Chapter 19: The dead laid to rest.
Xerath's dormitory was large, easily spanning a ballroom hall.
It was mostly plain concrete, with magic nullification elements to reduce any arcane assault on them. It was also reducing magical interference from the outside as well.
Not surprising.
His grasp on his power was still infantile.
He had so much room to improve his magical flow.
Having no room for practical experimentation during his incarceration had left him with very little time to produce more complex induction patterns. Perhaps this room would grant him the experimentation he required.
In a cubicle on the far side of the dormitory lay his room, complete with a large bookcase and a reasonably large bed.
Glancing through the books, there were subjects on complex arcane transference circuits and the effects of entropic magic on non-organic materials.
Searching further through the bookcase, he found something.
"Azel, this may be of use for you." Xerath said, handing back a brightly colored book to her.
Azel read the cover.
'The commoner friendly guide to magical terms: A layman's guide to whatever your brainy mage is saying.'
Azel seemed to disapprove of her new present. Xerath laughed for a moment in his autonomous voice before he returned to his composure.
His bed was generic. He had long since lost any ideas of what comfort actually was.
It would, however, be more comfortable than that stone tomb he had been confined to. It would be worth a shot to try out.
If Azel was not reveling in the feeling of a good bed.
Looking around, Xerath could not see a room for Azel. But that was to be expected since she was an unexpected guest.
Perhaps he could get another bed for her in the dormitory.
It should be possible considering how I had declared her as my secretary. That or she would have to live with the Summoners in their own compound.
Suddenly there was a flashing light from a small trinket-like device near his bed.
Touching it briefly, an image of a Summoner with their characteristic purple robes appeared before him.
"Mage Xerath, your presence is required for the Uebel inquiry."
"I will be there. Might I ask if my secretary Azel needs to accompany me?"
"No. There are not more empty places available for her. We may, however, grant her video access to the inquiry if she wishes."
Xerath looked back to Azel, her nod saying all that he needed.
"Yes, video access would be useful to her."
"Very well then, I will leave you for now."
"Might I ask for your name? We may meet once again so it would be useful to know it."
"Summoner Izulo Jun. You may call me Jun if you so wish."
"I thank you, Jun."
With that, the blue hologram faded.
"If I may Azel, I must get ready."
"Yes, my Lord."
The inquiry was going slow.
It had taken a long time to finally discern the actual events as information was pouring in from the response force that the Institute had sent.
Half of the audience was obviously tired, as they all knew how boring and slow an inquiry by the Institute could be, if not all inquiries could be.
Among the crowd, the representative champions of each major region had also gathered, such as the imposing Jericho Swain and the illustrious Jarvan the Fourth who was flanked by Luxanna and her brother or comrade, Xerath was unsure whether Crownguard was a title or a surname, Garen.
But the opening information was coming to a close and witnesses were starting to be called to testify their experiences.
Both Ezreal and Sivir had been called forward, their combined knowledge was disappointingly underwhelming as most of the information had already been disclosed to the audience. Their tales from Nalepsis did introduce some discussion, but politics hushed the issue for now.
Politics was a weird and alien thing, thought Xerath. In any real circumstance, either of the two major states of Demacia and Noxus should have called out on the issue, bringing to light the horror of Belhorashurian cruelty to minority groups. But as both states had done similar wrongdoings to minorities in the past, they both kept silent as not to grant the other side an advantage. Jarvan and Lux were both visibly moved by this, but their silence was held. Garen furrowed his brow slightly at the events, while Swain completely held his composure throughout the Nalepsian detour.
The inquiry returned to the more pressing matter of Uebel, with Malzahar granting a more in depth description of the battle for Uebel and the presence of a Titan-class Golem in addition to Hellhounds and other arcane beasts.
The Titan-class gave cause for concern.
A Titan in war was a nigh-unstoppable thing, especially when it was a Golem.
Golems had significant ties with earthen magic, so they could draw up matter into their being to replenish themselves, provided they gained enough energy to sustain it.
A Titan had such large energy upkeep that the additional energies required for sustenance were relatively low, allowing the Titan to tower with such immense and unyielding bulk that very few spells could even stagger the beast. It made a Titan-class Golem one of the most dangerous arcane entities that man had ever employed to their arsenal.
When Malzahar was dismissed, Xerath added his own knowledge.
"During my time in dismantling the Titan, I noticed the presence of blood in its energy transference matrix. I, at the time, assumed that it was an Enriched Blood Circuit. After detonating the energy transference matrix, I realized that my assumption was correct."
This sent the audience into uproar at this.
Enriched Blood Circuits were outlawed in every nation apart from Zaun, who had found more efficient and cheaper ways to produce similar transference quality, although the term 'quality' was used so much in Zaunic advertisement that it had become too dull for the conditioned Zaunites.
That very paragraph determined the fate of Shurima.
A single minute had just decided the fate of a nation.
For the better, no one could say, but fate it was.
The rest of the inquiry felt like an age.
He may have endured two and a half thousand years in a tomb, but that was shortened by his wandering mind and thoughts.
The constant bickering of politics was draining him of energy, even despite his immense reservoir from the Magus Catenas.
Politics was perhaps one of the most boring activities he had ever experienced.
Thankfully the inquiry was coming to its end.
As everyone departed, the one known as Prince Jarvan the Fourth came up to him.
"Your information has just changed this very world for the better, Mage Xerath. I hear from Lux that you had a 'guest' who was directly involved in Nalepsis?"
