Ending

16 September, 21 CLE

"...and here we find ourselves at the precipice of it all. This change... excites me."

...

He said that victory was almost upon us! It has been a month since he promised. Why would he reply with, "in due time" every time I asked? Did he not trust me? I have worked so hard for him! I... I've put my life on the line for our dream. I thought insanity would overtake my mind as I waited out the days inside his manor. The grand building was given to him as a gift from the Noxian military for his service to the city-state. I wondered if I would receive a similar gift at the end of all of this. Swain would casually frequent the streets of Noxus, doing whatever he liked, while I was stuck here. After the incident with Vayne, I had been fearing for my life. Even now while I was inside the city walls of Noxus, I was paranoid. I deserved better of a reward than being confined in one location until all was said and done. This insulted me. Today though, it all finally changed.

I woke up and walked through the atrium and out onto the balcony of his estate to survey the city. The building had a bird's eye view of the lower streets of Noxus and I could see the Ivory ward marketplace from where I was standing. I mused to myself, wondering how the city would treat me after Swain and I complete what we started. Would I be a hero? Would a statue be dedicated to me for my willingness and servitude to Noxus? Might I be praised like the royalty the Generals are? I thought about this regularly now, but my mind always came back to the same conclusion: I'll never know until it happens. The General was awake now too, I could hear him stepping up to the balcony beside me.

"Morning Swain." I kept looking at the city until I noticed that he wasn't replying to me. I turned and looked at him, his bandana was not covering his mouth and he was... smiling. Staring at Noxus just like I was. Beatrice left his shoulder and started flying up above us.

"Its happening tonight." My eyes opened wide in excitement for the news.

"You mean-"

"Yes."

"What do I have to do?" He turned and looked back at me.

"All you have to do Irannius, is stay in the Ivory ward for today. You'll know when our triumph is at hand."

"Is that everything?"

"Yes, now go. You don't want to miss it, do you?" I shook my head at him and left. I didn't feel the need to say goodbye to someone that I would be seeing soon, and Swain wasn't one for sentimentality either. I was beyond excited to finally see the fruits of our labor and I dashed off to my destination. My paranoia now seemed to disappear, replaced only with anticipation.

The smile on Jericho's face ceased when his summoner left. He dropped his cane to the ground and stared down into his hands. They were trembling. He kept looking at them until Beatrice landed on his shoulder, immediately his hands stilled.

...

The excitement persisted for hours. Completely enraptured by the thought that, at any moment, it would all be over... and I would then receive my reward. I watched the citizens of Noxus go about their business, living their lives completely ignorant of what was about to happen. I knew that soon, they would look at me differently than they were now. I sat still and tried to be patient... but eventually that patience turned to boredom. If today was the day, then I dared not leave where I was ordered to stay... no matter how droll it became. I thought that no harm would come from resting for a moment. Next thing I knew though, I was fast asleep.

The dream- no, the nightmare that began to form was horrific. Swain and I were on the balcony once more, at least I knew it was Swain. The grotesque raven monstrosity that he could transform into was looking out at Noxus, and the city was... burning. I tried not to approach him, my mind begged me to not go closer but my body started walking forward. The beast turned around and looked me dead in the eyes, and stretched out his hand. I could not scream no matter how much I wanted to. I could only watch in absolute terror as I grabbed onto his claw. The cold, unfeeling darkness that I knew from nightmares long ago returned. It emanated from his palm and it began to cover my entire body, but try as I might I could not get my hand free. It was then that I heard the screams. So many people crying out to me for help, and a part of me knew that their fate would be mine soon as well. The black crept across me and encroached on my throat; I felt pain then... a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy. I shut my eyes as my body agonized, trying to remember that it was all just a nightmare. I would just open my eyes and It would all be gone. But when I opened my eyes, I knew that the nightmare had only just begun.

It was midnight, the screams that I heard came from Noxians in the streets around me. They shouted madly as black robed figures chased after them; those who were not quick enough to escape were converged upon and beaten until unconscious, or dead... I didn't know which. It was the same feeling of helplessness I felt before Skorne was killed, only able to watch and not know how to intervene. Was I still asleep? What in the world was going on? As the bodies were being dragged away by what appeared to be cultists, I noticed a pack of them point at me and whisper to one another. I ran.

