Author's Notes
New story that is related to Coming To Terms. But I don't plan on fluffing or hurt/comforting this one thus it's in another story altogether. Slight references to the previous story but can be read alone. I have got the whole thing panned out for an estimated 3-4 chapters. Updates will be irregular (I'm a whimsical guy). The story is about Pantheon and Leona going through the training all the way up to the Rite of Kor with major bumps in the way. Mostly made up of course due to the lack of lore from Riot. Trying my best to make it seem original and parallel to the lore.
Several OCs are introduced. Diana and Darius are also here.
The initiates for the Kor woke up at dawn every morning for strength exercises. That mainly constituted of several dozen of insane exercises that no other nation would ever come up with for their men. Some like the tree climbing exercise were doable, unless you were talking about the Targon Pine tree which normally grows to heights of nearly 150m tall. Then again that probably was nothing compared to the tree felling exercise that they had to do, using their fists.
Then they had breakfast. Morning meals meant big, huge chunks of bread fresh from the oven with cheese and butter- all from home grown, purely organic, free range mountain goats- to be swallowed down with goat's milk. If you were the last to reach the mess hall, you can expect nothing but leftover servings of bread crusts and butter. After dishes were done, the initiates would then have to jog 8 kilometres to the training grounds where retired veteran warriors would teach them weapon handling. Initiates were taught various sorts of weaponry, swords to harpoons, daggers to spears, wooden bucklers to aspides. No ranged weapons were allowed. Rakkorans viewed them as cowardly tools of battle.
Afternoon was Pantheon's favourite time of the day. Afternoons meant two things; games or duels. Games were devised to improve skills so normally they did hunting or capture the flag (which turns brutal quite often). Duels were devised for the teens to blow off steam and settle disputes that arise along with their hormones. Duels were Pantheon's specialty, which was why he had arrived so much earlier than the rest of the initiates to the battlegrounds. Even Elder Doru had yet to arrive, and the sage was always early. Since he had ample time, Pantheon climbed up the terraced seats of the amphitheatre to the top where he sat down on the base of a broken marble column.
"Hey, Leona!" A fellow initiate calls out to the brown haired girl as she ran towards her. The mess hall was situated in a huge open flatland in the valley. Long tables with fixed benches were placed in rows, capable of fitting twenty initiates each. Tall, uncut grass tickled at Leona's feet as she idled away on her seat at one of the benches, building castles in the sky when her friend had called.
"Hello, Penny." Leona said, continuing to play with a weed flower she had plucked from the ground at her feet.
Penelope was a cheery girl of Leona's age. She had lived down the street from where Leona and Pantheon lived during their younger years. Her short golden locks swished softly as she shook her hair out of her face which was flushed from running. Her breaths were slightly uneven from her recent exertions.
"Elder Doru started the duels and noticed you weren't there. He sent me to look for you. It's your turn soon. He is not pleased with your tardiness." Penelope explained, taking huge gulps of air in between, "I had to search all over the camp for you. I initially thought you were at camp but then you weren't so I- hyurk!" Penelope ranted on before being dragged by Leona as she caught Penelope's hand on the way to the Ring. The Ring was an amphitheatre constructed right in the middle of their training camp. In the afternoons, it was used for duelling and various sports or that the initiates and their elders could think of. By night, it was the perfect place for fooling around and engaging in more mock battles.
Leona and Penelope raced across the camp, Penelope setting the pace as she was the more exhausted of the two. Greenery and snow covered mountain tops mixed into a blur as they traversed the site. "Who is queued before me?" Hopefully the duel being held now was evenly matched so that Leona would have more time to reach the Ring. She could already see the peak of the tall marble columns belonging to the borders of the Ring.
"Diana versus Perseus. You made me miss it!" Penelope whined, hearing the whacks of wood on wood originating from the amphitheatre ahead of them. Loud cheers echoed off the circular field when a particularly loud whack was heard. "Come on! Done already?!" Penelope threw her hands in the air as silence took over the amphitheatre.
