The Noxian Mantra

Karma was opened her eyes as the sunlight peered through the curtains.
'' The weather looks great '' She whispered, trying to motivate herself to wake up.

A few attempts later she finally woke up, yawning loudly as she did so. Tomorrow would be a very important day; she had to make a few arrangements for some guests that'd come to her in Ionia. She had to show them how powerful her country could be, she had to impress them in order to defend the land she grew up on.

'' Do Noxians even drink tea? '' She asked herself as she entered the shower. She had to make sure that they had no reason to mock her or her country. She had to entertain the guests and have some talks about the current state of affairs. Noxus had attacked Ionia several times, often causing a lot of pain and grief across the lotus lands. She, as the leader of Ionia wouldn't allow any more of that, but if they were to challenge her country's pride, then she would have no choice.

The guests that would arrive were Darius, the hand of Noxus and a few officers from the army. Their master Tactician, Swain, would not come. He was probably afraid that in his and Darius' vacancy there would be a coup d'état.
Even though Swain would have a valid reason, this still hurt her pride; they didn't perceive Ionia as a threat, it was just a mere country consisting of farmlands and a few villages here and there according to the average Noxian.

Karma stared at her face in the mirror as she stepped out of the shower. She looked tired, her smooth brown skin was paler than usual. She sighed and started to dry her hair with a fluffy towel.

A few hours of making arrangements later she arrived at the building where the Noxians would be staying for, approximately, a month. A certain Noxian did not make use of magic transportation, according to him using magic is a sign of weakness. Because of his stubborn mentality, he and his officers had to travel on horseback and then take a boat just to reach the Ionian mainland. According to the letters Karma had received they would arrive by tomorrow, if all goes well.

She looked around the hotel they had prepared. It looked like a typical Ionian design, dark corbel wood and a beautiful multi-inclined red roof. It was small but cozy and it looked very inviting according to Karma. She tilted the corners of her lips upwards as she looked at the plants that surrounded the hotel. The whole design was against the Noxian principles: Practical and simple.

The hand of Noxus may be stubborn, but Karma wouldn't deny she was too.

A day had passed and Karma had no problems waking up this time. She took a shower and slipped herself into a simple pale green silken dress with a waistband. She combed her long dark hair, braiding it to one side.

After she ate breakfast she left her house, feeling determined to show how powerful she and her country could be. She arrived at the meeting point, maybe a tad bit early because of the nerves. She and her officers were having tea in the garden whilst conversing, talking about the consequences if Karma failed to show them the need for peace. If it was left in the hand of the Noxians, there would be war. Noxus had problems with overpopulation; this is why they wanted to expand their land, stretching through Demacia and Ionia. Ionia though, compared to Noxus and Demacia, had an average amount of people.

But if Noxus wanted war, she would get her peace by force if necessary. She would never forget the day that the Noxian army entered her village, slaughtering the elders that sought peace. They were seen as pathetic weak beings and were slaughtered.
That was the day she had decided that she would use her spiritual power to protect her country by force, even if that goes against the vows she had to make when she was younger. She was taught that she had to use her power only for the good, and war wasn't good according to the monks.

Right now she had grown up, right now she led the resistance of Ionia and she was not the little girl she was in the village, right now she was a woman who would throw all of her away just to protect the people of her land.

'' I welcome you in Ionia, gentlemen '' Her lips curved upwards as she extended her hand to the guests that had arrived in the meantime. The officers gave their greetings to the Duchess of Ionia, their General, Darius simply shook her hand as his expression seemed dull.

Karma had known Darius because of the League, there were times she had to fight alongside of him but they never really talked. She couldn't get an impression of him, he was usually silent unlike his brother.

''Draven has arrived''

''Speak of the devil'' Karma thought. She had not received any note of Draven arriving, as far as she knew he wasn't part of the army, he was a simple executioner with a flair for entertainment.

'' I see you took your brother with you '' Karma noted as her dark eyes took in the stern expression on Darius' face.

'' Yea I decided I wanted to share Draven with the Ionian ladies as well'' he said with a smug expression. Karma raised her brow, and for the first time she saw Darius' expression change from stoic to annoyed in a matter of milliseconds. Now she understood why he already had a white patch of hair.

'' Draven '' Darius simply said as he turned his green eyes towards his smirking brother.

'' Yea yea, my bad , nice to see you again '' he said as she shook Karma's hand, even going as far as planting a kiss on the top of her hand.

Karma couldn't help but feel confused. How could these two be brothers? They were too different. She had seen Draven in the league, she often had to support him, and try to stop his suicidal behavior in the lane. She usually had sore feelings towards Noxians, but Draven was different. He was an idiot in his own right. He never talked about his country, nor did he belittle other countries. He was simply Draven.

'' Nice to see you again as well, Draven'' Her eyes softened at the sight of Draven's smile.

Darius walked towards her, pushing Draven aside as he faced her.

'' As you've heard from our letter we're here to negotiate about the current state of affairs.. '' He started as his eyes pierced through hers. She stood still, her eyes unwavering as she took in his aura. He had a strong spirit, and was the type who would do everything for his country, just like her.

It was a bit odd to her that she shared the same characteristics with a Noxian.

Once they were inside she showed them to their rooms and took them back in the garden to have some tea and fill their stomach.

'' How d'ya call this stuff? '' Draven spoke as he stuffed a few riceballs into his mouth.

'' Those are called riceballs '' One of Karma's officers said. They were also surprised that Darius' brother was so jolly. At first her officers were showing anger towards the idea of even having to serve the Noxians, but because of the normal conversation, they had calmed themselves and were now conversing normally with the Noxian officers and the General's little brother.

In the corner of her eye she could see Darius staring at the cup in front of him. Karma's dark eyes peered at Darius, waiting to see how he reacted against the tea blend she chose. He rose the cup to his lips, carefully tilting it in order to pour the liquid into his mouth. She could see his eye twitch slightly as he calmly put the cup down. She deduced he didn't like the bitter taste. It hurt her pride a bit, she had chosen her favorite tea.

'' If you dislike the tea I could bring you something else '' Karma said with a smile. Darius looked at her , feeling a bit ashamed that she noticed his disgust towards the tea.

'' That won't be necessary '' he said as he continued to drink the tea. Karma withheld from laughing when she saw him forcing himself.

He was stubborn and had a towering amount of pride, just like her.

After the lunch she took them to another room in order to start the negotiations. When they all took a seat around the table, she opened the negotiations officially:

'' I would like to ask of you to speak only of the future, since the past stays in the past ''

My first League of Legends Fanfic ever , I would love to receive reviews and pointers on this!