Author's Note: Hello, I'm back. Sorry it's taken so long to get on to this. But I will try to keep my two week updates. Try. :).
Anyway, for those who have just joined me, this takes place after TOBC: In the Beginning. This will still make sense without that but you should probably read that one first. Cheers.
Several yordles stood at the foot of an Ionian bound ship docked at the city's harbour as a single family said their farewells.
To one side four children stood gathered in a tight circle; their heads together in a conspiratorial way that would normally concern the parents. Today however, it just signified a close and private goodbye.
Tristana squeezed Teemo in a tight hug, "We're going to miss you."
Trying to suck in air, Teemo wheezed, "We'll be on holiday there for just over a month. It's not that long."
"I know, but that doesn't mean we can't miss you while you're away."
He grinned at that. "I'll miss you guys too. But I'll be back before you know it. Then you can tell me all about what you guys got up to. You better not leave me out of anything too big."
Ziggs cackled. "We'll try not to but that doesn't guarantee anything. Anyway, you need to tell us all about your trip when you get back. I want to hear what Ionia's like."
"Me too!" Tristana sighed, "I wish we could come to. It sounds like lots of fun."
"Yeah, I do too," Teemo admitted. "It won't be the same without you guys. But I'll write to you and bring you back some souvenirs. Promise."
Rumble smirked, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. "Just make sure they can't explode," he joked.
Teemo and Tristana laughed. Ziggs however lightly punched him, pouting when the three of them just laughed harder.
"I'm just messing with you Ziggs."
On the other side of the ramp Kennen and Poppy were conversing. The hazel yordling standing uncharacteristically still, though his mouth was still going at a million miles a minute. "From the Placidium we'll head back down to the Capital for a few days before catching a ship home again. It should be a lot of fun, though I'm going to miss you."
Silence fell briefly over the two thirteen-year-olds before Poppy broke it. "I'll miss you too. But it's only for a little while. Just, try not to get into too much trouble cause I won't be there to bail you out this time," the blue girl told him, only half joking.
"I'm only going for a month."
"One month is enough," Poppy told him seriously. She held out her hand, "Have a good time Kennen and I'll see you when you get back."
"Goodbye Poppy," Kennen said. He looked at her outstretched hand but instead of shaking it, he impulsively gave her a tight hug before hastily running up the ramp and onto the deck of the vessel. "Bye Poppy!" He called to the stunned yordle. "I'll write to you so you better check your mail."
Recovering from her momentary shock, Poppy yelled back, "Only if you write more than one sentence each letter!"
He laughed, "No promises!"
Slowly the rest of his family boarded the ship. Teemo was the last one, slowly dragging his feet as he kept waving behind him. Eventually however everything was ready and the vessel set sail, leaving a smaller group of yordles behind.
They sailed north-west to the southern island of Galrin, where they stayed for a few days before heading north east to the island, Shon-Xan. After a week there, they sailed west to the main land before travelling north through the Navori province to the Placidium in the Zhong-Sheng province. There they would be staying for a couple of days before heading south-west to the Capital.
Mid-morning on their second day in the Placidium found Kennen and Teemo wandering around the city. Their parents had slept in, allowing them to have the morning to see the city by themselves. They left them with only three explicit instructions: stick together, be back by noon and do not get into trouble. The two brothers had agreed before embracing their freedom: using their time to explore as much of the city as possible. So far they had managed to see the School of Transcendentalism, the Serene Gardens and the Shojin Monastery.
Ionia really was breathtaking, Kennen thought. He turned, half taking in the scenery, half keeping an eye on his brother as he bought one of the iconic, conical hats from a street stall. So many strange people and creatures lived in harmony here; simply wishing to live in peace and search for enlightenment. It was so different from anything in Bandle City. The culture, the architecture, the technology (or lack thereof), the people; all of it spoke of a strong connection to nature, to the magic in the very earth of Runeterra. A magic you could feel more here than anywhere else in Valoran, bar maybe Kumungu and the Plague Jungles. As a result, most of the cities here had a lot less hustle and bustle despite being popular tourist destinations. As a yordle, a race highly dependent on their ears, it was kinda nice, though a little peculiar to get used to.
Currently they were in the market centre, so the noise level was similar to average cities. However, as the two yordlings made their way out of the marketplace and over to the Outer Wall, the noise level dropped dramatically.
