Motives

Part One: The Encounter


This wasn't a place Quinn wanted to be: Alone in a dark forest, near midnight, and with no Valor to guide her way. The scout knew that he was probably in a panic now that he couldn't see her. It was absurdly cold— she could feel the bitter weather through her leather armor. Her golden eyes glanced up but she couldn't see the sky. The leaves of the trees hid away the beautiful Demacian stars from her.

Why was she even here?

There were some rumors of a mysterious figure wandering around the Demacian forests. There were a few people that have claimed to see it. When the witnesses would lead authorities back to the location of the spotting, all anyone ever found were dead bodies. Was this the work of a serial killer or were there meanings behind these deaths?

Quinn took it upon herself to study this case since she felt a strong connection to these killings. They were happening around her old village, Uwendale, just on the border of Demacia. It was just a rural farming and hunting village but one could have motives. One man to be slain was a retired knight. He suffered from a severed left arm and moved him and his wife to the countryside. Quinn could suspect why someone would want him dead. The old knight most likely knew too much. Was it a rival nation… or was it another Demacian? The thought of not being able to trust one's own people made Quinn sick.

Whoever this was she needed to put a stop to it. Her first order of business was tracking the killer in their element. Innocent people seemed to die when the sun went down. Quinn assumed this would be the best idea… However, she didn't account of the overgrowth of trees cutting her communication with Valor.

"Poor bird," she said lowly to herself, "He's probably losing it without—"

A twig snapping under a boot made Quinn come back to her senses. She clicked the trigger of her crossbow and aimed it to where she heard the noise. There was nothing. It was just her nerves getting the better of her. She knew she had to keep calm if she wanted to leave the forest in one piece. If there was a deranged killer stalking in the woods, she needed to keep her guard up.

She tracked her way backwards from where she came. It would be easier to find her way out if she traveled somewhere she had already been. Quinn knew to mark trees with her dagger in case she ever found herself walking in circles. She became so reliant on Valor helping her that she almost forgot this little trick. The scout stopped to check the trunk of a tree she recognized. She dropped down to her knee to examine her faint slash going down the bark.

"Lost?" A sinister voice asked from behind the scout.

Quinn gasped as she jumped up, slashing behind her. To her horror, there was nothing there again. Only the dark woods were in front of her. The scout could feel her heart beating in her ribcage. Her golden eyes glanced over her shoulder, spotting her crossbow that she had dropped. As her gloved hand reached for it, it disappeared.

Certainly she wasn't losing her mind already?

The palm of her hand brushed over the grass, making sure there was nothing. Quinn could feel herself sweating now. She slowly got up from the ground. The scout had to keep quiet or else she risked alerting whatever was around her.

"We can hear your heart." The same voice chuckled, "Are you afraid?"

"Show yourself, coward!" Quinn shouted, hearing herself echo throughout the trees. She could detect something was behind her. The space around her seemed tighter. "Show yourself so I can rip your throat out!"

"My, my, Rhaast. We have a lively one!" A man's voice snickered.

The scout flipped around and saw a tall man holding a scythe larger than himself. She didn't know how she didn't hear him approaching with a weapon that heavy— it was like he slipped from the shadows. His black hair was long and tied in an elegant braid. This was no ordinary man however. There was a grey corruption growing over his skin. His left arm was covered in it and it made his fingers into sharp claws. But his eye… His left eye seemed like it wasn't his own. It was red and glowing in the darkness. Yet, she found him unnervingly handsome.

"Tell me who you are!" Quinn demanded.

"None of that, girl. I'll be the one giving the orders." He warned, "Do as I say… and you might live." Quinn had no choice but to obey. She was without Valor and her crossbow— she was powerless to fight him now. The scout's hard glare lessened as she gave a single, defeated nod. He chuckled, "Good girl. To reward you, I shall tell you who we are. I am Kayn and this…" Kayn looked over to the giant weapon he rested on his shoulder. Suddenly, a giant eye appeared on the scythe and it was staring right at Quinn. "This is Rhaast. Say hello to our little hero. Shall we indulge her?"

"Not much of a sight to behold… but I wouldn't mind making her a plaything." The weapon spoke. It's voice was what Quinn imagined the devil himself to sound like. She didn't know how it was speaking— the voice just seemed to penetrate her mind. The glowing, scarlett iris narrowed at her, "Do tell me… What is your blood type?"

"O-Negative…"

"I'm not being negative! It was just a question." Rhaast hummed in delight.

"Do try to keep your lame jokes to yourself. If you forgot already, I need to conduct some business." Kayn stepped towards the scout but she immediately jumped back. He stopped in his tracks, somewhat surprised by her quickness. A thick brow cocked up before he shook his head. Kayn stepped forward again, only this time his claws caught her arm. He was faster. The man lifted her arm while looking her over with a curious eye, "Who are you, girl?"

"That should be none of your concern!" Quinn growled. She winced in pain when his claws dug into her skin. His brute strength seemed to crush her bones. It was so forceful it dropped her to her knees.

"Don't get too brave. I won't hesitate to rip your head off." Kayn warned again, "Now… tell me your name."

"Q-Quinn, alias Demacia's Wings…" She said proudly through the pain, "Ranger General of the Demacian Elite."

"Ah, I see, a high-ranking hit." Kayn thought aloud as his grip loosened, "Fortunately for you, Quinn, you're not who I'm after tonight. I wouldn't want to do any extra work for the same pay," a wicked grin appeared on his face. Kayn came closer, his lips dangerously close to Quinn. He whispered in her ear, "Besides, you might be worth a lot when I get assigned you."

"Assigned?"

"That should be none of your concern," the man chuckled. He yanked back her short hair, "I will tell you this: I'm a shadow. I'll see you in your nightmares, Quinn. This will be a very cute game..."

