The ringing of a thousand church bells devolved into one solid tone, like the whistle of the machine that threatened to explode.
Alicia blinked a few times, pure white filling her vision as the numbness washed over her. She tried to move her fingers, but she couldn't feel anything, much less make her hands move. A sense of dread pooled in her stomach, coalescing into a solid ball of ice that chilled her through and through. A moment of clarity cut through her mind like a dagger, dissolving the haze that had settled around her.
Am I dead? Is this heaven?
Something massive and dark cut into the pure, bright white field of emptiness that surrounded her, blacking out a massive section of the world. Alicia blinked a few more times, trying to rid herself of the blurred shape as if it were a living shard of nightmare intruding on her dreams. The darkened mass slowly faded into the silhouette of the a human head and shoulders, hanging above her in the pure white light in her field of her vision. Slowly, she could begin to pick out fluttering hair getting pushed about by the wind, but the face was obscured by the brilliance beyond the lumpen shape.
But who? Shyvana?
Alicia frowned as she squinted against the bright light, trying to raise her hand to cover her face. The darkened face moved slowly, the jaw line expanding and shrinking noticeably as if it were trying to speak, but she could hear no words being uttered. As the bright light slowly started to subside, she tried to speak, but when she tried to open her mouth it was completely dry, like a barren wasteland. She worked her jaw for a few moments, trying to form words but there was nothing, no words, no sounds that she could produce. She tried to speak, but she could hear no sound, not her own voice inside her head, nor the sound of the urgent cries that now hurried the shape of the man above her.
There was simply the ringing in her ears.
It seems death approaches...
She tried to laugh, but she ended up coughing as pain rippled through her body. She thought she smiled, but she was incapable of producing the of laughter sound, unable to feel anything but pain.
I cannot speak, I cannot smile, I can only feel pain... What a miserable way to die...
Darkness began to creep inwards along the corners of her vision, the pure white world around her slowly starting to fade to a dull gray. Hands attached the the shadow reached down towards her, descending upon her like ravens upon a corpse. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst, for death's caress to finally grasp and embrace her, but where she expected the cold hands of death, there was a surprising warmth. Warmth seemed to begin to spread within her body, the sensation she felt was like experiencing the warmth of the sun after years of winter and darkness. She exhaled softly as she embraced the sensation of fingers pressed against her cheek. Alicia opened her eyes, relishing in the warmth, tears forming as the world slowly started to fade back into focus.
"Alicia!"
The words were warped and shallow, like the sound of the ocean when you hold a shell from the beach to your ear. The world begun to break apart into discernible sounds from the ringing, but at first, all she could hear was the chaos that was starting to unfold. The sound of crying children came first, sending a shiver up and down her spine. Next came the wailing of a siren and the rumble of distant flames that were slowly dying. The sounds of war... She glanced around, her neck aching as she turned it slowly, the world still lost amid a puddle mess of blurry whites, grays, and golds. She blinked a few times before she realized that it wasn't some sort of horrid war zone, but rather the golden grass sticking up through melting snowbanks. She looked up, the shadow finally dissolving into a discernible form.
Vorscham?
She tried to reach up and touch the face to see if it were real, but pain arced through her arm in along her body.
"ALICIA!"
The words were still distant, but she could hear the fear and pain they contained. Skin darkened by the sun surrounded golden orbs that were wide with terror and fear, long brown locks tousled by wind and stained with sweat and dust. Scars curled along his jaw strong, pointed jawline, though the pain upon his face left the scars looking cruel and twisted as he shouted at her now, urgency driving his face to madness.
That's funny... I don't think I've ever seen Proudmast look that worried.
Vorscham was holding her shoulders, shaking her now, as feeling started to return to her body.
The first thing she felt was pain.
There was pain everywhere, coursing through her body. "Ow..." She mumbled.
Or at least she thought she said.
Vorscham's mouth moved rapidly as if he were yelling, but Alicia could hear no words. What? His mouth is moving... She furrowed her brow as she looked up at him, still dazed. A moment of frustration passed over his face, but he took a deep breath and raised a hand, gesturing for her to stay put. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Alicia tried to form the words, but to her, the sound was just a mash of moaning and grunts in her head, the words mixing to form some long, unintelligible string of syllables. She chuckled at her own joke, but a wave of pain flared through her chest and she groaned, grasping at her breastbone. Vorscham pushed himself up from his haunches, and started to turn away.
