Author's Note
So..at first: I wanted to thank every reader, follower, reviewer and so on! You guys motivate me to continue writing! 3
Second: This chapter was rather hard to write...on the one side, I felt pretty bad for Riven on the other side, I really enjoyed writing Diana's and Riven's conversation and actions with each other. But let's go now!
Chapter 6
Road to Revelation
Some days later...
The first step on land felt a bit strange, after the long days out in the sea and the constant movement of the ship as the waves hit it. Riven looked around. She stood on some wooden docks, crates were stacked everywhere and some Ionians and Piltovian sailors carried them on board. They didn't take any notice of Riven, just nodded at her and then going back to work. She was rather happy about it.
Where Piltover was a modern high technology city, this harbor city was the complete opposite of it. All buildings were built in the traditional Ionian style. Most of the buildings were painted red and some had even some symbols written on them in the Ionian writing. Riven couldn't understand the meaning of them, as she never learned the complex characters.
The harbor city here was called 'Narbori', if Riven remembered correctly. This was one of the first positions the Noxian military had attacked and conquered due to its strategic position. There were only two other ports. One in the far north and one on the west side of the island. The rest were harsh cliffs and impassable terrain.
Riven smiled to herself sarcastically. Even after all these years, she still knew some of the positions and strategies Noxus used in the war. She also knew that in the north of Narbori, was the path which led to Coeur Valley and Shon-Xan. During the war it took her company a full week to get there, because of the hard resistance and other conditions like muddy ground and weather. But she knew that with good weather and with a horse, someone could easily reach it within a few hours.
Riven swallowed down her fear once more. She heard from some other passengers that the festival was held in Placidium, the capitol of Ionia and that there were two paths which led to the city. One was through Coeur Valley, the other one was called Xuen Valley. Riven knew that the normal passengers and guests wouldn't pass Coeur Valley. But she knew, she would pass it. She needed to face it again, that's what Karma told her.
Even though she was only here for a few minutes, she felt like boarding the ferry and go back to Piltover wasn't the worst idea. She forced herself to move on, away from the docks. 'Keep moving on...you can't run anymore", Riven thought. She looked around in search for Karma or hopefully Diana, but she didn't expect them to be here as she was earlier than expected.
‟Hey! I guess you're Riven right? The Exile?", a voice suddenly said.
Riven looked at the site from where the voice spoke...and nearly collapsed. The young girl before her wore a more or less reddish-white armor and had long white hair. Some blades floated around her body. Sometimes they whirled around, before stopping again. It was Irelia, the Will of the Blades.
‟Y..yes..", Riven said silently. It felt like her legs couldn't hold her any longer. She knew what happened to Irelia and what theses blades are. Not only floating swords...more like her spirit itself. Riven heard from some soldiers that Irelia nearly died once. She couldn't take it anymore. It felt like her mind was breaking apart.
‟I'm sorry..I'm so sorry..", Riven whispered and fell on the ground, her legs weren't able to hold her anymore. Her head sunk on her chest and tears started to fill her eyes and dropped onto the ground. Irelia was like a trigger. Suddenly Riven realized and remembered every mistake and every sin she committed back then. It wasn't fair. She was blind back then, she believed in orders. 'Why me?", she thought sorrowfully.
Why she believed that this travel would make things easier? Help her to collect herself? She felt all the guilt, the pain at the same time. Like tons of weight were put on her shoulders. ‟'That's my punishment...my punishment for being such an idiot...to look into the eyes of them...look into the eyes of people who lost so much...", she said and started to sob.
Irelia herself looked pretty much surprised. Some other people looked to both of them, but with a gesture Irelia send them away. Riven felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. She tried to get a grip on herself, but it was in vain. Irelia knelt before her, one hand on her shoulder while in the other she held a piece of cloth, which she handed over to Riven, which dried her eyes with it.
‟I never believed a Noxian would feel sorry for someone like us. I didn't believe Karma as she told me about some remorseful ex-soldier. But, well..", Irelia just shook her head, ‟No need to cry like this. Come with me alright? There is someone waiting for you. Will be fine...slowly..no need to hurry." Irelia's voice was surprisingly soft.
Slowly and with the help of Irelia, Riven stood up. She hated it to show such a weakness..but she couldn't help it. She was in the country, which she partly destroyed and in which she killed so many innocent people. It was too much for a human mind to handle. Riven knew, that she was rather close to a mental breakdown.
Irelia helped her to walk to some small building. Riven felt weak. She couldn't remember when she felt like this, but right now her legs wouldn't carry her. 'Come on...get a grip', she thought. but it was meaningless. The sign above the building's entrance suggested it was some kind of inn. Irelia opened the doors and they walked in.
