(Jarvan IV - PoV)
Marching into the Palace, it is difficult to believe how far the kingdom has fallen into madness in such a short time. It can be seen in the guards' stances; men hardened, expecting conflict instead of a more ceremonial posting. The smoke in the air, actual smoke, from the fires that still rage in parts of the city. The nervous walks of the citizens along the way here...
...
And all I have to show for my investigations are more questions.
The halls of the Palace, normally vibrant and uplifting, instead feel oppressing and bleak as we head to meet father. Sparing a nod for the Royal Guards, I push open the great inner doors of petricite, Shyvanna and Cithria following me.
The beginnings of a smile form as I see father upon his throne, relief flowing over me. He will know what to do, how to solve this crisis.
...
The forming smile fades to nothing as I grow closer, taking in his haggard expression. He still maintains his kingly bearing, someone less familiar with him may not notice, but I can see it. His cheeks are a little more hollow, his face a little more thin, and his eyes...
...
What have I missed?
Approaching the throne I kneel before him.
"Father..."
"Rise, my son, rise."
I do so.
"You have begun forming your own retinue then?" he asks, looking to Cithria.
"Yes, father. I have several others, who are still looking into matters while I came to speak to you." I answer.
"Good, good." A small, pained smile graces his face. "What is it you wish to speak of? What have you found?"
His voice...even a child could hear the resignation and wariness in the last question. The expectation of more dire news.
"Not as much as I would like," I admit. "But something is absolutely wrong. The attrition rates for the mages at the academy...they are beyond horrendous. Dozens are supposedly becoming unhinged without explanation each year. Almost all have to be killed before they can do too much damage."
Fathers eyes close.
"It is a recent development as well. There have always been incidents and accidents, but I checked the records and it has skyrocketed in recent decades, climbing each year. To the point that no mage has graduated the academy at all in the past two years."
Garen took his sister out of a death trap. A literal death trap. If he had not removed her...if he had not rescued her from the academy, she would not have survived.
"No one has any good answers for me, all of the staff and instructors are being evasive at best. I don't trust any of the information they do give me, and we lack the experts to sort out what is actually going on. I hoped to contact Gerald to gain the Mageseekers' expertise on the matter."
Father sighs.
"Father?" I ask.
"Gerald is...unavailable," He says. "His wife, Tianna...my old companion..."
Father sighs again.
"Tianna was killed in one of the riots."
What? Tianna Crownguard was killed in a riot? By what?!
"H...how?" I ask.
"A crossbow bolt, as far as we can tell."
...That's it? Really?
"Aye, I see the look on your face. Everyone is having trouble believing it. She has always been far too strong to be brought low by a simple peasant with a mundane weapon but in recent days...In recent days she has been ill. Very ill, I fear, and running herself into the ground trying to keep Demacia from crumbling to pieces around us. I suspect she was even worse than she let on to the world, barely hanging on, and the bolt was merely the last straw."
I hesitate, considering. It...it is possible, I suppose, but it just seems so ridiculous. I open my mouth-
"Poison?" Father speaks before I can even suggest it. "We are certainly considering it but can find no traces in her system. And there were no signs of magic use in that entire part of the city. By all appearances she was laid low by chance, and an angry citizen with a mundane weapon."
I remain silent. For all my problems with the woman, especially recently, she has long been a powerful figure of Demacia. Her death...it will not be good. Especially...
My eyes widen.
"Gerald..."
Father nods.
"He refuses to entertain the idea that magic was not involved. He has taken a large number of Mageseekers and is combing the entire section of the city. I worry he will cause further dissent with his...aggression towards the populace. I sent Xin to watch over him, and ensure he...maintains his composure."
Xin...looking into the alcove the bodyguard normally waits, I see only empty space.
"Father...without Xin..."
He shakes his head.
"I know, my son. But at this time there is no other choice. We are needed in too many places to simply stand around."
I want to argue, to object, but he has a point. Gerald has always been hotheaded, and with his wife's death, the chances of him doing something rash are...
...
"There is more, my son."
I look back to father. More? I...I don't like the sound of that...What else could there be on top of the kingdom falling down around us?
"Men are coming from Eastwatch. Fleeing. It has fallen. The Noxians came, with Garen himself leading the attack, smashing apart all resistance and crushing Commander Heartfield in front of the entire garrison. His sister was there as well from what we can piece together, blasting men apart from a distance with powerful magic."
...
"The war is beginning, my son, and this is our only chance to stop it. Your only chance to stop it. We have been suppressing the news for now, but it will not last much longer. Go. Contact them through the League. Speak with him, under the banner of peace. Confirm what has caused this rift, and attempt to avert this war. If you fail...I fear Demacia will not survive what comes. Our fate rests on your shoulders now, my son."
(Tiana Crownguard - PoV) (Earlier)
The weariness seeps deep into my bones. I can't remember ever feeling like this. Slow. Sluggish. Vulnerable. Weak.
But I have to endure. I don't have time for weakness. Duty never ends.
"Captain, report," I demand, approaching the young red-headed officer in charge of the latest mess.
"Ma'am," he salutes. "The rioters are refusing to disperse. They are throwing rocks and bottles if we approach, and have set several small barricades up on the streets before setting them on fire. We have only been able to arrest a handful, but if you can break through we should be able to catch and hold them without difficulty."
I nod. About the usual.
"Very well, have your men prepared to adv-"
*Cough*
"To advance o-"
*Cough* *cough*
What in blazes?
I stagger.
...
I don't stagger. Ever.
Looking down, I find a bolt piercing my side.
...
Impossible...
Distantly, I hear shouting, just barely, over the blood rushing in my ears.
My hand clutches at the bolt, and I rip it out of my side.
The blood that pours out reminds me that may have not been the best idea.
The captain is shouting something at me but I can't quite make it out. When did he get so tall?
What...
Ah. I am...dying. To a random crossbow bolt from a rioter? No, I doubt it. But...it is too hard to think now.
...
Gerald is going to be furious.
Pieter won't handle it well either, not after losing Garen and Luxanna.
Garen...Luxanna...
I'm sorry. I...You were supposed to be perfect. Better than I ever was...more. And you were doing so well. Garen was going to be the greatest Demacian in history, and darling Luxanna...I know you never quite fit the mold...I loved you anyway...
And I threw you on the pyre of my duty, like everything else.
And it didn't even matter.
I'm sorry...