Swain was sending us to our doom, Katarina thought to herself. The amount of soldiers that had been assigned to Katarina had only been large enough to be a patrol squad, even with her specialized assassination team. The only way to fix this mess and save Noxus, she thought to herself, was for herself to be the Grand General.
In order to seek out a way to resurrect Sion the Undead Juggernaut, currently sealed away and asleep under Jericho Swain's orders, Katarina and Talon infiltrated an underground lair of Vladimir. Ever since the event of the Gathering of the Titans, Vladimir has been spending most of his days in his underground dungeon, experimenting and creating his own race, using a form of blood magic that could give life. The hemomancer had become a god in his own rights.
The self-proclaimed Blood Lord was at the very bottom of the lair, which went down 30 stories deep. And Katarina only had little time before Swain would try to use his next move to get rid of her. The only reason she was alive was due to her family name, Du Couteau, still carrying high prestige and honor amongst Noxians. She had realized this and knew the clock was ticking. Her opponent was after all, the Master Tactician. You want to play the game Swain? I'll give you one that will shake Noxus to its core. She thought to herself as she tread through Vladimir's dungeon.
Horrific and gruesome. Talon thought to himself, as he followed Katarina while preparing to slice anything that might jump out. The dungeon was like a castle that went underground. As they cautiously descended down the dungeon, Talon and Katarina encountered creatures that were born of Vladimir's magic and experiments. All the creatures had human-like appearances, with the most noticeable factors being silver hair and red eyes, and there were so many of them that this dungeon was like an underground kingdom.
Katarina and Talon were extremely skilled at infiltrating and using the shadows to their advantages. With Talon's expert skills in building infrastructure as well as his near 6th sense-like tracking abilities, the duo had no problem descending down the dungeon with only little detection. There were some non-human creatures that attacked the duo but Katarina and Talon were quick to dispatch of the creatures. And in no time, they had reached Vladimir's supposed Throne room's eerie looking gate.
"Let me meld in first and you Shunpo on to me," Talon suggested, as he walked up to the Throne room's gate. Katarina gave a quick nod of approval as she prepared to teleport, and for the worst. Talon prepared his blade, and gradually his body colors faded away as he became invisible to naked eyes. In this stealth form, Talon could walk through solid objects which also contributed many of his assassinations. "Here we go".
Talon walked through. Katarina quickly sensed Talon's presence on the other side of the wall and shunpo'd without a moment of hesitation and quickly drew her blades. And at the Throne, far away from the gate and guarded by his many soldiers, sat Vladimir the Blood Lord.
"I have been expecting you, Lady Du Couteau….and her lap dog," Vladimir stated as he raised his head and gave a sinister smile. As he stood up, one of his soldiers shouted out, all hail the God of Life, the Blood Lord, his highness Vladimir! And soon the rest of the soldiers that were in the room followed suit.
"Sick and twisted as always, Blood Lord," Katarina snarled as she eyed over the room to count how many soldiers there were. Fifteen, she thought to herself. "How in the world did you do all this?"
"Hehe first, why don't we all relax," Vladimir gestured his soldiers to be at ease while gesturing Katarina and Talon to approach him.
"I don't like this," Talon whispered to Katarina.
And then the negotiations started. Talon was alert at all times just in case Vladimir or his minions would try anything dangerous. The mental game of revealing one card at a time while keeping an ace up your sleeve was always formal when dealing with the Blood Lord himself, but luckily Katarina was a smart woman; ill-tempered, but very smart. After what seemed like hours, they finally came to a conclusion. Vladimir would help Katarina and Talon in reviving Sion, and even aid Katarina in her conquest, in exchange for two favors of any kind, and at any time. After much hesitation, Katarina agreed to Vladimir's offering as Vladimir poured some of his blood wine into a chalice and dropped some of his blood into it. After mixing it up with his finger with a smile on his face, he offered the chalice to Katarina in order to seal the deal.
