Legends Converging: A Prince in Peril (Chapter 2)
Hi everyone! I know it's been a while, but editing this one took a while. I present to you Chapter 2: Emerald for Insight. Leave comments and suggestions because they help me improve. Even if you don't have any suggestions, talk about what you liked about the chapter. Any feedback helps.
Link to Chapter 1: https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/Tj7yusZ4-legends-converging-a-prince-in-peril-chapter-1
Jarvan Lightshield IV sat at a table, surrounded by his generals. His face grew increasingly grim, as he listened to the pompous and fat general now giving his report. “The situation around Urzeris has concluded in a Noxian victory.” General Miesar reported, “As of a couple days ago, Noxus has taken complete control over this key trading center.” Jarvan pondered the implications of this conquest. If Noxus has indeed taken Urzeris, we can no longer trade with them for salt. It looks like there will be hard times ahead for the people.
“What of Nashramae? Have they fallen to Noxus as well?”. Jarvan asked, his brow furrowed.
“No Your Highness, it appears that Noxus has not yet attempted to defeat them. Hadyett Sadja remains in power and we may be able to continue trading with them.” General Miesar answered, seeming relieved he could deliver some good news.
“Excuse me, General Miesar, but if Noxians command the seas around Nashramae, we may not be granted safe passage to trade, they may try to blockade our efforts.” General Ibell inquired. *She’s right*, Jarvan thought, but there are a couple ways around this. *It may be costly, but we can trade with Nashramae. We simply won’t use Demacian ships.*
“You are correct, General Ibell, we could persuade some families in Piltover to trade in our stead. We have cordial relations with many of them. However, we will have to acknowledge that we cannot trade with Urzeris in either case. The only family in Piltover who trades with Urzeris also holds a monopoly over Piltover’s salt trade- House Medarda. We have, unfortunately, incurred their hostility after the incident involving several of their ships. They were caught in the crossfire between our navy and the fleet led by the Saltwater Scourge.” Jarvan recalled.
*There may be no salt for the people this season.* Jarvan sighed, “General Ibell, send word to our contacts in Piltover to negotiate the use of Piltover vessels as intermediaries to continue trade with Nashramae. As for salt…we may have to find a separate solution. Perhaps one of the coastal buffers cities can assist us. Aside from this, I believe this meeting is adjourned. I will speak with the Ministers of Coin on a solution to this issue. Thank you for your report General Miesar.” General Miesar saluted him and the congregation broke to go their separate ways.
As the room emptied, Jarvan found himself looking out of the window. He had always admired the way the bright petricite walls reflected the sun’s light. That which protects us, also illuminates us. Demacia is a beacon of hope, for those oppressed by magic. That is why we must never falter. Or what we’ve built and stood for will crumble. Jarvan clenched his fists. Leadership was supposed to come easily to him, he was a Lightshield, from a line of chosen kings. Yet with every obstacle he overcame, another rose to take its place.
*Every battle we win harms us far more than helps us. Each soldier that falls reminds us that we barely hold on in this ever-changing world.* A trader who had visited recently heralded stories that the city of Piltover was near entirely powered by its magical crystals. Dubbed “hextech” according to the reports, it was capable of immense power, and immense destruction. When his father had learned of it, he had turned pale as he realized that the world outside of Demacia was evolving to overcome its reliance on pure might or magic. The union of the two proved very dangerous for Demacia’s continued survival.
*If it ever comes to open war with Piltover, I do not believe that our walls will hold back the “hextech” that they wield.* Jarvan sighed, releasing his fists as he sagged slightly. He could feel the weight of an entire city-state on his shoulders, its people, its livelihood, and its future. He froze as a shadow crossed his face. He looked up and saw a familiar large blue shape soaring through the air towards the castle. His gut tightened as he realized something was wrong, Valor wasn’t flying straight and true as he was used to, instead, he moved very erratically through the air. He could make out Quinn's shape, almost dangling from Valor's talons, and he could tell something was wrong. Guessing Valor’s destination, Jarvan sprinted towards the Ranger-Knights’ headquarters.