"Don't go..." Alicia tried to moan, but again her voice failed her. She closed her eyes and tried to move her arm, pain coursing up and down the limb as she reached out towards where his foot had been. She felt her hand bump again something cool and metal. She grabbed it and held on to the armor, holding on despite the pain she felt. Red faded in from the edges of her vision, darkening the sky, tinting it a pale grayish red. She couldn't see what the metal was, but it tried to pull away and she held on.
…
"MEDIC!" Vorscham turned back to where Alicia lay on the ground, her leg twisted at an odd angle, blood pouring from her ears as she grasped at his armored grieve. He watched as her head lolled for a few brief moments and then fell still, her hand falling away from metal boot. Vorscham felt his heart flutter as he dropped towards her, falling to one knee. "Hey, Alicia... Alicia!"
The very thought of losing her left him felling as if someone had slugged him right in the stomach. He turned back towards the column and screamed: "MEDIC!"
Vorscham dropped to his knees and gently pulled the gunnery sergeant into his lap, brushing her mess of white hair from her face as he checked her neck for a pulse. Thank god. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked down at the young woman, her white hair splayed out around her like snow on top of the mud as he cradled her head. He looked back to call for a medic again, but a young female medic slid to the ground next to him, already pulling her satchel over her head and laying it out next to her. The medic's armor was painted with red and white stripes on her arms and shoulders, the pouches across her waist and chest stuffed with various bandages and medicine. She moved nimbly despite the heavy weight she was obviously burdened by. She opened the satchel and started digging around within the bag, pulling out a small, directed lamp light. She pressed the button on the side of the crystalline light source, flashing the light along her thigh to check that it worked.
"I got her, Lieutenant." The young woman said, her green eyes glimmering as she worded, taking hold of Alicia gingerly and lowering her to the ground. Vorscham nodded absentmindedly as he watched the medic go about checking Alicia over quickly, looking for wounds and possible unseen damage. The medic held her eyelids open and flashed the light towards Alicia's pupils, watching as the gunny shied away from it. "Gunny, are you feeling agitated or sick?"
""I feel fine." Alicia growled, trying to swat the light away from her face. "Hurk-..." She promptly rolled to the side and spilled her lunch all over the muddy rut of a carriage path. She sat back and groaned, covering her face with her arm, her head lolling about as she grimaced. "If only the world would stop spinning... everything is so blurry. It's killing my head."
"Nausea and vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, agitation, sensitivity to light,.." The medic shook her head as she stowed the lamp back into her satchel. "You've got a bad concussion, gunny. You need to take it easy until we can get you moved to a hospital, it's not something I can treat here."
"I don't need a hospital." Alicia groused, shaking her head in protest. "I need to find my friend." She started to sit up, but her pale face turned green.
"Easy there, June." Vorscham helped her sit up enough to spill the remaining contents of her stomach on the ground before she slumped back, a sour look on her face.
"You've hit your head pretty hard, gunny." The medic said, shaking her head as Alicia continued to struggle halfheartedly. "You need to sit back and rest. You're in no shape to be doing anything other than laying back and resting. Now shut up and sit back before I sedate you. Worse, I get the lieutenant to sedate you." The medic smirked as she regarded the gunny's muttering under her breath, continuing to check over the gunny. When she couldn't find anything else wrong with her, the medic carefully straightened the left leg out and splinted it into position, ignoring the gunny's discomfort and grumbling. She drew a crystalline vial filled with something red from her satchel and cracked the stopper off the top, opening Alicia mouth and holding it to her lips. Alicia gulped it down, her eyes fluttering shut. The medic sat back and watched as a ghostly green glow enfolded the gunny, and then sighed, looking up at Vorscham.
"How is she?" Vorscham asked urgently, looking down at Alicia.
"She'll be fine, Lieutenant." The medic said calmly, offering him a smile, though it didn't seem to comfort him. "She banged her head in the fall, the explosion ruptured her ear drums, as well what looks like a broken leg when she landed on it wrong. She seems to have a pretty bad concussion right now, and while the health potion won't immediately fix that, it will start to deal with the symptoms. It should help hold her over until we can get you to the hospital, and it will stabilize her for now and it'll take the edge off the the pain. Couple days rest and she'll be right as rain."
"Thank god." Vorscham said, breathing another heavy sigh of relief. He looked down at the gunny and snorted, a crooked grin sliding onto his face. You would be napping on the job.
