"Hey, Syndra?" Zed sighed, leaning back on the cool stone steps of the temple and looking up at the sky.
"Yes?" She replied turning her own gaze from the moon to the somber, calm expression on Zed's face.
"Do you remember how things were before?" he wondered, her eyes wandering through the cosmos above him.
Syndra pondered for a moment, wondering what might have gotten into Zed. He was not usually the type to ask this kind of question. "What do you mean before, Love?"
"I mean," Zed started, taking a moment to find his words, "Do you remember how it was when we first met? We didn't worry about fighting Shen or finding the box in the first month. It wasn't until I trusted you and told you everything that it got complicated. Until then, it was just us, at peace."
Syndra nodded and took the ninja's hand in her own, squeezing gently but firmly. "Of course I remember that Zed, and I loved those times more than you could imagine but... they're in the past now. We're doing what's right."
"That's true," Zed agreed, "We are bringing justice to the people of Valoran. But at the same time, I miss our old way of life." Zed's eyes glinted with the light of the sky above him, making Syndra sigh and lean back to look up as well.
"We can have that again Zed. We just have to make sure that our future is secure and then we'll never have to worry again. It can be simple- forever." She smiled.
Suddenly, Zed sat up and pressed his mask to his face. "You're right. Those times are gone but they can come back." Zed breathed heavily for a moment, his mind racing, his heart beating fast. That was what he was fighting for. It was so hard to remember with his conquest for a throne at the forefront and his vendetta against the Kinkou constantly in mind- this fight, all of it was for the future. They would have peace.
"Syndra," Zed murmered. "I swear that we will have those times again. By my blade, I will bring them. I will have my absolution and you will have your peace. I promise. I will bring you to the end of this."
Syndra smiled and chuckled slightly, "No need to bring me Zed, I'm going there all on my own..."
After their long voyage home, Yasuo and Riven pulled into the docks of Demacia once again and were greeted by not one but two familiar faces on the rickety wooden planks. Both Prince Jarvan and his best soldier and bodyguard Garen stood, smiling as the two pulled into port. Yasuo was first off the ship, quickly making his way over to the Demacians.
"Garen! Long time no see!"
"It has been indeed," Garen nodded, shaking Yasuo's hand. "How goes the travels?"
Yasuo shrugged, "They've been better, I can tell you that much."
"What does that mean?" Jarvan smirked.
"It means," Riven started, hopping from the boat to the dock and swiftly approaching the group, "We've got bad news. There is something bad coming. Apparently it's worse than Thresh."
Jarvan's face froze in shock and horror. "Worse than Thresh?!" Garen spluttered. "How? What?"
"Some guy called Zed," Yasuo nodded, adjusting his hat, "He's a ninja from Ionia who's unearthed some pretty dark magic. We need to get to the Shurima Desert and fast. There's supposedly a guy called Zilean there who can help us with the details.
"Of course," Jarvan nodded, still trying to process what could be worse than a soul-stealing monster from the Shadow Isles. "Any Demacian resources that can be spared are at your disposal.
Garen smiled and nodded reassuringly. "Since we drove back Noxus a few years ago, we've never been more secure. The military can't be moved but we are prepared to support you if need be."
Yasuo held up a hand to silence them. "No no. All we need is a guide. See, neither of us are all that familiar with Shurima. Hate to get lost and die of thirst in a desert. Oh! Speaking of which, we also need more whiskey!"
Riven punched Yasuo on the arm and interjected, "Know anyone who can get us there?"
Garen let out a low grunt and everyone looked over at him. "Garen?" Jarvan asked, "Something on your mind?"
The soldier shook his head and looked at the ground. "Sorry, Jarvan. It's just... I think I may know of someone who can help you two."
Yasuo waited a moment for Garen to continue. "Well?"
"It's uh... a boy named Ezreal. Someone my er... sister told me about."
"You have a sister?" Yasuo smirked, trying to picture what female Garen would look like.
"Yes, now be silent," Garen groaned.
"Why are you acting like you're going to be sick?" Riven asked.
Garen awkwardly shifted back and forth. "Ezreal is um... an interest of my sister's. You'll probably find her in the library. You'll know her by the Crownguard crest on her tunic. Ask her about him. I just... no." Suddenly Garen spun on his heel and quickly bolted away.
Yasuo chuckled. "Well this should be fun!"
About an hour later, Yasuo and Riven stepped into the great Demacian library. The building was simply massive. It towered over much of the city at seven stories high and was a hundred yards wide in every direction. A set of stone columns lined the entire place around the edges, giving an old fashioned feel to the great library. Once inside, Yasuo slapped his hand on the front desk and briskly asked the librarian ",Do you know where we can find Lux Crownguard?"
