The stars performed their galliard to the rhythm set by the silent symphony of the sky, but she disregarded all of the circling empyreal forms, save for one.
Her people named it the pearl of the sky. In less colloquial terms, it was known as the moon.
No one frequented the pond located at the top of the mound known as the Champion's Hill, named for the popularity of the spot with the various representatives of the League. At its foot was an impressive collection of vegetation, the results of the labor of the treacherous plant, Zyra. Contrary to her nature, the thorny woman's garden was not harmful in the least, and even sprouted forth a few medicinal plants which came to the aid of the Institute when its staff needed to address injuries.
Five hundred feet separated the apex of the hill and the ground, with various types of trees within its circumference. It wasn't uncommon for a champion to make a temporary stop here after a couple of particularly grueling League matches, often with a companion in tow as they would traverse the meandering paths which cut through the tall grass on the hill. Earlier that day, she had sat a short distance away from a blindfolded figure perched atop a fallen tree trunk, deep in meditation as he went through several aerobic exercises which he later claimed to relax the spirit and reach an inner peace. Lee Sin was one of the more frequent visitors to the Champion's Hill, and one she found to be quite pleasant company. His lack of sight appeared to give the monk a new perspective on life - a more careful, less impulsive path as he worked on his own personal atonement. She could feel the patience in his voice as he spoke to her, telling her many wonderful things about his homeland, to which she smiled and informed him she would like to visit one day.
At this time of the night, she was accustomed to being alone, bearing witness to the splendid sight of the sky, a dark indigo tapestry which held many secrets in its infinite bounds. What was it like on the moon? Did anyone live there? Had anyone on Runeterra gone that high, or was it even possible? There were so many unanswered questions, but she didn't feel too anxious about it. She hadn't been at the Institute for even a week, and many things were out there for her to pursue.
"You've been staring at it for quite some time," a voice to her side observed, making her jump in surprise. She had become so absorbed in her skyward fixation that she failed to notice the newcomer at the pond, a thin blonde woman wielding a crescent-shaped blade in her hand. The dark blue eyes regarded her without hostility, but she still held her weapon tightly, a testament of constantly living her life under constant threat. It was the mark on the woman's forehead which interested her the most, a white circle with a crescent moon shape oriented like a U beneath it. The sigil seemed to glow in the pale moonlight, making her feel a mix of fear and awe at this marked woman.
In her time spent scrutinizing the new arrival, she had almost forgotten she had been addressed. "Oh!" she finally answered, nearly fumbling her words. "Yeah, I have. It's… mesmerizing."
"It's quite a sight," the blonde woman agreed, taking a seat on the stone bench next to her. "There aren't many champions here who would agree with me," she added, a touch of bitterness flavoring her voice.
"Really?" she asked curiously. "I could stare at it for hours. Can't do the same with the sun, which is why I'm out here more at night."
The woman looked into the water, admiring the moon's reflection on the completely still surface for a second before tossing a small pebble into the pond. She watched the peaceful sight shatter as the ripples on the water radiated outwards, disrupting the image of the night sky and moon and causing her to see it in fragments rather than one complete picture.
"That's just one reason I kept telling them," the woman told her wistfully, the reference to the past not entirely getting to her listener. "How can you admire something which would burn your eyes out when you gazed upon it?"
"Well," she offered timidly, "seeing isn't always believing. Lee Sin's taught me how you can appreciate life without even using your sight."
The blonde woman scoffed. "That monk, always spewing his unfounded philosophies. It's a shame Ionia has the image of the rising sun on its banners. They would almost be likable if they too weren't so enchanted by that hellish fireball!"
She couldn't agree with the woman's perception of the Ionians; although she had only met a few, she like the ones she did encounter. "They're still a pretty nice crowd. I don't see why anyone could hate them."
Her counterpart let out a sigh, taking a few moments to steady her breath. "I have to remember not to let my temper get the best of me," she reminded herself. "The Starchild told me anger couldn't possibly be healthy for me."
"I'd agree," she told the lunar acolyte. "The only people here that always seem angry are those scary creatures of the Void, or the Noxian champions. You don't seem like either of them."
