With shrill screams that echoed like some unknown demon's lustful cries, the metal canisters flew into the fray, unnoticed by the distracted warriors on the battlefield. With a hiss like a hydra, each of the ten canisters opened and spat out fiery purple vapors that quickly spread out until the entire grounds of the field were covered.
The vapors quickly sprouted into large clouds of thick, billowing smoke that the besieged warriors were forced to notice as they first began to cough noisily, and then scream with their final breath. Many began to saw off their own limbs or trample companions in a crazed panic to end the pain. The lucky ones literally melted into the floor, their bones instantly turning to liquid, leaving just a chunky puddle behind. The purple haze did not discriminate; members of both armies were falling in droves as their officers fled, screaming and raving as they went. Only a very few managed to escape.
As death radiated toward her, Riven hoisted the only remaining member of her command onto her back as he choked on the fumes. She ran from the purple wave of death in a blind panic, the realization that the only reason they had made it out was the commander's badge pinned to her chest suffocating her with guilt. Her command had perished without its captain, and she was a disgraceful coward.
There was little doubt in her mind that her command had been targeted by Singed's chemical barrage; it was common gossip in Noxus that Commander Riven was due for a generalship in a few years. Someone in the High Command must not have liked the thought of having a former street urchin in such a high position; it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Singed had been paid off to make sure that nobody left the battlefield alive. The only person she could trust was her rapidly expiring lieutenant, Zalen. He had been her only confidante since the military academy, the only friend that she could trust her emotions to, and she didn't plan on losing him now.
After administering what aid she could, Riven left him in a copse of trees about an hour's frantic flight from the chemical wasteland to scout for some real cover. After about twenty minutes, she found an abandoned barn and returned to bring him to its relative safety only to discover that he had completely disappeared. Zalen had left no trace except for a small indent on the ground that marked his resting place. After an hour of scouring the area for some clue of what may have happened to him, she plopped down in the dirt utterly defeated. As her last shred of hope faded, Riven felt a chill run down her spine. For the first time since joining the Noxian military at the age of twelve, she was on her own.
"Alone," she whispered, her face a shell empty of emotion as she stared at the indent in the ground..
And with that, she stood straight and began the long journey to the Ionian coast.