For the first time in months, Decius had no plan of how he should move forward. Before, he always had a goal to achieve, people to protect, alliances to forge and ideas to explore. Above all, he had his vision of the Noxian empire to achieve – a vision formed by his mother, bevor Ionia had irrevocably changed everything. Right now, he began to understand Quiletta's change, her desire to hide from harsh reality. And he understood why she had needed an intelligent but physically weak girl like Mitsuko, someone to protect from the world that had broken her, to return to life. His own world had turned grey with the stifling ache pulsing inside his ribcage. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Naenia's face, as pale and cold as the snow surrounding her, her grey eyes without life's spark. As much as he did not want to remember, he always saw the gaping wound that had torn her ribcage open with overwhelming force.

One of two things keeping him going was the concern for Wren and Aarys but, regarding those two children, his influence to intervene, to look after them and make sure that they would not be harmed, was curtailed. He was not able to do anything. He had failed miserably. It was so bad that, for the first time in his life, he found himself praying to a goddess as cold as the winter, asking her to watch over his children.

He was given a berth and earned a few snickering remarks as he trudged through the brown sludge covering his path, but he did not care. The cold seeping through the leather of his boots and into his toes did not matter anymore. The opinion of the people around him did not matter, as little as his demotion from squad-leader of the Spearhead to rearguard-duty did. He was watched closely and Decius knew that the labels traitor and deserter were always on the forefront of his former comrades' minds and tongues.

He swept heavy fabric aside, stomping his shoes free of half-frozen dirt before entering even as his insides quivered in anticipation. This was the second thing keeping him on his feet, stopping him from surrendering to the overwhelming pain in his heart.

Unblinking, he raised his quivering fist, not managing to bring it to heart-height. "You summoned me, General," he intonated, keeping his gaze lowered.

"Eyes up," the unforgiving voice of Darius ordered, and cold hate nearly swept Decius away. Trying to swallow the bile in his mouth, he obeyed. No one else was present, it was only him - and the General. "You will return to your mother to Basilich with the next mail exchange. You have become a useless liability. You will not cause any more trouble than you already have, understood?" The other man's booming voice tolerated no dissent.

Decius looked into the cold eyes of the man who had nearly killed his mother, the butcher of his small, still-forming family. "I understand," he nodded and lowered his face once more.

"You have enough time to make up for your mistakes," the General muttered.

Before Decius was forced to say anything, another soldier knocked at the tent pole.

"General Darius?" He asked respectfully, "Warmason Kalla requests your support."

Without another word, the imposing figure of General Darius left the tent.

Decius looked around, finding that he was, indeed, alone. The members of the Trifarian Legion usually guarding Darius's tent were gone. For a moment, he simply stood frozen, unsure of how to proceed. His brain, formerly caught in the ever-present hate against the older Noxian, started working again.

Carefully, Decius looked at the flysheet covering the entrance. Then he dove for the General's desk, looking at the many papers strewn about. This was the workplace of someone intimately unfamiliar with paperwork, and someone utterly uncaring of it as well. His eyes flew over the sheets and, since he had cared for most of his mother's paperwork following her incapacitation, he was able to differentiate important messages from the lesser ones. Most importantly, he saw reports and short notes informing General Darius over the loss of another Service of Supply. Looking at a few other notes, Decius deduced that only one Warmason attending to the Freljord-campaign was still alive. There seemed to be a barely hidden tactic behind the attacks, soldiers were never targeted - only logistically important points and supply wagons. Curiosity raked through the haze of his stupor. Who could have this extent of information to hit the army where it hurt most? Decius knew that information like the Warmasons' positions were some of the Empire's best guarded secrets.

He put the papers back and stepped away from Darius's desk.

His fighting spirit stirred. If someone else had used those intimate information to needle the Freljord-campaign, he could do the same. More so, since he knew of the fresher developments and eventual changes of plans.

He left the tent with new resolve. He would not be sent back to Noxus Prime like a beaten dog. No supply caravan could hold him for long, not if he set his mind to escaping. He would only have to make sure that no one lived to tell of his escape.


Katarina had expected much and had emotionally prepared for more, but the completely entrenched and set-up war camp surprised her. Guessing from the colors flapping over the different tents, Darkwill had brought his most trusted followers along, the entourage bound to his own house by decades of servitude.

For once, Katarina had chosen the direct approach, and she had guided her horse through the rampart instead of leaving the animal behind and climb over the structure. She did not need to remind anyone of her capabilities.

The camp's guards seemed to expect her, for they bowed respectfully, not bothering to check her identity. Her hair and telltale attire seemed to make an introduction redundant.

She waved the guard trying to accompany her away, crossing the last meters on her own, checking the camp's makeup. The war camp was constructed neat and orderly. The flags waving over the central tent told Katarina that this was indeed Darkwill's personal entourage, not a greater army. He seemed to be the only noble present. The logistical units spoke for a fast-moving trek, and that itself spoke volumes. The Grand General was no fast-moving unit, he had not been present at any war zone for decades. Darkwill led from Noxus's center, from the Immortal Bastion, and he never travelled into non-occupied territories.

Without fear, Katarina approached the central tent.

Darkwill's residence was secured by a mass of guards, some poor men and women chained to Darkwill's personal breed of bloodhounds. Katarina knew that a certain amount of dragon's blood flowed through those beasts' veins and even though they were silent now, they would tear everyone unfamiliar to them to shreds if given half the opportunity.

She approached the tent's entrance carefully, not intending to rouse the animals. Two men guarding the Grand General's residence greeted her and beat back the flysheet. She scanned the tent's barely lit insides, noticing a grand table, a motionless person laying on it and an imposing person standing in front of the whole thing, turning their head at the entrance.

Something hungry flashed over familiar eyes before it was replaced by fake benevolence. "Katarina!" Grand General Boram Darkwill greeted before she could enter, stretching out his hands in her direction. "You know how to make a man wait."

