Ashe

Faith – Prologue

Is this how it ends?

I felt so passionate, so alive, that I was ready to cross the darkest ocean. I'd liberate Sejuani's soul from Kalista.

But I fell at the first ditch.

...

The Freljord is impoverished and war-torn. Survival's our primary concern. Trade is poor. There are treasures deep within our mines but we can't retrieve them while defences crumble and farms burn.

Our prospective wealth is an asset when brokering long term. If we're to hire a ship, we need to pay now. The journey to the Shadow Isles is expensive, high risk and low reward. Relics of dubious worth will hardly tempt mercenaries. Giving up our priceless artefacts for a song would shame our ancestors and undo all my efforts to reclaim our heritage.

Restoring Sejuani's a huge risk. She may cast aside our love and renew her assault. Our dim future may have to rise from the ashes of our glorious past.

Life is just one betrayal after another.

...

Two weeks ago, Sejuani and I had betrayed our followers with a secret rendezvous. It nearly killed us both.

Lost in the wilds, I became a predator. I forced Sejuani's beliefs upon her weakened form. Afterwards, I discovered she'd given up her soul to rescue me from Lissandra.

My guilt was nearly fatal. Sejuani saw no crime to forgive.

We parted, as once and maybe future lovers.

...

A concerned Volibear had followed Sejuani's trail. I captured him with misdirection, wit and foresight. We needed someone's divine power to brave the Shadow Isles. Luckily, Volibear cared for Sejuani more than he hated me… for now.

Tryndamere wanted Volibear locked up, in case word reached our foes, but I'd already promised otherwise. Conveniently, Volibear chose to settle in a cave, out of sight. Financing our trip was beyond him. He saw no reason to get involved when he could exercise in peace.

Faith – Chapter 1

I don't know what drove me to Volibear's cave. I shouldn't seek his approval like a child, and Sejuani's her own woman.

Yet here I am, watching him train. He dances with a boxer's agility. His punches blur like the wings of an insect. Every jab is a little hurricane.

He regards me with animal indifference. If his words are any indication, he wears his heart openly, but Ursine faces remain a mystery to me.

Volibear says, 'You're not wearing your perfume. I hope you've not forsworn it for my benefit.'

'Simple neglect, I'm afraid. You'll have to suffer my natural stench.'

'All I can smell is alcohol. I presume you're here to whine about your impotence, rather than discuss our journey.'

'Drinking helps me get things done.' Until I have regular sex, or the freedom to take long walks through ancient ruins, I need alcohol and archery to soothe my nerves. Today, I woke up with an aching shoulder, which left one option.

'Yet you've achieved nothing.'

'And you have?'

'I'm preparing for battle.' He warms down by tilting his neck and rolling his joints. 'Far more productive than sullying my body and spirit.'

I sit in his cave, out of the wind. 'Raise the money quicker and I'll gladly take your criticism. Until then, I'd appreciate your patience.'

'How can I be patient while my cub suffers?' He turns his back on me. 'You were always a decadent fool but I never considered you weak. Sejuani deserves better.'

He's told me that several times. If I concur then I'm a self-pitying fool who should up her game. If I disagree then I'm a deluded fool, expecting others to believe her lies. No doubt, Volibear is the biggest fool in Valoran for trusting me.

There's a novel charm to his candour. It's a welcome change from bootlicking. Even Tryndamere's mockery feels like indulgence, not rebellion, a pat on the head for a dangerous little sister he was obliged to fuck against his will.

I'm getting foul-mouthed in my old age. Actually, no, I've always been foul-mouthed. I just had a phase when I pretended otherwise.

I say, 'There's only one choice. I'll have to gather artefacts and hope they're worth passage to the Shadow Isles.'

'If there's only one choice then make it.'

'I promised my tribe I'd restore their glory, their history, not sell it for my personal relations.'

'You think Sejuani has no meaning apart from you?' The ground shakes from his bellow. He's worked up and limber. I've no traps or magic items ready. Should he attack, I'm defenceless.

'To my people, no, she doesn't. I'm crossing thousands for her sake. Do you think I should do that lightly? She wouldn't. She never stops thinking of her people, even when she's with me.'

'That responsibility weighs upon us all. I'm supposed to be a moral compass for my sleuth, yet I betrayed them because I stupidly thought you were capable of the same!' He rakes a paw across his face. 'I have damned myself and you fret over breaking a nail.'

'Do you know how much blood is on my hands?' I climb to my feet. 'If you knew half of what I'd done, you'd…'

Ashe…

I know that voice. 'Avarosa?' My great-mother listens but rarely talks. While I focus, I hear the question in Volibear's tone, but not his words.

Your past should be a source of strength, not a burden. Everyone can find redemption, child.

Am I hallucinating? A Demacian eagle crosses the sky. A mistake has returned to haunt me.

'Volibear, we've got company!' I conjure my hawk spirit, and my senses project. Scrambling through the drifts in awkward flight is a familiar human, small, skittish and hunched over so deep, they could be running on all-fours. While inconvenient for me, this could be our lucky break. 'South-west, three-hundred yards, I want her alive!'

