Beyond the Lines: A Story of Love and League (Katarina's Legacy - Part 1)
What was this Demacian doing so close to the Noxian walls? I would have been pacing if I wasn’t up a hundred feet or so in a tree, perched on a branch that was barely thick enough to hold me. Also, I wasn’t sure whether the citizen had any weapons that could pose a threat to me. The trading between Demacia and Piltover had been rapidly escalating the past few weeks, so who knew if this seemingly harmless Demacian had a Piltover gun? Those weapons were the finest and deadliest ever made, and could harm even someone like me quite critically. People weren’t supposed to fight champions – and champions weren’t supposed to fight each other – when they weren’t acting as a part of the League. It was part of the honor code – that, I cared little about, but others did – but at the very least, if you killed a champion when they weren’t actively acting under the League’s guidance, they would die with no chance of respawning. And that would be bad.
This Demacian, I thought with more and more conviction, had no weapons, and merely wanted to pick a fight with a Noxian just because the two factions were ancient rivals. What an idiot this guy was. He wanted a fight? I’d give him a fight for his life.
Just as I reached for my twin daggers, I heard loud footsteps coming this way. Changing my mind in case the guy below my tree knew I was here and had called for backup, I instead prepared to teleport away. I was one of the few champions who could actually teleport outside of the League, so I always practiced in case I got caught in a sticky situation.
But I was totally unprepared for what came next. Rather, who came next.
Garen Crownguard walked into the clearing, hand on his sword hilt.
If I’d been holding my daggers, I would have dropped them, I was so stunned. How had he gotten here? Why had he come here? Did the Demacian below my tree call him? Or had he followed the guy here?
I strained to listen to the two, who were now arguing over something. My best guess was that the mystery Demacian wanted to stay, but Garen wanted him to leave. Finally, I caught a few words.
“… It’s really not safe for you to stay here,” Garen told the other man. “What if one of their assassins shows up? You can’t possibly defeat the Noxian assassins. Especially not Talon or Katarina. I can barely defeat them on the battlefield right now as it is.”
I almost laughed, but managed to cover it with a quiet cough. He had a hard time beating me? Oh, I’d really give it to him next time I faced him on the battlefield.
The mystery citizen started to protest, but Garen held up his hand, and the man went silent.
“Go home, and be careful on your way,” he said, and the Demacian grudgingly agreed, turning in the direction of the rival city state the two called home.
Once he was out of the clearing, Garen walked over to the tree I was in and sat down under it. Now I really was trapped. He’d hear me shift if I decided to try and get the drop on him, and if I teleported away, he’d sense it. I merely settled into a more comfortable position as quietly as I could, and waited for him to leave.
But he didn’t. He just sat there for a few minutes, and waited. For what, I wasn’t sure. But I found out once he decided his friend was close enough to Demacia.
Garen stood up, turned to face the tree, and looked up, straight at me.
“I know you’re up there. So why don’t we have a chat, Katarina?”
I instantly started to prepare a long distance teleportation, but was distracted by the sound of him sighing and turning to leave. So I was conflicted here.
Now, for a moment of truth – I was kind of in love with the man who was supposedly my greatest enemy. So I really wanted to talk. But I also was loyal to my faction, and I would be breaking a law to talk to him, if not multiple laws. The choice fell between honoring my head or my heart. Why did such decisions cost me so much? It was like the time when Garen saved my life from a Demacian mob, and I couldn’t even thank him due to Noxian protocol. So what did I want to do?
I made up my mind, knowing this would come back to haunt me someday.
“Wait!”
My voice rang through the clearing, stopping Garen in his tracks. He slowly turned back around, and I could have sworn I saw a smile on his face.
“I’ll talk. But you have to promise to leave if I think anyone’s coming.”
“Fair enough,” he replied. “So what do you want to talk about?”
“I thought you were the one with the topic,” I countered. “But hold on – let me get out of this tree first.”
I quickly swung my way down the tree, dropping to thicker branches and lightly holding onto the trunk of the tree in case I slipped. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I didn’t slip. But I always thought it was better to be safe than sorry.
Once I was on a branch about ten feet above the ground, I dropped to the ground, rolling with the impact to prevent damage to my ankles. Due to my body’s natural response to that move, I came up with my daggers out. After a moment, I grimaced and sheathed them.