Katarina scoffed, his lack of respect combined with the uncalled-for familiarity he dared to address her with leaving a nasty aftertaste in her mouth. She entered the tent, her eyes quickly adjusting to the twilight. The sounds of wheezing made her further inspect the room, searching for the sounds' origin. "You summoned me, Grand General," she stated, her feet one shoulder width apart.

"Come, sit," Darkwill interrupted her inspection, pulling back a chair at the table's side.

"I rather stand," Katarina opposed, her eyes finally setting on a huge figure looming in the tent's corner, barely illuminated by a few flickering candles, what could only be red eyes fixed on her. Katarina was able to make out gleaming metal and a humanoid, albeit massive form. The wheezing seemed to originate from the thing. Another kind of shudder ran down Katarina's spine, dark anticipation heightening her senses.

"Always so uncouth, Katarina," the Grand General chided, shaking his head. "We have a lot to discuss. A matter of grave importance to your family."

He seemed eager in a way Katarina had never seen before. Usually, he was at least a bit carful when interacting with her, but now, he was not. Right now was not the time to call the old man out, though. "You traveled beyond Noxus's borders to solve a familial problem of mine?" She did not bother to hide the sneer on her face.

Darkwill's face hardened. "As a matter of fact, I did. Better stop being so ungrateful." His fingers briefly tightened around the chair's backrest before relaxing again.

Katarina could work better with those threats, they gave her a clear range of motion she could operate in. "Of course, Grand General," she assented, stepping into the middle of the room. Here, she could make out the body lying on the table. The heaving of the chest promised a living being, the black armor branded it as a soldier. The half-glowing beast in the corner was not as easily assessed. From her point of view, Katarina was able to look over the table, into the tent's other corner. There, she saw something she had never seen before. Burning candles were intricately arranged around something carved into the floor. Her gaze shot back to the Grand General.

The older man smiled, and the hunger inside the man's eyes made goosebumps rise on Katarina's back.

"Have I told you about your great-grandmother?" Darkwill asked, placing his hand on the unconscious man's head.

"We never met for story-telling," Katarina answered. As Darkwill's eyes narrowed at her, she stayed expressionless, not sure if she was truly mocking Noxians highest official, someone who by far surpassed her in power and influence. "I did hear stories about her greatness, though," she soothed the edge of her words.

Darkwill looked pleased. "You were named after her, after all. She was Noxus's fastest, most dangerous, most cunning assassin. Your father wanted that reborn, thus you gained her name."

Katarina's mouth distorted at her effort to keep it shut.

"What your father did not know-" Katarina almost laughed - her father, not knowing something? Especially concerning his own family? Darkwill really underestimated her old man. "-Is that your great-grandmother and I were very close. I was there when she died, and it was partially my fault." Darkwill lowered his head, not enough to lose sight of her, but the act was executed well enough, Katarina thought. After an effect-seeking pause, Darkwill continued speaking, "today, I plan to rectify that mistake."

He looked at Katarina expectantly, but the assassin waited, unsure which words were expected of her now. Her gaze shot back to the candles and the carvings in the ground, their purpose now clear. "This is a summoning circle," she deduced, unsure of how she felt about that.

For the first time ever, she saw Darkwill's teeth, shown in an unholy smile. "Correct, Katarina."

Turning her head and sharply nodding her chin to the room's other corner, she asked, "and what about this thing there?"

Briefly, anger shot over Darkwill's face, only to vanish as swift as if it had never been there. "Another relict of your great-grandmother's time. This is Sion, our first frontier back in the old times, now so once again."

"What is my role in all of this?" The redhead finally asked the most important question.

Again, there was this concerning smile on Darkwill's face, an expression of barely concealed hunger and longing flashing over his face. "I need the blood of one of her descendants," he explained, folding his hands in front of his body.

This could have looked like a nervous gesture, but Katarina knew better. Darkwill was a mage, after all, and those people's hands usually meant trouble, especially when displayed in front of their bodies. "So you did not ask my father, whose blood is a lot less diluted, but me?" Katarina asked with her provocative smile, answering her question inside her own mind. If Marcus was not here, which meant Darkwill had tried to hide his actions from him. Judging by the signs Katarina could read, her father knew regardless and was not happy about being left out.

Darkwill did not lose his composure, the expression of naked hunger staying in his dark eyes. "I expected you to be jubilant to participate in the summoning of the greatest assassin Noxus has ever seen."

Katarina almost made a diminutive sound. She knew Noxus's greatest assassins; her father, herself and her brother. But she was not about to tell that to someone clearly on the edge of their sanity. "Depending on the amount of blood you need," she did not flat-out refuses his demand. Her head was still lighter than usual, her body not having fully recovered from her stunt in the mine.

The Grand General nodded. The soldiers now guarding the tent's entrance did not slip Katarina's attention. "We only need a bit. A little scent to tie her to this plane of existence. And a lot more to really lure her back," Darkwill said and patted the stunned soldier's chest.

Katarina's eyebrows met her hair-line.

"Do we have an agreement?" Darkwill asked, his eyes burning.

Katarina shrugged and nodded, even though she had a bad feeling about this. She trusted her gut, but she also knew that there was a reason she had come here in the first place. Sometimes, albeit very rarely these days, disobedience would have consequences. And disobeying the Grand General of Noxus would have harsher ones that those she wanted to face, he had been the Grand General for about three generations for a reason. She needed to choose her battles wisely.

"Great!" Darkwill exclaimed and grasped the soldier at his neck, heaving him from the table without visible effort.

Without needing to be told, Katarina carefully rounded the table, mindful to stay away from the thing Darkwill had called Sion. Darkwill dragged his victim in the middle of the lit candles. From close-up, Katarina was able to inspect the summoning circle. She saw many signs she had never consciously noticed before, the combination of runes, signs and little pictures flowing to form intertwining circles around carved slots in the ground.

With the man placed in the circles' middle, Darkwill retrieved two items from the ground, handing them to Katarina. Without stepping closer to him than necessary, she took the bowl, but refused the knife he tried to hand her. "My own blades will serve me here," she insisted, and Darkwill relented, much to her surprise, the expression in his face growing more and more greedy.

