A huff of annoyance escapes Lux's lips. Blue eyes glare at the approaching storm. Tiny flickers of lightning move among the distance clouds, and a howling wind races ahead of the foul weather. Already the crowns all on all of the trees are starting to froth into a frenzy, around her. She's going to need shelter, and soon! Why did she have to leave now, right before the heavy fall rain? A fat, cold raindrop smacks her in the eye. Not part of the plan! One hand removing the offending precipitation off her face, Lux pauses in her march forward. That is the problem! She doesn't have a plan. Not yet, at least. First, shelter! Eyes closing tight, Lux ignores the howl of the wind, and the sensation of rain drops. Magic spreading outwards, seeking some refuge from the now present storm.
Ah! There is a suitable cave close by. Still keeping her eyes shut, Lux navigates the land by her mage senses alone. Everything around her glows in a variety of different colors in the view she uses for magic. Dangerous objects glow in shades of red and brown, where more green colored objects indicate safety.
"Shit!" Lux yelps as she trips over a branch. Barely in time Lux catches herself, scrapping her knuckles raw against the ground. Rain blasts into her face, blinding her. She's spent so long in a city, her skills for traveling in the wilderness are rusty. If she's not careful, she'll get herself killed! Eyebrows draw close, as Lux glares at her now bleeding hands. In them, she pictures her new light wand. Slowly, an outline of the wand flickers in and out in the space near her hands. Rain slams into her back, breaking her concentration. All evidence of the light wand disappears.
Again, Lux brings forth the memory of the light wand. Forcing her palms flat, Lux lets her blood flow freely onto the ground. Only a weakling would die out here, unprepared! No, she's strong. No foul weather will stop her from reaching her goals. Biting down on her lower lip, Lux channels power into her hands. Pain from her teeth pressing against her flesh drives out the distracting cold. Blood wells from under her teeth, eyes only looking at the dancing image of her light wand in her hands. Small red rivers flow down from her mouth, merging with the freezing rain. At last, her efforts are rewarded, and the light wand appears solid in her grasp.
A tiny flick of her wrist causes a prismatic barrier to fly out. Similar to other spells, the colors on this one are different. An interesting mix of reds and golds, instead of her usual faint rainbow colored magic. As the familiar shield floods over her, blocking out the rain Lux forces the barrier to hold. Much drier, Lux stomps forward, starting to go a rocky slope.
Small grey rocks are slick with fall rains. More than once, Lux stumbles on the smooth stones. Yet, she doesn't fall again. Darkness overcomes the land swiftly, the last light of summer sun gone in the wake of fall rain. Barely noticable is an entrance to a small cave. Before entering, Lux pulls up her mage sight again. The best way to check for holes, poisonous critters, and other dangers in poor lighting is this way. Using her light wand, Lux shoos off various insects. Some would be a real danger, most just a nuisance while she wants to sleep.
Deeper into the cave Lux walks. Once she is in the center of the main entrance, she pauses. A long, long time ago she made a small abandoned storeroom a more livable place. She can do the same here! Magic flowing outwards, Lux takes time to seal off leaks from the rain. Although she leaves small chimneys for airflow, she blocks out the source of drafts from various cracks in the walls. A spell to ward off small poisonous animals, insects, and plants is put into place. Next, she places a tiny warming spell in the ground. Shortly afterwards an opaque, view one way barrier is put over the entrance. Relative safety in place, Lux plops down on the floor. One last spell drives any fluid from her person outside. Dry, warm, and secure Lux drifts off to sleep.
Around her the storm rages, bringing forth the fall rains. It still is pouring frigid rain, when Lux wakes up several hours later. Muscles stiff from the hard ground, Lux forces her body to warm up and stretch. Carefully she goes through basic exercise workouts thought in Demacia for outdoor excursions. It only taken three bribes of cherry pie, Garen's favorite, to have him teach her these motions. After her body is limber, Lux paces back and forth.
While the storm is happening at this rate, Lux can't travel long distances safely. Time to make a plan! Before time had been short, for both Noxus and her. Now that she isn't in a rush to save anyone, much less an entire sentient city-state, she can plot her next move. Before she can face her husband, she needs answers. There are so many unknowns about her light wand! What exactly is an Avatar supposed to do? Why did the damned Noxus pick her, a Demacian for Its stupid 'Avatar' role?! Doesn't it know that she already has enough to do.
