A/N: Sorry for the lateness o.o I was almost done with this and starting ch4 when my laptop basically crashed. No idea what happened, sent it in to get fixed, took about a week and a half/2 weeks. Sorry!

Also, Talon seems to have more fans that I thought, so I'm thinking of bringing in Riven for him… This chapter's kind of a filler in that not much happens. It's basically two manly men's inner ramblings and a surprise appearance…I liked my first draft better but it got messed up when everything crashed D: Gah! Sorry once again!


Chapter 3: Darkness

Talon's POV

I am an uncaged bird, a cutthroat. Born in darkness, trained in darkness, bathed in darkness. Darkness is my weapon.

And darkness is my vulnerability—the lack of it, to be exact.

Which brings me to my current predicament.

I believe that darkness cannot be held captive and yet I am here, tethered like a dog, feeling naked without my shadowy covers. I am not the only one here, I note to both relief and horror. Such conflicting emotions; how are they able to wreck such havoc on my soul?

Because of the girl…no, the woman next to me. My mistress, my sovereign, my commander. My sinister blade.

Katarina.

She has not yet awoken and an alarm within me sounds readily. Another thing about darkness: it fears nothing.

So why am I filled with fear?

My head spins and fills with memories that balloon from the depths of my mind. Underground. Blades and thievery. Assassinations. General DuCouteau. Finally feeling like I belong. Falling for a woman. Losing her. The General's disappearance.

I jerk my head at the last traitorous thought. Two years since the General vanished, and I have not stopped searching. Even Katarina thinks me mad; she doesn't say much about her father, but the hurt in her eyes speaks for itself.

Maybe that is what draws me to her, inspires me to serve her long after my obligation has vanished.

Obligation. Funny how I hold it in high esteem, even though it has cost me so much. Obligation took from me what I considered most precious on a rainy April afternoon in Ionia. Obligation, in the shape of a vaporous green cloud. Obligation, in the sound of broken screeches.

Obligation, in the sight of shattered black stone.

Obligation, in the form of Katarina holding me back, yelling that it was too late, that I would die myself, and me screaming back at her that I'd rather die than live without—

No, I mustn't remember.

Remembrance has only brought heartache and pain all my life, and so I will not allow myself to remember. Not anymore.

The past is in the past.

And what has passed cannot come back to haunt me.

Tryndamere's POV

Before I say anything else, let this be known: Many think me a heartless, rage-born asshole.

Well, they aren't wrong.

But never have I ever—not once—raised my hand to my wife.

Why?

Because I love her.

Well, now that we've gotten the mushy stuff over with, what do you say we get on with it?

My name? Do you even have to ask? I am the barbarian king, the slayer of countless unfortunate foes, the monarch of Freljord. I am a force to be reckoned with. Arousing my anger can be deadly. Evoking my undying rage is a death wish.

Messing with my wife?

Damn.

Let's just say you better fucking run.

It's with this in mind that I look at her now: her beautiful platinum hair, tinged with curls of frost; her frigid azure eyes that shine with warmth behind closed doors; her ivory skin, more delicate than freshly-fallen snow.

I almost laugh at the poetry of my description, but I am filled with too much anxiety—that and anger, in such high amounts that I can feel it boil within me and consume me. Such wrath has not been felt in me since many years ago.

That night.

The night that robbed me of my people, my home, my humanity, and my love. For years, I have survived without those things. A harsh life it was, wandering across the frozen wasteland with a heart full of hatred.

But recently. Recently, things have changed. My people are the Avarosan and my own barbarian tribes. My home is Freljord. My humanity and my love, they too have been thawed by my icy queen.

And now the balance of my new life is threatened. By who exactly?

That remains to be seen.

As if she can hear my thoughts, she looks at me now. Her frightened eyes are rimmed with red and my heart seizes. In our marriage, I have only seen her cry twice—once when we got into a horrible argument over an alliance with the Frostguard (which I still oppose) and once…

Hi. I mouth.

Her dimples flash, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes. God, her eyes. They say what she is always afraid to; sometimes, I think to myself that her arctic orbs are my favorite part of her.

Right now her eyes say, I'm scared.

And through all my anger, two words conjure a bitter reality, rusty from years of disuse.

Me too.

Ryze's POV

A few days earlier, somewhere far, far away…

Many years ago, I mastered the thorns. As if embracing their new master, they wrapped themselves around my body. Lavender scars. Tattoos.

It is with these insignias that I travelled Runeterra, learning. Discovering. Uncovering.

For years I prowled, and my efforts were duly rewarded.

Tenebrarum librum.

The Darkness Scroll. How I had lusted for it, and now it was mine and mine alone.

Yet I knew that even as I said those words, I did not believe them. The parchment held a much more obscure secret behind its bindings. I was but a placeholder.

Easily disposable.

And even as I knew this, I continued to peruse its pages. I continued to seek its secrets, though it divulged none. And I continued to run out of time.

Two nights ago was the full moon. In a fortnight—perhaps less—I would be gone.

A night ago, I reached the pinnacle of my enlightenment.

And tonight, the being in the shadows appeared before me. I saw then, everything I had been seeking. Too little, too late, just as it had been planned long ago by powers beyond me. But perhaps.

As my blood spilled, a butterfly, spectral in appearance and lavender in color, fluttered out into the open sky.


A/N: Once again, sorry for the lateness D: Ughh. And I still don't know if I should have Riven actually appear in the story or just in Talon's POV memories. How about you readers choose? Yay, poll time!

Leave a review or PM stating the following:

Whether you want Riven to show up in the story or only in Talon's POV

Give your reasons why, if any.

I'll give you guys a week or two to present your arguments/vote. Thanks! :) And as always, please leave a review!