Author's Note:
Uh hi to whoever is reading. If you've read until now , GREAT :D Thanks and um yea. I Re-re-read through the last chapter and noticed a big thing.. it was presented terribly like wow. I decided to rewrite it because I wasn't happy with it so yup. That was fun. This is my first fanfiction, as well as the first time anyone has seen my writing, or typing in this case, aside from school assignments. I'll do my best but I won't know what to improve on without some constructive criticism on whatever that can improve this. So please leave a review or Pm me on what I could do to make this a better experience and a worthy read. I would greatly appreciate it so yeah. On to the next chapter!
Chapter two:
The Darkness Rises
The people Present at the Trial were escorted a large construct of pillars and breams with seats going this way and that way. I surrounded a flat pit of yellow sand with several gates used for entries for 'participants' no doubt. The Coliseum itself was made of White Marble and Gold lining the edges of the many seats along the outside of the Arena. In the centre of the seats across from the main entrance sat a Large set of three seats, upon the three seats were King Jarvan III, to his left sat his son and heir Prince Jarvan IV and to his right, none other than Shyvana. Why she sat there, Keith didn't know.
Keith Caught the woman's gaze for a moment, the same fire from before was behind them, sending a shiver up his spine. Although the arena was filling with people flowing in from all around Demacia now, Keith wasn't bothered by them. He was more bothered about how powerful Lux was. Although this was a time before she was in the League of Legends, maybe even before the Institute was fully built, he knew was she was capable of. The light of Demacia was a powerful mage, if she was being forced to fight him he did not know. He knew Jarvan was going to enjoy this, it almost felt dark for The Exemplar of Demacia.
The gate in front of Keith gave a creaking sound before it slowly began to rise, allowing Keith to set foot into the Arena. The ground was a thin layer of sand, underneath was more marble. He looked around inside the arena surprised to see it completely empty of any sort of weaponry. They really expected him to use magic even though Keith technically knew nothing about magic. The gate at the opposite end on the arena slowly began to rise, drawing the attention of the now full Coliseum. After a few moments, Lux and her brother Garen walked out into view sending the crowd into an uproar of cheers and applause. Baton and sword in hand, the two approached the centre of the arena looking at nothing but Keith. Keith slowly approached where the stood, his mind was running circles with itself on what he was going to do, and if he did do something, he didn't want to hurt Lux, or anyone for that fact.
All eyes fell on the three in the arena, every man, woman, child and other-humanoids fell dead silent. Lux's smile was still across her face, though it was easy to tell it was as fake as this being a fair trial. Everything was one-sided in this situation and no one was going to root for the underdog in this one. Keith looked up at Garen, the man glared down at Keith putting him in bit of an amusing situation. His sight returned to Lux and she was looking back at him now, her smile wavering slightly as she looked at his Red eyes.
"You are being tried for suspicion of Noxian related activities as follows: Spying, attempted murder and thievery of intelligence. What say you in your defence?" Garen's loud booming voice echoed in the coliseum, the accusations being complete bullshit, yet they earned a few gasps and murmurs within the crowd. This was going to be a dive straight into the deep end for Keith.
"You know that's all bullshit as much as you know that 'judge' was just a bribed Noble of some sort. That goes to you too Jarvan! This is all a laugh for you to get something exciting in your instead of your little chores!" Garen wavered in his expression for a moment. Keith had caught them out with a hunch and he knew it. The crowd was still silent, only to be broken by the Half-dragon herself.
"You think Demacia full of petty lies and worthless scum like that of Noxus?! Jarvan let me take him on, this filth is in need of true punishment! He isn't worthy for a trial through combat! Weak is an understatement for this boy." Her voice dripped with venom as she spoke, the fury within her words shooting fear into many of the people in the surrounding audience. They knew the power of the Half-dragon and feared her for the destruction she was capable of.
