Dear Diary,

I have decided to bring Veigar tea in the evenings. We don't talk about anything, because he is usually reading one of his large books, or he is practicing an amazing-looking spell.

Sometimes I hum in the kitchen, and he shouts at me if he doesn't like the song. Or maybe I'm just a bad hummer. Anyhow, I have been reading my books, and I think I could read them over and over again. I certainly have read them all once. But I am fine with that. I am making larger meals so that I can spend more time doing stuff. But I am running out of recipes. I think I will just create some new ones. That is what all cooks do. I will just fill my time with cooking and reading.

Soon Veigar will be leaving to go to the League, and he will return through his portal in his room for dinner. He muttered a few bad words about League cafeteria food. I don't mind though.

I have a lot of reading to do. With MY books…

That's all.

Invisible stuff: Umm about the shady guy who brought the drapes, I still have no idea who it is. Veigar still wont answer my questions. Yeah. Hope you guys are all fine. G'night!

Veigar never slept. He studied. He had cast multiple dark status spells on himself to make sure he never got tired, at least from mental exhaustion.

He had spent three years of his life winning books from the greatest dark mages across the continent, and stealing the works of mages long dead from the greatest and most confidential libraries and tombs.

So sleeping, after such a great feat, was out of the option. There were still far too many magnificent books left to read. He had learned how to read whole pages in a matter of seconds. And he never forgot something he read. However he still had to practice them in order to achieve a full understanding, but that was usually just as thrilling.

He was a few pages away from finishing a book titled "Carnal Spells: The Hidden Spell Level". It was fascinating, actually having nothing to do with relationships, and he wished he had read it sooner. He could not wait to practice his Primal Carnality. But he had to read all of the bibliography to make sure he owned all of the sources.

He was finishing the last chapter before the bibliography, when he suddenly 'realized', "The cook has come in from the barrier." He glanced at the shadow-wood clock behind him. She had only spent ten minutes out there. Hopefully she did not get too fat. Her costume would look hideous. And he still had some home-improvements he needed her to put up.

Once sure he would not get interrupted again, he dove back into his book. He came out a minute and a half later. He wasn't surprised that he owned all of the books the author had mentioned as research. In fact he was confident that Morgana would pay over her sister's kingdom to have half of his library. It was indeed something he was very proud of.

But he could never stop at owning almost all of the books on dark magic (and a few on related material) in Runeterra. He had to read and master every single one.

Veigar was nearly running down the steps as he went over in his mind how to cast a carnality. He reached the bottom floor and turned to enter his library, when he noticed an eerie light coming from the kitchen. He was so deep in thought, he almost dismissed it. But he paused just before the library entrance, and peered his glowing eyes at the crack in the double doors, as recognition hit.

It was the light given off by Dark Learning, a spell bound to certain tomes, usually about basic or lengthy topics that mages deigned better to simply absorb. Once opened, these books became literally impossible to put down, to the last page. Who could be reading a book bound by that? And from his forbidden section as well…

A thousand alarm bells sounded in Veigar's mind when realization hit him. He smashed open the kitchen doors, to find the cook bent over a book, ghostly light pouring from the pages into her wide eyes like a broken faucet. Her whole body was frozen, except her lavender hair, which flew back behind her as if being hit by a gale force wind.

Anger built up in Veigar as he realized what was happening.

"YOU STUPID GIRL! I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET BOOKS FROM THAT SECTION!"

He was more venting his frustration than lecturing. Even if she could hear him, the process couldn't – or shouldn't – be interrupted. He could only balance it out.

Dashing back through the doors, he ran into the library and up the platform's steps. As soon as the black platform he stood on turned blue, he screamed out: "EQUILIBRIUM!"

As if reacting to its master's urgency, a book came flying out of the center shelves, landing its well-worn cover into Veigar's out-stretched gauntlet with a thump. In one movement, he opened the book, turned around, and ran back to the kitchen. He did not even look up at the frozen yordle, but flipped through the pages, mumbling to himself.

