*Cawww Caaww Caaawwww*
The ominous silence that permeates the small settlement is the first thing that the hooded figure notices as it nears the village. The tell-tale clanging of the blacksmith's hammer in the forge is absent that misty morning. The carefree giggling of running children playing in the streets has already become a thing of the past. Dusty windows stare back at the unwelcome visitor of the rural village as the hooded girl walks along the central dirt road. Broken doorways sneering at her quietly from both sides of the deserted street, the houses' open maws gaping, seemingly ready to devour her. Their lipless mouths filled with splintered boards instead of actual teeth.
Cold as it is, with autumn giving its place to winter soon, the chimneys glare at the grey rainclouds above with empty gazes. Powerless through their lack of heat and smoky tears to shed for the woes of man, the square eyes let the moisture gather in their dry eye sockets.
As the cloaked figure walks forward with their head hanging low, taking in the signs of abandonment and ruin that keep appearing, the young woman comes across the first human body. Splayed motionlessly in the middle of the road, the rotting remains of a dead soldier draw the attention of the wary stranger. The man's curled protectively around a much smaller bundle of bloodied fresh, a discarded weapon lying uselessly by his side. The young woman's lips crease in displeasure under the shade of her weathered hood, her gloved fists tightening.
With tentative and slow footsteps born of the stranger's deep respect for the deceased duo's fate, the hooded woman kneels beside the fallen villagers and offers a short prayer for their safe passing in the next life. A few blonde tresses of pale blonde spilling out of the figure's black hood when Lux locks eyes with the unseeing gaze of the murdered soldier.
A heartbeat passes in silence. Lux finishes her prayer with a sad frown. The mage's gentle words fade in the freezing morning air. The sad maiden's foggy breath dissipating from the world like the fleeting ghost of a better future.
A mournful caw rings in the distance. Everything in the eerie settlement, save for the cloaked girl seems dead and unmoving.
The exiled spell caster sighs as she stands up, intent on continuing her long journey to the Ionian capital. The Noxian invaders could return at any moment to search for survivors, and Lux was wasting precious daylight. That simply won't do.
Abruptly, there is a strange new sound in the air. Sickly green light, so mesmerizing yet clearly impure is caressing the young woman's gloved fingertips. The corpse of the Ionian soldier stirs about on the ground before suddenly standing up. Numb and utterly pulseless fingers shift as they grip the broken shaft of a spear.
*Cawww Caaww Caaawwww*
The mangled raven from before screeches loudly once more above the Demacian mage. Mere seconds later, the undead creature lands of the shoulder of the exiled Crownguard, its sole milky eye seeking the aquamarine orbs of its solemn master.
"Scout the perimeter of the village for Noxians and bandits." The fair maiden commands the hideous bird. Lux's eyebrows furrowing momentary, hope fighting with rationality inside her ribcage. "… and find out if there is anyone here that can still be saved." Murmurs the blonde mage in a much softer and more vulnerable whisper. Underneath her black glove, the scorched mark that brands the exiled noblewoman as a heretic sends Luxana a sharp jolt of pain.
The undead raven tilts its head. It blinks twice and then flies away with a mournful screech.
Lux takes a last glance at the nightmarish creature before resuming her solitary walk. As if being controlled by some mysterious force the bloodied corpse of the Ionian soldier shuffles its feet clumsily. The undead Ionian twitches unnaturally while following the beckoning of the youthful necromancer potent magic.
Notes: So I have been wondering what would happen if Lux's magical talents manifested as something more dubious than harmless lightshows. Something that the Demacian council would instantly condemn instead of hypocritically trying to weaponize. So we got this snippet of exiled necromancer Lux wandering Ionia during the invasion, resurrecting fallen soldiers while traveling to ally herself with the defenders, and ultimately find her place in the world. Something, something, make her resurrect Irelia or Riven.