I shivered suddenly as I stepped out of the train car and into the cooled world of Demacia in autumn. I felt my lungs nearly freeze as I took a deep breath and scanned the area around me. The newly built train station had design very similar to that of Piltover, out of place amongst the older style of the city-state. The people that wandered the area were from all over Runeterra, representing the wonder of the massive train system recently created by Heimerdinger and Jayce. I began walking forward towards the exit of the station, before long someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to around curiously, not sure if anyone from Demacia would know who I was. It was a taller man with his face shrouded by his hood, a part of his purple robes. At first I was alarmed before realizing it was clearly a summoner from The Institute of War.
"Are you Khar? The competitor?" He asked, looking at me so his eyes just barely revealed themselves.
I relaxed completely, "Yes, I am. Are you here to escort me?" I had come to Demacia for a tournament ran by The Institute. The winner or the tournament would receive a chance to become a champion for The League of Legends. It had recently become difficult for someone to become a champion due to the large amount of them. Some of the less used champions had even had their status removed as The Institute became more serious.
"Yes I am actually." He began walking in front of me. "Follow me please." I did as he asked and followed him out of the train station and towards the city. We made our way quickly into the city and through the streets, which were filled with all kinds of people just like the train station. The tournament had not only brought in competitors from all over but spectators as well.
We approached a large building, the arena in sight. "This is where you'll be staying during the event." He gestured to the door. "Please go inside and there will be someone to show you to your room. I have other competitors to escort soon." He started to walk back towards the station. "Have a good day sir."
"Thank you summoner, I appreciate it." I turned to the door and opened it, stepping inside. The lobby of the building was large and was filled with summoners and people who appeared to be other competitors. I approached the desk and a man with a light suit, dark hair, and a pale face turned to me.
"Name?" He asked me, barely glancing at me as he shuffled things around on his desk.
"Khar. I'm a competitor for the tournament."
He quickly flipped through a list and pointed at a name, looking up at me. "The Energy Warrior?" He asked quickly, still not focused on one thing in particular.
"Uh, yes that's me." The Energy Warrior was a title given to me by my mentor. It had to with my abilities. I could bring energy into my body and use it for an infinite amount of things.
"Room 324. TAO! His shout caught me off guard. A man with a medium build and an odd outfit approached us. "Show this man to his room please. 324." He was still fiercely multitasking.
The man nodded at him then looked at me. "Got any luggage?" His voice was strangely deep and didn't fit his appearance. I shook my head and he gestured for me to follow him to a staircase. The stairway was oddly narrow for how large the building was, it seemed out of place.
As we started walking up the stairs someone caught my eye. A girl with short white hair glanced at me with her glowing amber eyes. Her bangs slightly covered her fave and her hair was clipped in the back. She was stunning, but also strangely familiar. I caught her eye for a second before we both looked away and continued on our separate ways.
"Who was that?" I asked Tao as we got onto the third floor.
He looked at me like I was stupid. "That was Riven. The Exile."
My eyes widened in realization. Riven was a champion for the league for a long time and was very powerful on the fields of justice. "I never thought I'd see her here of all places." I whispered to myself.
"Here we are. Enjoy your stay." Tao handed me a key to my room and walked away. I said my thanks and entered my room.
The room was surprisingly large with a queen bed, a good sized bathroom, and even a private sauna. The walls were painted a nice reddish color and the carpet was soft and colored lightly. The furniture was large as well, a couch and two chairs, as well as a fireplace. For a room on the third floor of the building it was extremely nice and had great features. I looked in the closet to see that my clothes had been delivered and were all hanging up.
I took a look around, satisfied. I looked towards my bed, wondering if I should rest. I took off my shirt and climbed into the soft mountain of cushion, quickly and easily drifting off.
Knocking could be heard at my door, disturbing my sleep. I quietly grumbled and got up slowly, my shoulders slumped.
When I opened the door I was met by someone unfamiliar, a girl with blue hair down to her shoulders and a multi-colored skirt on with a matching shirt, long sleeved. Her skin was pale but not in a way that made it seem like she was never outside and her green eyes pierced mine when she looked into them.
She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she saw I wasn't wearing a shirt. I realized after she did and quickly mumbled an apology, reaching for my shirt from before and putting it on quickly.
