League of legends, or more commonly known to most, the institute of war. The place where all sorts of beings gather to show off their strength, gain leverage in political clashings, or just have fun killing people in front of other people with the help of beings called Summoners.
These Summoner's are the very beings who built and maintain the institute of war through strong magical arts and robust funding from many different sources. All in originally good thoughts, some people think that the league is a mere joke, merely presenting these unique individuals as a means of entertainment for the many mages called Summoners. It is among the very few original Summoners, a very special Summoner who knows what the institute really represents and that what they do is by no means 'entertainment'.
They were currently discussing the matters of a new and quite renowned individual who had not requested to become a champion, but demanded it. It was quite a surprise that they were all in fact scrambled together to discuss if she should even be allowed entry, before the reflection trial even started.
All 12 of them were all in a dimly lit room, all of them sitting in a large oval shaped table as the head summoner began the meeting.
"So has everyone read over the reports of the new champion that the fist of shadow brought us?" I hear Astrid ask everyone.
Everyone but me hums silently in affirmative. Astrid of course notices and directs her hood-drawn gaze towards me. I could feel her cool blue eyes pierce me through the shadow of her blue hood, but I cared little.
"Is something amiss Phoenix?"
Her tone wasn't one of worry, it was curiosity, not that I was surprised.
I take a minute to answer, letting Astrid's curiosity simmer along with everyone else's. Finally, I give them all what they were waiting for, after all, my thoughts probably held the most influence right under Astrid's.
"I have read the report...and that is what disturbs me."My voice is calm and cool, despite the mixed feelings I was having about this one. The way I had read it, it seemed as if she didn't like authority, much less anyone telling her what to do when it came to her and her power.
"I understand why you would be troubled by her appearance Phoenix." Her hands twirl among themselves, not nervously but in thought. "Whatever be her mannerisms, that still doesn't change the decision of whether to allow her to cause destruction until she is inevitably killed or allow her to join the league and perhaps..."
her voice hitched, causing me to lean slightly in my chair as my curiosity had been piqued.
"You could influence her in the way of control," she finishes, her tone commanding with a touch of hopeful.
"May I voice my opinion-
"No you may not," she interrupts, her voice not breaking tempo.
"So be it then," I inclined respectfully though my mind said otherwise. Astrid knew me for too long to think that I would simply let this slide, no matter how good of friends we were.
"Now that is settled you all may make your ways to the judgment chamber as me and Phoenix have a few things to discuss," she says with certain finality.
Everyone seems to get the memo, getting up and making their way towards the judgment chamber, leaving only me and Astrid in the still barely lit room. As soon as I felt the last summoner leave earshot distance I immediately began to rant.
"What is the meaning of this Astrid?" I thought I was the vice venerable summoner, not a dam babysitter!"
In truth I was not to fond of the idea of have to teach the new champion the ideas of balance, I was far too busy making sure that every conflict was dealt with fairly and without outside 'favor' for either side. And I sure as hell wasn't going to trust it with any of these imbeciles besides Astrid.
The woman let out a tired sigh before pulling back her hood and revealing a slightly aged but still beautiful woman nonetheless. Her black and slightly gray hair pulled back, two strands caressing either side of her face as they hung freely. Her blue eyes twinkled dully, a smile that was for some reason present on her face.
"You have gotten cold over the years Phoenix, "she admits tiredly.
I couldn't help but stifling a laugh at the comment.
"You'll have to forgive me, what I deal with on a monthly basis isn't exactly full of pleasantries," I replied and that was simply the truth.
My job was to make sure every conflict was handled fairly...which meant handing out disciplinary action as I saw fit. It goes without saying that some of them needed more 'discipline' then others. Another part of my job was to make sure that all the champions who weren't chained up were on their best behavior or at the very least kill each other or anyone else while outside the rift. One might argue that the new champion falls in line with my job, and while she does, I cannot simply watch one of them, I must watch all of them.
"I know which is exactly why I'm sending you especially to look after her." I could feel the stress roll off of her as she rubbed her temples.
"I already made my decision when a report about you breaking a certain Demacian's arm made its way on my desk."
" He deserved it."
"Stop me if I'm wrong, but all he did was verbally berate Darius while the latter did the same did he not? I believe that doesn't warrant for a broken arm. And don't think I don't know about the other incidents either!" She scowled me in a tone I was unfamiliar with as it had been quite some time since I had been scolded, in our younger days to be exact.
I didn't say a word as she walked up next to me and placed a hand on top of mine.
