"Welcome to the league, Riven." spoke the voice for the shadows of the room. Riven breathed a sigh of relief, shaking her head to clear the fog that the invasion of her mind had thrown up. The doors of the reflection chamber slowly yawned open, a pure white light obscuring vision for a moment, causing Riven to guard her eyes with her arm, squinting into the glow. As the light faded, Riven gazed for the first time on the inside of the institute of war. She walked across the chamber, her footsteps echoing in the room as they would in the future of Noxus.
She found herself in a grassy courtyard, corridors leading off in the 12 directions of a clock, like the numbers of a clock. A huge tree stood in the middle of the courtyard, seeming to pulse with energy. She stepped towards the tree, its power tangible, like waves lapping off the shore of Riven's body. She all of a sudden became aware of various people walking around the circular path on the outside of the courtyard, all wearing robes of various colours, happily talking about their plans for the day or discussing whatever it was they were working on. Not many of them payed much attention to her, but a few glanced to look her over. "Guess they dont get that many new comers here." Thought Riven, turning her attention back to the tree. She slowly reached out a hand, the waves of power hitting harder as her hand got closer.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." spoke a clear, scholarly male voice from behind her. She turned round, her cheeks flushing almost undetectably.
"Hmm?" murmured Riven, turning to face the man. He was average height, short, scraggy blond hair covering his head. His emerald eyes were his most striking facial feature, set in a pale complexion. He wore an azure robe, covering his whole body, a clipboard cradled in one arm.
"A cutting from the Ionian great tree. The sap from that tree is what we use to make healing potions for League matches. But touch it now, and the power will make you high as a Piltoverian air baloon." He stated, a smirk on his face.
Riven said nothing, simply smiling at the man.
"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rolaf, a research assistant here at the institute. I've been assigned to show you around, seeing as though its your first time here. You're..." Rolaf quickly scanned his eyes across the scroll. "Riven, right?" he asked, flashing her a dazzling smile.
"Yeah." spoke Riven, feeling her muscles relax. She hadn't been aware that she'd been tensing. She cursed herself in her head for being so nervous. She was safe here. Or so they say.
"Follow me then!" chirped Rolaf, strolling off towards the corridor at 12 o'clock. "This leads to the champion accommodation. There are two others," Pointing at the corridors at 6 and 9 o'clock "Which lead to the Demacian and Noxian barracks, respectively. But I'm assuming you don't want to go there right now."
"Mmm-hmm." agreed Riven, sidestepping a group of red robed people as they walked past. After a brief walk, they reached a huge set of double doors. The man placed his hands on the door and pushed them open, revealing a large common room with corridors leading off from it. "I can't go any further, unfortunately." He stated, handing her a key. "There's the key to your room. And once more, welcome to the league."
Riven walked slowly into the room, the door closing behind her. There didnt seem to be anyone in the room, so she just looked around, admiring the paintings that adorned the walls, the huge fireplace casting a homely glow over the room, when she heard a small voice pipe up: "Hello!"
Riven spun round, seeing nothing. Looking down, she saw a small yordle standing there, his furry face staring up at her. Riven smiled. Yordles had always reminded her of children, but she knew they were anything but. "I've never seen you before! Are you new?" he piped, his tone irrepressibly cheery.
"Yeah, just came today." She spoke. She felt calm around the little fellow. Perhaps it was a yordle trait.
"What's your name, ma'am?" asked the yordle, taking off his green hat as a sign of respect.
"Riven. My name's R-riven." She stuttered. It had been so long since someone asked that question. It had been so long since someone cared.
The yordle replaced his hat and gave a salute any officer would be proud of. "Captain Teemo of the Scouts of the mothership, reporting fooooorrr duty!" barked the yordle, military discipline evident in his voice. Riven laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she had done that. "Nice to meet you, Captain." she grinned.
"You're Riven? As in, the one from Noxus?" came another voice from across the room.
