(EXTENDED LORE) Nefalz, The Herald of Silence
This is an extended lore for the champion concept Nefalz, The Herald of Silence Please check him out there before reading, as the story makes much more sense if so!
Please let me know what you think of this short story, and be sure to leave some critique on my champion concept page! Thanks a million, I really appreciate it!
Now, to the story. It begins in an ancient chamber, sealed away in the depths of the earth...
“I refuse to be left behind in this crucial moment!” Nefalz screamed. He couldn't believe what they were about to do. “We are always The Seven! Remember Mordekaiser, remember Xerath? I was there! You can't take this away from me.”
“Silence, my son.” The leader of the Seven quickly refuted. “The watchers are a rising threat to the final peace, and possibly the most powerful beings we will ever face. The odds are not in our favor this time, Nefalz.”
“The odds **are** in our favor if you let me join you! You know I am one of the most powerful mages of this order.” Several members of the order looked down, pretending not to hear this. They knew it was true, Nefalz was more powerful than all of them. Well, excluding his father.
“If all of us die at the upcoming battle, it's over. There is no coming back. No peace. That is why we are leaving you behind, to continue the journey to peace if we fall.” The leader stated. Nefalz had already figured this out, but his emotions were holding him back. “You are blinded by your thirst for death, my son. You must remember, it isn't the death, it is the silence that comes with death, the peace.”
Nefalz, with gritted teeth, had to agree his father was right, his judgment was clouded. He needed to pull away from the anger, the envy. “You are right, my father. I shall stay. However, I have one question. How am I supposed to continue the journey without my kin? We are an order, I am a man.” Nefalz said.
“Your father thought of this, Nefalz. That is why we are giving you this.” One of the order spoke, pulling out a mysterious artifact from withing his flowing robes.
_**An iron band. Nefalz knew there had to be more to it, but why so bland?**_
“My son, we are each going to giving you a fragment of our power. A fragment of our souls. This will increase your power sixfold. However, we do not know what will happen to our souls when we die. These are old magics, not the magics of those cursed shadow isles. This arcane ritual has not been used in a millenia. Let us hope that the auras of this age will allow such things.
Nefalz's father placed the iron band upon his head, preparing for the ritual. The six began to circle Nefalz, stepping back while muttering incantations that had not been spoken in a millenia. The chamber began to shake. A circle of spirit fire now circled Nefalz. The second stage had begun.
The six began to step closer to Nefalz. Each muttered a similar spell. Then, reaching into their chests, they pulled out dark shards. Nothing ever looked so black, their souls stained with the blood of thousands. They stepped closer to Nefalz. They raised their arms. Suddenly, the six took their shards, and thrust them toward Nefalz's head. Nefalz screamed in agony.
After a few moments, the pain was gone. The crown was now part of Nefalz, Nefalz a part of the crown. He could feel their souls resting upon his head. He could hear their thoughts, their feelings, their doubts.
“We are truly one now, through you Nefalz.” One of the order said. Nefalz knew this, he could feel it. He could feel power. Suddenly, arcane bonds fastened his limbs in place.
“A precaution. If we die, the chains will dissipate. If we don't, we will come back.” Nefalz's father said, with sorrow in his eyes.
“**YOU DON'T TRUST ME? AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH? AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO ME?**" Nefalz screamed, feeling betrayed. He didn't bother to break free, he knew the bonds were unbreakable.
“We've always sensed rebellion in you, Nefalz, and now that we see inside your thoughts, it has been confirmed. You planned to join us in the battlefield. You planned to put the journey at risk. We are sorry Nefalz, it is a necessary evil.” The six said in unison. They started muttering a spell of travel, slowly traveling to the surface. Only Nefalz and his father remained.
“I'm sorry Nefalz, this must be done. I will return to free you if I survive, and you will be freed in my death. We will do whatever it takes to kill The Watchers. I promise.” His father started to fade, and under his breath he said. “I love you.”
They were gone, and Nefalz was alone in this sanctuary. He was confident in their abilities to defeat The Watchers, but he could sense the fear and doubt in their souls. They were a part of him now, and he was a part of them. Nefalz began to focus, trying to see through the eyes of the six. He could.
The battlefield was cold, and the battle was already in progress by the time The Six arrived. Two sides, The Watchers and their followers, versus the rebellion. Nefalz's father muttered a spell of death, and instantly the front line was cut down, having their heads ripped from their bodies. Both sides looked towards them.
_**Nefalz could see the fear in their eyes.**_
It was a three way battle. Nefalz's father alone was able to cleave through both armies of the iceborn. It made Nefalz proud. He could see his brother's fighting the watchers.
_**Fear.**_
His father's words were true, these beings held true power, nearly Gods. Their spells of ice froze one brother when he was casting a spell of fire. The watchers shattered the ice.
_**One was gone.**_
Shattered into a million shards, it was the first casualty the order had felt in a millenia. Seething with rage, the others began casting spells with fury. However, they seemed to merely graze these Godlike beings. Another brother was shattered.
_**Two were gone.**_
Nefalz's father then turned to aid his brothers, casting a spell of restriction. The Watchers were locked in etheral cages, with walls of pure heat, vaporizing any ice the watchers managed to form. Nefalz knew this spell can't be maintained forever. But they now had the advantage.
The remaining three conjured a portal from the blood of the fallen, leading to a place of total darkness. Where it went, he didn't know. And with a flick of his wrist, Nefalz's father condemned them to the gate.
The watchers were gone. The deed was done.
They collapsed from exhaustion. Nefalz knew these spells would do this to them. Never had The Seven attempted spells on such an enormous scale, let alone with only four brothers.
Nefalz started shouting in his chamber. He saw a witch approaching through the eyes of the father. He could see dark ice forming around his remaining brothers, as the iceborn started to gather around them. What was nearly seconds seemed like hours, as he saw his father turn as the witch prepared an icicle, and everything went black. “NO!” Nefalz screamed, as his bonds were broken. He collapsed, in misery. They were gone, his brothers. His only friends in life. His father. However, he felt them. His crown started to pulse, and he felt their return. Nefalz quickly made a mental command for his brothers to materialize around him. What Nefalz saw was a horror to his eyes. There were six spirits, but they were faceless, excluding a pair of white hot eyes. They had no distinguishing features, nothing that told them apart as they did in life. There were no robes, merely the shape of a human. In panic, he thought “Speak to me!” There were no replies, only the blank stares of the spirits. He could not feel their emotions. He could not feel their thoughts. He could feel the power, but they were lost. Nefalz crumpled to the ground in despair. They were here, but they were gone. The magic of the age couldn't bring them back fully. For the first time in centuries, Nefalz wept. Anguish. “I swear my brothers, my father, I shall avenge your deaths. They will all fall silent. Every last one of them. The Freljord, Shurima, Ionia, Bilgewater, Bandle City, Demacia, The Shadow Isles, they will all die. They will all fall silent. They will all have peace. I shall finish the journey we started together.” Nefalz stood up. He stopped. Stop this Nefalz, you need to control your emotions. Take a step back, think about what's going to happen. What would your father do? What would the order be telling you right now? Everyone knows there are seven, they only killed six. They're going to be looking for you. What do I do? I know. I shall wait. I shall survive. I shall continue my journey in the darkness. I will wait until they forget me, forget The Seven. Then, I shall manifest myself at the perfect moment. Then they will die.