A/N: I took a bit longer than intended, I know, but in my defense this chapter is like...nearly twice as long as my previous record. I kept thinking of more stuff and then, well. Oops?
Chapter 18 is also about 5k words at this point. Most of it was initially going to be in this chapter until my apparent insanity took hold (that's half the reason for the chapter name ngl) and I had to cut it to save for later.
Also, for anyone who prefers to not have to read this story on this ancient website, the mirror on Ao3 is now live. I will continue to update it here as well, as I am determined to finish this where it started, so no worries if you'd rather stay here.
Chapter 17: Divine Insanity
When Katarina's eyes finally slid open, she found herself staring directly at the empty bed across the room.
It had been made immaculately, not a single crease in the stark white sheets to suggest it had been recently touched, let alone slept in. For a brief moment, the assassin found herself wondering if she had just imagined the events of the preceding night.
Her gaze traveled to her bedside table, where her pile of knives had been placed at some time while she slept. On top of them sat a single, ice-covered arrow, and the sight of it made her exhale with relief.
Part of her wanted to stop, to take a moment to attempt to process everything, to revel in the memories of kisses far softer than anything she deserved. But the angle of the sunlight filtering in through the window told her that she had slept far too long given the circumstances, and a sense of purpose filled her once again.
She rose from the bed carefully, taking quick stock of her injuries. She was still a mess, to be sure - soreness throbbing in every limb. But her unexpectedly deep sleep had at the very least taken the edge off the worst of the pain.
Her hand found the blanket she had slept beneath, and she covered herself with it before turning to the door and easing it open.
Two guards stared at her from the hallway, and she vaguely recognized one of them from the night before. He looked at her warily, fingers twitching around the glaive in his right hand, but he made no comment.
"I could use some clothing," said the assassin as she regarded the two of them.
The first man nodded to the other, and he stepped away without a word, his heavy footsteps echoing off the stone walls as he marched down the hallway.
"We were instructed to alert Queen Ashe when you awoke. She will likely return shortly. We will see what can be done about your clothes."
Katarina nodded in acknowledgement and let the door close again, retreating into the room and allowing herself to sit on the edge of the bed. Her hand reached for the arrow, and she held it close in a tight fist, letting the chill of it travel slowly up the length of her arm.
A pang of longing for her homeland filled her then, despite everything. Her familiarity with the Freljordian queen did not change the fact that this cold, torn land felt indescribably foreign to her. She'd never before spared a thought for the lives and emotions of those who had been crushed under the weight of the Noxian war machine that had been such a formidable force before the peace had been declared. That was, of course, by design, untold effort poured into ensuring that Noxian soldiers felt no empathy for those they conquered and killed. She wondered idly on the concept of nature versus nurture - whether the cruel, unfeeling place she called home had truly made her in its image, or if she had always been destined to be this way.
That line of thinking was uncomfortable, and she banished it as quickly as it had come. She forced her thoughts back to the war at hand, wondering at the developments that had transpired during her slumber.
She would not have long to wait, as it turned out. True to the guard's word, a knock sounded at the door soon after.
"Come in."
Ashe entered the room with purposeful steps, clearly dressed for war. Her usual battle-dress had been capped with gleaming golden shoulder pauldrons lined in black fur, and her cloak was heavier. The slim guards that typically hugged her forearms had been replaced with a heftier, armored pair that bore more golden designs. More notable was her expression - heavy, tired, and grim. It was the weight of the look that forced Katarina to shove down the burst of butterflies that had exploded in her gut at the mere sight of the other woman, and kept her razor focused on the task at hand.
"What news?"
"Nothing good," Ashe responded with a heavy sigh. "The Isgå I sent to scout Dodkjole reported back at dawn. It's worse than we thought. There are four explosive devices of a size Valoran has not seen before. We have until sunset tomorrow, apparently, before they will strike. But there's an entire invasion force as well. Thousands of them moving through the pass. It startled me, honestly. Why would they send so many, if the plan is to reduce us to rubble?"
Katarina swore, but she couldn't say she was surprised. "Swain has a flair for the dramatic," she spat bitterly. "There could be a number of reasons. Backup plans, a show of force aimed at the other city-states, hell - they may intend to re-settle the land once they take it, when the dust clears."
Worry creased Ashe's brow. "That's not all. Among their ranks are a small army of Noxian summoners. I had wondered how they were even able to move through the ice - only the Isgå should be able to do that. At first, I thought perhaps there had been a traitor among them, but no - they're all accounted for, deeper in the tunnels. And the entire Noxian army is bathed in a haze of unnatural flames and smoke. It made no sense to me, nor to Tyrus when I questioned him. Summoners should not be able to produce flames strong enough to keep outsiders alive in the Death Chill."
Katarina furrowed her brow in confusion at the news. "None of my orders included withdrawing summoners from the Institute," she said with a frustrated shake of her head. "And the flames…how is any of that possible?"
"Their explosives seem to be giving off some of the heat," she explained, "though how that's possible is beyond me. Tyrus had no answers, either. Regardless, it hardly matters. This appears to be what we are up against."
She was probably right, and wasting time dwelling on the how was likely pointless, but it bothered the assassin deeply nonetheless. She shrugged aside the musings and tried to focus on what mattered.
"What of the defense?" she questioned. "I have no idea how you're planning to even remotely counter this kind of attack."
"I've been working on that since last night," she said with a sigh, "and now with this new information I'm afraid none of my plans will work. I had thought of asking the Isgå for some way to sabotage the bombs, but with an entire invasion force present, they don't stand a chance of getting remotely close. I've gone over everything I can think of, but-"
A sudden knock on the door startled them both, and Katarina again reached for the blanket to cover herself before Ashe ordered it to open.
One of the guards entered and bowed his head slightly before speaking. "Tyrus is here, my queen. He wishes to speak with you."
"Let him in," she said with a nod, and he stepped aside to reveal the barbarian summoner clutching some ancient piece of parchment in his hands, his eyes wide as saucers as he entered the room.
"I…may have found the answer, though I'm not sure it will work," he said hesitantly, as if he didn't dare to hope, holding the parchment out in front of him.
Katarina looked at it curiously, and found it to be covered in the same sort of runic script she had seen at the Institute. As she watched, the words distorted and swirled in front of her vision, almost seeming to jump off the page. Her eyebrows knit together as she waited for the words to make sense, but before they could, a splitting headache shot through her skull, and she recoiled. Beside her, Ashe did the same, both of them clutching their heads in unison.
Tyrus frowned and pulled back the ancient scroll. "Oh, sorry, summoning magic this complicated is hard to read if you're not trained in it," he explained. "This is…honestly, I never thought I'd see this, it's the original spell of protection that was used to cloak the Fields of Justice in its protective aura by the elder summoners."
A flicker of hope ignited in Ashe's eyes. "That's...wow. Where did you find that?"
"In my spellbook, tucked in the pages. It fell out while I was flipping through it frantically and searching for anything that could help. Don't ask me how it got there."