I kept running, I heard their footsteps get closer behind me but I dared not look back. Running as desperately as I could, but no route through the city changed how close they were behind me. I took a sharp turn around a building and got halfway across a bridge before my heart couldn't take it anymore. Falling to my knees against the side of the bridge, accepting my fate, the footsteps would be making the same turn any second now. That's when I felt something grab me and pull me over the edge and under the bridge. Before I could utter a sound let alone any resistance, a hand clasped itself over my mouth. I caught a glimpse of the one who grabbed me and was now keeping me pinned down. The man wore a blue shroud and had blades adorning the tips of his makeshift leather cape, his gauntlets had large singular blades fixed to the knuckles of them as well. He held a finger to his lips, notifying me to stay silent as his stern eyes darted from side to side of the bridge's opening. He got up without warning and released me. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. Had I just been saved? I opened my eyes once more to look for my rescuer, but he was gone. I rolled over onto my stomach to pull myself up off the ground. Something must have gone terribly wrong! Swain needed to know what was happening, but I lacked the focus or the strength to teleport to him. I would have to walk the distance.

There were no screams now as I poked my head out from under the bridge to listen; not even graveyards were this quiet. Whatever the robed figures were trying to accomplish must have been achieved, because not a single one of them was to be found as I carefully made my way through the dilapidated Ivory ward marketplace. Swain's manor was not far away from here.

...

I made it to the doors of his estate. Why was there no one stationed here? I began to panic and think the worst... frantically spending my energy to find Swain. He was in the atrium, hunched over in a chair staring at his hands. Beatrice was nowhere to be found. His hands... why was there blood all over them?

"Swain..." He looked up at me and seemed to be confused.

"You're still alive?"

"What's going on? Why are your hands covered in blood?" He looked over to the side of the room and I followed his gaze. That's when I noticed the body of Vexus Nirac... his throat had been ripped open, and the wound was gushing blood all over the floor.

"I haven't had to get my hands dirty in a long time."

"I don't understand Swain. Why were there people being beaten and abducted in the streets? I was nearly one of them! How was Vexus involved in this?"

"How did you manage to get away?"

"Wait, what? Why does that matter?"

"Hmph. Vladimir, get in here." At his call, the crimson reaper walked in from a separate room and bowed before Swain.

"Yes General?"

"Get rid of the old fool's body, then you can consider our contract fulfilled." Vladimir sighed before crossing the room to retrieve the corpse, his fingers soaked up the blood that was pooling on the floor before he hauled Vexus out of the room on his shoulder. I kept breathing hard from the physical exertion I put myself through while Swain kept staring at me quizzically.

"Why did you kill him?"

"He was one of a few loose ends than needed to be taken care of."

"Who were the others?" He just sat there staring at me. "Swain-"

"-You know... you have a knack for getting out of bad situations. But I guess that's what happens when you trust someone to do a job you ought to do yourself."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you!?" He was frustrated now, and covered his face with the palm of his hand. "I guess it would be best to return to when it all started..." He got up and walked around easily, without the use of his cane. "It was all simple enough."

"What was?" I needed answers, hundreds of questions were filling my head and I direly needed all of it to make sense.

"You were so full of hope then. I can barely see the remnants of that in you. That will soon change. I'm sure you still remember when we first met..." He paced back and forth in the room while he kept speaking. "Your innocence was palpable, it was so... disgusting that I could hardly keep my thoughts straight while entertaining your simple questions. Feigning interest in the 'summoning process' wasn't an easy task. Having to act like I didn't know what any of it was at first, was insulting to my intelligence. I took no small amount of pride in divulging your thoughts because of that. Do you recall that 'blackness' you felt when we connected? I believe that's what you called it... Links do not work only one way, and within seconds I knew your own life better than you did. It was all so simple!"

"What does any of this have to do with what happened tonight?" He ignored my question and continued talking.

"I knew that you grew up in Zaun as an orphan that had been bullied for most of his life. I heard the life of a Zaunite is hard, they take after Noxian ideals after all, but they apply themselves at the mind to find their fame. That's what you wanted most, correct? You could never make it there, so you sought to join the institute just so you can maybe 'carve out your destiny'... Shaping a mind like that was just like igniting oil, it practically burns itself once it gets going. The next step was to fool you into thinking that you could ever be entitled to the same vision as me. So... what could be more heroic than bringing a city-state to glory?"

Swain chuckled to himself and started wiping his bloodied hands on his robes.

"I purposefully withheld as much information from you as I could, just to prod you into wanting to confront me out of frustration. Even the slightest detail then would make you feel like we were connecting." His words were fighting through his laughter. "Having known your past, I just twisted it to fit my purpose... nothing I told you of my history was true and you believed me. As far as the letters went, it was just as you said when you talked about minions, 'Better to let the little guys do all the work, while I come in and claim the reward.' All I had to do was make it seem like an incredible undertaking for you..."

