(Jarvan III, King of Demacia - PoV)
Meltdown is the term. The entire kingdom is melting down around me.
Xin stands silently in the corner as I receive report after report of disaster after disaster.
Have I really been so blind to the kingdom fracturing around me? The recent news is bad certainly, but problems such as these, and to these levels? They do not crop up overnight. No...the recent Noxian jabs are merely exposing deeper issues...issues that I have been willfully blind to up until now.
I sigh.
My son is running around investigating the irregularities he found at the Academy. I fear what uncover there, what news he will return with. The Academy is a foundation of the country. If things are rotten even there...It is no wonder that corruption has spread so far. And under my reign...To have failed the nation so badly and have not even noticed...
And to make matters worse, Tianna appears to be falling ill but refuses to admit it. The woman is stuck running herself ragged attempting to put out fires all over the country. A hard woman she may be, but I find myself quickly running short on trusted advisors.
I fear I never quite trusted her husband Gerald the same, the Mageseekers and I have never seen eye to eye. Pieter and his wife have taken their children's defection quite hard, and haven't been seen in public for weeks, and their younger brother was killed so very many years ago by the same Noxians Garen and his sister ran off to join.
I rub my brow.
Yes, running out of close advisors indeed, and just when I need them most.
I signal the guards, telling them to hold the messages unless they are of immediate and dire importance.
"Xin. My loyal Xin...please...how badly have I failed? How blind have I been these years?"
"Apologies my lord, I cannot answer that question. All I have seen from you has suggested great wisdom. If there have been failures..." he hesitates.
"Please my friend, speak. You know I always value your opinion." I assure him.
More than ever now, I need another viewpoint.
"If there have been failures...they must have been in those below you...or in the systems of the country themselves," he says, before returning to his stoic vigil.
I reflect on his words.
Failings in those who are supposed to carry out their duties are always possible, and indeed inevitable. But for things to become this bad, and this quickly?
...Could Demacia's foundations truly be flawed? Could the processes themselves be at fault?
...
I want nothing more than to dismiss his words out of hand. To go back to assuming I am a failure as a king. At least that way I could have faint hopes that my son could succeed me, and turn the nation around, return it to its glory.
But I cannot.
To think that the country itself could be flawed? It is...against everything...
...
Against everything the system itself has taught.
...
I close my eyes.
The burden of the crown grows ever greater, and I begin to worry that even I cannot bear it.
But the people need me. It is up to me to somehow guide them through this. To fix everything wrong, to take all of their burdens and hardships. What choice do I have?
(Lux - PoV)
By the gods, coming to Noxus was the best idea ever!
I may give Brother so much crap about being an idiot, and most of the time he deserves it, but sometimes he can have great ideas.
I take another bite of the Angel Food Cake.
"Mmmmmm"
Yeah, Morgana is trying to be funny with her choice of cakes, but I don't care. It is amazing.
Then again I haven't eaten anything she has made that isn't amazing.
I do take at least a moment to glance around the table. Everyone is enjoying themselves. Kat got some kinda awesome looking quadruple chocolate cake that I am going to demand next. Brother is finally getting to try the cookie platter. I snatch one off his plate for later, ignoring his complaints.
I'd stick my tongue out, but that would slow down cake consumption. Not worth.
Morgana is watching us eat with a smile. I have decided, we are adopting her. I will tell Kat to ask Swain about the paperwork. He may not have much of a sense of humor, but I think he will appreciate having a full branch of Crownguards living in Noxus, if only to flick Demacia in the nose again.
She will be best Big Sister.
...
The fact it plays so hard into my, interests, has nothing to do with it! I don't just want to be the little sibling in a big sibling sandwich!
...
Seriously though, I think it will be great for her too. She really wants family? We will give her family! Fuck Kayle. And fuck Demacia, but that's a given.
...
I finish off my cake and poke Brother in the face with a wing so he doesn't notice me steal another cookie.
I lean back in my chair, nibbling at the cookie, surrounded by my family and our girlfriend.
Yeah, this is awesome. Who needs sanity?
(All Fall Down, League Master Summoner - PoV)
I can't believe they took me off the search for the scarecrow!
I mean really, Inns burn down all the time. No one even died!
Scars just add character. Ask Singed, he'll tell you! He's added tons recently.
Damnit, I wanted that Legendary too. I remember stories of it from back before the Rune Wars...
I let my arms fall towards the floor as I lean back in my chair and spin despondently.
Sometimes I think you are my only friend Spinster for the Winster.
...
I could work on the wings I guess. This office can't be that important...
(Darius - PoV)
This.
This is what we fight for.
I carefully cradle the tiny new life in my arms, ignoring its loud wails.
He is weak. Honestly, he is rather ugly. But we all start that way. We all start as nothing. And I can see his potential, see how much stronger he will grow with time. He has every chance to grow into a fine young man, and be a great citizen of Noxus. I hope he will follow me on the path of the warrior, but whatever path he chooses will make us stronger.
I hand young Darius back to the happy parents with a nod of respect.
They may be nobodies in the power plays of the world, but without them? Without the many, many little ants crawling beneath us, the towering figures at the top would come crashing down. I have to eat as much as anyone. I strive to remind myself of that. And to occasionally beat that fact into the heads of those who forget it.
In the end, we fight to give those new lives a chance. Their own chance at freedom. At power. A chance to grasp their own destiny, to live up to their own potential, and not serve at the feet of some fools "birthright."
I stride out of the hospital, ignoring the awed gazes behind me. Yes, I do my visits to remind myself of my place, but if I give the little people a goal to aim for? Inspire them to drive themselves harder in the process? All the better.