Uprooted: Noxus

The Grand General's palace was far more opulent than the rest of Noxus. Where most of the city-state was gray iron and red brick, the palace seemed to shine, polished to a mirror sheen and towering over the town. Some would call it a little too much.

Cassiopeia didn't mind. She sat coiled in her throne, overlooking the inner court of the city. The chair was not built for...reptiles. Then again, neither was the position of Grand General, though she had certainly molded herself into that.

It was not easy. Nothing worthwhile in Noxus ever was. She had subdued what felt like countless rivals to fill the power vacuum after Swain's death. Her diplomatic skills, forged in the fires of a life amongst the Noxian elite, made for efficient weapons against the more reasonable opponents. For those who preferred a more violent approach, there were certain advantages to the curse she beared. Namely, poisonous fangs. Rather handy. The true challenge had come after she had taken the throne, repelling the invasion of a newly installed Demacian regime, out for blood and vengeance. The challenge was not in defeating their armies, that much was simple. Most of them were angry, untrained peasants, lead by nobles with no battle experience. No, the challenge came from utterly humiliating them on the field.

She had lead the defense herself, accompanied by her sister and Talon. Tapping into old connections, she roused some former generals, friends of her father, out of retirement, and amassed a sizable defensive force, even with the city-state's rather emaciated populace after the war. The Demacians had expected a worm, but found themselves faced with a viper. The entire battle was one of the shortest Noxian and Demacian conflicts on record, with the Demacian captain signaling a frantic retreat a mere hour into the battle, most of his forces already defeated.

With the battle for Noxus so convincingly won, much of the lingering doubt about the new Grand General was erased. Still, she knew she had far to come. Her newfound position was difficult, something the current situation reflected. Yet another angry noble had arrived in her court, and his ranting was beginning to drain on her.

"My manor has been under surveillance! Do not think I have not noticed!" The man was familiar to her, this was not his first complaint. Lord Nilsen was a frequent visitor to the palace, and never for a positive reason.

Nilsen continued to fume. "My servants have reported being harassed by your own sister, Grand General! If you cannot keep your own family under control, how can we expect you to handle the city-state?"

Feeling her temper flaring, Cassiopeia finally spoke up. "Enough. I have heard your concerns, Lord Nilsen, and they will be addressed. I will speak to the responsible parties."

"That is not enough!" Nilsen barked. "I have supported your family since your father's days, DuCouteau…"

The Grand General nodded. "So you have. And for that...I do apologize for any incursions my sister may have made on your property." Nimbly moving a claw, she scribbled a note on a parchment next to the throne, and handed it down to Nilsen, who ripped it from her hand.

"Show this to the treasurer's office at 9:00 tonight. I will send orders for a substantial amount of gold in reparation fees, to be provided to you personally." Cassiopeia leaned back and observed as the noble reacted with interest at the promise of a sizable sum. "Is that all, then?"

Lord Nilsen nodded. "This is a satisfactory response. Glory to you, Grand General."

As the man exited the room, Cassiopeia signaled for the guards to go with him. Sighing deeply, Cassiopeia lightly traced a claw along the armrest of her seat.

"Katarina? You can come out now."

From behind one of the massive pillars that lined the court, the nimble figure of Katarina DuCouteau leapt to her sister's side, the assassin's expression one of disappointment.

"I didn't "harass" anyone." she hissed. "Scumbag just wants you to think…"

Cassiopeia smiled. "I know, Kat. You aren't dumb enough to blow your cover that way. I know you've been keeping in practice."

Katarina's face remained hard, fury etched onto her expression. "He's housing Black Rose members, Cass. Talon and I have been tracking this group for weeks. We were so close to getting inside…"

"They saw you? My. They must be pretty good, hmm?"

"Lucky." spat Katarina. "You're Grand General. Can't you just arrest him yourself?"

"No concrete evidence. I do that, the whole city-state will be calling me a tyrant. And I'd think they're rather tired of those, given recent events."

The elder DuCouteau's rage started to simmer. "Can you do SOMETHING? These people killed Father, in case you were too busy to remember! I will not suffer them to scheme in my Noxus any longer! Can't you at least HELP?"

Cassieopeia simply smiled. "Darn. Next time I'll have to do something like...say, provide your target a convenient excuse to leave home, and a specific time to do so."

