The Fall: 34. The Trailblazer's Path

The Trailblazer's Path

The yordles had prepared a small building for them to live and rest after the long escape they had gone through.

-I told you that we're not the first leaving, Shyvana. -calmly said Taric.

-That's not the point Taric! -answered Shyvana, who was clearly nervous.- You tricked us into this!

-There's a reason for it, Shyvana... -said Taric on his typical tone, trying to fade out the rage that had lighted up in the half-dragon's heart.

-Your loneliness! -shouted Shyvana.- Is it the fact that you were not called? -angrily pointed out the Demacian warrior.- You know you're not one of us, Taric!

-Why won't you trust me? -said Taric, with his voice rising in volume and deepening it's tone while his gems glowed like bloodstone.- The Trailblazer has always been around here! We'll find the way back into those days!

-They won't be back, Taric.- said Shyvana, with a lower voice.- You met Zilean long ago, you know how ill he is. What he said cannot be blindly trusted.

-It's not about him. -clarified Taric, his voice calming a little while his shield glowed like a ruby.- It's not about a twisted legend that's thousands of years old, Shyvana...

-Then what's it about? -asked Shyvana, tired of Taric's words.

-Just trust me. You'll see him before Bandle City leaves. The caretaker always comes when he's really needed.

...

They needed a pause. Both Lucian and Yasuo had been following Tahm Kench's orders for long. He was supposed to know where they were going, but Yasuo didn't trust him enough and Lucian didn't even know about Anyssa and Ezreal.

Also, he didn't know how they were faring with their wounds.

...

Nothing but pain.

His arm was aching as it had never been. Jayce was supposed to have fixed the artifact, such a reaction from a hit was not expected. What had that monster used? What weapon was he wielding? It had shone as nothing Ezreal had seen before. And Ezreal, the prodigal explorer, had seen quite a lot of things.

It reminded him of the stones he had seen at the Shuriman tombs; painted in the walls, it looked like those stones had been used to keep something out. The question is; what?

...

An obsidian blade. LeBlanc had not expected an obsidian blade. She hadn't even expected the attack, but if it had been a normal beast she could have simply dashed out of its range and stop him. But, why was she alive?

Usually, an obsidian blade would have killed her in the instant that it got to pierce her skin. She could feel the pain of it, but she couldn't tell where her wounds were. She was simply aching, her whole body in pain and paralyzed.

Still, if hat was the case, someone had stopped the monster from getting to her.

Someone was foolish enough to try to save her, and she loved every detail of it.

...

Hecarim and his army reached him hours after he had finished with the last remnants of Xin Zhao, and after him came Kalista, Mordekaiser, Karthus and more.

It had been difficult for Thresh to convince them all of joining him; most of them had had some highs and lows between themselves during the last hundreds of years, but when Thresh made a call of this type they were all eager to follow.

-To the Kumungu jungle, Hecarim. -said Thresh.

Without an answer, the Shadow of War marched. He had been needed to guide the rest; now he left, since Hecarim had never liked Thresh's tricks. No one liked to fool around with Thresh's lantern.

...

When LeBlanc started to feel better, Tahm Kench explained it all to her.

Rengar was the name of the beast that had attacked them; he had never lived in a place so close to where they were by then, but someone had invited him to make a stop by her. Darkwill had given the beast the idea.

-Do you really think I don't know how he got the Obsidian blade? -said LeBlanc, still aching a bit but now able to hold herself on her feet.- Answer my question, you demon.

-You may only have a slight hint, but you can never know something you didn't witness. -answered Tahm Kench, clearly mocking LeBlanc.

The Fall: 20. Into The Woods

Into The Woods

Sona felt as if weeks had passed away while they were escaping Demacia through the old mines. The moment in which Taric's opals started to disappear and the sun bathed her bare shoulders she felt as if it was one of the best days of her life.

-It's been a whole week. Shyvana and them should be around here. -said Taric, looking at her eyes while he softly passed his hands through his hammer's sides.- We were supposed to meet right here.

