I have been struggling within myself to post this up. I've been waiting for someone to write a story about a summoner and judge the readers reactions via their review but I haven't seen one (haven't checked in a few days but still). I would appreciate honest feedback: if stories like this are shunned, I'll remove it.
Anyway, I've been making slight changes to the Institute of War but nothing that would completely alter the lore. Also it's a bit of a slow start, been trying to pump more details into my works. 3k word chapters seem to be my standard so far.
The usual stuff: I don't own League of Legends or have any affiliation with Riot aside from my own personal account. All the fantastic bits of lore they create are theirs.
Hope you enjoy the read!
It had been an average day in the Institute of War that day. No important matches, just practice matches for summoners who wanted the practice, which were offered daily as long as there were enough people available. The day was coming to an end as a young man walked back towards the institute, taking slow steps as he read from the book he was holding.
The man was a newly inducted summoner, studying to eventually become a teacher at the prestigious Summoner Academy held within the institute itself. Being a graduate of the academy, he found himself qualified as a summoner at the young age of twenty two. He was considered a gifted student in the art of summoning.
As he stood outside the massive doors of the institute, he was met by a cloaked woman and a light drizzle as the skies became grey. All he could see was a flowing river of white hair, a mouth curled into a neutral frown and a wrapped object in her hands. He approached her slowly, closing and shielding his book from the incoming rain.
"Excuse me ma'am, do you need anything? It seems like the weather is about to take a turn for the worse," he said, in a courteous manner. He moved his hand towards her shoulder. She raised her hand and shook her head, revealing more strands of white hair from beneath the cloak.
"Please take care of her, I found her as I traveled towards Noxus. I don't know where else to take this child," the woman said, holding the wrapped child forward. She quickly placed the baby in his hands, not giving him much of an option. She turned and immediately began to walk away.
"Wait! I can't-" he began, taking a step forward. Once he saw the woman had no intentions of turning around, he lowered his raised hand and let out a sigh. He lowered his head and put on a characteristic smile. "I'm sure we can find you a home." He moved into the institute and out of the rain. He lowered the blanket slightly.
A sleeping baby girl with strange pink hair rested within his arms. He seemed surprised that she would sleep through whatever had happened to her. He raised the blanket over her head again and began walking towards the headmaster of the academy's office.
Eighteen years later, the pink haired girl seemed to be in the same situation as she had been. She wore a dark blue student robe as she groggily opened her eyes. She raised her head slowly from the wooden table as she was met with a giggling room of students and a sighing teacher.
"Nice of you to join us, Miss. Nakano, seems you're a bit less excited for graduation than everyone else," the teacher said, with a smirk. He couldn't be too mad; it was the last official day of classes.
"Sorry," She said, trying to think of any excuse as to why she'd be so tired.
"Why so tired, Izuna?" Asked a boy next to her.
"I was just up late preparing my speech for tomorrow... I'm kinda nervous," Izuna responded, truthfully.
"You'll do fine, just talk about how I made your life here entertaining enough to pass," the cocky boy responded, giving her a wink.
"I'm sure your constant begging me for help with homework and asking me out were the reason why my grades were so good, Jack," Izuna responded, sticking her tongue out at her longtime friend.
As with the rest of her class, Izuna had met Jack when she entered the academy. Every class of about fifteen or so students moved through their twelve years together. She had sat next to her cocky friend since they began their training and they eventually became close friends despite their five year age difference. All the students had maybe one or two good friends but everyone got along with each other. Their teacher cleared his throat to get the attention of his students.
"Well, I suppose I should say something about having you brats with me for an entire year now..." The teacher said, pacing around the front of the class, earning a laugh from his students. "It was a pleasure being your teacher. Despite some of you rarely doing your homework and being stubborn during lessons, you've all proven yourself to be fantastic new summoners. Just remember that your journey has just begun; it only gets harder from here but I know all of you can handle it. I will see you guys tomorrow, get some rest tonight."
The class stared at him quietly, staring at the clock. The teacher then won the eternal respect of his students by coughing again and saying a few words.
"Get out of here, class dismissed," he said, grinning.
With that, the class was dismissed. Izuna remained in her seat with a smile. The rest of the class quickly left in cheers. The teacher turned and noticed the pink haired girl.
"Are you alright, Izuna?" He asked, walking towards her. "Why aren't you running out in cheers?"
"Thanks for everything, Joey," she said, staring up at him.
"I didn't do anything Izuna," the teacher responded, patting her head. "You worked your ass off to get to where you are. I'm proud of you."
She smiled as she packed her remaining stuff before leaving. Aside from his growing a light beard and letting his hair grow out a bit, Joey hadn't changed from the first memory she had of him; he sure didn't seem like a forty year old man. She crossed her arms as she walked in thought.
'I should do something for him... I should bake him something! Wait, I'm a terrible cook... Gah.'
Izuna began to walk back towards her room. The room was next to her de facto guardian, in the wing where many of the other teachers lived. She had offered to move elsewhere but she was told it would be alright since she was a 'special case'.