“I demand an audience with the King.” Hearing Quinn’s weak voice made Jarvan pause as he was about to enter the building. He turned around and saw Quinn, dirty, blood-spattered, and barely conscious. She was held up by a couple of her fellow Ranger-Knights as they led her to the entrance. A Ranger-Knight behind Quinn carried Valor, motionless with exhaustion, in her arms. When the knights caught sight of Jarvan, they immediately straightened and saluted him. Quinn slowly raised her head to see why they had stopped. When she caught sight of Jarvan, she spoke faintly, “Jarvan, you need to ask your father to send an army to Albruin. Noxus has invaded Palclyff, and will attack Albruin in three weeks.” Hearing this, Jarvan’s blood ran cold. Quinn wasn’t finished however, “In my bag you’ll find orders given to the commander directly from Jericho Swain.” Jarvan quickly rummaged in Quinn’s pack until he found the papers she was talking about. He turned to go, but Quinn grabbed hold of his arm. Startled, he looked back at her. “Two more things, one: there is a little girl named Miri who lives in Albruin, please make sure she’s safe. Second,” and here her grip tightened into a vice while she she spoke in a low whisper, “The general that Swain has sent to take Albruin...it’s Darius.”
*****
Jarvan paced his quarters with Garen sitting in an armchair, watching him carefully. Garen had left his usual heavy armor for a gambeson of royal blue linen, and brown woolen stockings. The pair had just presented the letter to Jarvan’s father King Jarvan III. The king’s eyes had widened when he had heard its contents, and he had immediately called his inner circle of generals to decide on a plan to forestall the Noxians from achieving their objective. Now Garen took a deep breath and asked, “So what did the letter say?”
“It contained orders from Noxian High Command to invade Palclyff undercover, and, in the night take the city. Then prepare for Darius to lead his army to the shores and attack Albruin. They are looking for something there. The letter described it as a fiery orange gemstone, pulsating with light. The letter named it the Cinder. They also said that there was another important item they needed to obtain, and that it would be arriving after twenty-five days.” Jarvan answered, his brow furrowed as he tried to understand what Swain would want with such an item.
Garen looked up suddenly, as a thought came to him. “Did you say gemstone?”
“Yes?” Jarvan responded, “Swain is after a gemstone that he called ‘The Cinder’. Or at least, that is what the orders said.”
Hearing this, Garen stood up. Confused, Jarvan turned to look at him. “Do you remember the soldier that we sentenced to exile?” Garen asked.
Jarvan thought for a moment, “Which one? We have exiled a lot soldiers throughout the years.”
“The one we most recently gave the Crown of Stone. He would never shut up about gems. I’m sure he had books, or notes that could probably help us. Following custom, this soldier had to leave his belongings behind, to be taken to the vault until we decided what to do with them. It has only been four months since that incident, and I think the vault hasn’t finished judging the items for value yet. Perhaps we can find a clue about what we are looking for there?” Garen suggested.
Jarvan looked slightly concerned, then he relented, “I did want to be present for the final decision, but I think that the generals will use every reason at their disposal to explain why they should be the ones to lead the charge. They will probably keep using stall tactics until one of them finally gets the ‘honor’. After all, many of the inner circle generals have been sitting comfortably on their high seats, and public opinion of them has fallen. They will want new missions, probably ones on home soil, to get the people fawning over them again. Let’s stop by the vault and see if we can find information about this Cinder.”
Still, Jarvan thought as the pair made their way towards the vault, it had been odd that Garen remembered *this* exile. Usually soldiers given the Crown of Stone, ie: the order to climb Mount Targon to atone for their mistakes, were purged from memory. The majority never returned and were suspected to be living new lives outside of Demacia. Because of this, the people of Demacia learned to forget about those exiled via the Crown of Stone. *If Garen remembers this one, could he possibly believe this soldier will return?*
“Garen...did you know this soldier personally?” He asked.
