Clipped Wings

The voices washed over her as her tears streamed down her face. She looked everywhere, but at the Demacian soldiers. Taking in the corpses that surrounded her. Many were mutilated, many had their heads caving in from what seemed like a mace. Others had missing limbs, and had died in a pool of their own blood. You weren't fast enough to save any of them. You weren't fast enough to even save him. She hears the Demacian's tell her to move, but she doesn't have the will or strength to comply. Her sobs intensify as she turns back to Albert. His eyes stare at nothing, but she can feel them digging deep into her soul. Blaming her for the loss of both him, and the recruits that lie around them. Where are you Valor? Don't tell me you landed in this fate.

Footsteps approach her and she slowly raises her head. One of the Demacian soldiers slowly approaches her. "Leave me with my guilt," she barely gets out. The Demacian ignores her and continues his approach. "Are you deaf? The gods have given me my punishment. Leave me with it!" the man approaches regardless of her screams. I'm blooded sergeant are you happy? Did you wish for it to be in your blood? She stands up as the soldier continues his approach. She brings her hand down to her sheath but finds it empty.

"Calm down recruit," the soldiers gruff voice says as he slows down his pace towards her. "We're only here to help you, and those who have fallen on this day. We want no harm to come to you, but you must be moved from this area." He stops fifteen feet from where she stands when bloodied spit lands on his left cheek.

She raises her fists to fight the man. "Leave me here. I wish to be with my comrades." He shakes his head as he mutters something about how he always gets the crazy ones. He continues his approach, and Quinn takes a step backwards. Albert's eyes continue to judge her as she tries to think of her next course of action. Tears cloud her vision yet again as she observes the cut along his throat. It should have been me. The Noxian heard my voice. She sees silver shine behind the soldiers back as he pulls something off of his belt. The soldier leaps forward.

Before she can react she finds herself on the ground face pressed into the earth. She hears an unfamiliar click as silver bites into her wrists. "You will be under the custody of the Demacian Military Police until we make it back to the camp. You will not resist, and you will comply with our commands." She feels him smell her hair and she shudders.

"I thought we were here to loot the bodies, not take prisoners." The other soldier says.

"This is the best loot we could come across. Young and from the looks of it she still has blood in her. Have you ever had one of those?" The soldier, she now sees as a turncoat says on top of her.

"Can't say I have. Are they any good?"

"Out of this world," she can feel his mischievous grin examine her.

"You make shame of the Demacian blue. You are nothing, but vultures that prey on the lost and the damned. How can you live with yourselves?" she can feel her voice shake as she tries to buy herself some time. The two men turn towards her.

The man who had handcuffed her spoke first, "You dare speak of shame? Look at what your incompetence has done. We've merely been sent by the gods to give you your last punishment before you're sent to the gallows for your eternal punishment." She hears an eagles cry come from the sky. She turns herself over to see the two men looking skyward. She turns her eyes to where the cry emitted from to see demacian blue soaring in the air.

"You two must look like thresher geese to that eagle. It's their favorite snack." With her words the eagle swooped down towards the men. They unsheathed their swords, but the quiet turncoat was too slow in his actions. The eagle clawed at his eyes, and flew off before the mans friend was able to assist. Screams bombarded the air as the man clawed at where his eyes once stood. Quinn visually shook from the sight, but saw that the other man waited for the bird to strike again. Quinn pushed herself off of the ground and launched herself towards the man. The two fell onto the ground as Quinn ran into the man. The man's sword flies from his grip as Quinn shouts into the air, "Gouge em Valor!"

The eagle dove from the sky and tore at the man's face. Valor tore at the man long after he had stopped moving. Quinn lay down next to the bodies in exhaustion, surprised by how much the battle and the short encounter with the turncoats had taken out of her. Valor pushed against her cheek once he was done with the man. Crimson soaked them both to the bone, but Quinn didn't care as she rested her head against Valors. "What would I do without you?" she asked after they sat in silence for a few minutes. The eagle fell over playing dead, and she let out a chuckle.

She felt the bite of the cuffs and was brought back into reality. She avoided the face of the man as she felt around his belt for the key. Finding it she quickly undid the cuffs. She sat herself up and looked down at the man. Flesh hung to the bone of the man's face as he looked with bottomless pits toward the heavens. She spits yet again on the man before turning back towards the dead body of Albert. She puts her arm out for Valor and he quickly jumps onto it.

She reaches his body, and kneels by his body. She prays for him, "May the gods judge you for the man you were, and the man you would become. You lived and died of the common birth, but showed that great warriors can come from any walks of life. Your memory shall stay with me till death, and if the gods are willing our spirits will meet another day."

