The Dark Rebellion

-Hello! This is my first fan-fiction that I've ever written. Any feedback or commentary you have for me is appreciated, otherwise enjoy! -Fugertech

Aiden slowly, painfully, opened his eyes. An overcast sky met him, dropping lazy bouts of rain on his skin. All feeling had left him, except his own sudden exhaustion. His eyes began to close, shutting the world out. “Hey! Heeeeeey!” Aiden’s eyelids fluttered weakly as he heard a distant voice. It was the voice of a girl, he thought. As he painfully opened his eyes again, they were met with a tangle of blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The light that shown from them made Aiden’s lids droop once more. “Mom? There’s someone over here!” Aiden felt his consciousness ebb away as he heard the girl’s cries. The sound of footsteps lulled him into unconsciousness. . . . “Hey! Heeeeeey!” Aiden was drawn from his thoughts, turning to the person seated next to him in the carriage. Lux was looking at him with a slightly troubled expression on her face. “Something wrong?” she asked. “Just thinking,” came the quick reply. “Oh,” she said, the usual mirth returning to her features, “ya know, we’re almost to the Institute. Isn’t it exciting?” Aiden half smiled. “Sure is.” Lux turned to look out the window. Aiden leaned back against the soft leather of the chair, closing his eyes. He often reminisced back to that day. It wasn’t until he regained consciousness that he realized what had happened. The Crownguard family had taken him in, instead of throwing him to an orphanage. Suddenly, he had an idea. “Hey Lux, why did your family take me in like that?” “Well,” she said, turning to him, “it took every favor I could pull on them. I hated the idea of sending you away.” Aiden laughed. “Why?” “Umm…” she said, blushing slightly. “Never mind,” he said, returning to his daydreaming. Lux turned to look back out the window, shrieking excitedly. Aiden’s eyes shot open. “Aiden, look at the Institute!” He leaned over to get a better view. Unbeknownst to him, it had stopped raining, and the sun had revealed itself. Now, approaching at a steady pace, highlighted by the sun, was the Institute of War. Its polished marble walls rose much higher above the trees that surrounded it. A massive number of balconies, outside rooms, and walkways dotted its surface. From this distance, Aiden could see that several people were walking on the top of the gargantuan building. The roof, too, it seemed, had small rooms popping out of the top. Aiden stared in wonder. Never had he seen anything so massive or grand. The Institute dwarfed the country-side surrounding it. As they came even nearer, Aiden saw that the entrance had little traffic. Finally, the carriage pulled to a stop. Aiden opened the door, gesturing for Lux to get out first. She obliged, grabbing her wand. Aiden stepped out and felt the door close behind him. He turned in slow circles, admiring the scenery. His gaze rested on Lux. Standing in the sunlight, her usual radiance was multiplied. She turned around, and, seeing his gaze, blushed a little. “Aiden, why are you looking at me like that? Is something out of place?” she said, immediately smoothing her already perfect dress. Her features turned scarlet when she looked back at him, or rather, behind him. Aiden turned to look behind him, smiling. Standing a few feet away was a woman, dressed in golden battle armor. “Lady Leona,” Aiden said simply, bowing. Her laugh was as bright as the sunrise. “It is nice to meet you, Aiden. Lux has spoken highly of you. We rarely go a day without hearing about you.” “Really?” he replied, turning to look at Lux. Her blush was deep scarlet, “it is an honor to meet you, Leona.” “And you as well, Aiden. Unfortunately, I am scheduled for a match, so I must depart. I hope to see you both soon.” Aiden simply nodded, watching her progress until she reached and entered the building. He turned back to Lux, who was still blushing. “Rarely go a day…” he pondered aloud. “Let’s tour the Institute,” she said quickly, taking his arm. Aiden smiled. It was going to be a long morning.

Aiden could only stare as they entered the Institute. Before them was a reception/check-in desk, with five people working along its length. Slightly farther ahead was a massive staircase, on which many people were walking. To the right and left after the desk were two massive doors, one titled “Left Wing,” and the other “Right Wing.” A small commons area was fit directly to the right of the desk, where a few people sat, chatting. “Wow,” Aiden breathed. Lux giggled, still holding his hand. “There’s a lot more!” she said, pulling him towards the stairs. “Shouldn’t I check in first or…?” “Nah, you’ll be fine.” She smiled. Aiden grinned. “So, where to Luxanna?” She huffed a little at being called her full name. “I was thinking we could just explore. And I thought we agreed that you’d use my shorter name because we’re friends!” Aiden held his hands up, laughing. “I won’t do it again, Lux, promise.” She smiled sweetly, resuming to tug at his arm. He followed her up the steps. The staircase itself was massive, and had Aiden guessing how many steps it had. Once they reached the top, they were greeted with a magnificent view. A large window encompassed the entire wall before them, looking down on a large garden/ park area. “This is inside the Institute?!” Aiden asked. “Yep,” Lux replied, pointing to the one of the many stone pathways leading through the space. “There’s Graves and that there is Darius (you might wanna stay away from him),” she said, pointing to a gruff looking man with a shotgun, and a large, armored man wielding a massive axe. “Uh huh,” Aiden said distantly. He looked to his left and right, finding long hallways with similar windows lining one side, and doors dotting the other. He realized that these hallways circled around the park area. “Impressive,” he muttered to himself. Over the next half hour, Lux took him to all the rooms they were allowed into, finally resting on one of the few benches that they sometimes found in the hallways. Aiden slumped into the seat, his feet aching. Never before in his life had he done so much walking. He pondered whether or not to heal himself. Lux, however, seemed to be full of energy. “We haven’t visited the mess hall, the park, or the Viewing Room. Which one do you want to see next?” she asked, playfully nudging his arm. “How about the mess hall?” Aiden asked, suddenly feeling very hungry. “Okeydokey!” Lux said, practically shooting off the bench (and pulling Aiden with her). Aiden followed her down the stairs, groaning inwardly. He wished that his powers would lessen the pain that was steadily growing in the soles of his feet. Finally, they reached the bottom, Lux skipping towards the door to their right. Aiden shook his head when he saw that yet another long hallway dotted with doors (and people) was before them. Then, much to his surprise, Lux stopped, turning to him. “What time is it?” “Um,” He blinked, looking around for a clock, “I’m not really sure. Do you have that watch?” She shook her head no. Aiden grabbed a nearby Summoner’s arm, causing him to stop in his tracks. “Can you tell us what time it is?” The Summoner merely shrugged and continued walking, Aiden having let go of his arm. Aiden glanced around once again. There were certainly no traditional clocks anywhere, but he seriously doubted that there was no method of keeping track of the time. Finally, out of the corner of his eye, Aiden spotted a man carrying an extremely large clock on his back. Said man had a disturbed look to him, and seemed to be constantly fidgeting with his hands. “Wait here,” Aiden said quickly to Lux, turning to walk towards the man. However, mid-stride, Aiden’s body froze. He had been facing forward, looking directly at the man, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see golden light slowly building up around and encasing him. Aiden had time to declare, “Huh,” before a he was blinded by a bright light. He could feel himself being teleported somewhere, as a familiar feeling of weightlessness settled over him. It seemed like an eternity before Aiden could feel the spell wearing off. Suddenly, yet another bright light caused him to squeeze his eyes shut. Then, surprisingly, a soft breeze blew through Aiden’s hair. He cracked his eyes open, then opened them wide. Where exactly was he?  

Instinctively, Aiden drew the scythe that was sheathed on his back. Strange, he thought, I wasn’t wearing it when I… Aiden stopped his train of thought, instead moving his gaze to look over himself. The red and black robe he had worn for the initial test, about a year or so ago, was now covering him again. Aiden sighed, looking back up. Well, wherever he was, it was certainly peaceful. Then he realized that he hadn’t been paying attention to what was around him, or what lay in front. Almost at once, he could sense four pairs of eyes on him. They weren’t hostile; that much he was sure of. Welcome to Summoner’s Rift! Aiden felt a few small twinges echoing through his mind. Was someone seriously trying to break his mental shield? But as quickly as they had started, the twinges stopped. And Aiden could move again! Wait, Aiden hadn’t known he was immobile… “Hiya Aiden!” A familiar sounding, bright voice echoed in his head. “Lux?!” Aiden responded mentally. “I’m supposed to help ya with your first match. Isn’t it great?” Lux sounded all too cheerful to Aiden. “Of course, but I thought a Summoner was supposed to-.” “They couldn’t get in your head, so they picked me. They said you needed someone familiar to bond with you.” “Let’s just get this over with.” Lux walked him through the process of buying and selling items, using potions, etc. in relatively good time. “You’ll be taking mid-lane. To be honest I don’t know why,” Lux spoke, sounding thoughtful. “Would I be better suited for a different role, maybe Jungler?” “I reviewed your abilities…well, the ones you showed them at Judgment. You’re good for mid lane it’s just…I dunno. I feel like something’s off.” “I feel the same way,” Aiden replied grimly, turning to look at his team composition. He had Shyvanna, Jarven IV, Sona, and Caitlyn with him. Each had stolen glances at him. But for some reason, their gazes never lingered for too long. Jarven was to be Jungler, with Shyvanna top, and Sona and Caitlyn bottom (Aiden had listened intently to Lux’s stories of the League and the matches she fought…he did know a little). As he made his way to mid lane, Aiden couldn’t shake off the feeling he was being watched. His feelings never betrayed him. “I uh…I really don’t know what to tell you to do. I can help you with items and watching around you and stuff but…I’ll leave the fighting to you, ok?” Lux asked rather nervously. “Ok…is something wrong Lux?” Aiden inquired. “It’s nothing I just…uh…” . . . Lux was blushing furiously, hoping that no one, especially Aiden, would notice. Not that he could see her, but he had his ways. What she had found while digging through his thoughts was…eye opening, to say the least. . . . Aiden merely shrugged, arriving at the final turret in his lane. The fog of war made it impossible to see who he was up against. He didn’t even know what enemies they would face. “Hey Lux, who’s the competition?” “It looks like… Kha’Zix, he’s probably their Jungler…Karthus, who you’ll most likely be facing… Jinx and most likely Soraka bottom, and Nasus top.” “Sounds like they’re stacked. Then again, so are we.” When Lux made no effort to reply, Aiden frowned slightly. Minions have spawned! The Announcer’s voice boomed. Aiden waited patiently for his little blue robed figures to march past him before following behind them. Just as Lux predicted, Karthus emerged from the fog of war behind his similarly robed purple minions. As both sides began to fight, Aiden watched Karthus blast his minions with light blue energy. Seeing that the number of minions still alive was dwindling, Aiden stepped forward, making long strikes with his scythe and hitting multiple enemy minions. As he drew closer to Karthus, Aiden could feel the Lich’s attacks pelting his body, causing him to grimace. Normally, he could’ve just shrugged the hits off, healing from them a short time later. However, the magic covering the forest was strong, and severely reduced his healing factor. Spinning the scythe around, Aiden unleashed a wave of crimson energy that curved upwards, taking Karthus and his minions with it. Aiden immediately landed a flurry of blows on Karthus during the sudden distraction. The enemy minions around him fought desperately, pelting Aiden with magic bolts and blows from their swords. Karthus himself joined in, striking Aiden with even more magic energy. “A-Aiden, your health is low!” Lux shrieked. Hearing this, Aiden quickly brought his flurry to an end, willing his wings to existence and fending off a few more attacks before shooting into the sky, gliding to his turret. To be honest, he did feel tired and beat up. Blue rings surrounded him, closing in slowly. “You’ll get yourself killed by being so reckless!” Lux was almost screaming at him. “Jeeze Lux, calm down. I respawn if I die,” Aiden said, chuckling. “I just…don’t….at least think about what you’re doing before you do it, ok?” “You have my word Lux.” As he finished the sentence, the rings closed in around him, warping him back to his team’s summoning platform. Immediately, a chill settled over his body, and the exhaustion faded. Instead, he felt fully rejuvenated. “I’ve taken the liberty of buying your items for you but uh…where are they?” Lux asked curiously. Aiden could sense that some new items had indeed appeared in his pocket. Luckily, the very pocket had been enchanted by Aiden himself to hold a large amount of things, while only appearing to be a small pocket. Anyone else who tried to take something out would find that it was indeed a small pocket. Aiden, however, could will the items to appear in his hand, making it useful for keeping things he wanted to stay with him. “Don’t worry Lux, I have the items on me,” Aiden said reassuringly. “If you say so…” Lux said suspiciously. He grinned, turning and jogging back towards his lane. First Blood! “Looks like Kha’Zix got Jarven while he was in the jungle.” “Damn!” Aiden swore under his breath. Arriving at the final turret, Aiden saw that it was firing upon around eight enemy minions who were firing right back. Glancing behind him, Aiden could see that his minions were still a ways away from where he was standing. He quickly turned and rushed into the minions, cutting his way through the crowd with ease. Suddenly, Aiden found himself in the middle of the lane, having overextended his attacks. “Aiden!” Lux shrieked. Two figures emerged from the bushes to either side of him, one was undoubtedly Karthus and the other must have been Kha’Zix. Kha’Zix leaped into the air, hurtling towards Aiden at startling speed. Aiden’s breath caught as the twin attacks flew towards him…. Darkness enveloped him. When everything returned to light, Aiden drew a sharp intake of breath. Strewn before him were the bodies of hundreds, with twisted remains of housing sticking up through the massacre like beacons. Aiden picked his way slowly through the bodies, careful to be alert for any signs of lingering danger. It seemed that a great city had once stood here, proud and tall. Something had reduced it to nothing more than a shell. Aiden froze, simply staring at the obelisk that rose in front of him. Symbols were carved into the obelisk at regular intervals. Suddenly, Aiden’s memory sparked, and he clutched his head. He could see…his true parents and…a large man…the General…names and images came flooding back, but before the flow of memory ended, one name in particular made sure to burn itself in Aiden’s mind: Gorgreth.

