Chapter One:
The light pitter-patter of rain streamed down the body of a young child, lying in the middle of a country road. It was midday, but the shower felt just as down-trodden as if it were in the dead of night. The boy laid there, alive but unmoving, lacking the basic strength to even stand. He had been lying there for what felt like an eternity. Maybe it was an eternity; he wasn't quite sure how he got there. All he knew is that all he was capable of doing was just lying there, accepting the gravity of his fate, and wait for darkness to envelope him. At least it was a peaceful way to go. The light dancing of rain across his skin was soothing, and he finally decided to just close his eyes and wait for nothingness.
"Heeeeeey! Hey you!"
His eyes opened to a bath of golden hair and pale, cream colored skin. Bright blue eyes gazed down into his soft, gray ones. "Hi. I'm Lux, what's your name?" the girl asked brightly, voice radiating enthusiasm and energy. She was a ball of light hovering between him and darkness. He opened his mouth to try and reply, but no sound came out. The girl's head tilted slightly to the side, possibly from confusion, but her positivity never faltered. "You look like you could use a bath. Come on. I'll take you to my home."
"Heeeeeey! Hey you!"
The shout made Alayn jump slightly, startled by the sudden rush of noise. The light pitter-patter of rain was ever-present, this time beating against the roof of his carriage instead of his skin. It was midday as well, and the rain was more of a cooling blanket to a warm spring day rather than an icy touch. Alayn averted his gaze from the window to the other person in the carriage, a bright blonde girl with cream-colored skin and bright blue eyes. Her face shone with its usual burst of bright joy and energy, but it was also covered in a face that he knew all too well: concern. "Jeeze, you always look so distant whenever it rains. What do you think about?" she asked, a slight tinge of worry to her voice. Her concern for his well-being was always refreshing, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "It's nothing, Luxanna. I'm okay."
Lux immediately began to pout, punching his arm lightly. "Alayn! I thought I asked you not to call me that. Even if I'm a champion and you're a summoner, that doesn't mean we can't still be friends." She whined, just causing Alayn to laugh. He paused though, his mind elsewhere in thought. "Hey Lux, why'd your family take me in that day?" he asked carefully. The question gave Lux a moment of pause. "Because I asked them to. I had to use pretty much every favor that my family owed me to convince them to not just turn you over to an orphanage, but I did." She replied back somberly, clearly remembering back to that day as well. But her sober expression didn't survive long, as it was replaced by her usual mirth only moments later. "But it wasn't all bad! We had each other, which made everything okay!" she made sure to add. Alayn nodded in affirmation. "Right. I just wasn't aware it took that much convincing to get your parents to allow me to stay. It must've been difficult." Lux just shrugged, beaming her usual radiant warmth. "Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, though. Right?" she observed, which caught Alayn off-guard. He was hardly expecting such a profound reply, but it was also a nice thought to consider.
Lux's attention was drawn away from the conversation and back out through the window as a rather large building came into view. "Ah! We're almost there! You can see the Institute now. Isn't it so amazing?" she mused, excited to be back. Alayn looked out of the window at the approaching building and couldn't help be amazed himself. The sheer size alone was so impressively large that it could easily house thousands of people at a time. It would certainly be a different kind of environment than he was used to in Demacia. But he was ready for any challenge that would be thrown his way. He was a Summoner in the League of Legends. If he could achieve that, what couldn't he do?
A door opened into a small, dark room. The person who opened the door quickly closed it, re-consuming the room in black. There was a pause of silence. "The new summoner Lux spoke of has arrived." A voice spoke. Another pause ensued. "What do you think?" a different voice spoke. "His entrance exam scores suggest a high level of competency as well as innate talent. His understanding of strategy is strong. He's someone we should be interested in." A pause followed. "I didn't ask for the numbers. I asked for your opinion." The second voice spoke again, an annoyed tone coating his voice. "My opinion? He's heralded as the second coming of one of the greatest summoners in history. The evidence we have right now supports these rumors. If they're anything to go off of, this is someone we cannot afford to lose." The first voice explained, not fazed by the disrespect from before. A long pause followed. "Agreed. See to it that we don't lose him, then. Personally." The second voice instructed. The door opened again, then closed, returning the room to a silent darkness.
Hey everyone! Welcome to A Radiant Dawn! I hope that you stick around for the journey because this should be getting really fun, really fast. I hope to be making regular, weekly updates to this story, potentially earlier if I can pump out chapters fast enough. However, at the bare minimum, I'm looking to upload a new chapter ever Friday at least. A chapter a week sounds reasonable, right?
Of course my writing is probably bad, so do you have any comments or criticisms you want to bring up? Any ideas you wanna offer or just wanna drop in to say hey? Leave me a review! I always welcome feedback of any kind, since I'm always looking to improve my writing. Don't be afraid to speak your mind, my ego can certainly take a few hits :3
With that all said and done, have a great Friday, and for some of you, a great Spring Break!