Yes, I'm on a roll. No, I don't think I'll be updating my other stories for a while. Excuse that of me.

This chapter is basically a small backstory on the route I'm taking on Riven's storyline and a recap of chapter 1 from Riven's perspective.

Enjoy

For Koneko-Chan, whose smile always makes me fall in love with her all over again.

Crimson Hearts

Chapter 2

The chatter in the cafeteria hall was as loud as ever, with laughter and jeering of the soldiers sitting in the many tables set out for them. This was the dining room of the 32nd squadron, led by Commander Riven. The commander herself always sat at the tables with her men, as knowing her men would let them know her in return. After all, why would the men die for a commander that was a stranger? So Riven always kept a good relation with her men.

But tonight, her laughter was a bit awkward, her smiles half-hearted, her mood a bit down even as the men was raucous all around her. She picked at her food, not really eating it as a bang of her white hair hung in front of her face, hiding half her face from view as she stared down at the plate. A nudge at her side made her look to her side. Lucas was looking at her, concern taking the place of amusement on his face.

"Anything wrong, Riven?" He asked.
Lieutenant Lucas was Riven's Second-in-command and a good looking bloke to boot. He had choppy blond hair that stood up near the front, sparkling green eyes and a handsome face. He had a scar going from his left temple to the apex of his left cheek. It wasn't a big scar nor an ugly one but it was there, a testament to the life he led. He was also head over heels for Riven, though Riven couldn't find it in herself to return his affection fully, since she was married to duty. They were still a couple, of sorts.

Riven sighed, not choosing to answer as Lucas gave her a small smile, putting his arm over her shoulder and holding her reassuringly to him. "Relax, Riven. You just focus on your assignments, I'll take care of the ones for this squad." He said as Riven stayed silent. Tomorrow, she would be entering the qualifications for the Crimson Elite. Like many, she was being given no choice of saying otherwise mainly due to her strong reputation as one of Noxus' strongest commanders. She wasn't that in important either, unlike Darius and Katarina, who were completely denied any chance to enter because of their standing. She was just a soldier, albeit a very strong one, so she had to join this program. She was supposed to lead her 32nd squadron to battle tomorrow, against the Ionians. Singed had prepared a plan that wasn't completely disclosed to them, but it would ensure victory. But now, because of the program, the plans changed and Riven was supposed to be transported back to Noxus via the Noxian battlemages who were present, while Lucas was to take her place as the Commanding Officer of the 32nd squad.

"I don't know Lucas… I just… have a bad feeling. About all of this." Riven said with a small frown. She had learned many times over never to distrust her gut instincts. And right now, it was telling her that there was danger on both ends.
"Don't worry… You'll have enough stress tomorrow anyway, you should relax today." He said as Riven looked into his sparkling green eyes, smiling sadly at him. The sadness in her smile, partly because she worried about tomorrow and partly because she felt guilty for not being able to return the love full-heartedly.

Lucas smiled back and leaned in to give Riven a small peck on her lips. "Get to bed, Riven. You need some shuteye."

Riven nodded, getting off of the table as the men's voices rose up to bid her a goodnight. Riven waved back at the men with less enthusiasm than she would've liked before heading to her tent for, as Lucas said, shuteye.

…

The next morning, I stood and watched my squad go, standing in the middle of the field as the battlemages who were to escort me were preparing their transportation spell. I stood there in my own custom Noxian armor. Large green shoulder plates accompanied the light-metal breastplate I wore, a simple chainmail shirt under that to protect the rest of my torso and arms. My right arm had a very large gauntlet decorated with a large green runic crystal, attuned to my sword, while my left gauntlet was regular sized but similarly decorated in terms of runes. Dark green pants were visible under her green tasset, with metal climbing from her boots to her thighs, offering good protection. All of her armor was heavy and tough, but enchanted with runic magic to keep them very light. It was a one of a kind set. Her sword was the greatest of them all, however. A massive 5 feet long blade, with glowing sigils along the length of its deadly metal, and with the added length of its handle, was just as tall as Riven's 5 feet 6 inch height when placed onto the ground. Maybe even more than her.

As the battlemages finalized their preparations, Riven moved to stand in the circle they had prepared. A few seconds later, she was enveloped in blue light for a few seconds. When the light cleared she was standing upon the summoning platform within Noxus, inside the military compound. A man greeted her as she stepped off and gave her directions where to go. Deep within the Noxian Military sectors, there was a hall room made for small gatherings. Walking down the hallway that led to it, she noticed many guards standing here and there, but paid them no heed. Finally, she entered the room and was surprised to see the amount of people there. This hall wasn't meant to accommodate so many, thus everyone was squeezed in. Riven herself felt pushed around inside the crowd, though she did not budge in those moments. Finally she found a small spot to stand in, though it was far from comfortable as it was in the middle of the sea of people.

