Shortly after Isen's victory in the pit, he was escorted back to the cell in the arena, which he figured was more of a waiting room than a prison cell at this point. He wasn't sure why he was being brought back here, but at the very least the guards weren't being rough with him anymore. It was like they had respect for him now, compared to before when they didn't have the slightest care in the world for his well-being. They didn't even restrain him this time—they just asked him to follow them back to the cell, and said that someone would be there to pick him up shortly. He didn't know what that meant, but he had other things to worry about now; or rather, other people.
He turned his head. Sure enough, he saw exactly what he expected to see. Riven, kneeling down in the corner, facing away from him. She probably didn't even bat an eye upon hearing him re-enter the room. "Hey, uh… I lived!" No response. "...C'mon, still nothing? No congratulation, no praise, not even a good job?"
"...Good job." She bluntly obliged. Isen felt like he was talking to a brick wall. Then again, he got the same vibe from her the last time they spoke too, so it's not like things were any different now than they were before. He figured that trying to convince her to hold a conversation would be a waste of time, so he gave up on the attempt before even starting, and instead returned to his previous seat: the corner opposite to her.
The two sat in silence for a while. Then, after a while, Isen began to notice the stark difference between Riven and everyone else he had encountered in Noxus. They all praised strength. They saw that Isen was strong, and in turn, they began cheering for him, and giving him respect. Even the guards that were tossing him around like he wasn't worth anything started to treat him like an actual human being. However, when it came to Riven… that didn't apply. She didn't seem to care about strength, about him surpassing the odds and claiming victory over a stronger foe. She was so… different. "...You're not Noxian, are you?" Riven visibly flinched at that question. Isen struck a nerve without even realizing it.
"...Not anymore." Her tone had completely changed. Before, she was just stoic, devoid of much emotion at all, unless it was provoked out of her—and even if it was, she still didn't show much. But now… there was something else about her. Another emotion in her voice: defeat.
"So… What are you, then? Surely you had to have done something to end up in a Noxian cell, right?"
"…" Her being silent wasn't new, but… something about it was different this time. This time, it felt like she actually wanted to say something. "...A byproduct of an empire that cares only about being the strongest. Nothing more." After she said that, it was like the roles had completely reversed. Isen was now the one left speechless. He couldn't even tell if it was appropriate to respond to that. To top it all off, it felt like she wasn't even talking to him. Instead, she was just… speaking. To herself, or to someone that wasn't even there to begin with. He couldn't tell exactly what, he just knew that… it wasn't him. She didn't actually care what he thought about the situation. Instead, she was just trying to validate her own feelings about it in her own head. Feelings that have been hidden behind lock and key for as long as she's been here, and probably won't ever escape their chains. That… was her real prison. Maybe that's why she stayed here, and didn't interact with anybody.
Then, before Isen could think of what he should say ot do regarding Riven, he heard the cell door open. He turned his head, and saw someone that he actually recognized, albeit very faintly. He moreso recognized the massive battleaxe he was holding; it was the same one he saw when crash landed on the outskirts of the city. But this time, he didn't have any guards with him. He entered the cell and looked at Isen for a brief moment, before then turning to Riven. When he glanced at her, there was a look on his face. Disappointment. Perhaps even disgust. A personal distaste for her. Did they know each other? Isen pondered that question to himself for a moment, before the man turned back to face him. "You. Come with me." Everything about him felt infinitely more serious than anyone else he had seen—even compared the person who was actively trying to kill him not too long ago. Isen knew better than to tell him no, though. Whoever this person was, it seemed pretty clear that he was in charge. He began to follow him out of the cell, but before leaving, he turned back one final time to face Riven. She was, yet again, looking directly into the corner of the room, but Isen could actually see a glimpse of her face this time. It was… devoid of any emotion at all. No sadness, no anger. Only defeat. An acceptance of her emotional defeat against herself was plastered across her face. Before, when Isen looked at her, he saw a warrior. Someone who was quiet, yet had an endless reserve of strength they could muster up If they needed to. But right now, in this very moment… That warrior was gone. Instead, all that was left was a shell. An empty husk of someone who was once a fighter. Someone who, within an empire that searched only for strength… found nothing but inner weakness, and the shame that came with it. But there wasn't anything Isen could do for her. Whatever her problem was… It was out of his league.