The Outer Wall was an iconic feature of the Placidium, rising 100m high off the ground and enclosing the city and the nexus the city rested on. It was the reason the Placidium was both identified as a city and a structure and why so many visited the place. Standing at the base of the wall, the two of them looked up. Craning their necks, they could barely make out the top, marked every now and then with statues.
"Wow," Kennen breathed. "I've never seen something so tall. Can you imagine what the view from up there must be like?"
"It'd be pretty amazing," Teemo agreed, his blue eyes wide. "It's too bad we won't be able to see it. I don't think we'd make it past the guards."
He gestured to the uniformed guard at an entrance about 120m away. While Ionia didn't have an army, they did have guards and other such positions to protect their people and monuments and to keep the peace when it was – rarely – broken.
Kennen deflated a bit at that. "Maybe," he conceded. Then he grinned as an idea struck. "Reckon I'm fast enough to get past him?"
The cream coloured yordle laughed, shaking his head at the audacity of his brother. "Honestly, I think you're fast enough to run up the wall to the top."
The elder's ears perked at that. "Now there's a thought," he murmured.
"Kennen," Teemo started to panic, "I was joking. I didn't mean you actually should run up it!"
"Why, don't you think I can?"
"Just because you could doesn't mean you should," the yordling said firmly.
"You're just saying that cause you're a stick-in-the-mud," Kennen teased him.
"Am not," Teemo pouted.
"Are too," the older boy smirked.
"Am not!" the younger boy stamped his foot.
"Are too!" Kennen sang.
"Fine!" Was the heated response, the pale kit's eyes narrowing. "You can do what you want. In fact, I dare you to run to the top! If you can't do that then you're the stick-in-the-mud."
"You're on," the tan-coloured yordling agreed. Swiftly grabbing the straw hat they'd bought earlier off of his brother's head, he continued, "And as proof I'll even stick this hat on one of the statues' heads."
Then, he ran off so fast neither of them had a chance to reconsider the situation. Once the kit judged he was a good distance away to start he paused, taking a deep breath, before taking off towards the wall at a dead sprint. Upon reaching the wall Kennen started up vertically, putting on a little extra speed to stop his loss of momentum. As he ran, he started curving his path so that by the time he reached the top he was almost running parallel to the edge. The boy looked out at the view, his breath almost catching at the sight. Before him lay the city – the houses and people looking so small from up here – and beyond that stretched the mountains and forests so prevalent in Ionia.
He turned his eyes back to the task at hand, watching as the next statue rapidly approached. Once he was almost underneath it, the brown furred kit tossed the hat. It sailed up and landed neatly on the statue's head.
Laughing, Kennen turned and started to descend. As he rapidly picked up speed he felt his grin grow; the roar of the wind almost sounding like the crackle of electricity to his ears. He hit the ground at an incredible speed, racing in a massive detour to reduce his momentum before coming to a stop beside Teemo.
His little brother looked at him with awed, wide eyes, unable to say anything.
Kennen grinned, his own eyes alight with energy. "Oh wow! Teemo, you should have seen it! The view from the top was magnificent! The whole city was laid out before me. And the run was incredible! I was going so fast on the way down I thought the wind sounded like electricity. And when I managed to swing that hat up and onto the statue's head in one swift move. While I was moving!"
"That was so cool!" Teemo crowed, finally finding his voice. "You know I was a little worried that even you weren't fast enough to make it up to the top. But you did! And it was incredible!"
"Thanks!" Kennen grinned. Their ears swivelled as the sounds of a bit of a commotion starting up reached them. "Come on, let's get out of here before we're caught." The older boy grabbed the other yordle's hand and the two of them ran off, back towards the inn where they were staying.
Shen and Akali moved through the Kinkou temple with purposeful strides. Neither talked to the other. Neither needed to. Instead, both focused on the task at hand. They entered the meeting hall where the Order's elders resided, bowing respectfully.
"You have a mission for us?" Shen spoke. It wasn't really a statement though nor was it a question.
"Yes," one of the elders rose. He wasn't quite as old as most of the others, his dark hair only just becoming lined with grey. He wore a serious, almost neutral expression, his eyes staring directly at them. "We've gotten word that there has been an incident at the Placidium. We want the two of you to look into it."
Wow! Things got serious real fast :D. Let know what you guys thought.