Riven's Tale: A Noxian Dream (Fanfiction)
Update! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10941986/2/Riven-s-Tale-A-Noxian-Dream
Introduction:
Riven was once a poster child of her country. Someone the whole nation looked up to, a person honored and respected by many. This was long ago, before her downfall, the betrayal, and the deaths of her comrades. But...who is the person who hides herself behind a mask of calmness? Who was the woman, who broke her sword? It's only a story within one document in the Noxian archives... (Riven origin story. Will contain RivenXOc (F/F and maybe M/F) I will update this thread every time a new chapter is out. Prologue is posted here as a preview)
Prologue
The lost Company
The road which lay before them was muddy and wet. Their armored boots made a disgusting sound, whenever one of them stepped into a puddle. Some of them even slipped on this underground. Maybe they didn't pay enough attention or more likely because they were tired and exhausted. The last days were unpleasant for them. Constant rain...it wasn't good for the moral or the health of troops, when they needed to sleep in wet tents, when their boots started to fill themselves with dirt and mud.
Not only was the street muddy...but it was also damaged and partly destroyed, and nobody cared about it anymore. The weaponry of death, the chemical cannons and artillery, which drove here on another day far ahead of their unit, already bringing destruction to other parts of the island...it was their fault. The armored vehicles were too heavy for streets like this. Wherever they went destruction followed.
One young girl was sitting on top of one of these vehicles. They drove without the help of horses and instead used some kind of magical motor. It was strange for her. Her once shimmering green-silver set of armor was dirty. Blood, mud, dirt...everything mixed itself together on the steel. When the runic symbols wouldn't be there..somebody could easily mistake her for some kind of bandit or raider.
Her fingers wandered over the giant runesword, which she held in one hand. She held it with ease, even though the blade alone without the handle, was as big as herself. The fingernails scratched some dirt away from the green, rune inscriptions. An idle habit, long deprived of any meaning. Besides that it wouldn't matter. Soon enough her sword would taste more blood again. Blood...for Noxus.
The girl looked up from her sword into the distance. The sun was nowhere to see, blocked out by thick and heavy dark clouds. Soon it would rain again. The only thing she saw was: Fog. Everywhere. She could barely see fifty meters into the distance. She literally felt how the fog wandered under her armor and clothing. It felt like the cold caress of death itself.
She shook her head to get these thoughts out of it. She needed to focus. She needed to concentrate on her mission here. She was the captain of this company. The field commander of all units within this area. Their leader and highest ranking officer. She didn't have the luxury to idle around hanging on to her thoughts, while her troops marched. 'Focus on the mission.'
She suddenly felt how the road slowly started to go down a hill.
‟Halt!" The girl heard the loud, commanding voice behind her. The whole unit instantly stopped, some looked at each other slightly confused about the unscheduled halt. The young woman jumped down from the vehicle, safely landing on her feet. She heard the sound of a horse, which came closer and finally the figure of a man, who sat on its back.
‟What is it? Why do we stop?" she asked in a calm voice. Her eyes wandered over the man. He was the commanding officer of their allies. The leader of the weaponry and their tanks. He didn't look like a soldier. More like some kind of lab-rat with a bald head. Some flasks and a gas mask hung on his belt.
‟Commander Riven..I have to talk with you," the man said calmly and descended from his horse, pulling off his gloves. One of his eyes glowed slightly green and focused Riven. He looked rather creepy.
‟Orders commander?" another voice was to hear, and Riven looked over her shoulder. A soldier of her unit walked towards her. Unlike most other soldiers here his armor looked nearly undamaged. He was a fresh conscript from the mainland. He came here only a few days ago when they left the village. Even though she wasn't very old, he looked like he just celebrated his transition to adulthood.
‟Get into defensive positions and wait for further orders," Riven answered. This young boy was filled with a thirst for action. He would be a good soldier. He saluted and quickly ran back to his position. Riven looked back to the officer. ‟So...what is the problem, Singed? We don't have the time to idle around."
