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Time Immemorial: Zilean [Demons of The Mage King]

Wrathful Chicken·11/4/2019, 7:24:20 PM·5 votes·6,787 views

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f959cf88-32b0-4142-a886-90733e5d51a1/d7fnxyu-3784929e-f0b9-4ec4-8e7e-5dc88ef38eae.jpg/v1/fill/w_1600,h_873,q_75,strp/zilean__league_of_legends_fanart_by_dragonflamebg_d7fnxyu-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODczIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZjk1OWNmODgtMzJiMC00MTQyLWE4ODYtOTA3MzNlNWQ1MWExXC9kN2ZueHl1LTM3ODQ5MjllLWYwYjktNGVjNC04ZTdlLTVkYzg4ZWYzOGVhZS5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.KtmJNbaE24gIbaDZknPWf_SkR0iHexKwBDeNfrSzH-c Artist: Dragonflamebg

Time is a delicate thing. A process that requires such intricate tuning. Though I am sure you would disagree, holed up in that giant clock tower. Even so, much goes into synchronizing the hands of time. Yet following a perfect train of deductive reasoning with fine calculations makes the gears fall into place.

Enough about clockwork, such are mere measurements of a standard for the progression of time. It is defined in multiple manners yet aligned in a meticulous way. A change in time changes the standard, yet does changing the standard change time? Nay, that is not the way! The only way to change time is to change change. It is said that time is the medium in which change can occur. Is such truly the case? In a world without change, in all forms, time is irrelevant. For time serves as a means of comparison. If all comparisons are the same, does time have meaning? So I have developed a mechanism to obliterate the concept of change.

I wish to share with you my findings since I know you dabble more into the concept of time longer than I ever have. Meet me at the northern outskirts of Icathia at this location. I have something important to show you. I would walk you there myself, but I have things to do, places to see. I got to be careful with my time, because time is a delicate thing. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like banana.

-Zhonya

Pfft.

"Bahahaha!"

The council turns to me disgruntled at the boisterous disturbance to the meeting.

"Do you think this is funny?" Paimon challenges with spiteful eyes.

"Dear god no. I'm merely scanning the letter I was given before this meeting began." I'm still shaking my head even now. Time flies, fruit flies. Zhonya is as silly as ever... I'm using that now.

"I was just so bored you see. You talk good game Vual, but the fact of the matter is that Shurima has yet again failed to consider our great city of Icathia into the ranks of the Ascended." What a disgrace. After all these years perfecting mystic philosophy and demonstrating such grandeur on the battlefield, not a single icathian was deemed worthy. Vual is still wet behind the ears if he thinks that this is mere oversight. This is intended.

"Zilean Zilean is right, this is blatant mockery!" Asmodai roared, slamming his desk. "My men have given up their lives to seek the promise of ascension. We can't take this one sitting down!"

"Yeah yeah, pipe down Asmodai. We're thinking the same." Vepar scoffs at Asmodai continuing, "What's your brilliant idea of a counter? We can't just go to marching and force a ceremony when we have no supporters."

"Gremory, Zilean, Vapula, did you have any luck finding allies?" Zagan asked us envoys in hopes that we had any kind of foothold. Yet again, we were not so lucky.

"Khaleek claims to flow with the Mother River, but there is no love. Not for us." Gremory crosses her arms and legs as she pouts.

"Khalduga feels largely the same. To them, standing against Shurima is suicide." I tell the council, and I can't blame Khalduga. Icathia only became a part of Shurima after losing the great Mage King, Axamuk, to the overpowered god-warriors.

"Ixtal wants no part of it." Vapula bluntly declared.

"Pah!" Aim groans in dismay. "You meaning to tell me even Ixtal is afraid of Shurima?"

"No, of course not." Vapula swiftly rebutts. "They want no part of it, because they want no part of anything. They are isolating themselves in their rainforest."

Beleth chuckles. "Perhaps we should drag them in by force? Get their head out of the trees."

"Don't be ridiculous." Baal retorts to the notion. "We don't want to be making enemies when we are looking for allies."

"This is going nowhere," Dantalion complains. "We've waited long enough. We need to take matters into our own hands, even without support."

