It's hard to explain my feelings toward war. I believe that it's necessary for some issues that cannot be solved with words. I do believe though, that war is wrong if you don't know which side you belong on. I was wrong. I had been wrong for so long that I had forgotten I could be right. That's why I left the wrong side. My name is Riven, the exiled.
The night I left Noxus, the war raged on. Ionia was in shambles, due to the destruction cause by Noxian soldiers, but that wasn't the worst. It was when I saw Singed use his chemical warfare on all suspecting people, even Noxians. I saw my friends gasping for breath in the midst of chaos, these were the warriors I stood by as we trained together, hoping that this war would be one of our last. I used to run into to battle without fear, not even the fear of losing my life. That all changed when the poison seeped into the clothes of my colleagues.
I began running then. I ran as far as I could from the war, the screams, the stares, I ran from everything. My lungs screamed at me to stop, to breathe, but I couldn't. If I stopped they would find me. Katarina, Singed, Darius, all of them. I couldn't stop running. Eventually I did from exhaustion, the Ionian forest floor welcomed me as I collapsed on the ground.
Now here I lay, my sword in hand. It never used to weigh me down. It was my sword. The blade was made for me by the sorcerers and armorers of Noxus, but now that I don't belong to Noxus, I guess it doesn't belong to me. The emerald runic symbols brightened like the stars on the night's sky. I traced their symbols like I had every night, but it felt different now. I began to smell the chemicals from Singed's poison and soon I found the blade revolting. Standing up I found the nearest rock, and with all my strength, swung the sword down on it. The blade didn't break, so I swung again, and again, and again. Red filled my eyes as I felt the anger that I had towards the nation I had so strongly protected. The adrenaline that filled me during battle was now here as I battled the rock of Noxus. Soon the blade gave way and shattered into fragments. All that was left was a third of the sword that it had been in it's glory. I sat and looked at the broken sword and my tears came. I wept for the loss of my place in the world, I wept for my fallen comrades, and lastly I wept for the fall of my beloved country. I wept until I passed out again.
When I woke up I realized that this was the longest I had ever stayed in Ionia. The forest of the Ionia was also the only one I had truly felt peaceful in. I tried to stand, but soon realized that was a difficult task. A sharp pain shot up my right leg and I stumbled. I grabbed the nearest tree for support and looked down. My armor had been cut and a wound was beginning to fester and ooze on my thigh. Singed's chemical warfare must have infected the wound. Looking for shelter, I began to stagger my way through the forest. If I was to treat the wound, I would have to find a place to remove my armor. Even though the Ionia forest was peaceful, I wasn't a fool, and I knew I wasn't safe in uncharted territory.
I continued to search and soon I came across a small pond. The moonlight reflected so delicately in the pond and I couldn't help but smile. Noxian skies were full of smoke or cannon fire which caused the moon only to show on nights where the army was away. At the pond I began to remove my armor. I stripped down to my cloth armor. I unhooked the belt that was around my waist and used it as a tourniquet on my leg. Using my broken blade, I tore up pieces of cloth from my tunic to dress the wound. I reached over and dipped some cloth bandages into the water. Using the bandages, I cleaned the wound with the water, hoping the wound wasn't too badly infected. I didn't know the most about caring for wounds, but I did know the basics.
"Riven?" A voice said behind me. I instinctively reached for my sword and held it up at the intruder. I couldn't see past the ring of trees. The moonlight only aided me in seeing the pond.
"Show yourself." I said calmly. I couldn't do much fighting with the wound, I suffered, but I wouldn't go down without a fight.
Out of the woods, stepped Talon. He was hooded as usual, but he looked unarmed, or so it appeared. He was known for assassinating enemies quickly, without being suspected. While I knew we were comrades, my self-exile wouldn't have gone without notice in the Noxian army.
"Riven, what are you doing?" He asked stepping towards me.
"What does it look like?" I asked sarcastically holding my blade. Talon smirked at me and walked towards me.
"It looks like you ran away." Talon hit the blade from my hands and the sword went toppling to the ground. My already guilt-ridden mind worsened. I didn't realize how weak I had become until that moment. He then began working on moving me away from the pond. "We thought you were dead." I heard the tint of relief in Talon's voice, but it was gone quickly.
"I might as well be." I said. He picked me up and placed me by the tree on the edge of the pond. "Are you going to take me back to camp?" I asked. I hung my head and looked at my battered palms. I knew what waited at me for back at camp, a death sentence. Noxus didn't accept any form of treason, not even from their most valiant fighters.
"No," he said. I looked up at him. His eyes were settled on mine from under his hood. "You had your reasons for running."
"Noxus doesn't keep traitors." I said.
"That's true." He said.