Sona would have been nervous if it had been another person the one that talked those words. But the way Taric did it, even if she knew that he was not comfortable with the situation, only transmitted peace. Taric's presence made her feel as if everything was alright. Suddenly, Sona noted how Taric was silently calling her.

When she got closer she realized that Taric was pointing at something in the floor; a blood trail went into the woods.

-It's recent. -whispered Taric.

Without a single word, Taric started to walk, diving deep into the woods, following the fresh blood that laid drying in the groud.

...

Why was Gnar so excited? Didn't he realize what they meant?

Rengar had discovered Gnar the wrong way; he had thought of the little creature as a prey, only to discover himself closed in a cave against a real monster. That nearly costed him the other eye.

The presence of that Gargoyle and the Half-Dragon in the forest was unusual; the fact that they were carrying a handless yordle was even stranger. And when something strange happenned in the forest, Kha'Zix knew about it. Kha'Zix was always around, lurking, waiting for something that could distract Rengar; then he would go into a messy battle that usually ended with both of them hurt and the third party torn to pieces.

But it would be different now. Rengar and Gnar together had managed to protect all those simple beings that wandered hopelessly into the forest. Sometimes he still missed the days when he would be the one hunting these creatures; he knew that the half-dragon's head would look great in his belt. But the appearance of both Gnar and Kha'Zix had changed it all. Kha'Zix taught him to focus in one prey at a time. Gnar taught him to expect the unexpected, and to be respectful with those who look weaker thank you. The little creature had also taught him how hollow and alone both had been before meeting each other.

-¡Demagliaaaaa! -shouted Gnar, while jumping onto the Gargoyle's head.

His little Gnar was always curious, always happy and always in trouble. His little friend Gnar had always been like that; at least since Rengar knew him.

...

At first, Shyvana had feared that the little creature attacked Poppy; yes, they could just take it down, but they needn't risk calling the attention. The woods were still way too close to Demacia, Quinn and Vayne wouldn't take long to discover their track and follow them wherever they went. 'Even if they didn't want to...' thought the half-dragon.

The loss of the king, Jarvan the IV, had been a horrible strike for Demacia as a whole, but those closer to him had suffered it more. 'Nothing more than ashes.' had said Garen, before jumping at her sword in hand. Her beloved king, Garen's best friend and Demacia's strangest ruler.

Jarvan's death was something that would haunt them all for a long time; Shyvana knew that she'd be lucky if she got to die without remembering his smile.

The Fall: 18. Wandering

Wandering

The aether wisps had suddenly disappeared. Astor suddenly found himself alone in the dark of the forest. He could hear a weak water stream around, but he could see nothing but leaves, roots and enormous trees around him. That meant that the chain monster had not followed him, else he would be hearing its chains' cling-clang at least.

Astor started to look for the water stream, as water would end up guiding him somewhere better than the middle of a forest. A small stream could end up in a bigger one, that would later on show him the way to a river and, if he was lucky enough, a vilage. But after hours of searching he realized that there was no way to find the stream. Even though there were no sounds, the place was dark and countless plants covered the floor, the shortest ones reaching his knees.

When he was starting to think that his days might be coming to an end, he heard the flapping of wings. That was a good sign; there was something alive near him. Even if it was dangerous, it was better to find something to do than laying in the forest; the lack of activity and the cold would end up killing him otherwise.

Suddenly, he saw something shining under a barbed plant near his feet. At first he thought that the aether wisps might be back, but after looking at it for a bit longer he realized that the creature that was down there was no aether wisp at all. The little yellow being's head was way bigger than it's body, which resembled to that of a human; its small legs didn't touch the ground, and his white eyes were open wide and looking at Astor's boots.

When he started moving his hands towards the little being that was down there, Astor heard the flapping again, now louder. Scared and surprised, he raised his head only to find a red butterfly flying over his head. The insect was approaching him and, once it reached his nose, it bursted in blood.