"…is this really necessary" Now she had known for sure that there was a catch. There's always a catch.
"You want this deal, am I mistaken? You want to revive the Undead Juggernaut with my magic, no? I am not a patient being, Lady Du Couteau," said Vladimir, as his eyes faintly glowed red.
Expecting the worst of outcomes and with heavy heart, Katarina gulped down the chalice until there was nothing left, thus completing the deal with Vladimir. She almost threw the vile liquid back up. He clapped, as he praised Bravo!The wine had a quite the burning sensation and she felt extremely sudden warmth all over her body. She screamed as she collapsed on her knees. And then, a red mark gradually appeared on her hand, signifying that she is in a pact with Vladimir.
"Hehehe…Contrary to the stereotypical rumors that go around, I keep my promise to the fullest extent and sometimes even more….I do hope you will keep yours, Lady Du Couteau," said Vladimir, as he stood up from his seat and summoned up pools of blood that circled up into a ball. "Time for the Lord of Terror to awaken. Until our negotiations are complete, you can consider me your ally….or your worst nightmare"
"Threaten my lady again, I will cut your throat bloodsucker." Talon immediately switched to his battle stance.
"And afterwards, my throat shall be healed once more with your blood,"
SHUT UP! Katarina screamed as she squirmed her way to her feet.
"Until the pact is complete you and I will be allies, and I will fulfill whatever your desires may be as long as it does not interfere in my conquest of Noxus. And you will help me until I am the Grand General of Noxus herself."
After a brief pause, Vladimir let out a smile and summoned up a pool of blood.
"Well then, my fellow companions Katarina and Talon…shall we go revive Sion?" Said Vladimir as he jumped into the pool, gesturing the two to follow as well. With an evil grin, Katarina jumped into the pool, quickly followed by Talon. Noxian Grand Ball.
This year's Annual Noxian Grand Ball would go down in history as one of the greatest celebration of all ages. Music were vibrant, friendships were made, arguments were settled, disputes were lessened and, most importantly, Noxus was united. In the face of an apocalyptic crisis, Noxus spat on the waste of garbage the Noxians thought the Void Invasion was. All the credit was due to one man, in the eyes of the majority, and that man's name was Jericho Swain.
"Grand General," a noblewoman approached Jericho Swain, who was observing the pleasantries of the ball from a comfy porch known as the chat lounge. There were lamps with patterns that dated back to the days of the Rune Wars and the lights created by hexmaturgy and magic was something to behold. "How do you fare on this fine evening?" Swain turned to face the woman. "Care for a glass of wine, or a chat?" The woman gave a foxy smile.
Swain took a brief glimpse at the woman and immediately realized that she was of some influence and power. The dress she had been wearing costed so much that the money required to buy the dress could buy enough to food to feed the poor for months. The Grand General took advantage of this and made sure he had gained her favor, as well as everyone associated with her. In Noxus, power meant everything. And whoever has more power than the one who was considered the leader of an era that was known to be the "Noxian Revolution"? Jericho Swain was the most attractive person in Noxus. He was the one true master of the Game. And he had made sure to spread out his birds throughout the ball in order to collect information.
Lady Du Couteau to the Iron Spike Mountains? How preposterous! I hear the slopes of the Iron Spike Mountains are treacherous. Can you imagine? Fighting against the hordes and hordes of those creatures? I once ran into one of those creatures myself and my goodness… I am not very fond of that memory. So have you heard…. Oh my goodness no way! Let's dance shall we madam? …Did you hear Swain's announcement? ….Who better than the assassination squad? …..Lady Death will surely bring honor to Noxus…..That is dangerous… Lovely dress!... …. And the Dance continued throughout the night.
The night begun to shift from fun and exhilaration, to chill and relaxation. Jericho Swain took the high podium stage to speak to the audience. He used Beatrice, his trusty Raven, to conjure up a magic that enhanced his voice volume tenfold. The music stopped as Darius signaled the musicians.