Singed pulled out a map from a saddlebag and opened it. Riven checked the map for a moment. It was a map they had taken from one of the inhabitants of this island. Her eyes wandered over the different symbols and runes written on the paper. She had her problems to identify the writings. Why in the name of Sion, did these people have another alphabet and letters then them? Singed's finger pointed at a valley. Co..Coe...Coeur Valley? Was it called like that? Probably.
‟I never idle around, commander", Singed started and his fingers wandered across the map. ‟We're here right now. I got word from the 42nd Standard a few hours ago. This valley here is a trap for our heavy weaponry. 42nd reported that they lost multiple Melters because of the underground."
‟So..any alternative paths?" Riven asked and did her best to hide the annoyance in her voice. The Melter weaponry was very effective against heavy fortified positions. They fired a few times and the remaining Ionian forces were simply overwhelmed. But, well. It wasn't the kind of combat, she had trained for. But, on the other hand High Command didn't want to lose these cannons. 'Protect them and don't lose them,' Riven recalled the orders.
‟The only other way is through Xuen-Valley...which is a three day trip from here," Singed answered calmly and pointed at the map. ‟Besides that valley isn't secure at this moment. I suggest that your unit search for a safe path through this pile of dirt here."
‟Alright. I will personally lead the approach. You and your men provide us with overwatch. When we need support, I will signal you with a distress flare," Riven explained and checked her belt for this signal gun.
‟I don't think this will be necessary. Noxian intelligence reported that not even half of the units we expected were here in this area, when the Fourth Regiment overran them," Singed replied and rolled up the map. ‟Anyway. Let's get to work commander. Ionia shall fall." With these words he returned to his horse.
‟Yeah, right..." Riven slightly nodded at the chemist. She observed his departure to their rear guard, where most of the Melters were driving. She had the feeling, that he hid something. But, well...it was more likely, that she had this feeling because she simply didn't like him.
The dusk was already approaching, when her unit started to move. Was it really that late already? Riven didn't have any feeling of time anymore. During these military operations there was no night, no day. There was only the call of duty, the fighting and sometimes short moments of sleep and rest. Everything else didn't matter.
It didn't take that long for Fury Company to gather and get into march formation, no miracle though as Fury Company was one of the best units of the entire Noxian army. A few of her soldiers carried long wooden sticks, torches and halberds with them. With these things they would mark a safe passage for their artillery.
The underground was even muddier than before and the fog even thicker. It sent chills down her spine, when they walked through the valley. Something unnatural hung in the air, something unspeakable. Riven shortly felt a pang of nausea, when she stepped into some dirt. Parts of it were colored red. It wasn't the rainwater which dampened the soil.
‟Uah...what's this stench?" Firstly Riven didn't even notice the scent in the air. She had smelt it too often during the last weeks and days. She was already accustomed towards it so she no longer took it into account. But, the new conscripts and recruits did.
‟That's the stench of death, mate. You better get used to it," one of her company soldiers said with a monotone voice. Just like everyone else he was already apathetic towards this scenery. Left and right from them their route the corpses were lying around. It felt like the fog was trying to hide the scenery of horror before them, but it was a meaningless attempt.
Between the countless Ionian uniforms in their reddish-white coloration, Riven spotted some Noxian soldiers. On the shoulderpad from one of them she spotted the stylized number four. The sheer amount of death, surprised Riven for a short moment. 'Only the strong survive,' she thought and her mind recalled information from another day.
The plan had been that the Fourth Regiment should push through the front lines, directly into the heart of Ionia and establish an encampment close to the Placidium. It would be their main camp and from there they would lead the charge into the very heart of Ionia. After that the 42nd should support them with heavy armor and weaponry. The original plan was that Fury Company would go together with them...but Riven's unit needed to re-equip and rearm themselves due to the heavy fighting before.
'So these must be the forces Singed was talking about...' Even though he said, they overran them..for Riven it looked like a grim battle had taken place here. For such a meager resistance the number of Noxian uniforms among them was surprisingly high.
She was impressed by the Ionian willpower and strength. They never gave up, no matter how hopeless the situation was, no matter how the circumstances were. High Command expected that the peace loving Ionians would quickly surrender under the Noxian and Zaunnite juggernaut on their homeland. But, instead they fought fiercely and unrelenting. Even though the rising number of dead civilians during these harsh battles was staggering...