Keith would have preferred Shyvana to be his opponent for the fact he didn't know if something would happen during this dual. Ever since Jarvan stated he seemed capable of some sort of magical ability, he has been pondering on the thought every few minutes at if he really was or not. His mind quickly fell under that same pressure as the heat began to rise again, only to subside moments later. 'What is that heat?' He didn't want to use whatever it was on Lux, if he couldn't control it, he might kill her. Shyvana would be able to take it surely.
"Hey I agree with her on this one, why not let her do whatever her meaning of punishment is rather than waste Luxanna's time here? Surely she has something better to do." Jarvan was resting his head on this right hand whilst he was seated. He lowered his hand to his side and stood. He had a devious smirke across his face directed down at Keith. He was enjoying this too much, he was showing it now and didn't care for the looks it got him.
"I Believe Luxanna Crownguard is the opponent for you. She did step forward for this and accepted willingly, knowing exactly what she was getting into. She is your opponent. No more will be said about this, speak your judgments and the victorious shall receive their wishes. Luxanna, give us your judgment." The crowd was bursting with anticipation. Although they were silent as the Prince spoke, the pressure was rising on Keith for his own life was at stake.
"If I am to be victorious in this trial of combat, Keith is to be executed in this very arena by my hand. Nothing more." She was trembling inside, she wouldn't do this willingly and Keith knew it. As powerless as he felt, he had to fight. He would not die the first day he reawakened on a new world. He had to do something, anything to not kill or be killed and still win this.
A searing pain swept across the back of his neck and it felt as though someone was right behind him. Before he could turn, a voice echoed painfully in his head, it's voice full of anger, much more piercing than Shyvana's. "I WILL NOT LET MY VESSEL DIE THIS DAY! I WILL LEND YOU A FRAGMENT OF MY POWER TO USE; IT WILL GROW INSIDE YOU, IT WILL CONSUME YOU FOR MY SAKE SO THAT I WILL ONE DAY BE FREE!" The voice lingered in his head for a few moments more before the searing pain in his neck travelled all throughout his body. As Clouds covered the sun, rain began to pour into the arena. Magical barriers were summoned above the Citizens in the seats around the arena, stopping the rain before it hit them. The arena itself was not covered and soon the sand underneath them was soggy and compact with water.
Jarvan shifted his gaze to the sky for a moment, as if wondering if this were natural rain or the work of some magic. 'There is going to be a storm with these kind of clouds.' Jarvan smirked to himself. This was going to be very interesting to simply watch. The outburst from Shyvana was already very amusing. "Accused, what is your Judgment?" Jarvan wasn't prepared for his answer. He didn't care for what Keith had to say, it wouldn't matter. If only he knew about the growing power in Keith right now.
Keith stood there before the voice returned, this time in a more friendly and reasonable tone. "I suggest you ask for enough gold for a full set of clothes, travelling supplies, a warm cloak and a few bits of light armor. Just.. trust me on this, I might have frightened you before with my bad side showing with all the echoing and such in your head. That shard won't consume you, I forgot you're from Earth." Keith was confused. All he could think in his head was a single question. 'who the fuck are you?' The voiced gave a small chuckle, it was a deep voice, one that carried years of knowledge and pain, yet it still had a bit of a childish ring in it. "I'll tell you later, just answer with what I said and I'll handle my po- I mean our powers. You Earthlings have much easier time channeling my power throughout your body."
Still confused at what was happening in his head, he prepared for the confused stares he was about to receive. "If I win, I want free passage out of Demacia with supplies. I'll specify later." He tried to keep his gaze on Jarvan, but the confused looks he got from Lux and Garen, drew his eyes to them. They were expecting something more costly judging by their faces.
King Jarvan's curiosity was struck with this 'Judgment'. It was more of a request if anything, but none-the-less it would be honored by himself personally. He didn't see Keith capable of pulling off the accusations against him. His brow furrowed in confusion as to why his son, the Prince of Demacia was so against this boy. He was seemingly harmless from what he could see. He did not want to ruin his own son's reputation as the exemplar of Demacia and heir to the throne by stopping this Trial. As a king of one of the two most powerful City-states of Runeterra, he felt powerless for the first time.
