They stepped through the portal; blinding golden light flashed around them for a split second before they found themselves standing before a large golden mural lit by torch lights. The feeling of traveling through this gateway was very different then the teleporting Kai'sa was used to, instead of passing through oblivion it felt like she was passing through a heatless Sun. They looked around the room they stood in now, it appeared to be a underground tomb, stacks of hundreds of sarcophaguses laid one after another in the large dark room, the mural told the entire story of the ancient Shuriman empire, Taliyah took notice of one section showing millions of slaves constructing the great Sun Disc, she noticed a part that showed many people died in the making of it, I doubt any of them are buried here, Taliyah thought as she saw the ornateness of all these hundreds of sarcophaguses. Kai'sa takes notice of a different section where it showed Shuriman armies facing off against mages that called upon the Void, opening a portal that could end the world, Icathia, she thought. "This way, The Curator is waiting for you ahead" one of the guards said as they continued walking along a path leading them out of the tomb. The guards got to work removing the deadbolts from a gate leading them to the next corridor.
Kai'sa and Taliyah then walked through the large gate as it opened, leading to a pathway with great columns that held up a ornate ceiling as they passed into a subterranean garden filled with hanging plants of all types, golden gilding lined the columns and a small stream ran alongside the pathway in a small pure white canal, the clarity of this water was like nothing Kai'sa had ever seen, she found herself wanting to touch it and reached out to place her hand in the water. "Don't," Nasus said as he startled her, "The waters of the Oasis of the Dawn are sacred." Nasus said again, Kai'sa just nodded her head as Nasus lead them down a path leaving the garden behind, "I heard people were bathed in the waters of the mother of life for healing?" Taliyah asked. "This is true, but battle wounds are very different then what is on you friend here, we have no idea what would become of Void energy mixing into the holy waters… we must be safe," Nasus explained. "I totally agree," Kai'sa said as the group followed Nasus up a spiral staircase that led them away from the underground rooms. The air began to feel humid as they climbed the stairs, they also started to hear the sounds of hundreds of small animal chirps, "What is that?" Kai'sa asked as she tensed up preparing for a fight, "Relax… it's just birds." Taliyah said, trying to calm her, the sounds of the critters reminded Kai'sa of swarms of Voidlings. "Welcome to the new Shurima," Nasus said as he opened a door for them, they stood on the edge of the inner circle of the capital, a large waterfall ran off the cliff right next to them, thousands of flocks of birds gathered along the cliff and the greenery that grew at the bottom, across the cliff stood the outer city, it looked like tens of thousands of people were pouring into the city from all directions.
Kai'sa stood speechless, she had never seen this much uncorrupted life in all her life, both animals and people, she marveled in wonder, if she wasn't hardened by fighting so long it probably would have brought her to tears. Taliyah's view was very different, though she definitely was impressed by the capital's grandeur, she couldn't help but notice the separation of this city, how all the thousands of people poured into the lower depths of the city to collect the water that flowed off the raised center part of the city that they stood on, Taliyah turned around and looked up at The Sun Disc above them, it's size was terrifying, and she felt it served its intentions well, to make people think they are gods above the lower slave classes that built this place, Taliyah thought as she held in the anger that brewed in her as she decided not to show it. Kai'sa turns around and sees The Sun Disc also, her knees grow weak at the sight of it as it hangs above them under some invisible supporting magic that her mind didn't understand now. "Come, I'll show you where you will be staying," Nasus said as lead them away from the cliff and farther into the capital's center.
