League lore is so confusing. Apparently we have no actual dates beyond the Vastayashai'rei standing up against the titans 10,000 years ago. Before then, the following has happened:
The void never existed, Soraka comes to Runeterra, Bard invents himself, Kindred births themself, Ornn and Volibear made the world, Fiddlesticks is summoned by a mage (who we have ZERO info on WHATSOEVER), and Evelynn is created out of space jizz (literally described as mystical, formless essence (supposedly from cosmic matter left by the Aspects flexing their powers)).
Don't even get me started on the fact that Yasuo and Yone's birthdays aren't even known. Gotta work within a 3-4 year period where they could have been born in. AND AND AND Irelia's lore is surprisingly the only lore that is well-developed, BUT BUT BUT, we have no official dates past 996.
ALSO ALSO, the past 4 years of league content (content from Warriors and onwards) have all happened in one year apparently. No wonder Ryze is so pissed at the world lol.
Anyways rant over, check out my Patr eon at Jay9x (and on my profile) and I hope you enjoy as we begin the next mini arc of the Ionian section. Prepare yourself, lots of twists coming up!
As Akali stared at the man's burned visage from across the table, she couldn't help but wonder if Shen was right about him. He was dangerous— and she had definitely underestimated the man. She must have been too distracted by Kayn to have noticed the last time she saw him. And too distracted by Yasuo and Ahri afterwards.
The man that stood before her had a presence to him. It screamed a nonchalant confidence that she couldn't sense when trailing them from afar. It spoke of the dozens of ways he could kill her in a scant second, and it shook her to her core. This wasn't a human. This was a Godborn.
They hadn't roamed Runeterra in centuries. The closest they've had were the Aspects of Targon—but even they weren't true gods. From what she understood, which was very little, they were possessed by the spirits of the Gods. Not gods themselves.
"So you've been following us, huh?" He said, his lips drawn into a smirk.
She shook herself from her thoughts, that old defiance coming back to her, "What's it to ya?"
He raised an eyebrow, and pulled a pen out of his sleeves, "Just wondering if imma have to fight you, too." The pen twirled between his fingers as he stared at her. She stiffened at his piercing gaze.
"We have no issues. I'm protecting my home the way I know how to. It's nothing personal."
A few seconds passed before he finally exhaled and his pen disappeared into his sleeves. He smiled at her, clamping a hand on her shoulder. Tight. It felt like he was trying to trap her in the room, and she was right in her guess.
"I understand the feeling, Akali. Care for a drink?" He gestured to the bar where Ahri was staring at them from. She swallowed down her drink and gestured for them to come sit.
"I could go for one." She mumbled, rubbing her forehead to stop the mounting headache. As they sat down, Ahri's eyes never left her.
"So you are the little pet that's been following us lately. Percy, you never told me that they were so young. And female." Ahri stated, turning her eyes to Percy. He busied himself with sipping his drink, unwilling to answer.
"You knew I was following you?" Akali asked, blinking owlishly as she turned back towards Percy. He shrugged.
"I could sense your blood."
"What?"
"Your blood is water, mainly. Water, sugar, and some other chemicals, but mainly water. I can sense water. It's a godborn thing." He elaborated, rolling his eyes at the term Shen had called him. "I prefer the term Demi-god, by the way."
"I saw what Jhin did to you. I saw that bullet enter your chest. How are you not dead?" Akali asked, eyes roving from his face to the slight gap in his robes. She saw part of a large scar. A blade had done it. Not the bullet, then.
"Bullets do not harm me anymore." He said as if he had just told her the sky was blue. Akali's brow twitched.
"Let me guess, another godborn thing?"
Percy chuckled, "Oh most certainly not. This is just a me thing." He tilted his eyes towards her from his seat, "I'm special."
She was going to hit him eventually. Ahri's laughter wiggled its way through her ears and she decided she would hit her too. These two were made for each other. Bunch of meddlesome, annoying, old geezers.
"Would you tell me of what happened, Akali?" Ahri asked her kindly, "This old man wouldn't tell me anything."
