TRIGGER WARNING: THERE IS A PART IN THIS CHAPTER THAT DOES HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF GRAPHIC IMAGERY! I WILL MARK THE ROUGH LOCATION SO YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ IT.

"What, are you doing here?" The woman demands.

"I have no idea." I repeat myself.

"We kinda just appear here." Starshadow nods his head with me.

"Is that a talking snake?" The boy asks.

"No, I'm a celestial, not a talking snake." Starshadow retorts. I look around me and notice that the boat we're in has a golden dome over it. I look over the edge of the boat. The water is incredibly calm, only the ripples from the boat signals that we are moving. Mist blocks the rest of the view. My eyes widen excitedly.

"This is a boat! I've never been on one!" I squeal. Silence rings on the boat. I just sit down sheepishly and look at them, my hand going to play with my hair. The woman looks at me curiously.

"How old are you, child?" She asks.

"Oh, between nineteen and twenty, I think." I tell her.

"You look like a teenager." She observes.

"Yeah, I'm not expected to grow much more than this." My hand just does not want to leave my hair, I'm that nervous.

"Why have you appeared before us?" She asks. I clear my throat.

"You're going to want my help soon." I state.

"I was given this honour from the Sentinels of Light. I do not need assistance." The boy protests.

"Sentinels of Light?" I ask.

"How can you plan to journey with us if you do not know what we are going for?" The woman scoffs.

"Well, that's my usual thing whenever I go somewhere new. You said we are going to the Shadow Isles?" I try to get the topic back on hand, away from me.

"The light must be given to prevent the Harrowing from happening." The woman explains. I rub my temples.

"I was raised in Targon and I've never heard of Harrowing. Can you explain that to me?" I ask.

"The undead will travel all across Runeterra if we do not keep it at bay." She explains. I blink.

"Did you say undead?"

"Yeah. Stick by whoever's going to restore the light, Leilah. They will need it." Starshadow shivers. I look at my bonded.

"Why?"

"I was alive when the Blessed Isles fell to Ruination. Well, in the stars. I have no idea what happened to the place, but I remember that this place, once filled with so much light, became so dark out of nowhere. They fell to shadow, and everyone in the black mist was shrouded from view."

"A foolish king wished to bring his wife back, but she was far too gone to save her. No one knows what happened, but a horrible disaster struck the Isles, turning it from a beacon of light to a place of lost souls." The woman fills in some of the blanks. "Everything in the Shadow Isles should remain there. And it is the Sentinel of Light's duty to protect Runeterra."

"Is there any more to the tale?" I ask.

"The only people who would be able to tell you are those who lived it, and they are shrouded in the mist." The woman states. "Quiet now. We are approaching." She says.

"Approaching what?" I ask.

"The ruins of Helia." The boy says. He resumes rowing. I sit up and look outside. The Mist parts before my eyes. I feel a shiver down my back.

The ruins of Helia appear before us. Nothing has stood the Ruination. It's a black, colorless world with ghostly blues seeping around us. A ship is beached to our right, it's sails completely torn and unable to be used. To our left is a chapel of some sorts, but it's broken. Weathered walls of homes crumble in the distance. Mountains far away are not as much of a comfort to me as Mount Targon. In fact, I get the opposite feeling. The full moon seems to watch us. I take a large gulp.

"What are you doing, kid?" Starshadow asks. I snap my head around to see the boy put his hand outside the golden dome. Almost instantly a blue-green mist floats from his hand. It isn't long before a ghost appears. I scramble as far away as I can. Starshadow enlarges himself enough to keep the boat steady but provides sufficient threat. The spectre straightens before charging at the boy. It slams against the dome, rocking the boat. I struggle to remember how to breathe. The boy looks at his hand and clenches it.

"Perhaps you are not ready." The woman states, almost comforted by the thought that her son would not leave the boat afterall.

"The Black Mists are reaching further across the waters every year. I can't let that happen." The boy responds calmly. He gets up from his rowing spot to stand behind the womanI widen my eyes considerably. The boat remains silent while I process what just happened.

"That is what your Father said." The woman remarks.

"I'll relight the wards and come right back." The boy promises. "I must do this. For him." The woman turns and kisses the boy's head.

"Go" she tells him, sounding reluctant yet proud. We dock at a ruined beach. He gets out of the boat, bringing a lantern of some sorts. I jump out as well. I look down at my hands and almost stare at them. They are almost glowing every color imaginable. I look over to Starshadow. He, too, glows.