The Prince, noticing the distress on the King's face, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, his face returned a warm smile. No words needed to be spoken between the two, they understood each other more than anyone. The Prince returned to his seat as the King stood from the throne, his legs struggling to keep him up due to his old age. He held within his right hand a golden staff with small shards and spheres of light rotating around the top end of the staff. He leaned on it slightly as if it were more of a walking stick now.
"The judgments have been said. This Trial will now come to pass. I would ask those that do not wish to see battle in this arena, leave now. Those that would speak forth in defence of the accused, speak now." A few moments of silence flew by. No one would speak against someone under trial by demand of the Prince himself. "Very well. Proceed. Magic is your source of combat in this trial. No weapons unless they are of Magical properties. No interference from the spectators of this trial. This battle is until submission, or death. May the gods watch over this battle and guide us to the light." The King brought up the staff for a moment, the lights around the head of the staff grew in light as he did so. He brought the staff back down to the ground with a thud. The lights fell down to the platform and shot out the sides of the arena, a bright light surrounding the arena as if to act as a barrier against the battle that was about to commence. Garen whispered something inaudible to Keith before leaving the Arena. He passed through the gate Keith came from and disappeared in the dark hallway. He would've been ordered to receive Keith's corpse after his execution.
Keith felt the heat in his body come to rest in his chest. It was pulsing, urging him to make a move. He was putting a lot of resistance into just moving even his fingers to help keep him occupied. He felt as though he was visibly shaking. It was overwhelming him with every passing second. But for the time being he was waiting for Lux to make her move. The two had separated and were now circling around the arena. The anticipation to see what Keith could do was growing, not just by Keith himself, but by everyone present in the arena. He was drenched by the rain with a small amount of steam coming off of his body from the heat he was giving off.
It then struck him, Literally. A bolt of lightning shot down into Keith, the sudden shock throughout his body was flowing through him, accelerating his every movement. To his eyes, everything looked as if it were playing in half the speed it normally would. He brought his hands up and let out small bolts toward Lux, they were non-lethal but had enough kick to shock someone into an unconscious state.
Lux retaliated by throwing her baton out toward Keith, just stopping short from where he was. He knew what this was, a protective shield of light. It was barely visible around her small form. Her baton flew back toward her, the first of the few bolts striking the shield, only to bounce off and dissipate in the air. It left behind small pockets in the air, a sort of white mist. She caught her Baton, recharging her shield as she did, causing the rest of the bolts to bounce of as those before it did. More pockets of mist appeared as they too faded out into the air.
Keith was eyeing the small clouds left behind by the bolts. The voice in his head came through once again in the same controlled voice as before. "Those are shards of our power. We take time to charge up 'spells' as you put it. I personally call it natural ability but that's because it is natural to a Nephe- I mean natural to me. Before you question anything, I suggest you duck and weave." The voice became distant again as Keith refocused on what was happening. Spheres of light were flying toward Keith at high speeds. Even with his heightened speed from the lightning, they were moving quickly and were difficult to dodge.
As Keith moved, Lux couldn't help but be amazed with what she was seeing. A random Traveler as he claimed to be cannot be capable of such powers. His movements sent out vibrations of his body as if he was slowly becoming white mist like the small pockets of mist around her. It hit her as she realized they might be dangerous so she began to move to the right while she kept throwing her light binding spells at him. He began moving to his right as the circling continued yet bolts and lights clashed together. He began to feel his body resisting what he wanted it to do, the voice came back to him. "Your body is beginning to exhaust itself. The movement is still using your regular body's energy. This isn't good, I have to change something about that real quick.. this might hurt. A lot."