“Sorry. Reflex I can’t control.”
“No problem. So what do you want to talk about?”
Well, one thing he should have remembered was that I always challenged worthy opponents before discussing anything with them. So before he could blink, I had my daggers back out and was charging him.
Garen sidestepped, as I had anticipated, so I teleported behind him and swiped at him with my daggers for good measure. He ducked just in time.
Once we were a safe distance apart again, he drew his sword, and now it was his turn to charge me.
I sensed that he was about to perform one of his classic leap-strikes, so once his feet left the ground, I teleported onto his back and pushed off with my feet to leap high up in the air. Garen landed with his sword stuck in the ground, just as I began to fall back to earth. I aimed my daggers right for his spine, but at the last second he let go of his sword hilt, twisted around and grabbed both of my wrists. Shocked, all I could do is move with his momentum as he hurled me across the clearing.
“Well done,” I told him after I regained my stance. I had hit my head a bit on impact, so I was a bit off balance, but otherwise I was fine.
“I thought we were talking, not fighting?” he asked me.
“You have to prove yourself to be a worthy opponent before I talk,” I replied. “That’s how Noxian culture works.”
“Alright, then.” And with that, he pulled his sword out of the ground and swung it around him in an arc. I changed tactics then and sheathed my daggers.
Knowing what I was about to do, Garen stopped whirling his sword and pulled it in front of him just before my first trio of throwing daggers reached him. Somehow, he blocked most of my shots, despite the fact that I could throw daggers faster then any eye could see. The few that went around his sword bounced off of him with a loud clang. Of course he was wearing his armor.
Finally, my daggers spent, I bowed to him.
“Fine. You’re good, and may have even gotten better since the last time we fought. So what was it you wanted to talk about?”
As I retrieved my daggers, Garen sheathed his sword and leaned against the giant tree I’d been crouching in earlier, waiting for me to finish. Once I was done, I stood about ten feet or so away from him, inviting him to speak.
“The fighting between our factions has been going on long enough. So I came to you, one of Noxus’ greatest warriors and their future general, to try and negotiate a treaty between us, even if only for a few days. Demacia has grown weary of the constant battles, and I am guessing so has Noxus. If you are willing to help me with that, I would be greatly indebted to you. So will you help?”
I considered it for a moment. The ‘future general’ mention really hit home. After all, my father had been the general of the Noxian army before he’d gone missing, and as the oldest and best battle-trained Du Couteau, it would fall to me to take up the mantle soon unless High Command decided to hand it over to some tactician. And I wouldn’t be happy about that move, if they did that.
“I guess I can help you,” I said at last. “But it won’t be easy. What do you want to do, actually walk up to High Command and ask for peace? That won’t work.”
“I was thinking you could delegate my ideas to High Command. After all, they respect you.”
“Fair enough.”
I was contemplating that, but I knew it would be tough. I’d have to give some really good reasons in order for High Command to take Garen – and me, by extension – seriously. But it might not be such a bad idea. After all, it would be a way for me to get into High Command’s archives to figure out what really happened to my father.
“I’ll be back in five days. Is that enough time for you to argue it out with High Command?”
“That should be more than enough, but I’ll come and leave a note somewhere if they’re still deliberating it by then,” I told him. “So see you in five days, then.”
Garen nodded, bowed to me, and turned to leave.
However, I couldn’t just let him walk away for some reason. So I called out his name and raced after him.
Garen spun around just as I caught up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Then, before either of us could say anything, I teleported away.
“So why should we agree to a peace treaty, Katarina Du Couteau? We consider you wise on many matters, but this may not be a wise idea.”
“Because if Demacia thinks we’re granting them a reprieve, they’ll relax, and then we can strike while they’re still celebrating the peace.”
That was something the old me would have said and meant, but now I was just saying it so that the High Command wouldn’t think anything was off with me. I was different now, ever since my meeting with Garen. And I just couldn’t stop thinking about him. After that haphazard kiss, I desperately wanted to know what he thought of me. Did he like me? Or was he even more disgusted by me now? I was going crazy because I had fallen in love with my greatest enemy.
