A sudden flare of blue light, and a figure materialised. Her head was first to arrive, followed by her torso, hands, and hips. Her legs were the last to arrive, but finally touched moss-covered stone. A light breeze swept across her pale, flat cheeks, as she appeared, with a mesmerising baby blue glow to her body. The glow slowly faded, down to her fingertips. The last strains of summoning magic had left her mind blissfully uninterrupted.
Diana, standing stiffly at the Fountain, wasn't particularly happy with this arrangement. She had originally planned to sleep in, all thanks to last night's long and tiring match where a certain Tryndamere refused to die beneath her feet. Even though she won that match (against a rather disgruntled barbarian king who wasn't happy he lost), she was dead beat and nearly fell asleep on the summoning platform. It was 3 in the morning, for Valoran's sake! She barely had enough energy to push herself on the balls of her feet, eyelids heavily drooping, across the soft carpet, and splay across the comfortable sheets in an undignified position. And it was barely an hour after sunrise where her deep, untroubled sleep was rudely ended with a voice intruding into her head.
"Rise and shine, Diana, you've got a long day ahead of you," her summoner, a young Demacian girl, Yiqa murmured gently. Still, the soft tone was enough to startle Diana, who sat up instinctively, her hand grasping her razor-sharp scythe, as if preparing for an ambush.
"I hope I didn't startle you...," Yiqa added sheepishly, apparently having sensed Diana's shock, which turned into displeasure. The exhausted champion had barely enough time to rub her eyes which had swollen shut with sleep, before tendrils, blue with the imbued power of summoning magic, grappled at her limp arms, hanging on to her weapon, and yanked her onto the summoning platform.
"Welcome to Summoners' Rift!" The booming voice of the announcer rolled across the field, snapping Diana from her stupor, bringing her back to the present. She looked through her eyes, now watery from yawning, and found herself too close for comfort with another champion.
"Wakey wakey, moon girl. Time to put on a show," said the voice, with just a hint of annoyance and patronisation. She recognised the voice before she could see the one who made it. Her eyes, brimming with tears, soon came into focus on the female face in front of her.
"Get your own acts together first before you comment on someone else, floral bitch," Diana muttered under her breath as she tried, to no avail, to hold back another yawn. Zyra's brow furrowed heavily, her eyes burning. The red shoot she saw curling lazily around her forearm a few moments ago now strained against itself, wanting to wrap its vines around Diana and throttle her white, fragile neck. Diana shot a fierce glance in her direction, retaliating.
"Newcomers, can we hold the childish little staring match later? We've got a battle to fight here! Stop being such wusses and pull yourselves together!" Diana turned in the speaker's direction and groaned inwardly. Veterans. Katarina was not known for her patience and friendliness. The avid, redhead killer had made absolutely no effort to cover up the condescension in her voice at all, and was staring harshly at Diana and Zyra.
Stretching her torso, she turned around to find Xin Zhao and Malphite, both with amusement hanging on their lips. Giving each of them in turn a stare, she groggily woke up to what the morning brought. Buying her items from the shopkeeper and stashing it into her satchel, she ran, without a backward glance, out of her base. Her hands brushed past the Nexus, a thrumming crystal, which was their hive of magical potency that had to be protected. Protect it, or die trying.
She ran out of the stony walls that surrounded her base, and into the depths of the jungle. It was cooler and darker here, and the air held a mysteriousness that soothed her agitated feelings. Her long, pale fingers ran over the bushes that surrounded her, her boots sank into the brown earth, soft with rain. She took in lungfuls of fresh, crisp morning air as she settled next to a bonfire, scythe in hand, waiting for what she knew would come next. She counted down in her mind, the final seconds before the start.
"Minions have spawned!"
Without fail, seconds later, a trio of wolves appeared. She hacked at their leader with her scythe, and heard the satisfying shriek of metal against bone. The sharp blade of her weapon sunk into wolf flesh as easily as a knife into soft butter, and she was enjoying every moment of it. The crescent atop her scythe glowed pearly-white with the seconds strike, and so did she; on the third strike, the crescent unleashed its power, channelling its energy into a crescent-shaped flash that affected the other two wolves. As she felt the wolves trying to bite her, her summoner knee what to do. As soon as she thought it, three translucent, yellow spheres appeared and rotated around her. She could see the expressions of pain on the faces of the pack of wolves as the glowing orbs slammed into their bodies in a big flash. A shield appeared, protecting her from further harm from the wolves, clawing mindlessly but unable to hurt her. A few more slices, and the wolves lay in pieces at her feet, and the gold stashed neatly in her pocket.
