"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you."

Friedich Nietzche

The Measured Tread.

The Measured Tread is the primordial stone of the Demacian culture, it was no surprise that, in order to boost the morale of the troops and their objectives their flagship will be called like this, the most powerful spaceship of the Demacian Navy, armored enough to resist the attacks of an entire Noxian fleet, almost impossible to board, so big that it shadow over a planet was a sight to fear and the sight of his hull a boost for the morale of the Demacian troops, written in golden all along the outer and inner hulls, the words of the Measured Tread adorned the ship, creating an hostile environment for all those non"demacian who dared to board this flying fortress, its accounts tell of countless successful ramming attacks into Noxian ships, either tearing them apart of opening the way for the troops inside for boarding, and just as imposing and mighty this ship was, so was its commanding officer, General Garen Crownguard.

Sat on his command seat in the back of the bridge, reading panels, informing himself of Noxian activities, the General contemplated, learned and meditated secluded on his own thoughts, Garen was the paragon of Demacia, no other warrior was so mighty, no other warrior had killed so many Noxians, the pride of his ancestors, the prestigious Crownguard, the second most important family in Demacia's territories and colonies, and no other had to carry the burdens of Demacia like him, more now than ever, for in his shoulders the burden of the Throne started to weight.

"Sir!" a crisp voice followed by a military salute pulled Garen of his thoughts, turning his gaze, he raised and saluted back, equally as sharp as his subordinate "Go ahead Commander" Garen replied, straightening his ironed blue military uniform, his chest full of medals and battle ribbons "This just came in sir, is a message from home" Garen took the holopad offered to him by the Commander, reading the message quickly, although he already knew what was in it "King Jarvan IV health is worsening..." He said after reading – We are been ordered back home as soon as we can "

Garen turned around after giving the holopad back, he knew what this meant, he put his hands on the rail, looking at the screen in front of the bridge, which now showed the dark and vast space "So then I presume I will be calling you my liege instead of sir very soon, General" the Demacian General tightened his grip on the rail near his seat, he knew his subordinate was right, King Jarvan was dying, ever since that battle Jarvan had with Jericho Swain, High Emperor of Noxus, he was grievously maimed and wounded, no longer able to serve, or even survive on his own, he was attached to a machine, still alive he ordered his subjects to do so, to reign and serve his nation until his last breath, nothing less was expected from the King

Garen was next in line to succeed Jarvan, they were not blood related, childhood friends, friends for life but not relatives, the closest they went to this was, when Garen's sister Luxanna was to marry Jarvan, the images flooded Garen's mind, the ceremony of engagement, how happy his sister was, how happy Jarvan was, and then, all turned red, images change from the marble halls of Demacia to the hellish high tech battlefield, flashes of light from their melee weapons, clashing against the weapons of the Noxian monsters, Garen fighting tooth and nail, slicing and electrifying Noxians with his energy charged sword, his mighty power armor stained with blood from his enemies as he calls for his friend, lost from sight, until he founds him, fighting in a crater created by his Sonic Lance vibrations, separating Jarvan and Swaim from everybody, the fight was tense, Jarvan's lance flying in elegant motions, trying to pierce Swain's armor, while the known as the Master Tactician parried most of the blows with the shields of his armor, until taking advantage of a miss from Jarvan a blast comes out from Swain gauntlet, a blinding light forbids him to see, but when the smoke clears, the only one remaining standing is Swain, tired, but victorious, Jarvan's wretched, yet alive body lies on the floor, his lower half missing, flesh seared, unable to move…

Almost unable to live…

"Sir?" Garen came back abruptly from the awaken dreaming state, looking at his Commander "Are you ok Sir?" he inquired, seen Garen expression, "Yes, I am, Roche set course for… " Alarms blared as he spoke, his soldier mind cut in, calling him to action "Sensors, report!" Garen called with urgency, turning to the corresponding men working on the console" Contacts!, IFF (Identify Friend of Foe) confirms, Noxian battlecruisers! "Garen turned from the bridge and walked towards the lift leading to the armory" Commander, you have the bridge, all hands to battle station, inform the fleet we are engaging" that said he walked in the lift while unlatching the buttons on his blue uniform, revealing the muscle tight black inner suit below, the last layer of armour any Demacian used, its connection to the power armour that made Demacian soldiers living battletanks.

