Irelia felt appalling. Her arms ached, her head ached and her legs felt like they were on fire.

Soraka looked at her curiously. "Are you alright?"

"That's the 4th time you've asked me that….."

"Does that mean no?"

"It means yes."

"Are you sure? I am a healer…"

"We're only going to be walking for another 5 minutes, I'm pretty sure I can make the distance. And you can stop telling me you're a healer."

"Humans are such curious creatures…"

As they eventually made their way towards her home it occurred to Irelia she still had absolutely no idea how she was going to explain what had happened.

"Irelia…"

Soraka grabbed her hand and Irelia recoiled as something shot through her arm.

"What was that?"

"I healed you. Do you feel any better?"

"We're standing outside my house!"

"And?"

"…..Thankyou. But can you only heal me….when I ask for it?"

"Ok….Are we still friends?"

"Yes! I just….can you not heal me against my will?"

"…."

Irelia knew that if they stood outside for any longer, she would definitely be seen, and she didn't feel like answering questions."

"I'm going to get someone. Just….wait here."

Re-entering the house for the first time in 24 hours, she looked around. "Zelos! Hello?"

The silence that followed was deafening. Something's wrong. Then she realised Zelos' stuff was missing.

"Zelos?!"

She nearly sprinted up to Zelos' room. "Zelos are you alri…."

There was a note neatly scribbled and attached to his door.

Gone to Demacian scout fleet at Navori to prove myself.

Catching boat at 5:30 Sunday

Sorry

Zelos

She reread the letter desperately hoping it wasn't true. "I never got the chance….to make him understand…" Then she looked up and saw the time. 4:15. He can't have left more than 15 minutes ago….

But that means I still have time.

She sprinted around to the stables at the back of the house. The largest horse was missing. But the fastest one was there. She jumped onto it without even thinking and they galloped off.

I don't know how, but somehow, I am going to stop Zelos before he does something he's going to regret.

Soraka looked up at the sound of hooves, only to see Irelia ride past.

"GoingtoNavorista….."

After looking around in shock she realised she was alone.

That was…..unexpected.

She thought about her choices.

"I either stay here… Or I go back to the Placidium."

Well here is safe….

Then she remembered something that Karma had mentioned.

But the Placidium has a library.

Making up her mind she walked back towards the Placidium. She knew her way around now. And she would only be gone a couple of hours.

- -'- - - - -

The wind whipped through Irelia's hair as the horse bolted down the path. She had covered so much distance so fast she knew she was only 15 minutes away, but the horse looked like it was on its last legs. Come on…just a few more minutes and then we can stop. Just a few more minutes…. As she turned the corner to complete the final stretch of the path she slowed. The path was blocked by a group of people, and behind them, a barricade.

I don't believe this. 15 minutes away from Navori and I'm being fucking robbed?

She hesitantly got off her horse.

"I don't want any trouble. Just let me pass."

"You will not pass."

She looked at the group in front of her. A two handed swordsman, a swordsman, two guys with no weapons, and an archer. She drew her weapon.

"I don't think I heard what you said. You want to reconsider?"

"Turn around Irelia Willof the Blades, for your destiny is still to come and you shall not pass!"

Outnumbered by Noxian mercenaries. And one of them is a barbarian. Just great.

"I don't know where you got that title from, but if you were Ionian you would be helping me. And since you must be Noxian….I control my own fate."

As Irelia moved towards her horse the archer fired an arrow she hadn't even noticed had been drawn. It shot over her and her horse and embedded itself in a nearby tree but cut her off from her horse. She drew her weapon and the barbarian sneered at her.

"You think you can fight us? It's time for us to show you how outmatched you are. Drop your weapons!"

She stared as he lazily threw his weapon aside, and it embedded itself in a nearby tree. Then one of the unarmed men stepped forwards.

Oh joy. A martial artist. She noticed the covering over his eyes. And he's blind too.

She placed her weapon down and stepped forwards. Well it's not as if I have a choice…

As she stepped forwards she immediately darted towards the blind man, hoping to throw him off guard, only to find her hand striking thin air. What? As he went for a strike she turned around and tried to counter, only to find that once again he had avoided it.

He's not even anticipating my moves.

Moving to the edge of the path she stared at him as he watched her move. He has to make a move sooner or later it's not as if….

"This ends here!"

Suddenly the blind man slammed his fist into the ground releasing a shock wave that caused her to stumble. As she recovered from the shock wave he immediately appeared directly in front of her and with one armada bed her by the throat and lifted her straight into the air.

