Over here, it`s only 7 hours till the start of the new year. And this will probably be my last update for this year. To anybody who is here, I wish you all a happy New Year, let`s hope that it`s a good one, aye?
Now, about this story: I have to practise combat and such, and decided to write a big war, to make sure that there would be plenty of it. Regarding the current situation: There is no League, and the Shurima Empire appeared several days ago. At the start of the story, Azir has declared war on all of Valoran. This story will feature a lot of different city-states, individuals and POV`s, and these will change throughout the story as well.
I hope that you enjoy. Please tell me what you think of this, and who you`d like to see, or to die.
This story will be rated M for the reason of Blood, death and Character death.
Chapter 1 - The Brink of War
"And I tell you, we do not stand a chance if we are on our own, Great General!"
"Darius, you`re my most trusted general, and the Hand of Noxus. Don`t tell me you`re just as treacherous as those assassins."
"What did you say, Swain?" A woman hissed.
"Everyone knows of your feelings towards the commander of the enemy`s Vanguard. What was his name again? Garen or something?" The great General added.
"I have NO feelings for that stupid idiot whatsoever. Every little bit of feelings I might once have had for him was on the battlefield, where he was the only one who could stand against me. And you know that very, very well Swain."
"Hmpf, I know that you`re just like your father, Katarina, always ready to turn your back on Noxus."
The redheaded Assassin didn`t waste a second and pulled out her blade. In one instant, she appeared behind the general, a blade on his throat.
"No ill words about my father, Swain. I know you were somehow involved in his disappearance, and one day I`ll bring you to justice."
"Miss Katarina, let go of him. He isn`t worth your efforts." A hooded man in the corner of the room said.
"You`re right, Talon. My blades are too precious for his blood." And just as fast as she had appeared behind Swain, she stood beside Talon.
Swain moved his hand towards his throat, and lifted his walking stick.
"Back to the urgent question. How do we profit from this? How can we deal with this self-proclaimed "Emperor"?
...
"My King, Lord Lightshield. The nobles of Demacia have gathered their own forces, and the Army is ready to move out. Our scouts are on their way to the Shurima Desert, and the Vanguard is completely yours to command, Sire." A large man in shiny armor said, while standing tall and proud in front of his king.
"Great work, commander. You once again prove yourself as the perfect person in the perfect position. How about our special forces?" King Jarvan Lightshield the Third replied.
"My king, they are mobilized and ready to move. However…"
"What is it Garen? You know that you can always speak freely around me."
"I don`t know, Sire. I fear that Demacia might not be able to do this on their own. And we have to think about the Noxians as well. Those treacherous rats would certainly try to get stronger through this. And they will wait for us to weaken both ourselves and the enemy, before going into battle themselves. Or even worse, they`ll just ignore Shurima and march onto Demacia."
"You`re right to have fears. But I can assure you, I have long taken care of the border. It has been filled with traps and poison long ago."
"Poison, my lord? What kind of poison?" Garen`s voice sounded offended by the mention of Demacia using such dishonorable ways.
"It`s an essence extracted from certain mushrooms around Bandle City. We`ve had a delegation of "Scouts" here a few years back. They agreed with us to arm the forest, and to maintain the traps, in exchange for a certain degree of military protection and trade."
"I see, you`ve been a great king, Sir Jarvan Lightshield. It was an honor to serve your reign. May it last as long as possible."
"Good luck, Captain. Try to win…"
And with those words, Jarvan Lightshield the Third watched his most trusted commander leave, heading for the barracks to make his last preperations.
...
"Sheriff, big trouble. Shurima has declared war on every city state on the continent, as well as the Isles. Demacia and Noxus have mobilized their troops, and Demacia has asked Piltover to join their conquest against the Emperor of Shurima. What should we do?"
"Well, this would have happened sooner or later. I have been expecting it for a while."
Caitlyn rose from her chair behind her desk, and walked to the other side of the room. Pressing the communicator, she chose the Piltover Science Department, HQ.
"Heimerdinger? It`s time, Shurima has declared war on all of Valoran. Mobilize your department, and deploy the cavalry."
She touched the screen of her communicator again, and turned back to the employee in her office.
"Send word to Ionia as fast as possible, I want their ambassador on my doorstep within the next ten minutes. And sound the alarms, tell everyone on the Government buildings to execute plan Zero."