Riven shook her head and focused on the underground. Her boots had already become brownish from the dirt. Focus is essential. And her mission right now was to clear a path. One thing after another. That had her drill instructor always barked at her.
Footsteps directly before her unit, interrupted her thoughts harshly and Riven immediately returned to the here and now. She raised her giant runesword into the air, and the entire company stopped. Some soldiers already turned to their left or right, covering their flanks. ‟Get ready," Riven whispered and the order quickly reached even the last member of the company.
A young girl, a few years older than Riven, stepped out of the fog into their field of view. Her clothing, which looked like they were once colorful and pretty, was torn and matted with blood. When she spotted the Noxian soldiers, which stood their weapons in hand, ready for combat, she mumbled something in a language Riven couldn't understand. She fell down on her knees, her eyes widened and tear-stained.
‟No no no...not more, please," she whispered and quietly started to whimper.
‟You two. Get here and bring her out of here," Riven ordered two soldiers, which stood on her side. Handling civilians had been a common task during the last weeks. Handling them...which meant to bring them into labor camps where they worked for the Noxian military. Or sometimes they were just...dispatched. Her unit wasn't trained for this.
But, at this point Riven didn't care anymore. Only the strong survive. There was no place for weakness or in general: Weaklings.
The two soldiers walked towards the girl and stopped, looking at each other. It was obvious that they both hoped that the other one would do the first step. Riven was about to intervene, but the sudden flash of a moment distracted her.
The girl suddenly stood on her feet, a small weapon in her fist. A thin red mist appeared before both soldiers, which crumbled and fell down onto the ground, dead before they hit it. ‟You will pay for all the lives you've stolen you bastards!," the girl shouted, her voice filled with hatred and disappeared into the fog.
‟AMBUSH!" Her warning was lost, when soldiers started crying and the clashing of weapons was to hear. From everywhere around them Ionian soldiers appeared out of the fog. Some of the supposed corpses suddenly moved weapons in hand, and their eyes filled with hatred. They were very much alive.
‟We're losing the rear guard!" one of her comrades shouted and she heard the dying screams of soldiers behind her. They completely took them by surprise.
‟Defensive formation!" Riven screamed and quickly pulled out a distress flare, sending it into the darkened sky. Other soldiers of her company shot more flares into the air and the red light illuminated the whole valley. They were completely surrounded and vastly outnumbered. 'Not even half of the expected enemy forces...' Riven heard Singed voice in her head.
One of the Ionians jumped at Riven. Time seemed to slow down for a short moment, as Riven watched his motion. She grabbed her sword with both hands and swung it. One mighty blow of the blade, and the Ionian was bisected together with his weapon. The whole motion only lasted for a second.
Riven wouldn't surrender nor would she give up. This right here was the style of fighting she had trained for. This was a real battlefield, a field where only the strong survived. Only the strong would prevail! With a scream she attacked another enemy.
The circle of Noxian soldiers went smaller and smaller. They already stood back to back, protecting each other as well as they could. But, half of their unit was already dead or dying. The Ionians took their time now. Like predators they circled around Riven's unit, killing them slowly one after another. For a short moment Riven wondered how long the Ionians laid here between their dead comrades and friends. And what kind of fanaticism was needed to lay in the blood and guts from them.
‟FOR NOXUS!" Riven shouted to rally her man for their final stand. One way or another..she would end this. She would die fighting.
Suddenly Riven heard an explosion not far away from their position. It sounded like someone threw some kind of grenade. She heard Ionians screaming in pain and suffering, some of them were sent flying into the air. Riven spun around in search for the source, just as another explosion hit the soldiers closer to her own unit.
She couldn't hear anything besides her own heartbeat. More explosions hit the fighting forces. It was a complete chaos. Some soldiers were still fighting, some Noxians tried to break out of the circle, others were simply running to escape the hell. And some others...Riven heard the muffled screaming. She saw how a Noxian soldier held his hands before his face. A strange greenish mass of...something was dripping onto the ground.
She realized it. The Melters had opened fire on them.