Clouds of snow trail Volibear's charge. He's used to fulfilling orders, even if I'm giving them. The eagle screeches a warning and plunges to guard his companion but Volibear is too quick. By the time I've caught up, he's tackled his prey.

In one paw, he holds the eagle named Valor. The bird is awe-inspiring, with prodigious wings and indigo plumage. During our futile negotiations with Prince Jarvan, Valor had roamed freely, sparing us the pleasure of his excitable company. Volibear keeps him at arm's length, while sitting astride a young woman, recently dragged over the threshold of adulthood.

As I draw near, her golden eyes crease in adoration. 'Ashe! Um…' She glances at Volibear. 'Your Majesty?' She chews on her lip while assessing protocol. 'I know I shouldn't be here but… er… this isn't what it looks like, seriously.'

Volibear says, 'Do you know this girl?'

Yes, I know Quinn. I know her in every sense of the word.

Sejuani's aware that I slept with Quinn but, for now, Sejuani's only demand is that I don't have children. Affairs are fine, supposedly, but Volibear doesn't know that. When I persuaded him to join my quest, I swore that he could take my life, should I prove unfaithful. I craft my response. 'Quinn is a Demacian scout, celebrated hero, and about the only person from that country who can hold a normal conversation.'

My heart breaks for Quinn. Our entanglement was possibly the most real event of her short life. She doesn't appreciate how love can be written out of history, like anything else. I'm sorry, Quinn, but I can't risk Volibear's wrath.

His jaws overshadow her tiny skull. 'Hmm… so Jarvan couldn't disown her?'

'No…' For once, Volibear and I think as one. 'And even if he were the kind of man to sell out a loyal servant, he has an image to uphold.'

'Would he pay for her safe return?'

Quinn squirms away from Volibear. She says, 'Uh… Ashe? What's going on?'

I remain strong. 'Shouldn't I be asking that question? You're the one trespassing.'

'It's not like that!' says Quinn. 'I… I know I betrayed you but…'

Volibear's fur crackles. 'A Demacian wronged your tribe, Ashe? Why have you not leveraged this?'

I offer the truth. 'Because I'm also at fault, however much Quinn might protest.'

When I don't elaborate, Volibear says ominously, 'That is a needless and unhelpful admission, especially from a renowned strategist.'

'I'm as idiotic as anyone, Volibear. Quinn got me drunk while I was trying to get information out of her. She reported my babbling to Jarvan. You shouldn't believe all of Sejuani's praise.'

Quinn gasps. 'You're Volibear?' She must have assumed he was a lone defector, not second in command of my opposition.

He says, 'Do the spy's job for her, why not? Yes, I'm Volibear, chosen of the storm, and your flapping friend is trying my patience.'

'I'm sorry, Mr. Bear. Valor doesn't like being held.'

'It's Volibear!' he roars. 'If my name were Caedman, would you say "Mr. Man"?'

I suppress a chuckle at Volibear's outburst and Quinn's lack of grace. After all she's been through, Quinn's retained her ingenuous charm, as dangerous a lure as anything in this world. She begins apologising at length. Before Quinn's hasty contrition angers Volibear further, I say, 'What are you doing here?'

She catches my gaze and looks away. 'Um… it's kind of personal.'

I'd assumed from our last exchange that Quinn was on course to get over me, though she may be playing up her infatuation to mislead us. I can't appraise her without help, and Volibear isn't helping. When I don't press the subject, he says, 'This is maddening. Ashe, I don't expect a fine rendering of your political web. We're still at war. Just answer me this. Does her obfuscation mean something to you?'

'Maybe.'

'This is like eating a pinecone. Will it prevent us from ransoming her?'

'No.' I gather my resolve. 'Quinn, I'm sure there's a good reason for your presence but we have a situation, and your capture might free a noble soul from endless torment.'

She changes instantly from girl to fierce knight. I thought she'd like that. 'If decent lives are at stake, I'll come willingly.'

Volibear relaxes, having recognised something he can respect. He releases both prisoners.

Valor behaves, though he hovers close enough to create a draft. Quinn seems like she's fighting the urge to hug me. This isn't good. I have to keep my distance. 'Your cell may be less comfortable than our guest wing.'

'At least I'll match the décor.' She picks at her travel-stained outfit. 'I guess a bath's out of the question.'

Volibear says, 'I wouldn't object. Your noses may not function but I'm choking. You'll need a crowbar to get her out of that armour.'

Quinn look mortified. I want to hold her close and whisper gentle assurance, that I still find her attractive. What was Volibear thinking? For all our differences, I considered him one of nature's gentlemen. Just as I begin to voice my disappointment, I sense danger.

Volibear does nothing lightly. He suspects our relationship and his observation was bait. I force tepid words through my clenched anxiety. 'We've all spent time in the field. I'll have Braum arrange a tub and some fresh clothes.'

'Thank you,' says Quinn. She wants more but I can't be so much as kind.

We head back in fraught silence. Only Valor seems comfortable. There's a wordless eloquence to his motion. I'm beginning to see how Quinn "talks" with him. Perhaps her loneliness carries like a plague.