"Yes, milady. It will be done." He said before rushing out.
The sheriff touched her communicator again.
"Attention, citizens of Piltover! This is your Sheriff speaking. As of this moment, we`re officially at war. The emperor of Shurima has declared war on all of Valoran. From this moment, the Armed Police has control, and plan Zero has been activated. Everyone, hurry to the closest depot, and get yourself armed. In case of emergency, we want everyone capable to defend him- or herself. This is not a drill! I repeat: This is not a drill! Please follow the instructions of the Police around the town. That is it, briefing will be in a few minutes."
The sheriff sighed and walked back to her desk. She pushed a hidden button and watched as a secret compartment opened up.
"I`m back, sweetie." She said before her hextech-sniper booted itself up from her touch.
...
"Captain! Great alarm! Captain!" The young Yordle boy said.
"Calm yourself, Jonas."
"But Sir, Teemo, Shurima has declared war on Bandle City. We can`t be calm!"
"We have to. Panicking will get us nowhere. Yes, we are at war with Shurima, but so is the rest of Valoran. Send out our scouts, try to get as much information as possible. We mobilize at once, but we need information and allies first. Call Veigar back from his mission. And make sure we contact Ziggs and Heimerdinger and get intel on Piltover`s business."
"Yes sir… I`ll do my best for sure."
"Very good."
"But sir… Are we… Can we survive this?"
The Captain and protector of the Scout`s Code looked at the young boy. "The Scout`s Code has never failed us. I`m sure it won`t do so this time. We`re going to be fine, Jonas. Now do your job, and make sure everybody knows exactly what is going on."
"Yes sir, I`m sorry sir." He said before rushing out. Teemo turned his eyes towards the skirts of Bandle City, his hometown since the day he was born.
"Well," He whispered to nobody but himself. "We`re in for a lot of action…"
...
"Master."
"Yes, I feel it as well, my dear student."
"It`s starting, isn`t it?"
"Yes, my boy. And the world will never be the same."
"Can we win this? Master Yi?"
"Hope is our strongest weapon now, Wukong. And it has yet to fail us."
"Master Yi!" A new voice shouted.
"Ah… Let me guess, the Elders require my attention?"
"Yes sir. We`re at war now, all the fighters of Ionia will be mobilized. That goes for you as well, master Wukong."
"Yes, I know. We`ll both be on our way within the hour. Tell them that we`re coming."
The boy left and Wukong turned to his master. "The council will be busy now, and preparing for diplomatic interactions with all the other city-states. Keep your ears up, my dear monkey. Your ears up and your stick close."
...
"You all know why I`ve gathered you here, don`t you?"
"Of course we do, my lord Mordekaiser. We have to decide our side in this war, don`t we?" The green Wraith said.
"That is correct, Warden. That`s why the seven of you are here. We have three options in this war. Of course we could fight the person that had the guts to declare war on the Shadow Isles. Our second option is to wait for the battle to enroll, and gather as much information as possible before we go in. The third option would be to offer the Emperor of Shurima an alliance. The Shadow Isles have changed since he died, I suspect that he just doesn`t know what he`d be up against if he were to fight us. That gives us an advantage against him, but also the option to be a valuable ally."
"I`d say that we stay down for a little while. We observe, gather information and deal with the survivors."
"Yes, that would be my thoughts as well, Deathsinger. I suggest we build up our armies, and send Eve and Hecarim forward to scout. Thus I decide, ride out Hecarim. For the glory of the Isles!"
The council of the Isles split apart. Eve prepared for her journey, while Hecarim just left towards the sea in-between the continent and the Shadow Isles.
"Yorick," the Warden spoke, "I want you to dig up some more ghouls again. We have to raise an army. Karthus, you come with me. We`ll write them a lovely song…"
...
"All the countries around our sunburned land have mobilized themselves, my emperor. But they will not be able to withstand the true power of Shurima. Do you want to march already? Or will we wait?" The young woman said to the deity in front of her.
"We will wait, Sivir. We let them enter our desert, and engulf them with its sand. The sun will tear them apart, and we`ll deal with the leftovers. We wait for now, but they will come soon. I suspect them to fight among themselves first, since some of them have been enemies for a very long time now. They might approach us with diplomats, and some will offer their allegiance to us. But all of them will burn before the great sun of Shurima!"
The Blade Mistress gave her emperor a short nod. "Yes, my liege. As you command."