"Just follow my lead," Darkwill ordered, and stepped into the middle of the circle. Slowly, he started intonating words Katarina did not understand, but the underlying force horripilated her skin nonetheless. Grasping his blade tighter, Darkwill stabbed it into the soldier's throat. The man's mind was too far away to notice his life-blood running into the circle, filling the groves in the earth. Following a nod from the Grand General as his chant changed, Katarina pulled her own dagger over her lower arm and guided her blood into the bowl. She almost retreated as Darkwill's words became harsh, commanding. The candles started to flicker in time with Katarina's accelerating heartbeat, crowding the tent's walls with dancing shadows. Despite everything inside of her screaming to get going, to leave this place without looking back, she handed the bowl over and watched her own essence drip into another grove in the circle's middle.

Darkwill's singsong rose as his arms did, and he threw something into the blood. Katarina had no time to scoff, for the already half-coagulated fluid ignited with a sizzle, sparking sweet-smelling smoke through the tent. Now, Katarina stepped back, if only because the sudden movement from the monster chained to the corner as it started howling and snarling like a rabid dog. Only the knowledge that there was still something to see chained her to the spot, stopped her from retreating and assessing the situation from as far away as possible.

The thing Darkwill had called Sion exhaled, sounding somewhat aquiver, as the room's temperature started to drop. The smoke still whisking up from the blood seemed to condense. Katarina's eyes widened as she saw an ethereal body shaping out of fume, something that seemed to pull the warmth out of everything close by. Katarina willed her body not to shiver.

Sion howled, a long, agonized sound, and the mist billowed like a translucent curtain of white-blue hair. Darkwill seemed to redouble his efforts, his chanting became frantic. A face formed out of the mist until Katarina looked into a pale, misty mirror. Even the scar over her left eye, though it was dark-blue and crooked to the other side as her own, matched hers. Her mirror image's eyes glowed violet and it copied her menacing facial expression before it turned its head without Katarina having done so before, breaking the feeling of looking at a mere reflection. An absolute sense of wrongness washed over Katarina and nearly made her turn tails. At the same time, curiosity raked its head. Could this really be the ghost of her great-grandmother?

As the incorporeal being turned, parts of their form hardened to skin-tight armor, the blades glowing by her side looking more like swords than the daggers Katarina herself used.

"Boram?" a voice breathed like wind whispering through a sheer curtain.

Katarina held her breath. Darkwill's eyes grew big in an expression the assassin had never before seen on him. Even the monster in the corner had quietened down, seemingly watching the scene.

"I thought I died," the manifestation suddenly laughed, solidifying by the second as she strode to the Grand General, not minding the candle sockets she walked right through. "Damn, I remember Lightshield's sword coming down on me and I thought fuck, you and Sion were so fucking slow-"

"Kitty," Darkwill spoke with reverence, his hands suddenly trembling.

The ghostly woman ignored him and turned her head, pale eyes scanning the room. "Where's Sion hiding?" The appearance asked, her mouth contorting. "Bitch's too big a pussy to set foot into the infirmary?" She spun around, taking a closer look. She seemed a bit confused, her gaze wandering aimlessly until she seemed to notice the unmoving mountain in the tent's far corner. Confusion spread on the smoky face. "Is this your newest toy?" She asked, nodding to the thing, her lips curling in disdain before the frown in her face deepened as if in sudden agony. She half-turned to Darkwill again, the smoke of her body rippling.

Darkwill held his tongue, just looking at the woman like a starved man would look at his last meal.

"This is no infirmary," the woman finally noticed. She lifted her translucent hands to look at, turning them over in incomprehension. "What happened," she asked, her tone cooling down.

Darkwill stood frozen to the spot, just watching the ghost moving about. "Kitty, you have to listen."

The ghost instantly clicked her teeth. "Better explain fast," she demanded, agitation clearly rising in her demeanor. Something at that behavior stroke Katarina as familiar.

"When you jumped into Crownguard's back, Lightshield saw you and warned. They circled you. You managed Crownguard, but the king cut you down-"

At this moment, the monster in the corner started raging again, thrashing uselessly against the heavy clasps binding it. The incorporeal woman barely tilted her head to the monstrosity. "I was sure I heard Sion approaching," she said with conviction.

"He came too late, Kitty." The roaring from the corner grew louder as Darkwill spoke. "He killed the king, but we were too late to save you…" The howling suddenly died down to dark heaving, the pained sound of a tormented animal.

The other Katarina's eyes widened as she turned to the quietened beast. "What is that, Boram?" She demanded to know, sudden urgency making her form swirl.

"KITTY!" The beast howled, renewing his efforts to free himself of the restraints.

"Sion?" The ghost asked in disbelieve and drifted in the colossus's direction, a motion that appeared to be unintentional. Her face whipped from the Grand General to the former hero of war. "Explain," she demanded once more, her tone gaining a sharp edge.

"Kitty, you died." Every of the ghost's movements froze at Darkwill's admission. "They slaughtered you. Sion avenged you, I have never seen something like him fighting to get to you, but he was too late. He was killed as well, but took the Demacian king with him. It took me decades, but I managed to resurrect Sion and bring you back, but your body was missing-"

"You did what?" The woman asked, sharp once more, the formerly whispering voice gaining color as her form solidified.

"I found a solution!" Darkwill seemingly defended himself, and Katarina nodded to herself. So this was why she was here, after all. "A new body for you to use should suffice-"

"Oh no, it will not," Katarina objected, centering her stand. Her brain worked a mile a minute, forming a plan to get out of this situation as intact as possible. Her blade was only one of her weapons, after all.

Her ancestor turned to her now, a superior smirk slowly creeping into her face. "I knew your nerdy shit would benefit us someday," she licked her blue lips, her eyes shining with greed.

Katarina did a step backward as Sion howled again. "I'd love to see you try, ghostlady," she challenged, twirling one of her daggers in her hand.