When I turned back to her she gave a friendly smile and offered her hand to me. "Hi there!" She greeted me with a slightly elevated volume to her voice. "I'm Tris. I'm a competitor for the tournament."
I shook her hand firmly and returned her smile. "Hi Tris, I'm Khar. I'm a competitor too."
"Oh believe me I know who you are Khar."
I was confused. "Really? Why is that?"
"Do you remember what happened a few years ago in the Kumungu jungle?" Her face turned serious so quickly it took me off guard.
"Yeah, of course I do. Where you there?" I asked, remembering the day in my mind. Tris was about to respond when I stopped her, my memory coming back. "I do remember you actually, you were the young girl that was nearly killed by that giant cougar, right?"
She smiled again. "Yeah I was. But you saved me."
I blushed at her genuine warm smile, scratching the back of my head out of nerve. "I just did what anyone would've done."
Four years ago I was wondering the Kumungu jungle training my reflexes and senses when I came across a group of people, they were clearly lost. When I saw them they were being attacked by a large cougar and two of them were nearly killed, I chased it away before it had a chance to finish any of them off and went back to my training after helping them back up. They asked my name and I told them, which was how Trist knew who I was.
Her face seemed annoyed. "Don't put yourself down like that!" She got closer to me slightly, "You saved three lives that day and you did it so impressively!"
My smile grew. "I'm glad you thought I was impressive, it really wasn't much."
Her smile returned yet again, her smile was always the exact same, dimples on both cheeks and her mouth never opening. "It really was, you're the reason I decided to become a wuju warrior."
I paused. "Wuju?"
She nodded. "I was Master Yi's apprentice for the past 4 years. Now I want to become a champion and join him on the fields of justice."
My face showed my surprise. "That's really impressive actually. There aren't many who can still use wuju."
"Thank you that means a lot." She said, her smile growing. "I learned from Wukong as well, my style of fighting is kind of a mixture of theirs."
"I look forward to facing you in the competition then, Tris."
Her serious expression from before returned without warning. "You saved my life but just know, I won't go easy on you."
I grinned. "I'd be disappointed if you did honestly. I like a challenge."
Her usual smile came back. "I'm glad! I heard you were in this competition and wanted to come and meet you, thank you for what you did."
"Well I'm glad you did."
"Me too."
We looked at each other before she spoke up, "I'm was thinking of seeing what the area around here was like, would you wanna join me?"
I nodded, "sure, let's go."
The hotel was surrounded by the beautiful city-state of Demacia, filled with brightly colored buildings, streets, and people, as well as older style architecture that was amazing.
I walked down the streets of Demacia next to Tris, who was as astounded as I was at out surroundings.
"It's so beautiful..." She whispered mostly to her self.
"It really is." I agreed.
I looked at her as we walked, her face was happy and excited. It was different than her smile, she looked like she was very impressed with everything around her, like she had never seen a large city before.
We continued walking and I took a look at the crowd near us, catching another glimpse of the white haired girl I had seen before.
"Riven." I said under my breath. There was something about her that made my mind stop, like she was using some spell on me. She looked back at me and she made eye contact with me before we both looked away, just like before.
"Khar."
I jumped, waking from my trance as Tris said my voice. "Huh? I'm sorry what?"
"I asked if you wanted any food, that place looks good." She pointed to a smaller building and smiled.
"You're hungry?"
She nodded energetically. "Starving."
I agreed to go inside, and we did.
I felt extremely satisfied as I walked out with Tris, our stomachs very full with warm food.
"That was fantastic." She purred happily.
"Amazing." I agreed, nodding slightly.
We continued walking, now towards the hotel before I stopped to say something to Tris.
"How did this just happen?" I asked her, genuinely puzzled.
"How did what happen?" She was confused as well, but only by my question.
"I don't know it's strange that we practically just met and now we're getting food together and walking around."
Her face was less joyful. "Do you regret coming out with me?"
"No no, that's not it. I enjoyed myself. It just seems odd, it was pretty sudden."
She tilted her head. "You're right, it was kind of sudden. Not in a bad way though right?"
"Right."
"Well then let's just except it" She smiled brightly at me and we began walking again back to our hotel as the day came to a close and the first day of the competition neared.
A/N
I'm sorry if any of this seemed rushed or something, please let me know what you thought. I'll try to do better next chapter, it should be longer too. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
-Lance