The inn was rather big. Before them was the bar, behind it stood the innkeeper. An older looking man, with friendly brown eyes. He nodded at Irelia and looked at Riven. ‟Oh my...who's this Irelia?", he asked as he saw Riven's tear-stained face.
‟Her name is Riven...bring her some calming tea..she had something like a breakdown", Irelia said and the innkeeper disappeared into the kitchen.
The inn itself was lit by a big fire in the middle of the room and some paper lanterns. The tables were all separated from each other with some thin visual cover, most likely for the privacy of the guests. Riven noticed that there weren't any stools or chairs. Only some big pillows. Mercifully, no other guests were around.
‟Can you stand and walk for yourself now?", Irelia asked with a smile and Riven nodded. Slowly Irelia let go of her. ‟As I told you someone is waiting for you there...I'll wait outside for Karma alright?"
‟Alright", Riven said somehow weakly. Irelia nodded at her and left the inn.
As she was alone, she took several deep breaths to calm down a bit. Not that it really helped her that much. Then she slowly walked on to the corner. As she looked around the visual cover, she almost broke into tears again. Diana sat there on one of the pillows and looked up a cup of tea stood before her on the table.
‟I'm glad to see you", Diana said with her usual calm voice and stood up.
‟Diana...", Riven said plainly. She couldn't hold herself any longer and nearly just jumped at her. She wrapped her arms around the surprised Diana and pressed her head against her chest. She tried to hold back more tears. ‟Diana..", she mumbled again and sobbed silently.
‟Woah..woah..what's that now? Some Noxian greeting I don't know?", Diana said with a chuckle and looked at Riven's completely tear-stained face. ‟My..my...no need to cry because you didn't see me for a few days." She smiled at Riven and hugged her tenderly. ‟What happened to you Riven?"
‟I...as I saw Irelia...everything came back...the sins, the crimes...everything." Riven's voice cracked as she spoke. She knew she had pushed away this feelings for all these years. And now they unleashed all at once and she couldn't do anything against it.
‟Ssshh..it's okay...it's okay", Diana said softly. ‟Just...hold me for a moment..if it helps..", she whispered. Then Diana silenced and just hold on to her.
Riven closed her eyes and just listened to Diana's heartbeat. It was slowly and steadily. She felt how her whole body started to relax and calm down only because Diana hold her. Riven never got comforted like this before. She had never felt so...secure and safe. A faint smile was on her lips, she started to feel better.
The chaos within her head and heart started to slow down a bit. Slowly Riven could think clearer, but she didn't want to let Diana go. Something deep within her, wanted that this moment lasts for an eternity. That this short hug, lasts forever.
‟You feeling better now?", Diana asked after a short time. She smiled at Riven.
‟Yes...better than before. Thank you..", Riven said quietly and loosened the grip around Diana, but more or less unwilling. They both sat down on the pillows, while Diana took some little piece of cloth and softly dried Riven's face with it. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against the hand. Diana didn't say anything, instead she just smiled.
‟It's okay Riven...it's okay. I never thought you would break down like this...if I had known that, I wouldn't ask Karma that favor...", Diana looked away. ‟I'm sorry for this.."
‟No...you don't have to. I have to face my past. Even though it's...that hard. Karma got a point, as she said that I can't run forever", Riven answered. She didn't want that Diana had anything like guilty feelings about this situation.
They heard how someone was coming. The innkeeper stepped in and put a cup of tea on the table.
‟For you miss...hopefully you'll feel better", he said with a warm smile to Riven.
‟Thank you...", she replied. The innkeeper nodded and left them both alone.
‟Huh..is it really worth it? I mean, look at you...you nearly got a mental breakdown...and I don't want that, you collapse before me", Diana said quietly and with a tone of concern in her voice. She took the cup of tea and nipped at it.
‟I have to. But...it would be good..", Riven blushed and looked away, ‟It would be good if you're with me..." She knew it was somehow selfish, but with Diana she had some..anchor to hold on if she ever broke down again. A short moment of silence between the young woman. Then Diana raised her voice again.
‟I wouldn't let you go alone. If you break down again...just hold on to me alright?", Diana said. Her face blushed slightly.
'Could it be? Does she feel..', Riven thought, as she saw Diana's blushed face, but she didn't end the sentence in her head. ‟Thank you...that means a lot for me...", Riven said plainly and grabbed her cup of tea. She nipped at it and again there was somehow an awkward silence between them.