Another expression rushed over the ghost's see-through face, reminding Katarina of fondness and confusion. "Cassandra, is that you?" she asked, her form growing translucent once more.

"Your daughter is long dead," Darkwill interrupted, stepping forward.

The ghost's fond expression broke and something akin to pain woke in her glowing eyes.

"This here is your great granddaughter," the Grand General provided, inching even closer to the floating woman. "She looks just like you Kitty, and her body is one of a trained assassin, it will be no transition."

Katarina had never heard someone sounding more like a lovesick fool than Boram Darkwill did right now. "You wanna bang this body? That is what this is all about?" She sneered, stepping back to find a better position for defending.

Her ancestor broke into hoarse laughter while Darkwill's head snapped to her, anger coloring his cheeks as he puffed up in indignation.

"She has a good point there, Boram," the ghost purred. "But I am more interested in how you are still here and my daughter is not."

Seeing the Grand general struggle for an answer, Katarina provided helpfully, "three of her four sons did not make it either." She was poking around in the fog, trying to make it as hard for the Grand General as possible while trying to assess this ancestor of hers. "Only her youngest survived and procreated," she further explained her family history.

The ghost's face darkened, her smoky blue hair flaring like a wildfire as Darkwill froze, his eyes widening.

Katarina decided to keep the ball rolling. "Rumors say that Darkwill backs the organization that tried - and still tries - to wipe us out."

"Who spews such rumors?" Darkwill spat while the ghost's blue color slowly oscillated to red.

"My father," Katarina provided, only half lying. She had never been supposed to rummage through Marcus's personal records, and it had seemed to be a farfetched theory at that time, but her father had never called her out on this specific misdeed, so that was that. "And we both know Marcus is the greatest spymaster Runeterra has ever seen, so I would figure him to be right."

"Marcus?" The clearly agitated ghost questioned, her head jerking to Darkwill once more, who lifted his hands in defense.

"Did you kill my sister as well?" Katarina asked, since her family seemed to be a concern for the returned spirit.

Boram gasped, his hands lifting. "I… did not…" he tried to defend himself. Katarina's ancestor did not seem to believe it, her form expanding. Darkwill started to stutter. "I mean, she was nothing like you Kitty, she was just-"

"No assassin," Katarina spat, all the helplessness she had buried upon seeing one of her own in her grave resurfacing. "No fighter, but a brilliant administrator. She had no red hair though, I figure."

"Your mother was anything but faithful, I could not be sure-" Boram continued to stutter, his gaze hasting between the two women.

Katarina sneered, imitating her brother to the best of her abilities. "Why is Cassiopeia still alive then?"

The room fell silent only for a short moment. Katarina's ancestor seemed to have nearly endless trust in her former companion, for she snarled a dark "Boram?" Without letting herself being provoked into an attack.

Katarina did not think that her situation would get any better. With a flick of her wrist, she sent her most trusted dagger flying. The ghost did not affect its trajectory path and Darkwill, opening his mouth to somehow appease the spirit he had called, saw the blade too late, did not manage to duck away and so the dagger hit him right under his left eye, piercing through skin, muscles and thin bone. It was a perfect shot, should be killing on impact.

Where he should have broken to his knees, the Grand General's hand rose to the injury, Sion joining in the sudden scream, his roar one of sudden, explosive wrath forcing Katarina two steps backward.

Katarina had not expected the Grand General still being able to move at all, even less gripping the handle of her dagger. Before her dismay could manifest, though, the undead hero of war fought against his chains, roaring like the mindless beast he now was, his mouth garbling syllables that sounded like a mixture of the names Boram and Kitty.

Taking her moment of distraction, Darkwill charged as well, Katarina's own bloodied dagger in hand. He cleaved the blade back like someone used to fight with a much larger weapon. Right before the Grand General could make contact with her, she shifted to the side and blinked to her dagger, into Darkwill's back, another blade already in her hand. Katarina had never seen someone as massive as Darkwill move as fast as he did, but he turned around as she sent her blade flying, swatting the steel away like a fly. With his other hand, he grabbed her ankle, twisted his upper body and smashed her to the ground. Katarina breathed out in preparation, the tiny rest of air leaving her lungs at the impact. Her head swam as Darkwill's massive frame darkened her vision.

"That was Kitty's trick as well," he growled, ignoring the warning howl of the beast right next to them. "I will not destroy Kitty's…" The rest of the sentence drowned in a gurgling sound as the end of a blade appeared right under his laryngeal prominence. Blood spurted onto Katarina's face, she was hardly able to close her eyes to shield them, blood splashing through her lips where they were split into a grin. She did not like playing the bait, but sometimes it was necessary to do so.

"Took you long enough," she wheezed as a gloved hand guided Darkwill's heavy body to the ground next to her. "From down here even you look tall," she taunted and grasped the hand her brother offered.

Her words nearly drowned in another loud shout and the agonized crunching of busting metal.

"BORAM!" The now-freed monstrosity roared, grasping for something gigantic that Katarina had failed to notice until now.

"Shit," Katarina exclaimed and jumped to her feet. Her world shifted and she nearly plummeted back to the ground as something closed around her ankle.

Talon turned to the now-charging beast while Katarina looked down, seeing Darkwill's hand grasping her leg, the blade still protruding from his throat. She screeched in exasperation, how did he still refuse to die? Talon made no mistakes, so a misplacement of his blade was out of the question.

Her brother had already sunken back into the shadows, leaving her facing the charging monstrosity. Her stomach fluttered in sudden fear.

"Kat?" Talon hissed from somewhere close as the gigantic shadow of Sion approached with a speed that belied his statue, axe already cleaving back to gain momentum.

The female assassin tried to concentrate on Talon's familiar aura to slip away, but Darkwill's hand somehow stopped her from taking the leap, draining her energy, even a hefty kick with her steel-tipped boots did not change that. The axe came down and Katarina stared into the glowing, red eyes of her would-be murderer.