"Diana? She isn't as good as Perseus is she?" Leona asked, trying to put a face to the name. She recalled Diana as being a regular initiate and nothing noteworthy about her, combat-wise at least. A very... average initiate.
"That's why it was such a surprise. Perseus blindly charged at her and got tripped right away. She never took a swing at him, only defending with just a sword." Penelope described, eyes lighting up in excitement, slowing down to a fast walk as they entered the Ring.
No aspis?
The Ring was filled with Rakkorans, mostly initiates who were booing at the spectacle before them. The girls sat on the grass surrounding the centre while most of the boys were standing, hands outstretched with thumbs down as they bobbed their appendage. Leona tried to locate Pantheon in the crowd but failed to do so with one sweep of her eyes. Most of the boys had black hair in Rakkor so it was not an easy task to find him in the sea of people. She decided to watch the match before her as the tale told by Penelope had taken hold of her curiosity. What she saw, made her mouth a silent wow in awe.
Diana stood in the middle of the Ring, chest out and arms slack at her sides with a sword in her right hand. Her platinum blonde hair flowed down her leather armour, almost like a short cape that reached down to the small of her back. Her silvery grey eyes were trained on the body of a larger person, a teenage boy sprawled on the ground at her feet. The boy was breathing heavily, grass in his hair and mud on his armour. Diana did not even have a single speck of dirt on her. Whereas the boy was winded and ungraceful, Diana stood there in silent vigil, poised and emotionless.
"Winner, Diana." Elder Doru's voice echoed across the Ring, silencing the entire audience in the Ring. Elder Doru was a veteran of the second Rune war, with a scarred body and a right hand missing. His salt and pepper hair was cut short, giving him the look of a wise, aged warrior from an era gone since the conception of the League of Legends. Perseus was still groaning beneath the newly announced victor when Elder Doru continued, "Next is Leona against Pantheon".
The unruly crowd burst into cheers when they heard the match up. Whoops and cat calls melded with squeals and shouts, the noise growing louder and louder to an almost unbearable decibel. Leona swallowed, trepidation influencing her strides as she made her way to the centre of the Ring. Elder Doru stood in the middle of it, acting as referee and medic should anything go wrong. Diana had already left the field while two boys dragged a barely conscious Perseus to the side. Pantheon was still nowhere to be seen.
Leona had barely step foot into the combat area when a black blur flashed through her vision, causing her to tense and halt in case of danger. Then she heard the explosion of dirt flying several feet in the air only to land directly on Perseus' unconscious form that lay sprawled on the grassland. Even more cheers and laughter erupted from the audience surrounding the Ring.
Show off.
Leona refocused her attention on the culprit ahead, her opponent for the day, the only one who could possibly best her in direct combat; Pantheon. The boy who used to be shorter than her just two years ago was no longer here. With a tall frame and stone hard lean muscles, Pantheon embodied all that was expected of the perfect Rakkoran warrior. His helmet fitted him perfectly now, hiding almost all of his face save his blood red irises that now stared at her. The leather armour accentuated every curve, every contraction of his sinewy flesh as he straightened himself from his landing position. In his left hand, he held an ordinary spear with a blunt stone tip. His other hand carried an aspis that shielded his entire neck, torso and leg, stopping just before his ankles. A light breeze rustled the red plumes on his relic helmet, enforcing the fact that he was truly a favourite initiate to be allowed to wield relic armour in the camp.
"Weapon of choice, Leona?" Elder Doru asked, seeing as Leona had come empty handed. An initiate on duty wheeled in a cartful of assorted weaponry, mostly wooden practice ones that they used in the mornings.
"Sword and aspis, please" Leona said, looking at the initiate who nodded back at her, handing over the requested items.