Back in Vekuara, Jaffa and Tena walk the streets scouting out people that might be good targets to rob later, fancy clothes, soft hands, or people paying full prices and not haggling at all for deals were all good signs that someone was too rich for their own good they thought. Sehla followed behind them some 30 feet, she kept a close eye on the others but kept enough distance that no one would assume they were together. They spotted a man wearing a gray hood, but nothing his cloak had gold inlays on it and he carried a ivory staff that he walked on with a limp. Tena and Jaffa both noticed him, they looked at the distinguished man while Tena put her arm around Jaffa's shoulder as if they were together, which was the signal for Sehla to follow him. Sehla locks her eyes on him and begins following him as he turns onto a smaller road. "Okay enough of that!" Tena says as she pulled her arm back to herself as soon as they were out of sight of the man Sehla was following. "Ok I got this from here," Tena said as she gestured for Jaffa to leave. "Really? What I suppose to do?" Jaffa asked. "Like hell I care, shoo!" Tena replied, waving him to get out of there. As soon as Jaffa left the scene, Tena started climbing a stone water silo to get a view overlooking the streets, she saw Sehla following the man some 3 blocks over.
Sehla picked up her walking pace because she saw the man take another side road and she didn't want to lose sight of him in the alley. "Oh! Excuse me sir…" Sehla timidly says as she runs into him as she turns around the corner. "What is it you want dear child?" The mysterious man asked, for being someone that walked on a cane, he felt very firm and didn't move at all when she bumped into him. "Oh, um, I just thought you may have some spare change I could ask for…" Sehla said, thinking it was best to pretend to be a beggar when she was caught. "Hmmm, I have change to spare, but I feel, that is not what you truly seek" The man replied. "Um, no sir that is all," she replied. "Hm, I sense, you have lost someone, and you seek peace, yes?" This guy is a con man isn't he, thinks he can pretend to know me, hmmp, Sehla thinks to herself as disdain grows in her at this man. "Doesn't take much to see a young girl alone and say "Oh you have lost someone, child" yeah your cheap parlor tricks isn't impressive to me" Sehla snapped at him as she pulled out her golden kuba blade and pointed it at him. "And is this something that is a cheap parlor trick?" He replied as he pulled out a necklace that had a strange black rock with eerie purple veins running through it as its pendant. "That, that's my father's…" Sehla replied as her lips began to quiver.
Tena pulls out her spyglass and sees Sehla speaking with the man, though she can't tell what she's doing, "come on, get out of there," Tena says to herself as she watches them talk. Finally she sees Sehla turn around and start walking away from the man, she wipes her brow once which was a signal that the mission was a failure. "Phew," Tena breathes a sigh of relief, at least happy Sehla wasn't in trouble. She then jumped down from her view point and started walking over to meet her. "You okay?" Tena asked as she approached Sehla. "Mmmhm" she replied, "what, what happened?" Tena asked. "He just told me to stop following him, I said I was a beggar as usual." Sehla replied as the two continued walking down the street. "You, you didn't give him your name did you?" Tena asked. "No, of course not…" she replied. "Hmm, are you sure nothing else happened?" Tena asked, as she could tell something was even more off than usual with Sehla. "No, nothing happened, he just called me some names," Sehla said. "Well hopefully we will nail the bastard later," Tena said.
"Nail who?" Najah said as she startled her sister. "Hey sis! Um, no one, just a rat that lives under the floor of the room we are staying at, we'll get that bastard!" Tena replied with her voice stuttering a bit. "Riiiight…" Najah said while eye inquisitively scanned the two youngsters, "sooo, how did that investment promise you told me about turn out?" Najah asked as they all stopped walking and stood under a fire lit lamp by the river. "Uhh, yeah about that, unfortunately I heard that the person I had planned to invest in was killed by savages in the jungles of Ixtal" Tena explained. Sehla perked up her head with attention at what she said with a look of great concern, though she still refused to talk about what she was thinking. "Ahh damn, is the money safe? I have a safe place to store it if you need me to?" Najah asked. "No no that's fine, it's safe," Tena replied. "Okay well I gotta get going, got something I need to take care of… cya girls around" Najah said. "What like you got responsibilities now?" Tena teased her sister as she walked away. "You been my responsibility squirt!" Najah said as she walked away.
