Chapter 1

An explosion destroyed the turret behind which Lux was hiding. The whole enemy team was gathered in front of her, leaving her no other choice but run if she wanted to stay alive. By her side, Leona was limping as she tried to move away, under the next turret. Graves' bullets had managed to find their way into her leg. Lux decided to stay by her side, in order to make sure she could go back to the base. She heard another explosion, and felt -more than she saw- bullets flying towards Leona. Lux threw her staff towards the Solari just on time to see the shells ricochet against her magical shield before blowing up. She dashed at Leona's side and helped her move faster to the base. The Solari gave her a grateful gaze, and Lux smiled.

"What are you doing?" Jax growled, shoving the mage as he ran past her. "We have to defend the last turret, or they will destroy our inhibitor. Come with me, I have a plan". Leona had already recovered from her injuries and was following Jax. Lux decided to tag along, bewildered about his plan. Lucian and Poppy were still waiting to be allowed back on the rift. The enemy team was gathered in front of the turret, probably discussing their strategy. Lux glimpsed Graves and Malphite in the front lines. Kindred and Trundle were there as well. No sign of Diana, however. Lux told Jax to be careful about it. "Who cares about her?" he shouted, "Graves is the one we should worry about and we must take him out first." Leona nodded to show she understood what she had to do. The three were on the other side of the turret, and Lux's heart missed a beat when she heard Jax say "Now, go!"

"Jax," she yelled, "we are not ready, we have to wait for Lucian and Poppy". Jax and Leona were already headed towards the enemies. "JAX, STOP!" Lux screamed. Against her will, she followed them, as she could not allow them to be slayed. Leona dashed on Graves, stunning him with a strong hit while Jax hit his head with his weapon. Lux heard a disgusting crack, and Graves fell on the ground, a puddle of blood forming around his head. Malphite charged and brutally pushed Leona who fell on her back. Lux didn't think twice: she moved her staff around and cast a spell which stunned the rocky monster. Jax jumped on Kindred who dodged by leaping aside before shooting three arrows at once. Lux threw her staff again, protecting Jax from the attack. "Jax we have to fall back!" she yelled once again. Utterly enraged, he shut her out, and swung his weapon into Lamb's back, breaking her spine on the spot. Leona had recovered from the shock, and Malphite was running away because of the laser shot by the turret. Jax flashed towards Trundle and managed to strike his leg, giving Leona enough time to catch up. Lux couldn't believe that Jax's plan was actually working. Lux was running behind her two teammates who were desperately trying to catch up to Malphite and Trundle.

Something was off, but she couldn't pinpoint it. Further ahead, Lux saw that the Solari was about to dash to Trundle when a move in the shades on the right caught her attention. It suddenly dawned on her: Diana had been away the whole time, lurking around. The Lunari darted on Leona, stabbing her flank with her Moonsilver Blade. Jax didn't wait to attack Diana. She blocked every of his hits. Lux arrived right behind him, protecting the Grandmaster with her magical shield. Trundle and Malphite were already hitting on Leona who had fallen onto the ground. Diana swung her weapon and a large cut appeared on Jax's stomach. "Do something!" he roared at Lux. The latter could see that there was no way of saving them. Not this time. Poppy was probably running towards the battle, but she wouldn't make it on time. Lux swore, and ran back to the nexus. By the corner of her eye, she saw Jax attempting a last hit. He struck Diana's head. They were all perfectly aligned. Lux gather all of her power and let it flow through her staff, creating a deadly laser. It hit the champions before her, slaying both enemies and allies. "Good job," the voice of her Summoner said "let's push".

The match ended with a victory for Lux's team. All the champions, some of whom such as Jax and Diana were covered in blood, got out of the rift. As soon as they were teleported outside the Fields, Jax rushed towards Lux, and his attitude was clearly threatening. "What the fuck was that?" he shouted as he got closer.

"There was no way to save you nor Leona," Lux calmly shrugged "so I decided to end it quick."

"By killing us all?"

"Will you calm down?" the blonde felt her anger skyrocket. "We won. Get over what happened."

"Get over it?" Jax yelled even louder "Thrice you ran away, leaving you allies to die. Take Poppy: she was alone, facing the whole enemy team while you were running away, not even trying to help." Jax turned around before she could say anything. "You disgust me." he spat.

Lux remained there, shaking because of anger and frustration. What could've she done? She tried her best to protect her allies, and they all rushed forwards without thinking. Leona and Lucian walked past her, and the Solari winked at her. They obviously hadn't heard her conversation with the Grandmaster. She turned around to see Poppy dragging her huge hammer, which was producing a painful squeaking sound on the paved ground. She seemed exhausted, and her hair was plastered on her head because of sweat. "You okay?" she asked Lux.

