There once was a ship that put to sea, and with its return came calamity.~
Ruination: Return Chapter IX
Depths Beneath Part I
Senna felt a sharp pain as she stepped through the portal, a stabbing heat that burrowed its way deep into the center of her chest.
She gasps, falling to a knee, and Lucian is at her side instantly.
"What is it?" he asks, touching the side of her face and looking around, one pistol already free of its holster.
Yasuo cries out as well, clutching his marked arm, white flame licking across it hungrily.
And then Ledros begins to bellow as a white flame bursts to life across his spectral form.
"Breach!" a voice cries out, and Senna glances up, taking in her surroundings for the first time.
A Sentinel base, for once not abandoned, though the trappings have aged over time and been hidden behind the treated skins of sea beasts and intricately woven netting.
Diana drew her blade, stepping before the writhing trio, as thundering footsteps could be heard approaching the door, a reinforced slab of driftwood marked with dozens of runes she didn't recognize, each flaring with a white-green light.
The door thunders open, and the barrel of a Sentinal canon comes through first.
Grasping it with a snarling expression is a tall Buhru man covered in white tattoos, one eye scarred and blind, the other burning with determined fury. His sealskin coat hangs heavy across his form, the hilt of a blade gently poking from the folds as he readjusts his grip on his main weapon.
Confusion briefly crosses his face as he takes in Lucian and Diana before returning to fury as he spots the others, the barrel of his gun beginning to glow as he points it toward Ledros.
"Mistwalkers!" he barks, and cries of alarm and fury sound behind him as others try to push into the room, a mixture of Buhru and Bilgewater's pirates.
"Stop!" Lucian cries.
The Sentinel looks at him, thunderous, "By my Oath and my Goddess, that monster must die!"
"It's not-" Senna gasps, looking up at him, "What it looks like."
The Sentinel blinks, and recognition dawns as he meets her eyes.
"Not gonna shoot the lady in charge, are you?" she jokes before wincing as another bolt of pain goes through her chest.
"Senna, what… what is this? Why does Her touch cast you in flames?" he demands.
"I don't-" Senna begins, but the pain becomes too much, and she screams.
"Stop this!" Lucian demands, looking up to the Buhru.
"This is not my doing." he returns, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Why does a Sentinel quake at her power? Why do you ferry a Mistwalker into our midst? Tell my Lucian, now."
He pushes further into the room, and several other figures follow in after him, all clutching weapons of Buhru or Sentinel make, their eyes darting nervously amongst the new arrivals.
"We are not your enemy," Lucian states.
"I am not so certain." the other Sentinel returns, shifting slightly as Ledros fights to stand, the others shifting nervously, weapons rising.
"I would not," Diana warns, stepping before the specter, her blade glowing with silver light.
"It's a trick!" one of the pirates shouts, a Vastaya with the appearance of an upright gecko, "We should take care of them before they take care of us!"
Weapons raise, nervous looks become hardened, and the Buhru places his finger on his trigger.
Lucian draws his other pistol, and Diana's eyes begin to burn as Yasuo, the least harmed by their new local, rises, drawing his sword slowly.
"We did not come for a fight," he growls, gritting his teeth in pain, "Not with you anyway."
"Then who?" the Buhru demands.
"The Ruined King!" Yasuo barks back.
Scoffs, curses, and frightened chuckles meet his words, and the Buhru shakes his head.
"I think you lie, marked as you are by his poison." he looks to the assembled pirates and Buhru, "Let it be d-"
"Stop!" a deep woman's voice shouts, and the worried crowd parts.
Looming above them all is a muscular Buhru woman, gold and green armor enclosing her form, green tattoos curving up her arms and around her face, and held over his shoulder is an immense aged golden sphere, a face with a monstrous glowing smile facing away from them.
She raised her hand, and the pain subsided, going from mind-numbingly intense to a constant but manageable burn.
"Illaoi!" Yasuo exclaims, but the woman ignores him for the moment.
"You allow fear to stagnate your view, Colotl," she reprimands, glaring down at the man with glowing green eyes.
"Yes, Truth-Bearer," he mutters, lowering his head.
She looks down to Senna, offering a hand, "Sentinels, took you long enough to arrive at our besieged shores."
"The whole world is under siege by the Ruination," Senna returns, taking the hand and feeling a probing presence lance into her, searching for something, though she wasn't sure what.
"None like our Isles." Illaoi returns gruffly, "But we persist, thanks to the Goddess."
"Is she why I want to cut my arm off?" Yasuo demands.
Illaoi looks at him, and her expression softens slightly, "Yes. Good to see you."
"Likewise, wh-" Yasuo begins, but she raises a hand, silencing him.
Her eyes flick across the others, momentarily lingering on Lucian, "I know you."
"To think the last occasion turned out to be under better circumstances," Lucian remarks.
