Author's Note: I am officially sick with a cold... which means more writing ^_^;
Enjoy Chapter 8 and thank you all for being understanding about my potential slow updates due to my family situation. Also, I feel I must apologize for the first couple chapters. After reading through them a couple times I feel they are not as capturing as I had hoped so to make up for that I will try my damnedest to be more interesting I promise D;
Reviews always welcome
Chapter 8: The Truest Opponent Lies Within
Riven stood up from the chair and stretched her tired muscles. A tight pain pulled harshly at her lower back, instantly causing the Noxian to involuntarily hunch over. She groaned slightly, realizing that sleeping in the chair was a terrible idea. In an attempt to rub out some of the tension, Riven's hands found their way to her back and her fingers pressed deep into the knotted tight muscles.
"Are you alright?"
Riven looked up at Irelia who was wearing a guilty frown. The exile forced her body to straighten out. "I'm fine," she lied. Ugh…my back hurts so bad… The Noxian admitted to herself. Riven arched her back to try and stretch the tight muscles once more.
Irelia quietly watched Riven stretching out her body. Her jade irises slowly traced along the Noxian's form, examining the strong and toned muscles shifting beneath the sun-kissed skin as Riven moved. The Captain's expression turned oppressively solemn when she noticed the scars, both large and small, that littered the surface of her host's body. They physical exterior of the exile told the story of a difficult life, one filled with struggles and hardships; yet, here she stood, alive and triumphant over the obstacles and risks the price of living cost.
Riven felt a soft chill run up her spine caused by a feeling all too familiar to her, the feeling of being watched. Riven's eyes shifted over to Irelia. One platinum eye-brow arched while she continued to stretch noticing her Ionian guest watching her.
Irelia shook her head slightly, catching herself staring. The Captain of the guard swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. The blades of her own weapon became lively as they lifted from their rest and spun around their master. Unlike Riven, Irelia relied on her mind when it came to using her blades. The Ionian Champion gently touched one of her floating blades. A softly smile took hold of her lips as her finger tips softly ghosted over the artistic engravings on the blade. The blades surely represented the pride and attention to detailed craftsmanship in which a blacksmith would spend their whole life perfecting. The weapon was beautiful and regal in comparison to the barbaric rune blade of the exile. Irelia's weapon was one of which a king would proudly display to the people of his nation. Despite its beauty, however, it was still a weapon, a weapon of Noxian legend that was "painted" with the blood of Noxus' kin.
The way the enchanted steel moved around Irelia almost looked like a dance; Riven caught herself watching. The weapon was truly unique, so was its owner. The Will of the Blades was a literal as a title could get.
Irelia's gaze shifted back to Riven once more. She smiled softly meeting the exile's eyes.
The crimson irises quickly turned their attention elsewhere and Riven turned away from Irelia. Riven walked over to the dresser and knelt down to open the drawer that stored her typical attire. Her face was eye level with the Ionian armor pieces resting next to her own shoulder guard. Riven paused as she looked at the Ionian armor plates. "Irelia, there is something I need to do before we depart," Riven said as she stood up with her clothing. The Exile silently began to get dressed and looked at Irelia. "Take your time to get ready, just be sure to lock the door when you leave."
The Ionian Captain nodded in acknowledgment, "Do what you need to Riven, meet me at the gates of the Ionian wing by sundown."
The Noxian acknowledged Irelia's request and picked up her broken rune blade from the floor. The white haired warrior stopped in the doorway for a moment. She turned just enough to look back at Irelia. "I…I hope your strength has recovered," Riven stuttered slightly before walking away.
Irelia looked up from her task only to be greeted by an empty room. The Captain smiled gently, her fingers rubbing against the soft fabric of the cotton shirt the exile lent her. "Thank you," she whispered to the empty space.
Riven found herself walking faster than usual, as if trying to flee without actually running from something. She could feel her stomach roll slightly but it was not in a way that made her feel as if she had fallen ill. Was it nerves? A warm tickle deep within her chest caused her blood to run hot, leaving behind a tingling sensation in its wake as the warmth rushed through her veins. Riven didn't like this warm and fuzzy behavior her body was forcing her to feel. What troubled the Noxian most was how Irelia always made Riven feel secure with her mental struggles. Despite the negative state of mind Riven had been living in for the past several years, the exile found herself finding the strength to deny and disregard the painful memories and voices when the Ionian was around. She felt almost protective of the Captain from herself, but whatever for? Riven shook her head, a grunt of frustration escaping her lips.
