Chapter 2

The post-match chamber was full of glee. The victors acted as a victor may typically tend to act, drinking and choking down loads of food. The chamber itself didn't look like much a place to have a celebration. It was actually a repurposed dungeon from during the war, so it was dark, and there were still a few instruments of torture hanging from the rafters. None of this bothered any of the champions as they continued with their debauchery. Gragas, a very fat man who ran his own brewery which had outlets across all of Valoran, was serving the drinks, as the Grand Champion of the League, Jax, slugged down another round. Nobody knew much about Jax, except that he could sure hold his liqour. Some would even say he could outdrink Gragas himself. He was a unique character in the crowd of typical war veterans and esteemed mages, in that he actually made his living off of fighting, rather than being summoned to the Fields of Justice against his will. He was a master of his craft. At one point in his career, there were talks amongst the great summoners as to whether it was even fair for Jax to compete in these tournaments, as he would never lose. When Jax got wind of this, he took matters into his own hands. He dropped his favored weapon, his flail, in favor for a lamp post which he ripped out of the ground with his own strength. This, in theory, should have weakened him sufficiently to have a somewhat fair fight, but many a maimed opponent would disagree with such a statement.

Despite the light hearted atmosphere, there in the corner was Garen, quietly sipping a Graggy Ice, thinking on the events of the previous battle. He faltered in the face of the Sinister Blade. While his slight did not cost them the match by any means, Garen was worried that his emotions interfering with his duty to his country.

"The Sinister Blade has deceived many a man before, after all." He attempted to assure himself. Of course, entertaining any thoughts about a Noxian, of all people, was very worrying to Garen indeed. Garen was something of a propaganda piece back in Demacia, idealized as the epitome of moral purity. If he were caught in an escapade with even the most Demacian woman of all, it would still be intensely scrutinized by the public, and he'd certainly be stripped of his rank. He didn't even wish to think of what would happen should he have been caught with a Noxian.

Garen pushed those thoughts out of his head. He was a warrior. He was not to preoccupy himself with such petty matters. He instead returned to his dojo, to train some more for the next battle. He needed to make sure he was in peak physical condition. Of course, this wasn't too hard to maintain, for Garen seemed to have been blessed at birth, as he was roughly seven feet tall and had an otherwise Herculean physique. The sword of which he yielded would crush almost anyone else who would even attempt to use it. The hacked away at the test dummies, each one turning to dust after a few punches. He ripped them limb from limb, hay flying out of their innards. This, was the only thing which could give satisfaction to him at that moment. It distracted him from the real problems at hand.

meanwhile, at the Imperial City, capitol of Demacia

The prince sat at his throne. It had been an uneventful afternoon for him. He signed a few documents about some petty domestic affairs, something about children abusing baby yordles. He didn't understand why the people of the city went through all the trouble to try to deal with these children. By nature, Jarvan thought to himself, children are morally bankrupt. As he recollected the events of the day, he began to nod off. There were no battles to be fought that day, after all, and maybe the functioning ruler of the free world deserved a nap, Jarvan considered. His father was a very old man, who grew more senile by the day. Prince Jarvan IV the Excellent, as his full title was, was only a prince, and so did not get as much luxury as the king did, but double the labor to get done. Just as he was about to nod off, a squire rushed into his chamber.

"Sir, Luxanna Crownguarde has important news for you!" said the squire.

"Send her in..." sighed Jarvan. He was hoping to finally get some shut eye, but alas, it was not to be.

Lux entered the room. She was the director of the Demacian Department of Intelligence. She was in charge of spying on the Noxians, and was also Garen's sister. Some would always wonder whether nepotism was the reason for her appointment, and perhaps it was. However, she was by no means incompetent. She was a very powerful mage, who specialized in bending light to her will. She gained fame in Demacia for disintegrating a Noxian general who had found out her ruse by conjuring a massive laser beam of light. She was not one to be trifled with, especially with her temper and instability. Her superiors would sometimes question if the pressure of her job was too much for her, but even if it were, she did a good job of not showing it.

"Very sorry to intrude your Highness, but we've discovered some disturbing intelligence just east of our border with Noxus."

"That's not something we hear about all the time. What would that be?"

"The Noxians are sending troops there."

"You mean like they do, every other week? Lux, I thought a master tactician like you wouldn't be phased by such a shallow move."

"Well, the thing is sir, these aren't normal Noxian troops. They don't look like an invasion force. Everyone of them is wearing mage clothing, and wields a staff. I don't think they intend on fighting against our steel."

"Oh dear..." Jarvan was paralyzed. He had read about legends before about a certain land beyond Runeterra.

"What is it?" Lux asked him.

"Lux. Have you ever heard of... the Void?" Jarvan asked her intently.

"I've heard of it, isn't that where all those "scary" monsters in the League come from, like Cho'Gath?"

"It's a lot more than that I'm afraid. The Void, is a land of darkness, if there even is land there. It is the space between dimsensions. All sorts of terrors stem from there, terrors which can tear the fabric of our universe apart. What I think is, that these Noxians are looking for a pathway to the Void, to harness it's energy. That would explain the mage clothing."

"You can't be serious. Even the Noxians wouldn't be so stupid to think they could open a "portal to another world"", Lux tried to reason.

"No. All of Noxus' years of dabbling the black magic must have been leading to this. They must have found a way to get to the Void. And if they open it, there is no way they'll be able to keep it from destroying them, let alone harness it.

"So? We let the Noxians destroy themselves trying to unleash this terror and we call it a day." Lux said confidently.

"No, I'm afraid that it wouldn't work like that. The monsters of the Void have also been looking for a way into our world. If they were to get this opportunity, they would not pass it up. For anything."

"So, what do we do?" Lux asked.

"That's the question, isn't it? We can't just tell them to stop, because then they'll wonder how we knew about them doing this. However, I also don't want to send troops into Noxus and risk war with them."

"I have an idea. How about we put together a task force. We'll go in silently, and cripple the Noxian force before they can do anything with such a portal." Lux proposed.

"That seems like the only real viable option. But you'll have to act quick. You have 12 hours to brief your team and get them approved. This mission doesn't just concern Demacia Lux. It concerns the universe."

"Understood." With that, Lux marched off.