Or was he my greatest enemy? Was my true enemy hidden somewhere within Noxus – my father’s possible killer, if my father wasn’t still alive?
Now I was bordering on treasonous thoughts. I had to focus. And good thing I did, because one of the High Command members turned back to me and asked, “So can you explain where you got this idea again?”
“I was out in the forest when I heard heavy footsteps. Garen Crownguard had intruded into our area, so I attacked him to turn him back. The softhearted idiot didn’t even draw his sword, so I was about to deal a killing blow when he yelled, ‘I’m not here to attack! I just want to request a treaty.’ I didn’t let him move an inch while he explained, and then once I’d gotten all of the information from him about his idea, I chased him off. He could barely walk away,” I finished with a laugh.
Once again, that was the old me. The new me that I seemed to be wholeheartedly embracing was far different, and far more dangerous to be in Noxus.
The High Command seemed to accept my lie, and then turned back to talk among themselves. After a few moments, one of the members turned to me and said, “You are dismissed. We will consider your idea. Thank you for bringing us this battle strategy.”
I nodded and walked out of the hall, searching for the archives. I had asked permission to visit it after I had finished speaking with the High Command, and the secretary hadn’t dared to say no.
As soon as I walked in, I looked for the lineage section and quickly found it. The oldest and proudest lines would be at the front, mine one of them. The Du Couteaus had always been brilliant strategists, cunning infiltrators like my sister Cassiopeia had been before her ‘accident’, unstoppable warriors, or Noxus’ most feared assassins. So I was glad for once that we were so important – it made the records book for my family so much easier to find.
I started at the back of the book, which was blank, and worked my way towards the front. I was a member of the youngest generation of the family at the time, so my information – and near it, my father’s – would be at the end of the filled-in pages.
It wasn’t long until I found what I was looking for. And what I found shocked me to my very core.
_Marcus Du Couteau, father of Katarina and Cassiopeia Du Couteau, former General of the Noxian Army – escaped after being sentenced to death for treason_
I dropped the book.
My father was not a traitor! He’d served valiantly under the High Command’s rule until the very day he disappeared. This was rubbish. I searched for a pen to cross off the horrible statement.
But then a razor-sharp thought pierced through every layer of my mind.
What if the High Command had wanted my father gone? They were the ones who determined the results of high cases such as treason. He’d always done as they had asked, but they had never thanked him, even when he’d performed some unbelievable feat. And the last time he’d gone to see them before he disappeared, I’d come with him. I remembered his face, steadily growing more and more worried, as the High Command raged over some mistake he’d made. And as we’d left, I had looked over my shoulder and saw them huddled together, muttering.
I’d told my father what I had seen, and he had told me not to worry. But just a few days later, he’d disappeared. And High Command had said nothing about it.
If I was right, and my anguished mind not just thinking treasonous thoughts, High Command was corrupt. They’d find out I had gone looking here, and they would retaliate.
Even if they accepted the treaty, when Garen came to take it, they’d lure him in, asking him to sign a copy they were keeping.
And then they’d make me kill him.
I was sure of it. So it was time to accomplish the unthinkable.
I was going to have to start a revolution. And I had less than a week to do it.
I quickly checked to make sure that I had hidden the note well, and than only Garen would find it. He needed to stay out of Noxus, no matter what happened. Even if I got executed for my insolence.
Here’s what I wrote:
_If you find this, please understand that it is crucial you stay safe. Noxus is highly unstable, and High Command has been corrupted, at least to my knowledge. I need to get the treaty signed, whether High Command does it of their own accord or I force them to do it with a dagger to their throats._
_So, I’ve decided to do the unthinkable – I’m starting a revolution. If it drags on for weeks, Demacian backup would be greatly appreciated. If it’s over before it gains momentum, there will be no treaty. And don’t come looking for me if that happens. I’ll be dead or on the run. Just like my father._
_Apparently, High Command betrayed my father’s loyalty and tried to execute him for ‘treason’. I went with him that last time he spoke to High Command, and saw them plotting something. A few days after I told my father, he was gone._
_I will avenge this wrongdoing, even I lose my own life in the process. If I start this, someday someone will finish it. It has to happen._
_And one more thing you should know if this is the last you ever hear from me. I’ve loved you since the day we met. I tried to deny it at first, but every single time I saw you, I could barely suppress the desire to talk to you, or even kiss you. As you remember from when we spoke about the treaty, I couldn’t hold myself back anymore. So I hope you don’t hate me for it. But I do love you._
_- Katarina Du Couteau_
I spent the next three days waiting for High Command’s decision by listening in to those who had grievances against them. Whenever the people I was listening to noticed I was there, I reassured them by saying, “High Command is corrupt, and I need your help – all the help you can get – to bring them down.”