Aiden remembered nothing of his past before Lux found him that day so many years ago. Of course, as a young boy he had wondered who his true parents were. It was quite obvious that the Crownguards were not his true relations. Several times, people had asked about the boy with the raven-black hair that sometimes ran on the grounds with Lux. It was only natural. Such questions were never answered until later, when they had deemed Aiden old enough to protect himself. Still, a guard had accompanied him whenever he left the manor. Because of his position as “child” of the Crownguards, he had been raised like a Demacian noble. When he was 10, they enlisted him under his own personal combat trainer. The trainer, who went by the name of Losfar, trained him in multiple hand-to-hand combat styles, as well as weapon styles. Losfar taught him to use one-handed as well as two-handed swords, along with axes, shields, and a plethora of other weapons. There was one weapon that Losfar strongly advised Aiden against using, but he did anyway: the scythe. He argued that it was too large for Aiden, and that Aiden would hurt himself using it. “The weapon is too large for such a young boy,” Losfar would say, emphasizing the words as usual. “I can handle it. Trust me,” Aiden replied, being unusually calm about the situation. “Gah, fine, but remember what I told you.” “They aren’t my parents,” Aiden whispered, easily hefting the scythe above his head. Aiden proved to Losfar that he was capable of wielding the scythe, cutting through the training dummies with ease. From that day on, Aiden learned how to effectively use the scythe under the tutorage of Losfar. The grizzly man seemed to know everything, always stunning Aiden with his knowledge of the world. Aiden looked upon Losfar with reverence; he did owe his skill and knowledge to the man, after all. The training continued as normal, and life went on up until the weeks after Aiden turned 17. During one of his nightly “adventures,” as Aiden liked to title them, he heard raised voices coming from a nearby room. It piqued his curiosity, and he went to investigate. Approaching the room stealthily, Aiden was surprised to find the door slightly ajar. Through it, he could hear the voices of his adoptive parents and Losfar. They were arguing about something. Aiden could instinctively tell that it was important, and decided against listening in, as the punishment would be severe were he to be caught. It was to his unfortunance that at the exact moment he was slinking away, Losfar threw the door open and stormed out. “You can’t possibly think that keeping him here will solve your problems. He needs all the experience he can get, and letting him go is the only way! Either way, he’ll outlive the both of you and any enchantment you think to put on him. Or he’ll just break them, and get out. You know that he-.” Losfar stopped mid-sentence, finally turning enough to notice that Aiden was standing there, dumbfounded. Had the old man been saying something about him? The old man just shook his head sadly, a fleeting look of pity briefly lining his face, before being replaced by the grimace it had always worn. Then, he turned and left. Aiden had followed him, begging him to stay. Losfar had simply continued to walk, until he pushed through the last set of doors, stepping out into the cold night air. At that point, Aiden had given up on words, resorting to just follow Losfar. Surprisingly, he turned to face Aiden. “You have to stay here, boy. Where I’m going, you can’t follow me. Your duty is here, protecting your family.” As much as it hurt him, Aiden knew that Losfar was right. The old man always was. So Aiden could only watch as the gate to the estate swung shut, hiding him from Aiden’s view. He was faintly aware that three people had crept up behind him. “Aiden-.” “No,” he said, cutting off his mother. His eyes dark, Aiden turned to confront them. “You drove him away,” he said simply. “We only had your well-being in mind! Losfar was asking-!” “What? What was he asking, or rather, telling you?” “He suggested to us that we let you go to the front lines and participate in-.” “The combat,” Aiden finished for his father. Currently, some Noxian elite forces had been causing trouble near the border. The Demacian military, Garen included, was busy keeping them from breaching and causing havoc. Aiden sighed, closing his eyes. Whatever decision he made next would impact him greatly, whichever road he chose to tread. His path was set.

Around the third day at the border outpost, Aiden was already growing homesick. He didn’t miss his adoptive parents; he had already decided that he wasn’t going to forgive them anytime soon. He missed Lux more than anything, but he needed to focus on the task at hand. Even though it was a relatively simple task, guarding one of the major entrance checkpoints required him to be constantly alert. Aiden had stayed at the Crownguard estate for only another week before setting off to the border. It had hurt him to leave, but reports had come in that the restraining wasn’t going as planned and new recruits were needed. It was two day’s travel to the border, but surprisingly Aiden had not stopped except to eat and sleep, and it had only taken him a day and a half. The commander at the camp had accepted him in without a second glance. As his first task, and because he was a new recruit, Aiden had been assigned gate duty. Other soldiers, even the veterans it seemed, avoided direct eye contact with him. He was an odd sight indeed, the massive scythe that was his weapon of choice sheathed on his back. Every other soldier had only standard military-issue swords, shields, bows, and other simple weapons. The scythe had been a present for Aiden’s 16th birthday, from Losfar himself. Aiden shook his head, reminding himself that he was supposed to be vigilant, and immediately turned his gaze back to the road. From the forest ahead, Aiden could hear something rumbling, but whether that was just some local wildlife or an actual cart, he didn’t know, so he waited. It seemed like an eternity before the cause of the rumbling revealed itself. It was indeed a weather-worn mahogany cart. It looked as though it had been around for quite a while. Aiden stood up, leaving his pack near the gate and walking forward to meet the cart. Usually, there were up to five men on post, but the rest had been called away to deal with some emergency, leaving Aiden to guard the gate alone. That suited Aiden just fine; he preferred to be alone. “Halt. I’m going to need to inspect your cart for anything…unusual,” Aiden said hesitantly. The cloaked figure driving the cart, who Aiden could instinctively tell was male, shook the reins, pulling the cart to a stop. The back was covered by a green blanket of some sort, and Aiden was reluctant to pull it away. Whatever this man was transporting, it was sizable. However, it hadn’t moved, which reassured Aiden to some extent. Making his way to the back of the cart, Aiden noticed that the man was tensed, some of his muscled arm showing from under the cloak. Glancing back at him, Aiden shook his head, pulling back the covering. As if on cue, he was thrown away from the cart, several daggers impaling his torso. He gasped for breath; falling to his knees and seeing the ground swirl beneath him. He blinked rapidly, trying his best to not collapse completely. Was this what it felt like to be dying? His head was covered in a thick fog, his vision was growing darker with every second that passed, and he gasped for breath. “I apologize, friend, but we had no choice,” a male voice spoke from somewhere above him. Aiden raised his eyes, expending all of his energy just to do that one simple action. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last. The figure standing above him had a rapier trained directly at his head. There were two figures behind him; one was the man who had been driving the cart, and the other was twirling long daggers absentmindedly in its hand. Aiden wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that it was a woman. “Better to leave him here. We weren’t ordered to show mercy to Demacians,” the woman with the daggers spat. “Allow me to at least ease him out of the world, instead of keeping him in it to die slowly,” the man with the sword growled. “We leave him. There are more important things for us to do,” the man who drove the cart said, interrupting the other two. At that point, Aiden could feel only emptiness and regret. Regret that he could not be there to protect Lux… It’s not your time to die yet. Get up and fight. Aiden started, blinking his eyes open. Had he just heard a voice in his head? Whatever it was, he felt strength returning to him. The rumbling sound of the cart moving on sounded from above him. Aiden quickly stood, drawing his scythe and holding it in ready position. “Hey! I thought you weren’t supposed to show mercy to Demacians!” Aiden emphasized. The cart jerked to a halt, and the cover on the back was thrown away in haste, the trio piling out to face him. Aiden had made his way to the middle of the road, and stood there, watching their faces turn from surprise to horror to anger. “We…..I…but you had….” The woman with daggers stuttered. All three drew their weapons, and Aiden was surprised to see the cart-driver with a massive axe. Whoever the cart-driver was, he was powerful. The axe looked as though it weighed as much as a man! “The time for words is not now. It is time we brought this thing to its end,” the man snarled. Aiden could feel heat and energy flowing throughout his body, as if he was some kind of conductor. He began to swing the scythe around, inviting one of the party to attack. The man all too readily obliged, thinking that Aiden would be caught off guard. He leapt forward, thrusting at Aiden with blinding speed, the tip of his rapier almost invisible. Aiden simply moved the scythe around to block strikes he did not dodge. After a few more seconds, the man pulled back, taking a defensive stance. Aiden laughed, catching the scythe mid-spin and pulling back into his own stance. The man’s two companions moved to his side, and mimicking the other two, took stances. You are gifted with strength. Use it. Whoever was speaking to him, they were now giving advice. Aiden drew the long sword sheathed on his right hip, lowering its tip to the ground. If a fight was what they wanted, it was what they were going to get.

It took minutes before either side moved. The silence was tangible, and tension rolled from their skin like sweat. Finally, the cart-driver struck. Most surprising of all was not the power behind the attack, for the man was well-built and bulky, but the fact that Aiden was able to stand at all. Granted, he was down on one knee, and the force of the impact had caused cracks to form in the ground where his knee touched, but he was holding his ground nonetheless. Aiden gave a savage push back, causing the cart-driver to stumble backwards. The other two immediately rushed forward, daggers impaling Aiden in both his shoulders and knees. He merely shrugged them off as if they were a minor annoyance. A ringing sound filled the air as Aiden and the duelist’s blades met, both attacking each other with astounding speed. When they finally broke away, Aiden was covered in numerous cuts throughout his body, while the duelist had a large gash above his left arm and one down his cheek. Aiden suffered some cuts because he had been hit by daggers throughout the fight. All three finally surrounded him, taking stances. Even the duelist lifted his sword and took a weak stance. “It’s over,” the cart-driver spat. “Surrender yourself and we’ll make your passing quick,” the woman was quick to add. “Enough...” Aiden mumbled, dropping his weapons to his sides. All three of them moved forward, strikes prepared. “I said, ENOUGH!” Aiden roared. A shockwave of crimson energy expunged itself from Aiden’s body, erupting with explosive force. All of his antagonists were stopped in their tracks, then thrown away forcefully. The cart-driver and the woman landed hard on their backs, driving the air from their lungs and leaving them gasping for breath. The duelist was not so lucky, flying right into a tree headfirst. Upon impact, the force was too much and his neck snapped. Aiden remained unaware of all this as his vision returned to normal, losing its red tint. Just as fast, it began to fade away. “Aiden, please wake up,” he heard. Wait, who was speaking to him? . . . “Aiden, wake up…please…” Lux whispered, tears showing on her normally bright face. Today it was just dark. She didn’t understand why he wasn’t waking up. Right before Karthus and Kha’zix had attacked him, he had fainted. The summoner’s monitoring his vitals assured her that nothing had spiked. He had just fainted. It hadn’t stopped after that! Mordekeiser had come forward, and the summoner he spoke to was chilled to the bone afterwards, but word was he had confessed that he was the reason Aiden had gone into the comatose state. Thresh and Hecarim had taken him away to ask some “questions.” It was clear from the way they all looked at each other that something was very wrong. Lux had fumed at Mordekeiser, going as far as threatening him if he didn’t heal Aiden. His response had been to point his mace directly under her chin. That was when Thresh and Hecarim had come to collect him. Aiden stirred softly, breathing in deeply. Lux banished her thoughts and turned her full attention to Aiden. . . . Aiden opened his eyes slowly. The room he was in was dimmed greatly, and only a few cracks of moonlight illuminated the room. He was aware of a small light to the extreme right of his vision, but all strength had eluded him to move at all. “Aiden…” Lux called softly. His eyes widened at the mention of his name. Summoning up any, if he indeed had some, energy to turn his head. Success! His gaze rested on Lux, and he was a little taken aback. Her usually well-kept hair and clothing was now un-managed and wrinkled. As an addition, tears were rolling uncontrollably down her face. He longed to reach out and comfort her, but his arms refused to move. It wasn’t because he didn’t have any energy: just seeing Lux had given him plenty. Something was restraining his wrists and ankles. “Aiden!” Lux cried, throwing herself onto him and embracing him tightly. “H-hey Lux,” Aiden replied weakly, nuzzling the top of her head affectionately. “A-Aiden, I’m sorry about you being bound and all…” “It’s not your fault Lux. Besides, it’s probably better that I am restrained.” “Yeah,” she laughed lightly, then fell silent. “Listen, how long have I been out?” “Um…six days I think?” “Wow…” Aiden breathed out, “that’s a…that’s a long time.” “Oh Aiden!’ Lux cried, hugging him tighter, “We all thought you had died.” “Wait, why?” She sniffled, then rested her chin on his chest in order to look him in the eyes. “You didn’t have a pulse and you weren’t breathing.” Aiden’s breath caught at that, quite ironically. Not breathing? No pulse? This was odd behavior, even for Aiden’s powers. He had never been able to even hold his breath for more than a minute, and going without a pulse should’ve surely killed him. “You’re right, it should’ve killed you. You’re special, Aiden, and I thought you’d have realized that by now. Still a little slow, are we?” The familiarity of the voice that sounded directly from the shadows sent Aiden’s mind scrambling. However, his mind was still sluggish, and he couldn’t find the name. Instead, he turned his head to gaze into the shadows. It was as though a blanket dyed pitch black had been thrown around that section of the room, the shadows were so thick. “W-who are you,” Lux asked shakily, scrambling off of Aiden and grabbing her wand. “I’m the one who caused this little mishap, and I apologize.” The way certain words were enunciated sounded so familiar to Aiden, but he still couldn’t think of a name. Lux twirled her wand, sending a beam of light into the shadows. It did little other than flash briefly, outlining a tall figure with its arms crossed. Aiden struggled to sit up, but he was again held back by the restraints on the bed. His strength was returning to him in trickles, but he could feel the ever present existence of his power. It had built up to the point where Aiden experienced a slight pain behind his eyes. He knew from experience that if he bottled it up, it eventually gave him horrendous migraines. His power never seemed to run out, but it built inside him like a beast waiting to escape its cage. As Aiden formulated a plan to destroy his bindings and find out who the figure in the darkness was, an explosion sounded from a short distance away. Both Lux and Aiden turned their heads towards the door. The figure in the darkness swore, and Aiden heard the rasp of metal as a sword was drawn. Based on the acoustics, he judged that it was a sizable sword as well. Before he had time to say anything, however, the door blew open forcefully, causing debris to fly across the room. In the ensuing smoke and chaos, a small, hyperactive voice shouted: “Grab him and let’s go!” Hands hurriedly pushed buttons on a nearby control panel, causing Aiden’s wrists and ankles to be freed. Even more hands roughly picked him up and slung him over someone’s shoulder. The person (or thing, Aiden wasn’t quite sure) moved slowly, and he caught a glimpse of Lux lying on the floor. A small amount of blood trickled from her forehead, and she was unmoving. The figure in the shadow was slumped over, also unmoving. It was the sight of Lux that really got him going. Ever since they had met, Aiden had felt like it was his obligation to protect Lux with his life. Even as kids, he had followed her to make sure she never got hurt. If she was attending to an outing of some sort, he was there too. His bond with Lux was deep. Seeing her unconscious on the floor and injured enraged him, and so he decided to let out his anger on the people who had done it to her.