Garen stiffened, looked at Jarvan with a peculiar light in his eyes, “I...knew him, or else I thought I did. He was born and raised in Demacia, but he was not Demacian. As much as I tried to make up for his mistakes, he would never listen, and eventually, they began piling up on him. At that point, there was nothing more I could do for him. I hoped that by sparing him execution, and instead exiling him, that he would be able to live the life he desired. But there is a part of me, that wonders and hopes that he would do what others could not, and return home.”
Jarvan nodded, understanding the need for some time alone following a great shame. He himself had been unwilling to return to Demacia after he had escaped capture from Noxus. It had only been through Shyvana’s care and the subsequent slaying of her mother Yvva that Jarvan had finally felt he had redeemed himself. “What was his name?” He asked, now very curious.
“His name was Taric, I've known him longer than I've known you.”. Garen stopped and looked at Jarvan. Jarvan froze as he noticed the wariness with which Garen was watching him. Then, it was gone as Garen said, “I’ve talked enough about this. Please don’t bring it up again. Also, we’re here.”
Garen was right. They had reached the massive petricite arch marking the entrance to the vault. After the guards ascertained their identities, they pushed open the massive doors. The pair quickly entered the antechamber. The Vault was one of few buildings constructed almost entirely of Petricite. Aside from the reinforced steel beams used to fortify the structure, the Vault was mostly used to house objects of unknown potency that were captured or retrieved after a battle. Each item was then appraised by a group of scholars. If they were deemed not to be magical, they were bartered off to Piltover, if they were magical dangerous, they were removed from Demacia to a stronger vault where they were eventually destroyed. If it could not easily be judged, it would be sent to the second Vault as well.
“Can I help you, Prince Jarvan?” A short and thin man peeked out at Jarvan behind a pair of massive spectacles. “I assume you did not visit the Vault unannounced for mere sightseeing?”
“Um, yes. We are here to evaluate something in your possession, which we believe holds information important to Demacia. Do you still carry the possessions of the soldier last exiled via crown of stone? His name was Taric.”
The man pursed his lips as he thought about it. “ I *believe* we still have his possessions in the Vault. Interesting man, had some texts that we would consider priceless, on gemstones.”. Hearing this, Jarvan relaxed.
“May we access these texts?” He asked, and the man inclined his head.
"Certainly, my prince. What is ours is yours. Stay here, and I'll bring the texts to you. Oh, and please forgive my manners, my name is Erowin, I am the curator of the Vault.”. He said as he bowed to Jarvan.
Jarvan turned to Garen as Erowin left. “So, what do think we should look for? A book on Gems?”
Garen shook his head, “What we want to see is the *Compendium*. It was his personal tome with notes on mythical gems as well as the usual rare ones. We may have one problem. The *Compendium* is locked with a series of gemstone keys and each of the keys must be inserted in a certain order to open the lock. He told me he left clues on the cover to remind him in case he ever forgot.”
Jarvan nodded, “So we need to figure out the pattern and then we can read the Compendium. Let’s hope the Vault kept the keys.” Erowin returned with a load of books. The largest was blue inlaid with silver. Garen pointed at it and said, “That’s Taric’s Compendium. On the cover were four words: Vigor, Harmony, Divinity, Insight. Beneath the words was the picture of a rose. The book was clasped shut with a very complex lock that Jarvan recognized as the work of a famed Piltover Locksmith. So Garen wasn’t kidding, Jarvan thought as he looked at the four keyholes.
“Were there perhaps keys that came with the book?” Jarvan asked.