He was a soldier, to the bone, a warrior from hearth, he knew that, becoming the King will change many things, especially now that, Jarvan was about to die without a heir, he didn't want the throne, he didn't felt worthy of it, his place was the battlefield, not the throne room "If this are going to be my last battles, then I'll make them echo in history, I'm a soldier, not a king, but I shall serve Demacia, no matter what's the charge, but for one last time, I'll thrive where I was born to be, one last time" .

The Legend

The vast and dark space opened before her, through the double density reinforced crystal of the space station the look was somehow depressing, after 950 years, the existence tends to be like this very often, even when you are the epitome of Noxian combat efficiency, even when you are the best assassin the Noxian has to offer, when all you have on your heart is violence, when violence solves everything, when you wish nothing more than blood for Noxus, and yet, your hearth, deep below hopes. Katarina DuCoteau was one of the first successful genetic strains stored by the Noxians, her original genetics proved incredibly powerful, and with some tweaks over the years it made her what she was, in a word:

Perfect.

The curvy woman stared at the starts, trying to find something or if like trying to find something, Katarina existence has long been overdue, she was one of the few beings alive in the galaxy who still remembered the homeworld, technically she was there, even though her current body wasn't, her memories told her of the land, the grass, the wind, the lush world they all lost, and what she lost with it more than the planet itself, what made her be like she was now, what made her do what she had done for this past 900 something years, what she has been carefully setting in motion.

For a moment, her reflection showed on the crystal, red long hair on her back, green emerald eyes, the curves of a goddess, the gaze of an assassin, her black gloved hand reached for her right eye, touching the scar, unlike her first incarnation, this scar was not made in battle, she made it herself, or better said, her former self did, the clone before her, just as the one before her did and so on, as a reminder of something long gone, of something only she could remember, or maybe only she cared to remember.

"Watching the stars?, perharps you wonder if your kill count already surpassed the number of stars you see" a raspy voice sounded from behind, joined by the sound of a cane hitting the ground as the man walked in, the curious and quite unusual sound of the crow in his shoulder made it easily to guess who it was

"High Emperor Swain" she replied, turning around, a hand on her chest and bow to salute, something she hated with her heart, but, considering he was the most powerful person in Noxus, for now, it was a needed precaution "To why do I owe this unexpected… visit?" the words she looked for was unpleasant intromission, and her voice barely did hid the fact of her hate towards the man, but she knew better, as Swain did too, even though he was aware of her hate, she was too valuable, Katarina Ducoteau was not only the best Noxian assassin, spy and black ops member, but a symbol and a legend as well, almost a demi"goddess, one doesn't kill his best lightly it takes careful planning, and so, as rival and allies they were, they stood silently for a moment, throwing gazes, red eyes against green eyes.

"I came to check on the progress, this space station must be finished as soon as possible" he finally broke the silent, walking towards the window "Demacia is weak, and this, our ultimate weapon of mass destruction, will be their doom" Swain spoke truth, the immense under construction battle station was a planet killer weapon, it had took them more than 100 years to even reach this place, and casually, the almost near completion phase came at a time when Demacia's ruler is on his dying days, there was not a better chance now, Noxus will prove his superiority soon.

"I'm pleased with your work Katarina, it was a wise choice to put you in charge of the station construction and security on its final stage" the man feed his bird something that came out of his pocket, whatever it was, even Katarina couldn't see, Swain had a way of concealing things, just like his machinations, always assisted by the Empress, Emilia LeBlanc "However it will be unfortunate if the Demacian find us now, won't be?" He says turning around to leave "This has been an easy job for you, I think you are bored without a challenge aren't you?"

Katarina simply shrugged, even though Swain was right, the thrill of a kill, the adrenaline of violence, the things that keep her alive were missing from her life for some time now, but she wouldn't allow Swain to know it "Perharps that won't remain that way" Swain concluded, a slight laugh escaped his covered mouth, under the dark mask a twisted smile appeared.

Katarina was confused, but suddenly alarms blared on the station, the red headed woman looked at Swain not knowing what to think, she ran towards the console nearby, punching the intercom button "Report!" she yelled on the communication device "A Demacian fleet approaches in battle formation, scouting ships spotted them while passing nearby, they are about to engage"

Katarina cursed and turned to Swain, who already left the room, what this one of his machinations? No, how could it be, but it was too well timed, not even he could, why would he?, this was his masterpiece, this station, why risk it? Not he couldn't, this was simply a twist of fate or so she though, it didn't matter anyway, as usual, she was going to kill every Demacian on those ships and come back, to keep her legend living.