"You... you used me? I was just a pawn the whole time?"

"You act as if you've ever been anything but that! Everyone is a pawn to me. You, Leblanc, Darius, even the institute itself... they were pieces to be used as I saw fit, and they all served their purpose. The next phase of it all was to give you reasons to feel in debt to me. Did you honestly believe that punching Magnus in the throat would make him lose his voice completely? I paid Warwick and Singed to take him from the medical ward to make sure he would never speak again. In fact, you're the one who gave them the orders to do so! Your grief... would later become overwhelming and your 'morals' would force you to 'right the wrong' you did. Pathetic. You had it right in your hands and you gave it straight to them... I guess you did make him mute after all!"

He grinned wickedly at me, watching the expressions on my face as the realization of my actions hit me one after the other. It was all my fault. I was so blind the entire time, caught up in the moment, that I wasn't thinking straight. I could hardly understand each new piece of information I received when tears were flooding from my eyes and pain was throbbing inside my head. He kept speaking once more.

"The key to winning chess is to monitor all of the pieces simultaneously, especially your own, and be willing to make any and all sacrifices. Bribing everyone but Katarina was easy enough, as for her... threats worked wonders to keep her in line. For you, much more care needed to be involved. It wasn't enough to have your robes magically altered to monitor you for me... that's what your 'followers' were for. They existed only to report your actions, and to give you the illusion that they heeded your every order. Because of the planning I had devoted to enveloping your life, you couldn't even see through them when Warwick and Singed embedded doubt into your mind." He contained his laughter and suddenly stilled his expression to that of irritation again. "It was bold of you to see to everyone's terms on their contracts. That moment would be the first of the few times I would underestimate you. I made the decision to go ahead with having you carry out your own letters, instead of disposing of you then. With my "teleport sanctioned summoner", I would have to keep an even tighter grasp on your assets. So I turned my attention to your friends." All thoughts in my head ceased upon hearing the last sentence.

"What... What did you do to them!?" Swain cleared his throat and smugly explained further.

"Katarina had just meddled too far. You were quickly becoming useless to me, as I could not explain anything while she was watching through your eyes. Psychologically, I expected that you would be on the verge of rebellion against me... so I made sure that Skorne would get through to you..."

"Skorne..."

"Love is such... weakness. All I had to do was enlist him into my guard, he did so willingly after I discovered how little he valued his own life. It was either that he would join me... or watch his beloved die. So I kept him around until I felt that you both outlived your usefulness. I'm sure you remember that day as well..."

"YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM!? HE WAS A BROTHER TO ME!" The realization that Swain was the one responsible for his death drove me mad. I ran at Swain, unimaginable blind fury engulfed my thoughts as I tried to tackle him to the ground. He merely stepped to the side and tripped me to the floor. I got on my back and prepared to stand up but then talons broke out of the ground and kept me pinned.

"It appears that you shared the same disregard for personal health that he did. The day that he was killed was almost perfectly orchestrated. I say 'almost perfectly', because you ended up surviving it all. The plan was to have Leblanc disguise herself as Jarvan and feign a direct attack against me, making Demacia look like the aggressors in the war, while having previously instructed her regiments to prioritize any raedsel or robed figures that grouped together. I correctly anticipated that you would be with your friend during the battle."

"What has this all been for!? Why tell me now!?" I struggled against the claws that held me down, my clothes began to tear and my arms and legs were being cut but I could not break free.

"To rule of course. Do you think I would settle for anything less after having arranged Boram Darkwill's death? Tonight was to show all the nobles that they are not exempt from my gaze. Their support of me as Grand General should now be taken into extreme consideration. Noxus deserves better leadership... it deserves my guidance... As for telling you now..." He walked over to me, crouched down, and observed how helpless I was. "I didn't think it was fair that 'my summoner' had to go this long without knowing. Being the only one to appreciate the gravity of my work has been droll." My body stayed pinned down. Exhausted, defeated, bleeding, wrought with emotional pain... I was all of these at once. What could I do? This was the end of everything.

"...and here we find ourselves at the precipice of it all. This change... excites me."

"Just kill me..." He stood up suddenly, taken aback by my request, and began pacing the room once more.

"Kill you? Is that how you think you should be rewarded for such faithful service? No Irannius. You're going to get to see the future that we created. After having assaulted me..." Swain gestured to the blood that he had wiped on his robes earlier. "...you will live out the rest of your days in imprisonment. In my infinite mercy, I will stay your execution until I feel that Noxus has finally risen to my standards."

"No..."

"Upon that day will the absolute understanding of your failures and victories be realized."