Katarina met his eyes and struggled to think for a moment, trying to remember what he had said when she had first seen him on the ice on her desperate trek north, half-dead and barely able to process words. "Hold on," she said, "remind me - why are you here?"
Tyrus stared at her, confused. "Grímnir ordered me to return. He wouldn't give a reason beyond the fact that the tournament had concluded and that I should be given time to rest. I thought it was strange, to be sure."
It clicked for her then, though the answer would give way to more questions. "Odd that he would order you home just ahead of a Noxian invasion."
His confusion only deepened. "Did he know?"
"I told him," she confirmed. "I may have forgotten to show you that part when you were searching my mind earlier. I've barely thought of it in all of this, to be honest. It was…bizarre, to say the least. I expected all hell to break loose at the news. Instead, he almost seemed like he didn't care. That's why I came here at all, because it seemed to me like the League would just do nothing," she growled.
Both Freljordians in front of her looked disturbed at the revelation.
"So…" Tyrus said, clearly thinking hard, "he ignored you, and then sent me north without telling me why, and hid this spell somewhere I wasn't even guaranteed to find it?"
Katarina couldn't help her laugh, despite herself. The other two shot her baffled looks.
"It's refreshing to see a summoner confused about the way the Institute operates," she said by way of explanation. "All of you are an enigma to the rest of us."
"It doesn't matter how it got here," said Ashe with renewed determination, "what matters is that we cast it as soon as we can. Can you do that, Tyrus?"
The summoner stared at the words in front of him with no small amount of concern. "It's…complicated. That's an understatement, really. It's meant to cover large stretches of land. When we were taught the history of the Institute, we learned of this, but only briefly. It took the strength of every elder summoner to place the aura over the Fields of Justice. Doing it to the entirety of Freljord…with just me? You might have more luck asking Dodkjole to melt, I won't lie."
Katarina watched as he studied the parchment with great concentration. Something caught her eye. "There's something written on the back."
He turned it over, scanning the few short phrases that had been scrawled there, his eyebrows slowly rising as he did so.
"What is it?" asked Ashe when he had remained silent too long for her liking.
"Instructions detailing how to enter the tomb of Ríkur Nidhugson and retrieve the staff of Ódr."
Ashe looked beyond shocked at the words. She and Tyrus stared at each other for a long, tense moment before Katarina finally interjected.
"And that means…what, exactly?"
"Ríkur Nidhugson is the name of one of the first human summoners," Tyrus explained. "Do you remember the story Gisle told you on the tundra? Of how Dodkjole came to be?"
Katarina nodded.
"There's a bit more to it than he shared," the summoner continued. "Though this part has always been dismissed as something of a child's tale. The legend tells of a staff of enormous power, created by the god of madness and fury using one of the ancient runestones. In some retellings, it was this staff that gave Ríkur the first knowledge of summoning magic…and that also drove him to his divine insanity. It is said to channel the power of the old gods themselves."
"It's true," said Ashe, startling the summoner from his explanation. "Though Avarosa herself went to great measures to conceal that fact. My ancestors did not ever want to see such a weapon resurface. Legends persisted, of course - but they were just that. Child's tales, as you say."
Tyrus seemed to be struggling under the weight of this information. He took a few steps backwards until the back of his knees met the neatly made bed. He sat on it then, lifting the parchment back to his face and staring at the words scrawled on the back.
"Do you know where the tomb is, my queen?" he finally said. "The instructions don't say…it's just the incantation that can be used to unseal it."
Ashe seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "The tomb's protection was entrusted to me when I took the throne, though the means to enter it was believed to be lost. It's something of a misnomer…Ríkur's body was consumed by the Kuur Drak. There was nothing left to entomb, save for the staff. Avarosa hoped to enshroud it in myth and legend, lest some fool go searching for it."
"Are we to be those fools?" the man asked, his voice shaking ever so slightly.
Ashe's expression softened, and she approached Tyrus, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This is not something I can command of you."
He looked up at her then, terror evident in his gaze. "What choice do we really have?"
The answering silence was crushing.
"Hold on," said Katarina, cutting through the tension in the room that she was having a hard time understanding. "Ancient summoning, staff of godly power, hidden tomb…I got all that. But how the hell do you know that the incantation is true? If it was lost for so long, how would some old guy at the Institute still have it?"
"Fair question," muttered Tyrus, staring back down at the words.
"I didn't tell either of you this," said Ashe, looking back and forth between Katarina and Tyrus, who exchanged a confused look before each nodded solemnly and regarded her again.
"Grímnir is more than who he says. He holds a lot of power over the Institute…but also a lot of fear, even among the elders. His position is a strange one that you will not learn from studying the Summoner's hierarchies. And that is because he is the direct descendent of Ríkur Nidhugson."
The revelation didn't mean much to Katarina, but Tyrus looked floored.
"I knew there was something about him!" the summoner shouted. "The elders treat his words as gospel without ever formally adopting him into their ranks."
Ashe nodded. "They need him, yet they fear giving him too much power. That incantation is almost certainly correct. His family must have passed down the knowledge, though how they did so under Avarosa's watch is beyond me."
Tyrus whispered more words in a language Katarina didn't understand. A moment passed as he studied the scrawl again, as if willing them to change under his gaze. "The staff of Ódr could obliterate the entire invading force," he offered after a moment.
Katarina tensed, her blood running cold at the words.
"No," Ashe said firmly. "We can't use it to bring destruction. And I don't just say this for your sake," she added with a glance at Katarina. "Unsealing the tomb would be enough of a flagrant disregard of Avarosa's wishes. Using the staff, even more so. But to use it for large-scale slaughter?" she shook her head. "Such a move would be more than certain to bring ruin to us all. Grímnir gave you that spell of protection for a reason. That should be all the staff is used for, if anything at all."
"I'll do it," Tyrus said quickly, as though not allowing himself any further time to talk himself out of it.
Ashe looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure?"
"Nope!" Tyrus replied with a tight smile. "But, really, we have no choice, so…yes."
The queen looked like she was waging an internal battle with herself, but before she could speak, there was another knock at the door.
"Yes?" Ashe called.
The door opened to reveal the guard again.
"The clothing you requested is here, my queen," he announced, stepping aside to reveal a girl in servant's clothes who looked barely seventeen. She held a pile of folded cloth and leather, and when her eyes fell on Katarina, they widened.
"Thank you, Helga. Come in."
The girl did not stop staring openly at the Noxian as she stepped into the room. Katarina looked away from her, uncomfortable.
Ashe turned back to the summoner. "We don't have much more time to deliberate. Make your preparations, Tyrus. I need a bit of time to ensure all scouts have returned; I don't want anyone left behind. Meet me in the hall when you're ready."
The man nodded, burying his face in the parchment again as he walked past the guard and into the hallway.