"Prepare my ship, send the order to engage"

Clash of Fates

The battle raged, Noxian battlecruisers and destroyers engaged the Demacian navy, the long rage battle was a mere protocol on both sides, they hatred was too great that long range weapon were merely a means to thin the enemy forces while approaching for the real combat, each side could only be satisfied by killing their opponents up close, there was no other way.

Another Noxian ship exploded as the Measured Tread emerged from the flames, crushing a smaller frigate with the front of the ship, specially made to ram deep even in the crust of a planet, the Demacian forces rallied and approached with intentions on boarding the Noxian ships, explosions lighted the space as heavy rail munitions travelled to hit marked spots for boarding actions.

Back on the frontal hangar, Garen rallied his soldiers, men and women of Demacia donning their mighty power armors, they were titanium and steel giants, highly trained men and women inside armors that made them even more fearsome, man and machine in union to crush their enemies.

"Soldiers of Demacia!" the General cried "Once again we find our enemies, you all know we are in dark times, the Noxians foretell our downfall!" the soldiers looked at their commander, as his words passed all over the fleet "But they are just bluffing!, they don't know what it takes to bring us down, let us show them that their lies, supposed perfection and propaganda are not a match for the true strength of Demacia!" that said, battle cries more like a roar erupted from the soldiers as Garen raised his mighty sword.

As the battle continued, a new group of Noxian battleships entered the fray, Katarina's ship among them, as if it was a challenge, the Measured Tread routed its brow against it, it was almost a matter of honor, command ships always looked for and faced each other in battle, to destroy the enemy command ship was a decisive strike in a battle, striking hard the morale of the losing side.

"Mistress, we have spotted the Measured Tread among the enemy formation, they are closing in on us!" the Noxian officer advised to Katarina, who was now wearing her combat suit, a black tight suit with red stripes running from the shoulders to the wrist, slightly armored, only a pauldron on each shoulder, a light chestpiece which had attached the systems that fed her HUD (Heads UP display) and small oxygen tanks on the back, long black boots up to the tight with armored shins and knees completed the suit, daggers adorned her tights, 2 swords hang from her back and two others from her hips, and she had more weapons hidden, in places one may not imagine "Let them approach!" she yelled, almost unable to contain her excitement, but it was more than the mere violence what thrilled her "Let them board us, we will meet them with force and cunning, cruelty and death!" she felt her heart beat faster and faster, for she knew who commanded that ship, finally what she expected was happening "Go! Meet them head on!"

As she said this, she ran back to the lift, both ships approached as a pair of bulls charging with all their muscles, the battle seemed to go slower when they approached, almost as if time was about to stop, the brows of the ships meet each other with a loud hit, silenced by the vacuum of space, the helmsman of the Measured Tread pressed forward, the ramming front pierced the Noxian cruiser defences opening a hole in the enemy ship, sucking out the personnel on the area, once the area was depressurized, the vacuum shield activated, creating a pressurized environment for the soldiers to board, the doors of the Measured Tread opened and the Demacians charged in, helmets don and weapons on the ready, the few Noxians that mustered a defense after the impact prepared and rushed out to meet their enemies, but they were on the losing end, the first wave of Demacians slaughtered countless Noxians before reaching the bulwark, Garen at the lead fought with all his courage, shouting the name of his nation as he charged deeper in the enemy ranks, slicing everything in his path, until no Noxian was left.

"Prepare to move out! Set a garrison and press on" he ordered as the men chanted victory on their first battle today, Garen turned and was ready to move, but a flying dagger stopped him, fast enough as he was, he deflected the weapon with his sword, immediately turning to see the attacker, what he found, left him breathless for a second.

The soldiers around stared in awe at the Noxians, but not at the forces reinforcing the position, but to the female leading them, a legend in both sides, a woman that, everybody says can't be killed, a woman who was always existed in Noxus, a woman to be feared, whispers saying "it's her" filled the Demacians ranks, only Garen took a step forward, sword ready.

"Finally" her crimson lips said, confusing Garen a bit "Finally? I don't remember meeting you before, Sinister blade of Noxus" he replied, the female just smiled, this meant more than what Garen could imagine right now "Should I be honoured then?" he responded, unable to hide the sarcasm

" You don't know what is just about to start, but trust me, you are in for the dance of your life Garen Crownguard, come, would you stare into the abyss with me?!"

Those words said, both combatants launched forwards and set in motion events that will change the fate of both nations…