"Enter."
I dropped my hand from the center of the door and grasped the handle. I felt a trill of magic run through my arm as I opened the door. Pushing it open, I strode into the office of the Head Judicator of the Tribunal, somewhat gingerly. There were several sets of bookshelves spanning the walls, one case protruding out. There was a light emanating from the other side, and the sound of a quill scratching on paper. There was also a feeling of severity, and I took a breath to steady myself.
Stepping around the book case, I was surprised to see the feather-winged woman I had caught a glimpse of my first day in the Institute. Her wings were folded along her back, and she still wore the golden armor, her helmet set to the side of the desk at which she sat. She had her head propped on one hand, the other writing something on the top sheet of a large stack of papers. She didn't even raise her head to look at me as I stopped in front of her, hands behind my back and feet set apart. My blades were back in my room, a decision that I had not made lightly.
We stayed as such for a few minutes before she stopped writing and looked up at me. She had radiant blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Her eyebrow raised at my stance, an old military pose from Ionia that I learned during the few years I spent in their service. "No need for formalities, Possessed One. I do not ask for deference on the Fields, I do not ask for it at my desk. Please, sit." I dropped my hands, slightly reluctantly, and slid onto the chair she had indicated. She returned to the the large stack of paperwork in front of her, idly scratching away.
After another minute, she looked back up at me and sighed. "Forgive me, but whenever someone complains it comes to my desk, whether it be Summoners reporting each other for toxic behavior, a request for another Field of Justice, or even requests for more outfits on us Champions. If I see another request to convince the Sinister Blade to bring back her Kitty Kat outfit, I think I am going to kill something." I wisely kept my silence as she continued along the same vein for a few moments. "But you aren't here to listen to me gripe. How may I help you?"
For the first time, I opened my mouth. "I would like to report an assault on a Champion by another Champion." I was thankful that Caitlyn had coached me in what to say. "The victim was myself, and the attacker was Shauna Vayne, the Night Hunter. She ambushed me in my own bedroom yesterday morning, and almost succeeded in killing me. Even though her attempt was thwarted, I was still in deep physical and metaphysical pain courtesy of her Silver Bolts."
She placed her quill on her desk, and looked straight at me. "Well, Alexei, this is a very serious accusation. I am not saying I do not believe you, but I must ask for evidence." Before she had even finished, I had reached into a bag I had carried with me and produced the three crossbow bolts that had been lodged in my body. "I do think this should be enough evidence. If my information is correct, Vayne uses very distinct bolts." Her eyebrow raised, and she took one of the bolts. She scrutinized it for a few moments, then placed it on her desk. She indicated I should place the other two bolts in the same place, which I did. "Oh," I interjected, "there is also one of her condemning bolts stuck in my bedroom wall. Its pretty well lodged in there. If there is anything that could be done?"
The Angel cocked her head for a moment, thinking. "I'll see if I can get a Summoner down there sometime today to remove it magically. I must ask a favor for doing such, though. Please do not speak of this event to anyone other than those directly involved. I do not wish the mundane populace to start circulating rumors again. Those got pretty bad when those pictures of Janna popped up. Poor girl." She shook her head.
"Thank you. If I may beg your leave now? I was told to meet my primary Summoner later today." I stood up and bowed low.
She placed her elbow back on the desk, propping her head back upon it. "Remember, no formalities, please. I will see you on the Fields, Possessed One." As I turned to leave, a thought occurred to me. "I'm sorry, but what is your name? I realize I never got it."
She raised her head once more and smiled. "I am known as Kayle, The Judicator. May your day be better than yesterday, my friend." She turned back to her reports, and I wisely removed myself from the room.
Stretching slightly, I realized I still had a few hours until I had to meet Darsaj. What to do, what to do? I thought. Well, I do believe you might be hungry, Vashirik. At least, if your rumbling stomach is any indication. Very funny. I'm surprised I have to eat now. Usually it's later in the year. Being how I was, I didn't have to eat as normal people did. I only required outside sustenance about 2 or 3 times a year. Well, did you happen to get a bead on the cafeteria when we were first getting here? Vashirik snorted. Why would I have? I have to eat even less than you do. I guess we'll have to ask someone, I thought with a sigh. Casting my gaze about the hallway, I spotted a few Summoners in groups, as well as a man with a large hat and dressed in a fancy looking suit leaning against the wall in an intersection. He was casually flipping a playing card over in his hand, each time he stopped there was a different face on the card. I was intrigued, and started walking towards him.
As I got within speaking distance from him, he suddenly whipped the card at me. On instinct, I snatched it out of the air, holding it in between my first two fingers. Looking at the card, it was blue on one side with a picture of an eye on the other side. Looking back at the man, he raised his head and smiled. "Eyes open, my friend. Nice catch." He pushed off the wall and strolled up to me. He had a very neat beard that was a continuous line from his hair. His eyes were fully blue, with no whites or pupils at all. His smile was very open, with no hint of malice in it, only a small bit of mischief. I found myself liking this man, and smiling in turn. As he came withing arms reach, he held his hand out. I flipped his card over in my fingers and pressed it into his hand. As my fingers left it, he flicked it into his sleeve.