It was quite simple to break away from the large figure holding him. His sudden burst of activity startled the figure into dropping him. By now, the smoke had cleared enough that he could see his captors: Jayce, which surprised him, Ziggs, who had most likely caused the explosions, and a large metal figure with an anchor over one shoulder. Aiden had only to will his scythe to him, and it materialized in his hand. The trio recovered from shock quickly enough for Jayce to fire a single bolt of plasma at Aiden and Ziggs to prime a bomb before Aiden started to attack. He brought the scythe down in an arc, carving a massive gash in the metal man, who proceeded to stumble backwards and fall against the door frame. As the plasma hit him, Aiden swiveled to fire an arc of crimson electricity that blew Jayce back into the wall. As he turned to the last captor, Ziggs’ bomb hit him square in the chest. The wall was only too glad to meet his back, causing fractures to appear. Aiden fell to the ground, and an indentation with cracks spreading outwards from it was what he left. Where the bomb had hit him, a large portion of his chest was gone. He kneeled there, panting slightly. The gaping wound in his chest closed, and he looked up, snarling. The little Yordle stood there with an insane grin plastered all over his face. Aiden was determined to change that. The grin changed to a look of horror when Aiden rose slowly to his feet. Ziggs primed yet another bomb, but Aiden wasn’t about to let him throw it. He screamed, unleashing all the energy he could into the manifestation of his anger. Spikey tendrils of crimson energy coursed from his fingertips, impaling Ziggs and thrashing him around in the air. The energy he unleashed almost completely destroyed Ziggs’ body, but he stopped the flow of power a little early. Aiden surveyed his work. All the life energy of his captors had depleted. He had just killed three people. The interesting thing was that he didn’t care. Some summoner somewhere would resurrect them all, and they’d live. Aiden turned back to the doorway, shoving the carcass of the metal man to the side with a flick of his wrist. Once inside, he crouched down next to Lux. Other than the small head injury she sustained, she appeared unscathed. However, Aiden could tell that she had a broken rib or two, as her breathing was ragged. He raised his hand, palm down, over her form, using his power to heal her wounds. It wasn’t as fast as his, but in the cut on her forehead had disappeared completely in just a minute. Her breathing was also returning to normal. Once he was sure that he had healed her completely, he pulled his hand away. Her body moved to make her form more comfortable, as she was now asleep instead of unconscious. “Very well done. I think congratulations are in order, Aiden.” Aiden quickly stood, pointing his scythe at the figure that again stood in the shadows. “Why do you hide from me? I may choose to spare you if you reveal who you are,” Aiden said threateningly. But even as he spoke, Aiden could feel his strength sapping away. He kept his arm steady for fear that the man in shadows would see his temporary weakness and exploit it. “Whatever they did to you, it must have hit you deep. Take a good look, boy.” As the man finished his sentence, he stepped out of his shadowy carapace. Aiden reeled backwards as if stuck by a blow, almost dropping his scythe. It was none other than the grizzled face of Losfar that caused him to do so. “L-Losfar?!” Aiden exclaimed. “Yes, boy, and I’m surprised it took you so long. Listen, we don’t have a lot of time befo-,” he managed to begin before Aiden collapsed to the floor. . . . Losfar could do nothing as he watched Aiden’s body fall to the floor. Rivel had warned him that Aiden would eventually go back into his comatose state after the drug’s effects had expired. Losfar had just hoped that he might have a few minutes before it happened. Aiden deserved to have everything explained to him, but he needed to be moved first. As for the girl, Lux… “I’ll think of it along the way,” he grunted, manhandling Aiden into a sitting position. Stepping back to admire the scene, he chuckled to himself. Aiden and Lux looked so peaceful. Although she wasn’t in any immediate danger, Aiden had been compromised. He needed special medical attention, and only one man would be willing to help. Losfar quickly stopped chuckling and lifted the two, placing one over each shoulder. They weighed almost nothing to the age-old man. He had been around for quite a while, at least a century or so. Many would have marveled at his relatively young appearance in contrast to his age. Indeed, he was gifted with very long life. Part of him believed it was because of his family’s heritage, part of him believed that it was a blessing of sorts. Making his way around the first of many corners, he mentally recited the directions Exavier had given him. Right, left, left, right, straight, right, left, down, then finally left. The reverse of that pattern would lead him straight to where Exavier was waiting with his craft. Though Sypher and Exavier were both brainiacs, the latter’s reserved and calculating behavior better suited Losfar as opposed to the former’s jittery nervousness. It was no surprise he had a thing for the wanted criminal, Jinx. “Why can’t the Institute of War be a little easier to navigate…?” Losfar grunted as he climbed the only flight of stairs on his route, “they could’ve at least taken away some of this nonsense and made it simpler.” Lux stirred softly on his shoulder. He adjusted her body so that it was lying more comfortably across his shoulder plate. Aiden of course hadn’t moved so much as an inch since collapsing. Losfar knew that his body regenerated far too quickly for him to suffer and permanent physical harm, but he also knew that the so-called Hemo-Virus would have a permanent effect of some sort. According to Rivel, anyway. Reaching the last stretch of hallway, Losfar increased his pace slightly. When he saw what awaited him at the end of this tunnel, though, he stopped dead in his tracks. A large figure wielding an equally massive scythe over one shoulder stood menacingly in their path. “Long time, no see,” it rasped. “Dread,” Losfar replied coldly, laying the limp forms of Lux and Aiden on the ground behind him. Turning his attention back to the Waylayer of Death, Losfar drew his great sword. “I see you have Aiden with you. Such a… tragedy, to see him in that condition,” Dread continued, remaining almost inanimate. “What do you want Dread? If it’s to finish Aiden then-.” “We both know that if I wanted to kill Aiden, I’d have done it years ago. He rightfully earned my respect when he stood up to me that night. No, I’m here about a certain other individual. Namely a large threat you hoped had been dealt with when the Old Kingdom fell,” Dread cut it, finally shifting his stance to glare Losfar in the eye. The pure black voids that were Dread’s pupils didn’t faze Losfar in the least. “He had been dealt with! His spirit departed from this world and his essence was eradicated!” “You forget the Alternis Stone. The only Eternis Crystallite he had access to holds a portion of him inside it. The Stone has shattered, Losfar, and you know what that means.” “Gorgreth is alive…again,” Losfar mumbled. “Yes. I would tell you more, but his followers have blocked my vision. If he were to gain a foothold in this day and age…” “Then we’d have another Great War on our hands, but this time it’d be continent-wide. There would be no stopping him if he found even one of the others…” Losfar finished for him. A heavy silence stretched between them. The Great War was, most obviously, a huge war that had happened many centuries ago. A being of extreme chaotic power by the name of Gorgreth had waged war against all of humanity. The kingdoms of old were unprepared for such an assault, and many great Civilizations fell before the rest united against him. Even then, the mass quantities of power Gorgreth held allowed him to level entire cities. Dread, along with the Darken Aatrox, had taken arms against this threat. Neither were particularly fond of humans, but to both, war was like breathing. The both of them together were enough to push the Overlord’s armies back to where they had originated from. All of the old kingdoms and their rulers had joined in the final battle, where they confronted Gorgreth on his own lands. It was during the battle that Dread and Aatrox discovered the source of Gorgreth’s power: the Alternis Stone, one of seven quantities of magical energy known as the Eternis Crystallites. Losfar had been born at the end of the war and been witness to the destruction Gorgreth had caused. Dread and Aatrox faced Gorgreth on the steps to his throne room with the human Kings. The battle was long and filled with bloodshed, but Gorgreth could not use his energy for fear of destroying its sole source. As the Overlord weakened, the scale slowly tipped their way until finally, he was defeated. Yet it seemed even though his body had been eradicated and his essence scattered to the wind, Gorgreth found a way to live on. It was true that not even Dread could’ve foreseen the Stone being able to do such a thing as hold Gorgreth’s essence, but each Eternis Crystallite was overflowing with magical energies of all kinds. The unpredictability and instability of each made them dangerous. Luckily for the entire world, however, only three out of the seven had been discovered. “I’ve heard that the other Crystallites have been switching hands a lot. Do you happen to know where they are?” Losfar asked hesitantly. “I had not thought them of much danger until now, so the answer is no…” Losfar dropped his gaze. “…but I recall that one was rumored to be in Ionia and one in Piltover. It has been several years, though.” “If one is in Piltover, then we shouldn’t have a very hard time finding it. Our group’s headquarters is there, so that should make the task a little easier.” Dread shrugged. There was no more hostility between them: a more pressing subject had presented itself. Losfar retrieved the two limp bodies of his companions and again hoisted them over his massive shoulders. “I need to get these two to Piltover, so if you could kindly move out of the way so I can reach my destination…” “He is infected with a Hemo-Virus of some sort…not lethal, but this one serves another purpose,” Dread exclaimed, inhaling deeply. “I figured so. Asking what it is going to do would be a bit much, I presume?” Losfar asked, humor tinting his voice. “Precisely. Now, I will take my leave and allow you to continue your journey. Until we meet again, General.” And just like that, Dread was gone. Losfar sighed loudly. “If we meet again.”