Many things made her a 'special case'. She used to hate the term until she grew up a bit, getting used to it and not thinking about it. What wouldn't be 'special' about an pink haired orphan being dropped off by a mysterious woman who found her by Noxus?
She opened her door and threw her bag on her bed, immediately sitting in a chair in front of her wooden desk. An almost completely filled piece of paper laid in front of her; her valedictorian speech, mostly filled with corrections and drawings. A knock on her door came almost immediately after she sat, resulting in her hand being jerked back. Maybe switching clothes wasn't a good idea anymore.
"Miss Nakano, do you have a moment?," said familiar voice.
"Of course, please come in," she said, turning around on her chair.
An elderly man in an elegant robe opened the door as she quickly stood up and gave a bow in respect. He gave her a wave as he stepped inside. She recognized him easily as the headmaster of the academy and a high ranking, powerful summoner.
"I see you're quite busy with your speech for tomorrow; I am excited to hear what you have to say. I'll make my visit quick," he said, pacing around in place. "Are you interested in the summoner ranking system?"
"I hadn't given it much thought. I suppose so," she responded.
"I'm giving a few students that I see potential in a chance to have a match against one of the senior teams. You, of course, are one of the chosen students. Would you be interested?" The man said, turning to look at her. "A victory would place you higher than most people."
"I'll do my best, thank you for the opportunity sir," she said, with another bow. She began to sit again.
"Perfect, come with me," he said, heading towards the door. She quickly raised her body.
"W-wait, right now?" Izuna asked. Her eyes shifted to her paper.
"You were the fifth person to accept and you're already dressed in your robe, the rest of your team is already preparing to choose their champions," the headmaster said, beginning to walk.
Izuna grabbed her bag and rushed to catch up to him. She put her paper in her bag
'I'll never finish my speech!'
Izuna was quickly taken to a summoning room where she saw four others standing in a circle, wearing robes like her. She recognized them all as her classmates but one stood out. The one who took his hood off and smirked at her, waving her over.
"Yo Izuna, I see the proclaimed princess of the jungle is here to win this match for us," Jack said, grinning. She hated his nickname for her but walked over to the remaining spot for her, waving slightly at her other classmates.
"I wish you all the best of luck, prepare yourselves, the match will start in three minutes," the headmaster said, walking out of the room, shutting the immense doors.
The five summoners nodded as they all locked views together. Izuna stared around and recognized her classmates and their usual roles. She recognized a student named Joseph, who was also nicknamed Joey, who was recognized as a tactical and strong top laner, definitely the most confident in their class. Beside him was a girl named Nicole, who was predominantly a mid laner, favoring a certain pyromaniac eight year old as her champion of choice. Aside from Jack was another girl named Melissa, who was as quiet as her champion of choice Sona and with a dominance of using wards above most people in their class.
Finally, Jack. No matter how cocky and annoying he could be, he loved the spotlight of his preferred role of what everyone shortened to ADC. His accuracy and quick thinking skills, along with his relentless assaults and confidence synergized great with his champion of choice, Draven.
"Everyone knows where to go?" Joey asked, who was appointed as their captain, which no one opposed. He was often chosen as the one who led their battles in the match, as he so often was chosen for due to his skill. He knew when an engagement was a win or a loss and everyone trusted his calls. The group nodded, he returned the nod and closed his eyes. He raised his hand and created a white orb. A few seconds later, the face of his champion, Shen, appeared.
The group continued slowly, doing the same things. Using their summoning skills and asking their champions for their help, Nicole summoned Annie, Melissa summoned Sona, and Jack summoned Draven.
Izuna closed her own eyes finally and did her hand motions flawlessly as she had done for the past twelve years of training. She focused her mind on her champion of choice. This had become the easiest part of the process. It had easily become a second mature.
'Hey, I need your help if you aren't too busy, do you mind?'
The face of the Piltover Enforcer, Vi, appeared in her circle, with a grin.
'Its about time, I was staring to get bored anyway, nice to see you, Izuna.'
Izuna's view became an elevated view of the field of justice they were so used to, the Summoner's Rift. Her pink haired champion jumped in place and stretched her arms slightly, awaiting her commands.
Using the orb of light as a magical screen, she moved her left hand onto the item store and bought the items she always began with; a hunter's machete and five health potions.
'Ready Vi?' Izuna said telepathically to her champion.
"Let's get to the fun part," Vi said, beginning to walk to where Izuna commanded.
Izuna began to let her vision wander as she went into a sort of autopilot mode. Shen and Annie had come around her, guarding the area where the immense golem would spawn. She focused on the area where the enemy team could come in when she noticed her opponent had chosen Shyvana, a champion well known for her invading.
As the golem spawned, Vi began to slam her massive gauntlets at the monster, quickly shattering its armor and attacking faster. Shen threw a blade onto it, which rejuvenated the enforcer as her blows connected, while the dark child threw a few bolts of fire from behind. They soon dispersed as Vi finished the monster and moved on towards the wolves.
Izuna watched as Vi moved deftly across the jungle, clearing the camps of monsters quickly. They had worked together many times and she was considered her champion of choice. Izuna chimed in again once Vi began fighting the elder lizard, casting her spell, Smite, onto the creature, immediately felling it. Izuna moved her view towards the other lanes. She noticed the Shyvana had not been here, so they had a moment of opportunity.
