Chapter 3: Inevitable
He flipped the page, his meticulous emerald eyes darted from left to right scanning the book ever so quickly. A middle aged man sat inside a spacious room at an empty rectangular table. A stack of books sat chaotically next to him; no doubt he had just finished scanning its contents. The man wore a pure white robe with golden lining on the edges; the hood kept down revealing his grey swept back hair. He constantly rubbed his chin; the stubby facial hairs made him seem restless.
Useless…He thought to himself. Nothing in these texts told him anything about Void energy. All he kept reading was how the Void was home to terrible monstrosities and how it was trying to devour their world. Nothing about Void energy…I have no idea what happened to Kassadin but there was definitely an abnormal spike in Void energies during the last match. He took a moment to stretch back in his chair, running his fingers through his grayed hairs. The many wrinkles on his forehead seemed to soften as he eased up. He observed the spacious room he was in, four walls of neatly filed books. The library was constructed to store knowledge and history dating back to the first of the Rune Wars, a labyrinth of wisdom. Beams of sunlight entered through the large windows that looked out towards a lush park built in the middle of the institute. Yet this man could not find anything pertaining to the Void beyond the many myths that had already circulated. He heard the sound of a door open then close and immediately stood up to address the individual who had just entered.
"High Counciler Relivash…" A young male voice spoke.
Relivash raised a stern palm and the young man stood up from his bowing. The newcomer in question had golden blonde hair that parted in the middle off to the sides. His narrow blue eyes seemed to give off a faint eerie light. It came as a strange feeling when taking his calm demeanor and manner into account. The blonde man straightened the collar on his violet Summoner's robe and began to speak in a calm polite manner, "Summoner Jessica seems to have recovered, though she is still in the infirmary. The doctor is still in the process of examining her but has yet to report anything abnormal in her conditions."
"Thank you Summoner Ganno, your help was much appreciated in the matter." The High Counciler approached the Summoner slowly with hands clasped behind his back.
"It is of no trouble at all High Counciler. Jessica is also a fellow Summoner and friend of mine, I feel I should do no less for her."
"Also...please tell Summoner Jessica to see me once she has recovered." The white robed man always had a calm stare about him, unreadable and montone.
"Understood sir, I shall tell Summoner Jessica of your request." The Summoner bowed again. "..errrrr..." The young man hesitantly mouthed words, seeming to search for the right words.
"Please Summoner, you are allowed to speak your mind."
Summoner Ganno cleared his throat before speaking, "I am inclined to ask what exactly happened in last night's match?"
There was a long pause, High Counciler Relivash stared hard at the young Summoner. Summoner Ganno was a respectable senior Summoner and was held in high regard by the High Council, telling him a little would do no harm. "Last night, Summoner Jessica felt an excruciating pain in her head due to something that seemed to be interfering with her pact Champion. Many Summoners speculated that this was a normal occurrance, afterall Champions are also mortal beings, they would sometimes have times where they felt uncomfortable or felt uneasy. This was a reasonable explanation, however High Counciler Kolminye was the one who had brought to my attention that there was a significant amount of Void energy being emitted from Kassadin...more so than he could normally produce."
With a curious brow raised, the blond Summoner questioned his superior, "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Relivash shook his head in dissapointment, "That is...currently unknown I am afraid. I wish I had a better grasp of what had transpired, but all knowledge about the Void is either myth or just too vague to make out anything." The High Counciler was in deep thought suddenly, his eyes looked deeply into the ground with a hand holding his chin.
"...High Counciler?" Ganno asked curiously. Relivash snapped out of his thoughts, realizing the youth still standing in front of him.
"Ah, I apologize Summoner Ganno, if you would please excuse me for now." The High Counciler gave a courteous nod.
"Y-yes High Counciler, then I won't keep you." With another respectful bow Ganno had left the library, leaving Relivash to continue on with his studies.
As he walked briskly through the corridors of the Institute of War, Ganno felt a tug at his mind.
"Summoner Ganno L'in..." A gurgling multi-toned voice hissed in his mind. Ganno kept his composure however, keeping his usual mannerism about him and continued walking passed several other violet robed Summoners talking amongst themselves.
"Prophet..." He hissed violently within his own thoughts, "And what exactly do you want?"