‟Well...", Diana cleared her throat to break the silence, her face back to normal, ‟let's talk about something else alright?"
‟I don't have anything against it...", Riven replied and looked at her. ‟But one question first...why did you ask Karma the favor anyway?"
‟Well..you're not that good to hide feelings behind an emotionless mask, Riven. You looked pretty down, when I told you that I would go to Ionia. So I thought it would be a good idea...you know..I couldn't foresee that you would break down like this", Diana explained, but she didn't look very happy about it.
‟That's..alright. As long as you're with me, I can face my past...", Riven replied. Diana looked away, tried to hide her face before her. ‟I owe you something."
‟I did it for a friend. You owe me nothing..", Diana replied and looked back at her. A smile on her face.
‟If you say so...then just thank you", Riven said with a faint smile on her face. She decided to direct the conversation to something else. ‟So..how is Ionia for you?"
‟It's a pretty but somehow strange country. The people here are different from the ones I usually meet. Most of them are pacifists on a search for enlightenment. But on the other hand, some of them search enlightenment in combat. Huh..but they accept me and my powers. They don't see me as a heretic or something like this", Diana explained, happy about the new direction.
‟Sounds good for you. You won't have any problems here", Riven replied.
‟Not really. It will be easy to...convince the Ionians for the truth", Diana said. ‟One victory over the Solari, I would say. Some day..they will accept me."
‟I still can't believe that they wanted to kill you because of that...Leona seems to be nice though..", Riven replied and for Rivens surprise Diana nodded.
‟I don't think every Solari is like this...but as long as the Elders have full control over them, they will not rise against them or say anything in that matter. Even Leona wouldn't do that. But when all of Valoran know the truth..they can't deny it any longer", Diana said.
‟You're possibly right. Well, something else..do you know when the Lunar Revel is about to begin?", Riven asked and nipped at her tea. It tasted delicious and really helped her to collect herself.
‟Karma told me it will start tomorrow in the evening", Diana answered. ‟The main festival will take place in Placidium..you know the capitol right?" Riven nodded at her.
‟Yeah. It's quite ironic...but I remember most of the places here pretty well", Riven answered.
‟Branded into your head, huh?", Diana said with a smile, ‟Anyway...I was in the capitol before two days...and they already started to build everything up."
‟Huh..seems to be a rather big festival then. I heard some Demacians and Piltovians who were talking about it on the ferry. They wanted to visit it too", Riven replied.
‟They come too? It's getting better and better with every day", Diana said with a smirk. ‟How was your travel then? We expected you for tomorrow you know...but to be honest..it's not that bad that you're already here."
Riven blushed slightly. 'Does she really...for the love of Noxus..put yourself together! Think about that later', she thought and cleared her throat. ‟Well..Caitlyn picked me up. She overheard my conversation with Karma and as she needed to come back to Piltover, she asked me to come with her. Good for me...even though I'll never again set a foot on a zeppelin."
‟Gladly I didn't have to use that kind of thing...for me it was enough to stay in Piltover for a short moment. How can they even live like this?", Diana asked and shook her head.
‟Don't ask me that", Riven answered and looked in the direction of the bar. She heard footsteps and two familiar voices. ‟Guess they're here."
Irelia and Karma came around the corner. ‟I welcome you to Ionia, Riven. And it's good to see you again Diana", Karma said with a short smile.
‟Thank you, Karma", Riven replied and Diana nodded in her direction.
‟I guess we should come straight to the point, shall we?", Irelia asked and Karma nodded.
‟I guess so, Irelia. I'll take her personally to Coeur Valley. You can go back to the preparations for the festival...and lead the guests from the other countries to Placidium", Karma said.
‟If you say so, Enlightened One", Irelia said. ‟I see you both soon." Then she left the inn, her blades hovering around her.
‟Well then...you know what happens next. Right, Riven?", Karma asked her.
‟Yeah...face it again." Riven swallowed down her fear once more. She clenched her fists, to hide that they were shaking. Shortly she looked at Diana. 'Focus', she thought.
‟I come with her. She asked me that favor...if you don't have anything against it", Diana said. Her voice was back into the normal, calm and somehow cold attitude.
Karma looked at them alternately. Riven herself decided to look into her cup of tea, her face blushed slightly. ‟It will be fine. Follow me outside..we will take some horses and ride there. By this we will reach Placidium in the evening."
They both stood up, grabbing their equipment and followed Karma outside. They followed Karma through the rather moderate big city. The people greeted them and Karma with respect, some even bow before her before returning to her work. Even some kids did it. What Riven wondered the most that even someone like her was treated with respect and honor. Even though she wore some parts of her Noxian armor. Yeah, some had a strange look on their faces, but nevertheless...