Akali looked between the two, before turning her attention to Ahri. She shrugged, "I've never seen Jhin before, but I've heard stories from Shen. When he shot Percy, and he just shrugged it off…I've never heard such heartbreak. Jhin was raving like a madman, talking about how his performance was ruined and that Percy was an 'affront to all art, everywhere.' It was almost depressing to see."
"I was supposed to be his finale, apparently." Percy grumbled, downing his drink. "The audacity to confine me to such a restriction. I'm the entire show, or nothing." The bartender refilled the cup, a reproachful look in their eyes.
Ahri scoffed, "You're the opening act and nothing more."
"I'll have you know my talent extends far further than a mere opening act, Foxy."
"Foxy?" Ahri's nose scrunched. Her lips pursed as she stared at him.
"Work in progress…" He muttered, a blush dusting his cheeks. He'd never been good at giving nicknames. That was Thalia's job. He tried to ignore the way his heart twisted at the thought. He took a smaller sip this time, nodding to the bartender.
"Pet names? Are you two, like, courting?" Akali scrunched her nose. She hadn't expected to be in between this much tension—she hated this type of tension. It was bad enough with Kayn and her, but to be between two other people? There's a reason she was an assassin.
Ahri nearly choked on her drink, mid sip as she was, and promptly fanned her face, "Heavens no." Percy ignored the way her response played with his heart, before also shaking his head.
"Me? With this old hag? Never." He joked, rolling his eyes at Ahri's slap to his shoulder.
Akali stared at the two, taking in the slightly flushed cheeks and roving eyes. "Right…." She drawled out, deadpanning at the way their eyes focused on her in their attempts at innocence. "What did Shen want with you?"
"Ah.." Percy rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable, "he merely wanted to make sure I was okay after the incident."
Akali raised an eyebrow, "Yeah that definitely sounds like Shen…" she rolled her eyes, "Now really, what did he say?"
"Don't push, Akali…" Percy warned, his eyes flashing. She grunted in disappointment, before finally excusing herself from the bar.
"Just one more thing, ninja." Percy called out. She turned back to him, "Be careful out there. Apparently the spirits are being disrupted. Shen said so."
Akali's eyes narrowed and she gave him a curt nod, before disappearing into the crowd. Percy followed her with his eyes as she ducked out the side of the bar—passing a coin to a guy in the corner. He noted the man's face before turning back to Ahri.
"She's fun." He sighed.
"Shut it, Ahri."
–
Despite sitting in her own filth–stewing in boredom, discomfort, and overall grime–and being subjected to endless chats with Irelia, Riven had to admit to herself. This was much better than Noxian justice. If she had been imprisoned in Noxus, she'd have been thrown in the Pit the next morning. Or executed. A puppet to entertain the masses, or a puppet hanging from a rope. There was no other way; that was the Noxus way.
The cell was nice, at least. It was much cozier than those she saw in Noxian war camps. It had a loft, clean walls (at least by prison standards), and it felt oddly warm. Like the warmth you'd feel around a campfire with friends. It had a homely feel to it, as odd as that sounded.
"So, the Tyrant isn't aware that the Black Rose is making moves?" Riven looked up from her staring contest with the table, meeting Irelia's piercing gaze. She sighed. This was the fifth time she'd asked her.
"Like I said, I'm not sure. I would assume he does, knowing him, but it seemed that he was unaware of her recent movements." She replied as truthfully as possible, hoping to get back to her actual cell that had an actual loft. Her back was sore and her hands were beginning to chaff from the handcuffs. She had been here for who knows how long–and in this room for what felt like twice that.
"Say he turns on the Black Rose, how would he do it?" Irelia asked suddenly, changing the normal path of the conversation that she had been repeating for the past—well ever since she's been here. She had lost track after the thirty second hour in her cell. It has probably been at least a month since she's been here.
"What?"
"Say the Tyrant does not like how her plans begin to interfere with his—how would he do it?"
Riven blinked as she stared blankly at Irelia's countenance. Surely, Irelia wasn't implying…no. She wouldn't. Irelia hated Noxus with more passion than any Ionian she had ever met. Riven shook her head. She was going crazy in here.