"I come bearing ill news..and a warning." The telepathic reply echoed.
"Speak! What news do you bring?" Ganno thought impatiently.
"The three Summoners you had previously sent to the ruins...are now dead...they're lives snuffed out by a dangerous entity like small candles in the wake of a hurricane."
"Sounds like you know who or what did this?"
"The Destroyer, as we refer to it, is what our master is most weary of. It has stood in our way since the first Rune Wars."
"Hard to believe that there is a force on Runeterra that could possibly stand up to the Voidbourne."
"It is not its power we fear!" The prophet's voice snapped fervently at the young Summoner, "It is its uncanny ability to mold destinies that we are weary of. Heed this warning Ganno L'in, The Destroyer approaches. You must find it and dispose of it, before it comes to you." Those were the last prophetic words that came from the ethereal voice. Ganno already felt the otherworldly presence within his mind dissolve. He gave a hard stare towards the the ancient stone gates that impeded his way. With two arms pushing each side of the gate, he spread the doors open and looked out into the brilliant daylight.
Nothing could stop judgement, absolutely nothing.
Dark eyes darted back forth, to and from each of the corpses that were being hauled off by soldiers clad in dark silver armor. Their pauldrons were draped by black and red cloths that hung down to their elbows. The woman ran her leather gloved fingers through her crimson hair.
"Damn, so this was where Summoner Ernste was..." Katarina muttered grimly to herself. The match from yesternight left a bitter taste in her, one she had not gotten rid of yet. She had to think clearly amidst the noise that one of the officers off to the side was making.
A hulking form with stitches all over his thick robust body was directing all the soldiers. His crimson glare was as threatening as the the large axe he bore over his shoulder.
"Stop being a bonehead!" The behemoth yelled at one of the soldiers who had dropped one of the corpses by accident.
"First Noxus loses a match and now we find a Noxian Summoner dead on his own streets, this day couldn't get worse!" Katarina shook her head with two fingers massaging her temples. It did not help matters when the officer came up to her and started talking in his usual barking mannerism. She turned around, looking at one of the corners where the body of the esteemed Summoner Ernste had been found slumped against the wall. They were only able to identify him by the certification he held on his being. His face was unrecognizable, beyond just mere gashes and bruises, as if several hammers had been planted into the man's skull repeatedly. Even Katarina, an assassin who had seen and done her fair share of brutalities, was taken back at first glance.
However, that was the part that held Katarina's interest the most. As far as she could tell the only nations with enough power to call on assassins were Demacia and Ionia. She would have loved to accuse them of assassinations but that would've been a mistake. Everyone, including Katarina, knew that Demacia was far too proud and too much a stickler to stay on the League's good side to pull such an act off. That left Ionia, they had a pretty good motive and they were known for their deadly assassination techniques. But she had fought against Ionian assassins before, they always went for dismembering the head or throat. No, these summoners were killed by Noxian methods. Go for the lungs and heart then pull them by the neck into the shadows and finish the job off. By mutilating Ernste's head, the killer was trying to send a message...but to whom was the question? And for what purpose? Surely the individual did not want to incur Noxus's wrath did they?
"Milady, the bodies have been loaded onto the wagon. Should I go ahead and report to General Darkwill?" One of the soldiers saluted the Sinister Blade of Noxus.
"That won't be neccessary, I'll go myself." There was something gravely amiss here, and it was not just the scene that disturbed her. Her senses would not rest, they told her something was watching them closely. The champion of Noxus scanned the crowd, amidst the crowd a hulking figure caught her eye. She was somewhat surprised to see him here, he usually never traversed the streets even when something curious happened. Between two scarred thugs stood an eight feet titan, clad in wicked silver armor with multiple spikes protruding everywhere. Mordekaiser gazed out from the steel helmet at the scene before him. The common folk could not tell, but if you hung around the Master of Metal long enough you would be able to tell the dark one's expressions just be looking at his eyes.
What concerned Katarina right now was the look of curiosity...and perhaps concern that painted Mordekaiser's eyes.
Behind the veil of people, a black hooded figure stood peering out into the distance over the shoulders of the many. He saw the crimson haired woman whom was directing all the attention, elegent in appearance yet as brute as a warrior could be in attitude.
Katarina du Couteau...like father like daughter I suppose...