‟You see Riven? My people can forgive...that's our way to live", Karma explained while she waved at some older looking men who played something like a game.
‟Hey..not that look again, Riven. I told you not to cry anymore!", Diana said with a chuckle.
Riven herself couldn't believe it. Why? Why they treated her like this? She did something horrible and still they bowed before her. She knew this was a gesture of respect in Ionia.
‟I...I need some time", Riven replied.
‟It's fine...there's only one thing I need to show you today. Ah, here we are", Karma said.
They arrived at the stables, were three horses already waited for them. Ready and saddled. The stable master stood beside them. ‟Their ready as you wished, Enlightened One", he said to Karma and bowed.
‟I assume you can ride?", Karma asked both of them.
‟Yeah...I've learned it in the military...", Riven answered.
‟Yeah...I can ride one too", Diana replied.
The three mounted their horses and Karma took the lead out of the city. The city wasn't protected by any walls. Instead the street just ended at some point, where some guards sat around and watched. They greeted Karma and her followers.
The last time Riven was here, she didn't have any time for watching the landscape. The city was surrounded by wide fields. Most of them were flooded with a brown looking water. Riven knew that the most common plant was rice. She saw some people working in the fields. Then she looked in the distant. She saw great mountains, with snow at their highest points. Between the peaks of two mountains she saw something, what looked like a monastery.
As she looked over to Diana, she saw that even though she was here for a short amount of time, she looked around somehow curiously. Diana shortly smiled over to her, before looking back.
‟You rebuild everything did you?", Riven asked and looked forward to Karma as they followed the path, which started to rise and led them deeper into the mainland of Ionia.
‟We did...even better than before, I say. But I must confess..it was rather hard. The winter can be pretty harsh in Ionia...but you know it, Riven..we're some stubborn nation", Karma answered.
The small group ventured deeper and deeper into Ionia. They passed some other small hamlets, some fields and some lush forests. Then they stopped before a small hill. Riven exactly knew where they were. Even though she felt better as they were on the move, now it felt like a rock in her stomach.
‟You know where we are Riven...behind this hill lies Coeur Valley. A few of our oldest writings tells us, that you can hear the voices of the dead in this valley...hundreds of years ago our ancestors burned and honored their dead in this valley...are you ready for this?", Karma asked.
‟No...but I can't run anymore", Riven answered and dismounted. Diana and Karma followed her examples and they left the horses.
‟They will not run away", Karma explained and the three walked up the hill.
As they reached the top of it, they looked around. The valley hasn't changed a bit. Even though it was a bright day, some places were still foggy. Like the fog would refused to disappear. Riven could see some patches of green grass, but even after all these years the valley wasn't fully healed. Riven clearly saw where the melters hit her unit and the Ionians.
Like a flash in her mind, she saw the dead soldiers lying on the ground. She smelled the stench in her nose, the blood and the rotting corpses. She felt the tension in the air.
'Why they don't surrender?' 'Can't tell ya.' 'Any intelligence?' 'Stay sharp.' She heard the voices of her fallen comrades in her head. Tears started to fill her eyes, as she slowly walked down the hill. Diana and Karma followed her silently.
Riven walked on and on. It felt like a dream. She looked around and saw one bomb site where the melters hit her unit. A giant stick of wood was rammed inside the earth. Ionians writings were written all over it. It was decorated with small colorful ribbons. She knew which bomb site this was. It was the one, which killed Ardus. She clearly saw him, lying on the ground. His last words were for her. She fell on her knees.
‟This is the place of a great betrayal...a place of a cruel battle between Noxus and us. Never forget the fallen one. Remember them and hold up their honor. Never forget their deeds and their faces...karuna tashi heisha eleisa ...may their souls find peace." Karma read the words which were written on the wooden stick.
‟You know that?", Riven said with tears in her eyes. ‟The betrayal?"
‟Some of our scouts watched the battle...and reported it back. Even though Noxus was our enemy back then...every dead soldier was treated with respect", Karma said.
‟You..burned them right?", Riven asked quietly.
‟Yes...that's the traditional Ionian way...we cleanse the dead with fire..I'm sorry. I know that Noxus hold up other traditions", Karma said and looked down.
Diana knelt down besides Riven and put an arm around her, as she saw how Riven cried silent tears. Riven closed her eyes, turned around and pressed her head against Diana's shoulder. Diana stroked her gently through the hair. Riven was glad Diana came with her...she couldn't face it alone, that she knew for sure.
