Fan Fiction Story/clip: Leona

Leona

The morning sun radiated a golden warmth upon the land. Autumn had come to the Rift! Maple, alder, dogwood, birch—all had shed their dying leaves, which spread like a great gold carpet far and wide. Even the river saw its share deciduousness, leaves floating along like little boats. If not for the absence of sweetly singing birds, one may never have guessed that this forest was, indeed, part of a greater battleground. Only a short distance away the air rang with the clash of swords and blast of cannonfire as minions fought to the death in the center of the mountaintop arena. Blood the color of poppies ran thick upon the ground only to disappear, hidden by the color of the season.

Alone in the river and apart from the immediate carnage, a lone warrior bent to one knee, hidden in a patch of reeds. Her breath was steady, and her blade held in a firm grip. 

    She placed a palm freely upon the ground and whispered, “Ward!”

    Immediately a torch-like ward materialized with a loud thud, its metal brazier glowing hot.

    “Righteous!” The warrior maiden shouted. “Now… where to next?” She searched the area from the safety of her cover, lighting upon the path that led into the enemy forest directly ahead. “Bingo, babe.”

     Dashing from cover, the courageous battler charged with sword and shield into the wild undergrowth. She hacked through all shrubbery and vine that attempted to slow her mad pace, the breath heaving from her chest like a bellows.

     Suddenly she entered a grassy clearing and stopped. Several ugly looking chicken creatures, foul in temper, stared back at the warrior with vacant eyes.

     “Ward!” She shouted, holding out an open palm. A transparent orb, jiggling like pudding, appeared upon it, and she tossed it into in midst of the chickens.

      Poof!

      The ward landed with a blast of smoke and light.

      “Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A voice called out. "Out for a little stroll, Leona?” A fierce looking woman with long white hair wielding a deadly khopesh emerged from a cover of brush near the chickens.

      “She should have checked her map! She should have! WhoOh!” Added an odd little rat swaggering round from the riverside, armed to the teeth with an assortment of explosives. 

       Leona turned and raised her shield in surprise. The two had come from nowhere!

       Striding closer and twirling her curved weapon, the fierce woman adopted a look of mock astonishment. “Oh, look! She really didn’t know, Ziggy. The poor thing. We’ll have to show her to the door.”

       The rat creature, Ziggs, tossed a lit explosive from hand to hand. “Heeheehee! I know where it is, Diana! I know!”

       Leona kept one eye on both targets. “Map!” She muttered, under her breath. Sensing activation, a minimap of the arena burst like a hologram into her immediate vision, just beneath where her right eye could see.

       “I’m tired of waiting, Diana! OoH! I can’t stop myself! Die die die!!” Ziggs hurled his explosive at Leona with tremendous speed.

        Reacting quickly, Leona battered the bomb away with her shield, deflecting it back at the chickens behind.

        BOOM! BokbokboK!

        No sooner had the bomb exploded than Diana dashed in for a slice with her khopesh at Leona’s unguarded side.

        CLANG!

        Leona’s raised sword blocked the blow, but the force of it sent her reeling. Instinctively, she called upon the power of her sword and cast it toward the rat named Ziggs. A blade of light stretched outward and tagged onto the little creature’s shoulder, pulling Leona along like a missile toward him. 

        With a smart bash from her shield, she left the rat senseless. “Adios, amigos!” She called back, fleeing to the river.

        Instantly the two followed her, anger hot on their tongues.

        “Come back here, LEONA!”

        “I wanna blow you UP! Let me blow you uP!”

         Leona burst from the forest and into the river, speaking into the communicator as she ran. “Allies: I’ve got two in tow. Coming up the river, here.” A ping burst on her team’s minimap as a radar blip. 

        “Only two?” A gruff voice answered. “You should have invited more, Leona.”

        “Oh, look. Even Darius is upset. Do I really need to waste time with this, then?”

        “Shut up, Yi. Just do your job.”

        “Wait, is that—could it be? Do I detect salt, Lux?”

        “No dammit, you do not! Gahh! There’s just no getting through to you.”

        “Sure there is! You could go out to dinner with me, or a movie, or the beach, or the bar, or—“

        “Quiet, Yi! Here she comes!”

         Leona turned round in the river and faced the challengers. Her face was a picture of determination, though with a closer look one would have noticed a certain slyness lingering in the depths of her eyes. She raised her shield, shouting, “Stand and fight!”

         Ziggs and Diana slowed out of their chase and exchanged wry glances.

         “Are you talking to us, or yourself? A fight’s exactly what we want, idiot.” Said Diana, readying her blade.

          Ziggs pulled another bomb from his belt and added, “HeeHee! Time to die! Boom boom!”

          Three things then happened almost all at once. A binding of light struck both Ziggs and Diana, locking them in place. Next, a solar flare, called from Leona’s blade, crashed down upon their heads. Finally, to finish up, Yi burst from the forest and sliced through the dumbstruck pair with a show of impressive swordsmanship.

          By the time Darius ambled up, both Ziggs and Diana had been obliterated, the charred and slashed remains of their summoned bodies disintegrating only to be reborn again behind their nexus. 

          The huge man lay down his axe in the river shallows. “You didn’t even need me, ahh.”

          Leona gave him a friendly pat on the back. “I appreciate your help, nonetheless, big guy.”

          Yi, cleaning his sword on the sleeve of his shirt, shot back, “Yeah, maybe you should look into becoming our cheerleader full time, you’re great!”

          Darius gave the swordsman a look that would have frightened a charging bull.

          “I take it back! I swear! Don’t hurt me!”

          Already, Lux had opened up her map and was busy searching. “I’m going back into the fight mid lane.” She said, aiming her baton off into the distance. “Call me if you need anything. Let’s cinch this one up, alright?”

          All three nodded in affirmation and went their separate ways upon the battlefield, wreaking constant havoc.

          When evening rolled in with its dark clouds and cold wind, they looked upon the enemy nexus with the eyes of champions. A new team had entered Summoner’s Rift. All others had best beware.