"No!"

"You will look upon our triumph, all the glory your life amounted to, and then... you will die."

"NOOOOO!"

"Don't fight it, its useless to deny the absolute. You don't have any other choice." I called upon every last drop of will that I had to cleanse out of the claws gripping me to the floor. I fought to stand up while coughing uncontrollably from the emotions that tore at my soul. I lacked any strength to fight him. "Defiant til the end."

"You spent so much time planning, anticipating my every action... but you never once thought that I would refuse to stay down in the end. There is always a choice Swain... and now you're going to have to choose between killing me, or letting me go." I began a teleport incantation. He responded by casting torment at me to attempt to break my concentration. Nothing was going to stop me from finishing the cast except death. He was becoming more worried by the second.

"There is nowhere you can hide! No one who will believe you!" He shouted at me. If he wanted me dead he could have easily done it then... but he didn't. I watched him grow more desperate, amplifying the pain I felt... but I ignored it. "Nothing you can do will stop me..." I thought of him as a friend to me, a mentor... a father.

"Goodbye Jericho."

...

The summoner limped his way into the light-less room. Vayne watched him, hidden from behind the door, while he knelt down beside the bed and collapsed on it. She could hear his muffled cries as he buried his face in the sheets.

"I am too late..." She approached him slowly, wondering why he was here at her room. He suddenly noticed her. "Where is Toxic!?"

"She's safe. Her and her friend are where no one will find them. Not even you."

"Thank you..." He crawled his way across the floor to her and wept onto her boots. She had her crossbow aimed at his head in case he made any sudden movements. What happened to this man to make him so pitiful? "Please... kill me."

"What?"

"Please! I'm begging you!" Irannius looked up directly at the bolt that was aimed at him. She saw in his eyes the very same soul as her own after having found her parents dead many years ago. Everything had been taken away from him. She knelt down before the summoner and took off her glasses to stare directly back at him.

"You have to live Irannius! If you die then he wins, you understand? You can't let that happen!" Vayne reluctantly stood up and started walking out the door. He had come to her first. He trusted her, but there was nothing more that could be done for him. A single tear fell from her eye. She put her glasses back on and left the kindred spirit in the dark behind her. It was right of her to isolate his friends from him, to explain to them both what she knew. He would've wanted her to.

...

The sadness left me then. All emotion replaced with rage... I would not let Swain be rid of me and I would deny him. The thought of being used in his schemes, having my life toyed with, ruined for his gain... made me berserk. I would bide my time, waiting patiently... devoting myself to ending that which he created. He would always expect me in the back of his mind, but I would make him pay for all that he did. Make him pay for Skorne. Something snapped inside my head that moment, and I knew I would never be the same again.

"I must become like him..."

...

Epilogue

21 May, 22 CLE

He approached the ebony wall. The other officials and Generals of Noxus stood behind him as he surveyed the writing that adorned the door's ancient black texture.

"What is your law Grand General?" Swain turned to the crowd present behind him. He looked at Beatrice then, ignoring everyone but the bird that sat on his shoulder while he spoke.

"Fortis moventur montes dum callidus figura mundi. The strong move mountains while the cunning shape the world."

...

4 August, 21 CLE

The summoner left after not having found who he was looking for. The room stayed silent except for the sound of a dim murmuring that could be heard from beneath the empty basin. The noise grew louder and louder until it was being drowned out by the sudden bashing of metal. The entire object shifted around haphazardly before it was lifted up and tossed from its setting. An arm came forth from the pit that the basin once covered, and grasped the stone edge.

Words from the author

I would like to take this time to thank all of my wonderful supporters who stuck with me as I unraveled this story. To all of my beta readers: Thank you for putting up with me while I neglected to provide spoilers to you. You have been awesome. Thank you to Shadow Nadri for letting me use your character, Mikki, from your story, "The Noxian Librarian." To reviewers: Thank you for giving me honest opinions, I still appreciate it even now.

To authors who would like to use any of my world, characters, or input: I would ask that you contact me first before doing so.

For those of you who still are as interested as I am to see where this goes from here: I urge you to read Shadow Nadri's story to see what has become of Irannius while on his quest for revenge. I have been working specifically on all instances that have involved my character and I can assure you that interactions with him are considered canon by me.

This has been my first work in fanfiction and I hope it was enjoyable to read. I do intend to cover a much broader range of stories in the future, I may even be open to suggestions but as of right now I have one idea in particular for my next great work. If any questions remain about anything or just feel like talking in general, I am always open to chat with. You can send me a message through and I will be sure to respond. Try not to put spoilers in the reviews.