She pressed on, with a larger target in mind. She saw Xin Zhao engaging a huge slab of rock in a fight, albeit the fact that the rock retaliated by slamming on him with fists the size of her own head. Xin Zhao knocked the golem up into the air. Recognising her cue, she stepped forward, giving him a silent word of thanks as she stepped in to meet the creature. Channelling the energy of her blade, she cleaved the ground with her scythe, cutting into the soil, sending a bright crescent appearing in front of her. The killing went without a hitch, when Diana conjured her orbs and her shield once more, and struck the golem down.
Soon, a jangling noise coming from her bulging pocket could be heard when she strutted around the jungle, killing every creature she saw. Soon, the crescent on her forehead glowed with energy, and she knew it was time to make her move. Her fatigue completely gone, she crouched down in one of the brushes, and saw her ally Xin Zhao trying his best to hold off two of his enemies. Jax foolishly wandered too close to the seneschal, and Diana watched in admiration as her ally perfectly executed his assault on Jax. Darius stepped in, but it was too late for the Noxian as Xin Zhao swung his pole, hitting Jax right in the chest and striking a killing blow.
"First Blood!" The announcer took her time, drawling on each syllable.
Darius, infuriated at his ally's sudden demise, swung his humongous axe out such that it hit Xin Zhao in the chest, leaving a blood trail. Swinging his axe around his head, he inflicted another wound. The now bloodstained axe hooked the Demacian to the Noxian, who mercilessly took another swing. The Demacian was now bleeding profusely from his torso, and Diana decided that enough was enough. She stepped out of the brush, and instantly, a crescent shot out of her blade, igniting the floor with white light. Darius was illuminated for a second, shocked at the rapid turn of events, before Diana dashed to her. Darius's fearful face, made even more pale by the glow on his assailant's forehead. Seeing that the tables had turned, the seneschal made his move. Valiantly, he stepped up and prodded the axeman, with the third strike knocking him, his axe and all into the air. Darius, now bleeding as well, tried to make his escape move, when Diana smashed the tip of the scythe into the soil. The ground flashed blindingly white, and Darius was pulled back to Diana, whom summoner was quick on the uptake. The three glowing orbs orbited around her torso once more, damaging Darius. One last crescent, and the Hand of Noxus slumped to the ground, defeated and dead. "You have slain an enemy," thundered the announcer. The crescent of her scar shone white as the feeling filled her with pride, and a smile crept onto her face. The hunt was on.
"Nice one." Yiqa invaded her thoughts once more, but this time it wasn't an unwelcome sensation.
The enemy team had completely thrown the game with their incorrigible performance. Or, perhaps it was just the stellar performance of the team of five. The enemy did not put up a fight after their first few deaths. Boosting the confidence of Diana and her allies, turret after turret fell to relentless attacks. As Diana stepped over the dead body of Vayne in her cloak, still clutching her crossbow, her scythe sliced and diced at the foundations of the crystal that held the enemy together. Katarina finished off Darius (an act that did not hold much appeal to her as opposed to her violence-prioritised mindset), and stepped forward to join the rest of the team in bringing down the shimmering crystal. A few moments later, with a sudden finality, the crystal exploded with a wave of heat, into a million shards that littered the floor.
This game was just too easy.
Returning to their summoning platforms, the winning team, soaked in blood, congratulated each other on their superb win, while the losing team were victim to jeers from onlookers, and could only cast sour glances at each other.
"Well done, everyone!" For once, Diana was not feeling antagonistic to be with her fellow teammates; the feeling surprised even herself. However, a barely repressed snigger from behind her snapped her instantly out of her bubbly, cheerful mood. Her crescent began to glow softly and dangerously, and she turned around to see a Zyra with a hand clamped against her mouth, her shoulders shaking softly.
"Well done, except for you, maybe?" She gave a pointed glance at her, and started shaking again, clearly amused. Katarina turned away, clearly disapproving of this little skirmish, and turned to an abashed Darius. Zyra's eyes taunted Diana across the altar, trying to agitate her into action.
That was the limit for her. Diana dashed to her in a blink of an eye, making Zyra recoil in shock. She gasped in horror as Diana threw her scythe around her slender waist, pulling her to her. Her widened, glassy eyes caught the reflection of the crescent, which was glowing with a piercing brightness. The fury in Diana's eyes was not lost on her as she locked eyes with Zyra.