"I guess so. Look I'm sorry if I let you down earlier in the match."

"Nah, it's nothing," the Yordle smiled, displaying her pointy teeth "Jax is the only one who got pissed about it."

"Thanks. Do you need a hand to get your hammer back to your room?"

Poppy stared at Lux, as if to judge if she were strong enough to lift it. "Sure. This thing is heavier than it looks."

Together, they carried the weapon to the Yordle's room. Poppy thanked Lux, and advised her once again not to pay attention to Jax.

Lux went back to her own room and collapsed on her bed. Her legs felt weak, and she was too tired to shower. She fell into a deep sleep. She spent the next days relaxing and hanging out with her friends Jana and Ahri. One night, she heard a knock on the door of her room. She opened it, but there was nobody to be seen. On the floor, there was a letter. She read the rough handwriting on the paper.

Dear Luxanna,

I have heard of all your prowess, and I deeply admire your devotion to Demacia. I have written to your brother, imploring him to listen to my request, but he refused. I need the help of someone trustworthy in order to retrieve something dear which has been stolen from me. I therefore turn to you, hoping that you will grant my wish.

If you agree, meet me in the gardens outside the Institute, by the pound, in two days, at dusk.

Best regards

Loran

Lux looked up from the letter, suspicious. That Garen had refused to help a citizen did not surprise her, as he was away, busy because of a diplomatic mission involving some alliance between Demacia and the people of the islands in the West. She decided she could at least meet Loran, and hear his request.

The next day, Lux was called to the Rift. She was teaming with the same champions as before, and she tried her best to avoid Jax who kept yelling at everybody.

"He's so annoying", Poppy said later, as she, Lucian and Lux were in a tavern. "I swear, he's gonna end up with my shield in the face, and all his teeth on the ground."

"He's indeed a bit hot-tempered," Lucian replied "but I don't think he is such a bad guy. He's under a lot of pressure when called to the Rift."

"That's no reason to bark at his teammates. Besides, I've never seen him outside the Fields, as if he had no life when he's not fighting."

Lux was barely paying attention to their conversation, he mind focused as the day after approached. She was curious about the man she was to meet. Why asking her help in particular? They left the tavern late at night, and Lux crawled back to her room.

The next day, she waited until sunset before making her way towards the gardens. They were a bit far from the Institute, but she enjoyed this peaceful walk under the dying sunlight. She got to the fountain as the last rays disappeared, and observed the marble statue of the fountain: a strong man trying to tame a furious horse. Lux looked around, hoping to see the mysterious man. A crow landed on the horse's head and loudly screamed. Lux shivered as the night turned colder. Suddenly, in the deep silence, she heard footsteps. Finally, she thought. She turned her gaze towards the origin of the sound, and her heart leaped in her chest as she saw the gait of the infamous Harbinger of Doom. She stepped back, carefully gazing at him. She had not brought her staff, as she had though it would have been useless. She now regretted it. Nothing good ever happened when Fiddlesticks was around. "What are you doing here," she asked.

"Have you forgotten your manners?" the scarecrow smirked. "I need your help, Luxanna, and all you have to do is give me a bit of your power."

Lux stared at him, ready to run away. "What? Why?"

"I have my reasons," Fiddlesticks coldly replied. "What do you say? Do you agree?"

Lux cracked up before snapping "If you think I'm going to do anything that involves you, you are mistaken. You sent me that letter only to lead me here, expecting something crazy from me without any explaination. Actually, you know what? I don't even want to hear more about this. My answer is 'no'". Now, beat it, Fiddle." As she turned around to leave, she heard the scarecrow snarl loudly. "Then you won't hear about the 'I don't care about your opinion' part." He dashed towards her, and Lux rushed outside the gardens, pretty sure she could easily outrun this cripple monster. All of a sudden, she felt it: a deep and indescribable fear within her heart, paralyzing all her muscles. Her blood turned into ice as she heard Fiddlesticks laugh behind her back. She was unarmed and could no more move. Her enemy was now standing in front of her. "You shine in the light, but I rejoice in darkness. No light will come to you tonight, Lady of Luminosity." Lux could feel her fear vanish slowly. When she was finally able to move, she jumped on the scarecrow, tackling him on the ground. She rose up and dashed away. She didn't see the scythe flying behind her. The sharp blade cut deep in the skin of her back, and she fell on the ground, wincing in pain. Fiddlestick appeared in her field of vision, gripping her hair, and forcing her to stand up. "I have wasted enough time with you" he said. He put the tip of his weapon on Lux's heart, and she felt like her energy was sucked out of her body. She collapsed, completely exhausted.

"You see? It was not hard" Fiddlesticks sarcastically said. Before leaving, he kicked Lux in the stomach and the face, and everything went black around her.