Wake up, Vessel! There's something here!

My eyes snapped open. In the instant after, I saw a dagger arcing downwards toward me. I rolled to the left off of the bed, the blade slicing close to my arm. Using a small amount of energy, I leaped across the room over to my weapons and took them up. I spun around to face my attacker. There was no one there, only the dagger left stuck in the bed where my heart had been a moment earlier. Not letting my guard down, I scanned the entire room, blades at the ready. After a few minutes of feeling nothing out of the ordinary, I slowly relaxed.

Moving back to the bed, I scrutinized the dagger stuck in the sheets, taking care not to touch it. It was curved, the hilt purple with a shining crystal set into it. As I kept looking at it, the crystal shined brighter, and dimmed as I moved away. Taking a risk, I placed one of my katanas on the bed and gingerly grabbed the knife, the crystal becoming almost painfully bright as my hand closed around it. "Now who's knife could this be?" I spoke out loud.

Suddenly, the dagger disintegrated, turning into a purple dust that floated to the center of the room. It swirled around itself, taking the vague shape of a man that was featureless. It floated there for a moment before raising an arm and pointing at me.

An echoing voice came forth from the figure. "The Void knows of your presence here, filthy Daemon. Know that should you cross paths with the Void, you shall be consumed and your power shall belong to us." As the last echo died away, the purple dust scattered in different directions and disappeared.

Vashirik snorted in my head. The Void. A collection of misshapen creatures with no power worth mentioning. I was unaware they had managed to spread their weakness into the League of Legends. This should be fun. Confident, much? We have not seen anything of the Void in years. How do we know they are still weak? They were always weak and shall always be weak. A few decades can not change that.

Shaking my head, I turned to the window and noticed dawn was approaching, a faint light spreading across the horizon. After spending a few years underground after taking Vashirik's power into me, I learned a new appreciation for the open sky, whether day or night. A smile found its way to my face as I witnessed the start of a new day and the end of an old night. I placed my other katana on the bed next to its twin.

I stretched the sleep out of my muscles and walked over to my armor. I noticed it was clean, none of the road's dust or the numerous scratches and frays I had acquired over the years evident on it. As I started taking it off the dummy, I realized it must be enchanted to clean and repair anything placed upon it. These Summoners wield more power than I first suspected, if they can waste energy on things like this. Then again, some of the more popular Champions may not have much time to maintain their own equipment after each match. I started putting the armor on, the supple gray leather vest going on first, followed by the vambraces, also of smoky gray leather. Pulling the laces on my armor tight, but not enough to restrict my movement, I moved back to my bed. I sat down between my blades and pulled my heavy boots on.

Pulling the boots tight, I stood up and stomped my feet a few times to settle them into the worn spots inside the boots. Satisfied with my state, I turned and swept up my katanas, spinning them over in my hands with practiced ease before bringing the hilts to my hips. A moment of concentration resulted in the blades suspending themselves in place, placing no weight on me and allowing me to draw them in any way I wished, a standard forward grip or a faster backwards grip.

My head snapped up to look at my door an instant before a knock sounded. Gathering up a little bit of energy just in case the owner of the nearly fatal attack decided to make a second attempt, I quietly moved to the door. Unlocking it, I opened the door slightly too greet whoever was outside. Looking down, I let the energy I had gathered dissipate.

"Why hello, little one," I said to Annie, opening the door fully. "To what do I owe the pleasure of such a visit this early in the morning?"

Annie leaped forward and wrapped her little arms around my right arm. "Your first practice match is today. I wanted to show you where to go." She started dragging me out of my room, her strength still surprising me. "And then I'ma watch so I can see your horns! Remember, you promised to let me see! If you don't, I might have to set Mr. Tibbers on you. OH!" Suddenly she stopped and let go of my arm. "Have you seen my bear, Tibbers?" She reached behind her and took off her backpack. Stuffing her hand inside, she withdrew a slightly tattered teddy bear. Even without Vashirik lending me his senses, I could tell the bear was heavy with magic. As I looked, it's eyes glowed orange for just a moment. Annie stared at me with an expectant look on her face.