The librarian was an old woman who turned slowly, raising her finger to her lips to quiet the rushed young man. "Yes, I do. She's right over there," she confirmed, pointing to a young looking blonde girl wearing a bright blue tunic, looking through a shelf of books rather closely. Yasuo nodded at the librarian and turned, making his way swiftly over to the girl.
"Hey you, little girl. Are you Lux?" Yasuo asked, tapping her on the shoulder, making her whip around with a sharp gasp.
"Who? Uh. What? No I uh!..." Lux stammered, blushing a bright red.
"So you're not Lux?" Yasuo sneered, "Did the librarian lie to us?"
The young girl took a deep breath and calmed herself before responding. "Yes sir. I am Luxanna Crownguard." Politely, she stuck out her hand to shake but Yasuo crossed his arms, dismissing her.
"Look, we're looking for some guy called Ezreal. You know where he is?" Yasuo continued.
Again, Lux blushed, stepping back against the bookshelf, making it shake slightly. She winced as the loud thud of books falling off the other side echoed around the huge library.
"Uhh... pleasure to meet you Miss Crownguard. My name is Riven and this unfortunately abrasive man, is my companion Yasuo."
Straightening herself up and brushing a few strands of blonde hair out of her eyes, Lux again stretched out her hand to shake with Riven. "Pleasure, Ma'am."
"Through rude, Yasuo's words still carry meaning. We are looking from for an explorer named Ezreal, and your brother informed us you might now his whereabouts."
Lux glanced nervously between Riven and Yasuo, intimidated by Yasuo's impatient glare. "He is um... I think he's er... over there." She gestured over her shoulder to the next row of shelves where a young man with hair the color of sand was sorting through a pile of old looking books.
Yasuo smiled and nodded to Lux who smiled back, glad to have earned the approval of the mysterious man- until he spoke. "Finally, something useful comes out of your mouth. C'mon Riven." Yasuo stepped around the next row of books and made his way down toward Ezreal, leaving Lux behind with a disappointed expression on her face.
Riven shot a glare at Yasuo, "Again, I must apologize for Yasuo's impoliteness, thank you for assistance."
The young girl shrugged and gave a small grin before turning back to her shelf, "Always happy to be of aid, Ma'am."
Riven caught up to Yasuo, "What the hell is wrong with you! That girl offers her assistance for no other reason than kindness and you return the favor by being an immature prick!"
Yasuo irritably glanced at the boy , still reading and turned back to Riven, "Look, we're in a tad bit of hurry here to save these damned people from some shadow guy. I feel like I'm doing them enough of a favor by saving their pretentious asses. Pretending to like random rich elitists? That's not going to happen- even if she's Garen's sister."
"Look you're not wrong to have your ideals and beliefs, but just because you have them doesn't mean you have to be an asshole." Riven, deciding this conversation was over, continued to Ezreal.
In frustration with Riven's nagging, Yasuo kicked the shelf, smirking at the high-pitched squeal that came from Lux as a book fell on her on the other side.
In frustration with Riven's nagging, Yasuo kicked the shelf, smirking at the high-pitched squeal that came from Lux as a book fell on her on the other side. Riven simply ignored this and maneuvered to Ezreal's table, "Excuse me, you are Ezreal, the explorer, correct?"
"Well yes I am. I'm Ez-"
"Great," Yasuo butted in, "We need a guide to the Shurima Desert and we need to leave right away."
"Excuse me!" Ezreal lifted his hands in mocking defense to the Ionian, "I was answering this woman's question." Ezreal returned his attention to Riven, "Yes, I am the famous explorer you speak of. What brings you here?"
Yasuo hissed angrily as he stepped aside and leaned against the bookshelf, again misjudging the stability and sending a few more books down on the young woman on the other side. Riven smiled at Ezreal and continued, "My companion and I are searching for a man named Ziliean who happens to be in the Shurimian desert and we were looking for a guide."
"Is that so," Ezreal smirked, "well you've come to the right place. There is no one more qualified and more skilled than myself when it comes to navigation."
Yasuo rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, you must be great. Will you do it or what? We need to leave like- tomorrow."
"I'll get you there yesterday," Ezreal grinned. "Come on!" In a flash of light Ezreal appeared already ahead of Yasuo on his way through the library.
Yasuo was taken aback by the boy's stunt but shook off this amazement quickly. He had seen too much to be left speechless by a simple party trick like that. "You're seriously doing this for free?!" Yasuo laughed. "We haven't even talked about paying you yet!"
"Ehh, I would have, but you're already in rags, and I'm not one to refuse charity work," Ezreal smirked.
Riven laughed a little as she got up, "He got you there."