When he was gone, Ashe's eyes met Katarina's, her expression losing some of its tense resolve. "The clothing you arrived in wasn't in good shape. I've sent it for cleaning and repairs, though…given everything, it's hard to know when that will be done, if ever. I called for an old hunting outfit of mine in the meantime. Not your usual style, but probably the closest I can offer you."
Katarina glanced at the pile in the arms of the still-staring girl. The light brown and forest green tones indeed were a far cry from the red and black she was primarily accustomed to. Nonetheless, she nodded in understanding. "Thank you."
The girl - Helga - finally found her voice. "My mother will finish the repairs soon," she blurted out quickly.
Ashe raised an eyebrow in her direction. The girl stuttered, then bowed, her forehead resting on top of the pile in her hands for a moment. "Forgive me, my queen. I took the Noxian's clothing from your tailors - they're busy fitting your forces with armor. Mother is a good seamstress, I promise," she assured, glancing back and forth between the two women. "She's in hiding right now, as you asked, my queen. It's really no trouble - she has nothing to do now but worry, anyway. I implored her to hurry."
Both women stared at her, momentarily stunned.
Ashe spoke first. "That was kind of you," she said sincerely.
Helga's wide, unnerving stare found Katarina again. "It's the least I can do," she said softly.
It was a simple gesture, but one that struck the assassin in a way she hadn't anticipated. She couldn't find her voice to thank the girl.
"I will be sure to thank your mother personally, when I have the time," Ashe said in her stead, before turning back to Katarina. "Are you alright if she helps you? This isn't the simplest of outfits to put on, given your injuries. Still, I thought you'd prefer it to a dress."
Katarina nodded. "You'd be right about that."
A cold hand found hers, squeezing gently. The motion confused Katarina until she realized it had been meant more as a comfort to the queen than to her. She returned the squeeze, watching as Ashe seemed to deliberate for another moment before bringing the assassin's hand to her lips and pressing a soft kiss to it.
Heat rose in the Noxian's face at the gesture - a formal affection, as though Ashe were some gentleman suitor hoping to win her favor, instead of a queen on the eve of a battle for the very survival of her land. Still, the move was not unwelcome, and when their eyes met again, Katarina had the thrilling sense that Ashe would have done far more, had they been alone.
"If you have the strength…will you meet Tyrus and I in the hall afterwards?"
The question again caught the assassin off-guard. "I do," she promised, "but are you sure you want me there?" The ancient secrets of Freljordian gods and summoners seemed far above the pay grade of a Noxian assassin.
"Yes," Ashe said heavily, and Katarina sensed what she would not say out loud - that her presence was somehow soothing to the world of turmoil the queen now found herself in.
"I'll be there," she assured her.
Ashe released her hand and moved to leave, but stopped just outside the door frame. "Helga, return to your mother when you are done here. The rest of your duties can wait until we are safe again."
The girl, whose eyes had somehow grown even wider at the exchange between the two women, recovered long enough to bow her head again. "Thank you, my queen," she said right before the door closed.
Helga took a deep breath and set the pile down on the bed beside the assassin. She began to arrange the pieces, laying them flat so that the Noxian could observe them.
"I apologize if I've…come off a little strange," the girl said as she worked. "I'm a bit starstruck, admittedly. I never thought I'd get to meet you, certainly not like this."
The words furrowed Katarina's brow. "What do you know of me?"
Helga removed the brown leather bodice and unfolded it before setting it aside. "I am…well, my mother would say I'm 'obsessed' with the League of Legends," she confessed nervously. "It's hard to get regular news of the Institute all the way up here. I'm known to bother the messengers for any information they have - match statistics, tournament news, but most importantly…anything that I can possibly learn about its champions."
Katarina watched her, surprised. "And why is that?" she asked, genuinely interested.
Helga shrugged at first, but then seemed to think hard for a moment. "Curiosity?" she finally offered. "Or just…interest? I don't know, really. It's a bit of excitement, I suppose. Valoran's greatest effort to keep peace…in the form of constant bloodshed. It's almost poetic, in some twisted way."
"Something like that," Katarina agreed with a humorless chuckle.
"Are you able to put these on yourself?" Helga asked nervously, holding a simple pair of black underwear in the air between them.
Katarina nodded before taking the garment and standing up, and the girl hastily turned around to avert her gaze.
"Word of a Noxian coming to save us from other Noxians was surprising enough," she said to the wall as Katarina carefully removed the simple linen pants the healer must have put her in as she slept. "But when I learned it was you…to say that I was shocked would be an understatement."
Katarina didn't answer as she gingerly stepped into the underwear and bent over at odd angles to prevent disturbance to her injuries while pulling them up.
"Can I ask…just…why?"
The assassin froze, her gaze narrowing on the back of the blonde girl's head. "You can turn back around," she said after a moment.
Helga reached for the pair of forest green pants, kneeling to help Katarina step into them.
The girl's question was certainly arresting. Katarina thought of letting it go unanswered. She didn't want to admit that her failure stemmed from some repressed well of deep feelings for the queen - someone with whom, as logic dictated, she almost certainly couldn't form any sort of serious relationship with, anyway. The weight of her betrayal felt both selfish and foolish in that moment.
Some part of her that was tired of keeping the emotions under wraps answered without her permission. "I am no hero."
Helga finished pulling the legs of the garment up to Katarina's waist. She shook her head at the response, as though it were ridiculous. "You may have saved all of Freljord from annihilation. If we do survive, the bards will sing tales of you for generations to come," she said with a shrug as she reached again for the leather bodice, "sounds like a hero to me."
The words did not sit well with Katarina, who turned around to allow the girl to fit the leather to her torso and secure the clasp at her neck. "You know nothing of my intentions," she finally said.
"I mean…judging from how you and the queen look at each other, I can probably make a good guess."
Katarina stiffened under the girl's hands.
"I'm not going to tell anyone, but I probably won't have to for word to spread, anyway."
The assassin's heart dropped. A burst of rage filled her, but she took great care to keep her body still. "Are you threatening me?" she growled dangerously.
"Oh goodness, no, no," Helga said quickly, her tone apologetic. "More like…warning you, if anything. A lot of people won't take kindly to you if the rumors start up. I am not one of those people," she clarified. "I've served queen Ashe for almost two years now. She is a kind and just ruler. More than many of us deserve, if I'm honest. And, really…she's been through hell. I'm not about to begrudge her whatever happiness she can manage to hold on to."
Helga moved to secure the arm guards as she continued. "As for you? Actions, and their consequences, matter far more than the intention behind them. Everything I've read about Noxus makes it sound like…" she hesitated, "…like you're all brainwashed. I mean, you'd almost have to be, really, to have so many enemies. They teach you loyalty to your state above everything, even your own selves. However you managed to break that, it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day, you're here. And because of that, I may live to be a mother of my own, one day. And…I don't have the words to thank you enough for that."
She looked at Katarina tentatively, as if suddenly aware of how much she'd been talking, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Sorry, I've probably said way too much."
She had, but Katarina found with great disquiet that she could dispute none of it. She lifted her feet as the girl helped her into a pair of boots.