"Riven the Exile!" A voice called out from the crowd.
Riven snapped back to reality hearing her name and…title?
A young man dressed in standard summoner robes stumbled through the crowd of people towards the Noxian. Riven firmly grabbed the young summoner's shoulders, effectively stopping him from crashing into her.
The young summoner looked up at the exile and swallowed hard while trying to catch his breath.
Riven released his shoulders allowing the boy to stand up straight. Riven looked down at the trembling hand extended towards her holding an envelope with her name written in fancy calligraphy and an official seal of the Institute plastered upon the cover.
"H-High Counselor Kolminye seeks an audience with you as soon as possible Champion," the boy stammered nervously.
"Thank you," Riven replied plainly, taking the letter from the summoner. The exile cocked an eye brow as the young man bowed his head quickly and scurried off. Well… that was rather odd… Riven sighed deeply and rubbed the back of her head while looking down at the envelope. I guess my original task will have to wait for now.
The Noxian changed her direction and made her way towards a special wing of the Institute that was restricted to anyone but summoners. Champions typically weren't allowed to be in this section of the Institute without a "permission slip." Riven scoffed slightly, looking the fancy envelope in her hand as she approached a summoning platform which had posted guards. These guards were something not even she would want to pick a fight with. Battle mages like these were very skilled warriors that are not only ruthless but they also were potent wielders of magic as well. Despite how powerful the guards were, Riven found their presence to be pointless. The only way to even get to the summoner's wing of the Institute was to, well, be summoned there.
The large armored guards crossed their spears as Riven approached the platform. "Champion, what businesses have you here?" One guard's voice echoed from his helmet.
Riven rolled her eyes in annoyance. There was a procedure that needed to be fulfilled every single visit and it comprised of nothing but questions, so Riven just answered them all before they were even asked. "My name is Riven. I bare the Champion title 'The Exile,' provided to me by the Institute of War. I was born under the banner of Noxus but I represent no particular city-state and serve the League of Legends as an individual." Riven held up the envelope that bared the official crest of the Institute of War. "I am being summoned on the official order of High Counselor Vessaria Kolminye, for she seeks an audience with me."
One of the guards took the envelope and removed the contents. The guard unfolded the letter and held it up to a woman standing near the platform. The enchanted chains holding the woman clinked slightly as she looked at the letter. The soft blue glow from her bindings illuminated her surroundings slightly. The imprisoned summoner moved her bound wrists slightly and the guard reacted swiftly, the tip of a spear near the woman's throat. The summoner paid no mind to the threat.
Riven watched the summoner read over the form. The silver eyes shifted from the letter to look at Riven. The eerie soft glow behind them made her feel instantly uncomfortable. Get out of my head, Riven mentally growled at the summoner. She hated these summoners in particular. They used to be normal everyday summoners serving within the League. However, despite their ability to use the power of the arcane to help guide champions on the Fields of Justice, some summoners let that power poison their minds, twisting their judgments and corrupting their self-control causing them to grow power hungry and destructive. The delicate balance on which Valoran teetered has no room for corrupted mages due to Valoran's very existence being threatened proceeding the Rune War. A mage to found guilty of corruption within the court of the arcane was a sentence to death. The more behaved found their sentences less extreme and the Institute made use of their "service." GET OUT! Riven's mind yelled at the invader.
The woman smirked and her eyes shifted away from the exile. The summoner nodded at the guards, signifying that the document was legitimate.
"Champion, please relieve yourself of all weapons, for they are not permitted beyond this platform," the guard announced.
So obedient and trained…just like a dog… Riven thought as her attention returned to the guards.
Remind you of someone? A voice echoed within the exile's mind. The voice sounded distorted, as if many people were speaking in unison.