"Yeah, why?" asked Riven, the smile still showing on her face as she turned to see who had spoke. She saw a green blob who was distinctly humanoid walking over towards her, smiling, in his own way.
"Oh, it's just I remember seeing you somewhere before, in Noxus. I went for a drink with Blitzcrank and there was someone there called Riven. Wondered if it was the same one." he said, innocently.
Riven's mind flashed back. She knew exactly what bar he was referring too. That stage. Those tight fitting clothes...
She shook head quickly and blinked, bringing herself back to the present. "Yeah, I bet you do." she spoke, just as innocently.
Riven's smile returned slowly. "Anyway, I better be going to drop my stuff off." she said, readjusting her rucksack. "It was nice to meet you...?"
"Zac."
"Nice to meet you, Zac." Riven said, titling her head to one side slightly, before walking away in the direction of her room.
"See ya around, Miss!" squeaked Teemo as she walked, waving. Riven's smile grew, giving a little wave back herself.
She slowly wandered over to her room, experiencing all manner of smells and sounds. When she reached her room, the key she had been given sliding in the lock without a hint of resistance, the door opening with a moan. She slid her rucksack off her shoulders, tossing it onto the bed. She looked around, examining the room. There was a desk, writing equipment, the bed, a wardrobe with a mirrior and an armour stand. Simple lodgings, but it has all I need, she thought. She reached around her body, unclasping the buckles on her armour, letting it clunk to the ground. A wave of tiredness washed over Riven, causing her to stumble towards the bed. She'd been on the road for three days and hadn't had a wink of sleep, let alone 40. She slumped onto the bed, not bothering to finish undressing, not bothering to climb under the covers, before she willingly accepted the warm darkness of sleep.
When she awoke the next day, the sun was casting its spears of light across Valoran. Riven sat up, shocked. She looked around, wondering where she was for a moment. She was in her bed. HER bed. Riven's eyes welled up with tears for a second before her warriors pride banished them. She had a home, for the first time in 4 years.
She rose and quickly readied herself, a simple white dress to match her hair. She exited the room, greeted by the sound of joviality and conversation coming from the direction of the common room. She slowly strolled there, half unsure, half excited. When she entered the hall, she attracted looks, but that was to be expected. Most were looks of curiosity, but she'd seen some of the looks before. Despite having never met many of the people in this room, she recognised the animosity in their eyes. Ionians.
Riven sat down with the only other person she knew anything about, Zac. "Hey, Miss Riven!" Grinned the green goliath. "Sleep well?"
"Hey, Zac. I slept like a stone." She said, shaking her head with a slight smile.
"Good! There's some food In the next room if you want me to get you some." Said Zac, his grin still stretched across his face.
"No thanks, maybe later. Thank you, though." said Riven, her smile growing with the flush of her cheeks.
"I gotta go for a sec, someone wants to talk to me a moment. If you need anything, just ask, Miss Riven." With that, he got up and left to another corner of the room where a gargantuan stone creature and a metal golem sat, conversing.
Riven got up and got a drink, taking a swig before she sat back down. She glanced over at where Zac had gone to and saw the three creatures conversing, a robotic "Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha." echoing over the noise of the hall. Riven smiled, looking down into her drink as she swirled it. A shadow was cast over the table from behind Riven, causing her to look around, the smile disappearing off her face. The figure wasn't wearing the armour Riven had last seen her in, but she would recognise the Ionian captain of the guard anywhere. Riven was immediately aware how naked she felt without the comfort of her sword. She stood up to face Irelia, expecting to see the hate in her eyes that was so rightly justified, but to her surprise, she saw... nothing. It was a completely ambiguous look, one that you'd use when having a friendly conversation with a stranger.
Irelia spoke first: "Different circumstances now, huh?" she smirked, crossing her arms.