"Name's Twisted Fate, partner. Luckiest gambler alive, and the Card Master," he held his hand out. I took it and gave a very vigorous shake. "I am Alexei, the Possessed. Pleased to meet you." My stomach started growling, and I couldn't stop from laughing with Twisted Fate. "There any way I could get a guide to the cafeteria? I didn't get to see it when I got here."
Twisted Fate smiled even wider. "Hungry, eh? I was thinkin of droppin in myself. Here, wanna get there now?" He pulled out a purple card with a picture of a gate on it. I cocked my head to the side, curious. "And how would that be possible?"
A glint came to Twisted Fate's eyes. "Just like this." He threw the card onto the ground,which instantly turned into a swirling pattern of cards. I was so fascinated that I didn't realize that he had grabbed my arm until he was stepping into the vortex, dragging me with him. He turned and looked me right in the eye. As he started stretching into the vortex, he said, "No fightin Destiny." My view of the hallway started stretching as I was drawn in...
I fell to the ground and tried to keep my stomach inside my body. Beside me, Twisted Fate was chuckling. "Sorry bout that, partner. Forgot how messed-up Gating can make ya, the first time anyways." He extended a hand down to me, which I took. When I was steady on my feet, I looked around. We had appeared in a large room, filled with tables. Along one wall was what seemed to be a fully functioning kitchen, over a dozen people scurrying about cooking. The opposite wall was a large window, stretching from the front to the back of the room.
Looking back at the tables, I noticed that most of them were occupied by groups of people. There were slightly obvious differences between each group, depending on where they were sitting. A gathering of very boisterous individuals were singing an old sailing tune, so I figured they were from Bilgewater. I recognized the red curtain of hair that belonged to Katarina. She was sitting at a table set against one of the whole walls, keeping her field of view over all of the cafeteria. Next to her was a slight man in a hood. He was constantly fiddling with a large blade strapped to his arm, and his eyes were flitting over everything in view. They settled on me and Twisted Fate for a moment, then trailed off.
"Well, here ya are," Twisted Fate said next to me. "You can pretty much eat whatever you want here. The Institute pays for it, so they can get anything. The burgers in particular are very good."
"Thank you, my friend," I told him. "If there's any way I can repay you-" He cut me off with a chuckle. "It's all good, partner. I was comin in anyways. Here, lemme show you where the usual seats are. Even if this is a place of peace, people still stay away from the other side."
"I noticed. Is there a place for Unaffiliated champions? I don't really like getting in the middle of conflicts outside my own actions." Twisted Fate nodded, then pointed to a table near the middle of the room. I saw a great white leonine creature sitting there, a very large amount of meat heaped in front of him. Interestingly enough, he was not attacking it like a wild animal, but rather slicing off a chunk at a time with a very large knife and politely eating it. There was also a burly fighter who even I could recognize as Jax, the Grandmaster at Arms. He was leaning back in his chair, one arm dangling near the floor and the other holding a cup, occasionally taking a swig from it.
I noticed Twisted Fate moving towards the kitchen area, and followed him. When we reached it, my eyes opened in surprise. There was no inch of the counter that wasn't covered in different dishes from around Runeterra. I noticed that there were traditional Ionian foods, Demacian military fare, different kinds of fruits and vegetables for those who didn't care for meat, and many different kinds of meats, steak and pork and chicken and ones I didn't recognized. Near the end were desserts and treats of every kind.
Twisted Fate noticed my expression and chuckled again. "Yea, it's a little overwhelming at first. Here, just take a tray, pick somethin up, and go sit. Easy for anyone." He put his words into action, grabbing a tray and piling some fruits on it, adding some chicken pieces and a small piece of steak. I took my own tray and started looking over everything, trying to decide what to eat. Why not just grab some meat and tear into it? Vashirik said in my head. Just make sure it's very rare. I haven't had anything other than meat for the past 30 years. I replied. I want something from home. I moved to where the Ionian foods were displayed, and chose a simple bowl of Katsudon, rice topped with pork. At the end of the counter were utensils of every kind, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Ionian chopsticks there.
After I had taken my food, I looked for Twisted Fate. He was sitting at one of the Unaffiliated tables across from Jax. They seemed to be talking about something humorous, judging from Jax slapping his knee with his free hand. I started walking towards them when I heard my name being called. Turning my head towards the voice, I saw the nine-tailed Kitsune, Ahri, waving at me from the other side of the cafeteria. Looking back at Twisted Fate, I found that he was waving me towards her. Smiling, I walked to her table.
When I arrived, Ahri motioned me to sit next to her. I was slightly wary as I sank down in the offered chair, more by habit than for any actual reason. As I set my food down, I noticed Ahri's nose twitch. I raised my eyebrow. "Would you like some, Ahri? I don't really need to eat this much." I saw her eyes light up for a moment. "Oh, why thank you, Alexei." Her smile made my heart skip a beat.