"Don't thank me until after the dust settles," the assassin said heavily. "All I've given you is a chance."
Helga smiled, stepping back and observing Katarina from head to toe before giving a satisfied nod. "A chance is enough," she said with finality.
Katarina crossed to the bedside table and began to reattach her belts of knives. She heard the door open behind her, and before it could close, she called out a hasty "thanks" to the retreating girl.
"Of course," answered Helga before the door clicked shut.
—
It took the assassin longer than she'd intended to find the great hall that sat at the heart of Läslina. The corridors seemed almost endless, and she was too stubborn to ask any of the guards she passed for directions. It couldn't be that difficult, could it? She tried to think back to when Ashe had carried her to her room, but found the memories entirely useless for navigation.
"You shouldn't be wandering here alone," said a voice from behind Katarina as she passed into a corridor she was nearly certain she'd already been through.
The Noxian froze in her tracks. Something about the tone of voice didn't sound at all friendly. The words seemed more threatening than helpful. Cautiously, she turned to meet the eyes of a guard who had followed her.
The woman was tall and imposing, dwarfing Katarina. She wore the same uniform of every other guard she'd seen, but something seemed different about her. Her stature, combined with her pronounced facial features and the rough, jagged edge of the blade that hung at her waist made it all too clear that she was of the barbarian tribes.
"Don't let the bandages fool you," said Katarina, purposefully keeping her tone as light as possible. "I can handle myself."
"Why are you out of your room?" the woman said gruffly, crossing her thick arms across her chest.
Katarina sighed, resigning herself to her navigational failure. "I'm looking for the…big hall…place," she said awkwardly, realizing only as she spoke that she had no idea what to call it. "You know, the room with the thrones."
The woman snorted in amusement. "You are lost," she said simply.
Katarina glared at her, despite herself. She couldn't really argue, though. "…Maybe," she finally offered. "This place is huge."
The guard made no movement as she stared the assassin up and down. Though the scrutiny was entirely unwelcome, Katarina forced her words to remain cordial. "Could you help me?" she asked, as sweetly as she could. "Please," she added with great difficulty after a moment.
The seconds ticked by. Neither of them moved for a long moment.
"You may have fooled some into thinking you are a savior," the big woman finally said with a growl. "But one simple warning cannot undo all of the death and pain you've caused my people."
Katarina tensed, wrestling internally with the strong urge to pull a knife from her belt.
"I lost my husband to a company under your command," the guard continued with barely-concealed fury. "I raise our daughter alone now."
A strange sorrow filled the assassin then. Despite the woman's murderous gaze, she could feel the pain in her words. Against the instincts that had been drilled into her, Katarina slowly lifted her hands to show she would not attack. "I'm sorry," she said, as sincerely as she could.
The woman's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Sorry? You're sorry?" she yelled, incredulous. "Do you think that makes any difference at all?"
Katarina winced, unable to meet the woman's eyes. She dropped her own to the floor. "No," was all she could say in response.
"You may have dug your little hooks into the queen, but there are plenty of us who aren't fooled by your heroics, Noxian," she spat the word as if it were a curse.
The weight of every kill she'd ever made fell heavily on the assassin's shoulders at that moment. She was exceptionally skilled at keeping them all suspended in some vague, distant part of her mind. The reality of the snapping rope was certainly sobering.
"You have every right to hate me," Katarina conceded. "I would, too, in your position. I'll spare you the emotional plea about how I've changed - I have, but that's not the point. I'm still a murderer, and I always have been."
She looked up at the woman then, forcing herself to hold her burning gaze. "You're right, words are meaningless. Nothing I could say would bring your husband back to you. But…look at yourself for a moment. You have your tribe, your land, your daughter. And me?" the assassin let out a strangled laugh. "I'm no one, now. Stateless. A traitor to the only home I've ever known. Ask yourself: which of us won, in the end?"
The guard's arms uncrossed, but she still did not speak.
"I have nothing to lose now," Katarina continued. Thoughts of Ashe filled her head, and she waffled for a moment, "…alright, that's not actually true. But I have a new purpose. One I would give my life for, if it came to that. If you cannot trust my words, then trust my blade, because it will be beside yours tomorrow. And I do hope it doesn't come to bloodshed - probably the first time in my life I've had that wish, honestly. But if it does, I'll be fighting without hesitation to protect what's important to me. And in doing so, I'd fight for you, and for your daughter."
The woman stared at her for a long, heavy minute, her cold expression unchanging.
"Come with me," she finally said, stepping past Katarina, who let out a shuddering breath and lowered her hands. "The hall is this way."
The assassin fell into step behind her as she turned down another corridor.
"What is your name?" she asked before she could think better of it.
The woman stayed silent. She turned another corner, then another, bringing them at last to a large, heavy door and pulling it open from its metal handle.
"I am Ylva," she finally responded, gesturing inside.
"Thank you, Ylva," said Katarina as she stepped into the hall. The door closed behind her without another word.
The scene in front of her was a stark contrast to the last time she'd been brought into the hall. The huge doors that served as the main entrance had been propped open, and a huge crowd had gathered at the front of the hall, spilling far out on the stone steps and beyond. A few of the guards stood among them, trying to keep some semblance of order - "Warriors to the left! Mothers, children, elders, infirm to the right!" she heard one call.
Close to the side door from where Katarina had entered, a wooden table had been erected, its surface covered in maps and charts. Rakerth and Anders stood over it, each of them taking a brief moment to speak to the frightened citizens one by one as they approached before pointing to one of several maps. "Follow the white banners and board the cart. You will be safe here," she heard one of them say to a young woman with a screaming infant in her arms as she passed.
Across the room, Veliaf and Balgrun stood at the head of a queue that was marginally more organized than the other. The table before them held more maps, and they seemed to be directing each armed man and woman who approached to their posts. A disorderly pile of weapons and armor lay behind them. As she watched, Balgrun reached for it and handed a sword to a nervous-looking boy in leather armor whose beard had barely started to grow.
Beyond them, in the center of the hall, a tall man she did not recognize was organizing a large group of more well-equipped soldiers into formation. They moved in unison at his orders, each covered head-to-toe in identical suits of white steel with large shields to match.
At the back of the hall, several enormous sacks of food had been gathered. Women and children moved among them, carrying handfuls of potatoes, cabbages, bread, and dried meats into smaller parcels, which they organized in rows.
A great sense of urgency seemed to spur everyone she passed. The Noxian hugged the wall and tried to move through the crowd as unobtrusively as possible, but those close enough to notice her path spared momentary glances in her direction. She caught sight of nearly every conceivable emotion on their faces as she walked by - fear, confusion, anger, curiosity, awe, surprise, and reverence in near equal measure. She made a point of not acknowledging any of them as she approached the only place in the great room that was not completely full of people - the base of the two thrones.
