ONE FELL SWOOP - PROLOGUE
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Action
Author's Note: Hey Readers! This is a new fanfic I decided to come up with on a whim, and because I haven't done much planning or plotting on paper, this is more of a concept in my mind for a potential story. I would call it more of a "test" chapter to see how readers would respond to it, so I highly encourage you to post how you feel about this introductory piece in the Comment/Review section at the bottom.
Just to sum it up, in case it wasn't made clear in the Story Summary, this fanfic revolves around an up-and-coming Champion who, to his peers, is a prodigy, and with his Mage (We used to call them Summoners but I had to change it because of Riot's MASSIVE change in lore) embarks on a journey that could either bring them closer than ever before or threaten to tear them apart. They learn that with fame, comes deceit, betrayal, and jealousy.
***For those of you who are confused as to whether my story is AU or not, it is because it has a lot of the newer elements from Riot Games' updated lore. I would advise you to check out this Dev Blog that their Lore Team posted: en/creative-spotlight/dev-blog-exploring-runeterra. However, I will have to emphasize that a large chunk is indeed AU, including my entire recreation of some Champions' origins and backstories.
That's about it for this long A/N!
Enjoy!
Prologue
"He must have had guts to that," she commented.
A large man laughed deeply and slammed his mug down on the wooden table, drawing attention from the likes of both crew and common people. Only those who had hidden themselves in the corners of the infamous pub, The Treasure of Bilgewater, escaped the man's booming voice.
"I think the word you're looking for is audacity," he responded to the young lady sitting across from him.
"I think the word you're looking for is balls," She smirked. "Not that you have any,"
"I think you're a bit old for that childish joke, Sarah."
The lady curved her lips and pouted.
"Who're you to judge me Gangplank?"
"Well, if we're planning to prolong this alliance, you better start letting me judge you, Fortune."
The lady winked.
"Who said I wanted to prolong this alliance?" She chuckled.
"Sometimes, women terrify me, sometimes, they know exactly how to get under your skin," Gangplank growled.
"Play nice," said Miss Fortune playfully.
Gangplank raised his eyebrows, his Captain's Cap moving with his shifting countenance.
"Or you won't get to see me the next time our crews meet," Miss Fortune added. Gangplank leaned across the table towards her with an intimidating look on his face.
"Now look here, Fortune, don't you get cocky with me—"
She didn't budge, instead closing the distance between their faces by imitating him.
"You don't need to be so serious about everything," she said teasingly. "Take a joke every once in a while."
Although Miss Fortune smiled, her heart still bled from the scars of the many battles they fought against one another.
It was hard.
It was hard knowing that every single battle they fought, every life that was lost to the blade of a sabre or the explosion of a sinking ship, was for nothing. She yearned to express her emotions, to lean on someone—someone strong—instead of keeping it all bottled up inside of her. She wanted to say, "I've already forgiven you for your actions against my family because I know it wasn't your fault. I know you were under the influence of the void."
But these weren't words for her to say to Gangplank. These were words that Gangplank needed to tell himself. And until he could bring himself to forgive himself, she could not lean on him yet.
She closed the distance between their faces even more—close enough to kiss him. She hesitated and at the last moment, she sighed and pulled away.
"Come on—we're partners now, aren't we?" She forced a smile. Raising her mug in the air, she called for a toast to push away the dark thoughts. "Three cheers for the Cure!"
"For the Cure!" her crewmates repeated and smashed their mugs together, cheering heartily.
Ever since the Curse of the Void had been discovered and finally dispelled by the League of Legend's most powerful Mages, many individuals across Runeterra who once had reputed dark, butted, and questionable histories were redeemed of their incriminating, unthinkable deeds. Their crimes were determined to have been influenced by the Curse, which allowed corrupt energies to flow directly from the void into the minds of heroes, warriors, and common-people alike. Champions of the League of Legends suffered the most from the malady, and thus were first to be treated by the Cure, a project headed by the mysterious, almost mythical Mage dubbed The Mender by most inhabitants of Runeterra.
For instance, Riven of Noxus, rumored to have murdered an Ionian Elder in cold blood was revealed to have been another victim of the Void. Renekton, an Ascended from the Desert of Shurima was driven to madness by the Curse, relentlessly pursuing his brother with murderous intent until his Curse was lifted. The Curse was said to have affected even the farthest of worlds, corrupting an ancient, angelic world known by a scarce few as Elysium. It brought forth the Fallen Angels, the most infamous of its victims from that world being Morgana. Unfortunately, she was bound by darker magics than most, and even though the Curse was lifted, she continued her descent into darkness.
