Chapter 2: Prime Suspect
Now that it was clearly some kind of conspiracy, the tensions between the national authorities eased slightly for the sake of a detailed investigation into possible rogue agents. Shyvana was commended for her assistance in the issue by the remaining councilors, but the dragoness seemed irrevocably morose. She was respectful, attentive, but frigid.
The wound in Alteia's chest was confirmed to be a direct result of summoning magic being manipulated around her heart. Despite no suspects beyond corpses, the current evidence indicated a mad, suicidal summoner with enough clout to get into the match he'd instigated, and blow up high-ranking summoners (and the accidental victim of a mid-level summoner recruited in the rush to fill slots).
The investigation was left open, but there was no clear path to follow. Within the day, Shyvana retired from the issue, with the blessing of the council and Prince Jarvan, and she left the League to simply walk for a time.
If asked, she couldn't have explained why she returned to Sylus' cottage. She just went there, lost in thoughts and memories. Her armor-claw trailed over a ruined tree from her own tantrum two days before, and she looked up at the shattered doorway she'd broken in her haste to find him.
Shyvana stepped through the threshold, and slowly knelt down, seeming to melt in a way. Her arms hung limp, her back slumped, and her head hung slack.
Part of her wanted to compare it to the pain of her father's murder, but she knew she should have been insulted by that comparison. Still, it couldn't match the unbridled rage and thirst for revenge her father's death had triggered. This was just a void where a feeling was supposed to be. She hadn't realized numbness could hurt so much.
Her breath whispered out words no one outside of her own ears could really hear.
"I'm sorry… I should have been able to protect you, summoner. I'm your champion. I'm your champion, and I failed you. You would have…" she cringed at her pain, "you would have gone far."
A twig snapped outside.
Her eyes were up, dilated, and her body was ready instantly. The dragoness twisted and leapt out of the cottage in one gesture, ripping through the air toward a cloaked figure just behind the first line of trees.
The figure cried out in panic, twisting to run, but was painfully slow.
Shyvana tackled it to the ground, an arm across its neck, and she growled with bared teeth into the black depths of the hood. "Who sent you!?"
The figure was almost frozen, despite panting raggedly through the partially choked throat, hands up and out, a faint shake in his frame. "N-no one, my lady."
Shyvana's eyes widened with disbelief and several layers of shock she didn't wish to consciously analyze. Her free hand snapped up, slamming the hood down around the figure's head—"Sylus!?" she breathed.
He swallowed thickly, nodding, his pale eyes staring up into hers with controlled panic under his disheveled, mildly graying hair. "Y-yes, my lady. I-I didn't mean to-to seem like an intruder!"
Her eyes stayed wide, staring, looking at the different parts of his face to verify it was really him. It begged and answered so many different questions at the same time she was lost to the haze of confusion. Part of her was elated, another ashamed of that very elation, another growing viciously suspicious of his timing and absence, and yet another completely certain he was just an innocent victim in a mad situation.
"W… Where have you been!?" she finally demanded, regaining control and focusing into a firm, angry voice, her brow knitting.
Sylus jerked at her sharper tone, but knew better than to move too quickly. If she felt for a second he was trying something, she would have him in pieces. "I-I know this must seem terribly suspicious, my lady. I am deeply sorry. I panicked after what happened. I know they realized I survived, and I assumed they would come for me to finish the job! I couldn't stay home after the match, but I had nowhere to go. I've been… I've been hiding in the nearby town. My supplies started to run low, so I was coming back to see if I could gather more of my food."
She wanted to believe him. Oh how she could never explain how much she wanted to believe him, but it was too suspicious.
Shyvana sighed, and eased enough to stop choking him, but she kept a hand to one of his shoulders to detain him. "…Summoner, you are the only survivor and living witness to one of the worst acts of terrorism since the League was founded. Not only are you the prime suspect just by surviving, but your information is vital. You must come with me to the League Hall for a proper interview and spell analysis."
Shyvana watched intently as his face shifted through tense emotions. He wanted to disagree in some way at first, it was clear, but then he grew sorrowful, and then simply nodded, his eyes closing with acceptance.
She swallowed, discovering a new pain from being unable to share her relief that he was alive. "…Before that… let's get you some food, and tell me your side of things." She stood, and offered her armored claw to him.
Sylus blinked, and then meekly took her hand. He gave a little yelp when she yanked him to his feet effortlessly. It put them quite close together, and he looked up into her serious, focused gaze.