It wasn’t long before I had all of the lower class population, and even some middle class families, on my side. Now I just needed a way to get the guards off duty for just a little while.
The day before High Command reached a decision, I talked to the head guard and barely managed to convince him to have the guards hold a meeting the next afternoon. That was when I would go back to High Command, my army of rebellious Noxians behind me.
Finally, the hour came. I led the mob up to High Command’s meeting place, and ordered them to surround the hall.
“Do not let anyone get out. Kill any High Command members who try to run,” I told them.
My army spread out around the building, and soon I could hear the shocked cries of the panicked High Command. My plan was working.
Now with the exits sealed, I marched inside with six young men who all had received extensive battle training. Everyone in my path – secretaries, door sentries, and interns – scrambled to get out of my way before I reached them. If it wasn’t the frightening appearance of my six guards, armed to the teeth, it was the ferocious expression on my face that scared them off.
Finally, we reached the doors to High Command’s meeting place. I paused just a foot away and turned to face the young men. There was a good chance they would die if High Command managed to fight back – after all, the group was made up of recently retired soldiers and assassins.
“You don’t have to follow me into here. What happens next is completely dependent on my particular disagreement with High Command.”
All six young men shook their heads.
“We’re coming with you, General,” one said, and the others chimed in with “Yes” or “Certainly.”
“All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I reminded them before turning to the doors and slamming my boot right into the center of the lock, forcing them open.
I was greeted with High Command’s shocked and furious expression. Clearly, they hadn’t expected me to be the one leading the charge.
“Katarina,” one of the members said in a tone laced with venom – dropping my last name due to his opinion that my actions deprived me of my highly respected last name – “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Avenging my father, who you –“ I locked eyes with each and every one of them before continuing – “ordered the execution of. I was there the day you turned against him. And I expect you all to pay for your crime.”
But before I could order my guards to attack them or take them down myself, I heard the thundering of boots against the floor. The guards were on their way in. How had I not noticed the mob losing ground?
The members of High Command were smiling now. They thought they had me. But I wasn’t going to let them win easily.
“Hide, and stay out of sight until the guards are gone,” I told my men, before plunging my dagger into the power source, cutting off the lights in the room. Then I leapt into action – or rather, teleported.
I should probably explain here that with my ability to teleport came the ability to sense my targets, even if I couldn’t find them through any of my other senses. It was quite useful here – no one else could see or hear me, even though I couldn’t really see either – because I could quickly jump from High Command member to member and slit their throats before anyone else noticed.
But before I could take out everyone, the guards stormed in. I was hit with a particularly painful stun dart – guess the guards had either grabbed the first weapons they saw when they found out what was happening or had consciously decided on crowd control rather than lethality – and went down. The dart knocked me out pretty quickly, but before I lost consciousness, I could have sworn I heard the High Command member who had addressed me earlier – who I, regrettably, hadn’t killed – laughing evilly.
“You are all here today to witness what happens to those who betray the might of Noxus, whether for personal gain or for our enemy,” the executioner began. Of course it was Draven – everyone loved his executions. At least he was talking properly for once instead of his usual “love me” chat, and this also meant I might have a chance to escape if he got to execute me his usual way. If this execution was the classic “tie you to a block and let the executioner chop your head off with one swing” execution, I had no chance. But Draven had his throwing axes, so I guessed it was instead his classic one.
Darius stood next to his younger brother, gloating at me. Of course he was – with my fall from High Command’s grace, he was next in line as general. I almost growled at him for claiming my birthright, but I had to stay calm and composed if I was going to get out of here. Besides, I didn’t really care about being General of Noxus anymore.
