Irelia sighed. Demacia offered Ionia an alliance against Noxus, even though there was no ongoing war, so today she would have to represent Ionia and travel to Piltover for negotiations. The alliance was being offered simply because of increasing tensions between Noxus and Demacia. Ionia was also feeling threatened by the buildup of soldiers on the east coast of Noxus. The whole process would take a couple of days at most, plus the travel there, which would take another few days. She walked towards the Piltoverian airship and stepped inside, ready for the headaches to come.
When she landed in Piltover after a couple of days, she spent the first day walking around the city and saw so many new things. Complex robots and machines performing tasks to make everyday life easier, mechanical flying birds that delivered letters here and there, not to mention someone gliding through the sky on a hoverboard. The next day, she headed for one of Piltover's vaults grumpily, where gatherings of all sorts were held. When she stepped inside, she noticed that the inside of the building was very ornate. The windows were crafted with incredible precision, the stairwells were made with smooth white stone, and the ceiling had many intricate designs of gears and tools engraved in it. She walked to a private room where the meeting was being held. When she stepped inside, everyone was already there. Karma, Shen, Master Yi, and Lee Sin from Ionia, and Jarvan IV, Garen, Xin Zhao, Quinn, and Lux from Demacia.
"Pleasure to see you, Irelia," Jarvan IV greeted.
"The pleasure is mine as well," Irelia replied.
The ten representatives sat down at a long, wooden, polished table and began discussing the negotiation.
"I will start if no one else wants to go first," said Jarvan IV.
"Go ahead, we're listening," said Irelia.
"I am aware that Ionia has had some conflicts with Noxus before, but that alone won't be enough to convince Ionia to join Demacia," said Jarvan IV. "Name your terms, and we will take them under consideration."
"We ask for one thing," Irelia began, "If Noxus is defeated, Ionia will govern the capital. Ionians have heard about this negotiation and are demanding the tyrants there be removed."
Grumbles came from the Demacian representatives.
"That's a rather conflicting condition," Xin Zhao replied. "The Demacian citizens have been pushing for control of The Immortal Bastion and justice to be brought to Jericho Swain and his followers."
"It is our job to represent the Ionian people, and that is what we are here to do," Irelia responded simply.
"I'm sorry, but that is a condition that we are not willing to accept. Any other conditions?" Xin asked.
"No. Unfortunately, we can't accept the alliance if the Demacians are that addicted to their justice," said Irelia airily.
Garen and Quinn jumped to their feet, retaliating with arguments, and everyone started to get involved.
"You better watch your mouth, Irelia," Xin Zhao said. "I don't think you could best any of us in a fight."
Irelia immediately dashed over the table, throwing her blades out in an arc, but Xin dodged them and thrust his spear out, missing Irelia by a hair. Irelia and Xin Zhao turned towards each other, about to attack again, but Jarvan IV put himself between them.
"STOP THIS NONSENSE NOW!" yelled Jarvan IV.
Xin slowly sat back down, all the while glaring angrily at Irelia. Irelia returned to her seat, trying to calm herself down, but she found herself returning Xin's glare.
"Demacia will of course give Ionia rights to The Immortal Bastion if she will join Demacia and pledge allegiance," said Jarvan IV reluctantly.
"Thank you Jarvan, for seeing reason, " said Irelia.
"Thank you, Irelia," replied Jarvan IV. "Now, we have the matter of Noxus and their buildup of soldiers."
"Yes, many Ionian fishermen have reported seeing boats being prepared on the east coast and a drastic increase in soldier numbers," began Irelia. "We are worried and are developing solutions to this imposing problem."
"I'm sure we can work out a strategy for the Ionians. We have already put protections in place on the east side of Demacia to prepare for any possible attack. Tensions have been running high and Swain seems to be putting an army in place on the west side of Noxus as well," stated Jarvan IV. "And if Noxus stages an attack on either Demacia or Ionia, we will not hesitate to counter-attack."
"Sounds good. If war breaks out, we will need to find a way to attack their front lines as well as infiltrate their base of operations," said Irelia.
"Yes, we will sort that out in good time," replied Jarvan IV. "Is there anything else anyone would like to discuss?"
No one said anything. Then, the representatives signed their names on a paper, making the agreement concrete. Then, they stood up, shook hands and bowed with palpable tension, and left the chamber.
Several days later, she arrived back at The Placidium of Navori. She returned to her residence in The Placidium and continued her duties as a member of the Council of Elders. At night, she would have dreams about Xin, where he would kneel on the ground, her blade at his throat, begging for mercy and confessing that he was wrong and weak. These dreams she especially enjoyed. One Saturday afternoon, her friend Ahri unexpectedly showed up at her door.