"Why am I glowing rainbows when the boy was glowing green?" I murmur to Starshadow.

Must be the magical beings part coming through. We don't know enough about the Shadow Isles to really tell. Starshadow says in my head. Stay with the boy. I feel like something bad is going to happen.

Right. I hasten my pace so I match the boy's. His lantern is keeping the ghosts away. Staying away from the lantern does not seem like a good idea. Especially since I don't know what the difference between our glowing means.

We come into a circle with a pillar on it. The boy pulls up his lantern and tips it. I watch as golden light pours onto a pillar. It glows brighter until it eventually creates a dome around him. He looks out. I look back and notice all the spots with a golden light. The light connects to each other, much like whenever I create a borealis. That must have been where he's been, keeping the Shadow Isles at bay, but it's more of a warning and a shield than a beacon of hope… though maybe it's both. I glance down at my hands. Maybe my magic can do something similar… if that's the case, then maybe my magic will be useful on the Isles.

"Hello?" The boy asks. I almost shriek and turn to look at him. He's looking out in the distance, almost trying to find something. "Father?" He asks. He's looking like he's about to leave the circle. I grab the boy's arm before he leaves.

"We need to head back to the boat." I remind him urgently. Even if my magic was a perfect counter to this place, I really don't want to be here longer than I have to. He shrugs me off and walks to the barrier. I see a spectral being walk deeper into the ruins. The boy looks back for only a moment before he walks out. I try to hold him back.

"Let me go. I think I saw my Father." He spits.

"It's not safe." I whisper to him. He jerks his arm out.

"I need to see if it's my father." The boy snaps. He walks away. I whimper a bit before following him. I have to run to catch up as he started to jog to get to the spectre. We follow the ghost into a chapel. I look around to see some pillar rocks floating about. A disk is cracked, with blue mist radiating from the ground.

"I really don't think you should be here." I whisper. The boy ignores me, in favor of following the ghost. I groan and follow him too. Afterall, it's better to be in groups. I think...

The boy leads us through black trees, empty of leaves and life. I try to follow the boy into a chapel, but something calls me away. Each step I take closer to the dark twisted building, the feeling grows. Eventually, I can't resist it anymore. It feels like I'm being called, only it's not Zoe dragging me anywhere. It's something else.

I walk off the pathway to look closely at the courtyard, though I'm incredibly nervous about the Isles. Dead bushes line a pathway to a large tree. The tree is somehow different. There's a ghostliness to it. Like it's both dead and alive. I touch it, and shriek as a blue glow leaves the branch. I poke it again, and it does nothing to me. If anything, the light seems to brighten to a whiter color. I press my hand against the branch. I feel my magic surge forward. Something… is calling it. That's when I feel it. The magic of the Isles. It's lost, afraid, angry, overwhelming. I almost want to pull away when another feeling comes forward. Curious. Hopeful. Fevered. I try to pull away my hand, but it feels stuck. I can't… I can't yank myself off!

Leilah, what did you do? Starshadow bursts out from my scarf, alarmed. When he makes his appearance, the branch lets me go, though not without an injury. I hiss and yank my hand back. I look closely at where my injury appeared. There's a line of rainbow in my palm. I hiss, the pain delayed. I look up at the branch and widen my eyes. There's a leaf, a healthy, glowing leaf, on a twig. I want to touch it. Didn't you learn your lesson last time?

Something's odd about this, Starshadow. Look. I touch it. The leaf glows. More leaves erupt from the branch. I wince as more cuts slice into my fingers. The tip of my finger drips blood. Starshadow slithers up my arm and yanks my hand away. It feels wrong to pull it away. My vision tunnels to look directly at the tree. Nothing else matters. It needs me.

It's taking your blood with it, Leilah! Stop it! Starshadow tugs me away. I stare at the leaves, hypnotized.

"It needs me. It feels… content. Happy. Hungry. And I can feed it." I slur. Starshadow's tail taps my cheek and I look in a different direction for a moment. I can't let go of the tree. No, I won't let go. "It needs me."

"Not at the cost of you." Starshadow snaps. He's rubbing my cheek with his tail. He puts his face right in front of mine. His eyes look dim compared to the tree. I have to see it, to touch it. It needs me. I need to give it sustenance. My magic is making him happy, hopeful, alive. I need to keep giving it. I need to.