"Dear citizens of Noxus. Tonight marks another annual celebration of our home, the grand Noxus!" The crowd cheered and roared, chanting Noxus. Swain gestured them to settle down as the crowd quickly grew quite. "As you know, the battle to determine who shall control the Ironspike Mountains is still in debate. We, Noxus, will send an initial army led by none other than Katarina Du Couteau in order to measure scout out good camping places as well as good rendezvous zones and battlefields. Katarina and her 'Imperial Shadows' are the most elite in path-planning as well as trajectory mapping. There will be not many Void Creatures until we near the date of the gathering time. And here is the real reason you are all here tonight." Jericho Swain walked up closer to the edge of the high podium. "The news I am about to reveal to you, is the set date of the Void gathering at the Ironspike mountains."
The Fourth of March, Swain announced. There was dead silence in the crowd. The day of the Grand Ball marked the thirteenth of June which meant that the said date was approximately nine months away.
"But my friends. Tonight, we celebrate the founding of Noxus. Tonight, we commemorate souls of the brave! Souls of the brave that died to defend and strengthen our home! Noxus! Chant with me, let your spirit free! Noxus! Noxus! Noxus!" Swain spoke out with passion and intensity, as his raven flew towards the ceilings and created a special lighting effects that were incredibly beautiful. Elegant and majestic, were common words to describe the sight. To this, Darius, his right hand man and the Grand Captain of the Noxian Imperial Army, shouted and chanted "Noxus!" as the crowd followed along with fury and passion.
This Annual Noxian Grand Ball would go down in history as one of the most gruesome celebration of all time.
Suddenly, the floor of the dance floor started bubbling and oozing out liquid that seemed to be blood. At first, people were intrigued and wondering what was going on as Swain looked on with concern as he indicated his troops and soldiers to take position. As the pool grew bigger, the oozing and bubbling grew stronger and more violent as a figure with an armor that had spikes protruding as shoulder guard. The figure, glowing in red, slowly emerged from the pool as he revealed his silver hair and blood-red pupils that seemed like they could pierce the soul of whoever they gazed on. It was Vladimir, the Blood Lord, fully revealing himself as his menacingly bloody colored cape moved about.
"Do pardon me for my rude entrance but I believe you did forget to extend an invitation to me, Grand General!" Vladimir jested as the crowd froze in fear at the sight of the Lord of Terror.
"Vladimir…. What is this about?"
"I am simply here, to enjoy the Grand Ball! I am still a citizen of Noxus, am I not?" said Vladimir, as he liquefied into a pool of blood and quickly solidified back to the bar area. He grabbed his favorite Pinot Noir, and sipped as if he had all the time in the world. He swigged his glass, leaning on the bar stool as he smiled at Swain.
"Enough of this!" Darius drew his mighty axe and jumped off the podium. He started charging towards Vladimir at full speed, with his axe ready to swing. Draven quickly followed suit as he screamed hysterically and spun his axes and charged towards Vladimir. Vladimir quickly liquefied once more and reappeared on the center of his original pool, but this time he was in mid-air.
"Hehe. If you can't provide me the entertainment I desire, well…. I will just have to improvise this celebration a little bit" Vladimir stated as he began rapidly glowing crimson as the pool started summoning his soldiers and minions from his underground kingdom. His soldiers started massacring everyone in sight, as countless hemomancers, Blood-Magic users, started pouring out from the massive pool of blood that covered the entire dance floor. Swain immediately joined the battle, transforming into his true battle form, the Demon Raven form, as he started draining life forces out of Vladimir's soldiers. "All soldiers! Battle stations! And everyone who cannot fight, must exit now!"
There was much panic and chaos as what seemed like infinite amounts of blood started flying everywhere. Vladimir was giggling hysterically as he suddenly burst out in mad laughter. Then he liquefied back into his liquid form and entered back to the original pool to be hidden for his Hemomancers to do damage.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Noxian forces were able to control the situation as the pool stopped summoning Hemomancers and gradually disappeared, summoning Vladimir in the center. The Grand Ball's once majestic hall was now in ruins. The remaining Hemomancers rallied up towards Vladimir in order to protect their God.