"Yeah..." said Riven, quietly. Her mind flashed back to the woman that stood in front of her performing a dance of death throughout Noxian ranks, before it flashed to herself holding the full length runic blade, Ionian soldiers screaming in terror as she bore down on them, before she mercilessly cut them down. Irelia tilted her body to one side by flexing her knee slightly. "Look, I just want to say something. We might have been enemies in the past; done things that we see in our dreams, but we were both just doing our jobs. I just want to know that for all of the things you've done, I hold no grudge. I hope the same is true for you." Stated Irelia, her green eyes piercing into the amber of Riven's. The Ionian hero turned and walked away, leaving Riven standing there, her thoughts reeling. With a slump, Riven sat back down, dredging her drink to the bottom. With a sigh she stood back up to refill her drink. She needed something strong.
Darius stomped through the hallways, the echo of his boots announcing his presence. He vaguely caught a figure out of the corner of his eye, not paying much attention to their identity as he passed. A familiar woman's voice piped up, sending shivers down Darius's spine. "Hello, General."
Darius stopped, turning to face the voice. "What do you want, fox?"
The woman smiled, running her fingers through one of her tails. "Nothing. It's just we havent..." The woman giggled, a silky smooth tone that would make anyone shiver. "...talked in ever such a long time."
"And nor shall we. I know your ways, Ahri." scowled Darius. "What are you doing here, anyway? This is the Noxian barracks."
"Isn't a girl allowed to have a little fun? Besides, people change, Darius." said the Fox with a pout. "I was talking with a new face. Pretty little thing with white hair. She was too involved in her own thoughts to notice my..." That laugh again. "Personality."
Darius raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't know Ahri swung that way, but it didn't surprise him to be honest.
Ahri smiled, picking up on the raised eyebrow; "It's more fun when you swing both ways, General. You should really try it sometime." Her tone changed, a slightly sarcastic edge appearing. "I'll be happy to introduce you to someone." she said with a small titter.
Darius simply glared at her, before turning to walk off. After a few steps, he stopped, turning around. "And no, people never change." With that, he marched off.
He reached his own room, unhooking his key from his belt and sliding it into the lock, the door creaking open with a push. With a small sigh, he hung his cloak on a hook, deciding to rest for a moment before getting to business. He turned to his armchair, where his eyes narrowed in anger. His brother was sprawled sideways across the chair, a fruit bowl in his lap, slowly picking at some grapes. "These grapes are awful. You think they'd have got better for the General of Noxus." mumbled the man, mouth full of food.
Darius gritted his teeth, his words slow and deliberate. "What. Are you. Doing here?"
The man looked at him, spinning round in the chair properly and placing the fruit bowl down. "Swain ordered me to come find you. Besides..." the man stood up, crossing his arms. "...What are you gonna do about it?"
Darius neck bulged, his face twisting into a snarl. He lunged at the man, who deftly dodged out of the way with a mocking laugh of "You always were slow!"
"DRAVEN!" Darius roared, sprinting at his brother.
Jericho swain limped down the corridor, the sounds of crashing increasing in volume as he approached his destination. With a blank face, he opened the door of Darius's apartment, to be greeted with utter chaos. In the centre of the room stood Darius, his arms reaching over his shoulder at the man who was clinging to his upper back, legs round Darius's waist and arm tight around his neck. Both men stopped struggling and simply looked at Swain, as he returned the gaze, unfazed. Draven slipped down from Darius's back, smoothing his hair in a nearby miraculously unbroken mirror before turning to face Swain, hands on hips. "You called for the best?" he grinned, before receiving the back of Darius's hand to the face.
Darius spoke while Draven picked himself up of the floor, still grinning like a madman. "You asked for us, Grand General?"
Swain cleared his throat and straightened his back. "Yes. You two will accompany me to the Du Couteau estate. I would like Miss Du Couteau and that Talon fellow to join you two as representatives of Noxus in the upcoming battle. We leave tomorrow." With that, Swain left as inconspicuously as he had arrived.