"It needs me." I chant quietly. One second, I'm standing, the next I'm on the ground. I touch my nose and pull away. It's dripping red. I look around. The tree still stands there, unmoving. It almost gazes back at me. I sluggishly reach out before I collapse. I don't have the strength.

"Leilah, wake up! This isn't you!" Starshadow hisses, his dimmed face squarely in mine. I try to look around him to the glow. He bares his fangs as he snaps around.

"Leave my bonded alone! You'll kill her!" Starshadow hisses furiously. The tree's glow entices me. I struggle to move. I feel like my magic is being pulled out of me.

"NEED THE LIGHT." A groan echoes in my head. It's intoxicating. I almost sigh at hearing it. I feel ridges on Starshadow erupt. He glows a bright red, a huge contrast to the blue and black. My head clears a little bit.

"You may need help, but never at the cost of someone else! Especially not her." Starshadow spits. His body wraps around mine protectively. I blink and rub my temples.

"Starshadow?" I whisper.

"That thing is doing something to your mind. I don't like it." Starshadow informs me quickly, his body glowing like Daamien's body. I blink as my head clears a bit more.

"Wha-"

"NEED LIGHT." The tree shifts, standing up. It's blue ghostly eyes stare at me. I feel something nudge my mind. I close my eyes and press my fingers deeper into my temple.

"Please stop." I whimper. It's like the golden figure on the top of Mount Targon. The nudging vanishes. I finally take an uneasy breath and push myself to my knees. Starshadow ducks his head under me to help. His red glow provides some comfort and helps me clear my head. I glance up at the creature before us. It does not try to entice me again.

"NEED HELP." It groans. I blink. "MY HOME NEEDS HELP."

"...The Shadow Isles is your home?" Starshadow asks, sounding confused.

"BLESSED. NOW SHADOW. BLESS." It moans, reaching for me. The part of Starshadow that supports me immediately changes from his head to his tail as he enlarges. I just fall onto him as he faces the threat.

"Back off, tree!" Starshadow hisses, spreading his neck. He looks terrifying. The tree stops and tilts his head.

"MAOKAI." He mutters. Starshadow backs slightly, almost in shock.

"The treant?"

"Starshadow?" I feel out of the loop.

"The treant of the Blessed Isles, turning them into beauty and wisdom enough to rival Shurima. You were once on the Blessed Isles. Well, an older soul of you, according to Aurora. Thankfully, you died before the Ruination, so you could exist."

"What?"

"Doesn't matter. But to think, the Treant survived." Starshadow's ridges decrease, but don't go away. He knows our opponent, and he still thinks we may fight. Or Maokai would possess me. Though, it doesn't exactly feel like it's the treant that wanted to do it, but it was necessary... "How did you even manage to hypnotize her? You don't have that ability."

"WATER." Maokai groans. Starshadow gasps.

"What is happening, Starshadow?" I groan.

"What happened that day, Maokai?" Starshadow ignores me.

"BETRAYAL." He groans. A little sapling pops out. He throws it at us. Starshadow reacts instantly, whacking it away with his tail. It squeals as it soars away.

"You would speak of betrayal when you would do something like that?" Starshadow hisses. His tail tip twitches irritably as he sets me on the ground. He places me down so that I could see what was behind us. The boy stands there, looking sorrowful, panicked and… blue?"

Starshadow, I don't think he was fighting us. I mumble in his head. Starshadow's tail instantly reacts, wrapping it around my arm and tugging me away. Just in time too. A hook flies through the air, landing right where I was. Starshadow's form grows ridges again. I hear groaning come closer. The boy looks horrified as his form disappears. It flies into the black mist, disappearing before my eyes. I look around.

"What was that?" Starshadow demands.

"WARDEN." Maokai groans. Another little thing appears in his hand cackling. Starshadow shifts me to lie down between the two of them. I want to groan and get up, but Starshadow's just too big for me to handle and move. I huff and just lie there. At least I can watch. Maybe… with all the magic I've been using to heal myself, then maybe I can use a little to help him if he needs it. There's a deep, crazed cackle. My eyes widen and I whimper. Starshadow, being the amazing annoying bonded he is, wraps his tail around me protectively.

"Show yourself!" Starshadow hisses furiously. The mist rolls, uneasy. A spectre comes flying at us. It launches itself at me when a branch runs through it. It screams as it dissipates. I want to throw up. It sounded like it was immense pain. That makes me want to reach out and help it, but I can barely twitch my fingers.