Erowin frowned slightly as he answered, “There were, but they were deemed to be gems of a priceless variety. The only reason we kept them was in hopes that someone would be able to undo the lock. We can’t force the book open in fear of damaging its contents, and the man’s other works prove that what is in *this* book would be especially valuable.” Erowin reached into his pocket and drew out twelve keys. “These are each made with a different gemstone: Amethyst, Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, Diamond, Sapphire, Peridot, Topaz, Jade, Opal, Alexandrite, and Beryl. We tried to open it, but the damned Piltover locksmith built it in such a way that it only responds to a certain combination.”
Jarvan took the keys and showed them to Garen. Garen considered each of them and then turned to look at the cover of the *Compendium.* “Vigor, harmony, divinity, and insight.” He said, stroking his chin as he mulled over those words. “There’s something...familiar about those words. Taric used to claim that each gem represented an ideal or a characteristic-Wait!” Jarvan jumped slightly as Garen snatched a couple of the keys from his hands and began inserting them into the keyholes. “*Ruby* for vigor.” he said as he slid the first key in and turned it. It clicked. Garen pressed onwards, “*Opal* for harmony,” he said as he slid the second key in. It clicked as well. Jarvan watched with bated breath as Garen slid the third key in. “*Sapphire* for divinity.” This key similarly clicked into position. Garen held up the final key, “*Emerald* for insight,” he said as the final key clicked into place. Ruby, Opal, Sapphire, Emerald- ROSE. Suddenly the picture on the cover made sense. The lock whirred, and the book opened.
With the book now open, Jarvan ran through the table of contents looking for any mention of ‘Cinder’. “Not Catalyst of Aeons, not Kindlegem....” he muttered as he ran down the list. “Found it! Bami’s Cinder.” Jarvan exclaimed as he quickly turned to the correct page.
*Bami’s Cinder is characterized by it fiery orange appearance and burning aura. It is a powerful gemstone with a large store of life energy. Oftentimes, objects in sustained contact with Bami’s Cinder grow rapidly and reach much larger sizes than what is normal.* Jarvan remembered his trip to Albruin as a child. There had been a massive petricite tree there. It had been older than the town itself and was known as- “The God’s Arm.” Garen said, the awe evident in his voice. “The Cinder must be inside of it, or else in contact with its roots. We need to tell the King.”
Twenty minutes later, Jarvan threw open the doors to the throne room, with Garen following close behind. As Jarvan has suspected, the High Generals were still arguing with one another, pontificating about their own importance as each tried to assert that they were best suited for the mission. The King, clearly tired of the extensive self flattery of the generals, was sitting at the head of the war conference table. He held his head in his hands as he waited for the generals to finish their disagreements. Xin Zhao, his family’s Steward, drew the king’s attention to Jarvan. King Jarvan Lightshield III lifted his head wearily to look at the newcomers as Jarvan entered the throne room. Seeing Jarvan, he lifted a hand and silenced his generals as he gestured for Jarvan to speak.
Jarvan knelt at the foot of the throne as he said, “Father, I bring you grave news. Garen and I uncovered new information about Swain’s objective in Albruin. He is looking for a magical gemstone named Bami’s Cinder.” Jarvan then launched into an explanation of what Garen and he had been doing to solve the mystery. “I know of its location, and humbly request that I be the one to command our forces during Albruin’s liberation.” He stated. At this, all of the generals broke out into protest. Without turning to look at them, King Jarvan raised his hand once again, silencing them.
He looked at Jarvan carefully as he asked, “While there is no greater honor than the crown prince leading his troops into the field of battle, I question whether it is too early for you to step into the field following your *previous* track record.”
Heat suffused Jarvan’s cheeks as he caught the meaning of what his father was trying to say. He took a breath and steeled his gaze, “I can assure you, Father, that I am not the man I once was. I am Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV, Dragonslayer, and Exemplar of Demacia. If I am not in the field, leading our troops, then what kind of Exemplar am I? If I do not protect Demacia from Noxus, then how else may I be worthy of the name Jarvan? I should lead Demacia into battle, as you did, Father...and your father before you. While I am inexperienced in true battle, I am not being impatient. I have long needed more time in the field, and so I ask again: May I be given the responsibility to lead our troops into battle?”
