Rage in the Darkness
By WizardFoot
Despite the biting wind at his back, he did not feel its chill; he was all too used to its sting from his time in the Shadowlands. Lucian had made up his mind; he could not turn back now. As he approached the foot of the great Freljord mountain of Ravenrock, he stopped quickly to rest in the shadow of a large snow bank. As he breathed the harsh winter air, he reflected upon the events that had brought him on his quest to this foreign land.
When his wife was taken from him, Lucian's mind was almost lost with her. Thoughts of vengeance had been the only thing keeping him sane in the long months he spent on the trip back from the Shadowlands. Thoughts of the terror, Thresh, who had ripped Senna's soul out of her chest in front of his own eyes. This hope of vengeance sustained him, but it also ate at him. As he drew closer to his retribution, his mind fell further and further into darkness.
As revenge had become his sole purpose, it was a short time before he had recovered and returned to the Shadowlands, armed with both his and his wife's sidearm. With the alarming power of his duel wielded light pistols, he smote his enemy within seconds of contact. As the Gravekeeper's corpse disintegrated upon the charred earth, the souls that were trapped within his unholy lantern were released into the sky. While Lucian believed this would be the closure he needed, he was set upon by an intense feeling of despair, for he had now lost the only purpose left in his life. His wife's soul no longer condemned to eternal torment, he was lost. He had no family, friends, or companions. As he sailed away from the dark isle that had forever been his battleground, he felt another wave of melancholy set in.
"Senna..." he thought to himself, "How can I live without you? You, the light of my life, my reason for being. I feel so woefully adrift without you by my side."
As his ship pulled into Piltover's harbor he immediately sought the nearest inn. His thoughts had turned from dark to pitch black; in his mind's eye he pictured a bolt of light passing through his temple, so he may finally reunite with his beloved wife. Drink after drink passed his lips, and a great sensation of numbness swept through his body, steeling him towards his goal. He approached the innkeeper with thoughts of death heavy on his soul.
"Innkeeper, I request a room for the night", he stuttered, his vision clouded from Graggy Special Blend.
"I am sorry young man, but the last room I had available was just rented by that rather feminine looking gentleman at the bar. If you like, you could inquire abo..."
Cutting off the innkeeper, Lucian dashed towards the end of the bar, where a small blonde man was sitting, sipping Graggy Lite in between bouts of tears.
"Boy! I require the room you just rented", he stammered.
"Please, just leave me be", he said through muffled sobs. "I just want to be left in peace."
Never one to empathize with the petty plights of others, Lucian was surprised to find that he felt sorry for the pathetic man before him.
"What ails you, boy? Why do you sob like a school-aged lass?" he asked hesitantly, as he was generally uncomfortable with the emotion of others.
The man turned towards Lucian, his eyes red and swollen from hours of bawling.
"My name is Ezreal", he said, this being the first truly audible thing he had said all night. "My love has been taken from me, and I fear I will never see her again."
"You pathetic worm!" he snarled. "Your inability to court a woman concerns me not! Now hand over the key to your room."
Ezreal looked up at him meekly, clearly startled by the show of anger Lucian had displayed.
"But sir, you do not understand", he whimpered with trepidation, "My love, the wind mistress Janna, has been kidnapped by a foul creature, and I am too weak and cowardly to get her back."
Lucian's eyes lit up, and an intense feeling of sobriety jolted him from his stupor.
"Young man, what manner of creature do you speak of?" Lucian asked sternly.
"I never glimpsed it, I swear, but it is said that this beast is hideous beyond compare. A single look from this abomination can cause an inescapable rage, boiling the blood of any onlookers", Ezreal whispered, visibly distressed at the thought of the monster that had taken his woman.
Hearing this story, Lucian felt inspired. This plight, while reminiscent of his own, had an element that had always been missing from his journey to the Shadowlands: hope. This woman, this "Janna" could still be alive, and while his own wife was forever gone from Runeterra, there was still hope for the maiden of the wind.
Determined, he snatched Ezreal effortlessly from the bar stool.
"Where does this foul demon reside", he asked, his eyes glinting with a newfound purpose.
Fear in his eyes, Ezreal gasped out an answer in between choked breaths.
"His lair is deep in the Freljord, high up near the peak of Ravenrock Mountain."
Lucian threw the coward back against the bar, no longer concerned with the safety of a man more concerned with his own safety than that of his love. Without hesitation, he moved swiftly out the door of the inn, the tails of his jacket swinging rhythmically with every step.
The journey to Freljord was long, yet uneventful, but this lack of adversity did not dissuade Lucian from his quest, as he had found a new creature to slay, and if the maiden was no longer alive, a new soul to avenge.
As the wind began to settle, he gazed up at the mass of rock and snow before him. Steeling himself, he began to ascend the mountain.
Time passed slowly as Lucian climbed through the blinding white, trudging through snowdrifts that dwarfed his frame. While the agony of such a journey would have crippled a lesser man, Lucian's singular purpose drove him all the way to the peak of Ravenrock Mountain, where the his next opponent awaited.
He approached the cavern that rested near the peak with caution. As he neared, a foul odor drifted from the mouth of the cave. It was a scent he knew well, one that usually followed the evil of undeath that he had chased for so many years in the Shadowlands.
"Something is rotten here", he whispered to himself.
He removed his pistols from his belt, and with one final breath of fresh winter air, he dashed silently into the cavern.
He ducked quickly behind a large boulder, and waited for his eyes to adjust to the total darkness that awaited him. As his sight became keener, he listened for a sign of his adversary. A quiet, muffled laughter echoed throughout the cavern, followed by the shrill scream of a woman.
