Author's Note: I hope everyone can bear with me again today. Every chapter I post is a raw draft, absent of revision. I know this is a poor method for any writer but other responsibilities take my time so I never get the chance to really revise and get to a good third draft. This sets the pace though and gives everyone a good taste of what happened in Icathia. Let me know of any likes, dislikes, questions or concerns. Enjoy!

XIV. Battle of the Ruins

The morning sun peeked over the horizon. All of Valoran rested behind its ethereal gaze. Demacia seemed to glimmer in the light of dawn. The Freljord was a gem, taking in the rays and turning them into a crystalline light show. Even Zaun and Noxus held a sort of quality left for oil paintings when the sun kissed them in the morning. Today there was a blemish. As far as most anyone else knew, the continent was the same as always. Men and women woke for the day's responsibilities, carrying out the mundane tasks as necessary or as some would have it, important tasks. The blemish that no one really knew about was right behind the Great Barrier, just a little way from the coast, in a lost city named Icathia.

"Garen! Route their left flank!" Jarvan screamed.

Fighting had begun without any real spark and continued for some time now. As soon as Noxian met Demacian, steel met steel, and blood met sand. To say that the conflict between the city-states was animalistic would be an understatement. The sound of metal on metal, and through flesh, was the recurring ensemble.

"I'm on it!" Garen shouted.

The Noxians had brought their wagon in from the east and taken it into some sort of underground entrance. Urgot had taken control of the weapon's movement while Darius took to the field. The Hand of Noxus raised his axe when he parted from his executioner, his regiment in tow, and screamed to high hell while pointing to Jarvan.

"If you want blood then I'll give you your own!"

The battlecry was eerie. Even Darius's men seemed to cower when he erupted with the threat. The scene was still playing in Jarvan's mind while cutting through the enemy soldiers. Xin was off to his left, parrying overhead swipes and tearing through men with his spear. Shyvana was ripping through the peons with ease to his right. Even Caitlyn had taken up arms for them to get to whatever it was that the Noxians were trying to get into the ruined city. Lucian was the only one missing.

On the other side was Darius, cleaving through collarbones with deft precision. Some of the poor soldiers beneath Jarvan's command had lost their heads. Nothing pleased the Noxian General more, except the prospect of taking the Prince's head as well. He was slowly making his way to the golden clad Exemplar. Blood was splattered in small droplets across his face. This only exemplified his presence while he continued to butcher the smaller men standing in his way. His stern look from beneath his brow was locked on Jarvan.

Katarina had traversed the field in order to stop Garen. She heard Jarvan's call to route their flank and she was there. They stood for a moment as they came to confront one another. It felt like an eternity to both of them, eyes frozen in a stare that substituted all talk. They were both questioning how this would end, knowing there was no way around it. Remorse was the only thing there for a moment and then it was just infatuated rivalry. Each took a step toward the other. The only way to describe what followed would be a morbid dance of steel. Garen moved with surprising grace for such a stout man and Katarina's lithe frame seemed to float. Their movements were so calculated that the fight seemed rehearsed. With every strike she attempted to land, he would counter. The same was true for every one of his attacks. Men (and the handful of female warriors from Noxus) from either side of the fight carried on their combat with absent minded movement. The lesser fighters were all but pretending to fight so they could watch what was going on.

The two warriors were in the middle of an exchange when a swordsman from Demacia stepped in with the intention of driving his blade through Katarina's back. Garen's eyes widened and he spun around her with his sword in a long arc. His actions weren't thought out, only impulsive. It may cost him his life, but he didn't care. The head of Lightbringer swung his blade deep into the torso of a Demacian soldier. From his periphery he thought a small blade was about to be thrust into his temple. Katarina was releasing a long draw, but her blades did not fall into the opening he had left. Instead they flew ten feet away into an archer. A Noxian archer, aiming at Garen's back.

The recoiled and stood apart after what happened. To the onlooking fighters it may have seemed that the two victims just got too close to the storm. Garen and Katarina both knew better. They had effectively betrayed two of their own warriors to the save the other's life. If it wasn't apparent before what lay between them, it was now crystal. The moment was short lived when the ground quaked. It was a short tremor but left plenty room for worry.

"It's too late. She has risen." Katarina said

"What? Who has-" Garen began but he was broken off by another tremor.

The battle stopped as the quakes began. Even Darius stopped in his push to get to his nemesis. Jarvan stood with his lance planted in the hard sand for support in the shaking. The Noxian General looked across the other men. He stood a head taller than most of them, as did Jarvan. He was only about thirty feet away now.

"You're too late, Princess. The show has already begun."

Jarvan needed no more explanation to know that whatever was on that wagon was in the depths of Icathia now. Whatever Urgot was doing, he had finished. The desert began to shake again, but this time holes were opening. Groups of men started to disappear from the blood stained battlefield. Their screams were muffled as they fell into their abyssal crypts. Darius looked surprised at the turn of events as well. Shouts of "Move out!" and "Get off the field!" were echoed from both leaders. Every soldier and officer scattered to the rock bases surrounding the hardened sand. Garen grabbed Katarina as she stood staring in shock at what was going on. She couldn't believe her eyes but Garen had only one concern and it wasn't the expanding hole on the surface. Yet.

Everyone that could make it out stood in awe of the total absence of desert floor now. What were once only five and six foot tall structures protruding from the sand were now observed in full. Towers climbed from the bottom of the hole they looked into. Obelisks speared the opening in all their splendor. The City of Icathia had been uncovered. It was a frightening thing to see as much as it was astonishing. What made it more frightening was the sky as it submitted to a darkness. What was an early morning was now a void of black sky.

Lucian was perched on a broken structure at the outskirts. He had been searching for a way to follow the wagon into the depths but was unsuccessful. Now he stared on in horror at what was unfolding. From the center rose a figure dressed in white. The attire wasn't very different from what the hunter wore himself. She looked pale and donned modifications from Zaun. Steel plating replaced pieces of flesh. Stitches held patches together. The sight reminded anyone informed enough to make the connection of Urgot. The amber eyes were recognizable from even a distance. He lowered his head. It was Senna. It was his wife.

Although the hunter no longer wanted to look, everyone else did. She rose until she floated about fifty feet above the surface they all stood on. The white garb had a purple trim to it, characteristic to what everyone feared most about coming to the lost city. Jarvan was making more sense of it all now, but still didn't understand everything. He looked at Darius who now stood only ten feet away in the mix of soldiers. The look on Darius face was one of consternation. He seemed almost angry but just as confused. A voice called out, absent of any tangible existence.

"The High Council thanks you all." A deep laugh accompanied this. "Thanks to your contributions, Senna is now free. Valoran will bow before us."

The voice was so familiar but hard to place. The confusion played on everyone's faces as they looked to one another for answers. Before anyone had time to discuss it, there was a flash and the darkness subsided. Senna was gone. The massive hole was sand once again. Murmurs rushed through the crowd. Was it a dream? Were we just seeing things? What the hell is going on? These were among the popular phrases. Anger and warfare were replaced with perplexity and confusion. No one was fighting anymore. It all seemed obvious to Darius now. He had been used; played like a piece on a chessboard by the High Council of Equity. The League was taking control.

Jarvan exchanged glances with the Noxian General again. The inherent hatred would always be there but this time….this time their need for answers took the lead.