Riven furiously turned her attention back to the female summoner bound in enchanted chains and irons. The Noxian's eyes narrowed at the summoner. A younger summoner walked up to Riven to retrieve her sword. The exile flipped the blade, her hand gripping the stone within the broken gap so the hilt was pointing towards the young man. The summoner grabbed the hilt with both hands and nearly collapsed to the floor under the weight of the blade once Riven let go. The young man struggled to drag the blade away.
I said get out; Riven threatened the invasive summoner once more.
I can't summon you to see Kolminye if you resist me exile, relax. The female summoner tilted her head to the side and smirked at Riven once more.
Riven grit her teeth as she passed the guards and stepped onto the platform, her attention never leaving the silver haired summoner. She looked to be an age similar to Riven's, despite her silver hair. The color of her eyes, hair and pale skin was likely due to the damaging effects from losing control of arcane energy. Riven looked down at the pale blue light that began to glow under her feet. The exile closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she could feel the unique sensation she only ever felt when being summoned begin to surge through her body.
Do me a favor Exile of Noxus; tell Vessa, I miss her dearly.
Riven eyes shot open and she turned her head to look at the summoner only to be greeted by the blinding light of the summoning spell. Riven squeezed her eyes shut from the pain of the light and stood quietly on the receiving platform. She rubbed her eyes and opened them. Riven blinked a few times trying to let her eyes recover from the shock caused by the light. Riven stepped off the platform once her eyes adjusted back to normal. The Noxian stared down the hallway and began to walk. She had only been here once before, to face judgment. The color scheme was the same as what the summoners dressed in, dark purples and blues with gold trim liming the edges of the cloth. If Riven remembered correctly, the High Counselor's office was near the judgment chamber.
The exile began to feel uncomfortable in the oppressive silence as she walked towards the judgment chamber. She shuddered slightly as she started to pass the marble doors of the chamber.
No, no, no, no, no…No more, please.
A look of shock took ahold of Riven's features as two Noxian soldiers passed by both her sides from behind and approached the young sobbing girl in tattered bloody cloths standing in the hallway. "No…stop," Riven muttered. The soldiers didn't listen as they went to detain the young defenseless civilian. "Stop…" They grabbed the young girl. The exile squeezed her eyes shut. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Riven yelled in a commanding tone. She opened her eyes to be met by the silent empty hall. Riven's breathing was heavy as she dropped to her knees in front of the marble doors of the summoning chamber. The Noxian warrior shook her head slightly then turned her head to look at the marble doors.
The Truest Opponent Lies Within.
Riven frowned and stood up from the floor. The ghosts of the past had left her, for now. Her eyes traced the curves of the lettering engraved into the marble doors of the chamber.
"Ah, just the person I was expecting to see."
Riven's attention snapped to the voice that spoke.
The High Counselor stood not too far from Riven.
"You wished to see me, High Counselor?" Riven still didn't understand why Kolminye wanted to see her.
The High Counselor gave a friendly smile towards the exile. "Yes, I need to get your paperwork done for your suspension. Come, come," Kolminye gestured Riven to follow with her hand as she turned away from the Noxian and began to walk down the hall.
Riven hesitated slightly before following the High Counselor to her office. The room was large and circular. Between each marble pillar hung a banner from every city-state that was represented within the league. For Champions like Riven, one's who claimed independence; they simply fought under the banner of the Institute of War. Riven's eyes locked onto the banner that bared the crest of her homeland. Her expression turned slightly somber as she forced herself to look away from it.
"Home is the one place that understands true love. A place that our feet may leave, but our hearts forever reside."
Riven looked from the floor up to the High Counselor who was sitting in a large chair behind a beautifully carved desk made from dark wood.
Kolminye extended one of her hands towards the chair sitting across from her and her desk, which was covered in piles of paperwork and scrolls. The large window behind Kolminye had a dark tint to it, making the sunlight less intense when coming directly through the window.
Riven quietly walked up to the chair and sat down. She remained silent as she watched the High Counselor shuffle through some paperwork.
"For starters, it seems that we did not get off onto the right foot the other day Riven, so, I apologize if anything I said hurt or stressed you in anyway," Kolminye said as she continued to look through the various piles of paper that covered her desk. "Now, I want to discuss how the Institute is going to approach this… rather unique… situation…Ah ha!" The High Counselor pulled a sheet of paper from the pile she was rummaging through and handed it to Riven. "This is your official 'Right of Way,' it is your documentation that the Institute has given you permission to visit and stay in Ionia as a representative of The League of Legends. You must get that document to Karma as soon as possible."