"I'm not a general, much less a politician…"
"Humor me, try your best."
Riven frowned, her thoughts trying to catch up as she recalled all she knew about Swain. "He'd start with the Noble Houses. They would be the first to revolt if he tried to oppose the Black Rose."
"Why the noble houses? Surely not all of them have a hand in the Black Rose?" Riven scoffed. If only it was that simple.
"Today, it's the Black Rose—tomorrow they can't rob the neighboring villages without prostrating before Swain. That's their thoughts, probably. Most of the nobles are vindictive, greedy assholes who hold no love for each other. They work together strictly because it's in their best interest."
Irelia hummed to herself, writing a few thoughts down into the little gray book she had brought with her. Her chin tipped up as she pondered on the information.
"And the houses? Which would he approach first? Or would he plan their removal, instead?"
Riven hesitated, and the pause was enough for Irelia to glare at her. "Listen, Riven," Her name fell from Irelia's lips as if it were weeks old goat milk, left in the sun to rot. "If you want to make it to see the new year from somewhere other than the end of a rope, you're going to need to cooperate. The elders are not pleased with you, as it is."
Riven swallowed, her last meal threatening to resurface from her stomach. A small biscuit with some type of meat and vegetables. She nodded slowly.
"The…the Du Couteaus would probably be first. Failed mission would probably be the method. They are the strongest and most versatile house in Noxus. Rogues, assassins, and thieves from what I've heard. Even Darius has done work with them when the opportunity arises."
"Interesting…" Irelia murmured, flipping back a few pages in her book. "You say it would be a failed mission, hm?"
"I mean. I'm not positive, but it makes the most sense to me." Riven felt a trickle of sweat roll down the back of her neck. The room began to close in on her as Irelia kept staring at her.
"It seems that you aren't far from the truth of the matter." Irelia responded, snapping her book shut suddenly and standing up. She walked around the far end of the table, dragging her hand across the top of it as she came to a stop in front of Riven. "It seems that your sorceress has mettled a bit too much for his liking."
Riven didn't respond, her thoughts jumbled as she realized what was happening back in her home country. Was this how Noxus fell? At the feet of their own hubris? Their own people turning against each other, until nothing but ash and rubble was left behind? She was going crazy here. It had felt like weeks since she had seen anything beyond the candles that lit up the windowless corridors, the grime that covered her cell walls, and the stern face of Irelia Xan. She was hoping to hold out for a little bit longer than this—.
"You've been here for three days and you already seem at your wits end," Riven's eyes widened, meeting the cruel and narrowed ones of her captor, "If you don't cooperate soon, you will lose your mind to the magic of the cell. I would think really carefully about your next course of action, as it might be your last sane one."
Irelia undid the handcuffs that were keeping her bolted to the table, and called the guards back into the room. As she was taken away–for what could probably be the last time–the sobbing that she had been valiantly holding back for so long began to rip from her lungs. Irelia stared at her, and waved a hand at the guards. They dragged her across the wooden floors, the swirls in the wood crafted by woodweavers–she had learned that from Shava. Asa had then told her it was to ward off evil spirits, right before getting slugged in the head by his wife. Don't listen to him, they are merely to promote peace and harmony.
The last thing she saw as the cell doors closed, was the glowing eyes of the First Land's finest bladedancer. She wished now that she only had to deal with Yasuo's annoyance or the bickering of the elder couple that took her in a few months ago.
–
A few days had passed since Irelia had thrown Riven in the cell for the last time. Despite what she thought of the girl's origins, she couldn't help but see a little bit of herself in her. Born in a small farming village in Noxus, conscripted into the military, no family alive anymore—it read like Irelia's life.
Hopefully, Riven would continue to be cooperative. Maybe she'd be pardoned of her crimes—whatever those may turn out to be—and would stay in Ionia. Much like Percy, she too was dying for a good fight to get her blood pumping.
