Sorry for such a long page, I had no idea you had to make a different document per chapter. First time using this site. Anyways, enjoy!
...
Take Flight
A League of Legends fanfic.
Chapter 1 – Everything Passes
"Run! Now!"
The girl stood there, watching the assassins claim what family she had left. Her brother kept yelling at her to leave, but she could barely hear him over the grief rising within her.
One of the assassins came straight towards her, blade drawn. Instinct told her to run, but fright kept her stranded.
The boy jumped in front of her, just in time to intercept the blade.
"Quinn... Go..."
She stood there for a moment, not sure if she should listen or not. Not until the assassin unsheathed his blade once more did she start.
Gaining what strength she had left, she ran, far, back to the village, and hid in the family house.
Hours, what seemed to be years, passed, before someone finally came.
"Anyone home?' Quinn knew this voice. It was a soldier of the Dauntless Vanguard, one of the elite military forces in Demacia.
Still frightened, she took her chances and slowly came out from where she hid underneath her bed.
"A..Anders?"
Anders went on asking her what happened and what she saw, but most questions she just couldn't pull the strength together to answer.
"Was that your family out there?..."
That one hit her. She felt as if an arrow had struck through her heart. Her grief must have been clear, because Anders opened the door and asked her to follow.
They went back to the site, where more of the Vanguard was in wait. Some were standing around talking, others checking her fallen parents for a pulse.
The one thing she did notice is that Caleb, her brother, had been moved. Hope shot through her. Maybe he's still alive...
Anders went off to the group of talking soldiers, while another lead her to a healer cart in the field. Caleb was inside, barely moving, but alive. He was badly bleeding through the cut in his chest, the one he intercepted to save her.
Something wasn't right.
She could just feel it around her. Something dark had crept up in that tent.
The healer went over to the soldier escorting her and whispered something she couldn't hear.
Caleb began turning paler and paler, until he was down to his last breaths.
His breathing began slower and slower, until there wasn't one left.
Quinn just wanted to run, far away from all life, restart, and have her family back.
Her tears kept coming as she buried her face in his shirt, wanting him back.
What dreams she had left were just broken along with her family.
I'll never become a soldier, not without Caleb...
Chapter 2 – A New Start
Life wasn't necessarily easy for someone young without a family. Of course, you do have to join the military at 16, but before that, you were on your own.
The soldiers did do their best to help, despite their busy schedules. They helped Quinn find a lengthy foster home in House Terrial, and some times came to visit, but she still felt lonely.
A year passed. Then another. Time continued to go by until her 14th birthday, where something actually changed.
"Ready to get going?" Lauren Terrial could be bossy a lot, but she truly did see Quinn as family.
Today was the first day of military training, where each of the new trainees was to find the weapon they're best at. Quinn defiantly wasn't looking forward to it. Ever since Caleb's death, she didn't even want to think of this day.
"I'll be there in a moment."
…...
Eventually, they arrived at the training hall close to the center of the city. The hall was shaped like a sphere with 3 different floors and a courtyard surrounding it. About a dozen other soon-to-be trainees were waiting in the courtyard.
She came to where the rest of the people were waiting. Each one was chattering about what weapon would be theirs.
Eventually, the doors opened, new trainees were welcomed inside. Various weapons and armors lined the walls, with a circle of what seemed to be training areas in the middle. Soldiers, some from the Vanguard, began letting people try out weapons.
The first up was a red head who seemed good with a sword. The next, a bow. Eventually, it was Quinn's turn.
…...
This just isn't working, I thought. We'd tried spears, swords, shields, even attempted magic, but nothing was working. I guess the soldiers never saw this problem before, because they all looked confused. We tried all the weapons again, no change. They just told me to go back with the crowd.
Hours, maybe, had passed, and everyone had their weapons, but me.
I took a second look over the weapon rack, and noticed something that wasn't there before. A silver shine was hiding beneath chest plates. Making sure no one would notice, I crept slowly over to it and silently dug it out.
I wonder...
Chapter 3 – A New Arrival
The hidden silver had turned out to be just what she hoped for, something that worked. It was a crossbow, and it worked perfectly with her.
Even with the weapon, nothing about training felt right without Caleb with her.