"Same rules, no dismemberment, no ridiculing, no exceeding the boundaries. You start when I say so." Elder Doru said monotonously. He started walking away from the centre as Pantheon and Leona took their stances. They both lifted their huge shields and raised their weapons, waiting for the signal. The crowd around them grew silent once more as the atmosphere became tense with anticipation for the highlighted match of the day. Everyone knew that Leona and Pantheon were the best in their generation. There was no doubt about it. Especially when one of them was renowned for his ability to jump higher than the Targon Pine Trees themselves.
"I'll bake you a cake if you let me win." Pantheon teased, smirking behind his helmet as he tightened his hold on his spear, crouching low for the sprint as he did so.
Without missing a beat, Leona deftly replied with all seriousness as she mimicked her opponent's actions. "You'd bake me one anyways."
...
...
...
"Begin." Elder Doru's gravelly voice penetrated the entire Ring, slicing through the tense atmosphere like a hot knife through butter. Immediately, Pantheon and Leona charged forward, shields raised and weapons at the ready. Leona counted the distance between them.
10 steps, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...
Pantheon launched himself off the ground with a powerful jump, intending to ram his shield and considerable weight into Leona. That did not deter Leona as she continued her original path, in fact, gaining ever more speed in the last few steps. The crowd held their breath as everything seemed to slow down. Would Leona's plan fail and she be knocked off her feet or would Pantheon's fail and he be toppled over his opponent?
Both statements proved to be correct. Leona slanted her shield just by a fraction as their shields collided with a tremendous clang of metal upon metal. Pantheon's body was pushed over Leona's as she braced the impact. Trying as hard as she could, Leona was still unable to fight against the powerful momentum brought by Pantheon, causing her knees to buckle under the pressure. She felt as if her body had been knocked over by a horse rather than a mere man.
Pantheon all but somersaulted over his childhood friend, landing heavily on his two feet. He turned on his heels, facing his opponent once again. Leona herself had just got up and prepared herself for another engagement. The huge cheering from the sidelines went ignored by the two combatants as they went through simulations in their heads, deciding which move to make.
They charged again.
This time, Pantheon chose not to launch himself into her shield, opting instead to thrust out his own to meet hers. In one fluid motion, they both spun around, keeping their shields locked to the very last possible moment before disengaging. Pantheon swung his spear out in a powerful swing that stopped right before Leona's throat. His elation at the quick victory was short lived as he found his own neck at the end of her wooden sword.
"A tie?" Pantheon questioned, not minding the outcome. He was still undefeated and this wouldn't have harmed his reputation, although he had not much care for it in the first place. Leona on the other hand, faltered when he proposed. She knew he could beat her. She was faster but he had both strength and skill on his side. It was luck on her side that she managed to draw her sword out in the nick of time to match his spear.
"Tie." Elder Doru decided for them. "It's getting late, pack up and get back to main camp." He told the rest of the audience. The initiates groaned, disappointed at the interruption to what was the most glamorous fighting they've seen all day. Nonetheless, they heeded the command obediently and filed out of the Ring orderly in units. Pantheon relaxed his stance and sighed, looking out towards the setting sun. Leona walked up to him, also looking towards the orange orb descending upon the jagged horizon that was the Targon Valley.
"You were gone most of the afternoon. Daydreaming again?"
"You do not mind a tie?" Leona asked, not planning on answering him. Pantheon took off his helmet and shook out the hair plastered to his head before replying.
"Not one bit. After all, I won't have to bake you a cake now. Better watch your figure, I see you're getting slower during your sprints." Pantheon jabbed, running his fingers through his ebony locks.
"Hey! It's not my fault you keep baking them!" Leona shouted indignantly, whacking his thigh with the flat of her blade. The only response she got was laughter from her friend.
Leona arrived late to the mess hall for dinner. All the food was either gone, or cold. Resigned to her fate, she spooned some mashed potatoes and shreds of deer meat left behind. There was some bean soup leftover to help her down the miserable dinner of the day. Leona looked around to see if anyone she knew was still present. She wanted some company for the late evening. Penelope was most likely already at the Ring fooling around with the other initiates, while Pantheon would typically be sharpening his tools or practicing his spear jabs on that old pine tree on the edge of the camp. She would be alone tonight.