A knock at the door broke her from her thoughts. "Enter," she called out and a Kinkou initiate entered the room. They had come a few weeks ago after the escape of Khada Jhin—at the behest of the Enlightened One. Precautions, she had told her.
"You have visitors, Lady Xan." He hesitated for a second, "One is an outsider."
Irelia raised an eyebrow, "And?"
The initiate stared at her through the top of his cowl in silence. That was the end of the matter, apparently. She really did not want these boring lugs to be around here much longer. "Fine. Let them in. I shall see them in the gardens."
The masked man nodded and ducked out of the room. Irelia tossed down her gray notebook and leaned back in her chair, rubbing at her forehead. So much to do and so little time.
A commotion was heard outside her door, screaming and shoving amongst other sounds, and she shot to her feet when the door slammed open and the initiate flew backwards into the room. A voice called out from around the corner of the door.
"Now, Now little ninjas, let's play nice, okay? I've already met the scariest of you, and they weren't able to leave a mark." Irelia sighed, before approaching the door—her blades falling back to attention behind her.
"Perseus, could you please not antagonize the Kinkou?" Irelia asked as she turned the corner, only to inhale briefly at the sight of his unmasked face. Her breath left in a whispered grace to the gods. "By the heavenly dragon…"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Percy responded, "but I appreciate the prayer. They'd never respond to me, after all." The last part had been muttered, but in the silence of the wooden hallway he might as well have screamed it. She swallowed whatever words she was going to say and simply gestured to the door. She watched as the ninja who had been thrown through the door came out with his kunai at the ready.
"Stand down, initiate." She bit out, though by the look in the man's eyes, she knew it was for naught.
She had heard the tales of Percy's fight with Zed and the Order of Shadows at the base of the Shojin Monastery from Master Lee Sin—why the order was there was conveniently left unanswered. But to see how swift he was in person? That was an entirely different matter.
She hadn't expected him to move so fluidly. He wasn't built for speed, in her eyes, but he moved faster than she had ever seen a warrior do before. One second, the initiate was stabbing towards his chest, the next he found a fist leveled into his kidney. Spit flew from the initiate's mouth but he quickly recovered. Bouncing away from Percy, he collected himself. Percy shook his head, a chuckle leaving his lips.
"My kind invented wrestling millenia ago, young one. And I have spent centuries dedicating myself to the art. If you continue with this infantile prattle, I am worried I will not be able to hold back enough." He cracked his neck, and shifted into a low stance, arms out at the side as if he was about to grab the air. The ground trembled.
"But if you must reclaim your dignity, I'll try to take it easier on you. Think of it as a gift."
Irelia withheld a groan, wanting nothing more than to retire to her room instead of watching these two men stroke their ego. Well one of them was, one was just a bloodlusting lout who really needed to find a hobby. So uncivilized.
"Fishface, please don't go breaking the lovely ninjas of this place. Shen would hate that." A melodic voice sounded from down the hallway. Irelia shuddered, feeling the magic ladened voice wash over her body. She felt icky and used, inching away from the direction the voice had come from. Percy turned from the initiate towards the voice. The initiate blinked a few times before walking away from the area.
"Foxy was better than that, I'd say."
"Hmmm. But I'm better than you, so I'd say I win out."
Percy smirked as the voice finally rounded the corner and Irelia came face to face with the last of the Kitsune.
"Of course you'd come across a previously thought extinct species, Percy." Irelia muttered, her eyes glancing between the two. She sensed what was happening between them and huffed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Xan. Yasuo has told me much about you." Ahri greeted her with a curtsy, her robes billowing out along the floor.
Irelia paid her little mind, more focused on the belligerent man that had barged into her place of peace. "Any particular reason you are battering the men in my village?" Irelia asked, her frown directed at Percy. He shrugged.
"They wouldn't let me through. I thought we were friends by now?"
Irelia snorted, "Hardly. I have little need for friends at this point in time." She eyed him up and down, "Especially not with someone of your…persuasion."
"Wow. Xeno much? Or was that a classist remark? " Percy whistled, ignoring the glares he received from the other Kinkou wards. They wouldn't pull anything else with him here, and if they did? Well, he had already shown what would happen to one of them.