Part 1- A Hidden Evil

Chapter 1 – Piltover, City of Progress

“I presume the extraction went well, General?” Exavier asked, stepping off the craft to peer around them. “Better than I expected it to, at least,” the General replied gruffly. “And you got the precious cargo?” “That would be correct.” “You know, you’re five minutes late,” Exavier said, tapping a sequence into the console on his arm. The bay doors to the craft opened. “Rivel has never been too concerned with time anyway. Are we running hot?” “Five minutes ago, those engines were steaming, but yes, they’re still hot,” Exavier replied coolly. “Just get us in the air and give me an ETA to Piltover.” Exavier’s sense of humor was never lost on the General, but duty was his foremost priority at the moment. Stepping into the exterior of the large gunship Exavier proudly named the Phoenix, Losfar set Lux and Aiden down on two of the benches lining the sides. There was very little cargo on the ship, as Exavier wasn’t making any trade runs or shipments. Losfar quickly strapped them down and made his way to the cockpit. Doors on either side of the single hallway led to the other areas of the ship, including a lavatory and quarters for sleeping. Arriving in the spacious cockpit, Losfar could tell that the ship was already powered on. “All systems are a go, General. ETA is half an hour. Strap in, ‘cause I doubt this will be a smooth ride!” Exavier reported, his visor and helmet down. “Good. Let’s hope Rivel is done with whatever he’s been cooking when we get there,” Losfar said, taking the co-pilot’s seat. . . . Lyle sprinted across the pavement, his breathing already ragged. “Stop running, punk! No way are you getting away now!” a very familiar voice yelled from not far behind him. “Yeah I huff am Vi! I’m from a different huff continent, remember?” he yelled back. “Cupcake’s got you in her sights!” “huff I don’t doubt it!” At first, it had been strange when Lyle had found himself in this strange land. He was wrenched from his own kingdom, and for that matter, continent. A summoning spell gone awry pulled his being to the continent of Valoran. Luckily, most people spoke English, Lyle’s native language. Unluckily, no one knew which continent he originated from, and nothing he could tell them would help. However, it was part of his training to be able to adapt to any environment, and he did just that. He first made his living by wandering around to small towns and helping with what he could there. It was in these towns that Lyle learned of other, larger towns and the city-states that dotted Valoran. It took him a week of travel, but he finally made it to the City of Progress, Piltover. Three months after arriving, he was left with his current situation: running from the Sheriff and the Enforcer. And the situation was quickly going from bad to worse. It deescalated quickly once he got cornered by the duo in a side street. Some fancy wall-climbing had saved him, but by the time he reached the top, Vi was halfway to him and Caitlyn had positioned herself to watch the rooftop. It had seemed as though his time was up, but some more fancy footwork allowed him to successfully move across the rooftop and into the neighboring alleyway. This time, he truly was done for. The wall of the opposing building loomed in front of him, stark and featureless as opposed to the rest of that particular neighborhood. He stopped dead in his tracks, turning around and bending over to rest. “So it looks huff like you got me after huff all,” he admitted to a very smug Enforcer. “Told you we would,” Vi replied, not sounding the least bit tired. Lyle whistled aloud, straightening himself and looking Vi directly in her eyes. “When do you think they’ll be getting back?” . . . The skyline zoomed past at blurring speeds. Even Losfar was impressed with how fast the craft was going. “What’s our ETA now?” he asked briskly. “Around another two minutes or so. We have a little bit of a problem, though,” Exavier said the last part as if he wasn’t the least bit worried. “Which would be?” “Well,” he said, swiveling to face Losfar, “the Phoenix’s computers are picking up two signals that have been tailing us for at least the last fifteen minutes. They’re quite a ways away from us, but somehow they’ve got a lock on our position.” “Don’t we have any weapons on this ship?” “Yes, but our current munitions supply is low.” “How low, exactly?” “Uhh,” Exavier mumbled, “one shot left.” “WHAT?!” Losfar practically exploded. The General did not like to be told bad news. “I have one suggestion though. There’s one sharpshooter in Piltover that could snipe the both of our trailers before they ever discovered our location.” . . . Lyle had his bowed as he was led to the waiting police cruiser. Neither he nor Vi noticed the large craft zoom overhead until the sound caught up to them. Both stopped mid-stride and turned to look at each other. “Took them long enough,” Lyle said, grinning. . . . Caitlyn had taken up a post on the roof to look for any nearby signs of danger. When she saw the supersonic aircraft zip overhead, she was relieved and overjoyed at the same time. Maybe with Exavier and the General back, the crime rates would diminish again. They had been gone for over a week. The one day that she and Vi had off, they were practicing techniques with Lyle. While Lyle was a good cop, he was too blunt and rushed headfirst into danger. In many ways, he resembled Vi. As she stood up to adjust one of her scopes, an unearthly howl emanated from somewhere close. She whipped her gun into a ready position, scanning the nearby rooftops for the source of it. It sounded corrupted and hellish, and made Caitlyn shiver. Had another Zaunite experiment escaped and came to Piltover? Was someone experimenting with chemicals, and created a monster? The very ideas frightened her, but she needed to know what had howled. If she could only do that, it would be easier to hunt and capture or kill whatever it was. Caitlyn’s scope came to rest on a pile of shadow that was moving steadily across the rooftops about three buildings away. Her finger tightened on the trigger, but when she blinked, the mass of shadow had drawn much closer and moved to a different spot. It was closing in at two rooftops, and something about it emanated darkness and fear. The feeling was certainly taking its toll on Cait’s psyche; she could see writhing masses constantly moving throughout the inky blackness, whispering to her. Give up. My master will destroy you. Her rifle nearly fell from her grasp. The voice was darkness itself, invading her thoughts with nothing but the urge to run away and hide. Something told her that the creature, whatever it was, would find her. Give up. Your life is meaningless. Give up. Caitlyn fell back, dropping her rifle and clutching her head. Every syllable caused a pain to echo in her skull that resembled having multiple needles forcefully shoved inside of her head. The mass of shadow was now only one rooftop away and now moved at a much faster pace. A voice called out from somewhere, but the chorus of voices in her head blocked it out. My master will have his dominion of this world. You will be one of the first to feed his conquest. Her vision swam as he head lolled backwards and her body followed, knocking herself unconscious. . . . Exavier swore to himself, pushing himself to run even faster. The high speed drop out of the Phoenix had gone according to plan, but he himself had landed more than twenty feet off of his mark. He wouldn’t have had to make the jump if the two targets that his ship’s computer picked up hadn’t suddenly been so close. Even going as fast as they were, the howl pierced the inside of the cockpit and made Exavier shiver. A fraction of a second went by before he noticed that one of the trailers was closing in on Caitlyn’s position. His decision to make the jump was instantaneous. Losfar had seized control of the ship without a word. He knew of Exavier’s devotion to Cait. The impact of the fall had jarred him slightly, but his body pumped with adrenaline. His visor down, he had begun to sprint and leap across the rooftops, drawing ever closer to Caitlyn. Exavier tried calling out to her, but she hadn’t heard him. Drawing to a stop at the third rooftop from Caitlyn, he unhooked his sniper rifle from its back holster and brought its sights to bear on the shadow beast. It was standing only feet away from her limp form, but for once Exavier had a clear shot. Quickly pressing a button on the side of the scope, he engaged its X-ray capabilities. “What the-?!” was his proclamation. No organs or skeletal structures of any kind were appearing on the scope, even though his aim was spot-on. Nonetheless, Exavier switched back to his regular scope and focused in on what appeared to be the beast’s head. A resounding crack emanated through the air as he squeezed the trigger. . . . Losfar had no trouble in guiding the craft towards the warehouse that had been dubbed their official base of operations. Guiding his hands over the console, Losfar reduced the Phoenix’s speed to a fraction of what it had been. Despite all of the risk associated with the jump that Exavier decided to attempt, the General had let him go. Each of the men had their own priorities to deal with, and it was decidedly easier to just allow them each to accomplish said priorities. Besides, Exavier was more than capable of handling whatever beast that had followed them from the Institute. Losfar flipped a few choice switches on the console, locating the correct warehouse immediately after its roof began to fold in on itself. He skillfully guided the craft over the expanding entryway, bringing it to a hover while he waited patiently for the bay doors to fully open. As the mechanical grinding sound ceased, he proceeded to activate the Phoenix’s autopilot systems. Almost immediately the craft began to descend into the black interior of the warehouse. The General allowed himself a moment of silence before standing up, his back cracking audibly. A loud groan emanated from the old man as he stretched. It seemed that his age was finally catching up with him. Pushing these thoughts from his head, Losfar turned and began the trek to the cargo bay. When he was only about eight feet away from the sliding door, a loud clang and the absence of the engine’s constant thrum informed him that the landing process had ended. Palming the door’s command console, Losfar reminded himself that only a short amount of time remained before he’d have Aiden under Rivel’s care. As he entered the cargo bay, lights blinked to life on either wall. The girl was still soundly asleep, it seemed, while Aiden had the slump of one recovering from a bad hangover. He wasted no time in undoing the straps that kept them stationary and again hoisting them over his shoulders. Lux stirred slightly before settling down again. A high-pitched whir signaled the clamps releasing their hold on the cargo bay doors and allowing them to fall open. Losfar made his way slowly down the ramp, careful not to jostle his two passengers around. A soft hiss followed by a series of clicks echoed from nearby. “So you made it back, eh General?” a raspy, soft voice said from the shadows. “No time for pleasantries, Rivel. Aiden’s condition is critical,” the General replied without hesitation. “Always business with you…at least you don’t have Sypher’s personality. You do realize I’ve been in this lab alone with him for over three days?” “I’ll have you know that I’m excellent company. You just prefer to skulk and play with your precious blood samples,” a slightly pouty voice declared from above. Both men angled their heads to peer at the needlessly well-dressed figure sitting absentmindedly on the top of a stack of crates. Rivel simply sighed, stepping further into the light and re-adjusting his respirator. “I was wondering when you’d show up to annoy me further.” “Hasn’t it been the same for you the last three days?” “Can’t say it hasn’t been.” “Well then why-?” “Both of you shut up! Aiden’s condition is critical, and I don’t know what long-term effects this Hemo-Virus will have on his body!” Losfar exploded at them. A silence stretched out between them. True, the General was clearly the superior force in the group and had no problem reminding each of them that fact by getting in their faces, but he had never, never, lost his cool. Even when situations looked grim, it was the General that kept a level head and his wits about him. “Aiden’s been infected with a Hemo-Virus?” Rivel asked hesitantly. “Yes, and you two need to expulse it from him before something long-term happens!” “To be fair, General,” Sypher piped in, jumping from above to land on his feet, “Rivel can simply suck out the infected blood samples and just temporarily increase Aiden’s blood production.” “Then let’s get it on already! We can assess the damage after Aiden’s been cured.” “Just set him down and have him facing me. This should take a relatively short time, so don’t fret. Aiden will be unharmed, I promise you.” . . . The darkness of his mind was all-consuming. Aiden had wandered for hours in the confines of himself, but found seldom but a few floating memories. It was strange, to say the least. What wasn’t surprising was that many of the memories were related to Lux in some way. What was surprising was the almost constant and unintelligible whispering that had nagged him from the beginning of his unconsciousness. If he focused, some of it began to form vague words, but it was hard to tell what exactly was being said. Aiden was in the middle of peering into a nearby floating memory when molten pain arched through his consciousness. The feeling was intense, almost as if he had tried to swim through a river of lava, and each passing second only served to worsen the feeling. Several seconds passed before he was hit with an entirely new sensation. A cold feeling spread slowly throughout his body, soothing his nerves and calming his mind. Then a thought occurred to him. If he could feel… Then he was clearly aware of his own body… Meaning that he wasn’t unconscious anymore.