Something dark solidified in front of her, Talon's back shoving against her front as he lifted his arm-blade to block, effectively shielding her from impact. They both knew blocking a hit like that was impossible, at least with the weapons they both wielded. They both knew what a hit like that did to a human body on impact.

She did not even have time to voice the 'no!' that laid at the tip of her tongue before she felt something spark from within her brother, something bright that engulfed them both in a blinding flash.

Katarina felt the impact of the axe against something surrounding her, surrounding them both and then the strike's might threw her across the room like a golf ball, Talon's arms closing around her as the shimmering thing around them broke with a bright chime. They bashed against the tent wall moments later.

Katarina coughed and got a lung full of air as she registered the look of pure horror flitting over Talon's face, only to be replaced by a red haze. She followed his gaze and saw Darkwill pulling the knife out of his throat, the wound rapidly healing. The redhead had to blink against the sudden brightness illuminating the tent. In front of the gigantic form of Sion stood another person, ridiculously small in comparison, a gleaming wand in her hands, encompassed by the same shimmering ball that had seemingly absorbed Sion's first strike at them.

Seemingly momentarily dazed, the beast held on to his still-vibrating axe.

The woman was panting heavily and Katarina had heard enough of magic to know that casting such a shield must have costed a considerable amount of energy. Darkwill had picked himself up, clearly measuring up the newcomer's abilities.

She looked just so incredibly tiny before the massive frames of Sion and Darkwill, like a slender Silkwing before two basilisks. Katarina shook her head as his brother's woman stretched out her arms, glowing like a falling star. Maybe she was less like a Silkwing, Katarina suspected, but more like an Ionian Sheraz in front of the same, unsuspecting basilisk, but when the basilisk expected an easy meal, the shitty thing exploded in primal magic.

"Wait!" Talon's girl called out before Talon had made it to his feet, seemingly meaning everyone in the room.

Darkwill was seemingly not inclined to obey, for a dark mass formed in his outstretched hand.

The girl's palms started glowing as an answer. "You are a mage, you must feel it as well! Something bad is approaching and it started with your ritual," she borderline pleaded.

A glance to her brother revealed that Talon had lifted himself to a crouching position, ready to attack but not interfering yet, so Katarina chose to watch this scenario enfolding as well.

The dark mass in Darkwill's hand expanded and the girl tightened her hand to a fist before making a throwing gesture. The darkness in Darkwill's hand snuffed out of existence, the Grand General hissing angrily. Meanwhile, Sion had seemingly recovered, shaking himself like a wet dog.

"Who is that?" The suddenly too-close voice of her ancestor's spirit made Katarina shiver and her head spin to the source, the translucent form now hovering next to her, pale-blue brows crinkling. "She looks familiar somehow."

"She is mine," Talon interrupted fiercely, tracing the conversation between Darkwill and his girl with bared teeth. Talon was strung to breaking point, but clearly unwilling to interrupt whatever his girl was trying.

"And he is my brother," Katarina provided, having gathered that belonging to her family somehow mattered to the ghost.

Just as Sion made his first step forward, the girl in front of him spread her fingers and the light inside her palm expanded, catching the undead in a tangle of bright tendons. Darkwill retreated from the light, rising his own hands in defense. Sion growled, struggling against the restraints.

"Expand your senses. Just… just feel it!" Talon's girl panted, the effort to hold the monster down clearly showing in her strained voice. "This is not right. This should not be. It was not like this before-"

The former hero of war roared in growing rage, his eyes started to glow.

Darkwill looked to the side, in a second of consideration, before shock widened his eyes. "Sion!" He sounded alarmed now. "Beware ravens!"

With another rage-filled roar, Sion broke through the bright bindings and charged the girl, screaming for blood.

Next to Katarina, Talon jumped up and vanished faster than Katarina had ever seen him moving.

Darkwill turned to the girl who was stumbling backward, her eyes searching for room to get away from the undead monstrosity. "This is not me, foolish girl. This is something far worse!" He spat.

"Yes, but you summoned it! At least let me-" She lifted her hands, the gleam inside weaker than before.

Katarina heard Sion's armor screeching in protest, croaking like carrion birds. Her ears picked up. This were no noises tortured armor made, and the noises did not come from Sion, Katarina realized.

Before Sion could clash his axe down, Talon threw his whole weight into his side, catching the right moment and angle to make the beast stumble. A shudder vibrated through the tent, the flysheets starting to move like caught by a gust of wind. Sion butted the end of his axe against Talon's head, only to be stopped by another bright shield appearing right in front of Talon's face, splintering at the impact and buying the assassin enough time to disengage.

Darkwill and the blonde both seemed to startle. Sion roared in rage, Katarina's ancestor vanished from her side to reappear next to the Grand General. Talon reappeared next to his girl and Katarina, without having to think about it, concentrated on his familiar aura and leaped to him, filled by a sudden sense of dread.

It happened fast. Katarina heard the noise of flapping wings, croaking, and then something rushed over her, billowing her hair and extinguishing all lights in the room. For a second it was unnaturally dark, but then Talon's girl screamed in horror and a beam of light seared through the darkness, blinding Katarina, forcing her to cover her eyes. She still heard the scrambling of Darkwill and the mindless roaring of Sion as well as Talon's clothes rustling, so she moved towards him.

Then what could only be the ghost of her great-grandmother started to laugh. "What are you doing here? You do not belong-" Then she fell silent.

The blinding light dimmed, so Katarina tore her eyes open.

First, she realized that she was encompassed by the same barrier that had intercepted Sion's strike.

Looking out of her temporary sanctuary, Katarina saw a ghostly flicker. A long, straight blade had manifested in the spirit's hand, she wavered next to Darkwill who held his own sword up. A glance back revealed Talon's girl, on her knees, glowing eyes turned upwards as she seemingly maintained the bright barrier around Talon, herself and Katarina. Outside of that glow… there were birds, a whole black flock of them, those of them crashing against the barrier going up into thick smoke.

