Sorry. Life's gotten in the way (as well as a ton of distractions =_=), and I just scrooged up the time for this.
On a side note- Relationships has hit 101 reviews! You guys are awesome!
-enjoy
The Library was slightly cool. It was bright enough to read by. And it was quiet.
Usually.
Soft wing beats echoed down the hallway. He could hear it from inside the plain sandstone antechamber. He frowned. It was not Anivia, or he would have felt the chill of the icy Avian. It was not Quinn and Valor, Swain, or Ashe, as all their birds were too small to make the "whump" of displaced air that he currently heard. The only being with wings of sufficient size that would have a reason to visit him was-
"Kayle."
As if speaking her name summoned her, the double doors opening to the outside opened, letting a wave of heat into the room that almost felt like a physical wave. The angel flapped in.
"I request that you close the door. The heat damages the books."
She raised an eyebrow at him, almost as if she was daring him to challenge her. He simply stayed impassive, allowing no expression of impatience or emotion onto his face. She relented and extended one of her wings to nudge the door closed. There was a silence while the two studied each other.
She broke the silence first, seemingly impatient. "I require your aid in my fight." She waved her hand. "I'm sure you know what I mean. You, too, have also experienced the pain of a rebellious sibling, Nasus."
The anthropomorphic jackal made no outward response. "You wish for me to aid you in your fight against Morgana." Kayle simply nodded.
He pressed on. "You expect me to aid you because of a similar experience with Renekton." Kayle nodded again.
A deep sigh emanated from him. He stepped towards the doorway leading further into the construct that Nasus was in. He reached it, and turned back. He had not heard movement. Kayle was simply standing there, seemingly unwilling to follow. He shrugged inwardly and went deeper into a hallway. He passed several doors and opened one, seating himself inside the room. A small section consisting of several bookshelves was lit, with the rest out of reach of operating globes of light that had been provided by a friendly mage in the past. He pulled a book out of the shelf and started to read. The door was left open, spilling out a crescent of light into the hallway. If she chose to ignore him, that would be the end of it. If she chose to follow, she would be able to find him.
Eventually, wing beats started to get closer and closer. He closed his book, put it back onto the shelf, and waited.
Kayle appeared in the doorway.
He caught sight of her face. It was impatient and slightly angry. She was the entitled type then, not taking into considerations others besides herself. Nasus nodded to himself. That was not a surprise.
"Well?" Kayle demanded. "Will you aid me or will you let Morgana's evil continue to corrupt Valoran?"
"What is evil?"
Kayle paused for a second, caught off guard by the question. "It's when someone does bad things." She thought for another moment. "When they do things against the law that others, their greaters, decide."
"Laws like this?" Nasus pulled out a book. On its cover was a prominent title: On the Possibilities of an Ideal Population. Its author was Kayle.
Another book was displayed. Its title was Rigid Rules for an Ideal Society. Its author was again, Kayle.
Kayle nodded. "Rigid laws are what make stable society. People must be told what to do at all times. Freedom to choose will always end in moral decay, rebellion, and anarchy; and anarchy must be prevented at all costs."
Nasus looked at her. His eyes darted to her wings.
"Allow me to propose a hypothetical situation to you", Nasus said. "Say, you are high up in the sky. Your wings are rigid. They cannot move. Will you go anywhere but up?"
Growing increasingly angry, Kayle countered, "If they are so limp and weak as to be useless, will I fall faster?"
Nasus shook his head. "That was not my question. If you cannot move your wings, is there a possibility of going up?"
Kayle's face set into determined, angry lines. "I do not see the meaning of this pointless question." Her voice was growing only angrier.
"Answer it." Nasus was calm as ever.
"There could be thermal updri-"
"No." Nasus interrupted. "You cannot go up without movement and flexibility."
Kayle glared at Nasus.
"That is why," Nasus added with a snap, "there is this side."
Activated by the snap, the rest of the lights in the room turned on. They revealed a vast room, many times larger than the small section that had been illuminated before, completely filled with bookshelves. Nasus walked among them, picking out books from various sections.
"Morgana's side made these," he stated in a louder than usual voice. He held up first a treatise on taste in food, then a scroll filled with writing advice for novices, then a guidebook giving out all the pros of playing music. He looked back at Kayle. "Do you have anything to compare?"
"Yes," hissed Kayle. "We are not dreadful anarchists that allow lawlessness, discord, and dissonance to plague our society. The laws I make will ensure that will never happen." Her sword lit on fire, her conviction and emotions manifesting itself through her magic. "Look at Noxus! Look at Zaun! They were lax in the law, and now anarchy, power grabs, and death are rampant! I must prevent uphold the strictest laws to ensure that never happens to my society!"
"And how many have died as a result of your strict inflexibility?" Nasus pulled out another book- this one a record of those that had died in the war. The tome was massive, with pages easily in the thousands. Nasus opened up to a random page. He began reading. "Larus Hrongar- executed for loving a Heretic. Anne Paupes- executed for stealing a loaf of bread. Jules Sonden- executed for composing a song in minor key. Caius Yoru- executing for speaking Morgana's name. Sarah Yoru- executed for daring grieve for her husband." The book closed with a snap and Nasus turned his gaze on the Judicator. "Your hands are just as stained."
Kayle began sputtering, but Nasus simply talked over her. "I fought my brother, and others of my kind as well. But I was fighting against what you are fighting for- I was fighting for freedom of knowledge and protection and guidance of those under us, not tyranny over those that cannot fight back. Although I find Noxus and Zaun to be less than ideal examples of city-states, I refused and still refuse to support tyranny and despotism. As such, I will not support you in your fight against Morgana."
Kayle was now almost radiating hatred. "I see you've made your choice. You will regret it," she spat out. She turned around and flew out, slamming the door as she passed through it.
Nasus looked at the door, then sat down. "The cycle between order and chaos, tyranny and anarchy, continues. If Kayle prevails, another Morgana will rise to challenge her. If Kayle fails, another Kayle will rise to take her place."
He reached out to the bookshelf, took out a book with the intention recording the conversation he'd just had with the Judicator. He began to write, musing to himself,
"The cycle is neverending…."