"You will die, Bloodsucker!" Darius roared, as he charged with complete malice and bloodlust. The sight of him was as if seeing a shark smelling blood in water. A swing of his axe made quick works of at least two Hemomancers, as more blood spewed everywhere. More blood made Darius even stronger. He started battling through hordes of Hemomancers as Draven soon followed behind, laughing ever so grandly, to Kill Secure any blood soldiers that Darius couldn't quite finish off.
"Vladimir, you are through!" Swain screamed in his Demon Bird form, with his voice containing very high levels of infestation. He started walking towards the remaining Hemomancer to join Darius and Draven.
Vladimir smiled cynically.
"I have one more surprise in store for you." He gestured his left hand and another pool was summoned. And a massive grey figure leaped out of it.
"No, it cannot be!" Swain screamed.
It was Sion, the Undead Juggernaut.
"IT'S TIME FOR WAR! GRAHHHHHHHHHH" Sion started charging and destroying everything and everyone in his path as he swung his mighty axe with great ferocity and unnerving agility. His magical blood shield protected him from all damage as it exploded after some duration to deal incredibly powerful damage with area of effect shockwaves. And those that were knocked up by the swing of his might axe, if they survived the fall, were completely massacred afterwards. This 8 foot Undead Juggernaut was loose and on a complete rampage.
A great battle between the former champions of the Institute of War begun. Swain could match Vladimir's life-drain with his own while Cassiopeia and Leblanc were fighting the Hemomancers. Someone had to stop Sion's destructive rampage and that someone could only be the Blood Brothers of Darius and Draven, as Sion was barely holding on against the brothers.
Darius swung his mighty axe up towards Sion's face but Sion blocked it with his metal gauntlet. He pushed aside and quickly swung his axe down at Darius, who side stepped and rolled out in order to dodge. Darius roared as he once again swung his axe, but this time spinning it so the force and the impact would be stronger. Sion slammed his axe down and the two weapons clashed creating a massive shockwave that surprised even Sion himself. Then one of Draven's axes came flying as it struck Sion in the back as it gracefully returned back to the wild Draven. Sion's expression did not change at all. Sion was brought down to his left knee but he was quick to grab Darius by his throat before Darius could finish him off. Sion quickly chokeslammed Darius and reached for his axe but another one of Draven's axes came whirling, making Sion defend himself with his gauntlet.
"GWAHH! I WILL KILL YOU!" Sion leaped towards Draven without his weapons and slammed down upon him, which Draven was barely able to dodge. Once Draven got to his feet, Sion immediately sent Draven flying with a punch and rendered him unconscious. This bought Darius enough time to hit his signature move, Noxian Guillotine, as Sion barely managed to defend against it by creating his Blood-Shield around him. Darius's axe went through the barrier and stuck in Sion's right shoulder. Sion screamed as he punched Darius aside with great might as he took out the axe stuck in his shoulder, throwing it aside, and started charging towards where Swain was.
Swain used his Nevermove binding spell to keep Vladimir confined in one place but Vladimir easily escaped the binding by liquefying into his blood form and used his blood to strike back at Swain. He slashed the ground with his finger nails and waves of red hot blood blasted out towards Swain. But Swain was smarter than to fall to an attack like that, as the Demon Bird formed a barrier around himself that protected him from Vladimir's attack. Suddenly Beatrice, Swain's raven, shot a petrifying beam at Vladimir from his back, distracting his attention away from Swain just long enough for Swain to use his Nevermove binding spell on Vladimir. Swain quickly closed distance and started draining life force out of Vladimir. Vladimir screamed in agony and barely escaped by liquefying into Sanguine Pool. But when Vladimir solidified again, Leblanc was waiting for him as the Deceiver used her ethereal chains to bind down Vladimir.