Stop She told herself. You've been whining enough about this.
She got herself together and decided to visit the sight. Maybe it would help her start living in reality.
It was exactly how they left it, just a little cleaner. The trails into the surrounding woods she used to go on with her brother looked as if they were asking her to walk on them. Of course, she did.
…...
Each tree, bush, rock, I remembered them all. Once going down the trail, I remembered the small tree house we once made.
I laid down against the tree holding it, living in the memories, when I suddenly heard a noise.
Curiously, I headed towards the sound.
Blueish purple feathers had been slightly scattered in the hollow I ended up in.
Something was moving behind some leaves.
Cautiously, I took a few steps forward, just enough to move a few leaves. Under them, a little fledgling was struggling to get up.
That wasn't any bird. It was an extinct, or well, believed to be now, Demacia eagle, the strongest of the birds in the great City-state.
And here one was, sitting under leaves with a broken wing.
I can't just leave him here...
Carefully, I brushed my hand along his feathers, hoping he wouldn't be scared if I took him with me. He didn't seem to mind the brushing, in fact, I think he liked it.
I slowly picked him up and held him close, keeping him warm on a chilly evening such as this. He didn't struggle, or even try to break free of my grasp, he just cuddled in my arms.
I was defiantly bringing this bird home.
Chapter 4 – The Path to Healing
Mrs. Terrial took it well. I guess she figured I'd been lonely enough that she let me keep the bird. He reminded me a lot of Caleb, and I did really enjoy having his company around.
I did have to raise him myself, though. Mrs. Terrial was always too busy for anyone but herself, but you get used to it.
It took a good while, but we did eventually raise him back to health. Days went on as normal for the month, except when I got home. I would always go straight to him and spend the night looking after him.
I'd always kept it a secret, but it seemed the bird and I had a connection, like we could communicate with each other.
…...
The bird needed a name. Something related to Caleb, for that's what he reminded Quinn of. She thought of the different things Caleb had;
He was always brave...
No, that wouldn't work
He was proud of our family...
That won't fit either.
Wait. Valor. He always showed Valor.
It kinda fits...I can see it working
From then on, they called the eagle Valor, in honor of Caleb.
…...
Valor grew and came to health fast.
Almost too fast.
In almost two months, he was almost grown size and could again fly on his wings.
He seemed to visit the place where I found him, which I would guess he was looking for his family. It seems he never found them, because he stayed with me. Some times, he would watch me train or follow me on walks.
With all the time we spent together, we started to understand each other very well. He understood my words, and I his squawking. It wasn't always sure what one of us was saying, but the other seemed to understand, which definitely came in handy throughout the years.
Chapter 5 – What a Pleasant Surprise
After what seemed to be a very short, normal two years, the final training initiation came. The ceremony took place at the royal castle itself, making it even more stressful. The king and the prince themselves would be watching.
What if I fail, embarrass myself in front of the world...
No. Positive thoughts.
Where would I be without seeing the upsides to the world?
The castle was huge, with Demacian colors and flags decorating every corner. Sadly, we weren't here for a tour.
Some soldiers led us to a circular courtyard facing the woods. It was dressed in training dummies and racks of our weapons.
Each of us was to show our skill, alone, one at a time, in front of the whole city. How fun.
The king and the prince, along with some more famous people of Demacia, watched us from an above balcony.
About half of us went before it was my turn.
Butterflies rolling inside me, I grabbed my crossbow and headed towards the center.
…...
"No one stands out so far. I was really hoping much more from this group." Every year, the king wanted to find someone who stood out in each group, someone would could become higher in the military, such as Garen or the prince himself.
"There is still a good amount left. Why lose hope so fast?'
"I'm surprised to actually hear you caring about this Jarvan. You know very well you will be standing here one day, doing what I am."
They stayed silent as they watched the next few soon-to-be soldiers.
"Interesting, it's been awhile since I've seen someone use a crossbow."
The king was certainly paying attention now. It was rare that someone could use such a weapon.
"It's just a weapon..." An extremely annoyed prince mumbled. No one doubted that he would rather be in battle with Noxus then sit here watching soldiers.
But what really caught his attention was the bird flying into the courtyard.
"Wait... aren't those... extinct?.."
