At the fringes of Noxian territory, deep within the woods, there was a cave. It was Dawn's secret; where she would go when she needed a place to escape. It was her refuge when the pox took her mother, when her husband had left her for a gypsy. And now, when Noxian conscription had taken her two boys, she fled once again to her hiding place.
Walking into the cavern, she heard a woman speak.
"Thank you, Darius. You won't be needed from here."
Dawn peered around the bend in the cave, into the depths she'd never cared to explore. Two figures stood apart. One was a man, holding in his hands an incredible axe that looked heavier than an anvil. The other figure was slight, and behind her back were folded a set of wings. Before them stood a door, fixed with gems that sparkled in the torchlight.
"You dare betray Noxus, Morgana?"
"I couldn't care less. The treasures of Rabadon will be mine, and mine alone."
With a flourish, the woman, Morgana, spread her arms. A foul stench rose in the cave, and the ground twisted and morphed beneath her opponent's feet. However, with astonishing speed, Darius lunged forward and hooked his axe around her waist. "You underestimate me, witch."
He pulled her in and, whipping around, landed a deadly blow against her. Gasping, she fell to her knees. "Impossible…"
"Die!"
Darius leapt into the air. His axe scraped against the rock overhead, sending sparks cascading as he brought his axe down on Morgana's bowed form.
"Dark Binding!"
In the same moment, Morgana had released a bolt of black energy, striking Darius in the chest. It didn't stop his attack, however, and his axe came screaming down upon her. Blood splattered against the walls. Morgana shrieked. A whirlwind of dark energy engulfed her body, and then she was gone, leaving nothing but a couple of black feathers sinking to the ground.
Silence. The man, Darius, stood unmoving. Intimidated, Dawn crept backwards. As she did so, her boots crunched against the gravelly floor.
"Who goes there?" called Darius.
She froze, before acknowledging to herself that ignoring the Noxian soldier would be a bad idea.
"I'm from the nearby village," she began timidly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop…"
Darius examined her. Then he shrugged, perhaps having lost interest. "Be on your way then."
However, the bars of Morgana's binding still shimmered, locking him to the ground.
"Will you be alright?" asked Dawn.
"Do not concern yourself. No petty sorcery can hold me for long."
"Um. Farewell then. Glory to Noxus."
"Glory to Noxus."
###
She returned to the cave the next day. She was unable to keep thoughts of what had transpired there out of her mind, and in the end, curiosity got the better of her.
To her shock, she found Darius, still bound, in the same place she had left him.
"Water…" he croaked.
"Y-yessir!" Luckily, there was a stream that passed by the mouth of the cave. She cupped her hands in its waters and hurried back to Darius. She had split most of it in her rush, but he drank from her hands gratefully.
"Would you… like me to send for help from Noxus?" She acutely remembered his bravado from yesterday as she spoke.
"No need. I will break free from these binds soon."
"Right." She avoided looking at him. It was too difficult to pretend he had any control of the situation.
As the days stretched by, the ridiculousness of Darius's claims grew so apparent that by the end he was barely putting his heart into it anymore. Even so, she didn't mind much. She liked his company.
Perhaps, he liked hers too. They banged, after all.
Not long after, she moved in with him. The two got married, there in the cave. The kids came almost a year later. Eventually those kids had kids. They called Darius their Grand Cave Pappy.
Centuries later, after Noxus had fallen, Demacian explorers found the cave. In it, a grave, surrounded by shining black bars. On the headstone were chiseled the words:
RIOT, NERF THIS SHIT.