*Chapter 2, I spent quite a bit of time on this, so hope you enjoy! :D*

The road was mostly straight with very little narrow turns or obstacles in the way. The charioteer was navigating the roads very successfully. Jhin was just staring out of the window and imagining how the beautiful countryside of Ionia could inspire his artistic sense. He was already seeing the beautifully sculpted structures engraved into buildings. Demacia was especially popular for its construction and sculpting skills. This was another reason why Jhin liked Demacia because construction can be viewed as art, too. Eventually, the chariot made it to the docks and Jhin got off.

Jhin (thankfully and with a small bow): "I appreciate the ride very much, sir."

The charioteer: "No trouble, young man, you should hurry, you might be late for your ship ride."

Jhin waved goodbye to the charioteer and hurried to the docks. He saw several different boats, each having different signs in front of them saying "Zaun", "Piltover" and "Bilgewater". Jhin eventually found his boat heading to Zaun. It was a steamboat, it looked pretty comfortable. There was a woman checking tickets for entering the ship. She was also selling tickets for entering.

Jhin (cheerfully): "Greetings, ma'am. I would like 1 ticket, please."

The woman (politely): "Certainly, sir. Mind I ask where you're headed?"

Jhin: "Oh, I'm gonna visit the art festival in Demacia, I just need to get to the shore of Zaun."

The woman (cheerfully): "Sounds interesting. Here you are, have a wonderful trip, sir!"

Jhin (with a small bow): "Thank you very much, ma'am."

Jhin boards the ship and sees some people on it. It wasn't a lot of people since Zaun usually isn't a place people visit often. Jhin decided to go below the deck and go into one of the rooms. He found a comfortable looking room and put down his bags and painting equipment. Jhin started sketching in his notebook. He sketched some parts of nature he saw on the way to the docks. After a few hours, Jhin decided to stop sketching and he wanted to explore the ship a little more. It would be a while before the ship would arrive in Zaun, anyway, so he was free to walk around and waste some time. He went on top of the deck and saw some people standing near the edge of the ship. Jhin walked up to a young man who was around the same age as him. The man was turned around so he didn't notice Jhin until he walked up to him.

Jhin (politely): "Good day, sir. How are you?"

The man (surprised and turning around): "Jhin?"

Jhin (pleasantly surprised): "Viktor?"

The two men shared a hug and started to conversate. They were clearly good friends.

Viktor: "What in the name of Zaun are you doing here?"

Jhin: "I'm heading to the Demacian art festival, what about you?"

Viktor: "Ah, to be expected from such an impactful artist like you. Me? I'm just visiting some relatives near Noxus."

Jhin (annoyed): "Ugh, Noxians. Sorry, I can't stand them."

Viktor: "Understandable. They usually aren't the nicest people."

Jhin: "Anyway, how are you? (concerned) Is your mother okay? Last time I heard from you she was sick, wasn't she?"

Viktor: "Yes, she was. Sadly, she passed away shortly after we heard each other."

Jhin (apologetic): "Oh, I didn't realize. I'm so sorry."

Viktor (thankful): "I appreciate the concern."

Silence followed for a few moments.

Jhin: "Have you made some new inventions yet?"

Viktor: "Oh, yes, I was working on a mechanical arm which would be useful for people with missing limbs or disabled people. I already got a model made, so I just have to make more."

Jhin: "Ah, very nice. Sounds useful, too. Hope that works well."

Viktor: "Yeah, thanks. Hope your art business and festival go well, too."

Jhin (with a small bow): "Appreciate it, friend. (noticing) Oh, looks like we're almost there."

Viktor quickly started to move towards his room and picked his bags up. Jhin did the same thing.

Viktor: "This is where we part ways."

Jhin: "Unfortunately. (curiously) Wait, is your address still the same?"

Viktor: "Yes, why?"

Jhin: "I thought we should start sending letters to each other again, you know, start catching up again."

Viktor (realizing): "Ah, yes, good idea. Well, I'll see you around, my friend, I hope we will meet again in the near future."

Jhin (taking a small bow): "Until we meet again, Viktor."

Jhin and Viktor both got off the ship and started heading on the opposite sides of the dock. Jhin saw a chariot near the end of the dock and walked up to the charioteer.

Jhin (politely and cheerfully): "Hello there, sir. May I request a ride to Demacia? I would like to make it to the art festival there."

The charioteer: "Certainly. The price is 50 gold."

Jhin (handing the money with a small bow): "Here, thanks for the ride."

The charioteer (with a nod): "Put your bags in the back and hop in."