Starshadow, if you are listening, I am going to make sure you enjoy good old Targonian hospitality, my Father's courtesy. I threaten, irritated that I can't move. He instantly shrinks a bit, remembering how his first interaction with my Father was like. At least now I can roll and dodge whatever comes my way, even if Starshadow's impressive defence is going to be hindered. Better a moving target than a still one, though. At least I won't be relying on Starshadow completely.

"Did you have to say that?" Starshadow grumbles. "I don't need another massive knife trying to chop off my head."

It's not like you would have responded any other way.

"You could have just asked."

Like we've ever done that.

"Fair enough." Starshadow relents with a sigh before returning to a defensive position. Maokai reaches down and picks me up. I yelp as he does so. Starshadow balks before dashing up the roots.

-Scene with the worst of the imagery- There are details in here, so I can just put in the summary what happened.

"LEAVE!" Maokai roars. There's a deep, dark laughter before a hook soars out of the mist, hooked right into my ankle. I scream in pain. Starshadow immediately snaps his head and bites at the chain. He doesn't even leave a single mark. I feel the hook pull on me. I cling tightly to Maokai. Starshadow shrinks so I have more strength available to me. Still, it's almost hopeless. I just start to let go when Maokai notices the issue. He grabs the hook and tears it out. My blood drips on the ground as my magic struggles to heal me. I glance down to see a massive hole in my ankle. I almost throw up again. It's one thing to not see something be removed. It's another to see the aftermath. What's more interesting is that as my blood falls, the area turns less black. I spot a little bit of plant life grow. I blink, stunned, before looking at Starshadow.

"What was that?" I ask.

Not the time for it, Leilah! We gotta scoot out of here like Aurelion Sol is chasing us!

"How fast is that?"

Pretty darn fast. He's a star dragon. Big enough to hold Runeterra in the palm of his hand. Starshadow deadpans.

"Fair enough."

"HOLD ON." Maokai groans before the ground almost seems to swallow us. Only to Maokai, he glides through. I clutch onto his branches tightly, holding beyond everything else that I have the strength to hold on. I feel the rocks smack into my hand, battering them. One particular rock knocks into my head and I lose consciousness.


I come to eventually. First thing I think of is pure pain. I wince at the throbbing in my ankle and check it. The hole's shrunk down, but it's not gone. Not completely. I wince at the pain in my hands. They are covered in blood and scratch marks. Thankfully those have already closed. My magic should be able to handle the rest… Though it's much slower than it should have healed. I pull myself out of the ground and cough out the dust.

-Bit of a graphic scene here, but it's mild. Still, I wanna give you warning to make sure no one gets triggered-

You ok, Leilah? Starshadow groans. I look around for him. I see a little head peeking out a little bit farther down Maokai's path. His scales are covered in dust. I painfully crawl my way to him and help him out of the ground. I look away when I notice that he lost the tip of his tail, but it seems to be growing back.

"I'm alive. There's still a hole in my ankle, so I'm not going to be moving anywhere quickly anytime soon." I inform him.

There's blood on your face, Leilah. Starshadow helpfully informs me. He lifts his tail up to wipe it away when he sees it's gone. He just stares, not sure how to comprehend it.

"It'll grow back, Starshadow. It's already healing, see?" I comfort him and point out new shiny scales.

...This is horrible. My beautiful tail! I'm incomplete! Don't look at me, I'm hideous! Starshadow wails, burying his head into the ground. He makes an odd twitch, lifting his injury to the sky. I blink before rolling my eyes at his theatrics.

"Starshadow, you are a celestial with a healer in your body. I'm pretty sure that you won't be hideous for long. And why do you even care about what you look like? No one ever sees you!" I tease.

Just because others aren't worthy of seeing my beauty doesn't mean that I cannot remain so. Starshadow sniffs. I poke the base of his tail. He lets out this hiss screech noise and recoils. I notice a little bit of a tear form in the corner of his eye as he carefully folds himself up to protect his still bleeding wound.

"Starshadow, I know it hurts. I know you're being a drama queen to deal with it. Come over here." I beckon. Starshadow slowly slinks towards me, wincing from his tail touching the ground. I feel bad for him, so I pick him up as soon as I can reach him. I bite my lip and hold a hand over his tail. My hand glows brightly from my magic, sensing that I needed to help and answering my call. It flows around Starshadow's missing tail. Before our eyes, his tail regrows. I was mistaken about how much tail he lost. It's a solid half foot before it stops growing. I sigh and groan as a wave of exhaustion washes over me. Never done that before, forcing a regrow before our magic does it for us.