I smiled and bent over a little. I extended my hand and took one of the little bear's arms. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tibbers. I must let you know I mean no harm to little Annie at all. I hope we never have to meet on the Fields."

Annie giggled and hugged the bear before placing him back in her bag and pulling it back on her back. Grabbing my arm again, she resumed dragging me down the hallway. We reached the start of the hallway, the doors that led to the Champion's Hall standing open. There appeared to be only a few early risers about. I saw Diana, but she seemed to be on the edge of retiring instead of rising, her eyelids half closed and her body signaling exhaustion. "Sleep well, Moon Maiden," I told her as she passed me. Her eyes instantly opened fully and a blush suffused her pale skin.

"T-thank you, Alexei," she stammered out. "Good luck in your match today." She quickly walked by, back to her room I assumed. My confusion to her reaction was complete.

I heard a chuckle in my head. You know, for being 91 years old, you aren't very good with the ladies, Vashirik said. Shut up. I've been carrying you around for 74 years, and I've always been alone. Every time I would let my guard down you would try and take over. So there wasn't much time to get to know anyone. And it's not like I had any experience before, you know that. Oh yea, forgot you were still a virgin. Vashirik laughed again. Well, judging from the actions of the various females around here, that won't last much longer. Good luck, I say.

My attention was brought back to the outside world by Annie stopping. We were in front of an extremely ornate door. Carved in the center was a man in flowing robes, his face covered by a hood. A Summoner, I guessed.

"Well, here we are," Annie said. "Just walk through and you should meet your primary Summoner. Just hope it's a good guy and not a meanie." She stuck her tongue out, making me wonder if she had been summoned by one of those 'meanies' before. She pulled her tongue back in and smiled up at me. "Good luck, Lexy!" she exclaimed, then started skipping away before I could correct her. I heard Vashirik roaring with laughter, and silenced him with a thought. Looking after Annie, I heard her singing as she moved away: "Hop. Skip. Jump..."

Turning back to the Summoner door, I steeled myself for what lay beyond. As my hand closed on the handle, I felt a trill of energy pass through me. Vashirik's senses concluded it was just an identification spell, and no true threat. I pushed the door open.

Stepping into the room, the first thing that struck me was the size. There was enough space in here to host a small battle, with some spare room for spectators. Dominant in the center of the room were two raised platforms, five pillars on each pushing upwards towards the ceiling that was almost out of sight, even for my eyes. The next thing that hit me was the sheer amount of energy present in the room. I could feel it caressing my skin, a feeling not unlike electricity making the hairs on my arms stand on end.

Standing on one of the platforms was a figure in a purple robe, trimmed in gold. Their head was concealed in a hood, but I could tell they were just taller than my 5'11". They realized I had entered and stepped to the edge of the platform.

Raising one hand, the Summoner brushed their hood back. Long black hair spilled out, framing a youthful male face that smiled to me.

"Welcome Alexei, the Possessed." The Summoners voice was a comfortable sounding tenor, very pleasing to the ears. "My name is Summoner Darsaj, and I will be your primary Summoner for your stay here at the Institute. If you will please join me, we shall commence your first Summoning." He raised an arm in a sweeping gesture towards the center of the platform. Quelling my instinctual mistrust, I traversed the remaining distanced and walked up the steps. As I drew level with Darsaj, I bowed to him. "I am honored to make your acquaintance, Summoner." He laughed, a sound that made my ears twitch in pleasure. "Please, Alexei. There is no need for formalities here. Call me Darsaj."

Raising myself from my bow, I smiled at him. "As you will, Darsaj." As his eyes locked with mine, his eyebrows rose a miniscule amount, the movement almost too small to discern. What is it with my eyes?! I screamed in my head. Even guys are being surprised by them! And don't you even start, Daemon, I said as I heard Vashirik chuckling.

Suppressing my emotions, I stepped past Darsaj into the glowing circle in the center of the platform. Immediately, I felt a rush of magic over my whole body, my hair waving in the nonexistent wind. Darsaj stepped in front of me, holding his hands together with his fingers all pointing towards me.

