The winged guardians raced through the mystic lands of Ionia at a great pace. One moment we were navigating through the mountains, before we were hurtling through the plains the next. The biomes blurred together. It was exhilarating. Finally, the guardians broke through a clump of trees back onto the path, and stopped.
I jumped off the lion, tripping and falling on my butt. Embarrassed, I blushed as Ahri gracefully dismounted from her own guardian, smiled warmly, and helped me up.
"Come here little fox." She told me. "We must express our gratitude. Tell your guardian you are thankful for its help."
Ahri knelt down beside her winged guardian, and I followed suit. As steadily as I could, I whispered into one of its ears.
"Thank you for allowing me to ride you." I told the lion.
The beast licked my face, bowed, before bounding back into the trees with its brethren.
"Excellent job, Wentao." Ahri clapped, and my face glowed. "Alright then. Let's go. Weh'le is just up ahead.
We hiked for another few minutes before I started seeing more signs of civilization. Majestic wooden lamps hang in the trees, and I heard the distant sounds of people working. The surrounding area was filled with beautiful lakes, gentle streams, plants of a great variety, as well as many towering trees that glowed with a slight shade of azure in the late afternoon sunlight. A few strange masks also hung in the trees, though I didn't think much of them. I looked back towards Ahri, and was startled to find she had on a new outfit. A white hood covered her fox ears and her tails had concealed themselves in her robes.
"I would prefer not to draw attention to myself in public." Ahri explained when she saw me staring. "Men tend to stare and there have been certain legends surrounding a demonic fox woman who drew in her victims with her charms before devouring their souls."
I nodded slightly uncomfortably, before focusing once again on the task at hand. Although I knew Ahri was a wonderful person at heart, it was slightly unsettling to think about how many people she must have killed during her 800 years of life.
"And, we're here!" Ahri said brightly, interrupting my train of thought. I looked upwards and stared in wonder. A tall wooden gate stood towering before me. At the top of the gate, hang many lanterns as well as two lines of words carved into the wood. The first line of words read 'Weh'le Village' in plain English while the second line of words was written in a language I didn't recognize.
"What does that say, Ahri?" I tugged on Ahri's left arms as I pointed towards the second line of words.
"It says 'The Heart of Ionia" in Ionian." Ahri smiled and explained, before gently patting my head. "Weh'le is one of the places where Ionian spiritual magic is strongest, which I'm sure you already know."
I flinched, before blushing a crimson shade of red as I realized Ahri was no doubt hinting about me eavesdropping earlier.
"Sorry Ahri." I apologized as I lowered my head shamefully. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped."
"Awww. It's okay darling." Ahri told me kindly, before kissing me on the forehead. "I just didn't want you getting scared about the Noxians, though no doubt you would have found out eventually anyways. A good fox always keeps its ears sharp."
I blushed even deeper, and Ahri laughed before leading the way into Weh'le.
Many buildings lined the streets of Weh'le. Some were multiple stories, while some weren't. There were tea shops, restaurants, stores, and many other services of the sort. Ahri led me past the town square, in the center of which stood a ginormous tree with lanterns hanging off its many branches. Strange masks, some soothing and calm while some fearsome and frightening, dangled off of the tree.
"Why is there a big tree in the town square?" I asked Ahri. "And why do people put masks on it?"
Ahri gazed thoughtfully at the tree, whose leaves swayed in the gentle breeze, before answering.
"This is a spirit tree. It symbolizes the Golden Tree of Peace in the Spirit Realm." Ahri explained. "It's a bit like a Christmas Tree. Spirit Blossom wouldn't be the same without it. People also hang masks of the spirits from the Spirit Realm onto the trees. The friendlier looking masks are the kanmei, benevolent spirits the people bless, while the frightening masks represent akanas, malevolent spirits of negative emotions that people chose to face."
Ahri and I walked through the town square. Many people with friendly faces were cooking and decorating the town square for the Spirit Blossom festivals that would start at sundown. Some of the town folks waved us invitingly, and we waved back. Children in all types of costumes ran through the streets. Ahri would kindly greet them and they would wave back.
"Awww. The kids are so cute." Ahri smiled at me. "Just like you darling."
"They do seem much nicer than the kids back home." I told her.
Ahri led me to a large building constructed from wood and stone, with many colorful decorations and a sculpture of a teapot outside it. Many additional pink lanterns surrounded the teapot.
"What is this place?" I asked Ahri.
"This is a tea house." Ahri explained. "One of the best in town actually. We can rest here during the duration of our stay.
Ahri opened the building's wooden door, and we stepped into the tea house's cool air. She led me up to the front desk, where a woman dressed in blue and white patterned robes answered us. She had long, dark hair, and a mask of a Kanmei was placed to the right side of her face.
"Ah guests!" She greeted. "Hello! My name is Paskoma. Welcome to my tea house!"
"Thank you." Ahri said in a cheerful yet strong voice. She took a few coins from her white cloak and slid them to Paskoma. "My name is Ahri. This is my friend Wentao. A room for two please."
"Right this way." Paskoma replied.
We followed our hostess up towards a flight of stairs, and she led us to our room.
"Tea for you and your friend?" Paskoma asked.
"Sure! That would be great!" Ahri replied.