As soon as Najah was out of sight, Sehla turned and gave Tena a glaring look, "what the hell are you talking about!?" She asked. "Um, it's called lying, you should practice getting better at it sometime." Tena said as she handed her an imperial news parchment that was being handed out at the town square earlier. Sehla grabbed it and started reading it, it talked about a attack upon the settlement of Marrowmark by Renekton and had a list of his accomplices, one name on the list was Raz Bloodmane who they had hired to hunt and kill Kai'sa, Sehla continued to read, it talked about the criminals being stopped by Nasus and help from a StoneWeaver fom the Naasaj nomads of the easter desserts, and the woman of the Void Know as Kai'sa, which had a special message to the people of Shurima concerning the dangers of the Void. Sehla's emotions boiled inside, as memories flashed in her head of Kai'sa's violet Icathian rain setting her hometown ablaze, while her father's headless body laid in the middle of the square. Yet here she was, seeing the empire praise her and tell us all to heed what she has to say, "WHATEVER! I'LL HIRE SOMEONE ELSE, OR DO IT MYSELF!" Sehla snapped as she shoved the paper back into Tena's hands and then turned her back towards her and started walking away. "Whaat, wait," Tena said as she caught up and walked with her.
"I, I know what happened to you was terrible, but, is there any chance you could be mistaken?" Tena asked. Sehla didn't reply, she just gave her a glaring look as she continued to walk. "It just, doesn't make any sense, you described something destroying your home with the power of the Void, and here it says the same person you described saved a different village, and is warning the whole continent about the Void, It Just Makes no sense!" Tena explained. "I know what I saw!" Sehla replied, her voice growing more angry. "Yes, but maybe you didn't have the full context of the situation, is there any chance your father, did something? Attacked her or something? I'm trying to think of a situation where it would make sense," Tena asked, trying to keep her voice low to not offend her. Sehla stopped and turned, snapping a right hook right into Tena's face, knocking her to the ground with a bloody nose. "WHAT THE HELL!" Tena exclaimed as she sat on the ground. "We're done, I don't need your stupid pity…" Sehla said as she turned around and stomped off. "Wha,What the fuck! Fine! Good luck getting your cold vengeance by yourself!" Tena snapped back as she stood up and watched her continue to walk away down the street, until she faded out of sight from the crowds.
Kai'sa and Taliyah followed Nasus up a large golden staircase leading them to the front gate of the palace, "are we, actually staying here?" Taliyah asked, as even she was a little bit overwhelmed by the grandeur of the emperor's gate. "You shall be staying at the guest house in the Emperor's courtyard, the palace and the barracks are off limits, everywhere else you may use at your own convenience," Nasus explained as the gate opened and the party walked inside. The courtyard was massive, probably a half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, two large hanging gardens filled the center leaving a pathway in-between them that led straight to the palace. To the left of the palace was a mail room, hundreds of birds carrying messages flew in and out of it like a giant bee hive. On the right side of the palace was a small amphitheater, and in front of that on the side of the gardens was the guest house. The guest house was a mansion in its own right, at least three times larger than the hotel they stayed at the day before. "Azir has many guests as you see, it's a new world, best to make friends and learn everything from the new world so he can truly be the greatest Emperor" Nasus said as they saw the guest house bustling with dozens and dozens of people. Himp that's actually not a bad idea, Taliyah thought, giving Azir a little credit, but she still didn't trust him.
"Azir personally will meet with all new guests at the beginning of their stay, but when he is ready in the palace, until then, take the time you have to clean up and make yourselves presentable," One of the guards said as he waved them into the mansion. "May the Great Weaver be with you both, I have other matters to attend to" Nasus said as he walked away. His words brought a smile to Taliyah's face as he spoke in the words of her people, no doubt he knew all the cultures of shurima with how long he has been alive, but still, it was a kind gesture, Taliyah thought to herself as the two walked into the mansion, Kai'sa just following kinda lost in the ridiculous level of gold on every piece of the building. So many different people there was in the entrance lobby, Most of them just chatting with each other, probably waiting to have a audience with the Emperor as well, "So much for him being just interested in me," Kai'sa leaned over and said, teasingly into Taliyah's ear, making fun of the fact she had asked why was Azir so interested in them, clearly he just invited anyone with a story to tell. Taliyah didn't reply, her mind fixated on a group of Noxians, they were definitely outnumbered here, groups from Demacia, Ionia, even the Freljord had more representation here, but she still wasn't sure if she was wanted in Noxus for deserting the Noxian army. They walked by them, Taliyah stared at them as she walked by, they noticed her but didn't seem to care, phew okay, Taliyah thought as the two were shown the way out of the main lobby to where their room was.
