Clash of fates
"Nooo, stop it! Please end it! What's going on?! Someone help me!"
Desperate screams echoed all around Riven as people fell victim to an unspeakably awful death. They were in the middle of a desperate battle in the valleys of Ionia, as part of the Noxian invasion. They'd been murdering countless Ionian soldiers and innocent citizens without mercy for a couple of days now. It was their task they received from the superiors and it had to be carried out, emotions put aside. In the end they made a mistake and got ambushed. She immediately called for help but what she received instead could be now the end of them all. They were being bombarded by Zaunite war machines with some kind of toxic. Upon meeting skin it quickly had a visible effect and brought a slow, gruesome death to those unfortunate who happened to stand close to the radiation area. Fear and misery were taking over Ionian and Noxian alike. Everyone started to run, mindlessly trying to escape but to no avail. The bombardment went on and soon there was nowhere left to run or hide. Riven stood there, watching the horror, tears streaming down her face. Friends, comrades and Ionians were suffering, crying out in pain only to die an inhuman cruel death. Bodies fell, one by one.
She didn't want any of this. All the years she spent training, honing her swordsman skills to earn herself a reputation now felt senseless. A lie. Just as the glorious battle she thought they were to fight. This war was nothing more than extermination; she knew it deep inside since they started to carry out their missions but somehow she still managed to convince herself that it was all for the sake of Noxus. They had been trained to serve their home and were ready to die on battlefield. Noxus and its principles were all she believed in her whole life, it was everything she lived for...
The bombardment didn't stop and toxic chemicals rapidly spread in the air. Riven herself could now feel it, caught in her lungs and it made her cough violently. As she brought her left arm in front of her mouth, a sharp pain ran through it. It was an intense burning sensation, as though her skin and flesh would be melting off. She instinctively started to run as fast as she could manage. Even if her arm got injured and she inhaled a bit of the chemicals, she still wasn't standing near the worst radiation zones. There was a good chance she could still make it out alive and she ran for it. Her mind was a chaos, filled with a mixture of sorrow, shame but also fear and disappointment that fuelled her.
Soon she was away from the misery and all alone. There were no traces of other survivors. She was trying to catch her breath as she collapsed on her knees shakily. She was gripping the hilt of her enormous sword tightly and brought it up above her head. Without a second thought, she let out a shout as she brought her sword down madly. It smashed hardly on a rock and a loud crack could be heard as the weapon shattered to thousands of pieces...
Riven suddenly awoke to the strengthening light of the rising sun. She hastily brushed white strands of hair out of her face and looked around, her heart pounding. It was just a dream. She stretched out her numb muscles. It's been a long time since she last got some sleep and she just merely passed out due to exhaustion the night before. Burdens of her past kept haunting her in her sleep, even now when she was at a point where they didn't alone occupy most of her waking hours. She stood up, dusted her short white dress, put on her gauntlet and other remnants of her armour. Finally she picked up her sword. Even though she herself shattered it that day she still kept it; she had no other choice to survive. She received it from Noxian leaders as recognition of her skills she achieved through endless strife, and strong will to serve the nation. Breaking it meant to her that she had severed ties with her past once and for all and could start her life over again. She could do so, as that day during the invasion she was counted dead by Noxus and no Noxian has seen or heard of her ever since.
A new life. As relieving it felt to have a chance to restart everything it was just as depressing and desperate. What was her purpose? Even if the Noxus she believed in all along was a lie, it was what motivated her throughout harsh years. The original Noxian idea was what she thought was worth living for and she still felt attached to it. Having seen how corrupted the nation has become, she couldn't help but feel she needed to find a way to save the pure, original Noxian vision she wanted to be a part of. The question was how? Would she be able to reform a whole nation on her own? That seemed really unlikely. Should she even try after she was left for dead? This whole new situation she suddenly found herself in made her feel truly uncertain for the first time in her life.
Several years have passed since the beginning of her self-imposed exile and she had been wandering the whole time. All the while making sure she didn't leave any trace behind for any Noxians; the last thing she wanted was them to find out about her survival. She had to be extremely careful. Even if it meant a long time travelling all alone which grew more unbearable than she would have liked to admit. Sometimes it felt worse than starving or the constant uncertainty she lived with every day. But there was no way she would reveal her true identity. It wasn't worth that much.
She made her way through a hilly area when she finally decided to retire for that day. A village would be up ahead just a few hours walking, according to wooden signals she had been following on her way here. She touched her pocket that contained a modest amount of gold coins. She could kill for a nice meal. As she was about to settle down near a tree for the night she heard human voices not from far away. She sneaked closer to the source and could see six men, five of them surrounding one with a big ponytail, swords drawn threateningly.
"What conflict awaits?" she sighed.