The Lord of Terror started using his Transfusion spell on everything in sight in order to heal the wounds he was suffering from the leader of the Black Rose and the Grand General of Noxus. Beatrice once again positioned itself as the raven blasted its petrifying laser beam at Vladimir. Swain turned back to his old form and cackled as he slowly walked up to the Lord of Blood. But Leblanc and Swain's joys were cut short by a violet war cry of Sion as he screamed, "WAR!", and slammed into Swain with his shoulder, gravely wounding the Master Tactician as Swain was knocked into a wall from the impact. Beatrice was quick to fly to the aids of its unconscious master before Sion would finish him off.
"Ugh, I need him still," Leblanc grumbled, as she quickly dashed to Swain using her distortion spell to move almost instantaneously.
"FOR TRUE NOXUS!" Sion was standing above Swain as he raised his gigantic axe in order to finish Swain for good. Beatrice's laser did not work, no matter how hard it puked out the magical petrifying beam. As Sion swung down at Swain, Darius appeared and blocked his attack with a swing of his own axe.
"You dare!?" Vladimir, now free of binding, was furious. With a large hiss, he summoned a great pool known as the Hemoplague that engulfed the entire Ballroom. With a large roar Vladimir used transfusion and everyone within the Hemoplague were drained. Vladimir moved so fast that he seemed as if he was teleporting around. He started slashing away at Noxian soldiers with his blood magic infused nails as he quickly made his way towards Swain, but was stopped by Cassiopeia Du Couteau as the gorgon like creature let out her petrifying gaze, turning Vladimir into stone, but not before Vladimir stabbed Cassiopeia through her torso.
"NO!" Leblanc screamed as she quickly rushed to the aids of Cassiopeia, leaving the battle with the injured half-snake.
Draven quickly took notice of Vladimir's stone form and fired his spinning axes with his all his might. The whirling dooms of death that were Draven's axes made nasty sounds as it travel towards Vladimir. "DIE!" Draven screamed as his axes his their mark and cut the Lord of Terror into pieces. Draven's axes made a return to him as Draven gloated about. But then stone pieces of Vladimir sunk into the Hemoplague and the Lord of Terror emerged behind Draven. Hands made purely of blood emerged from the pool and binded Draven down. "I am invincible" said Vladimir.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? LET ME GO!"
"Witness the depths of despair."
Vladimir then pressurized Hemoplague's magical powers into Draven's head, as it started glowing crimson more brightly by the second.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! STOP! STOP!"
Darius froze as he watched with terror at the sight of his brother's head getting blown to pieces. Draven was no more as his headless body was dragged into the Hemoplague.
"YOU ****!" Darius screamed as he charged at Vladimir with pure rage. He leaped and swung his axe down at Vladimir with his signature move, Noxian Guillotine, but Sion was quick to follow and block the attack for Vladimir.
"Maybe some other time, hehe" Vladimir's eyes glowed red and the Hemoplague pool disappeared, dragging Sion and Vladimir along with it.
Darius now just stood there, completely stupefied as he was powerless to do anything. Swain managed to get back up to his feet but was having difficulties breathing. Cassiopeia had been heavily injured and was receiving medical attention as her lover LeBlanc looked on with worries. Many Noxians lay dead as Swain glimpsed around at the tragedy that had befallen the Grand Ball. He called onto his right-hand, Darius, to help him to medical attention.
As Swain looked around at the carnage wrought by Vladimir and his underlings, he realized that the apocalyptic event brought down by the Void Invasion had given birth to many new destructive forces, including those of Vladimir. For the first time in a long time Swain realized that Noxus was vulnerable not because of outside forces, but because of forces from inside Noxus.
Swain started cackling at the irony of it all; he had spent so much energy and time building and strategizing around defending Noxus against outside invasion that he was not able to foresee corruption within his own nation. For the first time in his life, Swain was five steps behind and Noxus had been taken a great impact.