He seemed ashamed, but also conflicted as she watched him.
Shyvana broke the stare, and pulled him into a calm walk back into his cottage.
"Sorry for the door… and the trees," she muttered, her cheeks darkening a bit.
Sylus just shook his head, and moved to the kitchen, pulling some food supplies out. He was setting aside some for an immediate meal, and the rest for packing in a little satchel over his shoulder.
Shyvana sank down into a chair, watching him. She was suddenly so tired. "…So? What happened?"
Sylus nodded, seeming to need time to find his words. "…A-after the match, my connection to the hall allowed me to view the summoners. I normally just disconnect the spell focus, but I could tell they were arguing heatedly, and I knew some of them, especially the high councilors. At first, it seemed that it was just a shouting match, but I felt the spell environment change abruptly."
"What does that mean?" Shyvana persisted.
Sylus started to nibble on some bread as he faced her again at last. He seemed to be coming back to his usual self, though agitated and talking quickly, "More spells were starting up. Spells that weren't supposed to be happening, not after a match, and not in that room especially. One of the summoners on the opposing team, Dalakan's, suddenly contorted, screamed in agony, and in a flash of summoning matrices, his entire torso was replaced with some kind of arcane bomb device."
Shyvana grimaced. "I wouldn't wish that on a Noxian… Did it detonate immediately?"
Sylus nodded, still moving faster than normal as he swallowed some food. "More or less. The explosion ripped through their bodies like a flash," he snapped his fingers, "and I felt the planar disruption. It hit my focus connection, and that was when I realized the summoner who planted the bomb felt my presence. He knew someone was watching, but not present. If he (well, or she) was powerful enough to warp a bomb into a man's body, I had to assume he could track my focus pathing to my home."
He set his food down after finishing the last sentence, and turned away, his hands on the counter.
Shyvana felt compelled to stand up, and move toward him, though she wasn't sure why. He was a shivering weakling, why did she care how much emotional pain he was in? "…Sylus?"
"…Please, forgive me."
It was such a weak, strangled response, she didn't hear it clearly the first time. "Pardon?"
"Please… forgive me," he managed, his head bowing, his body trembling. "For being such a coward! I ran! …I didn't know what I could do to fight back, so I just hid! I know how disgusting I must be right now… I-I hope… in future, I might earn back your respect…"
Shyvana sighed, resting her claws on her hips and bowing her head. "Sylus…" I believe you, and you're not a coward, it was that simple. Why couldn't she just spit those words out? More to the point, why didn't she consider him a coward? He'd run, fled, exactly as he said. He should have charged to the hall and revealed his knowledge immediately. What right did he have to make her gallivant all over the countryside when he could just TELL everyone what happened?
He cleared his throat, steadying himself. "I know, sorry, my lady. I'm wasting time. Let's get to the hall." He turned, steady and serious, but his eyes were damp.
Shyvana looked up at him slowly. "…Yes, come on."
He gathered his pack, and marched past her, moving with her gesture like an escorted prisoner.
Shyvana couldn't explain why she was starting to hate herself as they walked along that way.
(At the League…)
"I told you: I couldn't tell if it was a tertiary spatial flux or a quadranary. It happened far too quickly," Sylus repeated with gentle exasperation in his voice. He was seated at a simple table, his wrists shackled to it, facing three highly ranked summoners in a dimly lit room.
Shyvana was just outside the room, looking through an enchanted one-way window. To him it was a stone wall. She was leaned forward in a seat, elbows on her knees, with her hands clasped in front of her mouth, watching intently.
"No one can summon an object into those rooms as quickly as you're reporting!" one of the higher summoners retorted fervently.
Sylus nodded. "I understand, and I am aware! I can only tell you what I saw! It happened so fast I couldn't even scream at the nine innocent summoners I watched it vaporize. Measure that and compare it to your data!" some anger finally bled into his voice at the end, but he quickly firmed and focused down at the table.
"…It's true?"
Shyvana's eyes snapped up to Riven, who had just finished jogging up. The exiled warrior had her broken blade in hand, loose at her side, and a look of saddened uncertainty on her mildly tanned face.
"Yes," Shyvana muttered back, focusing on the room again.
Riven eased over, watching Sylus first, but then focusing on Shyvana. "Shyvana, are you well?"
"Fine."