And then she waited for the longest of times. Riven had long suspected she had a disease that the Zaunite doctors referred to as 'ADHD'. It was not really a disease, more of a blessing for the Noxians, as it attributed to what they called 'battle instincts'. Riven was born to be a soldier, and a damn good one to boot, but the drawback of this was that she wasn't very good with standing around and doing nothing. Though she had a lot of patience, it was simply a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that annoyed her to no ends.

Finally, a voice amplified by magic rung out in the room, echoing off the walls for all to listen.
"Good morning, candidates. As you all know, you are gathered here today to apply for the Noxian High Command's secret Crimson Elite protocol. Some of you might have thought why so many people are present for it."

A pause. Absolute silence. Everyone was holding their breath.

"Others have guessed right. You see, there are about 500 of you but only 10 of you will be taken. Here is your first test, candidates. Prove yourself to be worthy of the top 10 spot. Survive and kill all others until only 10 of you remain."

Riven blinked as she heard the words, her mind instantly connecting the dots. She drew her sword and by the time everyone else was drawing theirs, she let out a fierce warcry to accompany the various others around the room, though hers were one of the fiercest. A shockwave of green energy emanated out from her, fading quickly but shoving back everyone who got hit by it as the green runes on her armor glowed vividly. She swung out with her sword in a deadly arc, slashing a multitude of people in half. Riven did not like to kill people. She did not like death at all, but right now, Riven was not the one in control of her actions. It was the soldier inside of her, a shield to protect her conscience from the guilt of causing so much bloodshed for the time being. Right now, she was a deadly killing machine.

Everything blurred as Riven's conscious mind disconnected from the battle of her body. This wasn't a fight… This was a simple slaughter. Was this really needed? Strength by killing the weak? Why were these people even here? Riven noted many of the people before she slashed them down. Emancipated beggars with no weapons aside from rusty shivs, farmers with the marks of starvation on their faces, pitchforks and other improvised weaponry at their hands, and simple conscripts of the army, far too green for true combat. Only occasionally did Riven find a true warrior, a mercenary from the Free Cities or a soldier from the Noxian army. Those were the only times that Riven connected mind and body again, enjoying the battle while it lasted. But in the end, she won again. And again.

There was one man who had made her pause. His features dictated him as an Ionian. What was an Ionian doing in the middle of a Noxian bloodbath? Riven didn't have time to wonder as the Ionian suddenly lunged at her managing to land a vicious uppercut at Riven. It was too fast, and her guard was far too down.

The punch seemed to hit her like a bronze bull, her majestic armor cracking from the force as she felt immense pain inside. The force sent her skidding backwards, but she recovered quick. Her eyes, normally a shade of red, glowed green with power as she took a distinct stance. The Ionian faltered, as if recognizing the stance. "That's…" He muttered, but was unable to finish his statement as Riven cried out with effort, a green arc of energy leaving her blade as she slashed out. It bifurcated the Ionian warrior cleanly at the waist, as well as severing many unlucky people standing in the path of the deadly wind slash. She saw that the room had cleared up a lot… A lot of time had passed since the first drop of blood was spilt, and as she watched, she saw a man sacrifice his arm to drive a dagger into another man's eye. The latter died instantly as a sound rang out in the room, ending their fight.

As the adrenaline died down, Riven came back to her senses and looked at herself and around her. She was covered in blood, like it was a second skin. Taking a step back led to a splash as she looked down to see a sea of blood ankle-deep in depth, pieces of organs and flesh floating across the blood. Even Riven, who had witnessed atrocities far more gruesome, was feeling sickened by this. Her body gave a painful throb, emanating from her midriff where the Ionian had struck and Riven fell back against the wall, barely managing to stand. Managing to place her sword against the wall beside her, Riven slid down the wall into a sitting position, trying to calm herself. She ended up thinking about her squad, a weight suddenly making its presence known inside her gut. Thinking about what was happening to them… What terrible things were happening to them without her to lead them… Riven was hugging her knees close without even realizing it. She also didn't register the 3 people at the door until they were done with their introductions.