'Vi, head towards the middle, let's help Annie,' Izuna said.
Towards the bottom, Draven and Sona continued to harass the enemy Leona and Ashe. Whenever Leona attempted to attack Sona, Draven threw his menacing axes at the frost archer, making her support have to shift her focus. Annie, however, was having her lane pushed by Ahri, who would be a powerful threat when her summoner gets access to her spirit rush ability.
'Shyvana is probably heading towards the bottom, we can go there after,' Izuna added.
Vi nodded as she headed behind the nine tailed fox and Izuna signaled Annie to move forward. As Annie moved forward, Ahri landed a charm and began to attack. Vi moved behind her with her vault breaker and began to attack the fox, disrupting her powerful assault.
As she attempted to move towards the bushes, the now freed Annie threw a ball of fire, stunning the other mage, securing the kill for the pyromaniac despite Ahri's summoner casting flash towards their turret. Vi moved across the lane and towards the enemy jungle.
'Shyvana will have to come to the middle now, let's take some monsters from her.'
Almost an hour later, Vi and the rest of the blue team stood in front of a destroyed nexus. The cocky Draven began to spin his axes, flashing a wide smirk. Little Annie spun around holding her bear while Shen and Sona remained quiet, although Sona began to strum a cheery song.
"Nice job Izuna, I'll see you soon," Vi said, waving her hand towards the sky, as she disappeared from the field of justice.
The remaining champions did the same as Izuna dispelled her magic, returning her view to the dark room with her teammates. She soon felt an arm warp around her and squeezing her.
"Woo! Nice job, Izuna, you were almost as good as I was," Jack said, smirking.
"Yeah, yeah, welcome to the League of Jack," she taunted, mocking the glorious executioner.
The rest of the team came together and idly chatted, giving congratulations while Joey apologized for the mistakes he seemed to make inside his own head. The headmaster came inside, clapping slowly.
"I expected nothing less from the top students, I will see you all tomorrow," he said, quickly leaving.
The group split up and headed their own ways. Izuna took her own route, towards the teacher's wing. She crossed her arms as she walked, closing her eyes, ignore a shout from Jack about a date after graduation.
'I expected more than just a congratulations... Maybe tomorrow,' she said to herself.
She walked into her room and threw herself onto the bed, dropping her bag the floor. She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep. It had been a long day, despite her napping in class.
"Izuna, are you awake?" said a familiar voice.
Izuna pulled herself up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She sighed as she sat up. Her robe was wrinkled from her tossing around and her hair was surely a mess, despite her headband still being on. She slowly trudged to the door and opened it. A tall, handsome man stood at the door, holding a bouquet of flowers. She immediately straightened up and rushed a hand to her head, attempting to flatten rogue strands of hair.
"I'm very proud of you," her guardian, Joey, said.
"I-It was nothing special..." She said, as he handed her the flowers. She couldn't help but turn to a shade similar to her hair.
The teacher walked inside as she sat on her desk chair, clutching her flowers. He sat on her bed and crossed her arms.
"I have to speak with you about some things," he said, looking at the young summoner.
"What is it?" She asked, with a hint of worry, as she always got when someone had to 'talk to her'.
"It's about your legal status," he began. She stared quietly until he continued. "As you know, you've been listed under me since you began at the academy, under my Demacian citizenship. I spoke with some people, and it has been made official; you can be a citizen of Demacia if you so choose. I've had this paperwork on hiatus for a while now."
"That's good... I have a different question," Izuna said, putting the flowers beside her. He turned to her, awaiting the question. "Why did you keep me here? You didn't have to."
"You've never wondered about that... I suppose you don't remember," Joey said, smiling. "I took you to Headmaster Ozu and explained what happened. He told me to take care of you until we find you a suitable home... Until a very big argument between Noxus and Ionia broke out, delaying anything else aside from that. I took care of you for a year, you began to talk, and I became attached to you..."
"No matter what happens, you'll always be my daughter. Even if you happen to be some rich Noxian heir to the throne or something," he finished. Despite his Demacian citizenship, her guardian never spoke down of Noxus. She felt the same way since she had met a plethora of people from everywhere.
"Thanks for everything... I'll make you proud," Izuna said, feeling her throat clench up a bit.
"You already have, I'll see you in an hour, go get ready for your big speech," her teacher said, standing up slowly. "I also want to congratulate you for yesterday, I was a member of the opposing team."
"Y-you where?" Izuna asked, shocked. Surely they had gone easy on them...
"I was. It was fun to finally experience my students abilities myself. Even that Jack learned a thing or two, huh?" He said, waving as he headed towards the door. He quickly turned and smirked. "If I had placed my ward on the other side, you and Annie wouldn't have been so lucky."
Izuna felt her mouth curl into a smile. Compliments from a parental figure were always nice which were only amplified on graduation day. She turned back to her paper, which had remained largely untouched for the past couple of days. She gripped her pencil.
"Time to finish this."
Thank you for reading this chapter!