Chapter 2 – Dark Tidings

“That’s all of the infected tissue I could sense inside of him, General. He should wake up within the hour. What about the girl?” A raspy, breathy voice was the first thing Aiden heard after becoming conscious. “Good. His organs and blood levels have returned to normal, correct?” was the voice of a very familiar war general. “His healing worked even faster than you had informed me it would.” “Aiden has grown even more powerful since I last saw him, it seems.” “Now that he’s been tended to, what about the girl? I can sense no wounds, inside or out, anywhere on her.” “I honestly don’t know. Maybe she’s sleep deprived from the time she was with Aiden?” “Lux…” Aiden said, barely more than a whisper, but clearly enough to attract another person’s attention. “Seems our sleeping beauty here has woken up already. Isn’t that right, Aiden? Or were you simply dreaming?” Testing his current strength, Aiden tentatively propped one eye halfway open, then the other. Standing over him were three figures: Losfar; a man in a dark over coat who additionally sported a sleek respirator covering the vast portion of his face; and a lanky man with cropped, sandy hair, piercing green eyes, and a black tuxedo over his slim figure. The suddenly bright light, however, caused Aiden to blink his eyes rapidly. Losfar let out a deep sigh of relief, while the other two continued to simply stare at him. “Uh, Losfar?” the one Aiden identified as Sypher asked. “What is it?” “Were his irises red before?” Losfar suddenly straightened, looking intensely into Aiden’s eyes. “I, actually, can answer that one,” Aiden said, not enjoying the critical way in which both Losfar and Sypher looked at him, “the answer is no. I’ve always had green eyes. And I don’t quite appreciate the joke that you’re-!” Rivel quickly cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Sypher, I already know what this is.” “And I know too! This, however, should be impossible, seeing as how you drew the afflicted blood out of him!” “It was a mutated strain, apparently. My apologies for not noticing as I drew it out, but there’s nothing more we can do.” “What exactly are you two talking about?!” Losfar demanded impatiently. “And the topic of discussion happens to be me, which I’m very interested in!” Aiden declared, rising to his feet. Rivel rasped what sounded like a sigh through his respirator before facing Aiden. “Apparently, the Hemo-Virus I drew out of you was a duo strain, and unfortunately…well…” his voice trailed off condescendingly. “Oh just tell him! You appear to have inherited the traits of a vampire.” “Wait what?!” Aiden sputtered. “WHAT?!” the General yelled. “Now General, there’s an explanation…” Sypher began. “If you would give me time to analyze him, I could find out what exact traits he’s inherited…” Rivel continued. “Sounds great, all of you, but we’ve got an enemy creature headed this way,” Exavier finished. All of them quickly looked behind Aiden, where Exavier had appeared out of nowhere. The Marksman himself looked much worse for wear: his exo-suit was battered and smoking in places, his helmet was missing, and his usually pristine sniper rifle had dirt and a strange black substance splattered all over its carapace. Not to mention the unconscious Caitlyn he cradled in his arms. “Exavier! What happened?” Losfar asked, hurriedly drawing his great sword and peering around the warehouse interior cautiously. “That creature…it’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered before. The thing took five of my high caliber rounds to what I figured was its head, and didn’t flinch once! Luckily, my incendiary shells slowed it down enough that I was able to warp us here. My suit’s power has degraded to less than 5%, though, so I need someone to take Cait and let me get this thing off.” “Drones! Gently take this lady to the recovery chamber and see that she is properly healed and rested,” Sypher commanded, seemingly to no one. However, in no time at all, seven moderately sized spider-like drones crawled down the nearby crates and allowed Exavier to drape Caitlyn’s body across them. “Exavier, go get out of that suit. We’ll need you out here when that thing arrives,” Losfar commanded. Just as Exavier activated the release for his suit, however, an unearthly and piercing howl filled the warehouse. Instantly, Aiden felt his scythe materialize in his hands. After that, they heard nothing. Tension was thick in the air as all eyes scanned every bit of visible space. As he was looking towards the large dropship that he assumed brought him here, Aiden caught the faintest hint of movement out the corner of his left eye. Whipping his head around, he was met with the stench of decay and a mass of darkness that growled menacingly at him. “Uh…hi, doggy,” Aiden choked out. Losfar and Exavier, turning to face him, audibly gasped. There was no time to react, however, when the “doggy” leapt into Aiden, pushing him into a large stack of crates and onto the floor beyond. Aiden landed roughly on his back, sliding back another five feet across the ground. “God damn…” he grunted, propping himself up on his elbows. Immediately, he noticed two things: one, the pile of crates that the monster had knocked over created an effective barrier from the others, and two, said monster looked as though it was prepared to pounce on him again. Aiden quickly scrambled to his feet, summoning a mass of crimson energy in his left hand and lowering the scythe into a defensive stance. The beast simply snarled and leapt at him again. Aiden acted quickly, sending tendrils of energy at the beast and timing a slash to meet its trajectory. The slash did absolutely nothing save for passing straight through the beast, but the tendrils blasted it back into the crates that Aiden had previously been slammed through. Unfortunately, the beast knocked both Losfar and Rivel, who had been muscling crates out of the way, onto their backs. Aiden grimaced, quickly shoving the rest of the boxes aside and stepping back into the area where he had awoken. The beast, much to his surprise, was lying perfectly still on the concrete floor. Both Rivel and Losfar groaned, causing Aiden to look towards them. He sensed that both men had suffered hits to the head from the flying crates. However, it wasn’t their injuries that most worried him at the moment; it was the creature’s inactivity. He cautiously approached it’s still figure, summoning another mass of energy in his palm. Even so, he pondered why his strike had simply passed through the creature’s body. Before he had time to continue the thought, the creature sprang into action, quickly entrapping him within its icy grasp and dispelling the energy in his palm. Aiden struggled, pushing against the creature with most of his strength, but to no avail. The creature simply had too much mass, presumably only when it desired to. There was no time to think, however, as the gaping maw of darkness opened to reveal…even more darkness. Rancid air that stank of death and decay was blasted full-force into Aiden’s face, causing him to blink and shake his head. “Get off!” he shouted, channeling his energy into arcs of red lightning that leapt from his fingertips and into the beast’s flanks. It let out another frightening howl before quickly leaping off and away from Aiden. Scrambling to his feet, Aiden opted to use his energy in the stead of his scythe, summoning tendrils of crimson to surround him. The beast snarled, and a long standoff began. The two circled each other like boxers, each instinctively knowing that the other would get a perfect attack of opportunity on their aggressor should an attempt at an attack be made. Aiden, while confident in his ability to hit the creature, was clueless as to if the creature had any more tricks. If so, one wrong move might cost him a limb and cause him to suffer a lot of pain. Loss of limbs wasn’t necessarily fatal to Aiden, but every hit he took was a blow on his psyche, and the pain was worse for him than for other people. Not only was he losing the limb, but his powers immediately began the process of creating a new one, which only made the pain that much worse. Just as Aiden was ready to end the stalemate with a blast of lightning that he was certain would strike the creature in its head area, something shimmered in the air next to him, causing the creature to stop and tense. “DEMACIAAA!” was all Aiden heard before a gargantuan blast of light slammed into the creature, almost instantly vaporizing it. The amount of light from the blast caused Aiden to shut his eyes tightly. After a few seconds, he tentatively opened one eye to find that (much to his relief) he could still see. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning around to greet Lux. However, when he turned fully around, his eyes widened as he rushed forward, dropping his scythe. Lux was standing shakily on her feet and looked as though she was very ill. “H-hi Aiden…” Lux mumbled weakly before collapsing. Luckily, Aiden made it to her before she fell completely, sliding to catch her now limp form. “What happened to you?” he asked, cradling her head in his lap. “I-I…the voices…” came the faint reply. “It’s alright. I’ll clear the voices from your head, just sit tight.” Aiden closed his eyes and concentrated. Indeed, he could sense that Lux’s mind had a darkness lying over it. Something, or more accurately someone, was exerting a psychic power in an attempt to…what? Destroy her mind? Corrupt it? Aiden didn’t care. Without hesitation, he exerted his own psychic power and entered her mind. Opening his eyes, Aiden found himself surrounded by a dark mass. “So this is what’s attacking Lux,” Aiden said, his voice merely a whisper in the cloud of darkness. A deep groan echoed throughout the large space. Aiden placed his shadowy hands over his ears. He always found entering another person’s mind to be a very odd experience. This time, something malevolent was there with him. Mustering a little extra strength, Aiden created a ball of blue fire in his palm. The darkness around him writhed and massed around the flame, seeking to extinguish it. Summoning even more power, Aiden increased the intensity of the flame until it was almost a roaring bonfire emanating from his palm.
Just as Aiden was preparing to unleash the flame and expunge the darkness, a voice whispered throughout the darkness. “So,” Aiden was able to faintly hear, “this is the hero. Greetings, little, insignificant worm.” “Greetings, oh dark and scary faceless voice. How’s your day going so far?” Aiden had found, and proved several times in the past, that the best way to throw off an opponent, especially a mage, was to be extremely blunt and act stupid. They got cocky, quickly made mistakes, and left themselves completely unguarded. “I’d say fairly well. Two birds with one stone, as they say.” It was then that an oppressing force bore itself onto Aiden’s mind, causing him to abandon Lux’s to defend his own. “Interesting…perhaps this will prove more challenging than previously expected.” Aiden was barely able to retain the scream that suddenly rose in his throat. The pain was more intense than any other he had experienced before. His hands flew to his head in a weak and reflex attempt to block out the pain. Ba-dump. Aiden’s heartbeat roared in his ears, and a shudder ran down his spine. Ba-dump. Anger like no other felt by man suddenly bubbled to the surface, making his hands clench even tighter. It was as though all of the pain and emotion he had felt in the past had somehow morphed into pure, white anger. The feeling continued to rise, bringing Aiden to his knees. “Hmm? What’s this?” the voice suddenly spoke. Aiden’s hands erupted in crimson flames. The only problem was: Aiden had never wanted them to. “Impossible! How is it that you resist my power?!” “Get…out…of…my…head!” Aiden hissed. The amount of pain and anger was causing him to slowly lose hold of himself. “Give up, child! There is no one alive who can resist* me**!*” the voice had practically started shouting. “I said GET OUT!” Aiden yelled, finally giving in to his power. Aiden had sworn from its first usage that he would never let his power control him. Sure, the temptation was always there. What person with his power wouldn’t have it? He had only ever done it once; when he first discovered the power, and that was by complete accident. The life he had taken by unleashing it fully was one that Aiden found he could never forgive himself for. Other times, he’d had a solid reason to do it, end another person’s life. This was just…different for him. This time, he let go for quite a few reasons. His mind and therefore his judgment was fogged due to pain, he suddenly had a tremendous amount of anger built up inside of him, and his day just generally wasn’t going so well. Crimson energy leaped out of his body, surrounding him in a swirling torrent of power. Aiden rose to his feet slowly, hands leaving his head. “Perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps…” the voice was more curious that malicious now. “Leave now!” Aiden commanded in a voice quite unlike his own; it was deeper and even sounded more powerful. Almost all at once the dark presence dissipated, and with it went the anger and pain. Aiden’s power dissipated as well, leaving him kneeling on the floor. His legs felt like jelly, his arms like thin wire. He doubted that any part of himself was capable of functioning besides his organs. At the edges of his vision, Aiden could faintly see that the floor around him was blackened. It was the last thing he saw before a familiar darkness clouded his vision. He almost welcomed it. Almost.  