She watched with a lack of feeling inside of her numb body as they gave them the details of their task and left them. The man who had lost his arm was near her, trying to stem the bloodflow. Suddenly, she saw a ghost. No, it wasn't a ghost, rather, a man coloured in the crimson that surrounded them. He wore a hood to conceal his features; a smart decision, Riven noted, as the visible lower part of his face wasn't completely covered with blood.

The man saw him approaching and jumped, quickly holding his shaking sword out at the hooded man, who halted his progress. "S-STAY BACK! I'M WARNING YOU." The armless man shouted.

"Calm yourself." Replied the hooded one, as Riven stared at him with a bit of curiousity as to why he was dressed so and why he had approached the man.
"I offer you a mercy. Your wound is serious and it is obvious they will not provide any assistance to you… You know what I offer." He said, his voice instilling a deathly weight of silence upon the room.

Riven understood the offer he was giving the armless man, and she agreed with it, albeit with more regret and finality than the hooded man's flat voice seemed to give off. Finally, the armless man shook his head violently, still holding the sword up at his would-be helper as he said, "F-Fuck off! I'm not g-gonna die! Stay back before I g-gut you like a little f-fish!"
The man was struggling to even hold up his sword as the blood poured freely from the stump that was formerly his arm. A second later, the man groaned before falling to the ground, unable to keep standing anymore as the hooded man shook his head, turning around and walking towards her. Riven's heartbeat skipped a beat out of caution and fear, but she relaxed as he took a place in the corner of the room, close to her. Reaching the wall, he sat down, leaning against the wall as the dying man's moans echoed in the room.

Riven debated her options. It was either think of the horrible possibilities for her comrades, listen to the man sobbing in his final hours, die of boredom or learn more about this interesting figure. The answer was obvious.

She studied him as best as she could in his red condition. His cape was odd, ending in 5 different tails. That was what first caught her attention. Then she noticed the glimmer of metal at the ends and how the ends seemed to be in a diamond-like shape and her eyes widened. His cape ended in jagged blades.
He also wielded a peculiar weapon; a jagged, smooth blade mounted on the outside of his right arm, looking more like a shield that was stretched and squeezed into its current shape. However, even from this distance, there was no denying its deadly edge, and an unorthodox weapon used by someone who knew how to use it was deadlier than a known weapon wielded by a blade-master. Finally, she noticed he seemed to be holding his side to stem a wound. It didn't seem to be serious, though it was hard to tell because of all the red.

"You don't look that good yourself." Riven found herself speaking. His hooded face turned around to her direction, his face mostly hidden as a few bangs of long brown hair were visible under the hood. If he was surprised by her presence or statement, he didn't show. She glanced at his wound after a few seconds of silence had passed to signify what she had meant. He seemed to pick up.
"It looks worse than it is." His voice was deep and flat, as Riven looked back up at his face.
A painful throb in the center of her being reminded her of her own injury. "A flesh wound. We've all had our fair share of those." She said as he looked back at her. His eyes gave her a once over, flicking to her sword before back to her again.

"Which division are you from?" He asked as Riven felt a bit of satisfaction at the fact that he had been able to tell she was from the military. Trying not to feel too proud, she said, "I'm the commander of the 32nd squad. My name is Riven." She said, before glancing at him again. His gear didn't seem like it would be sold to civilians or at any shop. He had to be from the military as well. "You?" She asked.

"I'm not from any squad… Name's Talon." He muttered as Riven frowned. She was very sure he wouldn't have been able to get weapon and armor like that from any normal shop. "Your gear looks too well made to be civilian." She said, glancing at the ornate design of his blade and his vambrace. He turned to look at her then and her breathing stopped for a moment when she noticed his red gaze. He had eyes like her, which was a first given how red eyes weren't a common thing. However, unlike her own eyes, his seemed to smolder with an intensity she could not match. She was unable to stare back and found her gaze dropping to the floor.

"It's best if you don't pry, Riven." He answered as Riven stayed silent, staring down at the bloody floor. Looking down at it made her realize she was sitting on it. It was about 3 inches deep and she registered the sickly sticky feeling it gave her as it soaked into her pants and the smallclothes inside. Trying not to grimace, she looked back up at him again.

"How long do you think we'll have to be in here for?" She asked as his lips twitched. She was unable to say if he smiled or not given her profile view of his face. "Seeing as only a few minutes have passed? Very long."

Riven fought the urge to groan.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions, thoughts or anything you wish to say, simply review on this story. Feel free to contact me as well for any queries you have. If you don't have an account, you can leave your words for me in the reviews and I'll answer them in the next chapter, as I always do.

Have a good day, you guys! You're all awesome, remember.

- Wings Senpai