At this King Jarvan leaned back, stroking his beard. Xin Zhao then leaned in to speak into King Jarvan’s ear. King Jarvan’s expression tightened as he listened, nodding occasionally. When Xin had finished speaking, King Jarvan stood and declared, “After some brief counseling, I have decided to allow Jarvan this chance to prove himself once again. However, I order Garen Crownsguard and the Dauntless Vanguard to assist and protect the prince in this endeavor.” King Jarvan then directed his words at Jarvan. “You may choose one other warrior to assist you on this mission.”
Without missing a beat, Jarvan said, “I choose Shyvana.” At this, King Jarvan raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. The generals present, however were not so quiet. Jarvan heard angry murmurings from the High Generals. One of them, General Darek, rose quickly to his feet and shouted at Jarvan, “You would choose that disfigured wench to fight with you?! By the Veiled Lady, she is tainted by magic, she cannot possibly-”
“ENOUGH!” Jarvan roared. “I will not have one of my trusted friends be insulted in my presence. I chose Shyvana because aside from Garen, there is no one I would rather have by my side in a fight. You, general Darek, have made it clear that your prejudice and personal agendas make you unfit for any mission outside of Demacia City.”
Jarvan was still seething when he and Garen had left the throne room. After hearing his outburst General Darek had swelled like a bullfrog, intending to reply in kind, but King Jarvan had silenced him a third time. King Jarvan, now very tired of dealing with his generals' egos, had then told General Darek to control himself. He had commanded Jarvan to apologize to the general, for speaking without restraint. “You, son, are an example for others to follow. Please remember to be courteous to even those you do not agree with.” Jarvan had taken a breath and apologized to the general, but he was still very upset. King Jarvan had then turned to the room at large, and declared, “If there is not anything more that needs to brought to my attention, I believe this counsel is finished.” he had said. To Jarvan he’d spoken quietly, “My impulsive son, I suggest you ready the troops for battle. Do not get impatient, or charge out on your own. A battle is not fought for glory, a battle is fought to protect the people.”
Jarvan’s mind was still on the way the Generals had reacted to Shyvana’s name. *If they had any-ANY idea who Shyvana really was, they’d never treat her so.* Is what Jarvan thought, but he knew the truth. In order to keep Shyvana’s lineage a secret, they’d made it known that she had been afflicted by a mage’s spell, which caused her skin to become blue and scaly. While she often attracted looks of distaste and pity, it was nothing compared to the cries for blood that would have hounded her if her true identity were known.
Jarvan and Garen visited the communication center to send a message to Shyvana, requesting her assistance. She was currently stationed elsewhere, but her mission should be over by now. She would meet them en route to Albruin, as they passed through town she was currently assigned to.
For the next two days, the clink of metal could be heard as the army prepared for war. On the third morning, Jarvan and Garen stood at the head of an army, 5,000 strong. “Soldiers! Look not to me, but to Demacia!” His voice boomed out over the host as he continued to speak. “We fight for our homes, and we protect the faithful. We fight for those who cannot, for our families, and for those who are oppressed by magic. We fight for the dream that every man, woman, and child deserves a home within which they can be safe. And so we fight for Demacia. Look to your right and left, and see your brothers and sisters in arms who fight alongside you; look to your arms, as you grasp the instruments with which we play the sweet song of steel on steel. And look now to me, mere men and women no longer, but paragons of the military might that burn eternal. We WILL free Albruin from the clutches of Noxus. We WILL rout the Noxians. And we WILL return to Demacia City in victory!” Jarvan raised his lance, his golden armor shining brightly in the dawn. “For Demacia, now and forever!” The army lifted their weapons and let out a resounding war cry as they followed Jarvan and Garen through the gates of the city and onto the path to Albruin.
Thanks for reading! I'm currently writing Chapter 3, and it will be written through the eyes of Demacia's resident Beyblade.