"You almost look happy I got hurt." Alicia mumbled, her eyes fluttering open as she looked up at the Lieutenant. She raised a hand and started waving it about wildly, her eyes opening wider, but Vorscham kneeled down, reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly.
"Easy now, it's still there." He gently waved her hand in front of her face. "You took quite the fall."
"I feel like hell..." She mumbled, closing her eyes and then grunting as she tried to sit up. The medic shook her head at Vorscham, and he nodded, pushing the gunny gently back down.
"You should stay down and rest, ma'am!" The medic said, panicking slightly, but Alicia glared at the young soldier and shut her up quickly, the medic sitting back on her haunches, astounded as Alicia groaned her way into a sitting position. The medic's frown showed on her face beneath her helm.
"Alicia..." Vorscham growled menacingly, but he could only frown as the gunny finally pushed herself into a sitting position. She looked up at him, her blood red eyes faint but also focused, her face slightly green as she threatened to vomit again. She leaned over and retched a few times, but there was nothing left to spill. She sat up straight and wiped a dribble of bile from her chin, a determined look on her face.
"Where's Shyvana?" Alicia said softly, her voice faint from the pain that played across her face.
"I don't know..." Vorscham looked towards the massive cloud of dust that was settling across the road and spilling into the piled up snow on top of the grass that lined the roadside. Vorscham looked back towards the company of men who had been milling about, and was surprised by massive number of people who had been knocked down. The explosion had scattered the entire column, the massive shock wave sending many of the men crashing down to the ground. Some held their heads and wandered about as if they had burst eardrums, but most of them only had bruises and scrapes from the fall apart from that. He looked back down to Alicia, who had been the closest to the explosion other than Shyvana.
Alicia grabbed his hand and tugged on it gently, forcing him to meet her gaze. "Where. Is. Shyvana."
"We haven't ventured any closer to the site of the explosion than this." Vorscham gestured to where many of the men who were unhurt had begun moving along the road, assisting and ensuring the civilians. There had only been a few stragglers that had been swept back in the last few moments before the accident, but as he looked along the road, there were no other calls for medics going out. "We don't know if it's safe yet, it could explode again."
"There's nothing left." Alicia growled, grimacing against the pain that she obviously felt. "Help me up." Vorscham simply looked at her, surprise clear on his face from the glare that he received from Alicia. He clicked his jaw shut, having not felt it open, and then shook his head. Frowning as she floundered, still trying to push herself up into a sitting position, Alicia's brow creased deeper. "Help me up!"
"Don't be stupid." Vorscham growled, still looking at her as if she were crazy. "You're in no position to..."
"Fine, don't help me." Alicia snarled, anger now contorting her face as she tried to get her hands underneath herself to try and struggle to her feet. "It doesn't matter, I'm still going to find Shyvana." She grunted as she started to get onto one knee. "Stupid... leg..." She muttered under her breath, unable to bend the splinted leg, struggling and floundering as she tried to stand up.
"Ma'am you really shouldn't be moving yet!" The medic protested, but Alicia merely glared at her angrily, causing the medic to slink backwards.
"I'll rest when my friend is safe!" She turned to Vorscham. "Shyvana is out there somewhere, and she's probably hurt! We have to do something!"
Vorscham glanced towards where the dust had started to settle into a deep depression, revealing a massive crater that had been blasted into the ground by the explosion. He felt dread solidify like a ball of pure ice in his stomach, turning back to Alicia. He wore a mask of indifference as he looked down at her, trying to contain the fear he felt as he met her eyes met his. A shiver ran up his spine. How do I tell her that Shyvana is probably...
"Don't even say it!" Alicia snarled, her anger shocking even Vorscham, rocking him back on his haunches. "I can tell what you're thinking! I won't believe it until I see the body!" Vorscham glanced away as he scratched his scared remains of his ear, trying to growl angrily, but the noise died in his throat as he sighed in resignation.
"Alicia..." He tried to speak softly, calmly, but there was pain in his voice that he couldn't hide.
"No." Alicia gasped, shaking her head and gritting her teeth against the pain as tears welled in her eyes. "I won't. I refused to believe it until I..." Vorscham shook his head and exhaled heavily.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on." Vorscham dropped to one knee, pulling one of Alicia's arms over his shoulder and then lacing an arm around her waist. "Don't start bitching if it hurts." The medic jumped in front of them, the young woman posting her fists upon her hips, her green eyes flaring in anger.