In my head, I heard Vashirik snort. Just like a virgin. A girl smiles and you lose all function. It's actually kinda sickening. Be quiet, I retorted. You're just as bad when it comes to fighting. Turning my attention back to Ahri, I realized that she was helping herself to my Katsudon. I laughed. "Like it, milady?" She turned to me with a chunk of pork clamped in between her slightly pointed teeth, a look of complete innocence in her eyes. She chomped down and swallowed the piece of meat, then smiled sheepishly. "Well, I like fish a little bit more, but I am a fox after all. I usually can't help myself when I like something." She pushed the bowl back to me, with only about half of the rice left and only a scrap of pork. Smiling, I started eating, one eye on Ahri all the while. She was busy cleaning her face with one of her fluffy tails, the others floating behind her.
I finished my food and stood up to leave. "Is there a place to leave this? I don't want to seem like I'm lazy." Ahri giggled and stood up as well. "Follow me," she said and started walking back towards the kitchen. I followed her, my eyes unable to move away from the multitude of tails that constantly floated about her. It was like a mesmerizing dance that never ended. There was another place that my eyes couldn't stay away from, which is where the tails converged. I felt my face grow warm and quickly averted my gaze. Why is it that I found you when I was still a teenager? Why not when I was a little bit older? You didn't have to take me in, you know. I was perfectly fine waiting for some other fool to try and release me. You could have lived a full life.
I sighed inwardly. If I hadn't taken you, you probably would have been released from your prison, which would have led to you reclaiming your army and running over Runeterra. I would not have been able to live with myself if that happened. I just wish I had taken a few more years in finding you. Ahri stopped, and I almost ran into her in my distraction. She turned towards me with a small smirk on her face. "Distracted by little old me?"
"S-sorry," I stammered. I remembered the bowl in my hands. "Where do I put this?"
Ahri turned and pointed to a large tub inset into the wall. There were many dishes piled into it already, and I added my small bowl to the chore. "Thank you, Ahri. I must go, but I will make sure to see you later." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Okies. See ya later, cutie!" She walked by me, brushing my arm with her own. The simple contact made my body tingle, and I had to stop myself from following her back to the table. Or wherever she would decide to go. Unholy Gods, that spell is powerful! Vashirik exclaimed. What spell? I responded, starting to leave the cafeteria. You mean you didn't notice it? Her entire body is a conduit for a very potent attraction spell. If I read it correctly, she can even use it to draw your very essence right out of your body. I'm surprised you didn't fall for it, actually. What do you mean? Were you normal, you probably would have ended up drooling at her feet in an instant. I'll keep that in mind if I ever have to fight her. She could probably turn it into quite a weapon. Most definitely.
As I exited the cafeteria, I looked about for some sort of recognizable mark to point me in the right direction for my meeting with Darsaj. I realized that I actually knew this part of the Institute. It was attached to the entrance hall. Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Now to find the Summoning Chamber. I traced the path Annie had taken me through my second day at the Institute, eventually coming to the same engraved door. As I took the handle, I felt the same trill of energy.
Pushing open the door, I entered the chamber. The energy was still there, permeating everything. I saw Darsaj standing on the raised platform, a few other Summoners with him. I walked to the dais and ascended the steps. When I was at the top, Darsaj noticed me and turned towards me. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me, Alexei. I was hoping you could forgive me for what happened after your first Summoning. We were afraid of what we did not understand at that point."
I smiled and held out my hand. "No harm done. Just please refrain from trying anything like that again. I don't make idle threats."
Darsaj smiled. "I would imagine not, considering your nature. Now, to the reason I asked you here." He motioned to the other Summoners. I counted 5 plus him. "We were just about to start a match on the Twisted Treeline, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind representing me. We have a small wager, split among the winning team. Interested?"
I thought a moment, then smiled again. "I would be honored to be Summoned in this instance. Will I have time to prepare, or is it starting now?"
Darsaj looked at the other Summoners, and I took the time to look them over as well. There were 3 more men, two who looked like twins and one who was a large bear of a man, and two women, one blonde and one redheaded. They didn't seem like they held enough power to level the entirety of both Noxus and Demacia, but appearances could be deceiving, as I was a testament to. After exchanging a few words with them, he turned back to me. "If at all possible, we would like to start the Summoning now. Is that a problem? I noticed you don't have your blades. Should I teleport you to your room for you to collect them?"
I thought for a moment. "No, I can summon them here." Darsaj smirked at my word choice, then nodded. I gathered up a fair amount of energy and reached forwards, the air in front of me distorted and rippled before tearing open, revealing a view of my room, specifically the weapons rack that held my katanas. I reached through and snagged them, pulling them through the rip, which repaired itself right after. I noticed Darsaj staring at me with an eyebrow raised. I shrugged and suspended both my blades on my right hip. "Should we wait for the other Champions?"
"No, the others can Summon them from their current location," Darsaj responded. "I haven't fully grasped the nuances of Summoning both of you at the same time, so I decided to use the amplifying power of the Chamber to aid me in that regard." He motioned to the center of the platform. "If you're ready, let the match begin."
I stepped into the pillar of light, and a familiar tugging started...