You could always ask. A dry voice replies in her head.
"I could. And I will." Lux answers back, a shiver running down her spine. An odd glow is coming from her light wand. She strongly suspects that her weapon is talking to her. Such things aren't unheard of, outside of old fairy tales.
And I will tell you everything you need to know. My Avatar must be prepared. It is coming. The voice reassures her.
"What about everything I want to know?" Lux retorts, not letting her weapon play the political half truth half lies game with her.
Some answers you'll need to find on your own. Others you will never learn. But first….you need rest. Your body can not handle too much of my essence yet. We will continue this conversation later. Don't die. I can't promise that my necromancy won't be 100 percent painless if you do. She is informed, each word growing fainter in her mind.
"Wait, what?! My own wand would use necromancy on me? I'm one of the most powerful mages in Runeterra! I can your essence. Hey! I'm talking to you…." Lux growls at the now lightless wand in her hands. A headache starts to press down on her, pain spiking deep in her temples. Grumbling curses nothing in particular, Lux curls back up on the ground. Every breath she takes causes her head to throb. Perhaps is she tired, and maybe, just maybe she will rest. Not because her weapon told her too. But because she wants to rest, to help ease off the headache. It would be a waste of magic to just heal away the pain. Without a plan, Lux needs to be prepared to use a lot of magic at once in defense. Damn it! She never made a plan...but...she'll finish resting. Then she'll make a plan, bossy wand or not!
Unlike before, this time her sleep is filled with dreams. Some of her visions are of home. Green eyes stare deep into her soul. Darius's familiar voice calls out to her, begging her. What does he want? Darius sounds so desperate, so sad right now. Lux's heart lurches at the sound of her husband's voice. Unable to determine a single word he's saying, all she can make out is the tone of his voice. Before she can take any more of his sorrowful voice, her dreams suddenly shift.
Now she is a large desert, with only a few lone rocks in the distance. Shurima, if she had to make an uneducated guess, and with her education this is Shurima. There is no wind, no sound, or sunlight.. Just the endless sands, and deep sense of foreboding. This is a real place, she's certain of it! Suddenly, the sands start to fill up with blood. Sticky, hot red fluid swamps her legs, and starts to drag her under. Frantic Lux tries to escape from the growing flood, but she is unable to free her feet from the now tarry ground. As her head goes under the crimson flow, her dreams change.
Instead of sand, massive glaciers gleam in front of her. Freljord, if she has to make another blind guess to her surroundings. A dark, inky like substance starts to crawl along the frozen ground. It isn't blood, like before, it gives off an equally strong sense of foreboding. This darkness in the ice isn't living like blood, but it moves like it has intelligence. Whatever foul magic is the Freljord is deep under the ice, a living part of the land! Before fingers of the darkness can grab her, Lux starts to run in the opposite direction. Before she can escape, she is yanked into a black abyss.
It is coming. From all sides. Only this time, it isn't told in the voice from before. This time, it sounds like a thousand voices chiming in at once. Whoever is talking to her, is not her light wand. Something else, but not entirely different...A pressure starts to build on her skull. Abruptly Lux wakes up, freeing herself from the dreams. The pressure is still in place, an unpleasant weight on her head. Similar to a headache brought in place from a using too much magic, too fast pounds in rhythm with the rain outside. Lux hasn't suffered such a migraine since she was a small girl, who just discovered she could use magic.
Dreams, as far as Lux knows are not an active use of magical ability. It certainly feels like she used up all her magic in a short amount of time without replenishing anything. That never happens because Lux plans around such problems! Time to make a plan. But, in order to make a successful plan, Lux needs more information. So, she'll make a plan about getting knowledge, to make her next plan. No way is she going to depend on the "truth" from her light wand. The City State of Noxus is a living, plotting thing with an agenda born from the magic, emotions, and blood of Its citizens. Its agenda is not hers. Until she's certain that It won't threaten Darius, then she'll have to treat it as a danger to him. So, again, she can't go home without answers. The only Avatar she knows of is Diana, the Avatar of the Moon. She'll hunt down Diana, and find out what she knows. Hopefully Diana will know something useful. Tentative plan in place, Lux settles back down to sleep. Thankfully, she rests without a single dream.