“We have already executed all other members of the revolt,” Draven continued, more to me than the audience, who had no doubt seen – and cheered for – the other executions. “With the removal of its’ leader, the once well-respected Katarina Du Couteau, it will end. Noxus will reign supreme, reunited under a common cause!”
At least he had the decency to say my full name.
“Are you ready to face your chances, Katarina?” Draven addressed me.
I smiled just a bit, knowing something that no one else did. “I don’t understand why you’re giving me the classic treatment. You know I can get away if you give me a chance to run, right?”
“Not with those shackles on,” Darius laughed.
I quickly examined the metal pinning my arms behind me and almost groaned. They were enchanted to repress magic. At best, I’d be teleporting tiny amounts, only five feet or so. This was not very good – but I still had one more card to play.
“Are you so sure that the revolution will be over when I’m gone?” I asked.
“You are the last member of it left,” he countered.
Now I really grinned, wide enough for everyone to see.
“Oh, you got that wrong. And I mean really wrong.”
Darius went red with rage, and Draven hefted his axe, ready to shut me up for good.
But then a battle cry echoed through the city, shouted by the one voice I wanted so desperately to hear.
“CHARGE! Demacians, attack!”
And as a confused High Command looked for the source of the rallying cry, arrows rained down from the sky and killed most of them.
Darius and Draven managed to dodge the arrows, but Draven wasn’t fast enough to dodge the next attack – a brilliant beam of light that took him out, along with the rest of High Command. So Lux was here, and wasn’t going to spare anyone, not even a champion.
Darius cried out, distraught over the death of his brother, but wasn’t given long to grieve before he met his own end. A giant sword that could only be lifted by one person ran him through.
And as Darius fell, I saw Lux and Garen standing there, side by side, looking as lethal as they always did in the League matches.
And the whole Demacian army charged into the square, cutting down Noxians where they stood.
For a brief moment, I wondered where my sister and Talon were, before I saw them advancing towards the Crownguard siblings.
“Look out!”
The two understood just in time, dodging both Talon’s flurry of blades and Cassiopeia’s strongest blast of poison. Lux quickly turned on Cassiopeia, trading powerful orbs of light with deadly blasts of poison. Garen engaged Talon to distract him from Lux, and I was soon torn between whom to watch out for.
That question was soon answered. Lux released a particularly powerful attack, sending Cassiopeia flying out of sight. She was probably still alive, as long as she didn’t land on anything really sharp. Relieved that Lux had won her battle, I now focused on Garen’s, which wasn’t going as well.
The two were trading blow for blow, and both were bleeding fairly heavily. As I watched, Garen barely dodged Talon’s next flurry of blades, and his sword was knocked out of his hands. I dropped to the ground just as it passed right through where I had been standing. But it still hit me.
All three of the duelists turned to face me when I cried out. Even Talon, who probably hated me for all I had done, seemed to be worried. As far as I could tell, the blade had carved a deep line right down my back. But – something I quickly noticed – it had also cut right through my shackles.
I shifted my weight so I could dive for Garen’s blade, and grabbed it just as I heard Lux scream. I spun back around to see Garen on the ground, Talon standing over him with dagger in hand, about to plunge it into Garen’s heart.
I screamed “NO!” as loud as I could, and Talon looked up at me, distracted for just a second. With a show of strength I had never been able to display before and would never be able to replicate again, I raised Garen’s sword over my head and slammed in into the ground, locking eyes with Talon the whole time.
For a terrifying split second, nothing happened. But then an unseen force slammed through Talon, tearing him to shreds. His mouth was open in a silent scream, and his eyes were filled with a sense of betrayal. Besides that last bit, it looked just like all those times Garen had used this particular ability of his with the sword to finish off his enemies.
Ignoring Lux and Garen’s disbelieving stares, I threw the sword back to Garen, found my blades – which had been sitting on the edge of the stage where I might have seen them earlier, which was a really bad job of hiding them – and leapt into the fray below the stage, whirling and slashing whenever I found an enemy. It wasn’t long before I had taken out all but the wisest Noxians in the crowd, who had retreated to easily defendable positions in the square.
I then raced back to the stage, still ignoring the shackles hanging off of my wrists, and searched for my set of throwing daggers. This took a bit longer to find – someone must have had the good sense to try and hide the throwing daggers better, since I could deal damage from a distance with these.
