"Come on Damian, stop dragging your feet boy! This is supposed to be your first official assignment!"

The young Summoner just shrugged in response, eyes cast down as he proceeded cautiously, taking small careful steps behind his teacher, his mind still occupied with grim thoughts concerning his new duties. Samuel sighed, he stopped pacing and turned around to face his young apprentice, the old man's features softened when he spotted the crestfallen expression on the youngster's face.

"You don't have to spend too much time with the imprisoned champions, you are just supposed to meet them and witness the burden we Summoners carry. A glimpse in the terrors residing in this world we are living if you may."

Damian nodded and the old Summoner smiled softly, he turned around and motioned towards the ancient staircase leading down under the Institute's bowels, a few torches suddenly burst into life lit by a wordless incantation spilling their scarce light across the carved walls. The young man gasped in awe, his wide eyes wandering between the ancient runes and inscriptions occupying every inch of the age-old chamber.

"What exactly is all this? I can recognize some Ionian and a few Noxian runes of power and… Is that the writing of the Shuriman priests?"

The Senior Summoner nodded silently, his own gaze traveling between the symbols glittering under the torchlight as if trying to decipher the arcane mysteries residing within these very walls.

"Summoning spells, incantations, warnings to the intruders, stories of an era long gone and ancient civilizations we haven't even heard about. Most of those inscriptions were here long before the Institute was even established."

Damian blinked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he took the first tentative step towards the spiraling staircase lying in front of him, the floor pulsed under his feet as if reacting to his presence.

"Summoning spells? Wait, I thought that the founders of the Institute were the first mages that ever managed to summon entities from another plane of existence."

Samuel laughed mirthlessly, he turned his head in order to send his young apprentice a sad smile and Damian stiffened almost recoiling when he saw the bitterness hidden inside the old Summoner's gaze.

"Oh no, we weren't the first ones, far from it. There once existed another peacekeeping organization like the Institute, a beacon of hope for all of humanity shinning brightly like the jewel on a king's crown."

Damian's frown deepened, he was pretty sure that he had never heard of anyone mentioning the existence of a second Institute and even more so of an ancient order of Summoners blessed with such fortitude and that was truly peculiar. The apprentice would expect the Institute to set those great men and women as exemplars for young Summoners in training and instill their virtues to their young moldable minds, but the tale of the Progenitors was forgotten instead, kept out of sight, locked inside moldy tomes and dirty inscriptions hidden away from curious eyes. Why?

Samuel sighed easily following his student's trail of though, he continued his silent descending towards the holding cells and Damian followed him without a sound, the silence was unnerving to say the least.

"There is a reason why this knowledge was hidden from the general public and even young Summoners like yourself, Damian. How would you feel if you learned that men hundreds, no thousands times more powerful and wiser than you and I were wiped out in a single night, erased by just a handful of individuals?"

The young apprentice didn't even have to think about it.

"Small, insufficient, powerless, incapable of fulfilling my duty and protect Valoran."

Samuel nodded.

"Imagine the chaos that would ensue if civilians learned that the Summoners that are supposed to keep this world in check have already failed them once and destroyed a whole continent with their magic. We aren't trying to conceal our mistakes child, we are merely trying to preserve the people's hope before it gets snuffed out by the whispers of history."

Damian nodded mutely contemplating his old teacher's words. Yes that actually made sense, no one would trust the Institute with playing peacekeeper if rumors about the Progenitor's downfall reached the public's ears, and the new Summoners would certainly lose heart upon hearing of their ancestor's fate, especially if the Progenitors managed to level a whole continent. Wait, a continent?"

"Teacher… Where was the first Institute located?"

Samuel didn't halt this time, he kept marching forward, empty gaze still lingering on the symbols carved on the walls even if his mind wandered elsewhere, his thoughts preoccupied by vengeful spirits and undead abominations.

"Have you ever heard of a place called the Blessed Isles?"

The young man shook his head before realizing that his teacher wouldn't be able to see the gesture since he was currently walking in front of him.

"No."

The Summoner sighed in response.

"Of course not, the name of the continent changed after the incident when most of the land sank under the sea, only a few islands remain nowadays. People now call them… Shadow Isles."

Xxxxxx

Vayne smiled content in just laying next to the slumbering scout and breathing her desired-mate's scent, her eyes glued on her mistress innocent face. Quinn had made it clear that she was to sleep on the couch when she had agreed to live with her and Vayne would have definitely honored their agreement if it wasn't for the scout's death grip on her current attire.

Shauna had just tacked the ranger in bed, she had removed her boots and some of Qinn's clothes and she was about to crash on the couch when the scout had practically lunged at her trapping her underneath her. Shauna was confused at first, she spared a glance at her lovely captor only to realize that, no, Quinn hadn't just woken up and decided to attack her, but she was just having a nightmare instead and reached out for her big bloodsucking teddy bear.

Shauna had blushed and tried to gently push her away at first but she had instantly stopped strangling when she heard the scout calling her name, the desperation in the ranger's voice catching her off guard. Shauna had then attempted to wake up the sleeping beauty, but Quinn must have been quite exhausted because she didn't open her eyes or even stirred no matter how much Vayne shook her or whispered her name, so Shauna decided to just let her sleep and worry about the consequence later.

The vampire had wrapped her arms and placed a chaste kiss on her marked-mate's forehead before also succumbing to sleep. And somewhere under the Institute a panicked old man raced for the High Summoner's office.

There we go, that's what I like, tiny, confusing chapters.