"Just think of it as a little vacation," she said sweetly, her sweet but dull blue eyes looking upon me with sincerity. I didn't flinch anyway from her touch, she among the few were the only ones allowed to touch me in such a way, if anyway at all.
"Who's going to watch the champions in my absence?" I whisper, wholly thrown away the idea of possibly escaping from this 'chore' of a task.
She let's go of my hand before making her way to the door, her hips swaying gently in her wake. I avert my eyes, ashamed of myself for even looking at her in such a way. What we had was through, she was married, end of story. It just seems like my heart hadn't accepted it, despite all these years.
"The ninjas of the kinko order will take rotating shifts degrading that subject as well as three upcoming seat holder summoners."
She jerks her thumb towards the door, I deducting that she wants me to follow her to the judgment chamber. I stand up and shake my hands as I walk up to her.
She crosses her arms and looks at me with a playful glint in her eyes. I could only stare at her in bewilderment at the fact that she was indeed just standing there. After a minute it finally crosses my mind that she wants me to open the door for her.
"For the love of..."I mummer before leaning toward and opening the door for her, rather begrudgingly I might add.
"Why thank you kind gentleman," she giggles as she glides through the door. Despite trying to keep a static expression I couldn't help but let a smile spread across my lips, if only for a moment.
Bright and loud, that's what I would describe the hallways of the institute of war, in the morning anyway. As we walked through the hallway, we of course pass by all sorts of Summoners and champions. We received all sorts of looks, most of them being looks of fear or irritation towards me.
"You always have a permanent scowl on your face," Astrid says after awhile of us walking. I bat an eye towards her and I noticed that she has replaced her hood. I couldn't help but feel a pang of longing in my chest to see her beautiful face again.
"What are you talking about?"
"Who do you think you're talking to?" She says in a matter-of-way.
I wave my hand dismissively as we walk, tired of her dogging me at the moment but after a few seconds she's back at it again.
"When did you stop smiling?"
The question caught me off guard, so much in fact that my pace slows so much that she looks back at me, with those blue eyes.
"I don't know," I answer quietly. That was a lie.
"When you rejected me," I thought solemnly.
"All the more reason you need this," she says cheerfully, either disregarding my mood or just not caring at the moment.
"Let's just get this over with so I can get back to making sure that these champions don't kill each other," I snapped, flinching inwardly as I saw her jump away from me.
"I'm sorry," I whisper softly. I hadn't meant it to come out like that, I just...
"It's ok let's just get this over with since your job is so important," she replies disappointingly.
Despite the want to berate her over her comment, I chose to remain silent, simply following her to the judgment room. As the door was within sight I was stopped by none other than Ahri.
She was dressed in her usual white and red trimmed dress with a red sash in the middle. Her nine tails fluttered around softly as she stood before me, a look of hurt evident on her face.
"Hello Mr. Phoenix-
"Not now Ahri," I interrupted quite rudely as I tried to walk around her, but of course she stepped in front of me.
"Now listen here you," she purred, her very voice dripping with seduction. "Sooner or later you're going to be begging at my doorstep and when that time comes I might not even want you anymore, so how bout you just stop resisting." The way she had finished off her little offer, I had to admit I was a little tempted to take her up on her offer, but there was one thing that completely deterred the feelings. It wasn't the well-known fact that she had slept with many before me, or the fact that she killed many people before she had came to the league. It was the fact that she had reminded me of myself when I was younger, the self that I wish I could have thrown away.
I didn't say a word as I placed my hands on her exposed shoulders and gently but sternly moved her out of my way before continuing towards the judgment chambers. As my thoughts drifted to my past I didn't pay heed to the slurs Ahri was throwing my way.
The reflection chamber was a somewhat spacious room, holding enough seats for the council seat holders along with the head summoner Astrid. It was dark, the only light shining down upon the center of the room on the champion whose mind was going to be pried and judged before us, Syndra.
My eyes looked down upon the woman as Astrid asked her seemingly useless questions in my opinion. She had already read the reports and deemed it necessary to house her in the league, but I suppose she merely wanted to hear the misfits own thoughts and answers.
"This is my last question before we start the reflection of your inner mind. What do you wish to achieve by joining the league?"
This question had snapped me out of my lazy thoughts, causing me to shift slightly in my seat.
"Why that's easy. To stretch my new powers so to speak. Maybe a few other things here and there though nothing you fools need to worry about…for now," she teased coolly, her voice dripping with my power.
"She sounds like the perfect psychopath to make me smile. Thanks Astrid." I thought with obvious sarcasm.