She nods and then rounds her full attention on Ledros, the only presence in the room standing taller than her.
"Who are you?" she demands.
"Ledros of Camavor." the spirit states, bowing his head in a mixture of respect and shame.
"One of the first, then, and why should I not send you to my Goddess this very moment, beast?" Illaoi asks.
"Because I would see the Mad King Viego burn in whatever Hells await him for all he has done." Ledros returns, "I would see the Ruination ended. Forever."
"Hmm…a Mistwalker with desires all their own, a dangerous and curious thing," Illaoi remarks, turning to the others.
"Come, there is much we must speak of and much you must know if you are to aid the Isles in any meaningful way." she states, "The rest of you, back to your posts!"
The pirates and Buhru scattered, Colotl falling into step beside her.
Senna looks to Lucian, wincing as another wave of pain passes through her, "At least we're not alone for once."
He shakes his head and helps her walk through the doorway, the others a step behind.
Lucian glances up for what must have been the sixth time as Illaoi listens to Senna explain everything that had transpired since the beginning of the Ruination.
They are seated around a small bonfire, green light dappling their forms, a meager but filling meal having been prepared for them by one of the Bilgewater refugees.
Diana stands leaning against an earthen pillar while the others, excluding Ledros, sit near Illaoi.
He hangs back, head lowered, attempting not to make eye contact with any of the clearly anxious Buhru and refugees around him.
And they're all underwater, or rather, the ocean had been raised, forming a thick protective dome, green and white runes occasionally flashing as an errant strand of Black Mist batters against it.
The Buhru and an aquatic people Lucian had never encountered before walk the perimeter, strengthening any perceived weaknesses with additional magic.
Yet the true guardian of this sea cave-turned-bastion was sitting before him.
"Demons, on top of everything," Illaoi grumbles, biting deeply into a mango, "I have heard little encouraging of distant Demacia, but I pity them."
"It was a difficult fight, but they came out on top, with some help I doubt you'd believe if I may be honest," Senna remarks with a slightly pained smile.
Illaoi raises an eyebrow.
"Noxians," Yasuo states, taking a deep drag of his flask.
Illaoi's eyebrow raises higher, "Like the one you spoke of during our trial?"
"Honest souls trapped beneath the barbed armor?" Yasuo returns, "Nope. Wouldn't say who it was, though, would they?"
"No, but I think I have a good idea." Senna amends.
"But they wouldn't have managed what they did without the Yordle," Yasuo notes.
Illaoi scoffs, "You chose an odd time to grow a sense of humor, my friend."
Yasuo smirks, and she looks towards the others curiously.
"I was preoccupied elsewhere," Diana states.
"He's not lying, like something right out of the old stories." Lucian states, "A show of magic Demacia hasn't seen since the Sister's Schism."
"Then perhaps they can know Motion yet," Illaoi remarks, "An interesting tale to be sure, and you say the rest of your members have departed for the Cities of Gilded Smoke?"
"Interesting appellation, but yes, one of our members, Ezreal, is a native." Lucian explains, "He'd hoped he'd have contacts remaining that could point him in the right direction when it came where to find the Tether."
"And these tethers, they are pieces of the Graven Queen?" Illaoi asks.
"Yes, though, Graven Queen?" Senna asks, raising her hand to her chest.
"My people and those of Hellia, vastaya, and humans were quite close, a deep bond of understanding and trust, with stories and traditions shared from before their ancestors arrived from the West. So, when those few refugees fleeing Ruination sought safety in our Isles, they revealed all. The Mad King, his dead Queen, and the lengths he had gone to save a woman already long in the grave." Illaoi remarks, her glowing eyes narrowing in disdain.
"A man so ensnared in himself he would never know the truth of Motion again." she continues, "Long has his stuck spirit reached for our Isles, the Harrowings, and other horrid beasts occasionally emerging, but I had always thought it was simple hatred."
She pauses, rubbing her chin.
"One of her Tethers is hidden here, I am certain," Senna states.
"Foolish, to hide something so desired so close, the only source of momentum in his stagnated soul." Illaoi remarks, "But it could explain the Weeping Woman, a spirit that has never harmed a soul."
"Go on," Lucian prompts as he sees Senna sit forward, an almost hungry expression on her face.
"She would arrive before the brunt of the Harrowings, sobbing and wailing, but despite the threat she heralded, never once did she raise a hand to harm any, and she would vanish long before the Mist struck the shores of Bilgewater…" Illaoi remarks, looking up at them.
"Was there a figure draped in red that came bearing gifts in any of your legends?" Diana asks.
"Or butterfly markings?" Senna asks.
"Yes, the Red Merchant, before Bilgewater, was even a single ship docking in desperation, but the gift and the city that bore it has long sunk into Nagakabouros's embrace." Illaoi remarks.