Thinking back on the meeting she had been silently listening in on, Katarina's head hung. "I...damn. I'm sorry."

Still smirking, Cassiopeia leaned over to give her sister a hug. "Kat, Kat, Kat. You still underestimate me. That's not something many people do twice."

Still in the serpent's arms, Katarina smiled. "You're my little sister. It's part of my job."

Cassiopeia chuckled. "That's "Grand General Little Sister" to you. Now then, you should go find Talon and get preparing. Tell him I said hello, by the way."

Nodding, Katarina broke away from her sibling and started to descend the obsidian staircase towards the exit to the Inner Court, her mind racing with schemes to break into the manor.

"Oh, and Kat?" Cassiopeia had coiled back up onto the throne now, lazily flicking her tail. "Bring back some evidence of these Black Rose on his estate. I can't think of a better way to spend tomorrow than watching that nuisance Nilsen being arrested."

As Katarina exited the room, she gave an affirmative nod. Cassiopeia was right, she did still tend to underestimate her little sister. That would be something to work on.


The red-haired assassin noticed the message as soon as she exited the palace. It was embedded in one of the pillars that supported the massive balcony, a familiar knife holding a note tight to the stone wall.

"Recollection."

Katarina groaned. Talon loved his games of hide and seek. She sighed and headed off in the direction the clue indicated. A light drizzle of rain was falling on the city, enough to be noticeable, but not so much as to make her want to go and fetch a jacket. She climbed down the steps of the palace, entering the lower city that surrounded it. The alleys of Noxus were infamous for being an excellent place to visit with a death wish or an extreme curiosity as to what your own innards looked like, but not even the most hardened of lowlives and thugs dared approach the Sinister Blade. Even moreso than before the emergence of the Alliance, Katarina was a force to be reckoned with. Tangling with an extradimensional monstrosity and coming out the victor did a lot for your reputation in a fight.

Still, the gazes of the Noxians around her were not all those of awe or fear. She could feel lingering anger, rage, and disappointment. It was not surprising. Under Swain, Noxus had been poised to conquer Runeterra, and finally prove their supremacy.

Funny how that worked out. Of course, the real Noxians among them would not throw away their ideals in pursuit of false strength. So she wasn't bothered. Katarina kept her head held high as she marched through the alleyway, working her way towards a small public square at the peak of the lower city. A stone archway greeted her as Katarina entered the Ionian War Memorial, Noxus' newest monument. The piece itself was simple, just a plaque declaring the years of the conflict, and it was unpopular. Only one man was inside right now, for example. But she knew it meant a lot to a few soldiers. One of whom she had made a promise to. More importantly for the moment, it was a Memorial.

Approaching the cloaked figure lurking near the plaque, Katarina elbowed him in the side. "Recollection"? Is that the best you can do?"

With a slight wheeze, Talon chuckled. "When I made them too hard, you got lost."

Katarina gave her partner a glare. He had made a successful recovery from his brush with death in Piltover, but Talon seemed to insist on living in the past. Everything was still so cloak and dagger with him. It was a nice sense of nostalgia, at least, but she worried about her father's apprentice.

"We need to find you a hobby." Katarina muttered. "But I can tell you you'll be busy tonight."

"Oh?" Talon's eyes lit up beneath his cowl. "Did Cassiopeia pull through?"

"She's got us an opening. Meet me outside Nilsen's manor at 9:00." She grinned. "Bring the daggers."


The remainder of the afternoon was a quiet one, which was a luxury fate had rarely afforded to Katarina. She found the sheer amount of spare time she tended to have nowadays a little overwhelming. There was something that felt odd about a Noxus where there were no mysteries to chase, no wars to wage, and little reason to constantly be ready to fight. In a way, she could understand Talon's refusal to give up his old ways.

Her sister had managed to cope with the changes. And she did still get practice in with her blades, whether it be night time raids on Black Rose compounds or mock battles at the Institute. But for someone like Katarina, who had built her life nearly entirely on bloodshed, peace was a welcome, but frightening concept. Thankfully, tonight, she would be able to sate some of the bloodlust.

The moon was already high in the sky when Katarina arrived at Nilsen Manor. The dim light was strong enough to prevent total blindness, but the Noxian could barely make out a silhouette crouching at the edge of the gate. Clutching a dagger, she slowly advanced on the figure, only for him to turn on her as well, knife outstretched. She smirked as she recognized Talon.