"Seems it's just like back home. I had thought Ionia was above this, but it seems you all are just as bad as the countries in my home world." Percy scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "So much for peace and balance, eh?"
That sent a few ripples of distaste through the crowd. He sensed the way the room spun on a dime—now everyone was glaring at him. Yasuo merely scoffed at the derisive remarks—he had heard worse over the years. From his own people, no less.
"You should watch your tongue, Xiiri, lest-"
"There we go with that word again. Honestly, I'm surprised Noxus hadn't sacked your country sooner! With how horrible you are to outsiders, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to invade you out of pure spite."
Irelia stiffened, hot pulsing anger rushing through her body. "You know not what you speak of, Perseus. Watch your tongue." She hissed, her blades dancing behind her.
"Don't I?" He asked, his free hand finding its way to his sword. He was almost done—just a few more minutes and he'd be out of here. This was his job—his mistake to correct. Shen was counting on him.
"You trample over the thoughts and beliefs of those you deem outsiders—Xiiri, and expect all to take that slap to the face with grace. From the time I've come to these lands to now, I've been insulted by almost everyone I've come across in one way or another. Only a mere dock-worker across the way from the Wuju remains treated me as a fellow human."
He tipped his chin upwards, his eyes boring into Irelia's, dispassionate green clashing with trembling blue, "I know for a fact that the First Lands cry out at what you've twisted this beautiful place into. I was wrong to assume you were any better than the animals back home."
He could see Irelia's temple throb and her scowl deepen, a sure sign that she was about to implode on him. He was close, so he forced a cruel smirk on his face and delivered the final nail in the coffin, "Maybe Noxus needs some help culling the undesirables, so to speak."
"Kinkou! Seize him." "Ahri, now!"
The two yelled to their comrades at the same time. The Kinkou wards leaped at Percy, kama, kunai, and katanas at the ready, while Ahri pushed her magic outwards—a bright blue wave blasting them back. They were sent tumbling to the wooden floors or thrust against the finely decorated walls. Irelia herself had sent her blades flying towards Percy—only for them to be deflected by a blast of air. Her eyes darted towards Yasuo, only for them to find him not there at all. Had he fled from the fight? Tch.
"You won't find him…he's on his way to Riven. I just want to say that we didn't want to have to do this."
Her eyes widened, and as she tried to turn to chase after Yasuo, Percy seemingly teleported to in front of her. She stumbled at the abruptness, falling backwards at his sudden invasion of her space.
"What are you?" She murmured, staring up at the point of the sword that was laid against her throat. The need to swallow had never felt so obvious before. Her blood felt like it wouldn't move—and soon her face began to show her panic. Her breath wouldn't come and all she saw was the poisonous green eyes that glared down at her. Time felt like it dragged on forever.
"I'm Godborn." Irelia felt the blood drain from her face, "But you? You may call me Abbadon. Destroyer of Worlds." With his words said, whatever grip was preventing her from breathing was released, and he disappeared from her view.
All around her lay the Kinkou guards—most laying on the ground half-naked with loony smiles on their faces. They had all been beaten for a while now, considering the fact that Ahri was nowhere to be seen, and that there had been no further signs of a scuffle.
Irelia choked down a breath, before looking up to Ionia's emblem that was blazoned across the hanging flag. She stumbled to her feet—forcing her body to steady itself against the walls—and tried to rush her way to the cells. She knew deep down that she wouldn't arrive in time, but if she kept moving?
She wouldn't have to think about how Percy wasn't wrong in some of his claims.
—
"You could have told us this plan before we got here, Percy!" Yasuo fussed at him, blocking another Initiate's blade before forcing him back with a blast of air. His arms shook from the exertion and the body he had been carrying. They reeked of sweat and filth—the cells hadn't been kind to them, that's for sure.
"If I had done that, you would have spent too much time worrying over what Irelia would think of you. Shen said that we needed Riven alive—and the woman I met at that first inn told him that she was to be executed."