"Are you doing okay?" Kai'sa asked, seeing Taliyah acting uncomfortable with the situation. "Yeah, I'm okay, well see how this meeting goes," Taliyah replied. "The crowds are a little much," Kai'sa said as she noticed how many people had stared at her and whispered about her when they walked by them. "Here the room key, if you happen to lose it don't worry will make you a new one" the guard said as he handed Taliyah the key and pointed them to the room, Taliyah chuckled at the fact that here she could lose the key if she wanted to unlike the hotel last night. Kai'sa walked into the room first to have a look around, but mostly to get away from the crowd, Taliyah followed behind, cautiously looking the place over. The room was very bright, it had two queen sized beds with white sheets, a mid size lounging couch with ottomans, with thin curtains blocking a small balcony with a view overlooking the house's backyard that had a large bird fountain in it. "Um, Taliyah," Kai'sa said as she brought her attention to the walk-in closet. There were at least 20 different extremely fine dresses each having 6 or 7 duplicates all in different sizes, "well, damn, guess we don't have to do any shopping." Taliyah replied.
"What one do you think I should wear?" Taliyah asked as she pulled out a gold short dress and held it in front of her to see how it looked. For a brief moment Kai'sa's mind starting to panic at the thought of she was asking her for fashion advice, "umm, um, may, maybe this one" she said as she pointed to a cyan colored silk dress, Taliyah pulled it out to have a look, "um, no nevermind not that one," Kai'sa said as she quickly yanked it from her and put it back, oh hell no! She thought Because she noticed it had a completely open back and she knew she couldn't handle that. "How about this one," Kai'sa said as she grabbed a red slim long dress, it was silky and elegant but modest enough that it wouldn't make Kai'sa lose her mind. "Hmm, thanks I like it," Taliyah said as she received the dress from her. "I'm not going to make you wear anything, but I definitely think you should wash your hair and face so you at least look fresh." Taliyah said as she gently pushed Kai'sa out of the walk-in closet and shut the door so she could change. Kai'sa walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, to be honest she didn't have a clue about even the basics of how to doll up with make-up or anything as she saw the bathroom was filled with tons of different soaps powders.
After a few minutes of finding the right sized dress and putting it on, Taliyah stepped out of the closet "okay… what you thi… Kai'sa No!" Taliyah yelled as she saw her scrubbing her hair with a bar of soap. "Whaat!" Kai'sa replied, oblivious of the problem. "You will ruin your hair like that!" Taliyah said as she jogged over and took the soap bar from her, "here put your head in the sink, this gonna be a pain to wash out," Taliyah said. Knock Knock Knock, "Azir will be accepting new guests at the palace in 30 minutes, don't be late!" A guard said through their room's front door. "Shit we need to hurry," Taliyah said as she forced Kai'sa's head into the sink to start rinsing out the dry soap. Kai'sa trying to be nice just lets her rinse her hair and ignores the little itches her suit was making as it protested Taliyah manhandling them.
Tena walked down the streets of Vekuara, her nose still swollen but not bleeding anymore. It was sundown at this time and Jaffa had left to go to his job, "god I need a drink," Tena mumbled to herself as she made her way to the local pub, her head hurting from thinking about the fight with Sehla… good riddance, she thought to herself. She walked right up to the bar counter and asked for and asked the bartender for a large glass of mead as she sat on the bar stool. For so long she really wanted Sehla to heal, from the day they took her in they knew she was greatly in pain emotionally, but no matter how much kindness they gave her, the only thing she seemed to care about was avenging her father's death. Tena never knew her parents, they died before she could remember, Najah spoke sometimes about what they were like, but all of them orphans of the desert had learned to move on, maybe it was harsh Tena wanting Sehla to move on, she only knew there was nothing healthy about the bitterness Sehla carried, and she was relieved she didn't have to worry about her as she drank her mead. Tena's contemplation is interrupted by the sound of a familiar laugh, she swivels her chair around and notices her sister sitting in a booth having dinner, and chatting with the pretty boy Akshan. "Shit!" Tena said to herself as she quickly turned around and hid her face so she wouldn't be seen, Najah clearly hadn't seen her yet, but she knew she had to get out of here before she did.