Kayn tossed her down on the grass, his evil chuckle was all the scout heard. Her fingers clenched as she raised her hair. Her eyes spotted her crossbow lying underneath the fog. She quickly reached for it and flipped around. Quinn aimed her weapon where she last saw Kayn. However, he was gone. All the remained of him was a cloud of black smoke.

"Damn it," Quinn growled as she slammed her fist on the ground.


Within Prince Jarvan's study, Quinn brought him and Garen to explain what happened last night. Quinn didn't get much sleep the night before— she was kept awake by the thought of that evil scythe. It's voice echoed in her head continuously. Jarvan sat at his desk while Garen stood behind him just like a bodyguard.

"A shadow? That is what he said he was?" Prince Jarvan asked his scout.

"Yes, your majesty."

"And he was holding…" Garen started behind him. She already knew where this conversation was headed. Quinn and Garen really didn't see eye to eye when it came to how they did things. As Ranger General, Quinn knew how to track targets and think like the enemy. Garen, was old fashioned. Take an army to the enemy, no thinking required. The Captain of the Vanguard looked around as he remembered her exact words, " A giant talking scythe."

"... Yes."

"You know, you weren't assigned a tracking mission." He added, knowing he could get her into trouble with a rogue act like that. Quinn's golden eyes glanced over to Jarvan, who was watching her carefully, and then back to Garen.

"I don't see anyone else doing anything about these people getting slaughtered." She challenged. Garen looked down at Jarvan sitting in front of him, waiting for him to scold the scout. The prince grunted while slowly nodding his head.

"Did he say anything else?" Jarvan asked.

"He said he name is Kayn and his weapon's name is Rhaast." Quinn answered respectfully. "He asked who I was, sadly he had me unarmed so I had to tell him, and he said I was a high-ranking hit."

"Sounds like a hired assassin." Jarvan thought out loud, "Or maybe he has a boss who wants him eliminating potential nuisances. Either way, he's a killer who gets paid for it." He sighed, "This is a pickle." He scratched his unshaved chin, "I cannot allow these murders to go on any longer. Quinn, I put you in charge on finding more information on this Kayn character."

"Y-Your Highness, you cannot be serious?" Garen asked, surprised with his leader's sudden siding with the younger woman.

"I am. Our Quinn has put some passion into this and this team needs more of that." Jarvan said, "And you'll help her if she asks." The prince got up from his seat, "You're both dismissed. Take whatever measures you can, Quinn. I believe in you."


Quinn, sitting in the capital's library, had her nose deep into books about anything and everything. Dark circles appeared under her gold eyes as she read along the endless words. She had no leads on Kayn other than a few shaken witnesses— only they've never seen the assassin. It was a dead end there. She decided the books would have more information than a spotty eyewitness.

She had gone on a trail from Ionia, to the tribes there, to Targon, to the Aspects, and then to Darkin. The description of them reminded her of Rhaast. A soul trapped in a weapon with a vessel wielding them. Yet, in Kayn's case, things were different. The book she was reading mentioned that the Darkin would overcome the human soul and make it their own. The body of the vessel will grow armor-like scales just like the assassin had on his left arm.

"Maybe…" Quinn whispered to herself, "Kayn's soul is too strong for Rhaast."

"I have another book for you, Quinn. I've found one on the Shuriman desert." Said a cheery voice behind the scout. Lux appeared with a thick, leather bound book in his arms. Quinn had asked the blonde to help her out in the library since she could be frequently found here.

"Thank you, Lux." Quinn said with a smile. "You can sit with me if you like."

"Have you found anything yet?"

"Just a few stories on these monsters called Darkin. In short, their souls trapped in weapons. They can possess humans." The scout looked up from the book to her friend, "Kayn wasn't fully possessed."

"Is he cute?"

"Wh-What?" Quinn glanced up at her friend, seeing her teen age come out fully. She forgot she was a few years older than her. Her boy chasing days were over— then again she never had one. She was always training to be a ranger. Quinn lightly chuckled, "You mean Kayn?"

"Yeah!" Lux whispered, "A dark mysterious man that came from the shadows? It sounds pretty alluring to me."

"Well…" The scout thought back on what she knew he looked like. Long hair with bangs swaying in his face and features almost as sharp as his scythe. He had gotten so close to her that night she could recall every little thing. Quinn suddenly embarrassed when she remembered another detail. She tried to cover her reddening face, "He was shirtless."

"Oh?" The younger girl's eyes glimmered with interest.

"He had… very defined… personality." Quinn sighed, "Lux, I don't want to think of him that way. He killed Demacians. Besides, aren't you with that Lightfeather fellow from Piltover? You know," The scout mockingly fluttered her eyelashes, "The pretty blonde boy?"

"Shhh!" Lux shushed her friend, making Quinn smirk. She looked around to see if anyone had heard them. It was true, Lux had her own little romance with a boy from Piltover. From what Quinn could remember, he was an explorer and wielded a magic gauntlet. Quinn even once guarded them from the public eye when he came to visit her. The young girl blushed heavily, "No one knows other than you!" She became serious, "Do you think you'll ever come across Kayn again?"

"Honestly, I hope not. He's terrifying… especially with that scythe of his."

"Could I suggest getting it away from him if you two ever do meet again?"

"That's not a bad idea…"

Quinn glanced back down at her book, seeing an illustration of a Darkin. She didn't know what powers Rhaast could be capable of even in his contained form. The scout just hoped she'd never see them again. Yet, she had to keep her eyes out for anything.

Demacia needed her.


Notes: I like Kayn. I like Quinn. I like them together. (It probably doesn't make sense but neither do any of his other ships and we're all entitled to an odd pair.) I'm going to post the second half as soon as I finish it.

See you next chapter!