Our hostess left, and Ahri closed the door before pulling off her traveling cloak. She folded it and put it back into her backpack.
"Spirits!" She gasped a sigh of relief. "It's so hot in that cloak. Good thing the night is cooler."
I put down my bag, and jumped onto the bed. Ahri smiled.
"Alright then darling." Ahri said, before opening the washroom door. "I'm going to change into some more spirit blossom themed clothing for the festivals. Be a good fox and don't leave the tea house, alright?"
"Okay Ahri." I nodded. Ahri gave me a pat on the head, then walked into the washroom with her bag and closed the door.
Alone, I wandered out of the room and stalked shyly through the tea house. I didn't feel completely comfortable just yet in public without Ahri, but I guessed this would have been the best chance to practice. There were many strangers in the tea house. Nearly all of them were in similarly themed spirit blossom costumes, and most of them were sitting at tables starting their evening meal. No doubt some Ionians ate a light meal before the Spirit Blossom so they could enjoy the entire night of festivals. I glimpsed at each Ionian, trying to discover whether Yasuo was among any of them. That was when I noticed a sign at the front gates that read weapon carriers could not enter the tea house, and I remembered the huge sword Yasuo had by his side.
I walked back up the stairs towards our room, and bumped into Ahri on the way.
"Oops. Umm, sorry Ahri." I muttered, embarrassed.
"It's alright darling. Don't worry about it." Ahri said. "But how do I look?"
I took in the entirety of Ahri's costume. She had exchanged her regular red and white robes for a pair of white robes that were inscribed throughout with a simple yet beautiful sky blue pattern. Her boots had changed to a similar color but with splashes of light pink. A strange, fox shaped mask that had blue, and pink outlines and patterns hung on one side of her face, much like Paskoma's. Although her tails were still cleverly concealed, she was no longer hiding her fox ears since they were popular accessories for spirit blossom costumes anyways.
"Well, to be honest," I said after taking in Ahri's new look. "Although it looks wonderful, it doesn't look that much better than your usual clothing. You can't improve perfection."
"Awww. That's so cute." Ahri blushed, her slightly pinkish face fitting in quite nicely with her costume. "Thanks darling. You're such a sweet little fox."
She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug, pressing her body close to mine. I was relieved of all my tensions and worries.
After that, Ahri led me down the stairs and back into the dining area of the tea house. Checking a nearby clock, she said, "The spirit blossom celebrations are about to begin. Would you prefer eating here or eating out?"
I told Ahri I wanted to eat on the way, so she bought some cakes and two salads from the tea shop. We walked out of the tea shop, and into the now much darker streets of Weh'le. Night had nearly fallen, and the people were making final preparations for the Spirit Blossom festival. Adults were adding finishing touches to snack stands and kids were lighting lanterns. Ahri went to help a nearby man fix a part of his stand that had gotten stuck while I finished my food.
After I had taken the last bites from my salad, the spirit blossom festival had officially begun. Blue and pink lights shined throughout the streets from the many dozens of lanterns hung high and low. Both adults and kids roamed the streets in various costumes, and a few stands had actors who had put on puppet shows, telling the stories of various spirits in the Spirit Realm.
Ahri went to a stand, and bought me a cone of cotton candy.
"Wow! Thanks Ahri!" I said happily as I munched on the candy.
"You are welcome darling." Ahri replied, before glancing around at the festival with a gleaming smile on her face. "Want me to tell you about the various spirits of the Spirit Realm?"
"Sure!" I nodded, and Ahri began to tell the stories behind various stories while pointing to their respective masks on display here and there.
"Firstly, there is the Taker." Ahri began, as she pointed to a pair of masks, one featuring a calm face, the other featuring a fearsome beast. "They're easy enough to understand. They take the spirits of dying men to the Spirit Realm."
After that, she reached for her own mask and pulled it over her face.
"Then," She continued, while pointing at herself. "There is the gatekeeper, the Spirit of Salvation. She takes the form of an animal, and guides the spirit in the Spirit Realm. The spirits can follow her to their resting place, their salvation. Some say she takes the form of a fox, others say she's a dog, or even an otter."
"I think it's a fox." I told Ahri, and she smiled.
"However," She continued. "There is also the demon of obsession. He collects the souls he deems unworthy and will attempt to tempt the gatekeeper's spirits from their path. The gatekeeper will try her best to guide the spirits, but if they choose to follow the path of obsession, she will not be able to intervene."
We arrived at the spirit tree in the middle of town square. Ahri took out a lantern from her bag, winked at me, and summoned spirit fires to light it before handing it to me.
"Do you want to hang this onto the tree, little one?" Ahri asked me kindly.
"Sure! I'd love to!" I replied. Ahri passed me to the lantern and I reached for the third lowest branch on the tree.
"Wait!" I heard Ahri call out, suddenly urgent. I looked back and found that a swirl of pink petals had surrounded me. Ahri tried to make a grab for me, but it was too late. With a yelp, I started to dematerialize into the pink petals that surrounded me.
Ahri shouted something at me, but the loud swirling sounds of the petals made it impossible to distinguish her words. It was a strange sensation, as if you were standing in a thunderstorm. Finally, the entirety of my form disintegrated, and all went dark.