The 'extinct' Demacian eagle flew into the court, straight to the girl with the crossbow.
…...
"Valor! What are you doing here?!" I'm not sure why or how he got here, but he had that look in his eyes, and his feathers were ruffled. He wanted to take part in the fake fighting.
He knew my techniques, so I decided to continue forward with my initiation, except with Valor aiding my attacks on the dummies with his own, intertwining with mine. I hoped they thought this was normal...
I finished the course to look back and see everyone staring at me wide eyed. Had I done something wrong?
They just stood there, staring, until one of the soldiers in charge of training came to me.
"Why didn't you tell us you could do... that?" He seemed pretty confused, almost scared...
"What do you mean? I just did the course, and my bird decided to join in."
"But your bird, he can fight. Why didn't you let us know?"
I didn't understand what was so wrong. I did the course, just had a animal join in.
"I honestly didn't know he could do it so well either."
Chapter 6 – A Whole New Journey
Apparently, her initiation must have been good, because the Elite Ranger team had asked for her to join. She would have to prove herself once more, but it was just the same as the last.
It seems that Valor had impressed the rangers, as with Quinn's ability to communicate with Valor. To add on, she even had a ranged weapon, in which all rangers were required to have.
It was odd for a common-born to join such an elite team, so the pair was to prove themselves in order to earn their title.
…...
"You have your orders, then?" A mission from the king himself. It had to be good.
"Yes, sir."
"You should only need a month or shortly more, after that, we will call it a failed mission."
I already knew something was wrong with this mission.
Talon couldn't have been the suspect, as they stated.
I went straight back to my 'home' to look into this.
I could do it all in a month, I just needed information first. The assassin was not Talon as I thought, but just a nameless assassin, determined to cause havoc.
I wonder if he caused my family's death...
…...
After a few short days of research, Valor and I had our start. We tracked the Noxian to be located in the Golden Pass, a secret place that no normal city resident could find. Perfect for an assassin's escape. All that was left was actually finding him.
With my weapon, armor, and a sack of supplies, I headed out with Valor. Luckily, the mountains were just outside of Demacian territory, so I wouldn't have to worry about crossing unknown lands yet.
What I found interesting is that, if he was to be in this place, he didn't have much protection, just mountains. No undergrowth, trees, just some dead bushes.
With the recent wet weather, you could see faint footsteps leading to the pass in the mud.
This, again, shows how it can't be Talon. Someone highly trained wouldn't make such a mistake as this.
In just a short week, Valor and I arrived at the pass.
Some places had old items scattered about, in which some could have been the assassin's.
It was just becoming dawn, and a faint light was glowing off into the distance, near a ledge on the cliffs. Valor went to scout out the area, and there he was, almost unprotected.
We couldn't waste time. He could be gone at any minute.
Luckily, we had enough time before nightfall to plan our attack.
…...
I'm not sure if it was just an easy target, or if we caught him off guard.
Either way, he certainly wasn't prepared for us. I was definitely surprised by his lack of protection.
We completed the mission in just a matter of time, meaning when we returned home, we would get our title and champion status.
Chapter 7 – A New Set of Wings
You thought capturing him was hard? Try dragging him back home.
Valor was pretty excited throughout the trip back, and I guess I would've been if I wasn't annoyed by the matter at hand.
After a few days, we did return back.
The king himself was off at a Institute meeting, which I would guess was about more war politics, so the prince was the one to reward us.
I think he was surprised, seeing that we had completed the task in less than the time given.
Our reward; A high place in the Demacian Elite, captain of the Elite Ranger force, housing inside the city, which seems to just be in case an emergency mission had occurred, and our title.
Demacia's Wings? I could get used to that.
…...
They actually did it.
I never thought a common-born, even with such special ability, could do such a task in so little time.
Whatever it was they did, they deserved their title, and I was glad to have given it to them. Hopefully father would agree.
Something about this new ranger made me curious. How could she do what she does, without having any special bloodlines to her kin? I wanted to know more.
…...
City life was a bit of a shock, especially now that I was on my own.
Life was always busy, military business or not, just because of city crowds.
I missed the wild, being in the forest, with all the nature around me. I think Valor felt this way too.
Either way, we were both itching for our next mission.