"Then why protect me?" I asked.
"Because I don't serve Noxus." He said. He flipped his hood up and his long black hair cascaded down his back. His eyes were dark and didn't break eye contact with mine. The pain in my leg didn't disappear though, it only increased. I let out a shaky breath and Talon looked away from me. He opened his side satchel and brought out a vial. He held my calf steady before he poured the vial on the wound on my thigh. My wound burned and I screamed out. I knew it was beneficial toward my leg health, but it didn't disregard the fact that it felt like the poison in my leg intensified by a million. Talon moved quickly and silenced my screaming by placing his hand on my mouth. "Shhh... shh..." He said soothingly. Soon the burning sensation lessened.
"Why are you helping me?" I asked. Talon and I had never been close. He had been a handpicked boy from the sewers to serve the Du Couteau family. I had known him from the High Command military. He was also the right-hand man to Katarina, so he never fought with me either. We had talked a few times, he seemed to be a worthy adversary of Noxus.
"It's not like you haven't saved me on more than one occasion." He said as he wrapped my wound. "I'm just returning the favor." He tied the bandages and stood up. I looked up at him questioningly and nodded.
"Thank you." I said. He turned and it seemed he was going to leave. Then he turned back to look at me.
"Where will you be going?" He asked.
"I don't know." I said. Talon nodded again.
"What do you want?"
"I just don't want this to be the last time we see each other." He said looking at me again. "You're a great fighter."
"You want something." I said again. Talon couldn't hide the smirk, even if he wanted to.
"I want you." I was skeptical then. Everyone knew that Katarina had a thing with Talon, it was the most known secret in Noxus. "Not like that, or maybe, if you're interested." I rolled my eyes. He walked over and leaned really close to my face again. "There's a revolution in the making." He whispered. I gave him a look again.
"A revolution?" I asked. He raised his eyebrow.
"Of course, there has to be a reason you ran." He said. I thought about it for a minute and there was. Noxus was falling. A place once made for deadly warriors, was now a place for chaos. "When the time comes, I want you to be apart of it."
"And your precious Du Couteau's are okay with this?" I asked.
"It was Kataraina who told me about the plan." That was surprising. Katarina was the most faithful member of Noxus. Her father practically ran the place. "Not that she would betray Noxus, but she is planning to betray those who are corrupting the nation." He said.
"And whom is this that you're talking about?" The pain from my wound had begun to subside completely and I was beginning to feel exhausted.
"Swain, Darius, all those guys in charge of the armies." He said. "Look," He pulled out a green crystal. "I want you next to me when it all comes crashing down." I took the crystal from his hands and felt around its edges.
"What is it?" I asked.
"When you need it, you'll know." He said. "Are you with me?" I looked into his eyes. I bit my lip and looked down at the crystal again. I flipped it over in my hand and admired it. It reminded me of the green that glowed from the runic inscriptions on my sword. "Riven," Talon said softly. I nodded then.
"Yes," I said confidently. "I'll help you." Talon gave a small smile.
"Good," He said standing up. He held out his hand and I grabbed it. Suddenly I was full of energy, I felt rested, ready to fight. Then I was covered in black leather. A black helmet rested on top of my head and gold reflected from my new leather gloves and a gold embellishment on my chest. I gasped and looked up at Talon. His face was completely covered by a black mask that was also covered with gold. He picked up the green crystal from my palm and placed it in the center of my helmet. I heard a whirring from my left and I turned and saw my blade transformed. It resembled something from Piltover, gun and blade in one.
"You're apart of the Crimson Elite now, Riven." Talon said. Removing the crystal from the top of his helmet and mine, we returned to our normal attire, and my blade returned to its broken resemblance. "We'll see each other soon, and then we'll talk further." Talon said and he grabbed my shoulder, and then was running past me. I watched him leave as he pulled up his hood and disappeared into the trees. I stood there, holding the green crystal in my hands. I continued to flip it over until I placed it into the small satchel on belt. I looked over to the scattered remnants of my armor and decided it would be best if I didn't put it back on again, I would be too easily recognized. I kicked each pieces into the pond and watched it float to the bottom. I picked up my broken blade and with some irony realized that it resembled me too much. Broken. Looking up to the place where Talon left, I also had another thought. Maybe I'm not broken, maybe I'm just in pieces. Then the blade glowed and the pieces forged together. "No more looking back." I said outloud. Looking at the last piece of my armor drowning into the pond, I walked off into the forest, looking forward to starting anew.
Hello Everyone! This is a new story of mine. If you check out my profile I'm not new to , but I am rewriting stories. If you like this or have any criticisms, let me know! I take feedback. This is rated M, for future chapters ;) Thanks for reading guys, I really appreciate it.