Astrid seems to accept her answer before raising both of her hands up, causing two large mirrors to seemingly rise out of the floor in front of the woman. I was surprised that the woman didn't move a inch at the sudden invasion of space, only relating the action-or lack of- by the fact that she's too drunk on her own power to feel threatened by us. The mere thought caused me snicker. How wrong she was...
"Are you ready to begin? I must warn you-
"Just shut up and do it. I don't have all dam day to be wasting with you insects," she growled, her voice clearly portraying her irritation.
I couldn't help but narrow my eyes toward the woman attitude. If there was anything she would learn from me, it was going to be respect...or fear.
"So be it," Astrid calmly replies before a blue hue surrounds her hands.
I glanced away from her towards the champion, watching in silence along with the rest as she was covered from sight by multiple mirrors forming a crystal like structure around her, shortly afterwards a blue sphere forming at the tip of it.
And so the show began. I, along with rest of the group watched as her most influential memories played through the sphere, the thing itself not filtering any details...
Syndra sat in what appeared to be dark cell, decorated only by a small bared window and the woman itself. Judging by the light-or lack of- coming through the bars of the window I deducted that it must have been evening or late at night during the memory.
The woman in particular appeared to be a slightly younger version of the woman who I saw earlier, except that she was wearing a torn blue blouse along with dirty blue pants. Her feet were flat along the bare ceiling floor, as she sat huddled against her knees.
"Please let me out..."
Her gloomy voice bounced around in the room.
"Please..."she begged hopelessly, but nothing but silence answered her. After a while she laid out on the floor, holding herself as she weeps silently. I assumed she was going to cry herself to sleep but I was mistaken as other voices appeared throughout the memory.
"What do you think we should do with her?" A female voice asked, seemingly worried about the Syndra if he guessed correctly.
"I do not know. But what I do know that If it wasn't for the fact that if she wasn't in this cell then another city would fall to her," the man answered in a clearly frightened voice.
"I fear that isolation is the only way, at least until she can control her powers."
"Even if she does, what's stopping her from destroying more cites! More-
"Hush!" The woman commanded, effectively silencing the man's rant."I think she can hear us. Let us leave this until tomorrow." And we that, the memory created Syndra fell asleep.
It wasn't long until we jumped to a more recent memory. This one had Syndra in the middle innards of aged golden temple. She was experimentally throwing what appeared to be dark magical spheres in the air, her face contorted into one of Focus. A few feet away her highly aged woman stood a scrutinizing look upon her face as she watched the young woman. The woman was dressed
in a light blue robe and nothing else based upon what I could see.
Syndra was wearing a red plain shirt with equally plain white training pants. Her whole body glistened with sweat as she appeared to be trying her hardest as she continued to juggle the spheres fluently. After a while she laid her arms to rest, the dark spheres dissipating in seconds.
"Master may I ask a question?"
Syndra asked as she whipped around to the woman.
"What is it my child?" the woman replied sweetly.
My mind racked with possibilities as I was subconsciously trying to come up with how bad this was going to turn out. I cursed myself mentally, ashamed of myself for insinuating the worst, but I couldn't help it. What was I to suspect when watching Reflections. It is during the worst points in people's lives where the biggest impacts are made in that one's life.
"When can I leave the temple? I know that I haven't full-
"Dear," the woman interrupted solemnly as she walked up beside the woman. "It will be a while before you can leave this place."
"Well how long, 4 more months, a year at best right?"
The older woman didn't reply, merely sighing tiredly.
"I...Cannot say," is all she replied with.
I visibly flinched as I watched how Syndra reacted to the comment. Her eyes were swelling with tears, her face toward between sadness and anger as the old woman continued.
"People are afraid of what they cannot understand, even more so when the very thing they don't understand threatens their life."
"I wouldn't threaten them!" Syndra yelled.
"But who's to say you wouldn't lash out with your powers when you felt threatened?" The old woman whispered calmly.
"I'm different now, I can control my power and I wouldn't get to that point," Syndra pleaded, trying her seemingly best to convince the woman to let her free.
I couldn't help but feel pity swell within me but I continued watching nonetheless.
"While that may be true Syndra, I can't take that risk. I'm sorry but that is the way it must be," is all she said before leaving the woman to stand alone by herself.
Syndra grabbed her head, falling to her knees. She seemed as if she was going to snap, but before anymore was seen the memory changed. The area was still the same but Syndra's outfit had changed to the corset that she had entered in earlier with. The only difference between this version of Syndra and the one present in the room was that the latter's version had violet glowing eyes while the formers eyes were a normal violet.