"One measures strength by how much pain one can inflict. And I can inflict a lot of pain."

As he said this, Irelia gasped and had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming. She felt like her entire body had been set on fire.

I am not going…to let him have the satisfaction…of seeing me scream…

As she wondered how long she could keep this up at the hands of this psychopath everything happened in slow motion. The pain stopped but she was being thrown further away from the ground…and then she felt a foot slam into her chest. More pain erupted from her chest where the foot had struck it followed by more pain when she hit the ground. As she lay there in the oncoming darkness she wondered what on earth she had done.

"You're finished with the Will of the Blades. She will survive?"

"Yes. Her inner strength is remarkable."

"And she is out of their sight?"

"Of course. You were not watching?"

"Why would I watch? That was hardly what one would call a battle, or interesting. "

"So the mission is finished?"

"Our labour is finished. But the fruits are yet to come."

Irelia lay on the ground watching the night sky creep in. She knew that there was absolutely no chance that she would finish making it to Navori. Zelos….. I swear on my fathers weapon that somehow I will repay you for this failure. She tried to get up only to be hit by a wave of intense pain. "Aaah!" She bit her tongue again to stop herself from screaming.

Ok. She lay on the ground for a few seconds as she tried to think. Have to keep moving. Legs…fine. Arms….fine. Ribs….shit. Using a nearby ledge she propelled herself upwards and just barely managed to stay balanced through the pain. I have to get out of here. And I'm not going to make it back the way I came…..

Desperately, she struggled onwards. The temperature had dropped to freezing and she could feel the pain in her chest with every step. She had no idea how far away Navori was, but she knew she had to be getting close. Just a few more minutes…

"And then I threw the other one of my axes right, and it killed him, obviously, but when I checked it…."

She froze. She had no idea who was talking but they had a Noxian accent, and were somewhere on the path ahead. Her instincts kicked in and she fled off the path into the undergrowth. The pain that burst through her chest was nearly completely ignored.

Noxians? Here?

It suddenly occurred to her that the fight with the strange man from earlier might have been more than a coincidence.

But why would they try to stall me unless…..

Fuck.

"So I'd killed two people by landing two axes in exactly the same spot!"

She moved through the forest as silently as she could manage, thankful for the fact that the talking was drowning out the noise of her breathing. The group was Noxians, and every single one of them was armed to the teeth.

"Light the torches!"

She froze like a rabbit caught like a predator, only for another Noxian soldier to speak up.

"I don't think that's a good idea…."

"I'm Darius's brother, you'll do what I say!"

The biggest man out of the entire group stood up and brandished his axe.

"The next person who lights a torch gets their head removed from their body."

"Weren't't you sleeping?"

"I wasn't sleeping I was pretending to be dead."

"But there's something stuck in my teeth!"

Irelia moved away from the group even faster than she'd been moving before.

I have to warn the guards. If the Noxians are on this side of Navori….

As she saw the guard outpost she ran towards it.

"There are Noxians….You have to get everyone out of here, it's a trap!"

The guard looked at her as if she was kidding. Grabbing her weapon she pointed it at him, and he suddenly realised how serious she was and sounded the alarm.

Then looked at the ocean and squinted. "What the…."

Suddenly the guard fell over dead with an axe embedded in his back. A Noxian walked up, pulled the axe out his back and stared at Irelia.

"Hey there…..Whatcha doin' tonight?"

Irelia stared at him. It was the same talkative Noxian she had seen earlier.

"All the ladies wanna join the league of DRAVENNNNNNNN….."

"You're a monster."

Then everything went to hell.

An explosion rang out, bathing the entire port in flame. As the Noxian readied one of his weapons a man leapt out of nowhere and swung his sword at the Noxian, and as the Noxian dodged, kicked him in the face.

"Move!"

Another explosion rang out as Noxian troops began storming the port.

Irelia wasn't exactly sure where she was meant to move to, so she stood her ground.

"We have to protect the civilians!"

As another cannonball crashed into a building next to her a large group of Noxian soldiers flooded in through the way she'd just came. A group of Noxian battleships began closing in on the dock, attempting to cut off the only other way out of the city.

"They're already escaping! Get to the side gate and I'll hold the Noxians off!"

"That's suicide!"

"Just go!"

At this point most of the area was on the verge of collapsing or on fire. Irelia knew that if she stayed, she would die, and the civilians would be helpless. And if she left…an innocent man would die to the Noxians.

Realising there was only one decision, she gritted her teeth and ran towards the side gate.