-Last bit of graphic violence, I promise... at least for this chapter.-

...Thank you, Leilah. You want to rest? Starshadow sounds sincere now, not laced with pain. I shake my head and cast the magic on myself. The wound disappears under my nurturing magic. There's a sense of pride in the magic as it disappears. I almost smile. That would be Daamien, pleased that I can actually handle his magic appropriately. Maybe he'll come see me more often now, teach me something about my magic.

"I'll be ok. We need to find a place to rest safely first." I try to stand up but immediately stumble. Starshadow's prepared for it, growing just large enough to help stabilize me. He lets me lean against his head as we walk away.

Where we dropped of is barren for the most part. I search for a place Starshadow and I can call a shelter. Problem is, it's all flat. It's familiar and so different at the same time. The little raises in the ground just tease at my mind.

Well, as much as I want to find a place to sleep safely, we are definitely going to have a bit of a problem. Considering this place is all flat and no cover. Starshadow snarks. I finally know what I'm looking at.

"No… It's farmland. And if this was farmland, there's a barn." I whisper excitedly. I don't even realize how excited I am until a little white guiding light appears. I almost laugh in excitement. Thank you, Aurora. There's a barn a little ways off. I can see it. I almost scoop Starshadow up as I hobble towards our destination. Starshadow dodges my attempt. He happily helps me run instead, practically turning me into his personal marionette. I can't complain, he is helping me stay on my feet.

We reach the barn in what I would almost consider record time, though Starshadow can't keep up his size if I'm going to be able to stay on my feet. My magic was drained quite a bit. He's forced to shrink down to the size of my wrist. He grabs the door at the same time I do and attempts to help. I manage to pull the giant door open somehow and almost squeal. It's clean. It's like home. If only there was hay… though I have no doubt those were taken care of over the centuries this place has been in disarray. I shiver at the thought of what happened here. Everything just seems so… listless, like they are missing something. I frown and go back to the fields. There's something calling me out here. Like I'm needed. Like someone is looking for me...

Leilah, not this again. Starshadow groans. I look back at the small mounds in the field and think for a moment. Maybe… maybe my blood does something to this place… And since I don't know how long I'm going to be here, I need to make sure that I can survive. The mounds… there might still be seeds. Maybe I can grow some food. With that in mind, I look around for anything sharp. Somehow there isn't anything sharp. How a barn doesn't have anything sharp is absolutely beyond me, especially if it is so degraded.

"Starshadow, do you have anything sharp?" I ask.

Besides my teeth? I'm not risking my tail getting sliced off again, thank you! Starshadow snaps.

"I want to see why my blood made that tree come to life." I whisper.

Not risking it while you just healed yourself and are looking more dead than the spectres around here.

"Oh, that's kind of you." I simper before face planting into the ground. Maybe you have a point.

Maybe? I'll keep watch. You just rest.

Shouldn't I move to the barn?

You should, but neither of us can manage. Don't worry, Leilah. I've been protecting you for years now. I can protect you.

I hate you. I smile as I allow myself to go unconscious for the second time.


Alright, so for those that are more sensitive to material, the two scenes... the first scene was Thresh's hook spiking Leilah's Ankle. her blood dripped onto the ground and a flower emerged. The second scene is Starshadow lost a large part of himself. If you want a size comparison what he would be at this point... he's around two feet long. That's a quarter of him gone. Naturally he's being a drama queen to not worry Leilah, but she's a sweetheart and would happily sacrifice a much needed resource called magic to make sure that Starshadow's ok.

Any way, We are on the shadow Isles! I did want to try to save the boy originally, the one from the shadow Isles Legends of Runeterra cinematic, but in the end I decided against it. I wanted Leilah to interact with the Isles because I want to start a mystery and holy hell there is some exploring needed to be done. With that, she couldn't be with the boy.

So, what is calling Leilah? What has robbed her of her senses? What made her submit? Maokai doesn't have a charm or a possession... I wonder why he was able to affect her? And she hasn't officially met the chain Warden. She hasn't seen him yet. That'll come later... not sure how much later, but later. Until then, She's going to attempt to survive on the Isles.

As always, have an extraordinary day in the form of Valentine's day! You are all wonderful people, with souls so bright that I'm sure if I met you in person, I would be blind. May you express the love you feel for anything in the best way possible. Your love for your partner, friend, pet, may they inspire you to become the extraordinary person you can be!