"Sir, she needs to see a doctor right now." The medic protested, but Vorscham waved her off. "I really think she should be laying down right now. Sir, I'm going to have to log my protests with the commander."
"Do it. Log your damn protests, I'll deal with it." Vorscham snarled, glancing down at Alicia, who's gaze was already scanning the dust cloud, looking for anything she could. He pushed himself up and started to rise, pulling Alicia with him. Pain played over her face, and he could hear her struggling not to whimper and cry out in pain, but she managed to get all the way up. She was leaning heavily on Vorscham for support, grimacing in pain. She was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her face. "June... maybe you better..."
"I'm fine!" Alicia snapped angrily. She took a step forwards, trying to pull away from Vorscham, but her splinted knee buckled and she headed towards the ground.
"Like hell you are..." Vorscham growled, catching her before she could down to her knees. He glared at her accusingly, a darkened frown sliding onto his face as she looked up at him sheepishly. "You've always been such a hardheaded, selfish little girl, Alicia."
"Proudmast..." She said quietly, blushing slightly as she looked up at him. She couldn't meet his gaze and hold it, glancing away. "Thanks." She murmured softly, though June hoped that Vorscham couldn't hear what she said.
"Let's get you up." Vorscham said, helping her up, noticing that the gunny was blushing furiously. "June?" Vorscham murmured, surprised at her reaction. "Are you feeling alright?" She glanced down at her chest and then back up at Vorscham.
"The least you could do is move you hand!" She wheeled about and slapped Vorscham full on, the Lieutenant starting, his hands jumping away from her body. Alicia sunk to the ground, gasping as her knee gave way and she toppled over, ending up sprawled out on the ground, her face screwed up in pain. Vorscham's face turned a brilliant red as he looked at his hands, to Alicia's chest, and then to her, absently watching as tears ran down her face. "Alicia..." He murmured quietly. He shook his head and then dropped down next to her. "I'm sorry." He hissed nervously, trying to help as she stretched her leg out straight, refusing to meet her gaze as she stared ruefully up at him.
"You should be careful where you put your hands next time." Alicia grumbled, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. She sighed heavily and extended a hand to him. "Just help me up. And watch the hands this time." She glared at him for a moment before she sighed a second time, shaking her head and accepting his help, letting the lieutenant pull her to her feet.
"Come on, let's get back, find a stretcher and get you to the hospital." Vorscham said, starting to turn back towards the column.
"Not yet." Alicia said defiantly, almost begging him not to go. "What about Shyvana? She's somewhere out here!"
"June..." Vorscham said softly, his comforting tone of voice seemingly to surprise even himself. "You should know that it is possible that she might not have made it. That explosion..." His eyes settled on the massive crater that had lifted and pealed part of the road away the peal of an orange, tossing dirt and bits of snow everywhere, clumps of matted grass and ice littered about.
"No..." Alicia clamped her eyes shut and shook her head. "No, no, no..." She looked up at Vorscham, anger burning in her eyes, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "I refuse to even consider that. There is no way she'd let that happen." She shook her head violently, and then tried to push herself away from Vorscham, shivering violently, as if the fear and pain were assaulting her. Vorscham hugged her shoulders gently, and gave her a few brief moments to breath deeply to calm herself. She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to shake off the pain. "I'm okay." She warded off Vorscham's comment, shaking her head to silence him.
"You sure?" Vorscham said with a frown, watching her carefully. Alicia nodded and then glanced at the ground. She looked back up after a few moments, glancing left and right along the road and the open expanse that was darkened like an endless pit that disappeared into the ground. "Then what are you going to do?"
She cupped a hand around her mouth. "Shyvana! Shyvana, where are you?!"
"God damnit!" Vorscham barked as he twisted his finger about in his ear, frowning and glaring at the white haired gunnery sergeant. "Alicia, next time, don't just shout in my ear. A little warning would be nice." She glared back at him with a piercing, red eyed stare, the Lieutenant shrunk back under her withering glare. He turned towards where the massive dust and smoke cloud was clearing along the road, helping her hobble along.
"Just shut up and start looking, Proudmast!" Alicia growled. She raised her hand back to her mouth. "Shyvana!"
"SHYVANA!" Vorscham bellowed, pausing and waiting quietly to hear if there was any reply.
"Shyvana! If you can hear me, say something!" Alicia howled, pulling Vorscham towards the crater, where the dust and swirl of snow and smoke had settled along the ground.