A faint smile etched across Riven's features. "You're a terrible liar, dragon."
Shyvana gave her a withering stare over her hands. "What do you want?"
Riven shrugged, and sat down beside the dragoness. "I came to check on Sylus, actually. He's one of the few summoners I can respect personally. I just also know you share that respect, and watching him go through this must be painful."
"He's the prime suspect. All evidence leaves a vacuum that only he fills," Shyvana listed off coldly.
Riven gazed upward with a little sigh. "I see it's how you manage your emotions then. I'll stop prodding."
"There's nothing to manage," Shyvana growled.
"Your muscles are clenching louder than your voice, Shyvana."
She twitched, and forced herself to relax back into the chair beside Riven.
The sword master gave her a sidelong stare. "Shyvana, it's not weakness to care about someone you respect."
"I have duties first. I will focus on them."
A final sigh was Riven's only response to that, and she continued watching the interview as well.
(Inside…)
"Just tell us the truth, and we'll make sure the sentencing is as forgiving as possible, Sylus," another summoner explained, trying to be conciliatory.
Sylus rolled his eyes, clearly exhausted and burnt out. "I am telling the truth. I obeyed that ridiculous summons to the match because it was asked of a high-level summoner. I respect high level summoners because I value and respect the role of the League in the world. A summoner's entire purpose is to help the champions keep the peace by battling in the games. I would NEVER endanger that hard-won peace, and it is what I train and struggle for every day. I hid because SOMEONE is still out there, and I am damn sure they know I'm still alive. For all I know, it's one of YOU, but I don't lash out because I respect the authority of the League! You look into my eyes, and you tell me you think I'm lying!"
The three summoners were grimly silent.
Sylus exhaled, and added, "And more to the point, High Summoners, all four of us know I don't have the skill to pull off the explosion you saw. Even if you think I was capable of doing it, where did I get the bomb then?"
"You'll be detained until further notice."
Sylus sank into his chair, nodding.
As the three summoners stepped out of the room, Riven and Shyvana were up and standing before them.
Riven was the one who started. "Under what evidence is that man being detained?"
"We are not obligated to explain that to you, champion. He is the prime suspect in a terrorist attack."
Shyvana added, "Then you won't mind if I have the Demacian government request a copy of the arrest documentation?"
The three high summoners shared a glance.
Riven finished, "Based on the evidence we actually have, he's a frightened victim, not a murderer."
"We can't just let him go," one of the summoners finally admitted, whipping a hand back at the door.
Riven fixed Shyvana with a look. The dragoness was puzzled for a moment, but realized the woman was giving her a chance to take action… Shyvana focused, and said, "Release him into my custody. I will make sure he remains accessible for the investigation… and safely so."
Riven smiled for the summoners.
"…We will need to confirm with the council," another summoner finally replied.
Riven gestured down the hall. "By all means, summoners. Please unshackle the man, while he waits."
The third summoner sighed, but waved with his hand, and Sylus blinked down at his open shackles inside the room.
Then the summoners left quickly.
Shyvana turned to Riven, and actually bowed. "Thank you… and my apologies."
Riven offered a mild smile. "I respect both of you. I just wanted to help, if I could. We need summoners like him, especially with whatever is happening."
"I agree," Shyvana stated, already looking in at Sylus with a sad haze over her eyes.
Riven's smile turned almost gentle, but she hid it before speaking again. "Maybe he can be your partner on the investigation, hm?"
Shyvana managed a faint chuckle. "Perhaps."
Riven patted the dragon's shoulder. "Go talk to him. He might be worried with the shackles off."
Shyvana was startled by the contact, but just nodded as Riven simply walked off casually. Taking a moment to collect herself, Shyvana stepped into the interrogation room.
Sylus blinked up at her from the loose shackles, and immediately blurted out, "I didn't undo them, they popped off!"
That it was his first thought the moment she appeared was both a relief and somehow painful. The pain confused her, and she quickly dismissed the thought before it grew. "I know. They are discussing releasing you into my custody."
His shoulders sank, his entire frame easing. Suddenly he looked so exhausted. "My thanks, madam."
She shook her head to dismiss the issue, and simply sat down across from him. "You need rest."
Sylus gave a simple nod, fully agreeing.
"You've never been in battle, yes? Not directly, I mean."
He cleared his throat, answering, "Correct, my lady. Not that it excuses my cowardice, of course," he finished with a wan smile, but his eyes that looked at her were heavy with pain.