"She is alive!" he thought to himself.
Another scream sounded out from the back of the cavern, this time accompanied by a howl of delight from the beast. His eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, Lucian spun out of his cover position and gazed into the cavern.
Although he normally knew better, his eyes went first to the woman chained to the back wall. He was immediately stunned by her beauty, and while he had loved his wife dearly, her beauty paled in comparison to the vivacious blonde that lay bound, and barely clothed upon the back wall.
A shadow darted across his vision, and Lucian pulled himself out of the trance-like state he was in. A feint scratching sounded out from next to the maiden, and Lucian finally glimpsed the hideous form of his undead foe emerge from the shadows.
The beast was large beyond compare, standing almost twice the height of a normal man. In place of hands, large talons dragged against the ground. The beast had no legs; instead, it had the tail and body of a slug. It was completely unclothed, with the exception of the rather out of place full-brimmed hat that rested upon its head, the front peak of which was narrowly covering its eyes.
"Who goes there!" the creature bellowed, its voice unusually deep and melodic for such a foul monstrosity.
"Me?" Lucian asked slyly. "I am your end, foul demon! Release the maiden and I will end your suffering!"
"Heh... Hurrrrehhhhhehhhhehheheh!" the demon cackled madly, "you have no hope, worthless peasant!"
As the creature finished speaking, Lucian dashed out from his cover. With both arms outstretched, he closed his eyes and fired in the direction of the voice.
"ASHES AND DUST!" he yelled, as bolts of light cascaded throughout the cavern. Heat flew past Lucian's face as shells rained down upon the rock floor. His clips expended, he ducked smoothly back into cover, and peered out into the cavern. Much to his dismay, the beast stood completely unharmed.
"What trickery is this?" Lucian bellowed commandingly.
"Grahahahahahaha!" the beast laughed. "Your bullets cannot harm me, for I mastered the power of firearms long before you, mewling pedant!"
The beast drew a large shotgun from its back, and fired both shells into Lucians partially exposed calf. Lucian screamed in pain, and collapsed onto the cavern floor. From his now low angle, he could see directly into the eyes of the beast. As their gazes connected, Lucian immediately felt his temperature rise.
"What...manner of beast... are you?" Lucian asked, weakness flooding through his limbs.
"Pitiful creature", the beast said with a grin, "I am Gurpel, master of rage and slayer of the weak. As your blood boils, know that after you die, this wench will follow you... that is of course, after I have had my fun... Gwahahahaha!" the beast cackled with delight.
As was his instinct in dire situations, Lucian began to pool his own rage, in the hopes that he could escape the monster Gurpel's foul gaze.
"Yesssssssssss!" the monster screamed, "I can FEEL your rage, weakling!"
Lucian began to feel weaker as the anger surged through him. His head began to feel light, and steam rose from his body. Lucian knew he was dying.
As the creature advanced, Lucian attempted one last, desperate tactic.
"Gurp...el", Lucian said, his voice rasping in the throngs of death.
"Hahahaha, are you going to beg for your life, warrior?" Gurpel asked with delight.
Lucian used what remaining energy he had, and curved his mouth upward into a smile.
"Heh... no... I just wanted to ask you something Gurpel", he said with confidence.
Visibly distressed by this sign of defiance, the creature screamed at Lucian.
"What could you possibly want to know, in these last seconds of your life?"
"Are you...mad?" Lucian asked.
Gurpel froze in place, his gaze breaking from Lucian's.
"WHAT?!" he screamed with rage.
Lucian stood up, and holstered his weapons. With a grin, he looked straight towards his opponent.
"Are you mad, Gurpel?" Lucian asked again.
"I AM GURPEL, THE MASTER OF RAGE, I CANNOT BE MADE TO BE ANGRY" the beast yelled in frustration.
"I think you might be mad", Lucian said defiantly.
Gurpel growled, and once again advanced towards Lucian. In a single motion, the gunslinger pulled Senna's gun, and fire a single shot through Gurpel's hat.
"MY FEDORA!" Gurpel screamed in agony.
"Some call it magic, I call it good aim", Lucian said with confidence.
Steam began to rise from Gurpel's body, and a dull humming sounded throughout the cavern. The foul beast screamed out, and collapsed to the ground, his body turning immediately to ash.
Lucian smirked, and moved deftly towards the maiden chained to the wall. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Oh, thank you so much kind sir, how may I ever repay you for rescuing me from the foul demon Gurpel?"
"Well, I am sure we can work something out", Lucian said with a grin, followed by a wink.
Janna looked confused at first, but quickly realized what he was suggesting.
"Oh my, while I am very thankful to you for rescuing me, I am afraid I am already in love with another. Besides, you aren't really my type", she said meekly, clearly distressed by Lucian's proposition.
"I am in disbelief! Is it the colour of my skin?" he asked wryly, "While I understand that my skin colour is completely unique among Runeterrans, I am twice the man Ezreal is!"
Janna looked up at him and smiled.
"Of course you are, but that is why I love her."
"...", Lucian stared at her blankly, "Her?"
"Well I understand it is a bit unusual for two women to be in love, but we cannot stop the way we feel", Janna said gracefully.
Lucian let out a laugh, and then pulled out his pistols and shot the bounds from the wind mistress.
"Well, uh, good luck to you milady", he said flatly.
With a quick sigh, Lucian adjusted his pants and moved towards the cave entrance. He smiled, for despite the fact that he remained physically unsatisfied, his mind was finally filled with thoughts that were anything but dark.
FIN