She stands and continues her prayer, "All of you were destined to be the shield for our grand nation. Our enemies stopped your fate, but the shield must continue to stand. The one who failed to stop the shield from shattering must pick up its pieces. The pieces must be reforged into something greater. Something swifter, and more powerful. These pieces need to be reforged into something that can shake Noxus at its roots."

" We volunteer for death, but many of us do not seek it. I must be one of the few, and seek death to redeem each of you. Noxus has robbed you of your purpose, and I must make them pay for this sin. The volunteers have fallen on this day, but something his risen in its death. This being seeks no mercy for the men who butchered her comrades. This being will be death itself as it searches for the men who brought this fate upon you."

"Our wings all grow in different ways. A wise woman once told me this once. I now know that our wings stop forming when they are clipped. My wings must grow where yours have ceased to grow. Your wings were that of innocence, but mine must take another shape. I do not know where or how they will grow, but I do know that they must carry me to great heights to avenge you," she stops her speech as she turns back to Albert.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I should have been faster, smarter, or even a better fighter, but I wasn't. I must grow in order to save others from your fate. I will save others from your fate or die with a blade in my hands. I promise this to you, our volunteers, and the gods." She turns away from the bodies of her fallen comrades understanding what she must do. She gave an oath that she feared may take her life before she saw its completion, but she knew she was bound to it now. The gods have given me my path. I must follow it.

She begins to walk away from the dead as she notices her knapsack curled up by one of the recruits. She pushes a tuft of the girls hair out of her eyes. "Thank you for watching over this. You hold it even after your last breath." She pulls the knapsack away from the recruit and slides it over her slim frame. Valor flies above her as she continues to walk. I must find the prince's party before the Noxians find me. She gives the orders to Valor before he flies off into the air. I don't know what I would do without that bird. He's more than repaid for what I gave him. I'm glad he has decided to stay by my side.A slight smile curves her lips as she walks away from where her camp once stood.

She walks until the moon begins to set. She stops and forces herself to rest while the pitch black night takes over her eyes for minutes. The sounds of the forest wash over her as she rests her head against a tree. The flapping of wings is the only alert she has the Valor approached her. He rested on the ground next to her, and they both sat listening to the busy sounds of the forest. The minutes continued to pass before the world regained some of its light. When Valor noticed Quinn looking at him he pointed his beak toward the north. She nodded and sat herself up from the tree. She allowed a yawn to break from her lips as she sat up and stretched. I'll need to rest as soon as I make it to his camp.

Miles of the forest passed her as the Sun gradually rose. It started to pull itself from the earth when Quinn noticed two men clothed in red a few hundred meters from her position. She froze and watched the two men. They had their backs turned to her as she approached them. She recognized them as Noxian scouts. She felt for her sword, but recalled that she had lost it. She let out a silent curse as she continued to approach the men. She soon heard their voices. "The group our main body attacked last night wasn't part of the prince's party. At least that be what the soldiers be spreading."

"What do you mean? Our very eyes confirmed the prince was in that camp just some eight hours before we attacked."

"Apparently none of them wore the purple of the prince's guard. Many of them actually seemed to be young, most of them fought as if they were green."

"Is that why they sent us out here? To try and find where the prince is really hiding? How can he be hiding that many men?"

"We did it, I assume the Demacian's can do the same. Light magic is very easy to mimic, or so I've been told. Oh, did you hear of the group the secondary force came across when they were flanking the demacians?"

"No I didn't even know they were deployed."

"Seems they butchered a bunch of Demacian recruits. They apparently weren't even armed from what I heard. You didn't hear this from me, but General Darius and his men can be savage at times. Ever since Swain messed with the man he's been much...colder."

Quinn walks away from the scouts. The second, and General Darius are to blame for this? What of the man that spared me? She continues to walk her thoughts leading her until she finds herself face to face with Demacian scouts their bows already drawn. "What country do you serve?" one of the scouts yells at Quinn. He seems confused with the crimson, and blue colors that coat her jacket.

"I am Quinn, lone survivor of the Demacian Volunteers. I bring grave news. The shield has broken, and Noxus rides for the prince's blood."

Authors Note: The background finally is done, and the story has finally been revealed. I didn't know how much I'd like writing fan fiction, but this has shown me from both you guys supporting this and me writing this it is quite an enjoyable experience. Hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing this. Don't know how many chapters this is going to be, but I do have an understanding where this is going to end. If you guys would enjoy longer chapters I'll stick to my one week schedule, and find more time to give the fanfic. That's all I'll get my next chapter up soon :D