Her master had stretched unceremoniously, letting out a well drawn-out yawn. When she finally focused on her student her jaw hit the floor, a look of complete shock in her eyes.
"W-e-ere did you get that Syndra," she asked nervously.
My head raced as I watched Syndra twirl around playfully before posing, an equally playfully smile on her face.
"Do you like it? I found it in some room that was locked, I broke into it of course," she answered in a cheery voice.
"Take it off this..." The woman's voice trailed as she noticed Syndra had conjured multiple spheres around her.
"Listen hag," Syndra began, her voice taking a certain edge that was indescribable."I want to leave this place. You will not stop me, understood?"
The woman shook her head slowly, a green mist surrounding her all the while. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that Syndra. Now plea-
"I am tired of you. I am tired of this fucking temple. I am tired of my fate being chosen for me. Unlike you, I will not rot away in this godforsaken place. With my power, I will simply crush all of them. They fear me because I have power and they don't, they fear us!" Syndra finished with a wicked smile.
"Syndra..."
"With our power we could cull the weak and rise up the strong like you and I! Think of all the others of us out there. All alone and ashamed of what-
"Enough! Go to your room now Syndra!" Her master yelled the aura around her glowing brightly.
"So...you still wish to stand in my way granny," Syndra murmured sadly, a hint of hurt evident in her tone.
"So be it."
I watched as a flurry of spheres sped towards the old woman, intent on crush her into nothingness. The woman's aura expanded, creating a seemingly watery protective bubble around her as all the spears popped quite loudly as soon as they came into contact with it. I was not surprised that the woman was unfazed and quite calm with the whole dilemma, after all, she knew it would have probably come to this sooner or later.
The older woman flexed her hand in a strange fashion before her Aura followed suit in shaping into the upper body of some sort of humanoid form.
"This is your last chance. Go to room now Syndra."
"NO! I WILL BE CHAINED NO LONGER!" Syndra screeched, her whole being engulfed in violet and black energy as she closed her hands into fist. She furiously pumped her fist to the woman before opening them up, tiny trails of blood trailing down her hands. Her whole face scrunched up in focus as I watched her pull to large slabs of the floor beneath them up from the ground.
Immediately the old woman appeared to command the being around her to lung at the woman, a green appendage barreling towards Syndra. Right as it was about to connect to the woman it stopped abruptly, a hairs breath away rather from the woman. Slowly it pulled back before reaching inside itself, towards the old woman.
"Impossible-" but the petite woman's speech was cut short as the green arm wrapped around her whole body, effectively holding her in place.
Syndra screamed in pure rage as she brought the two slabs of stone on either side of the old woman before smashing them together with unparalleled force. As the two forces collided they shattered into pieces, stone shards caked with blood flying in all sorts of direction. The woman panted heavily before falling down rather unceremoniously in a sitting position, her arms at rest at her sides as she watched the remnants of her outburst scatter everywhere. She wasn't worried by any of the debris because anything that came close to her would bounce off harmless, like there was an invisible bubble around her. A look of shock adored her face as she stared at the still standing humanoid figure, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened. She tensed up to the unknown variable, more so when it started to hover towards her. She raised a hand weekly, but it was clear she was thoroughly exhausted at this point. All the woman did was close her eyes and look down in seemingly defeat before something strange happened. The entity dissipated into a green mist before trailing around her and diving into her chest. The woman let out a half-baked scream before grabbing at her chest in what appeared to be fear before outright passing out.
And that was it apparently as Astrid waved her hands, dismissing the viewing orb along with the crystals. I watched as each crystal pulled back from each other, leaving a panting Syndra on the floor before us, one hand on her head and the other raised towards us, for what reason I had a slight clue.
"How does it feel, exposing your mind?" Astrid calmly asked.
"Fuck…you," she spat back venomously. It was quite clear that she hadn't expected the experience to probably be so extensive, but she was warned it wasn't going to be like anything you ever experienced before.
"Welcome to the league, Syndra the dark sovereign," Astrid announced before waving her hand and Sending Syndra out of the chamber, to where I didn't know. "You have your assignment Phoenix, I expect a report tomorrow?"
Before I could ask I was teleported out of the chambers just as quickly as Syndra. Seconds later I landed feet first on the steps of a floating black fortress.
"Who the hell are you?"
I turned around and stared directly at the dark sovereign herself, sitting on the steps underneath me.
She didn't look all the happy to see me.
"I'm…your new roommate?"
Author Notes-Really cant get enough of Syndra.