Jhin boarded the chariot and the charioteer started whipping the horses. The road was pretty long and Jhin was mostly getting inspiration from nature again. He saw some interesting situations outside. There were various fields and farms in the opening while they were passing Noxus. These were most likely farmers outside the border trying to live peacefully. Noxus was known for starting wars and it's cruelty towards its citizens. He saw some windmills, a lot of forests and some empty fields. These parts of Runeterra were most likely inhabited since most of these areas weren't marked on the map between Demacia and Noxus. The area between Demacia and Noxus was also popular for the canyons and mountains that formed there over the years. These craters and canyons could also have been affected by the war between Demacia and Noxus that split the two factions in the first place. The charioteer eventually rode next to one of these craters and Jhin immediately averted his eyes to it. It made him think of what the war was like. There was obviously a lot of death and suffering from it. This is also where Sion killed Jarvan The First. Jhin witnessed a speech once in Demacia. It was one of his business tours and he decided to stick around for the speech. The speech was spoken by Xin Zhao, the noble second in command of the army. It was an inspiring speech which told the story of how Xin Zhao was once a gladiator in the Noxian arenas. He fought many opponents and beat them all until he eventually escaped during the outbreak of the war. It spoke about the sacrifices he had to make for his motherland. Xin Zhao made it very clear that he is from Demacia and he only got captured by Noxians and that he has no connections to Noxians whatsoever. This speech was heard by a crowd of people, so it was one of Demacian's biggest announcements or public speeches ever. Jhin was snapped back into reality from thinking by the charioteer.

The charioteer (curiously): "So, are you an artist?

Jhin: "Ah, yes. I have been an artist for about 9 years now and I don't plan on stopping any time soon."

The charioteer: "Impressive. Ever get burned out?"

Jhin: "Isn't that the term for overworking? Well, sometimes. It could be quite exhausting for me since I might get loads of commissions piled up, but I love painting, so it isn't a big problem for me."

The charioteer: "Interesting. (after a brief pause) Ever considered giving up?"

Jhin: "Only time I could remember was when my grandmother fell into a very deep sickness which caused her inevitable death. That's when I wanted to quit to try to help her out. I realized it isn't worth to quit my passion for her. She wouldn't want that."

The charioteer (intrigued): "So, you went through the pain?"

Jhin: "I always keep telling myself that...Art is worth the pain. No matter how much I may suffer in the future art will always be a solution to whatever I'm going through."

The charioteer: "Good to hear that some people can deal with that."

Jhin: "Yeah."

After a while, they came to the end of the road.

The charioteer: "Looks like this is your stop. Enjoy your art festival."

Jhin (with a small bow): "Thank you very much, good sir."

Jhin got off the chariot and walked into the Demacian boarders. There were various stables outside of the city borders for storing horses. It was looking very appealing to the eye. The borders were overall very beautiful, tall and were made out of solid material. This was what Demacia was known for, so there was no surprise here. Jhin walked into the massive front gate with a lot of people surrounding him. It seemed like a busy day in Demacia today which was most likely because of the art festival. As Jhin was walking in he saw various posters and banners around the city advertising the art festival. This was most likely the biggest art festival yet. Jhin was in Demacia a few times already, so he knew where he needed to go, but walking was still very slow due to a massive amount of people moving at the same time. He eventually made it to the festival in the centre of the city where it was happening every year. Most art galleries were also full on this day, but Jhin knew basically every gallery so he went to the ones which didn't have many people in them. These galleries were still filled with good paintings, drawings and sculptures even if they were less popular. He stayed in the centre for a bit since he wanted to see if there were gonna be any speeches, reviews or art shows. He didn't see much so he went to some art galleries. The art festival was happening for 3 days, so Jhin had plenty of time to see some art. He was amazed that every year there was a new piece of art which would blow everyone's mind. It's truly amazing how art could change so much in the span of a year. Jhin wanted to see some art from the more popular art galleries. He quickly gave up when lines of forming outside of the galleries were getting massive. Well, he still had the "smaller" art galleries, so he went straight into them. He exhaled a sigh of relief when he saw a maximum of 50-100 people inside, and these galleries weren't exactly small. Jhin saw some interesting caricatures hung up with the best frames you could find around which Demacia was also known for.

The paintings and sculptures were done very well and Jhin was impressed. There wasn't anything too special so that lines of people were forming, but still, Jhin admired all these works of art. He went through a few paintings and learned some interesting origins. Most of them had historical meaning revolving Demacia, but there were a few people from Shurima or even Bilgewater who represented their paintings. They had meaning that had something to do with their own faction. The whole gallery was filled with amazing art and interesting origins. Jhin eventually left and he went through some semi-empty streets to relax. There is a competition every year for "Painter Of The Year". It is a competition where painters all around Runeterra meet up and participate in a challenge for, well, the best painter. They are given 24 hours to paint a painting with extreme detail and painting details which only the best painters could notice and highlight in their paintings. Out of the four years Jhin participated in, he only won once. There were artists who were more talented than him, but he was aware of that and he respected his competition. He felt like this year could be his shot. There was a museum near the Demacian Palace where the competition was going to take place. The competition was going to be announced near the end of the second day, so Jhin still had time. He still had to find an inn to sleep in for the next 2 nights before going home. He knew the best inn in the city and he decided to stay in it tonight. It was called "The Inn of Magical Steel". This was obviously a reference to petricite, a material Demacians use for crafting weapons and armour. Petricite was immune to all magic and magical crowd control effects which made the Demacian army quite remarkable. Jhin went inside and paid the usual price of 20 gold for a room. He went in and placed all of his bags and his backpack down. Jhin knew he needed to gather energy for the big day tomorrow. For some reason, he had a feeling he could win this year. He eventually went to sleep after he finished unpacking. He knew his future would change drastically after this festival, but we don't know what way it would change yet.

*End of Chapter 2.

I have no idea when the 3rd chapter is coming. I'm quite busy next week, but I'll figure something out. Hope you enjoyed! :D*