"Where is it?" Senna demands.
"Beneath the waves of Bilgewater." Illaoi returns.
"Then that is where we have to go," Lucian states, going to stand, stopping when Illaoi chuckles darkly.
"Only a fool would rush to that place as you are," she warns.
"What do you mean, is Sarah-" Yasuo asks, "Is she alright, and the others did they ever…"
Illaoi reaches over and places a firm yet comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Those left in the Isles remain there for better or worse," she murmurs, her expression falling.
Yasuo looks away and takes the deepest drag of his flask the others had observed yet.
"Fool thing hope." he mutters, "But Pyke, Sarah?"
"Pyke is as he has ever been." Illaoi remarks dismissively, "His hunger remains focused on the enemy of all."
"And Sarah Fortune?" Lucian presses, seeing that the priestess is hesitating. Senna shoots him a curious look, but he stays focused on Illaoi.
"Bilgewater is not entirely lost. There are many bastions such as this," she gestures upwards, "Within the city limits, guarded by my people and the Marai. Sarah's fortress is one of them."
"I sense a 'but' coming," Senna notes, taking her eyes from Lucian.
"But I can not say if she would be an ally to you or not," Illaoi states, shoulders falling slightly.
"Why?" Yasuo demands.
"When I fought alongside Fortune, nothing mattered more to her than protecting the city from the Harrowing. You're saying she isn't interested in helping fight this?" Lucian asks, gesturing to the Black Mist hanging above the protective barrier.
"And yet, her vendetta against Gangplank was close to consuming her the last time we spoke," Illaoi states, "What little we hear from the city is that the blood running in its streets is not always the fault of the Mistwalkers."
"Then she is a fool." Ledros growls, speaking for the first time and drawing a writhing glare from Illaoi, "And it matters little, Isolde is in danger the longer part of her sits alone in some undersea tomb. You know the Mist delves beneath the waves as readily as the air."
"I do, but you would still be fools to go to Bilgewater as you are," Illaoi repeats.
"What does that mean?" Ledros demands.
"The Ruination struck here first, as it always has, and while we have resisted, we are close enough to the Shadow Isles that even a minute bit of exposure to the Mists is a path to being ensnared by Viego." she returns.
As if in response to his name, a peel of thunder echoes above them.
"Your wards will do little, even for those of you not carrying the Mist with you," she warns, nodding to Lucian.
"What it would do to one so intimately tied to it, I can't say, or the curious position you find yourself in," Illaoi remarks, looking between Ledros and Senna.
Yasuo rubs his Mist-scar, "What can we do then?"
"We will do nothing. You will." Illaoi states, standing and bringing her totem around to face the Sentinels.
"You will face the Goddess, and with her blessing, you will be able to walk accosted within the Mists." Illaoi states, her eyes gleaming brighter, "But be warned, She can see to the Truth of you. Her cuts will be the deepest you have ever felt."
"What of I?" Diana asks.
Illaoi looks at her, and her voice is tinged slightly, respectful and wary in equal measure, "To you, she gives a choice: stand alone in your own light, Divinity as you are, or take her test as the mortal you once were."
Diana looks down at her blade in silent contemplation and then over to the others.
"I will stand as I am." Diana states, seething her blade and bowing her head, "With respect to your Lady."
"With equal respect, she is glad you have finally accepted your own Motion." Illaoi intones.
"As for the rest of you, a Trial awaits." Illaoi declares, the Idol igniting in green-white fire.
"Even I?" Ledros demands, shifting forward, "Or will my judgment be a final one?"
"You are not the first wraith she has shown the Light." Illaoi returns.
Lucian looks to Senna and squeezes her hand as he sees his wife's eyes are distant and worried.
"You have been through hell and back and came out stronger than steel." Lucian murmurs, kissing her on the cheek, "What more can she do?'
Illaoi chuckles darkly and says nothing.
Senna looks up to him and smiles, cupping his chin, "Together?"
He smiles softly and nods, "Together."
"Not to kill the mood, but I'm going to be going on this ride as well," Yasuo remarks, setting down his flask and standing up.
Ledros floats forward soundlessly, staring into Illaoi's eyes unblinkingly.
"All of us are lost. All of us are blind. You must swim towards your destiny." Illaoi chants, and emerging from the mouth of her idol, four spectral tentacles emerge and lance into the chests of the four who approached her.
With a gasp and the sensation of plunging into freezing water, each of their visions goes dark, the last light, the gleaming eyes of the Moon watching their descent.
And scene!
Next time, a Test by the Bearded Lady! Will our heroes live in motion, or will she mark them as stagnation? Who do people want to see undergo their challenge first?
Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter.
As always, comments, questions, and critiques are appreciated. This has been VerBeeker, signing off!
Let the Trial of the Bearded Lady Begin!