‟It's okay Riven...", Diana whispered into her ear. Her voice full of empathy. Diana looked up to Karma, who smiled.
‟But...there's something I want to show you Riven", Karma said.
‟What is it?", Riven asked and looked up.
‟Follow me..", Karma replied and walked on.
Diana helped her to get up on her feet and they followed Karma. They walked up another hill and what she saw now took her breath. A giant field, full of pink flowers. And between them were hundreds, no it had to be over thousands of wooden sticks. Not as big as the other one. No, more like a gravestone. On every single one something was written and every single one was decorated with ribbons or even a small Noxian crest.
‟And from the ashes of the dead, new life shall arise", Karma said and smiled at Riven. ‟You know..it may sound weird, but you Noxians have some strange military traditions...like having your name on the uniform or necklaces with your names. We may have burned them...but no one is forgotten. We buried their ashes and marked their graves...and from the ashes the flowers bloomed."
Riven was speechless and even Diana looked pretty surprised.
‟You..did this all for a former enemy?", Diana asked and Karma nodded.
‟Yes...Ionia is a land of peace and harmony. We will not take revenge as we search for enlightenment and revenge is a dark path to take. We respect, every soldier, every citizen, no matter of their origin", Karma explained.
‟I..." Riven didn't know what to say. For her a normal 'thank you' wouldn't be enough. She was simply speechless. Her eyes wandered around the graves and the flowers.
‟It's alright, Riven", Karma said.
Riven took several deep breaths to calm down. ‟Thank you...I know..that's nothing..but thank you", she said and bowed down before Karma.
‟As I said..it's alright. It's our way of living. But you know...", Karma replied thoughtfully, ‟There is something you can do."
‟What is it?", Riven asked and looked up again.
‟Let's just say...I will ask you a favor. Nothing special and nothing much", Karma answered with a smirk.
‟Huh...I can live with that...as long as it doesn't stand against my honor", Riven replied and Karma nodded.
‟It won't. I have an idea already...well, let's go back to the horses, shall we?", Karma asked. Diana and Riven both agreed and they left the memorial.
At the top of the hill Riven looked back. Diana stood beside her, waiting for her. Suddenly she felt a gust of wind and a distant voice said something: ‟Don't forget us P.C. Don't blame yourself...nobody of us blame or hate you. No! We all count on you! Show the world a true Noxian! Rebuild Noxus! Don't disappoint us alright? Oh, and Diana..watch out for her okay? We'll await you both..hopefully not too soon! See you in the afterlife!"
Riven got goosebumps everywhere. What the hell was that? Ghosts? Nevertheless the voice...it sounded like..."Ardus?", she asked and looked around, but as soon as the voice had spoken it vanished. Riven looked over to Diana, which looked as shocked as herself.
‟I heard it too...was that one of your comrades?", Diana asked and Riven slowly nodded.
‟I believe it sounded like Ardus...", Riven replied. Both of them looked back to the memorial. But they couldn't hear any other whispers, nor did they feel any wind. It just vanished again.
‟So..I believe the Ionian legend about the ghosts..is true, then?", Diana said slowly.
‟Well..it's hard to believe that both of us had the same imagination...so yes...it's true", Riven replied and stood there for a moment, the words still in her head. 'Rebuild Noxus...ts..that's not an easy task. To be exact it's nearly impossible', Riven thought. 'But he told me not to disappoint them...so I need to try.'
‟How do you feel Riven after all these..events", Diana asked her.
‟I can't really tell you...I will need some time to get my head clear about everything", Riven replied.
‟Well..whatever you're going to do now...your fellow soldier told me to watch out for you. So don't do anything dangerous..otherwise it will be hard for me to explain", Diana said with a smirk.
‟You're in the right spot to say something like this, Diana!", Riven exclaimed with a slight chuckle. Riven felt like the tons of weight on her were lifted. She knew: Her new task was more likely far bigger than any other in her entire life...but at least she had a purpose now.
They walked down the hill, were Karma was already waiting for them. ‟There you are", she said.
‟Well...something held us up", Riven explained and mounted up.
‟Someone would say it like this", Diana added with a smirk and mounted her horse too.
‟Huh..", Karma said and frowned. Then she shrugged. ‟Don't matter. Follow me!" She clapped spurs to her horse and both of them followed her through the valley.
As they reached the end of it, Riven looked back for the last time. Near the great wooden stick, she thought to see some ghostly figures who saluted her and then disappeared. She saluted back. 'I will never forget any of you. I will not disappoint you. Farewell...Fury Company", she thought and then followed Diana and Karma on their way to Placidium.