As for Gangplank—well . . . Miss Fortune wouldn't exactly call him a full-time Champion. After all, in her eyes, the League was simply a cheap fighting pit for those with violent, blood-thirsty tendencies—not its supposed status as the last legacy of a glorious battlefield known as the Summoners Rift.
A story only children and imbeciles would believe, she scoffed to herself.
Gangplank was—in her eyes—above them. Yes—he did participate in the League's matches from time to time and so did she, but primarily for purposes of physical training and as an opportunity to observe or learn about various fighting techniques from across all of Runeterra. After all, there are men and women in the ports of Bilgewater who would kill for an opportunity to slit Gangplank's throat. Not everyone saw reason as well as Miss Fortune did.
But there were exceptions to perception of the League. Not every individual who fought within the League was a blood thirsty gladiator. The most powerful Mages and their champions that ruled the top ranks of the League were highly respected and held in the highest regard. The top five mages were hailed as the 'Five Kings', each of whom eventually formed their own factions. The Five Kings each chose four other Challenger-level Mages as their most trusted 'Generals' who always fought by their side.
The five factions came to be known as: the High Royalty, the Warring Dynasty, the Divinity, the Frostguard and the Evolution. They fought one another in a constantly struggle for the top spot in the League's Headquarters' largest stadium known as the Challenger Arena, or simply, The Arena, which was located in the capital city of Valoran. The city existed independent of all the other surrounding nations, acting as a centre of all international trade and League activities. Of course, therewere other stadiums—other Arenas—that were built across the continent of Valoran, but those were the very fighting pits that Miss Fortune despised.
In order to maintain order and balance between the great and powerful, the League created their own team of highly-competent Mages and Champions. The team was dubbed the Star Guardians, bestowed with the power to draw celestial energies from the stars by Aurelion Sol, the Star Forger. The cosmic dragon had struck up an agreement with the League to protect it in times of great need—in exchange for granting it freedom in every other possible aspect.
If she worked for it, Miss Fortune could probably find her way into a faction of the Five Kings. After all, she was classified by the League to be one of the 132 official 'Legends', which had become a rather bothersome hassle due to the all the unwanted attention that came with her fame. Not all Champions were required to fight in matches, and remaining idle for extended periods of time did not hold the risk of the revocation of one's status as a Champion. The female Captain was one of those Champions, and preferred a more peaceful life with Gangplank and their crews. Nevertheless, this was not to say Bilgewater, of all places, was peaceful; it was simply more appealing than delving into the many politically complex aspects of the League.
"Fortune, you looked dazed." A man dressed in a brown long-coat with a high-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora on his head strode towards the two Captains.
Miss Fortune, still lost in her thoughts, was startled by the sudden intrusion of a certain individual with an unmistakable smile of mischief. After a moment of silence, she addressed him with a curt nod.
"Tobias. What've you come here for?"
The man shrugged. "You can call me Fate. Twisted Fate, if it's not too difficult for you."
"I don't give a single damn as to what the League calls you, Jack of Hearts." she replied swiftly. "Don't you have better things to do—like, say—convincing Graves to join your faction or perhaps, protecting your King?"
"Nah, protecting my King is my Mage's responsibility, not mine. If my mage needs me, all I need to do is open a Gate and step through to the other side. And Graves wants to stick with his Riot Squadron—with Caitlyn and Blitzcrank, and those talking creatures, Captain Volibear and Constable Trundle. They really take their policing responsibilities too seriously. I mean, I don't understand why the League needs policing with the Ascended and the Wardens AND that star-dragon protecting it."
"Yeah, I heard the League even hired Jax as one of the Wardens." Gangplank commented. Miss Fortune gave him a disappointing look that said 'Really? You had to agree with him?' and Gangplank raised his hands in surrender, leaning back on his chair.
"Okay, then what do you need from us?" She repeated her previous question. Then, sarcastically, she added, "—Twisted Fate."
The man smiled, satisfied with his Champion name being spoken. "It's not what I need. It's what I want to talk about."
Miss Fortune sighed, then looked at Gangplank for approval, who nodded in reluctance.
"Are you asking for a private conversation?" she asked.
Twisted Fate shook his head. "Gangplank, should probable be in this conversation too. I would call Graves over but—"
The man glanced over towards the entrance of the pub, eyeing another burly man with a massive double-barrelled shot gun resting on his shoulder.