Riven scanned over the details of the document for a short moment. "Karma is a Champion of the League… why can't we just tell her?" Riven asked as she looked up at the High Counselor from the page in her hand.
The High Counselor was shuffling through more documents as she answered Riven's question, "Karma is not the soul leader of Ionia. The rest of the elders that comprise their counsel will want documented proof that the Institute is being held responsible for your behavior when visiting their country," Kolminye peered at Riven from the current handful of papers she held in her hand. "Need I remind you of your origins, Riven?" The counselor pulled another page from the pile she held and offered it to Riven. "This is a copy of your medical suspension from the League; that document needs to be taken to Soraka to be put in your health file, and yes, we check those regularly so I will know if it got there or not."
Riven sighed slightly and took the document from the High Counselor and stacked it with her visitation paper. Riven sunk back into the chair as Kolminye leaned forward towards Riven. Her elbows rested on the desk and her chin resting on her entwined fingers.
"I do hope you will do all you can to make the most out of this suspension Riven. When you return you will be facing a new judgment and I assure you the Institute will not make the same mistake again by choosing what we may find to be traumatic. I suggest you find a way to come to peace with yourself and learn to let others in or you may have a problem when you return. I will not hesitate to pick through every single memory you have stored in that head of yours to be sure that you are capable of serving this establishment with ZERO conflict. We cannot afford to have dysfunctional Champions. I hope you don't take offense to that; I only do what I must to protect the reputation of the Institute. I don't want to discharge you Riven, you are a powerful asset to the Institute as an individual representative of the League. So please, do what they tell you and behave like a professional. Have I made myself clear?" Kolminye's tone was serious but Riven could hear the hint of care behind her words as well. Despite Vessaria being a High Counselor of the Institute, she was still a human being.
"Crystal clear, High Counselor," Riven nodded.
"You're dismissed," Kolminye said as she set her hands back down onto her desk.
The Noxian stood up and bowed her head slightly before turning her back to the High Counselor and made her way to the door.
Do me a favor Exile of Noxus; tell Vessa, I miss her dearly.
Riven paused as the summoner's words from earlier repeated in her mind. The exile turned and looked over her shoulder to see the High Counselor looking through paper work again. "High Counselor," Riven called out to the woman sitting at the desk.
The High Counselor stopped shuffling for a moment and looked at the exile.
"The chained summoner in charge of the platform says she misses you," Riven relayed the message.
The High Counselor simply nodded before returning to her task of shuffling through paperwork.
The exile walked down the hallway towards the platform. She silently stepped back onto the summoning platform and looked down at the documents in her hands. The soft swirling blue light began to dance around her feet and she closed her eyes allowing the summoner to transport her. Upon returning to the guarded platform she looked over at the chained summoner. She only nodded, Riven thought so the summoner could hear. To Riven's surprise the woman said nothing in return. The exile's expression turned into a somber frown as she watched the tears roll down the summoner's cheeks from her cloudy eyes. Riven quietly stepped off the platform and retrieved her weapon from the young summoner who struggled to move the blade once more. The exile paused before walking too far from the platform. She still loves you, your beating heart can attest to that, Corrupted one. With that final thought Riven walked away from what may have been the High Counselor's only family still remaining in this world.
Once Riven made it back into the main hall of the Institute she looked around and pondered what to do next. The exile looked down at the papers she held in her free hand. She decided to drop of the health record first since it would be quick and simple.
Riven approached the entrance to the infirmary in hopes of finding Soraka. She sighed in relief to find the Starchild sitting at the check in desk. "I have a document for you Soraka," Riven said as she separated the medical record from the visitation document.
Soraka looked up from her book and nodded taking the paper from the exile. "Is that your 'Right of Way' as well Riven?"
Riven nodded.
Soraka stuck out her hand once more. "I will be seeing Karma soon, I can give that to her for you if you want me to," the starchild offered.
"That would be greatly appreciated Soraka if you could do that for me. I still have something I have to do and I'm running out of time," Riven said as she handed the starchild the second document. "Which reminds me, have you seen Lux?"