Taliyah II

The wind rushed past my face as Sivir and I raced across the Great Sai, the massive desert stretching out before us. The flattened rock we were standing on skidded through the sand at my behest, Sivir standing behind me, refusing to let go of my waist as our speed reached dangerous levels.

"Look out!"

Her voice was nearly drowned out by the wind, but I managed to get a glimpse of what she was looking at. With a little effort, I launched the rock upwards, lifting us above the swarm of insectoid xer'sai that suddenly popped out of the sands before us.

"Hang on!" I cried out, bracing myself as our rock crashed into the swarm, splattering the surrounding sands with voidling blood. The rock shattered and I could feel Sivir's arms tightening their grip around me as we stumbled onto the blistering hot sands.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"That was fun!" I declared after standing up and brushing myself off. Beside me, I heard Sivir coughing.

"You're crazy." She choked out, but I could hear the slight amusement in her voice. The sound of skittering cut short our moment of levity. Sivir raised her crossblade - her Chalicar - at the ready as the trails of burrowing creatures made themselves visible in the sand around us.

"I've never heard of a xer'sai swarm this large before." I grumbled with a frown, my back pressed up against Sivir's back. The xer'sai have always been a problem for desert caravans and nomadic tribes but they've never been this active when I was last in Shurima.

It didn't take long before the first xer'sai launched itself out of the sand, only to be swatted out of the air by one of the many rocks I had orbiting our position. As though that was a signal, the rest of the xer'sai burst forth in a coordinated assault.

They were cut down when Sivir expertly threw her Chalicar, striking a xer'sai's neck in such a way that its trajectory after cutting through led it to a collision course with another xer'sai.

"Taliyah, up!" she called out. A slight motion of my foot and a stone disc rose from the sand beneath us, lifting us up from the converging crowd of xer'sai. Sivir's Chalicar finishing its bloody work, the angle at which it struck its latest kill launching it upwards right into Sivir's waiting hand.

We landed just past the frenzied mob, the stone disc bouncing slightly in the sand. Unfortunately, the xer'sai's eyes managed to keep track of our trajectory and the swarm was immediately skittering towards us at full speed. Planting my left food firmly in the ground, I swept my right foot in front of me, a massive wall of stone following the motion and blocking the swarm's path.

"That won't hold them long." I panted out, the latest feat of stoneweaving having taken its toll on me. Sivir nodded gravely and we slowly backed away from the wall, unwilling to risk turning our backs towards it.

On one hand, it was a great decision on our parts.

On the other, I knew it was a great decision because the xer'sai effortlessly climbed the wall, flinging themselves from the top towards our side of the wall with reckless abandon.

Holding back a sardonic retort, a habit I learned from my companion during our short trek through the desert, I flung my arms forward, several dozen stones buried underneath sand following the motion and launching themselves towards the swarm, skewering xer'sai by the dozen.

"Damn it. There's no end to them." Sivir grumbled beside me, the Chalicar spinning in her hand like a disc of death as she prepared to engage in close quarters combat.

The swarm surged forth, each xer'sai clambering over the corpses of their fallen brethren, unafraid of the constant barrage of rocks that harassed them.

I took a calming breath and pulled out the knife that Sivir gave me as a gift from within my cloak.

Great Weaver, help us.

A massive form crashed into the swarm, effortlessly flinging away any xer'sai that made the mistake of trying to grapple it.

Azir I

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Emperor."

I stood in front of the Sun Disc, gazing out at the now bustling city and my multitude of subjects within it. Renekton has always been the Warrior, while his brother was the Thinker. Yet, it was his wisdom that echoed in my mind ever since our glorious reunion.

"Then I shall try to be an Emperor that the children of Shurima would willingly follow!"

"Do or do not, there is no try."

When he first trained me as a young prince, it was in the art of war, of tactics and strategy, of how to wield the various weapons accessible to Shuriman royalty. Now, his mind seems to have been filled with philosophical wisdom. Perhaps a side effect of being in isolation with no one but Xerath, that treacherous mad man, for company.

"Why do you call me Naruto?"

"Because Naruto, the golden boy, makes his own army while Sasuke, the traitor, throws lightning and fire."

Naruto and Sasuke. I do not know the meaning of those words, but Renekton seems to believe it to be a prophecy. Of a betrayed golden child, the son of a ruler, who would be betrayed by his brother in all but blood and gain the power to raise an army using his magic. Of a power hungry traitor who would wield the Curse of Hatred to obliterate his enemies with lightning and fire.

My gaze landed on the palace gates, where the soldiers, constructs of sand raised by my own power, stood guard.

"Emperor!"

One of my guards, a dusky skinned woman whose name was Samira if I remember correctly, clambered up the stairs, her breath coming out in short, ragged gasps.

"The city, your highness, Vekaura."

I narrowed my eyes and Samira squirmed under my scrutiny. Vekaura was the home of my mother, the woman who gave birth to me several millenia ago. It has always held a special place in my heart.

"It's burning, your highness! Fire and lightning destroyed the city. They say the Curator fought... he fought-"

Her hesitation to say the name was clear, but I knew. Renekton knew. Fire and lightning.

"Xerath." I ground out, Samira nodding tentatively.

You were right, Teacher. The Free Children of Shurima can not find peace in the Empire as long as Xerath is alive.

"Rally the men, we ride at dawn!"

The people of Vekaura, they were children of the desert.

"Her fate is hers, and hers alone."

"She is my legacy. If I can not protect her, will you protect her in my stead, Teacher?"

They were my subjects, my children.

"I will. You consider her precious?"

"Yes."

"It is when you have precious people to protect that you become truly strong, Naruto."

They were my precious people. For the sin of harming them, Xerath will pay.