"I'm not giving him another opportunity to issue death threats to me throughout the entire time I'm talking."
"Fair enough," said Gangplank. "Make it quick."
"It's about the individual you two birds were so eagerly gossiping about five minutes before I entered your little private, cozy bubble."
Miss Fortune's face reddened, and she dipped her head so the shadow of her Captain's Cap would hide the growing blush on her face.
"W-we are not anything of the sorts." she tried to sound genuine, but it was not very convincing. Gangplank didn't seem to show any trace of emotion or reaction so Twisted Fate continued.
"The new . . . participant," he lined the last word with spite. "I faced him in battle."
All of a sudden, Miss Fortune and Gangplank all leaned forward with curiosity. He had their attention.
"After he had the—ehm—what was the word you used Fortune? Ah yes, after he had the balls to walk away from a fight with Syndra, she took it as an insult—classic Syndra reaction—and charged head-on towards him, planning to take him down with his back turned to her. I, with all my luck, happened to queue into the same 'Normals' match as the egotistical Queen, who I swore I would not team up with if it was not a Ranked match. It was at that moment that I witnessed the fastest take-down of any Champion in all my years of fighting at the League. I swear it couldn't have been more than a second."
"A one-shot?" asked Miss Fortune, appalled.
"Not just any one-shot," he replied, with fatigue suddenly reducing his speech to a murmur. "I used Destiny to observe the attack with True Sight. It was as if he bended space and time and landed a single, powerful blow to her head. There's no way he could've closed the distance between them by foot."
"After striking her down, there was a bright red flash and I felt a sharp blow to my back. I blacked out after that." He paused to catch his breath then exhaled deeply.
"He escaped the Eyes of my Destiny. Nobody has ever escaped Destiny. Nobody."
. . .
Somewhere in the heavily guarded fortress of the Immortal Bastion, the Noxian High Command gathers in a dimly lit, room, resembling an old hallway of sorts. Whispers are the only sounds that echo throughout what would be a giant, empty space, if not for the long-table at the center of the room, sitting all members of the High Command.
"I take it, we all decided to become more—civilized." A voice spoke, barely a whisper, yet distinguishable above the rest due to its rasping-nature, almost like metal scraping the very walls of the chamber. It silenced the other members of the High Command.
The voice's owner revealed himself as he walked—no, rather—as he hobbled out of the shadows, as silent as the chamber, the only sign of his physical presence indicated by the clack, clack, clack, of his wooden cane hitting the cold marble floor. The jet-black crow on perched on his shoulder was just as silent. Behind him followed three individuals, each distinctly dressed, and slipping out of the shadows just as quietly as their leader. The dim ray of light from a nearby tall window revealed three pale faces and one dark skinned man, who was much larger than his leader and his two accomplices. He, the other smaller man, and the third—a scarcely clothed female warrior—remained standing as their leader took a seat at the head of the long-table.
The female individual sitting directly across from the crippled leader finally addressed him.
"Maassster Sswainnn," her voice drawled and hissed at each consonant. "We are—howw ssshould I phhraasse it—dissscussssing the arrival of the neww champion."
The man gave a crooked smile, its edges twisting upwards with habitual malice.
"Oh Cassie, don't let me stop you from discussing important matters. You may continue."
"Of courssse, Maassster Sswainnn," she replied with a sly grin. She placed both her hands on the table, and in the place of her fingers were wicked-sharp, golden claws. They tapped on the table rhythmically.
"He callssss himssself The Reaver, and he onlyyy allows one mage to enter into Sync with him. We do not knowww the mage's name, only that she is female."
Swain interrupts her.
"Cassie, oh Cassie, must I remind you to speak normally, not in the creepy, hissing persona of yours? I dare say you're frightening some members of our High Command. Despite how much they may deny the feeling of fear."
Cassiopeia dipped her head in acknowledged. She cleared her throat.
"My apologies, Master Swain, the Serpent's Curse still affects me, more than I care to admit."
Swain nodded and the serpentine woman continued.
"We know not of his abilities in detail, only that he strikes with unrivaled strength, speed, and precision. I have not faced him in battle but—"
"I have."
Even Swain looked slightly surprised at the large, heavily armored man, with an even larger battle-ax strapped to his back, who evidently, rarely spoke up in such meetings.
"And what of the experience, General Darius?" Cassiopeia inquired, slightly smirking. "Any other insights you would enlighten us with?"
Darius glared menacingly at the woman and growled.