"Why didn't I realize she was so-" explitive "-curious!? Here it is– wait, I hope she isn't reading a…"

Stopping his frantic search, he reached under the book the cook was "reading" and bent it up a bit. The flow of magic didn't stop, but Veigar got a good look at its cover: "Recipes for Disaster". He cursed loudly again, mumbling to himself as he jumped up and dashed out of the room again.

"Why didn't she start reading the basics? She has to read the basics or she could blow herself up with a mispronounced spell or lack of –" He stopped to scream at the book stacks: "EVERYNOVICEDARKMAGICTOMEIHAVE". He waddled back with a tall stack of books in his arms, every one bound with Dark Learning. He then sat them down in front of the cook, turned to a different page in the book Equilibrium, and began to read a chant out loud.

It was originally in an ancient language and much longer. But Veigar had translated it into the common language, as well as simplified it. And, just for effect, he made sure it rhymed.

"Darkness deep, swirling, spilling,
Whisper not to heart or soul,
Bind the darkness to her mind,
Let it claim her thoughts alone.
Stray not to a hope or dream,
Edge not on her wild desires,
Conserve the yordle that she be,
Yet thirst for learning with a fire…"

The chant continued on through the night, as Veigar directed the dark magic she was learning away from the tender parts of her soul and heart. It was the First Principle. Dark Magic is too chaotic to be allowed to roam where it wills in a body. It needs a leash.

Veigar only stopped chanting when she had learned everything from one book, marked by the book abruptly increasing its out-pour and then slamming shut. He would take another book, and place it in front of her, opening it and letting the spell take effect once again.

At points between books, Veigar went to his room to grab his staff for casting other spells, and twice Veigar returned to the Library to grab more books. Some were dark magic, some were not. Veigar had read somewhere that it was good for students to learn neutral magic first, but he hadn't and look how well he turned out. In these times between books, Lendi blankly stared at a wall, in a trance-like state.

As the Eastern sky slowly grew with a blooming light, Veigar closed Equilibrium. He looked at the books spread out around him, and at his cook sprawled out on the floor, her face on top of the book that had just closed. She had been awake the whole time, so she was probably just as tired as he was.

There was one last enchantment he needed to put on her. He had forgotten the reasons why. He shakily lifted his staff, and in a hoarse voice whispered: "Fidus…"

Then he slumped, leaning against a counter. In his mind, one question refused to rest. "Why did you help her?" A thousand answers rang in his mind: "Just proper" "Good cooking (grumble)" "First kill of a (living) yordle" "An apprentice...". Then sleep stole in, a long-lost friend.

Lendi awoke to the obnoxious ring of her alarm-clock going off. It felt far too early. Her displeasure became a sleepy moan.

"Mmm, Degenero…"

The sound of the screws and gears of the clock falling to the floor were like raindrops to her tired mind, and she swiftly fell asleep again.

The sound of soft snores awoke her later. She tried to settle deeper into the grain sack she usually slept on, but found the sack less flexible than usual. Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself lying in the middle of the kitchen, a book beneath her face. She slowly pushed herself off of it, stretching her back as she rose off of the floor. Her body complained in several places about her choice of bedding, but she felt that calming feeling of waking from a long nap after a busy day.

She closed her eyes and yawned. When she opened them again, she read the cover of the book beneath her.

"Focus-based Spellcasting?" she mused aloud, "oh yeah-" she yawned again, and smoothed her tousled hair "-wasn't that book about how to silent-cast?"

From in front of her she heard a sleepy mumble. "Yes. An interesting read… a real book is "Silent Nightmares"… is like the wicked version of focus-based…" Then the snoring continued

She looked up to see Veigar, sleeping on the floor with his head leaning against the counter. He looked quite peaceful, with his mouth softly curling at the edges. His hat was askew, showing a black ear that would occasionally flit.

So why was he sleeping in her kitchen?