She had only begun eating her food as robotically and slowly as she possibly could, trying to convey her depression to all and hopefully someone would rescue her from such a sad dinnertime when a low pitched chuckle startled her. "I've seen happier faces on Perseus' victims."
Recognising his voice, Leona did not bother to raise her head, opting instead to continue eating her abysmal dinner. She was still upset at him over the cake comment earlier on. It was not her fault that she wanted to keep her promise to him all those years ago in a small alley near the bakery.
You'll always be my baker.
Some friend he was, always feeding her such delicious, sugary, mouth watering pastries. It was no wonder she gained bulk in no time. The wheat bread with nuts and raisins, warm and fresh from the oven never failed to fill her up in the mornings. White icing cake with dark, bitter chocolate sponge for suppers always ended her gruelling training days on a high note. But even Rakkoran women were touchy about their weight, a fact that seemed to be lost upon her childhood friend. He's knocked his head too many times to be tactful. Hopeless tin man.
"I saved you some deer meat," Pantheon said, sliding his plate across the table. Leona's eye twitched in annoyance. She did not need him to look out for her. She could very well take care of herself. ",with some bread and cheese." He was really testing her resolve to not forgive him for pointing out her recent weight gains. "and dessert." He added, placing a small cupcake (Instead of the usual whole medium sized cake) in front of her plate. It was strawberry cream on the outside, a recipe. Leona's mouth started to salivate, much to her annoyance.
Traitor.
"Well, sorry I can't stay long. Elder Doru asked for me so I best get going. Enjoy your dinner." Pantheon said, leaving.
Leona forced herself not to look at him until the very last moment when he turned the corner. He hadn't had his helmet on... Wait, what do you care!? Leona mentally scolded herself. She pouted at no one, glancing down on the plate full of deer meat and cheese and a half loaf of bread. Well, he did think of me after all. I can't complain can I? Her expression softened, allowing a small butterfly loose in her stomach at the thought. She reached out for the cupcake, intending to have one bite of it first since it was something new Pantheon had made. Just before she took her nibble, a piece of paper on the table caught her attention.
"Sorry" It read. Leona snorted, smiling a little and took the bite. Maybe, he isn't such a tin man after all.
She spat the cake out right after. C-carrot? Leona grabbed the paper, paying no heed to her cupcake now and scanned the page. On a small, fine print at the corner of the page, it read "Got to watch your weight, I'll help you starting... just now."
Leona took her words back. He was still a tactless tin man.
A small campfire burned in the centre of the tent, with a hole in the ceiling for ventilation. Firewood crackled, springing forth tiny splinters of red hot bark as the grey-white smoke floated into the air. The tent was large, one befitting of the rank of an Elder such as Elder Doru. The man himself sat cross legged in front of the fire, lost in his thoughts as the mesmerizing flames swayed with the air itself. His reverie was broken when the flap of the entrance to the tent was raised open by his guest.
Pantheon, now helmeted again, stood before the old sage at attention, not allowing his form to relax until the order was given for him to take a seat before the flames. Pantheon did not remove his relic armour but instead gazed deep into the flames just as his teacher had did just moments earlier. Several minutes went by without either one of them uttering a word. It was not an awkward situation for them to be in such a situation for they have been doing this often enough. In fact, Elder Doru relished these comings because Pantheon was not much of a chatter box. He was a man of actions, much like the sage had been in his golden years. Now the aged man was just a teacher, a guide for the younger generations to the path of honour and glory in battle, though battle is scarce with the formation of the League. Like all the others from his tribe, Elder Doru had objected the League but were grudgingly forced to accept and obey its rules to prevent wars from occurring. It was unfair of them to impose upon their ancient ways for it was never their fault to begin with. It was the Demacians, Noxians and their allies that utilised such harmful magic to disrupt the natural flow of Runeterra. Rakkorans fought with armour and weapons passed down through the generations, imbued with the natural rune magic of Runeterra itself.