Only Tyrus sat here, on the stone steps leading up to prominent seats, with the old parchment on one knee and his spellbook on the other. His eyes flicked from one to the other until she grew close. He seemed to sense Katarina's approach, his dark eyebrows raising as he looked up to meet her gaze.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ashe asked me to join you two," she explained.
"Queen Ashe," he corrected, glancing around to ensure no one was close enough to hear over the general cacophony of the hall.
Katarina's own eyebrows rose at the remark, and he sighed heavily. "Just a word of advice - I know you're not her subject, and that you're used to being her equal at the Institute. But here? You probably shouldn't let anyone hear you address her informally."
The assassin snorted in amusement.
"I'm just trying to help you," Tyrus defended. "I'm sure you'll ultimately do whatever you want. But your presence is controversial enough as it is. If you want to ingratiate yourself to those who still wish you dead, a little formality wouldn't hurt. If you don't want to bother, carry on."
Katarina considered his words. They did seem genuine, but that didn't halt the uncomfortable reminder that she was so very much out of her depth. "I'll keep that in mind," she finally offered, unsure if she actually would. "Where is she?"
"Probably caught up in the thousand life-or-death decisions that monarchs must make at the head of a sudden invasion," he said heavily. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."
"Is the tomb close by?" Katarina asked, lowering her voice further, though doing so was unnecessary.
Tyrus shrugged. "She didn't say, but I assume so, if she asked to meet in the hall. If you think it's chaotic here, you should see the rest of the city. We'd have trouble getting far, at the moment. If travel was a necessity, she'd have ordered us to the stables to avoid wasting time."
Katarina spared a glance at the bustle that surrounded them before turning back to the summoner. "Thought you'd object to a Noxian being entrusted with a secret like this," she admitted.
It was his turn to snort in amusement. "I'm probably less uncomfortable with it than you are. I've seen your intentions, remember. And summoning magic bores you, anyway," he said with a slight chuckle. "Besides that, you're not exactly hungry for power, and you're not an idiot - both of which would be required to actually abuse such a weapon."
He was right about that, though she certainly felt as though she'd taken leave of her intelligence as of late. She'd have no idea what to do with the staff, anyway, but he'd been kind enough not to mention that. "For what it's worth, I don't think you're a power-hungry idiot, either," she said with a smirk.
Tyrus smiled, but it seemed forced. "I'll consider that the highest compliment you could give me. Let's all hope it stays that way."
"You must feel strongly for this land, to be willing to take this risk."
He looked surprised to hear the comment, his own eyes gazing sorrowfully at the throngs of people in the hall. Katarina watched the crowd with him, her eyes finally falling to a familiar shock of white hair as Ashe entered the hall through the huge doors. Both of them watched as those around her became aware of her presence and bowed their heads, stepping aside to allow her to pass before returning to their work
Katarina didn't think Tyrus would respond, but after a long moment, he did.
"You and I are very different, but we have something in common - we'd both give every piece of ourselves to defend what we care about, even if that care is enormously complicated."
Ashe didn't cross the hall immediately, pausing to check with the men managing the refugees. As they spoke, a very young girl broke free from her mother's grip and grabbed at the hem of Ashe's battle-dress, tears streaming down her face. The queen wordlessly comforted the child with a soothing hand while she conferred with the barbarians.
Katarina didn't look away from her as she spoke to Tyrus. "What do you mean by that?"
Ashe finished speaking to Rakerth before gently directing the little girl back to her mortified-looking mother, who lowered her head in apology. The queen lay a hand on the woman's shoulder briefly before turning to the line of warriors awaiting instruction.
Tyrus spoke while still following her gaze, his words full of knowing. "I don't need to explain the complexity of your situation to you, I'm sure you're well aware."
A man who looked old enough to be a great-great-grandfather stood among the queue of warriors, a thin sword at his belt. Ashe approached him, and he inclined his ancient, bald head as much as he could. She said something quickly, pointing to the line of refugees on the other side. He vehemently shook his head before bowing again.
"As for me…" the summoner continued, "I was conceived before Queen Ashe united our tribes, and as a result, was heavily shunned by both in my earliest years. My Freljordian mother and barbarian father faced challenges that children who share similar ancestry today are sheltered from, for the most part."
The queen moved to the nearby pile of arms and removed a shield before handing it back to the old warrior. He accepted it gratefully, and she turned away to address the barbarian leading the organized militia. They broke formation only for the few seconds it took to let her through to him.
Tyrus' words filled with conviction. "Achieving such a peace was not easy. I owe the queen my life for bringing our tribes together and allowing me to feel pride in this land. To see it change into a place I would die for."
One of the women gathering food approached Ashe during her brief exchange with the barbarian, a long sheet of paper held in her hands. When she had finished speaking to him, she turned to her, glancing over the paper for a moment before nodding and handing it back. She gestured to the rows of small parcels as she spoke.
"I do hope that, for your sake, we are capable of further change," Tyrus finished as he tucked the parchment into his spellbook and stood up from the steps as Ashe's eyes finally fell to the two of them.
The carefully-maintained expression of regal impassivity fell away the moment the queen saw Katarina, replaced with a soft smile as she crossed the empty space between the crowd and the thrones.
"You look good in my clothes," she said by way of greeting.
It took every measure of Katarina's long years of standing at attention for the assassin to avoid fidgeting in that moment. "Thank you," she said simply.
"I had worried they'd be a bit long on you," said Ashe, her smile widening.
"Oh, please," said Katarina, trying to sound more nonchalant than she felt, "you're not that taller than me."
Tyrus let out a soft cough.
Ashe turned to him with a look that was almost sheepish before stepping past them both and approaching the same door she'd carried Katarina through the previous day. "Apologies, Tyrus. This way."
"No need, my queen," he said with a sigh as he followed her. "I just need us moving in the right direction before I lose what's left of my nerve. But if flustering Valoran's most deadly assassin brings you joy in this grim world, then by all means, proceed."
"Excuse you," Katarina said with a pointed glare as she fell into step behind him.
"Notice she doesn't deny it," he quipped. Ashe had to stifle her laughter as she opened the door and ushered them through.
"If you weren't our only hope I'd make you regret that," the assassin mumbled half-heartedly.
"Lucky me," he responded drily as the three of them moved through the corridor.
"It's not far," Ashe assured them both as she led the way. "It will be dark, though. Eigile will have to guide us," she explained as she raised a hand in front of her.
The air in front of her fingers shimmered for just a moment before the familiar crystal hawk appeared, perched regally on her hand. She pulled him close, stroking his ghostly feathers appreciatively. He let out a deep, hoarse "burr" sound from deep in his chest at the contact, sounding almost like a pleased cat.
Katarina didn't have time to properly examine the strange creature she'd never before seen off of the Fields of Justice, but even in broad daylight, the powerful illumination he emitted was certainly impressive.
Ashe held him aloft as they reached a perfectly ordinary looking door. She glanced down both ends of the corridor, and upon finding it empty, she opened it with her free hand. "Quickly," she advised the others, who slipped into the small space.
