Checking the straps securing her backpack to the saddle one more time, Riven mounted her chestnut mare. With a wave of hand, Irelia set off her retinue, a handful of soldiers to the same dirt road Riven had taken a fortnight before.
She irritably shuffled her shoulders. The monks insisted on a parting gift despite her hardly ever talking to them during the stay. Unaccustomed to any other clothes other than military fatigues, she felt ridiculous in the dress she was wearing.
Her new outfit was made out of light, sea green silk, the material a welcome change in the heat that seemed perpetual in the season. The neck of the dress ran just below her collarbone, leaving much of her shoulder bare, while the sleeves ended right at her wrists. Red and golden flower motifs covered most of the cloth, giving her the disturbing image of a walking field.
With a shake of her head, she chased away the annoyance. She knew she should be grateful - after all, her uniform was in tatters despite her best efforts of stitching it together, more fitting to a vagrant than to a League representative.
She noted that as before, the guards fanned out, giving the escorted champions a chance to talk privately. Looking at Irelia, she realized that wasn't likely to happen. The girl wanted to make sure that Riven wouldn't want to start a conversation, so she fell behind by a few steps. The Ionian sat rigidly in her saddle, eyes never leaving the bushes and trees in their direction, as if behind each of them she expected an ambush.
Irelia shot an annoyed glare at the Noxian. She could feel Riven's gaze on her back ever since they started riding. The Noxian must have been flooded by questions which needed answering, but she couldn't build up the courage to ask them.
"You have something on your mind. Speak."
Riven jolted at the sudden words.
"What will I actually do as your assistant, Commander?"
Irelia didn't respond for a long time. As Riven decided that she wouldn't get an answer, her companion broke the silence.
"I'm not a commander, Riven. Commanders lead the army in war, while the Captain of the Guard - and the Elders - are responsible for the defense of the homeland. Call me either Irelia, or Captain. As to your question, first we'll assess how strong you are. Honestly, the only information I could find about you is the recording of the League match, which just raises more questions and your history as the poster child of Noxus."
"I don't like the spotlight." she muttered, looking away.
"That should be hard to avoid with such a unique weapon." Irelia waved at the runesword fastened across Riven's backpack.
"As you can see, I managed so far." Riven said defensively. The Ionian took the cue, and didn't pursue the topic longer. However she noted the Noxian unconsciously bringing her right hand to her hip where the sword should have been. Fingers danced in air before Riven noticed her gesture. She jerked her hand back to the reins, gripping on the leather tightly.
"What happened in your League match? Only the most potent Summoners and sorcerers are supposed to be able to power down the entire Rift, and only from the outside."
Riven shrugged, a painfully faked expression to try and play down the incident.
"That wasn't entirely me. My sword was able to consume energy from me and from almost any form of magic and send it out as a shockwave. The ability is lost since I shattered the blade, but the Summoner who controlled me tried anyway. The malfunction disrupted the magic in the League and drove the minions crazy. Who will I fight?" she asked, trying to steer back the conversation to a topic where she didn't have to talk about herself.
Irelia shook her head as an answer.
"Your opponents will be named before the fights, as they don't know anything about you either. Surely the champion of Noxus doesn't need an unfair edge."
Riven eyed the Ionian. Was that a deliberate choice of words?
"Understood. And what after that? Mock battles shouldn't take more than two days."
"How much experience do you have in training troops?"
She thought for a second. That would take at least a few months.
"I was a commander for two years. That included overlooking my men."
"Excellent. The Invasion made it clear that the army is in need of a different perspective."
Riven nodded as Irelia turned back to watching the road. This was the first time she could take a good look at the Ionian.
Standing a few centimeters shorter than Riven, Irelia was shorter than average. She was lithe, almost to the point of unhealthiness, but Riven knew that the girl's constitution matched up to hers.
Typical to Ionians, she had a fair complexion, contrasting the Noxian's tanned skin, the result of the time Riven spent travelling Shurima.
'How on earth does she have blue hair with so light skin?' she wondered as she looked at Irelia's ponytail. She was still self-conscious about her hair which was once a light auburn hue before the chemicals of Singed dyed her locks white. With effort, she tore her gaze away from Irelia. Burning scorn extinguished the momentary spark of jealousy.