Slowly, Lendi stood up, and looked around. She was in the middle of a mess of books. Focusing on one book, she noticed its edges were slightly glowing. Oh yeah, the preface said something about "Dark Learning". In fact, every preface said something about Dark Learning.

Wait. How did she know that?

She walked over to one particular book named "Recipes for Disaster". That book seemed extremely familiar. More importantly, though, she knew every word, from the first page to the last. That was a fun read. A first read of many a book.

Memory returned to her like a thrown brick. Reading, reading, chanting, reading. Pages, words, and spells neverending. Curses, necromancy, nightmares, equilibrium. And a slow burning in her head.

She began to moan softly as a headache took over. She forced her mind to stop, and turned to face her kitchen. She needed some tea.

She flicked up her hands to speed things up with a levitation spell, but quickly realized what she was doing. She sighed, straightening her hair. Then she let out an ear-splitting scream.

"QUIES!"

Her scream was immediately muted, leaving her mouth wide open. She awkwardly shut her mouth, then turned around sheepishly to look at Veigar.

She saw a flicker of annoyance, but it was quickly overtaken by surprise.

When her voice returned, she asked quietly. "Please, tell me what is going on."

Her master, the one who had shouted, walked over to one of the stools on the counter that shared a wall with the dining room. "Make some tea first, please." He jumped up on the stool and placed his hat on the counter. He didn't sound mad. His voice seemed troubled.

Spinning back to face the kitchen, she sighed. She didn't want to run about, and she didn't have to. In a flurry of spells, she grabbed tea bags from the pantry, filled a kettle with water, boiled the water, and dropped the tea in the kettle. Satisfied with her work, she spun and jumped up onto the stool beside Veigar, then crossed her arms. She felt very tired, and a headache was growing over her eyes.

Veigar's eyes watched her breathing then peered up to her brow. He breathed in slowly, then turned to look at his gauntlets on the counter.

"Feeling tired?"

She nodded.

"Well, after using so many spells without practicing, that is expected. It seems I spoke the chant correctly or you would be dead right now. Also, you have an immense grasp of all the minor spells. You… are a natural at spellcasting… curious," he mused, but he recovered after a moment. "And though you do not have an extensive mana pool yet, you should be recovering quickly, due to the soul-bound Equilibrium spell working on you now."

Lendi felt an eyebrow raise at Veigar's tone. Although it was still high-pitched and annoying, it was the softest she had ever heard. She wasn't sure if he was treating her like a science experiment or a patient. Or both.

He got off the stool, grabbed a book that had been on the ground nearby him, then hopped up again. He handed her the book, a dusty tome with the title "Equilibrium" across the front.

She grabbed it carefully, afraid it might open and force her through another nightmare of knowledge. Yet, to her surprise, part of her yearned to know what was in the book. As she turned the book to open it, she noticed that the book wasn't glowing. Good, she thought to herself, I can read it at my own pace.

She flipped the book open to its first page and immediately began reading. In the first chapter, she learned that equilibrium was a spell that balanced out one's mana pool, and that this spell was created by a common yordle wizard in the first rune wars. His daughters were the first yordles to become dark mages. Noticing that their souls were slowly decaying to dark magic faster than humans, he became a spellworker and made a spell that bound itself and all magic to someone's mind. She flipped the page to the second chapter, engrossed, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Spinning huffily on the intruder, she saw Veigar smirking, his gauntlet pointing at the stove. Slowly the whistle of the kettle filled her ears. How had she not noticed that earlier?

Veigar must have seen her confusion, as he began to explain while she attended to the tea.

"Later in the book, it explains that the spell creates an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. This is the only side-effect."

Lendi shrugged as she pulled the kettle off of the warm stove. "That doesn't sound so bad."

His voice was smug. "That's because it's already affecting you. To everyone else, reading three books in two hours sounds excessive and maybe boring. But to us, it's—"

"Whose us?"

"Hmm?"

"Who do you mean by 'us'? Who else has this Equilibrium spell?"