Katarina heard the ghost's laugh as she started to blink in and out of visibility, pirouetting through the murder of crows like a dancer, like Katarina would do herself.

"Don't," the blonde girl whimpered in no particular direction. Talon grasped her elbow and yanked her onto her feet while he threw a commanding gaze to Katarina. She did not need the invitation, but blinked to his side while he dragged the girl to the back of the tent. This was something beyond the redhead's understanding, and she did not want to take any part in it.

"No, we need to-" the girl stammered weakly, trying and failing to resist Talon's pull.

"We need to go," Talon hissed and Katarina was inclined to agree. She had no idea what this mess had erupted into, and she was inclined to find out from a vantage point, not from inside.

"No, you cannot leave something like this wide-open," the mage gasped and did a trembling step back into the fray. Even more birds attacked her bright barrier, all of them bursting into smoke at the impact.

Talon made a sound of utter desperation but, to Katarina's great astonishment, pulled her closer against his chest and shoved her in the direction the girl looked to.

Katarina, seeing that her input was neither needed nor wanted, tagged along closely as to not leave the glowing barrier. She turned her head to the tent's other three inhabitants, her gaze instantly drawn to her great-grandmother.

The wraith pirouetted through the black flock, laughing like a maniac as her blades sliced through black bodies, repelled sharp beaks and cut off wings. Her eyes gleamed in joy as she shouted, "come on Boram, live a little. While you can!"

Darkwill did not look as if he had as much fun as the ghost had as he barely managed to defend himself. If Katarina would have to wager a guess, she would think that Talon and his girl had worn him out. Sion was a whole different topic, he had seemingly lost himself in rage and chopped after the birds with his gigantic axe, his success rate at hitting the animals rather meager.

The ravens kept attacking them, but Katarina noticed that the thickness of the murder concentrated on the glowing form of her great grandmother, who kept laughing, whirling around and throwing her daggers at the creatures. Katarina's own fingers itched at her forced inaction, even though she figured that facing those sinister birds would be a mistake.

Finally, Talon's woman sank to her knees, reaching for a piece of chalk lying at the ground, throwing a haunted look at something Katarina was not able to see. They had reached the summoning circle, the surrounding candles still flickering in the current of air.

The blonde woman's eyes narrowed and her lips started moving as if she read a particularly hard sentence. Talon patrolled the edges of her shimmering barrier while beads of sweat formed on the forehead of his woman.

A raven broke through the other Katarina's defenses, scratching her chin with its sharp beak. The ghost hissed in pain, anger reddening her eyes as a crack split through her pale face, right where the raven had punctured it. A second raven pierced its beak through her arm before she was able to react. Her counter sliced through at least five other birds, but Katarina noticed dark lines cracking along her arm as well.

Her gaze flickered to the blonde girl who had positioned the chalk and started to add some twirls to the circle's runes. Another pulse of light emanated from her, leaving her looking pale and unhealthy. The chalk in her hands painted elegant curlicues weaving through the preexisting lines while the girl's hair dampened and her hands trembled like shivering leaves.

Katarina's gaze flicked back to Darkwill, whose eyes went wide with unnamed emotions.

"Not Kitty!" The Grand General roared, turning to the tent's entrance. "Halt!"

The ghost's laugh was taunting and eager. "Come on, you coward!"

Talon danced around his girl, clearly feeling useless while the light kept away the shadowy ravens and his girl was working.

"Enough?" He hissed as another raven crashed against the bright barrier. This time it did not blow up into smoke, but was merely repelled. It croaked in triumph and the attacks on the shield seemed to increase.

Katarina could relate how her brother felt, and she was ready to do her part. "Let that shit down, we will show those fuckers-"

The chalk slid out of the girl's trembling hands as she winced and held her head, her glowing eyes wide and panicked. "No, you cannot-" her sentence died in a wail and a second later Talon was by her side, crouching and spreading his cloak over her form as he grasped her shoulders. Her trembling escalated as everything outside her shield became a flurry of feathery motions.

"You wanted this," Talon remarked, "now fucking end it." He spoke with an urgency Katarina hardly knew from him and, although his words were harsh, his tone was as soft as if he was speaking to a spooked horse. He picked the chalk up, pushing it into her palm and closing his own fist over hers before he pressed his lips against her temple. Had the situation not already been this abstruse already, Katarina would have been astonished by the sight of Talon kissing someone.

Her eyes nearly bulged out at his words. "I'm here. You can do this, don't give up." The girl leaned against him, trembling from head to toe. "Come on, take a breath, everything will be fine," Talon assured, and Katarina had no idea where his sudden optimism derived from.

The mage sighed and buried her head in his neck. The shield around them dulled and Talon's grip around the blonde tightened, his eyes calming with the prospect of having to make due to his promise.

Instead of letting go of the shield protecting them, the girl grasped for his neck, pulled and pressed their lips together. Katarina's mouth fell open as the barrier pulsed and brightened up, vibrating with new energy. Something dark and ugly stirred in her belly as she watched the exchange, a dagger jumping to her hand without any conscious effort.

Something inside of her snarled and wanted to throw itself against the two, even though the sensible part of her knew what a stupid idea that was. Forced to immobilization once more, Katarina watched the girl leaning against her brother, the light seeping from her form ever-brightening. It seemed like hours before they finally parted, Talon's forehead sinking against the girl's. Her trembling hat stopped and she took a deep breath, resuming with what looked like crossing out and overwriting intricate patterns of runes like she had not just kissed one of the most dangerous men in Valoran.

Katarina's great-grandmother screeched and the redhead turned her head just in time to see something black slashing through the spirit's transparent form.

Right next to Katarina, the chalky lines the girl had written started to glow in the same way her shield did.

The blonde's lips started moving, a soft murmur reaching Katarina's ears. "By justice and all things bright: I claim control over this gate." Light sept out from the scrollwork like bright, living vines, illuminating the dark ground, homing at the murder's center. Katarina's great-grandmother pirouetted once more, her movements much slower than at the beginning. Darkwill turned, only now noticing the bright vines. His mouth opened into a warning shout, but one tendril already weaved around the ghost's ankle. The caught one seemed surprised as she tried to free her immobilized leg, her face contorting to a mask of rage.