"I will not be mocked by the likes of you, Du Couteau. I don't care how powerful your family is." Darius turned to the rest of High Command. "All who face him in battle witness the same things. Before a blow lands, a bright, red flash precedes it. I suspect there is a secret behind his strength and speed. It is—unnatural."
"Nevertheless, a valuable asset."
Everyone in the room looked at Swain with widened eyes. The man sitting on Swain's left found the courage to speak. "But Master Swain, he seems unreliable—a fickle and vain investment at the best. He would cause anarchy in the ranks of our Noxian soldiers. In addition to that, we don't even know his allegiances."
In less than a tenth of a second, Swain stood up inhumanly quickly and swung the head of his cane at the man. The head connected with the man's chest, sending him flying to a nearby pillar. The man hit the pillar are crumpled to the floor with a sickening thud. Swain's eyes swept from one end of the table to another, searching for a challenger. There were none.
"My ideologies are not to be questioned, is that clear my friends?" He said to the men who were definitely not friends. "We are NOXIANS. We value strength, do we not? Never forget that. Or I will personally see to your demise."
Everyone but Cassiopeia and Swain's three followers were frozen by fear. After a few awkward moments of silence. Swain cackled to himself.
"Oh would someone please take that heap of broken bones to the infirmary. He's not quite dead—yet."
Two men stood from their seats and hurriedly strode over to the unconscious victim of Swain's wrath, lifting him up by the arms and dragging him out of the room. Swain sighed and sat back down.
"The only thing I value more than strength is obedience. Unwavering loyalty."
. . .
"That's insane Irena, who ever thought that record would be broken?"
"That's what they told me at the Council meeting. And would you stop calling me by my actual name? That's unprofessional Akali." Irena made sure to emphasize on the name of her friend. "See? I call you Akali, not Ariel. Let's starting using the names our masters have given us, okay?"
The two girls stared into each other's eyes, daring the other to blink first. Akali lost focus and surrendered victory to her friend, who patted her on the back.
"Now, what's my name again?"
"Fine, Irelia. If that makes you feel better." Akali smirked.
"Hey, those are actual warrior names, not normal names. They sound significantly more sophisticated for people like us." Irelia protested.
"You're cute when you make that pouting face, you know." Akali teased her friend. Irelia blushed at the compliment, which prompted Akali to continue.
"I don't understand how you're still single."
Irelia grew redder at the comment, whipping around whilst trying to find a reason to be angry. She couldn't.
"A-Akali, why don't you speak for yourself?"
Akali rolled her eyes, as if the reason were obvious.
"You know why. The Kinkou Order strictly prohibits those kinds of emotions or activities. I can't even hold hands with Shen if I wanted to, and I work with him every damn day."
Irelia sported a mischievous smile. "We both know that is not who you actually fancy on a daily basis. Your special someone's name doesn't start with an 'S'. It starts with a 'Z'."
Now it was Akali's turn to blush and look away to hide her reddening face.
"Okay, I get it. You still haven't elaborated on the situation." Akali quickly changed the topic.
"Well, Jax's record of consecutive wins was 152 matches out of a total of 152 matches right? The guy, who calls himself The Reaver, broke that record yesterday. He won his 153rd consecutive match, counting from his first match.
"That's impossible. How have we not even heard of him by the time he struck 30 consecutives?" Akali seemed bemused.
"Rumor has it, that this guy and his Mage started off in the Little Leagues, and then climbed the ranks up till' his Mage struck an ELO equivalent to the low Diamonds. They didn't climb the upper ranks any further than Diamond IV by participating as an unregistered champion, or as a guest member of the League. That way, their Mage could maintain her ELO and fight against Diamond or even Master-level Mages, but not gain any recognition or further rank points." Irelia paused to take a deep breath. "He only recently registered officially with the League."
"Do you think, perhaps, it's possible that The Reaver or his Mage is one of those Magelords or Protectorate Summoners?" Akali said more to herself than to her friend. Regardless, Irelia replied swiftly.
"Don't be ridiculous. That's what a lot of people thought about Jax until we found out he was just a weapons-master. Summoners don't exist anymore. The last of them died out hundreds of years ago."
I hope you enjoyed this PROLOGUE-ish chapter! Once again, please let me know how you feel about this story in the Comment/Review section below! If you liked it, Follow it! If you loved it, Favorite it!
*EDIT 03/24/2017: This Prologue has now evolved into a fully-fledged story! As I was notified by some readers, the first two or three chapters might seem a bit disconnected, but I implore you, keep reading because it only gets better!
Peace!
~Nightrous