"Uh…" Katarina glanced around as Ashe closed the door behind them, "…surely this can't be it."
They found themselves in a cramped, cluttered supply closet.
"No one would think to look here," Ashe said by way of explanation, squeezing past Tyrus and Katarina to reach the back wall. "The entrance is here," she confirmed, pushing aside a few scattered brooms before carefully examining the smooth, stone wall that looked utterly unremarkable in every way.
She ran her free hand along the stone until she found a barely-perceptible groove in the wall. "Can I borrow a knife, Kat?" she asked. "Just for a second, I promise."
Katarina nodded, ignoring Tyrus' amused look at the diminutive nickname. She slipped a small blade from her belt and handed it to the queen.
"Thanks," said Ashe, inhaling deeply before pressing the sharp edge to her own index finger, just enough to draw a pinprick of blood. "The first door only opens to descendants of Avarosa," she explained, pressing her bleeding finger into the shallow groove. "The second is up to you, Tyrus."
The smooth stone seemed to flicker before them, then faded into nothingness, revealing a pitch black tunnel that slanted downward steeply into the ground. A strange, foreboding aura seemed to emanate from the darkness. All three of them let out involuntary shivers as a blast of frigid air inexplicably poured from the passageway. Katarina was filled all at once with a sense of unnatural dread. Something about this place felt deeply wrong.
Ashe wordlessly passed the knife back to the assassin before lifting Eigile to the entrance. The hawk spread its wings and took off, soaring several feet into the tunnel, his light revealing the deep gouges in the walls that had clearly been carved long ago. Suddenly, he turned on a dime and flew right back to them. He landed on Katarina's shoulder without a sound.
All three of them stared at the bird in surprise.
"Eigile?" asked Ashe softly.
The effervescent hawk shuffled and turned, staring straight ahead at the tunnel. He ruffled his feathers uneasily before side-stepping closer to Katarina's face, lowering his body to cover his talons and shaking himself a bit, settling onto his new perch.
"That's an encouraging sign," said Tyrus warily.
Ashe shook her head, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry," she said to Katarina, "he's not usually like that."
Despite everything, the assassin managed a small smile as she regarded the hawk on her shoulder. "It's alright," she insisted. "He's…strangely comforting. Birds and I don't usually get along," she said, thinking of Beatrice's frequent invasion of her nightmares.
"Well, he is soul-bound to the queen," Tyrus said with a slight smirk, and Ashe's embarrassment deepened.
"I don't mind leading, if he wants to stay there," Katarina offered. As if in response, Eigile pulled his head closer into his feathered body, making it very clear that he did not intend to move.
The queen sighed gently. "Alright, have it your way," she said to the hawk.
Katarina stepped over the threshold. Instantly, the feeling of dread doubled. Her shadow seemed to twist and contort unnaturally on the uneven surface of the walls. She gripped the knife tightly, suddenly unwilling to sheath it. Her breath caught in her throat until her eyes turned again to the unmoving hawk on her shoulder, and the sight of his light allowed her to exhale.
"Stay close," she instructed the other two as they followed. Ashe obeyed quickly, only an inch away from the assassin's left side after entering the tunnel.
"Oh gods," Tyrus groaned as he came next, nearly plastering himself to Katarina's right side. "How long is this tunnel?" he asked nervously as they all moved together.
"I'm not sure," came Ashe's response, her own words sounding uneasy. "I've never actually been down here, though I remember being told it was not dangerous in itself. There must be some protective enchantment to dissuade intruders. That, or the staff has more power than I thought."
The deeper they went, the more the shadows seemed to bend and twist around them. Before long, menacing whispers could be heard at the very edges of their awareness, chattering madly.
"Someone tell a joke, or something, please," begged Tyrus after a few minutes had passed. "Anything to drown that out." He seemed to be struggling the hardest against the onslaught of the menacing aura.
Katarina frowned, struggling to think of anything light-hearted to say.
"Pick three League champions at random, Kat," Ashe said after a moment in a voice loud enough to mask the worst of the unnerving voices surrounding them. "No Noxians or Freljordians, that would be too easy. And no children."
Katarina was confused, but the mental task at least gave her something to focus on besides the overwhelming urge to turn on her heel and bolt for the supply closet. "Uhh…hmm. Malzahar, Quinn, Graves, I guess?"
"Tyrus - of those three: bed, wed, behead."
The assassin and the summoner shot the queen baffled looks in unison as the walls seemed to pulse around them.
"Really?" said Katarina.
"You can't be serious, my queen," echoed Tyrus.
"The absurdity is the point," Ashe replied with a shrug. "Unless either of you have a better idea."
A strangled laugh fell from Katarina's lips. She decided to lean into it. "Go on then, summoner. Let's hear it."
He stiffened. "I really don't think I can-" a ghostly scream from behind cut him off. All three stopped on a dime. Ashe's hand flew to Katarina's. Even Tyrus locked his grip on the assassin's other arm.
"Don't look," Ashe ordered them both. "Keep moving."
They struggled on.
"…alright, fine," Tyrus conceded. "Bed Quinn - obviously."
"Obviously," Ashe nodded in agreement.
"Wed…Graves?"
"Shotgun wedding," mumbled Katarina, causing him to glare at her.
"Behead Malzahar."
"Fair enough," said Ashe as the shadows seemed to reach out for her. "Your turn. Pick three and then pick one of us."
"Cho'gath, Kog'maw, Rek'sai," he said after a moment's hesitation. "For you, Noxian."
Ashe laughed.
"Oh come on," the assassin rolled her eyes. "I gave you humans!"
"You already kissed Kog'maw," the queen teased. "You're halfway there, really."
"…what?" said Tyrus, bewildered.
"You are not telling that story," Katarina warned darkly.
"Fine, but only if you answer," Ashe countered.
The Noxian seethed.
"Bed Rek'sai, wed Cho…behead Kog," she growled. "As punishment, you get Yorick, Alistar, and Malphite."
Ashe considered with a level of care that seemed entirely unnecessary.
"Bed Malphite," she finally said.
"Rock solid," quipped Tyrus, clutching Katarina's arm a bit tighter in the next moment as disembodied footsteps sprinted across the stone in front of them.
"Wed Yorick."
"You'd get his ghouls as step-kids," warned Katarina.
"Better that than marrying Alistar. Behead."
Before either of them could respond, the noises around them stopped all at once, and the shadows receded entirely. The resulting silence brought them to another halt. It was so heavy, so complete that Katarina could hear the blood pumping through her own brain.
"Gods, how is that worse than the whispers?" Tyrus remarked, his voice trembling.
"It's here," Ashe announced, dropping Katarina's hand and stepping just beyond Eigile's light. The other two followed quickly, revealing more smooth stone in front of them. A faint outline in roughly the shape of a doorway could be seen on the surface - other than that, the wall looked wholly unremarkable.
Tyrus took a deep breath and stood in front of the stone before pressing a hand to it.
"Vlód…ísk…daurdr…ódr. Meg gudin bjarg ér frák sálfum érs," he recited carefully.