Now fully armed, I jumped back into the fray, unleashing my deadliest attack, which everyone, especially those who were enemies of Noxus, had come to fear – my dreaded Death Lotus. But this time, I wasn’t aiming for Demacians.
The last few Noxians fell dead as my daggers reached their targets, and the Demacian army fell quiet as I made my way back to the stage once more. As I walked towards it, I used my daggers to pry off the shackles, which had been torn up enough by Garen’s sword to become removable without a key. My forearms were a bit torn up, but the damage wasn’t severe.
As soon as I was standing on the stage, I announced, “I started this revolution for a selfish reason, it’s true. However, it grew into an unstoppable force once you joined in. So I thank you, Demacia, for coming to my aid and helping me overcome the corruption that was taking over Noxus.”
There were a few cheers, since after all, Demacia had just defeated its’ greatest rival.
I paused for a moment, and then asked, “I no longer feel that Noxus is my home. It’s lost to me now, especially since I learned about the crime High Command committed against my father. So I ask you, citizens of Demacia, will you accept me as one of your own?”
Despite my belief that they would not accept me, the soldiers started clapping and cheering for me. I couldn’t believe it. The soldiers of a nation that I once considered my greatest enemy were accepting me as one of their own.
I sensed Garen approaching me from behind, and turned to face him. And he shocked me to my very core by leaning down and kissing me. It was a quick kiss, but enough to cause me to stare up at him when he pulled away.
The crowd behind me went silent for a few moments, but then there were a couple of cheers and catcalls. I blushed, but Garen merely smiled at the crowd, making the soldiers go crazy. Then I marched off the stage, now really embarrassed, with him following right behind me.
Lux was waiting for us in the shadows. She said, “I certainly wasn’t expecting that” – that was directed more at Garen – “but if you’re worried about me not approving of you two” – now that was directed towards me – “I’m fine. It’s our parents you need to convince.”
But then a sharp spasm of pain tore through my back, and I crashed to the ground, screaming despite my efforts to stay silent. The adrenaline from the battle had distracted me from the wound in my back, and now it was coming back full force.
I thought I heard Garen cry out, and I heard Lux shouting something about a healer, before my body made me black out to escape the pain.
When I finally came to, I was lying in a comfortable bed within a hospital room I had never seen before. Frantic, I tried to sit up and get my bearings, but a large and gentle hand pushed me back down.
I looked to my right to see Garen standing there, a relieved look on his face.
“I was afraid you weren’t going to wake up,” he said softly. “The second you hit the ground, I thought you were dead. And you probably would have died if I had been the only one there. I was frozen in place, not sure what to do, but Lux started yelling for help and managed to quickly get some soldiers to carry you all the way to the hospital. The whole way back, none of us thought you would make it, but we kept going. And yet – you’re still alive, somehow. Whatever you’ve been through in Noxus has given you unbelievable strength and an unbreakable will to survive.”
Garen fell silent for a moment before adding, “If you had died, though … I don’t know if I’d still be here too if you were gone.”
We were both quiet for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say. But finally, I asked, “So when did you see my letter? Obviously you must have come back early if you got the troops here in time.”
“You were actually kept unconscious for about two days as Draven executed everyone, I think,” he told me. “I only saw the letter the day before you started your revolution, and by the time I had the troops organized and ready to march, a messenger reported that the battle was over. But I convinced the men to come, since Noxus was divided due to the revolution, and likely an easy target. Anyway, are you sure that you want to throw away your home and stay here instead? It’s hard for me to imagine, but after all – ” he paused for a second before finishing his sentence “ – I’ve probably known much different circumstances than yours.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I told Garen, meeting his gaze with my own defiant stare. “Lately, Demacia has seemed like it would be a better fit for me. And I’d be proud to fight for Demacia in the League now. But how will they host the Ionia vs. Noxus game now?”
We both laughed for a second, and then Garen smiled.
“Welcome home, then, Katarina.”
Thanks for reading! Here's the link to Part 2: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/ZJjr0clG-the-hunt-begins-facing-the-manifestation-of-death-katarinas-legacy-part-2