Chapter 3 – A New Day

Losfar groaned, slowly rolling onto his back. His head and the rest of his body ached, though it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. Shrugging off the pain, the old man used his arms to support himself into a sitting position. The General leaned over, placing his head into his palm and rubbing his temples. Then, placing the hand on his knee, Losfar slowly and shakily got to his feet. If he possessed any energy before, it was all drained of him. Clutching his mid-riff, the General peered around at the chaos that was their base of operations. Boxes lay strewn about everywhere on the floor, some covered in a black substance. Another glance revealed the still form of Rivel propped up on some boxes. Losfar was only slightly concerned. Some ways away from his position, he could also see that a portion of the ground appeared charred. Most of the visual was blocked by a stack of boxes, so Losfar began his slow shamble. Half-way there, he halted in his tracks. A shiver ran the length of his spine and back, causing him to look behind over his shoulder warily. The huge lights on the ceiling shown down upon the scene, revealing that nothing had changed. He sighed in relief, returning his gaze forward and continuing to shamble. At the edge of the blockade, Losfar stopped to lean on the wall, breathing heavily. “I’ve had a little too much action for one day,” he mumbled, then chuckled weakly. His more youthful self would’ve been shifting boxes by the fours and taking on hordes of enemies at a time. Grunting, he moved into view of an even worse scene. The bodies of both Aiden and Lux were strewn not 15 feet from each other, both unmoving. Just to make it worse, the charred ground appeared to have emanated from where Aiden had been standing. “Vas-nens Aiden, I just got you back!” the old man swore. He hobbled as quickly as he could over to Aiden’s limp form. Without thinking, he placed one huge hand on Aiden’s throat to check for a pulse. Ba-Dump. His heart was beating, that much was sure. Turning his gaze onto Lux, Losfar slowly stood up and moved over to her body. Doing the same for her, Losfar found that she had a pulse, but it was weak. “General! I heard the howl and some noise that sounded like quarrel, so I…” Sypher’s voice trailed off as he rounded the corner and gazed upon the scene. “Yeah, well, it looks like Aiden and Lux took care of the beast,” Losfar remarked, again struggling to his feet. A metallic skittering sound sounded from nearby. “I have instructed my drones to begin cleanup. Shall they also take these two to the infirmary area?” “Yes, that’d be fine Sypher. Did you check Rivel?” “His heartrate is unusually accelerated, but otherwise he seems fine. No bruises, cuts, or any sign of other injury. I’m sure he’ll come to, soon.” “Good. Anything else to report?” “Not as of right now, General.” Sypher said, standing at attention as the General’s gaze fell upon him. “Great. Now, help me to the infirmary.” . . . Aiden awoke abruptly several hours later. The sun had already fallen below the horizon, plunging their side of the world into darkness. Many of the lights in the warehouse were also off, and the moon was waning and did not provide much light. An ache followed by a grumble abruptly emanated from Aiden. He was hungry. Not “I feel like I need to eat” or “I should eat now,” but more along the lines of “I’m starving.” The grumble sounded again. If he needed an objective, it was to find food. However, Aiden’s attempt to sit up was cut off when a sharp pain roared through his head, nauseating him. He immediately let his head plop down onto the soft pillow that he had been unaware of up till that point. His mind wasn’t clear enough for him to notice everything surrounding him, but he was aware of a few things. One, something smelled REALLY good, and it was close; two, most obviously, his head was a raging inferno of pain; and three, there were two other people close by. He didn’t know how he could tell, but he didn’t care. At the moment, though, it would be impossible for him to even consider standing. His body still hadn’t recovered from the fight with the shadow monster. That smell…it was so wonderful that Aiden doubted he’d be able to stay away, even if the pain and weakness persisted. After a few more minutes, Aiden was growing desperate. Something about that smell was tantalizing yet felt almost…dangerous? Untouchable? He wasn’t quite sure what he felt, but something was wrong. Aiden licked his lips unconsciously, only to pause at the edge of his left canine. “What the…?!” he mumbled. His canine had grown into what he could only guess was a fang! “Ah. Your breathing rate changed, and so did your heart rate, but I wasn’t quite sure if you were truly awake,” a familiar raspy voice said from somewhere above him. “The…what?” Aiden asked, surprised. A looming shape that appeared to be someone’s head came into view directly above him. “Name’s Rivel. I’m the person who drew that virus out of your body.” “I, uh, suppose I should thank you for that…” he began, but Rivel cut him off with a shake of his head. “First, I’m not to thank. I wasn’t able to detect the other part of that particular strain when I drew it out, so you’re still suffering from the side-effects. Next, keep quiet! There’s another person recovering in here. Lastly…you’re welcome.” “So,” Aiden said, whispering, “do you think I’ll recover any time soon?” “Funny thing is: you’ve already recovered. Just one question.” Aiden was puzzled. If he felt so terrible, how exactly had he recovered? “Wait, I-.” “Do you have a bad headache and feel very hungry?” “Uh…yeah, why?” “Is there anything you can smell that gives the impression of being irresistible?” “How do you know?” “Well…I know from experience myself.” “What experience is this, exactly?” Rivel moved out of his view, sighing softly. “Do you remember anything about the conversation we started to have before the monster attacked?” “Not much…just something about my irises and…color?” “This news is going to be hard to take…listen, Aiden, you…ah…well…” “Oh crap, this is gonna be bad,” Aiden thought. “You’re…you’re now a vampire, alright?” For a second, he was too stunned to answer. Then, it came pouring back to him. “So I really am one, aren’t I?” he asked solemnly. “That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” Aiden sighed loudly. “So what does this mean for me?” “Well,” Rivel began, “for starters: you’ll need to drink some form of blood each day. No more than a pint is necessary and no it doesn’t have to be human blood. Let’s see…the sunlight won’t kill you, most likely, because you aren’t technically a real vampire…” “Technically?” “Yeah…basically, you’re a vampire, just with immunity to the sun. A Daywalker, they’re called. Most vampires like that are born or made, but as far as I know there are few. Even so, Daywalkers are afraid of revealing themselves. Holy stuff is supposedly really deadly to them, so making a cross with your arms or fingers could most likely weaken them.” “And how exactly is all of this relevant? I know that I’m a vampire, and I know that I’m this so called Daywalker, but is there anything else?” Rivel sighed again. “I was hoping you wouldn’t press the subject…alright. As a vampire, you understand that you will get your vampiric strengths from the blood you drink?” “Yeah…” “Well, and I know this for a fact, human blood is A. the most appealing to vampires and B. it also makes you the strongest.” If Aiden could’ve slammed his head into his pillow, now would’ve been the time. “That smell I asked you about? Yeah…well, based on what I’m inferring, that smell is her blood.” “W-what?!” “See why I didn’t want to tell you?” “So what I’m smelling is…Lux?” “That just sounds weird. You’re smelling her blood.” “Yeah, because that’s so much more comforting,” Aiden whispered sarcastically. Rivel sighed and moved his head back into view. “Listen…I don’t know what else I can tell you. If you think you can get out of the chamber, I’ll show you where you can get some blood. It’ll keep you full for a little while, at least.” “I…well…uh, fine,” he consented. Aiden took a deep breath before lifting his head. Instead of the nausea he was expecting, Aiden found that his head only hurt slightly more. Moving his left arm upwards, his hand rested on the edge of the tube he was in. Using his arm for leverage, Aiden hoisted himself into a sitting position. “There you go. Head feeling better?” Rivel asked from nearby. “Yeah,” Aiden said hesitantly. “Hold on, then. The release for that thing is somewhere here…” A few beeps followed by a louder one signaled the release of the left side of the pod which, consequentially, had Aiden catching himself with his elbow as the side slid back into its sheath. A gloved hand grabbed his arm, helping him to slide out and onto his feet. Aiden felt a small jolt of pain as something was stuck briefly into his arm. “Ow! What the-?!” “Blood sample. I need to study this further and see what the full effects of the virus were. To be honest, up till this point your being a vampire was pure speculation.” “Then why’d you and the other guy immediately jump to that particular conclusion?” Aiden was puzzled. “Sypher isn’t as knowledgeable with the human body as I am, but he’s no idiot either. The immediate assumption I had was that you were Albino, but seeing as how you have black hair and a moderate tan, that theory had to be tossed. Otherwise, the reddening of the irises usually points to some form of vampirism. At least, it does as far as I know.” “Alright. So you mentioned something about food…?” Rivel’s laugh sounded more like a smoker’s cough. “You’ve already gotten this used to being a vampire, huh?” Aiden could feel his anger returning. “Hey, I never said that! It’s just…I’m getting pretty damn hungry, and if blood is my new food source…” “No need to take offense, Aiden. We’ll get you sorted out and fed soon enough.” Aiden looked at the dark form that was Rivel. His eyes, while having adjusted to the darkness, still had trouble seeing anything more than dark silhouettes of objects. “So, where to?” “Follow me, if you will,” Rivel said, turning and heading farther into the darkness. Aiden trailed close behind. As they walked along, Rivel’s footsteps echoing somewhat loudly while Aiden glided like a shadow, he noticed the smell kept getting stronger. “Uh, is it bad that the smell is getting stronger?” “Not really. We’re nearing the sleeping area, so that’s probably why…” it was then that Rivel suddenly paused mid-stride, causing Aiden to do likewise. “You can control yourself, right?” Rivel asked. “What kind of question is that?” Aiden responded. “Just answer the question!” “Yes, I have full control of myself. Satisfied?” “Far from it,” came the mumbled reply. Aiden simply shook his head, continuing to follow the strange man. They continued on for a short distance before Rivel turned to him. “Stay here for a sec. I’ll grab the blood and be back out shortly. Don’t wander off while I’m in here,” he said, gesturing to a door that Aiden had previously been unaware off. “Alright,” Aiden said nonchalantly, holding up his hand and flexing his fingers. Rivel nodded, pulling on the door’s sturdy handle and moving inside quickly. Aiden caught a glimpse of a well-lit and sterile room before the door abruptly hissed shut. Immediately, he breathed out deeply, and then inhaled in the same fashion. He almost couldn’t get enough of the smell! Lux or not, the smell was euphoric and left him constantly wanting more. He had decided right after Rivel asked him whether or not he could “control himself” that he was going to find out more about the smell. Aiden shook his head, turning around and murmuring in one of many arcane languages. A small flame sprouted in his upturned palm, which he used his own power to strengthen into a moderately sized ball of flame. The lighting was adequate, he decided, and began back the way he and Rivel had walked. Besides the stacks of crates that towered on either side of him, Aiden found little for the first few yards. There were a few unused storage bins, large ones, that found their way under the crates, but he doubted that they had been converted into sleeping quarters. However, about half way back to where Aiden had woken up, he found some doorways to either side of him. Extinguishing the flame, he went to the one on the left and pressed his ear up against the door, inhaling deeply. The scent had only grown stronger as he’d backtracked. The smell got neither stronger nor weaker. He then moved to the other door, repeating the process. This time, the smell got noticeably stronger. Aiden, breathed out, small jolts running through his body. He was close. Shaking the handle, he found that the door was locked. He swore under his breath. “What do I have that could pick a lock?” he thought, “think…think! Wait! My pocket…” Aiden thrust his right hand into the pocket, rummaging around with his mind. “Wand, nope…vial, nope…dagger, nope…rag? Nope…” he was beginning to get desperate. “Map, nope…bomb, nope…come on, come on! There has to be something in he- ah ha!” he triumphantly grinned, pulling out a set of lock pick wires. The wires themselves had been taken from a thief who had sought to plunder the Crownguard’s vault. It was the thief’s un-luck that Aiden’s nightly ventures had drawn him to the treasury. Aiden had apprehended him and searched him before taking him to the guards. Hidden in the thief’s hair had been a set of lock pick wires, which Aiden had pocketed without a second thought. Presently, Aiden was glad that his decision had been to keep them. Leaning down, Aiden found what felt to be the lock and carefully inserted the wires. Wiggling them around until he figured they were in place, Aiden began twisting and turning the wires, pressing his ear up against the door. After a few tries, a faint click alerted Aiden to his success. Quickly stowing the wires back in his pocket, Aiden slowly opened the door. The intoxicating smell blasted him in the face, causing him to smile. His feet moved on their own, gliding him into the room. The room itself was fairly simple: a small window overlooking a queen-sized bed with a wooden night stand to its left. Lying in the bed, blonde hair splayed across the pillow, was Lux. Rivel hadn’t been lying when he’d said the source of the smell was Lux. The sweet scent Aiden had been picking up on had been Lux the entire time. He began to walk slowly toward the bed. However, a battle was being fought inside himself. Aiden was desperately trying to make himself stop, odd as it seemed. His intentions were clear enough to himself, but something kept him from prevailing. Two more steps and he was half-way to the bed. He couldn’t stop himself. Three seconds passed. The small amount of light leaking in through the window highlighted Lux’s sleeping form. Aiden reached the side of the bed. “She looks so peaceful,” Aiden thought, leaning towards her. He didn’t think, he didn’t formulate a plan, he didn’t consider what he was going to do. He leaned in close, brushing his lips against her cheek, kissing her. Slowly, he began to trail kisses down her cheek and found his way to her neck. She shivered, wrapping her arms more tightly around herself. Aiden opened his mouth, fangs elongating. Then, he bit into her neck. His eyes shot open as her sweet life-blood poured into his mouth. He began to suck it out, making sure that he didn’t get carried away. Lux’s entire body shook, and a small moan escaped her mouth. Aiden swallowed another mouthful of the sweet elixir before pulling away. Licking his lips, he took a deep breath and looked down at Lux. Shallow marks where he had bitten in to her were plainly showing on her exposed neck. “Can’t let anyone see those,” he thought to himself, beginning to channel his power. Palm out, Aiden breathed out before letting his energy flow. The bite mark on Lux’s neck began to fade almost at once, and some more color returned to her cheeks. After a few more seconds, the bite mark had all but disappeared. Aiden lowered his palm, sighing contentedly. The gnawing hunger had left, a feeling a satisfaction replacing it. Glancing one last time at Lux, Aiden turned and silently made his way out of the room. Pausing in the door frame, Aiden rolled his shoulders, flexing his fingers. All of the strength he’d been devoid of before had returned to him. Closing the door quietly behind him, Aiden stepped out into the hall of boxes. “Kudos to you. I had no idea you’d left until I came back out of my lab,” a voice rasped from the darkness. Aiden whipped around. Sitting on top of a nearby stack of boxes was none other than Rivel. “How’d you know I was heading this way?” Aiden asked, more curious than anything. “I’m not stupid, regardless of what you may think. It’s hard to resist something like that smell, I know.” “You never told me how you knew.” Rivel sighed. “Neither you nor I is getting any more sleep tonight, so I might as well explain as much as I can. Follow me.”

