tested the other. The narrowed, cold gaze of Lucian against the smoldering glare of Draven. No sparks flew, no emotion could be gleaned, but they looked at each other, in silence, for minutes on end.
"You have changed." Spoke Lucian, at last, breaking eye contact. He looked in the direction they had come from, as if expecting their enemies to appear any moment now.
"You look like you're the same." Retorted Draven, keeping his eyes glued to the Purifier. The tension in the air only increased, even though they no longer looked at one another.
"I've lived through tragedy. It changes you only the first time." Calmly stated Lucian, giving an answer to a question that had not been asked. Alas, that was not the query Draven had in mind.
"How did this happen?" Asked the Glorious Executioner.
"I don't know." Answered Lucian. His tone sounded much more different than it had sounded just a moment ago. It almost appeared to contain the strain of having been defeated one too many times.
"That is not very reassuring, considering you are supposed to be the expert on all things undead!" Said Draven. That answer seemed to be a cop-out, and so the Noxian was not going to let it slide. Lucian sighed.
"I was on my way back. I'd been working with Nasus, trying to reestablish some semblance of certainty. We lacked that, and we never knew whether or not our next day might have been our last.-" He shook his head. "-There was a rumor that he heard. Sent me to investigate, up, to the northwest of Demacia. The shores were tainted by the filth of the Shadow Isles. As I was coming back... Well, you know the rest. You saw it." He finished and looked down at the ground, for only a moment.
Draven did not react to his words, physically. He thought about it. The Shadow Isles were, no doubt, connected with the appearance of these things. These undead creatures. Could it be, however, that the Shadow Isles themselves were connected to Noxus? Were they allies? Or was this a freak accident, something that had taken place due to the fact Lucian and Nasus had spread themselves too thin, trying to cover too much ground?
It seemed that Lucian had come to a conclusion, one of his own, concerning these events. To Draven, it appeared as if the Purifier believed that the undead had followed him, somehow, and had attacked. But how could the undead have seen him, all the way from the Shadow Isles? It was not possible, the distance was far too great. The maps always depicted the Isles as being far, far to the northwest, right in the corner of the pieces of paper. Another inconsistency was the fact that the undead were champions. Champions who, as far as he remembered, had perished in the Institute, on that horrible night.
That hinted at some kind of collusion. Or, maybe, agents of the Shadow Isles had made their way through the lands, to the Institute, and had dealt with its sole guardian. Following that, they had stolen the bodies and had done whatever unspeakable horrors they were prone to do to them. This was grim. Even more so than anything else. If they were moving against Noxus, that could provide them with an opportunity. If they were moving with Noxus, it could, or rather it would, spell their doom.
"There was something strange about those, though." Stated Lucian. That was unexpected. Draven had thought the Purifier would avoid speaking any more, as he, no doubt, felt a measure of guilt. And that guilt, felt by him, would keep him from speaking at length with the Glorious Executioner, knowing that he had been a good friend of Nasus.
"What was it?" Inquired Draven. If there was something strange, maybe it could be used against the undead. Or it could be something strange, for it went against all the things Lucian had known about these creatures. It could be something that would make their enemies stronger, rather than giving the four of them an edge.
"The light did not burn them."