"No one," Veigar bluntly stated. "The creator did put the spell onto an artifact called the 'Chalice of Harmony', which has become quite popular. But his daughters died without passing on his writings on the spell itself. I found this book in the tomb of his youngest daughter. Her corpse was not pleased to see me."

Lendi stopped pouring the tea out for a second. "Wait, her corpse?"

"NOT important right now. You are the only other person alive – and by alive I mean not undead – that has this spell bound to them. It is irreversible, as much as it is imperative to have. Cook… eh, what's your name?"

"Lendilia." Finally, he asked.

Veigar's eyes widened infinitesimally, before he resumed. "Hmm, you will need a prefix… Lendilia—"

She interrupted as she handed him a cup. "You can call me Lendi."

Veigar sighed in frustration. "Lendilia. Do you know what happens to someone who loses their soul?"

She thought for a second while she sipped the tea, but really had never heard of someone losing their soul. Veigar resumed without waiting for a response.

"Dark mages' who do not have their souls protected die a very slow and painful death. And once your soul dies, your body turns into a dirge. It takes years, but is irreversible after a point."

Lendi scrunched her nose distastefully. "But we have the Equilibrium spell affecting us, so we wont die, right?"

Veigar nodded. "Correct. And that spell can never be taken from you."

"Just I will always want to learn more about dark magic, right?"

Veigar's ears flopped either way as he chewed on the question. "Well, dark magic, light magic, neutral magic."

"Wait, Veigar, am I… evil?"

"Yes." Veigar said, yellow eyes scanning hers.

I'm evil? Wait. I can't choose to be good? Or nice? Or helpful? WHAT?

"Technically, no," grumbled Veigar. Lendi realized she had been talking out loud.

"You are a dark magician now," he continued, "and that is permanent. HOWEVER, although dark magic is mainly used for destruction, it can be used in non-evil ways. Really, I don't see the point in learning 'good' Dark Magic, but if you really wish to...sigh, I still have several tomes discussing the ethics of good Dark Wizards."

"You mean there are certain spells that I can learn that will help save people?"

Veigar shut his eyes, his brows scrunching together. "No, it is not the spell that you use. It is how you use it." He rubbed his eyes, cleared his throat, then took a sip of the tea. "But no more talk of this. It is unimportant. As your new master, I am to teach you how to cast the magic, but not what to do with it. Honestly, you could go and destroy Bandle City right now, and I wouldn't care. But right now, you probably can't. So I will teach you until you can."

Lendi didn't like the sound of that. She had friends and family at Bandle. She didn't wanna destroy anyone. But learning how… that sounded amazing. And she wanted to look into this 'good' Dark Magic as well.

"Now Lendi, this will be somewhat difficult, seeing as we both thirst for knowledge, when I only have one library. Hmmm." He squinted his eyes in thought. His ears flattened on either side of his head, and one hand went up to rub his chin.

Huh, he might look cute if he didn't have that scar running across his nose... wait. She could actually see Veigar's face. It was no longer shrouded in an Lightless Veil spell.

"Umm, Veigar?"

"What is it? I'm trying to think."

"I can see your face."

Veigar's mouth opened in a scowl, but then rounded into an "Oh" as her realized what she was implying. A smirk slowly grew across his face.

"You mean my spell is gone?"

She nodded.

"Are you sure?"

He picked up a knife and held it lengthwise. She looked in, expecting to see a reflection of herself. Instead she saw Veigar's yellow glowing eyes.

"I can see through knives?"

Veigar lowered the knife to give her a scowl. "What? No. Look again!" he said, as he passed her the handle of the knife.

She lifted it once more, positioning it between their eyes. Again, she saw a pair of gleaming yellow eyes. She lowered the knife slightly to compare them. The eyes on the knife and Veigar's were nearly the same. Just one had a light blue sheen around the eyes instead of black fur, and the distortion made them seem a bit more feminine.

"Veigar, I still see–" Wait, light blue sheen? Feminine?