Her own gaze tightened, measuring him. "…You've been very formal with me. More so than usual, I mean."
"Didn't want to presume," he muttered, glancing down.
"Speak up, Sylus," Shyvana growled, glancing off with a sigh.
"Sorry, madam. I didn't want to presume use of your name."
"I gave you permission for it already, I recall."
His eyes were lost in thought. "That was before I fled. I know how serious a… how revolting that is to you."
Shyvana slammed one hand on the table, making him jerk and stare at her in alarm. "Sylus," she started bluntly, "I decide what I find revolting or not. You are a noncombatant, trained in a particular art that I respect, and took a logical response to overwhelming enemy force. Or do you think I've never retreated from a battle?"
Sylus swallowed. "…There is a great expanse between retreat and fleeing, my lady. …This… tolerance is unlike you. Forgive my surprise."
She snapped forward, leaning over the table so her eyes could smolder down into his. The man was slumped back, meeting her eyes, but clearly starting to shake.
"…Do you not wish my help?" she rasped in a low, surprisingly powerful whisper.
Her breath was hotter than any natural warmth, and smelled of a strangely beautiful mixture of ashes and incense.
Easing into a sorrowful expression, Sylus answered quietly, "I need your help, my lady, but I know I can't deserve it. Your favor surprises me, and I apologize."
"Summoner," she challenged, her face easing just enough to be dry rather than stern, "we share a bond of respect forged on the fields of justice. I have my own opinions on your choices, certainly, but I also have experience in such matters that you lack. You have always acted with great understanding toward me, honored me as I wished to be honored, and in respect of that, I am looking past my manner, my style of behavior, and giving you the benefit of the doubt. I…" only at this moment did her voice hesitate. She seemed to realize something was wrong with her desired words to follow, cringing faintly.
"…Yes, my lady?" Sylus prompted quietly, almost gentle in tone.
Firming, Shyvana answered, "I trust you. I believe what you have told me, but you are still the most likely culprit. It means you are now the primary target of both sides. The League itself, and whoever is trying to damage it. I have a duty to see you protected."
The summoner nodded, swallowing the remainder of his anxiety, only leaned back because of her proximity. "I am grateful… Shyvana."
There was something in how he said her name. A warmth to his tone. She dismissed the thought like the earlier pain, and simply nodded, rising up and sitting down again.
They sat in calm silence for a time, and then one of the interrogators returned.
"The council agrees. He is released to your custody, Shyvana."
She stood up, tipping her head. Sylus also rose, bowing to them both.
"Come, summoner," Shyvana said while they had a hostile audience, "we have spare quarters in the Demacian hall. You need rest."
(Later…)
It was surreal for Sylus. Though he'd shared minds with Shyvana for the sake of the matches, it was always a carefully controlled, magical environment, alien to personal interaction. Walking alongside her as a normal person, listening to her armor, even able to hear her calm breathing was all so novel.
He noticed how wide of a berth she was given in the large chambers and halls through the League building, both out of respect and fear. When they reached the Demacian hall, royal guards stood to attention. She simply nodded, Sylus pausing to bow before hurrying after her like a worried dog. She just gave him a dry glance once they were past the threshold, and led on.
Full of Demacian tapestries and other royal guards at post, the hall was like a little piece of the Demacian palace teleported into the League. Idly, Sylus wondered if that hadn't actually happened, but quickly dismissed the idea.
Shyvana stopped at one of the simple doors on the left side, and unlocked it with a key she had somehow had on her the whole time. She waved for him to follow as she stepped inside.
Sylus did so, and blinked at the surprisingly luxurious chamber. The bed was large, there was a hearth and fireplace, as well as a little sitting area off in one corner, and tomes rising up the right wall in a bookshelf.
"I imagine this will do?" Shyvana muttered, walking to the large window and pulling the curtains shut.
"C-certainly, my lady," he managed, looking around.
"Will my presence disturb your sleep?"
Sylus had never twisted around to face someone so quickly in his life. His spine actually popped in a few places from his entire body's awkward momentum. "P-pardon, my lady?"
Shyvana raised an eyebrow, completely calm. "Your life is in danger, summoner. I intend to guard you, as I said. Will my presence disrupt your rest?"
Sylus swallowed, unable to stop the warmth rising on his face. "N-no, not at all, my lady. I just… I saw the guards in the hall. I imagined you were retiring elsewhere or attending to other matters."