For a moment, the ghost seemed to fight against the now-pulling vines, but she seemed to be unable to resist. The ravens screeched, their anger only surpassed by the wraith's shout of rage. The birds doubled their efforts against the bright shield and manacles, tried to pick at the ghostly woman to hold her back, but she was pulled right through the girl's shield and further into the circle. Talon's girl winced at the new onslaught of the shadowy creatures. With a last, ear-splitting shriek, the ghost had reached the glowing summoner circle's mid. Without any more ceremony, the shrieking stopped as the wraith vanished.

"Please say we are fucking done," Talon nearly begged, hovering over his sunken down woman.

Katarina did not see if the human heap nodded or not, but Talon took matters in his own hands either way. He circled his arm around the woman's waist and threw her over his shoulder. He then turned, took hold of a strand of Katarina's hair and yanked.

She protested pro forma, but followed him as he took speed. The bright shield moved with him, with the woman who did not struggle.

Talon released Katarina's hair before he exited the tent through a long tear in the flysheet. Outside, the night greeted them with even more cawing. There was no sign of the dogs who had formerly guarded their Grand General's tent.

The brightness surrounding them vanished out of existence and Katarina's eyes needed a moment to readjust to the darkness.

When they had, Katarina hardly believed her eyes. Looking around, she saw dark birds everywhere - sitting on the tent poles, on the flags, looking down at the chaos that had erupted in the Grand General's camp. She inched closer to her brother, her back turned to his, her weapons still drawn. The animals did not show the slightest inclination to attack them and, suddenly, like a signal had alerted them, they became silent.

Talon lowered his girl to her own feet, even though she seemed barely able to stand on her own.

The siblings looked at each other, Katarina inclining her head southwards, where they would be able to get out of whatever this was. Talon nodded and got into motion, eyeing the silent birds just as suspicious as Katarina herself did.

Another voice froze the redhead on the spot. It was a voice she knew, had overheard in countless meetings with her father. Usually, it was quiet and one had to strain to take in all of the words spoken, but now it was loud and clear, reverberating through the air, clearly reaching every ear in at least a mile's radius.

"Boram Darkwill. Your ideals interfere with keeping the strength of our country, thus I challenge you for the position of the Grand General of Noxus."

Talon hissed in exasperation, looking back at what made her dawdle.

"I have to see," she mouthed and turned around before he could express his dissent.

Before he could hold her back physically, she flitted around the tent, needing to see who had challenged Grand General Boram Darkwill, confirming who had picked the perfect opportunity to conveniently challenge an already worn-out man who had exhausted his magic in a whole different fight.

She managed to gaze at the camp's central place, now lined with soldiers, all of them clad in Darkwill's colors. All of them crouched, cowering fearful before the ravens looking down on them, before the man standing upright in their midst.

The dark grey and black of Jericho Swain's cloak fluttered in the wind like a raven's wing.

Talon's hand clamped down on her shoulder, urging her to leave, but she insisted with a hissed "wait!"

As if on cue, the headlights of Swain's red eyes homed in on her, freezing her on the spot. He inclined his head in greeting and Katarina nodded back, unsure what to make of this display. About one thing she was sure, though: Darkwill had just tried to end her life, and the fucker would burn for that. Nobody dared to cross her. If Jericho Swain would not succeed, Katarina had no moral quarrels of mowing down the leftovers, even less so with her brother by her side.

She shook off Talon's hand as he tried to pull her back, out of Swain's line of sight, but the disgraced General had already turned his attention to the person teetering out of the Grand General's tent.

It was Boram Darkwill, bloodied, bruised, but already healing.

"Kat, please," Talon stretched, close enough so she could feel the whisper of his breath against her neck.

"I need to stay," she insisted, without turning her eyes away from the spectacle.

Darkwill sneered at his contender, clearly trying to regain his bearings. "You have no right to challenge me here and like this," he hissed loudly.

Swain's laughter carried to the hindermost parts of the camp. "But you brought the witness yourself."

He seemed to revel in the moment as Darkwill's lips tightened in understanding.

Only then Swain continued. "Katarina Du Couteau, firstborn of Marcus Du Couteau and thus currently acting head of house Du Couteau until further clarification, I call you forward as witness to this duel."

Talon froze, staring at her as his girl's head sunk against his shoulder, seemingly completely spent. Katarina reciprocated his gaze, shaking her head lightly. She did not understand either.

"Katarina is no General, and she is not the head of her house," Darkwill verbalized Katarina's objections.

Swain's mouth curled in satisfaction, the motion not reaching his cold eyes. "With General Marcus Du Couteau reported dead by his youngest daughter Cassiopeia Du Couteau, former Commander Katarina Du Couteau, as his firstborn, is elevated into the temporary position of head of the house and acting General until the inheritance dispute is settled. Further argumentation will be seen as cowardice in office," he stated.

Next to her, Talon ceased every motion. Katarina let the information slide against her mental shields, she was unable to process Swain's word right now. She knew what she had to do now, though.

"Stay by my side," her whispered words definitely sounded like a plea. Much louder, so that her voice would carry through the whole camp, she answered. "Acting General Katarina Du Couteau is present, confirms the legitimacy of the challenge and will bear witness to the duel!" Her voice grew louder with every word, sudden anxiety forcing the air out of her lungs. Asking about her father - or the fact how Swain had managed to travel to Kalamanda this fast - would pose a weakness, so she kept her questions to herself. Instead, she stalked out of the shadows, into the lantern's light, into Swain's and Darkwill's sight.

Swain had not brought any other generals and no reinforcements. It took no genius to see that he tried to lure the lower soldiers into attacking him. A raven landed on his shoulder, one low croak echoing in the voices of the thousands of birds Swain had brought with him, a whole different kind of entourage.