But the League begged to differ, saying that if they were to be left out, the League would crumble and war would ensue, causing Runeterra to fall apart. The Elders wish to not cause such a calamity and thus agreed to join and would be sending a champion to represent them soon. Elder Doru had no doubt that the man before him was that champion. He was the best in several generations. Already an expert at the arms he chose to bear, Pantheon was a beast in battle, one that even his fellow tribesman would think twice of fighting. The true paragon of the people of Rakkor.
Finally, it was Elder Doru who broke the silence.
"Before I begin to tell you the reason of your coming, I believe you have a question to ask me. It would be better to remove all doubts between us and to keep it that way."
"Why did you stop the match, Elder? There was still time to decide upon the victor." Pantheon questioned, eyes trained on his Elder.
"We were being watched." Cold swept through Pantheons limbs.
"Then why, Elder, did we not go after this spy?"
"There was no point, I know for a fact that the spy was Noxian. That means that the Noxian army are closer than we expected. I have already sent word to the Council so that the necessary preparations can be made ahead of time. You do know of the observation exercise that you initiates are attending next week, yes?" Elder Doru asked.
"I do, Elder." Pantheon confirmed.
"Our warriors are supposedly set to have mock battles to sharpen our skills but in fact, we plan to draw out the Noxian forces." The revelation surprised Pantheon who widened his eyes.
"But Elder Doru! The League is set to apply its commandment for peace two days after that!" Pantheon reasoned.
"Which is why we are doing so. It is the last time that we Rakkorans can immerse ourselves in a full scale battle against our enemies. We've known their agenda for months now. The Noxians want to storm the Solari Temple and steal the divine armour worn by the Chosen One. Such blasphemy will not be tolerated. The League cannot save us and we do not want them to do so either. We will beat them back with our steel once and for all and let all of Runeterra remember the last battle fought before the League. Rakkor will have the last victory before peace."
"Then why are you telling this to me? Would it not be better to tell it to all the initiates?" Pantheon asked.
"Tell them that their years of training and conditioning would really, absolutely be in vain? If I were to reveal to the whole camp what I have just told you, chaos would follow. Your fellow initiates all want to be warriors in battle, seasoned veterans. Telling them that there would no longer be war would kill them." Elder Doru explained.
"Then what makes me so special? Why tell me all of this?"
"You were never a fanatic of war, were you, Pantheon?" Pantheon gulped. "I know your ambition to be a baker. I've seen you giving your friend Leona the fruits of your labour. You are a special kind of Rakkoran. One worth looking out for. The Elder council wants to send all of you initiates to battle as well with the other Rakkorans. I find it to be folly. The Noxians are lead by Darius himself, the legendary General who lead a bloody campaign all over Runeterra. Your peers would be massacred if they were sent into such a terrifying battle."
"So what do you have planned then? Surely there is something we could do to prevent that."
"Indeed I do. The Elders plan to send one of their own to order you initiates to engage from the rear of the Noxian forces where they are weakest. I shall intercept this messenger."
"Then what role do I play?"
"You, my dear boy, are the contingency plan. Should the Noxians discover of your location, they will undoubtedly kill you all. You shall lead the initiates to retreat and safely return to the city."
"Who is to say they will follow my lead? And what of our forces?"
"Do not think lightly of our warriors, Pantheon. We are Rakkorans after all. We have never lost a battle. As for your leadership, it is only natural that the pack follows the alpha. Show them your worth, kill some Noxians then order the retreat." Elder Doru concluded. Pantheon took the cue and stood up, preparing to leave.
"I understand, Elder. I will not fail you." Pantheon assured him, lifting the flap of the tent. Elder Doru nodded in return.
"That Leona, she isn't ordinary either." Pantheon tensed, hoping that Elder Doru had picked up on her counter current principles. "Look out for her, Pantheon. My old eyes used to see leagues ahead, but now they're blurry. She's in for trouble, and only you can help her."
"Yes, Elder."