There was a low rumble off along the far side of the road, across from where the explosion had carved a massive chunk out of the ground. The hole was expansive and it seemed to swallow up all of noise of the fields and the forest beyond. The rumble silenced both Alicia and Vorscham and drew their eyes to where a bank of snow, ice, rocks and mud started to rise up, as if the ground was breathing. It rose and fell slowly, rhythmically, like the breathing of a slumbering beast. Steam leaked from beneath the ice and snow, rising up like a veil of purest white that had fallen from the sky. The snow and mud slowly started to fall away, as purple skin broke through the slurry of grays and browns. Grey armored scales peaked through and Shyvana rose out of the dust and smoke. Her long snout was lifted to the sky, golden eyes dancing about the broken landscape, her eyes lingering on the scar that now marred runeterra. Bubbling with mud and putrid water, the crater was like a festering wound, a pot of boiling desolation. Slowly the purple hide began to tower above the road, and Shyvana slowly glanced around.
"Shyvana..." Alicia breathed, blinking rapidly as she stared up at the dragon. She had never been so close, and she had never realized just how large Shyvana was when she was a dragon. The golden eyes tracked down onto her and she immediately gasped, audibly swallowing as she looked up and met the piercing golden eyes, perfect black diamonds gleaming back at her. "The Yordle... is he..." Shyvana looked around, her eyes playing over the craters and the boiling water that was slowly cooling off. She could see the shimmer of sky off of something around the edges of the craters, exhaling sharply as she looked over how sand in the dirt and mud had superheated and fused together in a ring of glass. The glass shattered suddenly, causing the gunny to start. She shook her head slightly and then she looked up to dragoness.
Shyvana viewed her with disregard and she grunted, expelling a cloud of steam as she exhaled. She lowered her head down towards the ground and then opened it, letting the little yellow Yordle roll off her tongue. The Yordle coughed and spluttered as he sat up, gasping for breath, wiping the dragon saliva from his jacket and his hair. He cast it along the ground, the thick mucous splattering along the mud noisily. He glanced up at the dragon with a mix of anger and confusion on his face, as if he wanted to both scold her and thank her at the same time.
"You could have at the very least tried not to drool on me." He muttered as he pushed himself up, continuing to wipe the sticky saliva from his clothes. He took his goggles off and cleaned the saliva from the surface of the lenses, holding them up to the gray sky to peer through them. He sighed and then looked back up, seating them on his face. "Thank you, though. I don't think I would have survived if it were not for you." Shyvana said nothing, simply grunting and nodding, her head wavering slightly, swinging from side to side. Her mane of ruby red hair quivered slightly as she exhaled slowly.
"Shyvana?" Alicia said slowly, watching as the dragon's eyes slowly rolled back into her head. She collapsed, the rumble from her body bouncing Heimerdinger off his feet as she hit the ground. "Shyvana!" Alicia screamed, rushing to her side.
"My word!" Heimerdinger gasped as dust billowed up around Shyvana, her chest rising and falling slowly. "Shyvana, my dear, are you alright?" He adjusted the goggles he wore and fiddled with them for a second, finally retracting them in frustration.
"I'm glad you're alright... Cecil..." Shyvana sighed softly, as if she were winded, the rumble of her voice causing the others to take a step back in surprise. "I think I'm just going to take a nap now." She glanced at Alicia and then she sighed heavily, as if in relief. "Alicia... I screwed up..." Her diamond pupils widened slightly and then narrowed, her eyes fluttering shut. Her chest rose and fell once and then she quivered again, her mane shaking and then falling still.
"Shyvana, what's wrong?" Alicia dropped down next to the dragoness, her hands hesitating a few inches above the leathery skin. She could feel the heat that rose from the dragon's body but she eyed the armored scales with trepidation. She touched the dragon gingerly, surprised at how warm and soft the leathery flesh felt. She ran her hand over the scales, expecting them to be cold and detached like the armor Demacian soldiers wore, but she exhaled softly when it was nothing of the sort. It was smooth and dry, almost like polished stone that had been warmed by the sun. Alicia pressed her hands against the skin, and then leaned her head against the flesh, listening to the faint heart beat within.
"Wait a moment..." Heimerdinger said, frowning. "What are you..."
"She's weak..." Alicia said, standing up and looking over the flesh of the dragon. She leaned heavily as she hobbled along around Shyvana. "Something's wrong..."