Chapter 4 – Explanations

Aiden followed Rivel’s weave through the warehouse. There wasn’t much to see; just stacks of crates and the odd door. Rivel stopped at one of the doors, holding up a hand. Then, he pushed it open and entered, gesturing that Aiden should do the same. He obliged. Aiden found himself in a moderately sized but not very well lit room. Three plain chairs and a couch were scattered around the center area, where a very large circular device attached to the floor sat. “Where are we?” Aiden wondered aloud. “This is the Map Room…or the commons area, if you prefer. This is where the team gathers to map out plans of action or just discuss a topic. Recently, the topic and plan of action had been your extraction.” “That’s been bugging me.” “What?” Rivel asked, turning to face him. “Well,” Aiden began, “why did you sneak into the Institute and take me and Lux back here? Why not just walk in and tell me? I would’ve remembered Losfar’s face.” “Personally, I think it would’ve been best to just let Exavier do the job, but the General insisted. Do you know what’s happening in the League of Legends?”” “Other than what happens every day? No.” “Take a seat. This may take me a little while.” Aiden nodded, walking over to one of the unremarkable chairs and sitting down. “Over 300 years ago, a being by the name of Gorgreth rose to power on the eastern edge of Valoran. His goal was to conquer the entire continent and become the supreme overlord. The first few kingdoms he attacked fell like weeds before his power. Two beings…I forget the names Loafer told me…rallied other kingdoms from across the continent to fight this power. Even they, immortal beings, weren’t sure what power the Overlord possessed. All they knew was that he knew exactly how to use it. “Some of the rest is fuzzy…well; eventually the kingdoms rallied and pressed the offensive. The Overlord’s dark army was eventually pushed back to the lands where they had originated from. Then, a massive battle was fought at the Overlord’s stronghold. The leaders of the armies and the two immortals fought their way to Gorgreth’s throne room, and there they battled him. After a long and bloody battle, with many of the human kings slain, Gorgreth was defeated. Powerful spell-casters from each kingdom were called to eradicate him. And, for a time, it seemed that the Overlord was truly dead and gone.” “What do you mean ‘For a time?’” “Over the past 100 years, sightings and reports have been pouring in to the Institute and other major military forces that a ‘dark force’ is terrorizing towns and cities to the North. Based on what Losfar has told us, I’d wager a guess that the dark force in question is actually Gorgreth, or a manifestation of his power.” “So,” Aiden said, leaning forward, “is that what Losfar has gathered you all for? To combat Gorgreth?” “Actually, the General recruited me over 50 years ago. Exavier and Sypher came only around 10, and Lyle has been a member for maybe 6 months. Gorgreth is a new thing for us. The General briefed us all this morning.” “I slept through an entire day?” “Yeah. Worried your girlfriend half to death.” Aiden chuckled. “Sounds like Lux. But, uh, how exactly does this tie in to the League of Legends?” “When you got there, did you notice any champions acting odd, perhaps giving you sideways glances? Acting the opposite of what they normally would?” “Now that you mention it, everyone on my team was acting weird around me.” Rivel nodded. “I snuck into the Institute a few months back and took blood from 7 subjects. Sypher ran the blood samples through a machine. The results showed that 6 out of the 7 champions had the same form of enchantment on them. Lyle, who has a high magic affinity, inspected them himself and confirmed for us that dark magic had tainted them. Funny thing is: I took samples from champions who had no prior connection to black magic.” “So the champions at the Institute are under a spell? Shouldn’t that be impossible, with the security standards they’ve set?” Rivel shook his head, crossing his arms. “The problem didn’t start with champions; it started with high ranking summoners, and spread like the plague from there. We have reason to believe that Gorgreth now has the League in all its entirety under his control. It wouldn’t have been safe for you there.” “Wait, so shouldn’t an enchantment have been placed on Lux and I?” “You’re exactly right: one should’ve been placed on you and Lux. However, your power resisted the enchantment and protected Lux.” “I thought I felt someone trying to get inside my head when I arrived on the summoning platform. Lux said that they’d replaced the summoner with her because they couldn’t get in my head.” “I’m guessing that they managed to get Lux under the spell for a little bit, but as she entered your mind, she was cleansed.” Aiden nodded, leaning back in the chair. He took a deep breath then let it out again. “So have you come up with a plan to stop Gorgreth?” Rivel chuckled, shaking his head. “The General knows something that he hasn’t told us yet, but I’m not going to be the one to press him.” “Maybe I’ll have to…” “Good luck. The General only shares information when he feels like it, and that’s honestly not very often.” Aiden sighed, standing up. “I think I’m going to at least try and get some sleep. See you when I wake up,” Aiden said, moving towards the door. “There’s another guest room right across from the one you broke into. Feel free to take it. Door’s unlocked.” “…Thanks,” he said hesitantly, walking out the door. Once outside, Aiden paused for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the gloom. Once everything had become a little clearer, he made his way quickly back to where Rivel had led him away from, relying more on his gut feeling that memory. After several turns and loops, Aiden made it back to the two doorways, this time heading for the one on the left. As promised, this one opened without resistance. Aiden inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent that still lingered in the air. Then, he went inside, closing the door. However, he could instinctively tell something was off. Like the other room, there was a small hallway to where the actual bed and window were. He moved cautiously, gliding like a phantom across the floor. Pausing at the corner, he slowly peered around the corner. His eyes widened. Laying in the bed was none other than…Lux. She was in the exact same position she’d been in when he’d left. “Just a heads up, those two rooms are actually just one room. I’ve been messing with your head this entire time.” the voice of Rivel echoed tauntingly in Aiden’s mind. “You cheeky…why?” Aiden said, almost feeling angry about it. “It keeps me busy. Not much to do at night when everyone else is asleep, you know?” “Oh, and how the hell are you speaking through my head?!” “Blood sample, remember? I’ll explain more later, just get some sleep. Sweet dreams.” Rivel’s laugh echoed in Aiden’s mind. He shook his head. There wasn’t much he could do about it now. Not wishing to disturb Lux, Aiden simply sat at the foot of the bed, making himself as comfortable as the position would allow. “Night, Lux,” he whispered before closing his eyes. Surprisingly, he fell asleep almost immediately. . . . The next morning, Aiden, awoke with a start. Yawning, he raised his arms above his head, stretching. Then, shaking his head to clear the fog of sleep, he opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed in through the small window, lighting the room with a golden color. Aiden blinked a few times, staring directly ahead. He heard a slight rustling from above him before all went silent again. As he went to look up, he grunted. During the night, his head had tilted to one side, giving him a kink in his neck. His left hand began to massage his neck as he looked fully upwards. Staring down at him was a familiar tangle of blonde curls and bright blue eyes. The two stared intently at each other for a few seconds before Aiden smiled. “Hey Lux.” “Aiden!” she shrieked. She practically leapt out of the bed to hug him, burying her head in his chest. Aiden wrapped his arms protectively around her, closing his eyes. For the moment, he was content. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Lux broke away, frowning. Aiden tilted his head, puzzled. “Something wr-ow!” he exclaimed as she slapped him across the face, “What was that for?!” “Don’t you EVER do something so reckless!” she shouted at him. “I-I don’t know-.” “Losfar told me what he guessed had happened! You could’ve killed yourself!” “Heh, I suppose I could’ve…” “I just...I just don’t know what I’d do without you…” Lux said, her voice trailing off. Aiden smiled. “I’ll always be here for you Lux, and you know that.” “Yeah…I do…” she mumbled, hugging him again. Just then, a series of sharp knocks came from down the hall to the door. “Hey you two, the General wants you both in the conference room soon. Wake up or wrap up whatever it is you’re doing and get out here,” came Rivel’s muffled voice. “Just a sec, Rivel,” Aiden called back, looking down at Lux. She flashed him a quick smile before standing up and heading towards the adjourning bathroom. Aiden stood as well, but instead headed toward the door. “So Rivel, I think it’s time we…” his voice trailed off as he pulled the door open. Standing in front of him was a cloaked figure of smaller stature than Aiden, holding a kneeling Rivel using a leash that appeared to have been locked around his neck. Rivel was choking and pulling on the chain, but the strange figure had a grip of iron. Aiden was unable to see under the cloak’s hood, but by the way the figure looked, he assumed that it was in fact a woman. He swiftly drew the longsword sheathed on his hip, pointing it under the stranger’s chin. “Release him now, or I end your life,” Aiden commanded, voice full of malice. “Wouldn’t it be tragic,” a dark and very feminine voice remarked, pulling on the chain a little harder, “if your friend here got a spike pulled out of his throat?” It was then that Aiden noticed Rivel’s full disposition. What he had originally mistaken for a collar was, in fact, a moderately sized spike shoved through his throat. It was masterfully done; if the spike had been maybe an inch or so higher, he would’ve been dead. “So,” the woman continued, shrugging, “I suggest you put down the sword. Accidents happen so easily.” Aiden tightened his grip for a second, grimacing. It wasn’t to be said that without the sword he was completely defenseless, but if the girl was a mage… he released his hold, the sword clattering to the ground. “Good boy,” the mage said, tilting her head up enough that Aiden was able to catch a glimpse of a purple iris and white hair, “now, SUBMIT!” With the last word she swung her right hand around to rest on Aiden’s cheek. A burning sensation exploded across his face, forcing him to one knee. The girl’s voice echoed in his head, growing louder with each passing second. Her power worked to dominate his mind! He gasped for breath, forcing himself to look up. With a clear view into the hood, Aiden could see that the girl had a smug grin plastered all over her face. His vision darkened. He had just been reunited with Lux, and Losfar, who was more like a father to Aiden than anyone else. Aiden began to shake. His arms, which had previously been unresponsive to him, began to move. His right hand, burning with energy, gripped her right arm, bringing it slowly away from him. To his great satisfaction, the smug look had been replaced with a mix of confusion and horror. He slowly got to his feet, holding her arm as far away from his face as he could. “No…” Aiden said, bringing his left hand up. “W-what are you doing?!” she shrieked, redoubling her efforts to free her arm. “You will submit to ME!” he yelled, thrusting his left hand onto her cheek. Immediately, he felt his power flowing into her, bringing the girl to her knees. She cried out in pain, letting go of the chain to weakly grasp his arm. Let go. You have conquered her mind. She possesses valuable information you and your friends will need. A voice in his mind...complying, Aiden ended the flow of power, yanking his left hand back. To his mild surprise there was a red hand mark where he had grasped her cheek. The girl fell to her hands and knees, panting. Aiden, stumbling backwards, managed to catch himself, looking at his hand. Shaking his head, he moved towards Rivel’s prone form. To his horror, the spike was lying out of his throat on the ground next to him. There wasn’t any blood on the spike or around where he was lying, however. “Rivel?” he asked. A low groan came from his body. “I’ll…cough be fine…cough just…just take care of the…” he broke out into a coughing fit. After a few seconds, he settled down. “Take care of the girl…I can recover from this…she didn’t know the…human anatomy as well…as I do.” “Alright,” Aiden said, turning towards where he had left the girl. She was on her hands and knees in the same position where he’d left her. Picking up his longsword from where he had dropped it, Aiden walked to the girl. “Stand up,” he ordered. She immediately scrambled to her feet, the hood falling off in the process. At a different time, Aiden could’ve considered her attractive. The girl had a tangle of white hair that hung down to her shoulders, a soft pale complexion, and bright purple eyes that burned with power. “Y-yes, master,” she said as she straightened, much to Aiden’s surprise. “W-what?” Aiden stammered. “I…” she began, her voice trailing off. “What is taking you slow pokes so…” Sypher began angrily from behind Aiden. Peering over his shoulder, Aiden found that Sypher was standing there, eyebrow raised in question. “What’s taking us so long, Mr. Extraordinare, is I’ve just had a spike shoved into my throat and am currently waiting for the wound to heal,” Rivel spoke up, still not moving from his position on the floor. “Ah, I see. Or rather, I don’t, but I get what you’re going for. So this girl is ah…?” Sypher continued, looking at Aiden. “I…actually don’t know. She’s the one who stabbed Rivel, if you’re curious.” “Hmm, yes, well I guessed that much. She is a mage, if I’m not mistaken?” “Yeah, tried to overpower my will.” “So you aren’t the thrall for some mage-girl now?” “About that…I did something to her and I think she’s...uh…what title would you prefer?” Aiden said, looking at the girl. “Whatever you desire, master,” she replied quickly, nodding her head. “Riiiiight…we’ll just say you’re my slave, for now.” “I like the title already, master.” “Anyway,” Sypher spoke up again, “we’re having a meeting in the conference room. Everyone is required to attend, like always. However, I’m not sure how Losfar will react to this…slave…of yours, so tread lightly on that particular subject. In the meantime, Rivel, stand up and Aiden, get your girlfriend and your slave ready. We meet in 10 minutes tops.” With that Sypher turned away, striding back the way he’d come. Rivel placed both his arms under himself and pushed himself into a sitting position. “Aiden?” Lux called from inside the doorway. “Yeah?” “Did something…um…” Lux said, stepping through the doorway. “Long story short, miss: I got stabbed, Aiden got attacked, and then he turned this girl into his slave,” Rivel said, getting to his feet. “Aiden, explanation right now,” Lux demanded. “She threatened to kill Rivel, so I dropped my sword and she tried using magic on me. I guess I somehow copied her magic and used it on her. She calls me master now, so I’m fairly certain that she’s completely under my control.” “I’ll do anything for you, master,” the girl said, speaking up. “Uh…yeah. Also, what’s your name? We can’t just keep calling you ‘slave’ or ‘girl.’” “My name…Syndra, master.” “Syndra?” Lux asked incredulously. “Yes,” Syndra said, turning to Lux and smiling. “Wait, isn’t she a champion in the League?” Aiden asked. “Yeah! Her and I are really good friends,” Lux said enthusiastically. “Lux! I remember you now!” Syndra said, rushing forward to embrace Lux. Rivel walked up to Aiden, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Be careful with women, Aiden. They’re more deadly than Ul’grŭks.” “What-nows?” “A creature I hunted. Long before your time. Point is; women must be handled with care. Not that I’d know,” Rivel shrugged, taking his hand off Aiden’s shoulder. “Syndra,” Aiden said once the two girls had finished embracing, “can you remember everything up to this point?” “Just…fuzzy images, master.” “Hmm…” “Alright you three! Let’s wrap this up and get to the Map Room. Losfar doesn’t like waiting.”