Katarina expected the wall to shimmer and fade, like the previous one had. Instead, it shattered like glass, sharp pieces of the stone tumbling into the space beyond. Tyrus recoiled in surprise.
"Are you alright?" Ashe asked him with concern.
The summoner nodded stiffly. "Watch your step," he advised before carefully moving among the fractured pieces and into the dark tomb.
"Go next, for light," Ashe instructed Katarina. The assassin obeyed, revealing a small, plain room that was scarcely larger than the supply closet. The only feature was an unadorned sarcophagus that sat in the center of the small space, coated with a thin layer of frost.
"How do we open it?" she asked the summoner as Ashe entered behind her.
Tyrus frowned. "There was no other incantation," he replied, "…just, push the lid, I suppose?"
"It's frozen shut," remarked Ashe.
"Is that…normal ice?" asked Katarina.
The queen leaned over to inspect the seal, placing a hand on it. "Seems to be," she confirmed.
The assassin lifted the hand that still clutched her knife and thrust it at the small gap beneath the stone lid, breaking the thin sheet of frost as she did so.
"A primitive solution," commented Tyrus, "but if it works, I suppose."
Katarina paused to pull two more small knives from her belt, holding them out to the others. "Help me break the seal."
Tyrus set his spellbook on the floor, and they each took a blade and began to scrape away at the gap. It took only a few moments before they'd collectively circled the entire sarcophagus.
"Try now," said Ashe, handing the knife back. Tyrus did the same, and Katarina sheathed the blades before pressing both hands onto the side of the frigid lid. The queen and the summoner mimicked the stance beside her.
"1…2…3…heave," Ashe ordered, and their combined strength forced the slab to move. Pain shot through Katarina's shoulder, and she grit her teeth to ignore it. The stone creaked ominously as it slid, another blast of cold air erupting from within as the sarcophagus opened. The heavy stone fell to the opposite side with a thud strong enough to shake the entire room.
All three of them peered inside, where the long staff sat in wait. It was surprisingly simple, given the fanfare - a rough, gnarled limb that had been shaped from birch. Halfway up its length, four shallow notches had been crudely carved into it. At the top, it split into a chaotically twisted tangle of branches. Something glinted from within the wooden knot as Eigile's light reached it.
"Stand back," said Tyrus, and both women did without hesitation.
The summoner seemed to steel himself for a few seconds before reaching within the sarcophagus. A powerful shudder wracked his entire body the moment his skin made contact with the wood. He pulled the staff from within and held it in front of him as the air around them began to stir. For a long moment, he did not move.
"Tyrus?" Ashe called, taking a step closer to the summoner.
"Don't touch me," he said in warning before turning back to face them.
The cold light that illuminated his face gave his eyes an unsettling, ghostly quality. His pupils darted back and forth at unnatural speed, as though unable to process something vast and unseen.
"There's…" his voice broke, "there's so much noise," he struggled to speak against whatever horror was filling him.
Ashe bent to retrieve his spellbook, flipping it open to the parchment and bringing it back to him.
"Focus," she said, gently but firmly.
His wandering eyes fell to the spell, and he took it from her with a trembling hand, holding it up to his face and staring at it as if it were the only thing in the universe that could keep him tethered to the ground.
"Let's go," he mumbled after a moment. "Quickly, please."
The brisk walk back through the tunnel was far less disturbing for Katarina and Ashe as they made their way back to the surface. There was no sound, save for their footsteps echoing off the walls. No shadows clung to them now.
A few paces behind them, Tyrus still held the parchment in front of him, almost as though it was a shield.
"Should we avoid the hall?" Katarina asked as they were almost back to the supply closet.
"I'll need a map of the whole region," Tyrus said before Ashe could respond, "with the barrier marked."
The queen seemed to deliberate as they exited the tunnel. The stone wall reappeared a moment after the summoner had stepped over the threshold.
"I'll get one from Rakerth," Ashe assured. "Exit through one of the side doors. I don't want that thing in the crowd, but I suppose there's not much point in secrecy now - the spell can't exactly be hidden, anyway. I'll meet you close to the front steps. Try to stay away from the thick of things."
She turned back towards the hall, and Eigile suddenly took off from Katarina's shoulder to follow her, startling the assassin.
"You'll have to lead," she said to Tyrus. "This place confounds me."
The summoner made no verbal indication that he had heard her, but he started walking in the opposite direction, eyes never leaving the parchment. A few corridors later, they reached an outer door flanked by guards, who stared at them in confusion as they approached.
They came to a stop in front of the door. Katarina glanced sideways at the summoner, who made no further movement.
She cleared her throat. He said nothing.
The guards exchanged a brief glance. "State your business," one of them said.
Katarina awkwardly shifted her weight. How the hell was she supposed to explain this?
"Strengthening the defense," she finally said, "orders of A- …uh, the queen."
The guard's eyes narrowed. "Strengthening the defense?" he asked skeptically. "You?"
Katarina shook her head and nodded at Tyrus. "Not me, him. I'm just here for…" she floundered again, "…moral support."
The guard seemed thoroughly unconvinced. "You'll have to go through the hall," he finally offered.
"We can't," the Noxian said vaguely.
"And why is that?" asked the other guard.
The assassin cursed internally, turning to the summoner and reaching out, intending to shake him by the shoulder. "Tyrus, a little help here-"
"Don't touch me!" he screamed right before her fingers could make contact, his words carrying an unnerving echo, as though multiple voices had spoken at once. She recoiled as he looked up from the parchment, fixing her with a stare of unnaturally bright white. His pupils had completely disappeared. An eerie blue glow emanated from within the staff's top for the briefest of seconds.
The guards bristled, looking at him with great disquiet. "What in the-"
"Let us through," he commanded in that same unearthly tone.
Both guards went limp in unison, bowing their heads in subservience before stepping aside. He shouldered open the door and stepped out into the cold. Katarina followed a moment later, careful to keep several feet between them.
They walked along the side of the castle, hugging the wall as several horse-drawn carts loaded with frightened-looking citizens passed by them. Most of them seemed too preoccupied with worry to pay the strange pair any mind.
When they were almost to the stone steps at the entrance, Tyrus stopped short, pressing his back against the stone of the castle. Katarina followed suit.
They waited for a tense minute before the assassin dared to speak. "Maybe you should put that thing down for just a second."
He didn't acknowledge the comment, staring up into the sky with a stoic expression.
Another minute passed before Ashe appeared around the corner with a large scroll clutched in her hand. She saw them after a moment and approached quickly.
"Are you ready?" she asked Tyrus.
The summoner still did not move or speak.
"He's acting really weird," explained Katarina. "Don't touch him. Seriously."
Ashe's brow furrowed in concern, and she put herself right in front of the man, looking into his terrifying pale eyes. "Tyrus, come back," she said heavily.
"Give me the map," he responded with too many voices.
