I have decided to place Dreams of an Exile on a short hiatus whilst I search for a long term solution to it's storyline. I felt like the whole 'human in the league world' was overdone as of late and I'd rather base a story on the world of the game itself and create a unique story around it. This is still a WIP and although I have 2 more chapters written up in 'stock' I am still mulling them over to ensure I dont force myself down a twisty path with this new fic's storyline.
Enjoy. - Ninja
Knock Knock!
Wha?
Knock Knock!
"Summoner Emily! Are you in there!" I heard a muffled voice call from outside my apartment door. Why do you have to interrupt my sleep? "Senior Summoner Richard wants to see you!" The voice called again, determined to stir me from my rest. I blinked, forced out of my slumber as my eyes failed to focus. My hand trailed its way to the bedside table where I found my glasses, using my index finger to push them up to the bridge of my nose.
Knock Knock!
By now the summoner outside of the door of my residence had become impatient, hammering the door with a fist that was surely sore by now. "FOR FUCKS SAKE I WILL BE OUT IN A MINUTE!" I hollered, almost falling out of bed. The knocking stopped, the summoner clearly surprised at my outburst. He coughed, aiming to recompose himself outside the door. I quickly threw on a pair of undergarments and a night-robe and shuffled my way through my relatively small apartment to reach the front door.
The male summoner, being around the same age and height as I drew a startled frown on his face as I flung open the door in an attempt to get my muscles working in the morning. "Good morning, Master Rank Summoner Emily." the summoner smiled, having calmed down himself. "I trust you have slept well?" He inquired, clearly interested in me. I dropped one side of my face, staring at him as if to say "you're fucking joking, right?". He coughed once more, seeing that his attempt to stir up small talk wasn't working. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out scroll and opened it to himself. "Dear Summoner Emily, Senior Summoner Richard, director of magic research and testing, would like to see you for a private appointment at lunch today. He advises you to be well rested a—" Now I really want to punch you in the face. The summoner's eyes widened seeing my small hands clench into a fist. Now Emily. You don't want the other summoners hearing that you punched the lights out of a boy. They'd laugh at you just as much as him. As always. I looked back at the kitchen wall, scouting for the clock in an attempt to distract my mind and its furious nature. 10am. 2 hours to be there. I turned back to the summoner and gave him a look saying "carry on?". He cleared his throat, understanding me. "He advises you to be well rested and prepared for both physical and magical testing." I raised a quizzical eyebrow at the summoner, finding the sentence odd. He shrugged at me. "I'm just a Silver rank summoner. How am I supposed to know?" He smiled limply, aiming to qualm my curious nature. His eyes danced around the scroll once more before rolling it up and handing it over to me. "That is all. Good day!" The summoner bowed curtly before turning on his heels and leaving.
Well that was a glorious mess. I closed the door of my apartment behind me and slipped out of my clothing before taking an overly-long shower to refresh myself and wash away the tiredness left by my abrupt awakening just minutes before. What could he possibly want with me now? I turned off the taps within the shower and stepped out of the now steam-filled bathroom and managed to grab a towel, my already poor vision made worse by the steamy fog around me. After drying myself off I changed into my summoner robes, preferring to leave my ranking badge back on my bedside table. People in Silver still mock me. Fuck 'em all. It was now already 11:30 and I deemed it far too late to be eating food now. In an aim to keep my energy levels up I left my apartment with a banana and a bottle of water, downing both as I reached the Institute of War's Research and Development facility. The facility itself is a mystery - being rarely discussed among both Senior and Regular Summoners or included in the institute's weekly assembly. Richard the director, however was a well known man amongst all ranks of summoners. Seen as the Jack-of-all-trades within the institute he seemed to be everywhere and anywhere - teaching magic, assessing summoners or champions and occasionally appearing here in the facility. Entering through the glass doors I felt the bast of air conditioning as my sandalled feet clicked against the white tiled floor. The receptionist, sitting at a large steel desk stared up at me, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the sight of a regular summoner entering the building. "Do you have a reason to be here? I don't believe I have seen you in this department before," the receptionist said with a stern face, her voice one of superiority and control. Probably why she was picked for the job. "I'm here to see Summoner Richard. He wants a private assessment with me today." I replied flatly, my gaze never leaving hers. Instead of replying the receptionist clacked a few keys on one of these 'computer' machines and nodded her head at the monitor. "12 'o' clock is it?" She asked, her eyes failing to move from the monitor. I nodded, forcing her to look at me for the response she wanted. "Its the first door on the left, down there," she said, her hand pointing to the corridor on my right. I spotted the door being mentioned and briskly walked over to it, stopping before knocking to compose myself. What a bitch.