"Scum. You didn't even help in the battle. You just stood there and watched us wound the enemy, and stroll right in to pick up kills," Diana muttered in a carrying whisper, her voice echoing through the surprisingly still room. You could hear a pin drop on the floor. The whole summoning hall, almost bursting with spectators, summoners and champions alike, was riveted on the pair. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katarina and Darius, previously engaged in conversation, looking at her. The champions at the side of the hall were looking thirsty for some action out of game, and had to suppress their urges to chant for the pair to fight.
Zyra, having lost her face and demeanour to the crowd, wilted under her gaze, and a shudder passed involuntarily through her body. Diana, feeling disgusted at having to shout at worthless beings, withdrew her weapon and violently pushed her away. Zyra slunk away into the recesses of the hall shamefacedly, looking on the verge of tears. Likewise, Diana stalked away from the summoning platform, planning to catch a few winks. The bloodthirsty crowd, having seen that the tension had dissipated, returned to their normal activities.
The chatter built up in the hall once more, as Diana felt a restraining hand placed on her left forearm. She spun on the balls of her feet, her white flowing hair swishing around, and met Katarina's glare.
"What is it now-"
Katarina interrupted mid-sentence. "You don't have a right to threaten others at all, Scorn of the Moon. So don't you play the arrogant card on me." Her cheeks were flushed with anger, and she tried to calm herself down by taking deep breaths. "OK. It was completely uncalled for to launch an attack on Zyra at all. And she did help in the game, so the discrediting was unjustified."
Diana, sick of being lectured, turned around and strode off. Katarina, wanting to get her point across, kept pace while passionately reprimanding her.
"Did you see her face when she scurried out of the hall? I wouldn't be surprised if she were crying in her room," Katarina stated.
"Like you care in the first place."
"Of course I do, as a-"
"Fuck you, hypocrite." Diana slammed her scythe into the ground and rounded on a Katarina who was taken aback. No one ever spoke to her that way and lived to see the day. Her eyes narrowed to slits. "It'd do you good to learn some poise, too."
"Fuck poise."
This time, Katarina dashed to Diana, her cheeks flushed once more in anger that she no longer bothered to conceal. Diana dropped her scythe in shock as Katarina slid a long, curved ornate dagger under her pale throat. She ran the sharp blade across her neck gently, making the slightest of incisions. Another quick hit to the knees, and Diana was kneeling on the floor, her hand bent backward in a tight grip. Katarina strode in front of her and unsheathed a curved sword from her back with a flourish. She pointed the tip straight at her nose, forcing her back, herding her into a deserted corner.
"No one ever talks to me like that. Especially not when I'm trying, for once, to be nice and help them." Katarina threw the dagger at a stunned Diana, and the dagger sunk neatly into the wall above her shoulder, less than an inch away from her neck. "Don't ever think of crossing me twice, bitch. I've killed a hundred more times than you. If you show even a bit of such disrespect to me ever again, just a little bit, say, I'll make sure something... unpleasant happens. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Malice dripped from every syllable she uttered. She casually flicked her sword upwards, slicing a tuft of white hair as it passed to make her point. Her deep-set eyes, smouldering with hatred locked with Diana's, and the latter flinched. Diana could almost see the steam coming out from her orifices.
A quick movement, and another blade appeared out of nowhere. The two clanged against each other in a cross, and slid next to the tender part of skin near her pulsing veins. Diana looked down to see her frightened eyes reflected from Katarina's highly polished, sharpened blades. "How easy it would be for me to snap the blades together. You had better damn well make sure I don't do so to you," she threatened. Plucking her blade out of the wall, she slid the blades back into their sheathes and vanished in a small puff of smoke.
Getting her wits back, she steadied herself back onto her feet and grabbed her scythe. Heading for her room, a shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the close encounter she just had with the murderous mad woman. Suddenly, a voice which was not her own popped into her head.
"I saw all that," Yiqa commented passively. "Doesn't seem like your style to not fight back there."
She groaned. Word of her failed confrontation was going to spread like wildfire from her pair of loose lips. In frustration, she cradled her head and squeezed it tightly. Was there a way to keep her thoughts to herself? Without having peeping Toms nestling in her brain?
"No more summoning now, Yiqa. I'm going to sleep. No buts," she added quickly, feeling that a retort was coming on the way.
Throwing open the door to her dark room, she bolted it behind her, plunging herself into relative darkness. Lunar runes glowed gently the colour of the moon as she took off her grey-plated armour, revealing a simple cloth tunic underneath. Laying the pieces into a trunk, she snapped it shut and kept it in her wardrobe. Dropping the scythe next to her bed, she settled in amongst the soft linen sheets, blissfully cool against her skin. Within moments, her mind spiralled into the dark, peaceful abyss of unconsciousness.