The woman turned to face her, a softer, more curious look on her face. "You're the new champion," she realized. "I guess I've forgotten my manners. My name -"
"You're Diana," she interrupted. "Sorry for cutting in, the name just popped up in my head. I remember hearing about your story. It must've been so difficult for you."
The Lunari nodded gravely. "It was a phase of my life that's come and gone now. Pay it no mind. I look to the future now, to the promise of each coming new moon." Her eyes narrowed as she changed the subject abruptly. "Why have you joined the League?"
Taken aback by the sudden, as well as serious, question, she needed a moment to piece together her story. She had always needed a vessel to pour out her quest, the tale of her people. The council which ruled the Institute pretended to understand her plight, but they gave no tangible help to forward her efforts besides allowing her full access to almost every inch of the Institute. Yet it was too much to comprehend at once, and she was still overwhelmed, unsure where to begin. She wasn't even entirely sure why she was about to share her situation with this woman, an outcast to the other champions. But if the Institute had allowed Diana in, despite her turbulent past, then there was something good she could accomplish. The connection to the moon topped it off for her. Maybe the exchange would go through after all.
"The survival of my people hinges on a relic from the surface world being brought to us every hundred years. Without it, we can't hold back the monsters of the deep. There was supposed to be some landwalker I would meet with a moonstone, and I would give them a pearl from the bottom of the ocean in exchange. But when I came onto land, there was no one there at the meeting place.
"We don't have much time left before the deadline. I need to find it within half a year, so I came to the Institute looking for answers. They hadn't heard of our predicament, so they couldn't point me to where the moonstone or the deliverer would be. But I've just now realized… there isn't anyone here that's like you, is there? No one with ties to the moon except for you. I can't help but feel there's something deeper than this chance meeting."
She attempted to gauge the Lunari's reaction to her story, which didn't seem to change much apart from looks of understanding. The moment of silence which passed following her speech seemed to linger without ceasing, but eventually Diana spoke. "There were stories."
"Of what?" the Marai asked inquisitvely.
"It had taken me months of digging in the Solari archives before I could get any information of their civilization even being related to the moon. Hardly surprising, considering the fact that they tried to burn every book they had. It was only in the abandoned temples where I saw these stories, drawn out on the sides of the temple walls, a history told only in pictures," Diana related.
"Were… were my people in those murals?" she asked hopefully.
The moon's avatar nodded slowly. "A great Lunari heroine had uncovered a pale stone glowing a curiously white color. In my time at the archives, the only stones which could fit the description that the civilization had mined before its split were pale aquamarines, a very rare type of gemstone, within the mountain ranges of Valoran. The mural wasn't very clear, but it described an exchange between then Lunari and a fish-woman, a figure with human features in her upper half but with the tail of a fish. My ancestor gave the fish-woman that moonstone, and she in return handed over a pearl. The pictures never showed what happened to your people afterwards, but we used your pearl as the centerpiece for our weapons," she told her, holding up her crescent blade to show a small, white stone embedded in the handle.
"Unfortunately, they neglected to specify which set of mountains it was, so if we were to search, we might be at it for a while." She sat there, intensely thinking about something, muttering a few numbers to herself. "The trek, at maximum, would take six months if we hurried."
"So you would help me?" she asked, hope rising in her heart that she would actually have a chance to save her people.
"You seem to be the only ones on Runeterra who recognize the power and glory of the moon," Diana stated. "For years I was running away from the Solari without purpose. There were no Lunari left on the continent I could turn to. But you've been the only one to understand me so far. I'll find you your moonstone."
"And I will bring you to my people," she promised. "I suppose it might be a bit strange, seeing as you can't breathe underwater, but our powers can fix that," she added on, letting out a small laugh.
"Thank you," Diana answered her graciously. " And I gladly accept your offer, Marai."
"You can just call me Nami," the mermaid told her.
They shook on their respective promises, a deal created in solitude with nothing to witness it apart from the watchful glow of the full moon.
A/N: The idea was really bugging me so I drew up the first chapter.
Don't expect much work to be done about this very often, as I'm focused on continuing Trinity. I guess I'm a bit obligated to update kind of regularly since it's already out in the open. Welp.