"Indeed, my Prince. My guest, Azel, is, or perhaps was, the daughter of the cult that foresaw my return. I had very little time spent in Nalepsis, so I only heard about her dilemma from Ezreal. Even I can understand the hardships she has just faced."
"You are a good man, Xerath. Your efforts have allowed us, the Demacian People, to do what we do best, liberating those held by the clutch of tyrants and to lead Valoran into a new age of prosperity and peace."
Peace?
Pathetic.
I saw you simply remain still while the cruelty of Nalepsian society was exposed.
No action, just a simple fool struggling to make words in his mouth.
You jumped at the chance when the Blood circuit was described, as it was hard evidence.
If you truly liberated those under a tyrant's hand, then you should have done it long ago before this calamity could ever happen.
But perhaps I am being too harsh.
I know too little of politics to say much on the matter.
Still, this man's pride in his country does piss me off to some extent.
"I thank you, Prince Jarvan. I must prepare for my next appointment for the League introduction match. If you will excuse me."
"Oh yeah, you'll have that one versus that Annie kid. May want to look her up before you meet her, she has always been a terror on the Rift. Don't let her small form fool you, she can be really dangerous." Jarvan told him, emphasizing the last sentence significantly as if to suggest that this 'Annie' was a significant threat to everyone.
"Noted, I will take my leave now. This inquiry has sapped me of my strength."
"It does to most of us, my friend."
As Xerath returned to his dormitory, he was greeted by Azel's warm hug.
Her red eyes indicated that she had been crying. He had an idea of why she had.
His talon-like fingers wrapped themselves around her slowly, careful not to allow his sharp claws to scratch her flesh and clothes like some feral beast.
He slowly tightened his grasp on her, embracing her.
Comforting her.
It was done.
It was all done.
Nrazin could finally rest in peace.
Xerath entered the large arena where the show match was about to begin.
Replicas of ancient structures littered the arena, allowing more mobile champions to circumvent otherwise immovable objects and strike at key points using tactics and positioning to their advantage.
The ground was thick with ash and soot, making it seem as if a wildfire had committed the killing blow to the inhabitants.
Far off, he saw a beaming light come down in a similar fashion to the beam he had been transported here in.
That was most likely Annie.
Distance was about several hundred meters.
Setting up a location to survey this 'Annie' would be priority.
Best to move away from my starting location, lest she get a good idea of where I am.
Moving across the tough terrain was relatively easy, considering how his tethers levitated him a foot above the rubble littered ground.
After several minutes of movement, he scanned for any sign of this 'Annie' child.
Fifty meters.
But that was impo-
No
It could be possible.
I know nothing about her transportation methods.
She could have teleportation for all I know.
Xerath primed himself.
Energy surged inside him, ready to make battle.
Switching to scan the Infrared spectra, he found signs of her behind a thick concrete structure right beside him.
"Tibbers, do you sense that?" A small child-like voice called to something.
Xerath moved away from the structure, hoping to get distance from the fire-mage who had most likely already sniffed out his whereabouts.
Fire mages were notorious for having some of the most devastating spells in the elemental mage category. The ubiquitous fireball was known by most, if not all, of the world even if they had never even come in contact with a mage. They were common compared with the rest of the elemental mages, but this meant that their weaknesses were well known as a result. The rate of their ranged effectiveness dropped massively after thirty meters, often having to rely on massive channeled spells or slow moving projectiles at such range.
He had no such range disadvantage.
He could use this.
"Yeah, I see 'im Tibbers. GO GET HIM!"
The structure collapsed as a monstrous beast barreled through the concrete building.
A child's toy?
No.
The massive stitched bear bellowed forth flame at him, its interior incandescent with the firestorm that brewed inside it. Its wool exterior contained the fire surprisingly well, completely inert and uncaring of what stored within it. The stitching that held the beast together was on the brink of coming undone, yet it showed no sign of doing so. On top of the beast sat a little girl with violet hair, her childish grin almost disgusting as to the devastation she wrought.
But she had no other spells primed.
Was she so confident in her bear that it could defeat entire armies by itself?
Perhaps so.
But her arrogance would be her downfall.
Xerath had been prepared for her entrance.
His wards had managed to stop the burning firewall that emanated from the beast's entrance, allowing him to return with his own fire. A blinding burst of light bathed the beast, turning the air to plasma as the immense electrical current flowed through it. It broke down the monster's control mechanism, turning it into a ragdoll as it fell to the ground. As it fell, its size changed, morphing into a small teddy bear with two buttons for eyes and the stitching returned to a more stable state.
Annie fell hard on the ground, but quickly started to return to a battle stance.
Yet Xerath was faster, firing a magical projectile that enveloped Annie's body like a bundle of chains.
Annie staggered and fell back onto the hard, ash-covered ground, looking up to her aggressor.
"Attempt any hostile action and I will detonate the chains, causing your energies to temporarily siphon off your magic and causing arcane shock."
Annie just stared at Xerath dumbfounded. Those words were way too long for a kid to understand.
"Give me sweeties and I'll suwwender."
Xerath was shocked at this. Was this girl going to exploit her naturally cute form to get what she wanted?
Yeah, she probably would and has probably done so many times already.
"You promise?"
"I would pinkie swear, but I'm kind of tied up right now." Annie said, glancing down at the magical chains as she moved her shoulders around to emphasize her point.
Xerath agreed to her terms. A bit too anti-climactic for his liking, but it did its purpose.
At least he had won his first match and thus was granted the title of a Champion of the League of Legends.
Still anti-climactic though.