"How strange..." Heimerdinger murmured as he stepped closer, musing to himself. "I've never met a dragon before. Where do you hail from, young one?"
"My mother was from Demacia..." Shyvana rumbled, shifting slightly, breathing a labored sigh. "My father... he hailed from many places. I suppose you could say he was from Kalamanda."
"Kalamanda?" Heimerdigner mused, a look of surprise crossing his face. "I was headed there in service of the League. My machine was needed there for..." His face paled as he looked down her body. Sticking out of her side was a massive chuck of steel, lodged deep in her soft underbelly. "Oh my."
"What?" Alicia stammered, pushing herself up, stumbling slightly as she hobbled around to Shyvana's snout. Her hands went to her mouth, covering her grief as she gasped in terror. "Oh... gods..."
"I... uh..." Heimerdinger's voice was faint as he glanced around hurriedly. "Ahh!" He started again as fire swirled around the dragoness for a brief moment, her body starting to slowly shrink. The leathery purple hide began to pale and the mane of reddish hair lengthened atop her head, flowing around her as the pale human form of Shyvana was left lying on the ground, her side gashed badly, jagged metal protruding from her hip to the bottom of her rib cage. She lay in a pool of blood, her breathing labored and short.
"By jove..." Heimer murmured softly, blinking rapidly. "I've never seen anything like that before."
"Shyvana..." Alicia murmured, moving closer to the bare dragoness, her eyes wide in terror. She dropped to her hands and knees, pulling her wounded leg closer, wincing in pain. Her hands again hovered just above Shyvana's skin, but as she went to touch her, Vorscham grabbed her shoulder.
"It hurts." Shyvana groaned, shifting slightly.
"Stop moving." Vorscham growled, shaking his head. He kneeled down, starting to reach out towards the dragoness, but he clenched his fist, shaking it slightly. "Your wounds are bad, Shyvana. You mustn't make them worse." He turned and looked for the medic who had attended to Alicia. "MEDIC!" The medic's head came up and she started, but when she saw the Lieutenant, she nodded and patted the young man she was attending, getting to her feet. She jogged over, looking to the lieutenant, who directed her to Shyvana.
"The dragoness?" The medic blinked a few times, looking up to Vorscham and then back down to the dragoness. Her hair surrounded her body like a pool of blood, though the blood that spilled from her body had darkened quickly. "Why is she naked?"
"What?" Alicia shook her head, gesturing to her side. "The wound! She's badly hurt!"
"Right, right." The medic groused, pulling her satchel over her head. She carefully rolled Shyvana over and then blanked. "I... I can't treat this... this is... I..."
"Stabilize her then!" Alicia snarled. "Something! Anything!"
"Then shut up and let me do my damned job!" The medic snapped at Alicia. She pulled off her white and red painted helm and tossed it aside, her auburn locks spilling over her armor, her green eyes burning with anger. Alicia nodded quietly, slinking back as the medic set about her work. "I'll stabilize her as best I can, and then go for help."
"For what, Yordle?" Vorscham said, growling slightly.
"W-what?" Heimerdinger looked torn as he glanced about nervously. "Oh!" He gasped, eying the gleaming steel that settled against his neck. "What is the meaning of this?" He protested, trying to push the blade away.
"The lover of one of my best friends is currently laying on the ground, bleeding out because she tried to save your tiny fucking hide." Vorscham growled as menacingly as he could, nudging the Yordle's neck with the blade again. "You either tell me what exactly you were doing here, or I will execute you as a war criminal in the name of Demacia."
"You would risk all out war with both Bandle City and Piltover?" Heimerdinger breathed, his eyes wide with fear. Vorscham growled, his brow darkening, causing the Yordle to tremble with fear. Heimerdinger glanced away. "I... I cannot say..."
"You will say, or I will slit your damned throat!" Vorscham bellowed.
"Fine!" Heimerdinger said, dropping to his knees and sighing heavily. "I was to build a machine that could drain mana from crystal! I know not what they needed it for, but I was commissioned by the League! Demacia was the best place to test it but something... something went wrong! When I passed through the gates, the machine reacted to it!" The Yordle pounded a fist upon the ground, struggling to calm his tongue and catch his breath. "But that wasn't supposed to happen! I checked my calculations so many times and yet..."
"Enough of your babbling!" Vorscham growled. "The prince will wish to hear of this." He looked to Shyvana as he sheathed his sword, the steel ringing menacingly. "If he does not kill you first, for the harm that has come to his love."