"Well, at least it looks like we're both ready for this."

Talon nodded in agreement. "I've been keeping this place staked out for a few hours. We can scale the gatehouse wall and get inside, not many guards around."

"Well, no reason to wait, then…" Katarina reached for her weapons and beckoned for her partner to follow. The assassins crept around the side of the gatehouse, the dirt in front of it still plastered with horse tracks. It seemed Nilsen had already left to collect his "apology" from Cassiopeia. Judging by the amount of tracks, it seemed he had taken most of his personal guard with him. On one hand, Katarina was annoyed at how little he seemed to trust her sister. On the other, this would make getting inside much easier. Talon had already begun his ascent, climbing the crumbling cobblestone wall of the gatehouse, advancing upwards, hand over hand. She followed with the same motions. They did have the same teacher, after all.

Together, they leapt off the roof of the gatehouse and into the main courtyard. Katarina simply followed Talon, as they both knew where they were headed. A few days ago, they'd spotted a woman in Black Rose garb entering the manor's cellar. Unfortunately, afterwards, they'd been spotted themselves. Tonight, however, there were no guards in sight, and there would not be any mistakes.

The door to the cellar was, predictably, locked. Talon knelt next to it, working a small sliver of metal from his cloak into the lock. Katarina held her breath, focusing on the soft clicks from the mechanism as Talon performed his work, moving with a surgical flair. A final sound of metal clanging, in conjunction with Talon's sudden exhaling, informed her that their work was done. The wooden gate creaked open, and Talon vanished inside, Katarina following close at his heels.

A dim violet glow flickered in the cellar below. Katarina flattened herself against the edge of the stairs, careful to position herself within the shadows as she surveyed the scene below. Purple sconces illuminated figures in dark silk robes, chanting a quiet hymn before a young woman with dark hair, and a familiar face. Katarina had never suspected she'd see LeBlanc again.

The mage had not noticed them, nor had the other cultists. But, with the flickering of the candles in the cellar, it was only a matter of time before they were illuminated. Talon moved first.

A scream came from one of the cultists as a blade entered his back, the violet cloaked assassin leaping behind him. The others fumbled in their robes, and Katarina saw the glint of several blades in the dim light. She rushed to Talon's side as they advanced on him, weapons drawn. A snarling man took a slice at Talon's neck, but the assassin was quicker, ducking under the swing and quickly inserting a dagger into his gut. While the Black Rose members in the front were busy, Katarina focused her attentions on the other end of the group, leaping across the cellar floor and burying her boot in the chest of an unsuspecting assailant. Flourishing her knives, Katarina began to spin, focusing on each of the cultists in turn as she tossed her weapons. Blood spattered across the floor as the Sinister Blade dispatched her foes. Soon, there was but a single figure standing.

LeBlanc raised her arm, chanting slowly. An arcane mist began to envelop the mage, but Talon swiftly moved, batting her arm down with the hilt of his blade. Before their eyes, the woman's appearance began to change. Her hair changed color to a dull red, her eyes began to dim, and her facial features began to distort and revert. With the illusion broken, the woman who stood before them no longer resembled LeBlanc.

She looked downwards, noting Talon's blade at her neck. With a snarl, she snapped her eyes back up, staring Katarina down as she advanced. "Weakling…" she hissed.

"That's a neat magic trick. I'm sure the Grand General is going to want to hear all about it." Katarina returned the glare.

"That reptile is NOT the Grand General!"

Enraged, Katarina sunk the hilt of her dagger into the sorceress's stomach, causing her to wheeze in pain. "Talon. Take her to Cassiopeia."

With a nod, Talon turned, directing the Black Rose leader towards the stairs. As she was forced out of the cellar, the woman cast a glance over her shoulder at Katarina.

"The Black Rose will end you, DuCouteau."

"They already tried." The assassin smiled. "It didn't stick."

As she exited the cellar, Katarina looked up at the moon rising over Noxus. Much had changed, but it seemed there was still a mission that needed completing. So long as the Black Rose was active, even in tatters, she would seek it out and destroy it. Such was her duty to the people of Noxus, to her sister, and perhaps, most of all, to her father.

Fresh blood dripped from her daggers as Katarina left the manor, to the awed stares of nearby citizens. She smiled. Some things would never get old.