They dismounted in a few hours in a plaza located in the upper reaches of the Placidium. Stablehands ran forward to tend the horses.
"Do you still need that monstrosity?" Irelia asked, breaking the long silence of the journey as the Noxian was loosening her bag.
"What do you mean?" Riven looked up, only to meet Irelia's steely gaze.
"I understand well that your sword holds a lot of sentimental value." Irelia's sword skidded around them, buzzing in agreement. "But you have to know this: every time an Ionian looks at you, the first thing they notice will be your weapon. The sword covered by Noxian runes, which gained notoriety across the land as the Butcher's blade. It will invite nothing but contempt as long as you keep it."
Turning back to her horse, Riven donned the sword on her side and picked up her bag.
"I'm not here to be loved." she said finally. Giving up her sword was too early now - or ever.
"Didn't you say that you are sick of being on the road and you want a home?" the Captain of the Guard seemed genuinely surprised.
Riven shook her head before glancing at Irelia. Everything Ionians held important were… alien to her. She felt so lost - and by learning more she realized fitting in would be so much harder than she ever imagined.
"I never expected adoration from my home. In Noxus, nobody expects that for their service-" she held up a hand before Irelia could interrupt her. "- but I'm not in Noxus any more. I have to get used to that fact. We will have many misunderstandings, and I'm the one who will need to change my way of thinking."
A bald soldier wearing the uniform of the Placidium Guard approached them.
"He'll escort you to your room. If you have questions, find me. The mock battles begin tomorrow at noon."
"Yes, Captain."
As Riven left, a smiling Karma turned into the plaza, eager for news.
"As bad as you imagined, doctor?" Karma's smile melted when Irelia decided to ignore the joke.
"Confusing at the very least. Those years she spent wandering left a mark that will not be easily erased." the champion stood there, watching the sword on the girl's hip until she disappeared around a corner. "She held herself true to ideals so different. I'm not sure if she can accept ours."
"She will try."
"That's what I'm afraid of." agreed Irelia. "Will the Broken Blade shatter as she tries to reforge herself?"
Riven threw her pack in a corner and dived face-first into the bed. She was tired in spite of the early afternoon and she wanted nothing but sleep.
Tension remaining in her from the copying kept her awake as she rolled around on the sheet, trying to find a comfortable position. With a sigh, she gave up and went to explore her apartment.
Her room was located in an inner turret of the keep. On the left, a small stream trickled down from the mountain reaching above the castle and in the front she had a perfect view on the city with its colorful houses and gardens.
She could see that the place was recently rearranged. The former occupant moved out not long ago, taking the slight discolorations on the walls into account as ornamentations and personal items were removed. She idly wondered who the previous owner of the room was.
Even mostly empty, the place was luxurious compared to the chamber in Shi-Marin's temple. A short corridor led to the living quarter which doubled as an office. An ornate desk in front of the window held everything that could be required for clerk work. Other than that the room was empty, although she knew she could later choose furniture and decorations to add a personal touch. A mosaic door led to a small balcony overrun by leaved tendrils hanging from the arched roof.
Two separate rooms on the other side served as bedroom and bathroom, in the same state as the living room. The bedroom held a double bed pushed in the western corner and a few chests to store her belongings in.
The bathroom took her aback, but soon the Noxian realized it was one of the most impressive she'd ever seen. A few steps in each dimension, it was slightly smaller than her previous cabin in the temple with a floor sloping to a central drain and three mirror-covered walls. All the appliances were stacked against the lone stone wall, along with some faucets which she started experimenting with. She shook a little as the first droplets of scalding water rebounded from the walls, striking her skin. Showerheads built in the ceiling started to pour steaming water, barely avoiding the corner she stood in. Mildly startled, Riven quickly turned the shower off before she got drenched and left the bath through the already forming mist.
In a few minutes, boredom overcame her once more. Driven to do something useful before starting practice, she headed out of the quarters, trying to find her new superior.
She found Irelia overseeing the reconstruction of the eastern citadel wall.
Wooden scaffolds encircling the walls creaked with workers, many of them hoisting material higher through pulley systems. Deep voices boomed in every direction, work songs giving a semblance of rhythm to the heaving men. Yells and colorful curses just added to the disorder as people tried to yell through the buzzing when something went wrong.