"Into our own hands yes, but it is not like we don't have support." Naberius adds a strange suggestion. "We have that after all."

"That... Oh right, that. We do have that, don't we." Crocell mustered, realizing what Naberius was referring too.

"You're talking about that?" Ose enters in eagerly. "Hehe. Things are getting interesting."

Yet I still have no idea what they are talking about. "And what is that which you speak of Naberius?"

Naberius raises a brow. Zilean awaited an answer from Naberius. "You mean you do not know what I am talking about? Was this not mentioned in the letter you received?"

Mentioned? The only thing that was mentioned... "You mean the stasis contraption?"

"Well that surely is one part of it..." Murmur whispers, yoinking Zhonya's letter from behind me. Murmur swiftly scans the parchment commenting, "Hmm... yes. I see now why you are confused. Zhonya makes absolutely no mention of this. Nor does she suggest anything about the destination. Perhaps she is ashamed of it?"

"Lies." Shax accusses. "You know Zhonya was the most excited of all of us. Knowing her, it's probably just a surprise."

"Alas, this is something too important to keep hidden." Flauros brushes off with a sinister smile. "For the rift between realms is a great one."

"A dimensional rift? Are you sure it wasn't just a hole in the ground?" I have to admit, a new dimension is a monumental find. Even so, I cannot see how that could possibly be used as a tool other than something as mundane as teleportation.

"Hehehe. MWAHAHAHA!" Ose shivers hysterically as does some of the other council members. "A hole in the ground, really? I can see how you'd think it as mundane as that. However, it is not even the rift that is special..."

Ose clasps a volatile ball of dark matter, oozing malevolent force as it seeps to the ground. "It's the power."

"It's true." Shax affirms. "Standing in the presence of the rift is enough to know the superb sovereignty of the rift between worlds."

"That other realm." Flauros adds. "It is a terrific force of nature. Nay, beyond anything supernatural. It carries a force that draws you in. Compelling you to fill the void within."

"Sounds like ravings and madness." Zilean accused. "Surely this fine council didn't stoop so low."

"Sounds more like an opportunity to oppose discrimination." Purson rebutts. "Why wouldn't we dive into this treasure trove? To not would be complete cowardice."

"Enough." Solomon echoes resonating in our very bones.

Zilean, once fuming at the accusation, stopped in awe of the wise, respected prophet Solomon. The bantering and rancor of the council members muted by the weight of his word.

"Do not insult the Chronokeeper. For he shall save us all through the end of time." Solomon mandated.

Purson's eyes grew wide, surprised with the blatantly biased defense. However, Purson knew of Solomon's wisdom, which determines destiny.

"I apologize for the insult Consul Zilean Icathun. It was uncalled for." Purson dared not challenge the word of the prophet, but rather wondered what role Zilean would play. Zilean himself pondered this as well as Solomon's eyes turned to address him.

"Make no mistake Zilean. Twas I who realized this rift and presented it to the council." Zilean was taken aback. Solomon did not oppose this? No, rather he started this notion. Solomon was never a man of war for his wisdom would end conflict before it began.

"However, there is sense to the concerns of Zilean. We know all too well the horror of forbidden magic." Solomon leered at everyone sternly. "Anyone who doesn't shouldn't be here. For we exist to pursue the greatest forms of magic safely. It is impossible to achieve this without confronting useless life threatening magic. This rift is amongst this."

Solomon pointing out the flaws of this mysterious rift lowered the spirits of the council.

"Yet even so, it is perhaps the only method sufficient to challenge our oppressors effectively." Solomon admitted. "Thus, this rift will be used only when our nation is under threat of annihilation. For that could be the cost of abusing this rift at all."

"By that time it will already be too late!" Amdusias roared, slamming the bar with a thunderous blow. "When war is upon us, we shall regret our lack of initiative on this day! Zilean! Surely you must... Zilean?"

Zilean was gone, without a trace. Escaping the zealous council as they argued.

"ZILEAN! Get back here COWARD!"

"Leave him be." Solomon commanded with a wave of his hand. "He shall see for himself why we are drawn to the void."