Katarina saw it. Swain had already won, at least in the soldier's hearts. The fear crippling them at witnessing his blatant attack was imminent. Darkwill saw it as well, his face turning grim as he turned to face his challenger. Regardless if Katarina was an acting General or not, Darkwill was not able to bail out on this challenge. If he tried, his soldiers would lose their trust in him, which would serve as a death sentence back in Noxus Prime.

Katarina felt Talon's presence lingering behind her, but she refrained from turning around, leisurely taking her time to stroll up to the opponents. It was enough time to plaster her tell-tale smirk all over her face and to force the fear cooling her insides down. Confidence was everything, even though she was clueless about what had happened to her father – and to her sister.

She regarded the scene. Darkwill, fully healed by now, with his broadsword in hand. Swain, on the other hand, wielded no visible weapon.

One moment there was utter silence, even the ravens seemed to look at the opponent's with bated breath.

Katarina had no idea if she had to do something, Darkwill had challenged the last Grand General long before her birth.

Darkwill, seemingly not as unsure about the customs as she was, drew an elegant circle with his weapon, seemingly waiting for his opponent to take the first strike. A predictable maneuver. Swain seemingly did not need more, he stretched out his glowing, clawed hand - the hand Katarina was sure to have been amputated in Ionia.

The redhead did not believe her eyes as she saw the limb vanishing. A few soldiers dared to laugh, but Boram's face turned left and right. Then something appeared behind the Grand General, pulling the surprised man forward before Swain's limb reappeared, right before another flash of red shot out from the appendage, hitting and burning Darkwill. A low, pained growl accompanied the scent of burnt flesh as Darkwill turned his hand in rapid succession. The darkness seemed to flutter around him, and instantly he charged, his sharp sword drawing a deadly arc. Swain did not move aside but awaited him, his head tilting to the side as his arms stretched out on his sides. Right before the steel connected, the air around Swain changed, like charged with electricity as a screeching sound resounded from thousand breaks.

Katarina's eyes bulged as Swain changed, his body becoming transcendent in the second Darkwill's sword needed to travel the short distance to his skin. The air around Swain sizzled as he seemed to grow, to darken, his eyes starting to glow white. Katarina had to force herself to stand still and not stumble back at the display as dark, translucent wings sprouted from Swain's back. Darkwill's eyes opened in abject horror as red energy collected around Swain. As Darkwill's sword connected with Swain, the energy sizzled out, repelling the sword and hitting Darkwill like lighting.

Katarina had to close her eyes at the flash. She reopened her eyes as fast as possible.

It was already over.

The former Grand General's body laid felled in front of Swain, his clothes burned, and he was not moving.

Swain stood above the body, his wings and sinister energy vanishing like a nightmare.

If the soldiers had been quiet before, now they were completely silent.

Eerily calm, Swain bend down and grasped the fallen man's sword, weighting the weapon before swinging it, severing Boram Darkwill's head from his body. After nudging the head with his foot, Swain turned to Katarina, seemingly expecting something of her.

Without caring for the hand trying to hold her back, Katarina strode towards the battlefield. She kicked Darkwill's head for good measure, making it roll a short distance. "Looks dead to me," she announced. "Congratulations, Grand General Swain!"

Hesitatingly, a few soldiers started to cheer. But Katarina's attention was fixed upon the tall, white-haired man with the narrow smile.

"Fantastic," Swain's smile gained a calculating edge. "If you would accompany me to clear up a few formalities?" he asked as if he had not just killed the man who had led Noxus for about three generations.

Katarina nearly felt the stare burning into her back.

Swain turned, his coat flaring up dramatically. "Of course, your entourage is welcomed as well. Both of them," he emphasized and headed towards the Grand General's tent.


Soooo

Yes.

A little later than I hoped for, buuuut this is the action-filled part of the finale.

After finishing this chapter, I read Rito's newest short-story, featuring... guess what... Talon. And Katarina. It sucks. The story in itself is good, at least the depiction of Talon is, but now it does fit neither his biography nor my story anymore. Which probably means that as soon as Steps Measured ends, my carreer as a writer will do so as well. I am just... so... disappointed in Ritos storytelling. Right now, I could really cry.

I wrote the first outlines of this chapter two years ago, before Swain's rework, before his rise to Grand General changed and, since I liked It and did not plan to think of something completely new, I changed and kept it. In the old lore, nobody knew who killed the Grand General (Katarina and Talon were to do so in my version), but this is fine as well, I think. You have no idea how hard this chapter was to write, because it somehow still does not feel quite right. I will probably edit it even more than I already did.

This chapter, as you probably figured, was originally longer, but I decided to cut it in a half, since the next part is not finished yet and I did not want to keep you hanging for another few weeks until I figure the rest out.

Ancestor-Katarina was inspired by Katarina's Deathsworn-skin, I absolutely loved that skin.

Shikinanaya31: one more chance for Decius to maybe clone himself and sent another head but his own on its way to Basilich . (would that be too great of a Deus ex Machina to pull?)

101Asa: ta-daaaa… the finale .

Spectrer: I do like children in stories as well and I don't think I can hurt them. I originally thought about killing those two as well buuut then I asked myself if it would add to the story and if I liked it, answered both questions with a solid no and boom, they will probably live. If nothing unexpected happens, I have not written out Decius's next paragraphs. I do have hope, though.

Turfymink: thank you for telling me, I usually try to divert but saw a few lines where the signs were not right. You can always write me PMs if you think your comments are improperly displayed :)

Guest/ErikderFreak: Then you have been with me through some highs and some serious lows ;) Sorry that this is probably not the dark and cold Talon you wanted to see, but it is how I imagine my favorite assassin to work. Observe and then strike quickly and without mercy. Let's see what the next chapter holds for you. I'm not promising anything though, Talon is more the kind of guy who prefers to kill his victims in his sleep and not in the flurry of battle.

Generalblood1: thank you for your continued support :)

Nariod14: :*)