Riven weaved between shipping crates and men-pulled carts. She felt more than one quizzical look on her as she strode through the throng. Several faces darkened as people caught glimpses of the sword, but no one tried to stop the champion.
"Bring the support shafts into the city warehouse. Send somebody to empty the Citadel Road and Zalain street."
Riven angled to the left as she heard Irelia giving out orders to the people surrounding the stone slab she stood on. Her clear voice penetrated the noise, directing the flow of the people around her. Momentarily distracted by trying to dodge in the crowd, Riven tried to recall the layout of the capital of Ionia.
The city, home to the administrative and cultural centre of the nation, lay all over the mountain, extending well into the surrounding forests. Three roads led into the fortress Placidium, the eastern being the Citadel Road, the northern called the Dragon's Way and the southern the Taliel Lane.
The keep was more of a series of outposts, walls and towers than a continuous construction as most of the mountainside itself was an impregnable defense. Further upwards stood the granaries and barracks nestled behind a last layer of fortifications.
On the outskirts, the temples, offices and waterfalls gave way to the houses of the citizens, and the hundred other buildings required to operate a capital.
The reconstruction took place at the end of the Citadel Road - the Placidium outgrew itself and a new, larger gatehouse was required for the increased traffic. The work was already well under-way, with only a few more weeks needed to finish.
Irelia noticed the approaching champion and waved the line formed around her to the side.
"Requesting permission for a leave to the city, Captain."
Irelia cocked an eyebrow - she didn't expect Riven already wanting to go sightseeing, not with the fight coming up so soon. The request was not out of line though, but she couldn't really afford anyone to keep the girl out of trouble.
"Soraka is coming back from the city in a few minutes. You better get yourself checked up."
Riven tried not to let her surprise show, but Irelia could sense the disappointment nonetheless.
"Don't forget that you'd raise all kind of suspicion as long as your stay isn't made public. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm sure the worst way to start our cooperation is stirring up unnecessary tension." she looked around, but the workers around her were busy arguing, not paying any attention to the Noxian.
Inside, Riven sighed. She was not in the mood for what she expected to be a meeting with the Starchild - talking or visiting a hospital was all she could imagine. All she needed was a noisy tavern and a keg she could fit in, bursting with ale. Or wine. She wasn't feeling particularly picky. But an order was an order.
"Understood. Where can I find her?"
"She should be coming up the Dragon's Way. If she's not there, meet her at the plaza in front of the stable where we arrived, she usually lingers around there for a few minutes before she goes to her room. You can overtake her easily - she'll be on foot."
Irelia spun around as a half sentence struck her ear.
"You have to start tomorrow! The wet season is due in three weeks!"
"The shipments won't arrive this week!" shouted a red-bearded man back, stepping forward. Riven stepped back, shouldered by the overseers from all directions as they swarmed towards the girl.
"Then do whatever that…."
Realizing that the discussion abruptly ended, she watched the Ionian seamlessly switching back to leading the construction, already forgetting her.
She swirled around, annoyance flaring once more. She pushed through the crowd now, oblivious to the people who had to step away from her tracks. Being dismissed to attend for a more important task wasn't new. But the sheer casualness hurt. Not once was she inconsequential in a time longer than she cared to remember.
'The all-important Riven sacrificed in Coeur Valley without a thought.' a small voice chuckled in her ear.
"That is not the same." she breathed as she walked to the northern path. She decided to just wait for the Starchild instead of running around the citadel. "There is a difference between written down as already dead and being unimportant to the point of being just another annoyance for someone."
She strived so long to fight off the powerlessness - and now she was back at the starting point. That was her drive since her childhood, since -
"Since when do you talk to yourself, Riven?" a friendly voice interrupted.
Soraka walked up to her direction, clad in her usual attire and with her staff in hand. A soft clinging followed her steps as the end tapped against the stone road. Riven had already arrived, waiting under the shade of a tree.
"Th- That was a first time I suppose."
"Oh? Did anything happen?" Soraka's face darkened. Riven could already feel the healer emerging in the woman, so she held her hands up.
"No, nothing. I was just lost in thought." She coughed, trying to compose herself. "I wanted to explore the city, but Irelia told me to meet you on the way up, so I waited for you."
"Ah, your medical check-up. I remember her asking that. Company is always a welcome distraction." smiled the Starchild as Riven fell in line next to her.