"I know, but surely there had to be other ways!" Yasuo exclaimed, pointedly ignoring the way Riven muttered deliriously into his shoulder. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness the entire time—muttering about a broken blade and burning fields. The screams and cries of her family and friends as they were betrayed. A shattering of a blade and the death of a master.
"Well, this was all I could think of on such short notice. If you want to blame someone for all of this, you can blame me. This is my fault! Because I came here, everything has changed. But we can argue about that later. Now, hurry up! The exit is up ahead."
Footsteps rang on Percy's left side and a tired smile graced his face at the sight of the fox ears. "Glad you made it out, Ahri."
"D'awww, were you worried for me?" Ahri teased, pulling down an eyelid and sticking her tongue out at him.
"Yes." Percy said bluntly, staring at her from the corner of his eyes as they rushed through the cave system that tunneled from the Placidium into the surrounding villages. Old supply routes from the war that had been mostly filled with rubble. Intentional, usually. By Noxus, not Ionia.
"Haven't seen you fight yet."
She giggled, the sound jittery as they ran through the tunnels, "There's a lot you haven't seen of me yet," She teased, bumping her shoulders against him as they finally came to a sharp turn in the path. A dead end met them.
"This is the spot," Percy said, his powers pushing outwards as he felt for other bodies. They had lost their pursuants a few miles back, but now was not the time to falter. "Hand me Riven and take a quick breather when you're done."
Yasuo nodded, handing over the body before he knelt by the wall at the end of the path. He closed his eyes and felt for the wind. It tickled against his ear and flowed around his body like silk. "Right above us, about a few feet. Should be clear." Yasuo pointed at a damp spot on the ceiling. He collapsed against the wall.
Percy nodded and placed his free hand against the dirt and wood ceiling. Power pulsed through his arm, the bandages disrupted from their protective position over his skin, and he grit his teeth.
"Are you sure you can do this?"
"I have to get this stupid arm to work properly again, do you have any other ideas?" He replied, exasperated and winded slightly.
Yasuo was silent as he watched Percy fight through the pain, before finally—after what was probably a few minutes—the ceiling began to crack and bend under his power. Soon it caved inwards, and light spilled through the hole. Percy stood unbothered by the pile around him, but his companions were aghast. Their noses scrunched up at the smell. Ahri nearly vomited up what she had eaten at the bar with Percy a mere few hours ago.
"Fucking Noxians," Yasuo whispered, his tone murderous as he stared at the pile of tortured and burned bodies before him. The dirt that had buried the entrance to the tunnel had given way to dozens upon dozens of Ionians. They sat at Percy's feet—some without limbs, some without eyes, all of them in some semblance of dismemberment. All with the face of unanswered cries for help.
"They wouldn't…" Ahri whispered, her eyes blowing wide at the scene. Her lips trembled and Yasuo saw what she had seen as he stood up. His heart stopped. They would. He had met Noxians…this was par for the course with those mongrels.
The dead Ionians at Percy's feet had had their chest cavities wrenched open, their hearts removed along with other organs. Forever denied peace—they sat at the precipice of eternity, forever denied the sweet release of true death. An affront to nature. An affront to Ionia.
"They will never see peace…the fucking monsters made sure of that."
Percy glanced between the two, before finally looking down at the bodies. "Explain. I'm confused."
Yasuo took an unsteady breath, his hands clenched at his sides, "Ancient Ionian funeral rites declare that if an Ionian is missing internal organs, they must be burned on a pyre so their spirit may move on peacefully. If they don't, they go to the afterlife incomplete. They suffer in eternal agony, with all their injuries from their first life carrying over to their second."
Just when Percy thought he couldn't hate Noxus anymore. He knelt down to the bodies and whispered an incantation of sorts. The bodies glowed a bright green before disappearing from view. "Wake her up, we gotta move…we can bury them when we get far enough away."
The sun began to set in Ionia as the trio and their extra disappeared into the coastal forests. With the neighboring villages on high alert after the jailbreak at the Placidium, thousands of Ionians began to fear for their safety once again. An old proverb rang in their minds.
When the moon begins to rise, the beasts come out to play.