Author's notes:
Hey, the story was started like year ago, maybe a bit longer than that. Firstly, it was written in Polish as a gift to my friend. I would love for it to stay as a gift, but I want to make it longer and write it down in English :D
Gift for FumyaHero
The day was coming to its end. The thick, poisonous fumes that throughout the majority of a day were ruling over the scarred land lowered themselves drastically allowing the rare spectators to spot the blood-like glow of the last rays of the sun. The beams could be only spotted in some limited areas where the lowering vapours created small gaps on their vast surface. The surface that could be described as resembled the armour to some extent.
The fumes were the very symbol of these lands, or maybe it would be better to say that the shadows were being recognised as the symbol of these hallowed isles. After all, the word was even included in the very name of that god-forsaken place. "The Shadow Isles", it was a name that could strike fear in the hearts of the majority of people. Only the bravest, or maybe the foolest of folks would venture to these lands. "Why would they do that?" you would probably ask. But… the answer is not that simple to find. For some of the daredevils, it was the perfect opportunity to prove their bravery, for others, it was a chance to make their lives better. "How so?" surely would be another question. As you might, or might not know, there is a legend or a couple of them; actually, that stated that deep below the hollow ground, there is a hidden treasure. Some dared to say that it is so big that it is nearly impossible to imagine the wealth that was stored down there.
In the end, no one was able to prove that theory. In fact, there are only a few cases in the history of the isles when one of the adventurers was able to get back home. Even though those poor bastards were able to get out of something evil that was lingering there, they could never find peace again. Most of them, if not all, ended up committing suicide. They were mumbling that some kind of demons were hunting them, chasing them. As far as it was recorded, no one ever saw the devils that those madmen were describing. Still, the names that were provided over and over again by those fools started to become a dread history.
If you tried to ask any child all over the world what demons are connected with the Shadow Isles, you would probably get a pretty similar answer everywhere. The names like Elise, Hecarim, Karthus, Kalista, Yorick, Maokai were a common knowledge nowadays. They caused fear, the kind of fear that forces you to run away. But… it was not the name of the most feared inhabitant of the scarred lands. Thresh, the chain warden, or hollow warden as some called him, it was the name that nearly everyone was scared of. According to the legends and stories of random travellers, the ghostly figure of a guard was real. It or he was used to spending most of his time in a prison located deep below the grounds of the isles. It was said that there, the souls of his enemies, of his preys would be tortured for an eternity by himself. If it was not scary enough for you, maybe the second part of the telling would change that. The prison was told to be magically enchanted. Every damned soul that was trapped inside of it would be forced to take a semi-natural form. Then, that poor creature would have to wander around the jail's dark endless corridors. It would last till the moment the warden wanted to play with his prey. He would torture it, would reshape it, would condemn it. Then… when Thresh would be finally satisfied with the pain he caused, he would allow the soul to continue its journey throughout the prison. Cause… for him, the time was irrelevant, the suffering was all that mattered.
One of such travellers caught the attention of Senna. She and her husband – Lucian – were the members of a sacred order known as the Sentinels of Light. Their order was fighting against the effect that Shadow Isles had on the world. They wanted to stop the supernatural phenomenon that was named – Black Mist. To achieve it, they would need to reach the isles and hunt down all of its inhabitants. The problem was that Senna did not want to wait anymore. She had been haunted by the Black Mist since she was an infant. Someone cursed her, causing all the suffering that she had encountered.
It would be a very challenging task for the brown-haired woman to describe her feelings while she was listening to an old man's tale about the isles. The man was clothed in a mixture of rags. It was easy to notice that they were the remnants of his old clothes. He was old, maybe he was like 50 or so, but she did not ask about it. The entirety of his revealed skin was covered in scars. One of his eyes was missing, his beard was long and neglected, he was missing some teeth. But… what in fact interested her was not his appearance, it was his tale. Even though it was chaotic and sounded like a speech of a madman, he seemed to be confident. Strangely, something inside of her was telling Senna to believe in the words of a poor.
After an hour spent in the tavern, the huntress knew everything she needed. As a sign of her gratitude, she handed over a heavy bag of gold to the old man. His tale did something to her. It seemed as if it helped her to decide, it helped her to decide her future. Her goal was set. She was going to reach Shadow Isles, find Thresh, and end his miserable life. "Why Thresh?" you would probably ask. Senna was more than certain that it was him who was a source of her curse, of her suffering. And… she needed it to be over.