She quickly gulped down her drink then set a few coins on the counter to pay the bartender, then slowly she stepped away from the bar and made her way to the exit, hoping to draw no attention as Najah's back was faced to the door of the pub. RINDINDING, a small bell rang from Tena opening the door to leave, "OH Hey, Sis! What are you doing here?" Tena's heart sank as Najah asked after noticing her. "Hey there, I was just looking for somewhere to use the bathroom," Tena said as she turned around and pretended to be just entering the place instead of leaving, she knew Najah wouldn't like her drinking. "Soo, you must be the lovely Tena, it's an honor to me you, come sit, your sister has told me many stories about you," Akshan chirped up as he waved her to come join them at their table. She just nodded her head thankfully and walked over, sitting down next to Najah who gave her a stern look when she sat down next to her. "So who's pretty boy here?" Tena asked her sister, secretly teasing her because she knew exactly who he was. "The names Akshan miss, fabled adventurer and sentinel of light at your service" the cavalier said as he took a mini bow, Najah then rolled her eye in embarrassment at the rogue's bragging.
"Where's the others? I never see you separated from your friends?" Najah asked quietly, implying it was a personal question for her sister to answer. "Jaffa at his new job, he's fine," Tena replied. "And Sehla?" Najah asked. "Gone, she doesn't want our help anymore, good riddance, GUHH" Tena replied as a large burp came out her mouth. Najah paused for a moment as she noticed her sister's bruised nose and the smell of mead that came from her burp. "Who is this Sehla? Is she someone in need of rescuing?" Akshan said, interrupting Najah's thoughts as she felt sad for her sister. "You can't save someone from themselves…" Tena replied coldly. A moment of silence fell over the table as the plates were all empty and the conversation ran into a dead end. "Welp I guess I'll get the bill," Najah said as she signaled her sister to stand up so she could leave the booth, "No no, I will get it, And don't haggle with me fair lady," Akshan said as he sprang up from his booth faster. "AAAHHHH!" A loud scream is heard outside as the three see several dozen people start running by the pub's window clearing running from something. "LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE IS IN NEED OF A HERO!" Akshan yelled as he forgot about paying and vaulted out of the exit door. Najah let out a sigh of annoyance as she walked over and paid for her food, ignoring whatever chaos was happening outside. "Shouldn't we help him?" Tena asked. "Yeah, but I'm sure he'll be fine," Najah said with a lackadaisical attitude.
"Num num num, still hungry! Num num num" A large void creature said as it munched down a wagon cart full of fruits. This particular Voidling was the height of about one and a half men, and the length of about 6. It's body was a purplish smooth shell that was reminiscent of a roly poly bug with a little tail, it had a large bone plate on it's head and 4 big eyes that strangely kinda looked cute. It meandered around on its two stubby legs as it looked for anything to munch on. "Come face a Sentinel's blade creature!" Akshan said as he swung towards the beast with his grappling hook. The beast looked up and spit out a purple acid at him, landing on his rope causing it to snap and him to fall from his swing and land in front of the Voidborne on the ground. "YAM YAM YAM YAM!" The creature said, its voice giddy with playful anticipation as it ran forward to eat the easy meal that was akshan laying on the ground. SMACK, a large barrel rolls into the side of the beast stopping it from reaching Akshan and knocking it to the side. It then turns and notices a horse tied to a post that was screaming and immediately starts devouring it. "What the hell is that thing!" Najah said as she lifted Akshan up unto his feet. "Can't say I have any clue darling," he replied. "That's the beast known as Kog'maw, they say its hunger never ends" Tena replied. "Well then, let's put an end to its gluttony!" Akshan Yelled as he dashed back in to fight the beast.
