Chapter1

The universe is vast with countless of stars and worlds. Earth is certainly not the only realm with living intelligence. Upon reaching this conclusion, the Riot team (Researchers of Intergalactic Origins and Terraform) begun their exploration then proceeded to announce their discovery of Runetera on October 7th 2009 and afterwards successfully established portals to Runetera about a year later. So that only a selected few can have glimpses of the world but even now, human knowledge of this world is limited.

Runetera's only known and explored continent thus far is Valoran and a few of its surrounding islands. Unlike Earth, those that dwell in the land of Valoran can conjure magic and here is where wondrous creatures roam. But Runeterra, like Earth and every place in the Universe, has its own history and history is never not troublesome .

Up in the Northern parts of Valoran lies Freljord, a place with a troublesome history and a capital city called Rakelstake.

Freljord is an unforgiving place. It is here where the true power of frost is shown and everyone forced to fight bitterly for their own survival. With the escarpment covered vastly with blankets of snow and tundra storms abundant in every direction all year round, it has proven to be a very dangerous place. These vicious storms often claim the lives of even the indigenous howling winds, the unpredictable grounds and the dark ice creatures of Freljord all collaborate together to consume the bravest, and many times the foolish of men. Its icy powers is not a force to be reckoned with... Freljord is not a place for the weak.

Unlike the mountains, the Freljordians themselves are fractured, divided by the power struggle of the three main tribes: the Winter's Claw, the Frostguard and the Avarosa. All ruled by the three princesses of the Freljord. Ashe, the leader of the Avarosan tribe also the legitimate heir, was crowned queen shortly after the discovery of her bow of true ice. This caused Sejuani, the leader of the Winter's Claw, to protest with rage as she refused to accept Ashe, even when Ashe offered Sejuani a place beside her. This refusal pierced through Ashe as her frost arrow did to its prey: True, hard and merciless. She wanted to beg Sejuani, to go on to her knees and ask her not to leave. How could she do this? Despite every fight and every skirmish, Ashe could not bring herself to hate her sister but she fought away her longing to give into Sejuani. Giving Sejuani the throne would mean the destruction of the Freljord and if there is anything else left for Ashe to live for; it is for the well-being of her people. In all desperation, Ashe sat expressionless, clenching her fists as Sejuani marched away. She was too proud to cry or to admit that: despite everything, she still loves her sister.

Ashe matured at a young age. She felt the weight of her people as early as she could remember so. And she had been told she was beautiful since the day she had been Frost Archer was beautiful in the same kind of beautiful as ice was : Cold, graceful, mesmerizing but ultimately fragile. Her hair was bleached by the whirling shards of ice by a magnificent maelstrom - The Gelid Vortex, one of the harshest storms in the Freljordian Mountains. They fall loosely on top of her chest; she never bothered to brush her hair but it manages to remain utterly refined, just like how ice never fails to remain elegant. Ashe is usually seen wearing a short sleeveless dress and a hooded cape the shade of midnight black. Her eyes,though, are perhaps her most interesting feature, they were a bottomless pit of blue. Even when her delicate face stubbornly remains impassive, the eyes are only window to her heart.

Ashe absentmindedly stroked her bow, mesmerized by it's delicate carvings. She prayed silently to Avarosa as she had always, every day. They both had a common goal, had Avarosa been alive right now, Ashe imagined her being a bit like herself.

"My Queen..." Dimitri, Ashe's closest adviser, bowed down slowly before he began to speak.

"The winter's claw's messenger is, I'd say rather impatiently, waiting to present you what they predicted is going to be a plot against Freljord."

Ashe gracefully nodded to dismiss Dimitri and signaled the guard to let the messenger in. The messenger was a scrawny boy about fifteen but he carried himself with much confidence that Ashe could not help but to dislike the oozing aura of typical arrogance found in members of the Winter's Claw.

"I have a message from the Sejuani, Princess of Freljord." He paused, probably for some exaggerated effect before he started to read the letter.

"Frost Archer, I am asking you to listen to me. I will not contact you if it is not necessary. If anything, the only thing we have in common between us, is our wish to see the prosperity of our people. But war is inevitable. Although Noxus is forced to obey to the rules of the League, not all of them will follow it, only those who serve under the champions of Noxus will. Noxus has broken also into fighting sides and if I am not wrong... Some of the rebels will not hesitate to attack us soon."

Ashe pondered this for a moment. Her face showing a grim expression but none the less unsurprised.

"Do you know of when they will attack?" Ashe asked.

"We are uncertain... But around winter this year?"

Ashe's eyes lit up . Her lips curved slightly into an almost-smile. This was not a plot planned carefully and she was sure that the attack would be an utter failure. For one, this is not a official declaration of war by Noxus so the high commander Jericho Swain probably has no part in this. Which, of course, is a good thing. That would have meant an end to the peace in Valoran and the Fields of Justice would be meaningless.

"We wait for them to come."

"Frost archer, are you out of your mind? This is ludicrous, this is what you weak Avarosans do ... Is wait for people to just invade our land ! You-"

Before the messenger could finish, he was pushed on to the ground, forced to his knees by Ashe's guards.

" By waiting, messenger, in case you have forgotten what it is like to not just attack aimlessly, I meant playing defensively, arming forces here...where we are strongest." Ashe said.

Then continued, " Watch how I will win this with only me and my squadron of archers. And tell Sej not to worry, I've got everything covered."

It was simple. If they come for Freljord in the winter then let the frost consume them all.

A/N So, this story is mostly on characters associated with the Freljord, specifically Ashe. I've always perceived Ashe as a strong-willed character who carries herself with elegance , you know? So yeahhh... this story will be divided into many parts, think of this as being the first book in the trilogy :p. You should read the Freljordian lore if you haven't yet already as there will be references that you wouldn't understand. Any comments are welcomed!

Notes:

- Avarosa is part of the "three sisters" (Avarosa, Lissandra the ice witch and Serylda). In her Era, she was the rightful queen and Ashe aspires to be like her.