The queen's eyes widened as she wordlessly passed him the scroll. He unrolled it, his unseeing eyes passing over it before he nodded in satisfaction and placed it on the frozen ground in front of his feet. Katarina saw the entirety of Freljord depicted on its surface, dotted with lines and red X's. A near-perfect circle had been drawn around the edges.
He placed the base of the staff in the center of the circle before opening his mouth again and beginning to chant. A burst of blue light shot out from the top of the staff as he did. Katarina couldn't pick out the words he used, or even discern remotely what language he was speaking - the overlapping vocalizations made such things impossible. The wind picked up as he recited the incantation - a gentle breeze at first, then a sustained gust, and finally a roiling gale. The people nearby on the streets looked up in confusion, some of them running for cover.
Ashe looked up as well, her white hair whipping around her face. "There!" she called out, pointing directly above them. Katarina had to wipe her own hair out of her face to be able to see what she was referring to.
The fading daylight reflected off a strange, flickering disk high in the sky. It rapidly expanded in size, the edges growing to fill the sky above them. Tyrus continued his chant, his many voices never wavering. He stared down at the map with laser focus.
The disk grew larger still, beginning to dive back down towards the ground in a wide arc. Tyrus' words grew louder and faster, completely unintelligible but nearly frantic as he approached the end.
The instant the shimmering edges of the barrier touched the ground, he fell silent. The blue light extinguished. The wind died in the same second, as though a great door had been suddenly shut against a tumultuous storm. The lights in the sky that surrounded them on all sides flickered before disappearing into nothing. At a glance, it appeared as though nothing had changed.
"…did it work?" Katarina asked hesitantly, looking out over the clear sky.
Ashe drew her bow from her back, stringing it with an arrow from her quiver and aiming it into the air. She released, and both of them watched as the missile soared high before striking something invisible and plummeting back down to the ground below.
The queen exhaled with relief as her eyes followed its path.
"Tyrus, I can't thank you enough," she breathed. "None of us can, you've…Tyrus?"
She'd looked to him as she spoke, and his frightful appearance cut off her words of praise. Katarina watched as his face contorted into a mask of agony, his entire body seeming to vibrate with untold power.
"No…stop! Please!" he wailed into the ether with only one voice. The hand gripping the staff raised into the air. It almost seemed as though he was being pulled. Both of them watched in horror as his arm quickly turned into solid ice, spreading up his outstretched limb from where his hand clutched the staff with alarming speed.
Katarina reacted on pure instinct. A long blade was in her hand before she could even consciously make the decision to pull it out. She threw out a wild strike with as much power as she possibly could, her knife connecting with the wood right above Tyrus' hand. The wretched thing flew from his grip, clattering out onto the icy street in front of them.
The summoner fell to his knees, clutching his frozen arm in terror.
Ashe dropped down beside him, reaching out a hand before stopping herself halfway. "Is it alright to touch you now?" she asked softly.
The man nodded, still staring straight ahead with the same clouded eyes. The queen pulled him into a tight hug, but he did not react.
"Guards!" she called loudly behind her, not letting go of him.
From the direction of the steps, the lingering edges of the crowd parted to let six guards through as they sprinted to the queen.
"Two of you - keep watch over that staff," she said before they could even stop in front of her, motioning to the fallen weapon in the street with a jerk of her head. "Day and night. Rotate as needed. I cannot stress this enough: do not touch it. Do not let anyone near it. Direct all traffic around it. Answer no questions and keep everyone else away from it at all costs."
Two of them nodded in acknowledgment before moving to their post, a few hasty orders called out roughly to the handful of curious onlookers who had begun to get close.
"Two more," she addressed the others, "bring this summoner to the infirmary. See that he receives treatment immediately." She released Tyrus to allow the guards closer. They stood on either side of him, lifting him to a standing position and shouldering his weight. The one at his right did not hide his shock at the sight of his icy arm as they led him back towards the steps.
"You two," she continued as she stood up, grabbing the map from the ground beside her as she did so, "a barrier has been erected around all of Freljord for protection. It isn't visible. Inform Veliaf and Balgrun. Have them send scouts along all the edges, marked here," she passed the map to one of the guards. "They are to test its integrity as thoroughly as possible and report its condition to me before midnight." They nodded and turned to follow the guards who carried Tyrus.
Katarina approached Ashe the moment they were alone, though she was dimly aware of the eyes of the remaining onlookers, and stifled the urge to reach for her.
"I hope that cursed staff didn't obliterate his mind," Ashe said grimly, "and I don't know if I dare to believe that we're safe."
"Safer than we were this morning," Katarina said in an attempt to be comforting.
"True. Though I won't stop the warriors from going to their posts."
"Probably wise," the assassin affirmed. "Better to have them and not need them."
Ashe sighed with the weight of a thousand tons before finally turning to meet her eyes. "I want nothing more than to take you to bed before sleeping for a hundred years or so," she confessed. "But I still have so much more to do."
The corners of Katarina's lips twitched. "A tragedy," she agreed, "but one I'll forgive you for."
"How are your injuries?" The queen asked with concern. "That was probably a bit too much excitement."
The assassin shook her head, pretending not to feel the ache in every limb that she'd been studiously ignoring all day. "I really didn't do much."
"Still, you should rest while you can."
Katarina normally would have rolled her eyes in frustration at the suggestion, but the genuine care in Ashe's eyes kept her from doing so. "Alright," she conceded.
"I'll find you tonight, when I have the time," the queen promised, starting to turn away.
"Wait!" called the assassin, stopping the other woman. "I, uh…" she hesitated. "I have no idea how to get back to the room. I got lost earlier," she admitted with a sigh.
Ashe looked apologetic. "I should have thought of that."
"It's fine," Katarina insisted. "You're busy. I'd hate to ask for a guard to escort me, but I think I need one."
The queen shook her head. "Take Eigile," she offered, reaching out a hand and calling the hawk to her silently. He appeared on her fingers a moment later. "He will actually lead you this time, instead of being a glorified lantern," she said, more to the bird than to her.
Katarina could swear she saw the creature's nearly-translucent eyes narrow as he glared at his master.
"Don't look at me like that," she chided. "You know that I love you, even when you embarrass me."
The hawk gave another strange purring sound before he flew from her fingers, soaring in a tight circle above Katarina's head.
"Thank you," the assassin said with an amused smirk.
"No, thank you," Ashe insisted before departing.
Katarina watched her go for a few seconds, feeling her chest tightening as she turned away and followed Eigile back into Läslina.
A/N: About a million years ago, in my thread on the League of Legends forums (may they rest in peace), someone requested a Woad Ashe cameo. I have absolutely no memory of who it was, and no idea if that person is still reading - if so, hi! I hope Woad Katarina is an acceptable substitute.
Confession: I spent way longer than I'd like to admit debating on whether or not the scene in the tunnel was too ridiculous to include or not, but ultimately decided that the story needed a bit of levity. If you hate it, sorry not sorry. Take it up with my lawyers, who will be using the divine insanity defense.