Kai'sa scratched her itchy dry scalp as she stood with Taliyah in a line of waiting outside the emperor's throne room, "will you stop playing with it," Taliyah whispered as they waited next in line from the closed door to the throne room. "But it itches," Kai'sa whined. "Well use shampoo next time," Taliyah replied. Kai'sa took a deep breath to ignore her itching hair, she had ignored the itching of her suit for many years so it wasn't that hard. "Relax, it will be okay," Kai'sa said as she noticed Taliyah looking nervous. "Hmmmp," Taliyah nodded as she let out a small breath. Kai'sa looked at the wall beside her on the side of the hallway they were standing in, large vases filled with red roses lined the wall, sneakily Kai'sa leaned over and snipped off one of the roses with her claws leaving a short stem on it. "Here" Kai'sa said as she placed the rose under Taliyah's hair pin, "matches the dress" she said, as she let out a little smile. "Awww thank you, you really are sweat, hopefully we don't get murdered for stealing their roses hehe" Taliyah teased with a smile.
"Proceed to his majesty" The doors opened and an unseen guard said, the voice seemingly coming from behind them echoing in the hallway. "Come in! Come in! My Curator says you saved his life, come, the Empire owes you a debt of gratitude!" The deep voice of Azir echoed out sounding welcoming as he stood looming over a map table of the Shuriman continent. The table was massive and was almost as tall as Taliyah as he loomed over the map with his blazing eyes that seemed to glow with a blue fire, his demeanor seemed worried as he examined the lines of the many divided nations on the Shuriman continent. Taliyah had expected him to be sitting on his throne waiting for them to kneel before him, but the throne laid empty and the fireplace cracking gave the room a homey feel. "Um, thank you sir for inviting us here, may the great weaver bless you," Taliyah replied. "Is there many others with your gift Taliyah where you are from? From what Nasus tells me you are quite special, Don't recall ever seeing a stone weavers in my time," Azir asked as he didn't waste any time with formalities and got straight to business. "Um, no, I'm the first to have this gift in many generations…" Taliyah replied hesitantly, not sure why he wanted to know this.
"Hmm, Shame, many with your gifts and we could reshape the very deserts to our will… And what of you Kai'sa? Seems your name has already started to transcend into Legend, and at such a young age still… how did you manage to bend the power of the Void to your will? Maybe others could learn from you and we win this war against the Void." Azir asked, as he stood up from the table and congratulated Kai'sa. "Um, respectfully sir I would want no one to take the actions I have had to do to survive. And while I may be stronger now, I can never go back to who I was… I,... I do not wish for anyone to become touched by the Void willingly or not, plus I was 8 when it grabbed hold of me so I really wouldn't know how to give instructions on how to repeat the process that made me." Kai'sa said soberly while Taliyah watched her, she could tell Kai'sa was struggling not to say what she wanted to, that she thought she was cursed and a part of the void. "Yes, though… war always changes people, makes us do things we thought we never would… and sometimes it's a necessary sacrifice," Azir said in a somber tone while he looked at his golden ascended hands and pondered on his own words. "Well then, it has been a pleasure meeting you, I have many guests I must meet, I will be speaking with you some more later Kai'sa, I must know all dangers that may threaten my people. But for another time.." Azir said as he walked past them and sat down on his throne and waved them out.
"Phew, well that went smoother than I expected," Kai'sa said as the door to the throne room closed behind them. "I still don't like him, guy's been dead for how many centuries, yet he just assumes all of Shurima is "MY PEOPLE" Uhg" Taliyah said as she shook her head while they walked down the stairs leaving the palace. "We don't have to like him, the question is can we work with him for a common goal," Kai'sa said the two stop and admired the red sunset shining off the golden architecture of the great city. "It is really beautiful…" Taliyah said.