"...Someone out there is rooting for you, Riven." Those were the only words that came to his mind. She didn't respond verbally respond, but she at least visibly reacted to it, albeit faintly. The fact that his words weren't falling on deaf ears was enough for him to think that there was some hope for her. That was enough for him. With that, Isen left the cell and followed the armored man into an office-type room that was on the other side of the coliseum.
"Take a seat." The man said, standing on the opposite side of the table from the only chair in the room, which Isen took a seat in.
"So, not to sound rude or anything, but… Who exactly are you?" Isen had genuine curiosity in his voice.
"The Hand of Noxus. Otherwise known as the Commander General of the Noxian military… Darius. And you?"
"Isen… uh…" He felt pretty insignificant, not having a title of his own to accompany his name; especially when sitting across from a man known as the Hand of Noxus. "Well… What's up?"
"You're Demacian. Moreover, a Demacian mage. That in and of itself is a contradiction, and yet here you are… on the opposite side of the continent, within the walls of the capital of Noxus. So I'll ask you once: Why are you here?" He wasted no time in trying to get to the bottom of Isen's reason for poking his head into Noxus. But unfortunately for him… Isen was wondering the exact same thing.
"Yeah, that's… A pretty good question. It's not like I chose to come here or anything. To be honest, I didn't even leave Demacia of my own free will. I was kinda just… sent here."
"And how exactly did that happen? Nobody saw you approaching. All they heard was a crash… And then, they found you collapsed on the ground. How did you get into our territory?"
"I don't know… Teleportation, I think? It was in the heat of the moment for me, too. I haven't really gotten a chance to process everything that happened, even still. Your guards have been putting me through a lot, y'know?" Darius glared at him. He didn't approve of the way Isen was talking about his men.
"Teleportation. So you just decided to teleport yourself across the continent? For what reason? Fun?"
"I told you already: it wasn't my choice. My father's the one who sent me here. As for why he did that, and to here of all places… I don't have the faintest clue, to be honest."
"...And what. You expect me to just believe that? That you're not the only mage within the state that's renowned for being against all forms of magic? That your abilities run in your family blood, and that you were sent here of all places, with no ulterior motive?" Darius's taunting and general aggression was beginning to get under Isen's skin now. He stood up and slammed his hand against the table.
"Okay, look, I don't care if you believe me or not. It's not like I'm planning on sticking around. If you guys didn't throw me in a cell, I'd be on my way back to Demacia by now, trying to find my father and figuring out why the hell he sent me here in the first place. So, if you don't mind… I'm going home now." He turned away from Darius without another word, heading toward the door.
"And just how do you plan on getting back there?" Isen stopped. "You're just going to walk back? You traveled across an entire continent, kid. Do you really think you can get back on your own by walking? You'd never survive something like that."
"If you're trying to make a point, then spit it out. Otherwise you're just wasting my time." He turned his head back to Darius as he spoke. The two of them locked eyes as he did, and in that moment, Darius saw something in him. Resolve. A burning determination to get back to his home. A will tough enough to force his way through, no matter what the odds were or how much effort it would take. Strength.
"...Tell you what, kid. I'll make you a deal. You do something for me, and I'll get a fleet of my soldiers to escort you back home safely."
"...Right. And what, pray tell, is it that you need me to do?"
"Oh, it's simple. I just need you to track someone down. Someone who… wants to stand against Noxus itself, and has the strength to do it on her own."
With this, the prologue sequence of this story is done. From this point on, we're gonna start getting into the over-arching plotline that'll span throughout the rest of the story. I had to do a lot of thinking and lore-reading to figure out what would fit the best-both for Isen's character and for the actual world around him. And thankfully, I found something that I think is actually a really good fit. We'll start getting into what that is in the future. In the meantime... Let's worry about the person that Isen's being asked to track down.