Chapter 1: The House of Du Couteau
The Sinister Blade and The Blade's Shadow sat facing each other at the ends of a large rectangular table in the mansion of the Du Couteau family. The table normally seated twelve, but the two of them were alone. Years ago, the table would have seated a renowned General of the Noxian Army, his wife, two beautiful daughters, The Crimson Elite team of assassins, and various important guests from Noxian celebrities to government officials. Only one of those daughters and one member of the Crimson Elite remained.
"Swain knows that to remain in power, he needs to keep his enemies in check," Said Katarina, the red-haired sinister blade. "If he's responsible for my father's disappearance, I know he has similar plans for me."
Talon had never seen Katarina in a state like this before. She seemed rather lifeless compared to her usual bloodthirsty and playful self. But there was reason for it. If it were just Swain she had to deal with, she would head to the capital and kill him right now. But Swain was in control of Noxus now now, having recently been appointed the title of Grand General. She would have to get through Darius, a general almost as feared as her own father and Emilia LeBlanc, the sorceress and leader of The Black Rose society. And she knew she was not strong enough to face them all.
"But if you leave Noxus, where will you go?" Talon asked. "Swain has just as much influence in Zaun as he does here, and I doubt that Demacia or Ionia would suddenly be willing to take you in after slaughtering so many of their people."
Katarina grimaced. "The Shadow Isles."
"You're out of your mind!" Talon exclaimed. "If you go to the Shadow Isles, you might as well have been assassinated or captured by Swain! You're as good as dead there!"
"I was speaking with Garen about staying in Demacia. He agreed that the Demacians wouldn't take kindly to my presence, but he told me of an alternative."
Talon still wasn't convinced. "Barely anybody who heads to the Shadow Isles survives, and if they do, they don't come back the same person. And you're telling me this guy who's madly in love with you is telling you to go there?"
"Maybe I don't want to come back the same person," Katarina said. "They say things about the magic in that place. They can give you powers beyond belief. Garen experienced it himself when he was possessed by some spirit called the Dread Knight. But he was able to force it out and now he's the same old Garen."
"What if you end up like your sister?"
Cassiopeia Du Couteau was not blessed with the same combat skills as her sister, but what she lacked in skills with a blade was made up for with beauty and tact. She became a renowned spy for Noxus using her charm to extract information from unwary subjects. During one of her missions, she had been put under a curse transforming her into half snake, half woman.
"As strange as it may sound, she's part of my inspiration for going to the Shadow Isles. She was never a fighter until her transformation. And then she became just as much of a Noxian killing machine as me. Imagine if her power were in my hands. I don't have much to lose now. I won't fight for Swain's army. The only things I desire are to avenge my father and restore Noxus.
"I don't think this is going to be as simple as you make it sound, Katarina. I don't want to see you come back from the Shadow Isles as some evil knife wielding ghost. I'm saying this as your friend, and practically your brother. But it doesn't look like I can change your mind."
"You've been so good to me, Talon. Especially since the disappearance of my father. But I have made up my mind. I know that you want to see Swain gone just as much as I do, and this is what I'm going to have to do to make that happen. The only thing I ask of you is to tell nobody of where I've gone."
"...I could come with you then."
"I can't let you do that. If I take too long in the Shadow Isles, there will be nobody left in Noxus who will be able to put up any sort of fight against Swain. You're still in good standing here. Gather anybody else living from The Crimson Elite and let them know of our eventual plans to kill Swain. I will need your help when I'm back."
"As you wish."
"You don't need to worry about me, little brother." The two got up from the table and entered a long embrace. Before Talon knew it, she had vanished out of sight and the front door had opened and shut.
"If anybody can do this, it's her..." He said to himself.