"This isn't a matter that can be brushed off. As boisterous as Amdusias can be, he actually suggests the safer call. Preparation and exploring this rift is much better than waiting for trouble to occur." Eligos implores of Solomon to reconsider. Solomon glances over at Eligos heaving a melancholic sigh.

"You've seen how menacing that void is. We cannot take the risk of approaching this rift." Solomon turns to Amdusias with stern eyes. "I know your desperation, for I too hear the sound of war. Their footsteps marking the scorched sands. However, even greater yet, the sounds of war are drowned out by the plague of ignorance. An ocean of the damned, we cannot afford to be washed away."

Solomon's gaze shifts toward the passage in which Zilean made his exit. "We will discuss this again after Zilean has seen for himself the primal power that girl stumbled upon. Do I make myself clear?"

The entire council bowed, responding in accord, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Zilean mulled over the insanity he escaped from as he walked upon the golden dunes of the northern outskirts of Icathia.

"I just don't get it. How can they not see the mistake they are making? To become strong on borrowed power was always a traitorous prospect. Have they truly given up all their morals over the promise of Ascension, of this void?"

Zealous as they were, the honor they upheld in the pursuit of grandeur was flawless--a true spectacle to behold. Yet when Zilean looked into their eyes, that glimmer was gone. As if tainted, like the ashen badlands he walks upon.

"Their eyes were filled with sinister malice, as if possessed by a demon. Especially Exorcist Flauros, he was the most erratic. How is that even possible? Is that not heresy?"

Something so influential could only be a malignant force, infesting the intentions of even his trusted friend Solomon. However, it seemed that Solomon himself was not ignorant of this danger. There would be no reason to restrict its use otherwise. Even so, why introduce such a hazard to Icathia? Does he intend on using this void like volcanic soil after magma has cooled.

"That cannot be. That would assume danger had already erupted, when it clearly hadn't. No, the way he described it... to cause the eruption itself?! No, preposterous! That would- That would... It would be a last resort."

A last resort for an inevitable conclusion. An ending so dark, you could not take a step forward. For you would no longer be able to see your footsteps, nor the shadow on the ground, nor the ground itself. As if walking in the darkness on high noon. That is the void in which Zilean stepped into.

"You shouldn't take another step" She said, hunched over, gazing into the pitch black soil. "You stand at the edge of the rift. You wouldn't want to fall in now, would you?"

"Zhonya?" She glanced over at him with pupils dilated beyond belief. Zhonya's iris was expanded so vastly that her sclera was barely visible. A darkness that almost completely consumed her, as if her eyes reflected the void itself. "What happened to your eyes?"

"My eyes-" Zhonya pondered, unaware of his intent until she attempted to turn to face Zilean. With a mere glimpse of the sun, her eyes were seared and she winced in immeasurable pain.

"Gah! Yes, my eyes. You know what the say, when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes into you." She slowly opened her eyes again staring directly into the void. "In this case, it seems that the contrast is so ridiculous that I needed to adjust to make out any kind of detail. That's how I can see the cliff you are standing on right now."

"Zhonya..." This was her typical antics. She would engross herself so vastly into seeking knowledge that she would sacrifice her own body in order to learn. Zilean would always be the one to wring her out of the mess she made. This time would be no exception. With a snap of his fingers he commanded Zhonya, "Look at me now. Slowly."

Zhonya could tell something changed. Her vision became sharper and adjusted many magnitudes more quickly than before. As she slowly turned upward to face Zilean, she could immediately feel her eyes relaxing. The void instantly became a dark blob with no distinguishable features and the light became more than just a vexing ultraviolet sheen. Zhonya's gold, cyan, and silver iris was visible. It acted as a clock, rotating around a cyan canvas with gold and silver hands for an hour and a minute respectively.

"Heh, I honestly forgot there was still daylight before you came along." Zhonya joked with an ear-to-ear smile.

"If you bothered to look up at all, you'd know right away." Zilean retorted unamused.

"Well, this is just so intriguing I could help my- URK!" Zhonya attempted to stand and proceeded to crack her back. "Ugh... I'm getting old."