Yasuo growled defensively and looked down at his tattered cloak and dirty tunic and shoulder armor. "They're not rags! They're just well used. It's what I'm used to."
"Just gonna need a little light reading for the road," Ezreal quickly turned into an isle and promptly crashed into someone carrying a stack of books, "W-whoa!"
As the stack of books toppled to the ground in a heap, Ezreal noticed a girl he had seen several times in the library quickly dropping to pick them up. He knew the golden haired girl by appearaceappearance only and he, too, knelt to help pick things up. "Sorry about that Miss, getting a little ahead of myself I think!" He reached out to pick up a book just as Lux did the same and the two accidently brushed hands. The feel of Lux's soft warm skin on his fingertips made Ezreal's stomach do a flip. Lux drew back nervously and looked at Ezreal as he did the same. As their eyes met, both shared a similar luminescent blush that tinted their cheeks a light pink.
"Uhh, sorry about all this, my name's E-Ezreal." he stammered a little bit and quickly got back to picking up the books.
Lux gathered up what she could and stood as well, brushing her hair away and smiled as she accepted the neat stack from Ezreal. "Um... Thank you Sir. My name is Luxanna Crownguard," she replied. "Lux for short," She added with a slight giggle.
Yasuo groaned and rolled his eyes again. "Oh for the gods' sake!"
Ezreal ignored Yasuo's commentary and focused his attention on Lux, "Luxanna, what a gorgerous name, such elegance."
Lux quickly looked at the ground and then at Riven, avoiding eye contact with the explorer and looking for much needed support.
Ezreal shifted back and forth in place, looking Lux over for a short instant before blurting, "Sorry, but if you'd pardon me, I was just grabbing a book on the Shurimian Desert. Just gotta get around you for a moment."
"Yes yes! Of course!" Lux exclaimed, practically leaping out of Ezreal's way as he passed, watching until he rounded a corner before turning back to Riven with a panicked look in her eyes. "Help me!" Riven looked confused for a moment until Lux straightened her posture and corrected herself. "I mean um.. Please Ma'am, can you um... give me some advice... I'm not very good with boys."
Riven's face reddened a little, caught off guard by Lux's sudden question, "What? Do I look like an expert!?"
"Well um.. You're older than me and you're with... him," Lux explained, gesturing to the still bitter looking Yasuo without looking at him.
A pink glow crept up Riven's face, "It's nothing like it looks! He's just traveling with me, that's all!"
Lux stepped back awkwardly and bowed her head in embarrassment, "I'm sorry for making the assumption Ma'am. It's just that I sort of like that boy Ezreal. I see him around here a lot and he's an adventurer! That's so exciting! I've never even left Demacia! What good is all my magic and practice and combat training if I'm not even using it in the real world! Ezreal is so cool and so lucky that he gets to do all of that. You know?"
Riven pondered on Lux's words, "You know what, I've got an idea. What if you come along with us to Shurima?"
Yasuo did not wait for Lux's response before blurting out, "No way! She's a child! She's just a rich little trophy who would either slow us down or die on day one. She can't come."
Lux elected to ignore Yasuo's words and smiled widely at Riven, "Do you mean it? I can come?!"
"Hello?! Can you not hear me? The answer is no!" Yasuo yelled in frustration before getting shushed by a nearby librarian.
Riven looked Yasuo dead in the eye as she responded to Lux, "Consider it our gift for your assistance on finding Ezreal."
"You trying to get everyone killed now Riven? I thought you gave up on that life, or is the old Noxian brainwashing coming back?"
Lux's eyes opened wide in shock, "Wait, Noxian brainwashing? What is he talking about?!"
"Look, Lux, I'll explain everything to you later, but for now we have to get on our way there are darker forces at work than Noxus."
"Well alright," Lux shrugged, eyeing Riven carefully, "I just need to go grab my things! Wait for me at the gate! Then you have to tell me everything!" With that the young girl dashed off, leaving Yasuo fuming with anger and Riven smiling in enjoyment at his displeasure.
"This is going to be hell for me, you know that right?" Yasuo grumbled. "We don't need a rookie like that around and I'm not responsible for what happens to her."
Riven smirked and patted Yasuo's shoulder, "I know it will be hell for you, why do you think I invited her?"
"And you think I'm cruel..." Yauso sighed.
Author's notes: Hey everyone, thanks for reading and hopefully not forgetting about us what with our long break. Both Diovolo and I recently moved and are working on our college courses so it is reasonable to expect slightly less frequent updates but, of course, the show must go on! LoTS will be surging forward full steam ahead and we can't wait to share what we have in store for you!
Next time: Zed and Syndra make unexpected plans and Yasuo and Riven begin their quest for the Shurima Desert and Zilean!