Knock Knock!
"Come in!" The voice from inside called gruffly. I pushed the door open to the small office, drawing in the room. Occupied only by two chairs, a desk and a filing cabinet, Richard's office gave me the impression he either was never in it or did not have any personal possessions to hang onto. "Ah! Emily! I apologise for Mark's interruption this morning. He was only doing his job I suppose." He said, almost surprised to see me. "Not a problem," I replied, trying to be polite to the almost ancient summoner before me. He stroked his grey beard before talking further, choosing to instead offer me a seat. I sat down, looking at him as I waited for his input. "I'm sorry to call you on such short notice." He said, chuckling to himself as he forced a small smile out of me. Loosen up Emily for christ's sake. "We only had a breakthrough today, and we wanted to get the testing done as soon as possible." I raised an eyebrow, making the old man realise he had not explained himself well. "You know yourself that we don't have enough champions to accommodate for the huge amount of summoners we teach. We've often had to cancel matches because of how busy a champion's schedule is - they cant keep up with the amount of people that pick them!" I nodded, understanding this personally. "We've often had to disable the use of a champion with the excuse of a 'bug' or 'balance issue' just to stop wearing them out. Some of them are demanding extra pay! We cant afford to pay more than we are already!" He sighed at his own comment, inhaling sharply before continuing. "However, us Senior summoners suddenly had a revelation. Through the amazing power of DNA alteration, we can copy the physical and magical properties or a champion onto the body of a summoner! They can act as a replacement whilst they are in matches! We can reduce the amount of summoners by making them into extra champions!" He held his hands up, proud of his scientific breakthrough. I, however, was not as pleased as I realised what he was saying. Im going to be the first test subject! His smile and aura of proudness quickly faded however, his tone returning to his serious one. "We're asking you to be the first human participant in the greatest scientific breakthrough in the League. You won't have to fulfil your role as a replacement yet - we want to make sure the magic is safe and performs perfectly before we do this another 100 times." I stared, dumbfounded. "And why have you chose me?" My brain managed to say, the words slipping out of my mouth. Richard scratched his bearded chin once more, stringing together his reply. "Well, you're one of the best female summoners within the league - you know of your mid-lane achievements yourself. You're also held in high regard by the mage champions of the League." I am?! He smiled, seeing my bewilderment as I tried to process the rapid barrage of information. "We've found that this magic is also more receptive and has a lesser chance of error within female summoners - especially if the champion you're going to receive the physical and magical properties of has been summoned by you quite frequently." Looking through your records I can see that you've played quite a bit of Ahri recently, have you not?" I nodded in response, not realising what the man was trying to tell me through that sentence. "You see - this is perfect for us - you fit the first to requirements perfectly, and by taking the form of the fox mage you make alphabetically recording champions with a summoner representative easy on our behalf." The old summoner paused, allowing me to realise what he's saying.
He wants me to become a champion?!
A real, living representative of Ahri?
I noticed my vision blur as my field of view rocked like a boat amongst churning ocean waters. I wanted to be sick.
He wants me to leave my old life behind and become someone else.
I will be more than human - I can use magic without restraint!
I wanted to say no, truthfully. Deep down inside however, I knew that if I didn't take this opportunity, another summoner would in my place. It could change my life forever - I would no longer be that ugly, under-appreciated female summoner hated by the masses for choosing study and success within the institute over social interactions and parties.
"Yeah, I'll do it."