"You're telling me." said Zilean the old as he looked down at the pitch black ground. It would be unbelievable that he was about to fall into a pit with his next step if it were not for the oppressive gravity that seemed to pull him in. The way it feels reminds him much like a celestial black hole, but even then it wouldn't physically manifest in this way if it were. Something like that would destroy the entire world before it would manifest.

"You stared at this thing long enough. What did you see in there?"

"Eh... It's pretty hard to explain." Zhonya grimaced, scratching her head. She looked down momentarily, then looked up again and proceeded to scratch her neck. "It largely looks like a canyon with things dipping into a hole. There is definitely something strange going on at the bottom of the rift cause it doesn't just look like nothing. Now that I think about it, there is another reason why I thought it was night time."

"So you weren't joking when you said that?"

"Nah, I was." Zhonya shrugged shamelessly. "Even so, it does seem to explain that hole in the bottom. You see, it's weird cause even though it felt like I was looking down, it looked like I was looking up."

Zilean gave Zhonya a quizzical look. "You drunk?"

"You know I wouldn't do anything that would impair my judgement." Zhonya leered at Zilean viciously. "My judgement is impaired as it is."

"That's not something to be proud of." Zilean badgers. Zhonya decides to ignore it as she points down into the ground.

"In the hole at bottom of this thing are lights. At first I thought there were some gems glowing at the bottom, but as stuff fell into the lights, it just kept on falling as if the lights weren't even there. Though, thinking back at the light arrangements, it seemed like stars in the night sky."

"So you think this is a rift in spacetime?" A portal into outer space. While that certainly seems plausible, there many things off if it were a portal. For starters, the atmospheric pressure difference is enormous. While there is a moderate force tugging at me, a portal like this would be akin to popping a balloon. A whirlpool of air should be sinking into this void, dragging even the sand into it. Then again, it may have, with the condition of the land around it.

"Well, it wasn't always this way." Zhonya added. "It was a lot calmer when it first spawned."

"Spawned... Wait, what do you mean spawned?"

"Oops." Oh no. "Well, I was going to bring it up anyhow. Did you get that letter I sent you?"

"You mean that convoluted mess about stopping time?"

"Yeah, I was experimenting here actually." Zhonya bashfully admits. "Before this showed up."

Before it showed up... "You mean... before you MADE it appear."

"Hehe." My god. "Since it was creepy and all, I brought Focalor along to check it out. Then it kind of became a big deal and practically everyone showed up."

"Even Solomon?"

"Yeah, even King- I mean Solomon. Yeah, Solomon. Solomon. Yes, he was there."

That was a real bad attempt at covering it up. King Solomon though. I guess it was a matter of time. Zhonya then clearly tried to change the subject.

"I remember Solomon said something I don't quite get. He always seems to speak in riddles, as if it were natural. Since he is practically clairvoyant, I asked him if he saw anything in this rift himself. He just said there was nothing there! All dramatically too." Zhonya pouted in disdain. "When I peered into the void. There was nothing. Nothing at all."

I get what she means, but Solomon certainly doesn't speak in riddles. He speaks rather bluntly. His knowledge is simply too vast that he often mentions things none would understand. Thus, to understand his words is truly wise.

"Yet he speaks as if it were not a threat."

"I know right?" She juts in. "It sure as hell spooked me! Plus, there isn't nothing there, clearly there is something since I know there are those lights on the other side. He could have at least mentioned something, even if it was small."

"No." This is bad. "He wasn't being dismissive. If he was, he would not have warned the council to not mess with this."

Zhonya paused, turned to me, surprised. "That happened?"

"It did." The fact that it did meant that this may just be forbidden magic. "Shining a spotlight upon the rift. Nay, within the rift. He saw nothing. Nothing at all... no prophecy from within the void. No changes that could be seen. No fate, no destiny, nothing at all. As if time itself was swallowed whole. The Temporal Void."

"Zilean..." Zhonya interrupted. "You're speaking in riddles too."

I smirked at such a random observation. "This is an idea that Ose and I came across when we were still travelers. An idea we heard from Aristotle at Mount Targon. The idea that nothing doesn't exist. Where there is nothing, there is Void."

Zhonya looks down into the pit, bluntly berating, "Yeah no. That makes no sense. Nothing is nothing. If it has a relationship, then it would be something. That's just complicating something that should be simple."