"Now, first things first," he said. "I am going to ask you to open your mind to me, much like you did during your Reflection. Then-"

I cut him off with a raised hand. "That is going to be a problem. For one, there isn't just me in here. You should know that."

"Well, yes," he answered. "I am well aware of your... situation. And I have prepared properly for the Summoning. Now-"

I cut him off again. "Secondly, how am I to know that this is not just a scheme to try and steal the Daemon's power from me? Because that will not end well. For you, or the Institute."

Darsaj huffed slightly. "I cannot think of anything that could reassure you. How about I make you a bargain? If at any time you feel I have an ulterior motive, you may request a different Summoner. Fair?"

I thought for a moment. I don't sense any duplicity in him, Vashirik offered. He seems sincere in both his offer and his intentions. If you are sure about this, I guess I have no choice. I nodded to Darsaj. "Deal."

He smiled again. "Good. Now as I said, please open your mind."

I closed my eyes and slowly lowered the barriers I had built up over the decades. It was a strange feeling, not being closed off to everything around me. I felt Vashirik stirring. Then I felt a foreign touch on my mind.

'It is I, Darsaj,' I heard in my mind. Even his mental voice is pleasing, I thought. 'Why, thank you,' he said, a laugh ringing in my head. 'I am sure that was meant to be strictly internal, and I am sorry for not warning you before. Every surface thought you entertain will be reflected to me, and vice versa. It allows better reactions in the thick of battle.' Well, this should help with communication, I guess. Just be sure not to delve too deep. There are some things that are better left unseen. 'Of course. I shall not prod. Now, are you ready to be Summoned? A warning, it is very unpleasant the first time.'

Taking a steadying breath, I sent my assent across the mental tether. Immediately, I felt a tug on the inside of my head. It was an extremely unsettling feeling. The tugging steadily grew stronger, until I felt my brain was going to be pulled from my skull through my eye socket.

Suddenly my entire body started screaming in agony as my form was pulled through space at an incredible speed. If I had had a voice at that point, or even a throat in that matter, I would have torn it raw with screams. Even then, they would be lost in the noise of everything rushing by me at near light-speed.

After what seemed like an eternity, my feet slammed into solid ground. Unable to keep my balance, I fell on my hands and knees, my stomach attempting to reject anything that was currently in it. Fortunately, it was empty, but my throat was still raw by the time I stood back up, albeit shakily. I looked over myself, satisfied that my armor and katanas were all accounted for.

'Sorry about that,' Darsaj said in my head. 'It usually isn't that bad. Summoning both of you at once was a lot harder than I anticipated. Thankfully, the next time should be much easier.' This isn't the worst I've felt, Darsaj. I'm fine. 'Very well then. Now take a look around and familiarize yourself with this location. This is the Proving Grounds, the standard place for new Champions to learn the basics of a League match.'

I turned my head about, taking in all I could. Directly in front of me was a Nexus. It was a large white-blue crystal suspended above a larger pedestal. Statues ringed the top of the pedestal, squat figures dressed in large robes. Beyond the Nexus were two large towers, shaped like warriors holding a shield and sword. The tips of the swords were crowned with energy crystals which hummed. I saw a smaller Nexus crystal beyond the towers, another smaller tower in front of it. 'An Inhibitor,' Darsaj told me. 'Lose it, and the enemy team starts spawning stronger minions.'

Looking to my left, I saw a strange purple creature behind a counter. His nose was very long, and his eyes glowing in anticipation. He gestured to the large amount of weapons and armor displayed behind him. As my eyes roamed, I heard Darsaj in my head again. 'You only have a small amount of gold at the start of a match. Purchase either a Doran's Blade or a set of Boots of Speed and a few Health Potions. I leave the choice up to you.' Poring over the descriptions of the items he mentioned, I settled on a Doran's Blade. The Shopkeeper handed me a small token which I pinned to my armor. Immediately, I felt a small surge of strength, as well as a tiny amount of bloodlust. Also, an illusion appeared in front of me, counting from 475 down to 0.