Blue skin. Her skin? She spun and grabbed a shiny steel pot from the wall. She saw her whole face. Blue skin, lavender hair, and glowing-yellow eyes.

"Wha… wha… how?!"

"It's a side effect of the dark magic, as well as the fact that I applied it. Well, I say side effect. Really it is quite useful. And not just for magnificent evil entrances, but also for seeing in the dark."

She hesitantly looked around. Everything did look a bit strange. She could see into every shadow clearly. But other than that, she didn't see anything too strange. It was all still lit by an afternoon light. She looked at Veigar and shrugged, a bit relieved.

"I guess I will have to wait until night to see if it works," she mumbled. She still didn't know how she felt about glowing eyes.

Veigar softly chuckled. "Lendi, it is night." He pointed out of the kitchen window where she had last seen Teemo and Tristana. She could clearly see the soft teal leaves, and stars twinkling in a blue-gray vault. Shadow under trees was nearly indistinguishable from moonlit grass.

She blinked several times, partly to see if anything changed, but mainly in shock. It took a second for her to realize that Veigar was talking to her.

"...a way to hide the eye effect through illusion, if you really want to. However I think it looks better than your bland eyes. Now, I have finally decided. You will read all the books on topics I wont get to for a while, be it that I don't care about them or simply haven't gotten to that topic yet. And when you're done with those books, you can move onto mine. Lendi?"

She had half-heard him, thinking mainly about illusion spells. In fact, she was trying to ignore his rant entirely on these other books, but... she couldn't wait to read all she could about... well, anything.

However, just to be sure, she had to ask something. "Are there any other side effects of Dark Magic?"

His nose was wrinkled in dislike of the topic, and his voice came out reluctant.

"Well there are some Institute books about mental scarring, greed, insanity from power, but I haven't seen these 'side effects' show up anywhere."

Lendi first felt some of her confusion dissipate. Then she breathed in sharply to surpress a giggle, which in turn threatened to build. But she contained it. Maybe one day he would figure it out. She cleared her throat in order to regain composure.

"And… these illusion spells?"

Veigar sighed. "Yes, I have a book or two on the matter, maybe twelve, but its technically not Dark Magic so I don't have the same store of knowledge as the Institute or LeBlanc might have."

LeBlanc, the League Champion? Interesting.

"You can fit a low-level status spell on your eyes to hide them, which is the first chapter of any of the illusion books combined with spell casting 101. But you also have all the books of Necromancy and Mobility to read. I suggest either making coffee or learning how to cast an Alertness spell on yourself. You wont be sleeping tonight, or... ever again."

She could almost hear his silent glee. And a day ago, such an assignment would have sounded unpleasant. Back in Bandle High, all-night reading scared Lendi to death. But she had grown accustomed to reading in her spare timing. And now, with the spell affecting her, it became a vast jewel-lit cavern ready to be explored. Tiredness and sluggishness were sorta just distractions. She felt like grinning. She even felt like giggling in glee. She felt like grabbing an alertness spell.

But first, a journal entry... a quick one.

Hey,

I slept GREAT last night. Made Veigar breakfast PERFECTLY on time. He was happy about that… also decided to take up knitting while I wait for meals so I don't get bored. It's FUNNER than it looks!

Also, I've decided to NEVER go into the library. Veigar himself said there were actually no recipe books for cooking in there, so I don't have to worry.

Alright, have a lot of KNITTING to do. Wont write tomorrow cuz… Veigar is just reading all of the time. I will write if I see anything suspicious!

Bai!

Teehee. This chapter was almost as fun as chapter 3 to write. I hope you guys are enjoying this, too.

About the journal entries... yeah, really short, so I decided to include them in the same chapter. But any entries longer than 1000 words I will seperate (like I said I would).

And, yes, I double updated. It's cuz I was sorta working on both chapters at once =/ I don't kno if that's a no-no in authorship, or just common... But the last one was really short. So I feel this sorta compensates?

What will happen to Lendi? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT NEXT CHAPTER... I think? #chapterplanningmaster

Jebinnam out.