She stopped mid cast of a spell as Keith kneeled over screaming in pain. She hadn't managed a hit yet he was all of a sudden in an immense about of pain. His forehead hit the sand on the ground with a thud, still screaming out at the pain rushing through him. Lux couldn't help but stand there and watch as his body began to change. His Silver hair began to change into a deep black colour, his skin changing from a pale like tone to more of a tanned and his eyes changing from Red to a bright green with yellow pupils. The small amount of scruff he had on his chin grew into a short length black beard. His expression changed from that of a calm one to one full of fury. The muscles on his body grew making him appear like a man who trained hours for a military.
The pain in Keith's body stopped as he lifted himself up from the group. The speed he had not moments again, now faded into the steam coming off of his new body. He felt taller as he stood. He stretched his arms as he stood and rolled his shoulders. After a satisfying click in his back, he stared back at Lux with his new eyes. He felt as though he could see clearer. "Your vision wasn't the best you know. This is the world with my eyes. I did a little peeping through your memories by the way. Why is it that I can't see much on Earth? I mean, I don't see people or places. Just names and blood. Wh-" He was cut off as Keith called out to Lux.
"I'm sorry for what is about to happen, but I have no intention of dying here. You'll forgive me one day." Without giving Lux a chance to reply, Keith vanished in the blink of an eye and appeared not 3 inches from Lux's face. She sent out a small yelp as Keith's hand flew to the left side of her face and sent a shock throughout her entire body causing her to fall limply to the ground.
The crowd sent out gasps at what they just witnessed. Garen ran out from an opening gate behind Keith to his sister. He stopped as Keith turned to face him, his face full of fury and grief. Garen believed the worst had become of his sister. "Is she..?" Garen's voice was on the edge of breaking. The big soldier did have a heart, even if it didn't show from time to time.
"She isn't dead. She is in a coma, one that will remain on her until I leave the walls of Demacia with what I need. Where I'm headed is the Freljord. I'm sure you know what I'll need in terms of supplies." Keith and Garen were almost snarling at each other like beasts, the two could seemingly break glass if it were between them. Their staring contest was broken by the thud in the direction of the King.
The King was stood on the platform once again as his staff was raised into the air again, causing the barrier surrounding the arena to dissipate and form the several lights around the head of the King's staff once again. He was looking down at Keith with a disgruntled face.
"You would think we can simply let you go after you kill one of Demacia's most prized mages of light?! How dare you!"
Keith almost face-palmed as he looked back at the King his hands raised to either side of him showing a sign of no harm. "She isn't dead, she will reawaken the moment I have what I need so I can leave for the Freljord. You can Chase me, put bounties on me for my head, hell you can try kill me right here, right now. It will only lead to wasted effort. If you want proof, check to see if she is breathing. Simple." Not a moment passed by and Garen dashed toward his sister, the many people of Demacia standing in watch, frozen by anticipation. 'They're acting like an audience at their first movie..' Keith thought to himself.
"The hell is a movie?" He forgot the other guy could read his mind.
Garen picked up his sister and brought his check down to her face. He could feel the faint breeze from her mouth, confirming she was still with them. "She is alive. I will take her home to be cared for, what are your orders my King?" The King shifted his gaze from Keith to the Leader of the Dauntless Vanguard and let out long sigh of relief.
"Take her home Vanguard. I will personally deal with seeing Keith out of Demacia." The King was uncomfortable being so close to the man before him. His appearance had changed the moment he stopped screaming in the unexplained pain that fell upon him. He wondered if his new appearance was the cause. A second after the thought of Keith's new appearance left the Kings mind, his hair, eyes and skin color changed back into the same silver, light tan and red they were before. 'What is he?'
Jarvan IV was already out of the arena. He left the moment Keith reappeared next to Lux and shocked her into that coma. He was organizing a single man to tail Keith once he had left. Then the thought crossed his mind. 'Man..? No. A woman.. someone that wants a challenge.' He had the perfect person for the task in mind. 'She may be a noble, but this will be her challenge. perfect.'