"Hey Ahri, what are you doing here?" asked Irelia.
"I don't know. I just wanted to see you," replied Ahri.
"Come in then," Irelia said, shutting the door behind Ahri and leading her to two couches facing one another. "It seems like you want to ask me something."
"Well, yes," said Ahri. "I think it's about time you had some fun in your life."
"What are you saying? And I have plenty of fun in my life," replied Irelia.
"I'm just saying that you should spend less time being a boring old lady and find yourself a man," said Ahri simply.
Irelia rolled her eyes. "Excuse me. Being an Elder is not boring. Our duty is to look after the welfare of Ionia."
"Whatever you say," snorted Ahri. "Hey, a little piece of advice too."
"Hm?"
"Find someone who'll take you to Shon-Xan," Ahri winked.
"Ahri, get out already. I don't want to hear about you and Wukong again," Irelia huffed.
"I haven't even been here for a minute," Ahri replied, shocked.
"Come on, Ahri. I have things to do."
"Today is Saturday. You have nothing to do," argued Ahri.
"I have to run some errands and go to the market," Irelia said, thinking fast. "Now go, before I kick you out."
"Alright, jeez, I'm going," said Ahri, and walked out the door, but not before she shot a teasing look at Irelia.
Irelia sighed. She just wanted to spend the rest of her day relaxing in her house. And developing strategies to pulverize Xin. But first, she was going to go for a walk.
Irelia went to the market on the cliffs. Here, she felt her worries slip away. She always loved the hustle and bustle of traders, merchants, and customers. People would call out their goods to the moving crowd, hoping to attract some customers, and occasionally there was a street performer here or there. Irelia sported common Ionian clothes, wearing long, baggy pants made of silk, and a hooded garment, so as to not be recognized by passersby. That would attract unwanted attention, either from overly-passionate supporters or members of the Navori Brotherhood.
The Navori Brotherhood was a group formed during the Noxian invasion of Ionia. They sought to unite and militarize Ionia to defend against attackers like Noxus. But after the war ended, the Navori Brotherhood realized that Irelia wasn't the aggressive leader they wanted, and didn't agree with her ideals, so now she had a target on her back. Many members of the brotherhood had already tried to kill her, but none had succeeded. They were all too inexperienced and slow. Every time she slew an attacker, she would ask for forgiveness from the family crest that now formed her blades. She had bloodied the crest so long ago.
Irelia continued down the market path, looking for anything interesting she could buy. Surely enough, there was a merchant at a stand selling sun apples. Sun apples were only available at this time of the year when the days were long and the sun shined bright. In addition, sun apples, when eaten, warmed you and made you feel better, so she felt that she needed one. She bought one and immediately bit into it. She tasted the sweet taste of the apple and felt waves of warmth spread through her body down to her toes. It immediately made her feel better and lifted her mood. She quickly ate the rest of it and headed for the top of the cliff, where a monument of sorts stood. It was originally made to be a school, trees woven by a wood weaver to educate and produce some of Ionia's finest minds. But while it was being constructed, Noxus invaded, and efforts were refocused on the war. Construction halted and the people took up arms against the Noxians at The Placidium. They won the battle but felt that they forever destroyed the harmony valued so highly in Ionia by fighting back. To this day, the half-finished school remains a reminder of what was lost.
When she made it to the monument, Irelia sat down beneath the shade of a nearby tree. She began to meditate and tried to block out all thoughts and noise and focus on her breathing. She did not succeed. It wasn't long before she realized that the people around her were whispering her name. Although they did not recognize her in the clothes she was wearing, they were still talking about her. She listened intently to what the people were saying.
"Did you hear? He's challenging Irelia to a duel!" said one person.
"I wanna see Irelia outclass him," said another.
"I heard he's never lost a 1-on-1 fight," even said a third.
Irelia immediately got up and approached the closest person.
"Excuse me, sir, but who is challenging Irelia to a duel?" she asked politely.
"From what I've heard, it's some man from Demacia, although I don't know the name. I'm sorry, miss," replied the man.
"Don't be. Where and when is the duel?"
"People are saying it's going to be in the forest clearing near the market at sunset."
"Okay, thanks a lot," said Irelia, and walked away quickly.
As she did, she wondered who it could be. She was 99% sure it was Xin, wanting to show her up and finish the fight they started in Piltover, but it could be Garen or Quinn, who had also been insulted by her remarks at the meeting. She decided she wouldn't waste her time with a stupid duel unless it was with Xin. She wanted to pummel him in front of everyone.