"Welcome to the Proving Grounds!" a loud female voice boomed from everywhere and nowhere. My hands immediately snapped to my blades, ready to draw them at any moment.

I heard Darsaj laughing in my head. 'That is just the Announcer, Champion. No reason to be alarmed.' As I started taking my hands off my katanas, his voice came again. 'It would be a good idea to go ahead and draw those. Minions are about to spawn.' As I drew them, I heard the disembodied voice of the Announcer again:

"Minions have Spawned!"

I heard a small "Poof" as small figures materialized from the Nexus, marching purposefully down the bridge. 'Follow them,' I heard. I took off at a light jog, catching up to the tail minion just as I saw another line of minions coming from the other end of the bridge. We passed another tower, this one smaller than the one by the Inhibitor. My eyes darted to the tall brush on the left side of the bridge. I knew that it would offer concealment from even the most piercing of gazes. I placed the information to the back of my mind as the minions met.

The first few minions in either wave started beating on each other with tiny clubs. The last three of the waves pointed similarly tiny wands and threw little balls of light at the other minions. It was almost comical in appearance. 'You see the minion about to die? The one towards the bushes?' Yes, I replied. 'Kill it. It gives you more gold you can use towards better items. It also gives you Experience, which allows you to become stronger as the match goes on.'

I walked over to the aforementioned minion. Seeing it about to fall over dead, I gave it a swat from one of my katanas. The unnaturally sharp blade passed straight through it with almost no resistance. It fell over and disappeared. In its place was a floating coin. I walked over to it and picked it up. A small flash occurred and the illusion appeared again, now showing 45 gold and steadily going up. 'Keep killing minions that are almost dead and you will have enough gold to buy more items in no time,' Darsaj told me. 'Just make sure not to push the lane too much, or you leave yourself exposed to attack.'

Attack from who? I started asking. Before I could finish the thought, I heard a rustle in the bush that was right next to me. Suddenly, a blur erupted from the bush, a broken sword leading the way. I blocked it clumsily with my right blade. The weight of the blow sent tremors up my arm, and I retaliated with a stab towards the blur with my left. Amazingly, the figure shifted their large blade to intercept my attack. I let my blade be pushed aside, flowing with the momentum and turning a quick circuit. I swept the same blade across with blinding speed at neck height. The figure ducked the blow just as fast as it came across. Unperturbed, I swung my right-hand blade upwards, the momentum from my failed attack lending more strength to the cut. My enemy sprang backwards out of reach, putting some distance between us and giving me a good look at them. What I beheld stunned me for a brief moment.

Facing me was a white-haired girl, appearing just over 20 years old. A large leather gauntlet covered her sword arm to the elbow, a green Rune inscribed on it. Her sword was made of black stone and was shattered close to the hilt. Remembering the weight of her first blow, I felt a small amount of admiration at her strength. Raising her head, I looked into her eyes. They were an amber color, complementing her tan skin. At the moment though, they were flat. Emotionless. I knew the look; I had worn it myself on more than a few occasions. It was the look of a warrior completely focused on the fight at hand. I felt a shiver of anticipation race up my spine, as well as hearing a growl from Vashirik. Finally, a good fight. Please, Vessel, let me out. I'm cooped up in here. Not yet, I responded. I want to see how good she is before I make a decision like that. Be patient. As you will, Vessel.

I settled into my normal fighting stance, my feet spread and my weight on my back foot. My left arm extended forward with my blade pointing upwards, my right fist held close to my face, blade pointing towards my foe. The woman- 'Her name is Riven' Darsaj interjected -saw that I was ready and brought her sword before her face. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the blade.

A voice that was tinged with sorrow and anger came forth from her mouth. "For those who were lost..." She snapped her eyes open and sprang towards me, blade coming behind for a heavy blow.

I felt a smile spread across my face, along with the slight sting of my teeth growing longer. I leaped forward, ready to meet her assault with one of my own.