Chapter 5 – A Plan of Action

Rivel led them through the maze of stacked crates in good time, arriving at the Map Room in around two minutes. Without pausing, he pulled open the door and walked inside. Syndra, Lux, and Aiden followed him. Leaning on the circular apparatus in the middle of the room was Losfar, while Sypher had occupied one of the three chairs. Then, a woman with pink hair and the roman numerals VI on her cheek was seated on the couch next to a young man with short brown hair and blue eyes. The woman was wearing some form of armor, while the man had a navy blue long sleeve shirt on accompanied by jeans. Seated in one of the other chairs was a long-haired brunette woman wearing a very short skirt attached to a similarly colored purple top. “Good. Aiden, Rivel, Lux,” Losfar said, gesturing to each of them in turn with a nod, “and Syndra. Why is she here?” “Wait, you know who she is?” Aiden asked, puzzled. “I’ve done research, Aiden. That doesn’t answer my question: why is she here?” “I believe I can answer that one, General,” Rivel said, stepping forward, “she tried to kill me and then attempted to take over Aiden’s mind.” “Hmph, and now she’s friendly?” “Well…” “I believe I can answer that one, Losfar,” Aiden said, crossing his arms, “now I’m not completely sure how, but I used my powers to dominate her mind, or something along those lines.” “And now…?” “I serve my master, Aiden, until death or he releases me,” Syndra spoke up. Losfar closed his eyes, sighing. “You don’t know how you did this, Aiden?” “She attempted to do it to me, and I just…kind of did what she couldn’t.” “Lyle, you know magic better than anyone. Is she under an enchantment?” The brown-haired man stood up, nodding. “Let me see what I can do, General.” Moving over to Syndra, Lyle bowed his head, pushing his palm outwards. “Glithonēal roe harathshīdmat,” Lyle said. Aiden could tell he was speaking in another language, but what exactly he was saying remained a complete mystery to Aiden. Syndra’s form momentarily glowed with golden energy. Lyle put his hand down, wincing. “Yeah, there’s an enchantment on her alright. From what I was able to gather, it’s actually helping her. However, that’s pretty much all I was able to get before my mind was kicked out by his power.” Aiden held up his hands. “Hey, when my power is inside someone else, I’m not controlling it.” “Very well. She can stay, so long as she isn’t disruptive.” Syndra looked at Aiden questioningly. “Can you promise not to interrupt us unless you have something you feel like you need to add?” he asked her. “Of course, master.” “And please stop calling me that. It’s just Aiden, thank you.” Syndra beamed at him. Aiden shook his head, turning to face the rest of the group. “Alright then. Let’s begin this with a few introductions. Aiden, I want you to meet Caitlyn and Vi, sheriff and enforcer of Piltover, respectively,” Losfar said, waving his arm towards the two women. “I remember you from the match we’d begun,” Aiden said, bowing to both of them, “and it is a pleasure to meet you, lady Vi, and sir Lyle.” “Such manners!” Caitlyn exclaimed in her peculiar accent. “We usually just get smart-ass comments from Sypher or calculations from Rivel,” Vi spoke, glaring at each of them in turn. Both men shrugged. “And in turn,” Losfar said, “I’d like all of you to meet Aiden, our key weapon against Gorgreth in this war.” Everyone except Syndra and Lux nodded at him. A few “Greetings” and “Hello’s” were scattered in their responses. However, Aiden turned to Losfar, frowning. “What do you mean, ‘key weapon?’ And what war?” “It seems Rivel has been lacking in his explanations to you,” Losfar replied pointedly, glancing at Rivel. “Apparently.” “You’ve been told at least the basics, I assume?” “Yeah.” Losfar sighed, resuming leaning on the circular device. “As you know, Gorgreth has assumed control of the League. This leads to the assumption that he is gathering power somewhere in the North. However, Valoran is huge, and we’ve had no current success in finding where his stronghold is. New information has reached me, however. I know how Gorgreth plans to gain all of his power back.” At this, Rivel, Sypher, and Caitlyn all leaned forward, taking new interest. “You all know of the Eternis Crystallites, correct?” Everyone except Aiden and Lux nodded yes. Aiden looked questioningly at Syndra. “You know what he’s talking about?” he asked her. “I…yes…my memories are still fuzzy, but it sounds familiar, Aiden.” Losfar nodded, turning to the three of them. “The Eternis Crystallites are fairly sized gems that appear normal, but hold massive amounts of raw magical energy inside of them. There are seven total, but all of them save for one have been hidden ingeniously around the world. There used to be three on Valoran, until Gorgreth found one. He used its energy to cause chaos and destruction for the entire continent, wiping out several cities before the kings of old mobilized to oppose him. Even then, a bloody and brutal conflict ensued for many years. Gorgreth never moved out of the lands where his kingdom was, but instead continued to create armies of demons and other monsters to oppose the kings. Two ancient beings, Aatrox, the Darken Blade, and Dread, the Waylayer of Death, made alliances with the kings to help defeat Gorgreth. They knew that a being of such evil and pure hate could not be reasoned with. “To shorten this up a bit, I’ll summarize. The human kings, along with Aatrox and Dread, during the final battle, fought Gorgreth himself. They discovered that his source of power was one of the Eternis Crystallites. Suffice to say, Gorgreth was defeated and the Crystallite was locked away. Recently, we learned that Gorgreth had reawakened, somehow. Now, I know. The Crystallite he had possession of, the Alternis Stone, shattered. Whether or not on purpose, I don’t know, but there are only a few ways Gorgreth could regain the power he once had. He requires the other two Crystallites on Valoran to replenish his old strength.” There was silence in the room. If these Crystallites held as much magic energy inside of them as it sounded… Aiden wasn’t sure there would be a Valoran. “But what does that have to do with me being the ‘key weapon?’” Aiden asked at last, breaking the silence. “This is information I’ve withheld from everyone, sadly,” Losfar said, straightening and looking Aiden directly in the eyes. “I’ll start from the beginning. Over 18 years ago, a magnificent city far to the west of Demacia came under the attack of a demon army. Yale was all that remained of a once great civilization that had blossomed quite a long time ago. The city was the center of trade for much of that area, and wasn’t too distanced from the sea. Both the Ionian and Demacian governments traded with Yale; it was a profitable move. However, some dark power rose from the ruins of the Old Kingdoms, and moved to attack the city. “For over 30 years, Yale had no harsh relations, wars, or skirmishes. The entire area was at peace, so when this demon-lord attacked, the city’s inhabitants were completely unprepared. All except one person: your father, Aiden. You both come from the same bloodline, the Daedrids. He was charged with the protection of the city, but died defending it. Your bloodline holds immense power, as you’ve discovered for yourself. I knew your father long before Yale was the prosperous city it became. He and I were good friends, before the city was attacked. “Over the years I knew him, we discussed much about the power he wielded. He, and his grandfather before him, didn’t know much about their power. There were a few journals kept by the first Daedrids, but sadly, they perished along with Yale. When your mother had you, neither of your parents were sure whether you’d grow to wield the power. Members of the bloodline able to use the power, male and female, were scattered with no clear order throughout the family tree.” Losfar paused at this point, staring off in the distance as if remembering something painful. “Both your mother and your father died before they knew. During that time, I was off following a lead in an attempt to find Gorgreth’s stronghold. When I returned to Demacia and learned what had happened, my first priority was to visit the city. It was…gruesome. I won’t go into detail, but I began my search throughout the city in your parent’s house. When I wasn’t able to find any trace of you, I turned that entire wasteland inside out. For years after that, I searched nonstop for any trace of your whereabouts. I kept thinking, maybe they got you out, maybe someone escaped with you. “Finally, at the edge of my hope, I caught wind of a ‘surprise child’ for one of the royal families. The only reason it stuck out was because the royalty rarely have ‘surprises.’ Everything they do becomes public within a matter of hours. So, acting on a hunch, I investigated deeper into the subject…” “Which leads us to now.” Aiden finished for him. The air in the room was heavy. “Why wasn’t the knowledge of Yale being destroyed somewhere in the papers?” Lux asked. Losfar sighed, rubbing his temples. “God only knows. The Demacian military did their best to cover it up, probably because they were afraid that the public would blame them.” “Why didn’t you tell me any of this before now?” Aiden asked, a mix of anger and confusion rising in his chest. “I did it to protect you. Nowhere is safe for any of your bloodline, not even Demacia.” “Why? What makes me so special? Yeah, I get that I come from a powerful bloodline, but so do a ton of powerful mages!” “Nowhere is safe because Gorgreth is hunting you. It was his minion that destroyed the city of Yale, his minion that killed your parents!” “What does telling me about my parents and how you knew them have to do with keeping me safe?! You are purposefully dodging my question, Losfar, and don’t try to hide it!” Aiden was almost yelling at this point. “I couldn’t risk the possibility that a spy had infiltrated the Crownguards! The less Gorgreth knows about your whereabouts, the better off we all are! As time goes on, you’ll learn to harness your power, which makes you a dire threat to Gorgreth. Much as you might disbelieve, you are mortal, and he knows as well as anyone! The Overlord is cunning, and as soon as he can he’d like to get you out of the picture! Without you, the fate of this entire world is sealed.” Aiden stared numbly at him. The rest of the room stared back. “I never asked to be given this power…I don’t want this responsibility…” he said, clenching his fists. “This is the burden all Daedrids carry. This power is as much a curse as it is a blessing.” Everyone raised their heads, looking wildly around the room as a shadowy voice spoke. “There is no need to fear; I am not here to harm anyone. Allow me to introduce myself.” At this, a mass of blue energy appeared next to Aiden, taking the shape of a man. Aiden stepped back, summoning a ball of crimson energy in his hand. “My name is Marick. I am an ancestor of yours, Aiden. It seems I never truly left this world when I died.” As the figure spoke, it took a more solid form, revealing a man in his late twenties wearing casual clothing. Being made of blue energy, it was impossible to tell what color his eyes or hair might have been. However, it was clear that he was wearing a long-sleeve V-neck, jeans, and glasses. “I apologize for the intrusion, but I felt that this would be an opportune time to reveal my presence to you all.” “Marick?! Loren rarely spoke of his ancestry, but he mentioned you several times,” Losfar exclaimed. “That does not surprise me. I was one of the few in our family that kept a detailed journal on my discoveries about our power. Several journals, in fact. It was a shame that so much of our history and knowledge was lost with the attack on Yale.” “Y-you know him?!” Aiden asked. “As I said: your father, Loren, referred to many of the works Marick made. Apparently, he unlocked more of the power than many others in the bloodline.” “Indeed I did,” Marick continued, his voice still distant and shadowy. “So…you’re the voice I’ve been hearing inside of my head sometimes?” Aiden asked, directing the question at Marick. “Yes. I wish I could’ve been more help up till now, but I did not wish to worry you with a voice inside of your head.” “I…thanks for your concern.” “So you’re related to Aiden?” both Syndra and Lux asked simultaneously. “More than that now. Never before in any other journals did I find something like this occurring for the other Daedrids. Aiden wields more power than even I was able to, yet he does not realize it. I could be considered part of Aiden’s subconscious.” “That makes two people to tell me I’m supposedly more powerful than I realize.” “I do not lie: you are the first in the bloodline to use certain aspects of our power.” “Like?” “I was never able to regrow body parts or heal as rapidly as you do. This is most likely why many of our ancestors fell so easily; they were utterly mortal. You, however, take more to kill than normal men.” “I’ll uh, take that as a compliment,” Aiden muttered. “You two can talk at another time. Right now, I need to discuss the plan of action with the team,” Losfar said, drawing everyone’s attention. “We’ve dallied long enough,” Caitlyn agreed. “So, as you know all know, Gorgreth plans to find and sieze the other two Eternis Crystallites. I’ve learned from a reliable source that one of the Crystallites is rumored to be here in Piltover. This means that we’ll need to begin searching for it right away. Caitlyn, Vi, Lyle, this is where you’ll play a key role. Where do you believe most large gems of value would be kept?” “I’m throwing out banks, first and foremost. I haven’t heard anything about gems being put in any of vaults,” Lyle said. “We could start with the museums around Piltover. Some of the exhibits are bound to hold precious or exotic gems,” Caitlyn mused, tapping her fingers thoughtfully on the arm of the chair. “If I may add my own input, I believe the Sheriff is correct. The most likely place for gems as large as the Crystallites to be kept is in museums,” Marick said, his blue apparition crossing its arms. “Then it’s settled. We split up into teams and go to a different museum. Exavier, search for every museum in Piltover and divide them up between three groups.” To the surprise of everyone in the room, save for Sypher, Exavier suddenly appeared in the corner of the room, accessing his arm console. “Already on it, General.” “Wait, so he’s been in here the entire time?!” Aiden asked. “If you want to know, I’m actually letting him test my new Octo-Camo technology. So far, it’s proven very effective,” Sypher said smugly. “So, how many museums will each team need to hit, Exavier?” Exavier casually pretended to count on his fingers. “Around 5 each.” Aiden’s eyebrow raised in questioning. “I’ve lived in Piltover my entire life, and even I didn’t know it held that many museums!” Caitlyn exclaimed. “Alright,” Losfar said, shaking his limbs out, “these are the teams we’ll split up into: Aiden, you’ll be with Lux and Syndra. Sypher, Rivel, you two are with me. That leaves Caitlyn, Vi, Lyle, and Exavier on a team.” “Before we head out, each of you will need to take one of these,” Sypher said, reaching into one of his many pockets to pull out several small earpieces. Sypher moved around the room, handing everyone an earpiece. “Using these, I’ll be able to tell you where your next target museum is,” Exavier declared, stepping out of the corner. Losfar nodded. “Then we’ve got no time to lose. The faster we find this Crystallite, the less chance there is that one of Gorgreth’s minions finds it.”

To Be Continued...

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