"If it were bandits I feared, you wouldn't need this kind of protection," Shyvana explained, and then reached up, starting to remove her helmet.
It had been a long day in her armor, and she was relieved to pull the weight of it off her skull. Her eyes were closed, and she ruffled her thick hair free of being knotted up and braided into the metal sheath that ran down her back.
When she did open her eyes, she paused, ignoring heat on her own cheeks, as she realized Sylus was gawking at her, a finger limply lifted toward the top of her head. He was stunned silent.
Self-conscious, Shyvana frowned, holding her helmet under one arm. "What in Runeterra is the matter with you, Sylus?"
He snapped to reality, flaring with panic. "O-oh, so t-terribly sorry, my lady. I just—I didn't—it's not—I mean…" he sighed at himself, shaking his head, and hurrying toward the bed.
Shyvana set her helmet down, her dark purple-red hair flowing down to her waist. "Is something wrong with my head? You act as though I'd sprouted extra horns," she challenged with a sour turn to her mood. What was so shocking about her appearance after all they'd been through together?
"N-no, my lady." Sylus rubbed the back of his head as he faced away, standing near the bed. He sighed, and finally admitted, "I… I didn't realize it was a helmet, madam."
This actually froze her in place, her eyes staring forward as her brain tried to confirm he actually meant the absurd point he'd just admitted. At last, she turned toward him, and gave an unceremonious, "What?"
Sylus turned to her, cringing. "I… I didn't know you had hair like a human woman would, my lady. I thought it… I thought your helmet was… natural for you."
Shyvana raised her eyebrows, and pointed at the armor on the table. "You thought I was born with that ridiculous thing on my head?"
The summoner swallowed, cleared his throat a few times, and then just nodded meekly, not meeting her eyes.
Her confused expression fractured into a faint smirk. Then her brow started to shiver slightly. At last, the dragoness started to laugh, one arm running across her middle, the other forming a fist in front of her lips as she tried to constrain her mirth to avoid outright guffaws that might double her over at the absurdity and innocence of his point.
Sylus risked a glance up, almost childishly put-off by her humor at his expense. "…I'm sorry for the assumption."
Shyvana was trying to stop her laughter, clearing her throat a few times. "No… no need for an apology, summoner. Your honesty is refreshing. All things considered," she caught her breath with a sigh of contentment, "it makes your previous esteem all the more sincere. My thanks." She was actually still smiling, pleasantly so, her features warmed to such a pleasant expression scarcely anyone would have recognized the dragoness.
Sylus did finally relax into a smile himself. "I'm glad, and you're entirely welcome, my lady. Now that I've further exhausted myself with embarrassment, I think I shall retire."
Shyvana was about to point him to the bathroom when she paused, watching the man turn, face the bed, and simply fall over onto it.
Still amused, but mildly concerned, she walked over, and leaned around enough to see his face. Her expression softened as she realized he was already fast asleep… and his face was etched with fear as he slept.
Shyvana had seen some of Jarvan IV's men fall asleep that abruptly… after a day-long battle, filled with the exhilarating but exhausting drive of pure survival. For his manner, that was the type of day this summoner had faced, and it was practically her fault. The initial catastrophe wasn't, but his arrest (what else could she call her finding him?), his interrogation… all without hesitation after her command.
She couldn't think of another summoner who would have listened to her purely on merit.
"…Rest, summoner," she whispered, her armored hand reaching down, and just pressing to his back. "You are safe here. These walls are well guarded."
Shyvana watched his frame loosen, his expression ease, and he gave a mild moan, somehow trying to respond even in his exhaustion. She half-smiled a little, and moved away. She tucked some hair behind one ear, and sat down, her back to a corner, her eyes on the easiest entry paths to the chamber.
(Author's Note)
A bit early this time! Hopefully I can stay on schedule!
Now we see that new games are afoot! I'll be particularly interested to see who thinks Sylus is the culprit vs. who believes him, and how you see Shyvana's characterization. I think this chapter will make or break a lot of readers for the story, so I hope you're still interested!
Something I particularly liked about this chapter was Shyvana's moment, flipping from grief to battle-ready instantly, just before she discovered Sylus. She's never caught unawares too easily. I also greatly enjoyed Riven's cameo here. Don't worry, it's not the last we've seen of her.
Thanks for reading, following, and reviewing!