"If that's what you think," Zilean pulled out a contraption from Zhonya's bag. "Then why did you build this to stop time?"

"Ah!" She swiftly swipes the device from his hand. "Don't touch that! It's explosive."

Zilean raises a brow to her questionable build as she scans the device to ensure it is disengaged.

"Phew. This is just a side project. It's a miniature version of the real deal. Since stopping time involves a volatile change in entropy, I figured it could be used as an explosive." Lifting the device in the air, she proudly proclaims, "I call it a TIME BOMB! Get it? Cause it blows up time? Yeah, yeah, I'm brilliant. I know."

Corny name, but I guess it works. Zhonya sure seems proud of it. However, her haughty attitude settles as she lowers the bomb.

"The real deal is here." Zhonya presents the back of her hand to Zilean.

"What am I looking at here?"

"The ring you doofus. The ring." She emphasizes by wiggling her ring finger.

"Oh, the ring." It wasn't obvious since she also has tattoos on her hand. "What's with the skull on the ring?"

"I don't know. item 3089 Rabadon has weird taste." She complains as she turns her hand to take a look herself. "I'd personally prefer a item 2420 watch or item 3157 hourglass, but I'm getting off-topic. This ring serves as a catalyst to enable the annihilation of change."

To be continued...

Time Immemorial

  1. Demons of The Mage King
  2. The Bell Tolls

10 Comments

Wrathful Chicken11/4/2019, 7:43:32 PM2 votes

I'll be doing this story a bit differently. I will not be making a new discussion post for this chapter. Instead I will be updating this single post and commenting on every new addition I make. Part of the reason is that I don't want this to be extremely long, I expect this chapter to be three parts at most. Another reason is to give people the opportunity for the community to give their own suggestions of what they would like to see in this story. If nobody suggests anything new, it's business as usual. If someone does suggest something, I will consider incorporating it.

As for my comments on what I added so far, I'm making Zhonya a character. Consider her a disciple of Zilean Zilean. The main difference between their approaches on time is that Zilean makes big things while Zhonya makes little things. One example being that Zilean made The Clock Tower while Zhonya makes stopwatches.

Zilean is in the middle of a council meeting right now. I'm throwing out a bunch of random names for meaningless people, but there is one commonality between most of them: they are the names of the 72 demons of King Solomon's Ars Goetia. These people are by no means "demonic" or special like that in any way. Consider them random sorcerers who happen to have the same name as demons. Their personality is slightly like the demon they share a name with, but they are mentioned so briefly that it hardly matters. This is one of the subtle connections I'm making to the Abrahamic religions.

So, why waste the names on goons like these when I could give these names to voidborn? A couple reasons really.

  • For one, the Void always has that distinct apostrophe in the middle: Kha'Zix, Cho'Gath, Rek'Sai, Kog'Maw. The demons of Ars Goetia don't have that. I'm not going to break that tradition here.

  • The second reason is that I don't want to create an "elite" class of Void here. That goes into a whole mess of why the hell these 72 voidborn are so special compared to the rest.

  • The third reason is that placing demonic names on goons like these implies they are going to do something pretty bad and paints the image of them being cultists. That's a pretty accurate image considering they summoned the Void.

Since, i'm not done with the council's dialogue, what demons of Ars Goetia do you want me to mention next? Let me know if you know any time jokes/memes that I could add in. [slayer-pantheon-popcorn]

Wrathful Chicken11/9/2019, 4:59:45 PM2 votes

I've made my first addition to the story. In this brief addition I am going into how they bring about the discussion of the Void. I didn't quite believe it myself, but Murmur is indeed the name of a demon. How fitting for someone doing the sneak. O~O [slayer-jinx-wink] I reused the characters to give a bit of depth to their personality. Flauros speaks of the great phenomena in time. Shax speaks of truth and uncovers any lies. Ose is a conjurer of insanity. Also, it simply is the expectation since Zilean asked them the question. Soon after, it will switch to other characters though.

PikachuGames12/13/2019, 2:25:40 PM2 votes

Is there someplace else you post/save all these stories? I've been interested since your post on the Ruined King theory thread, but I've lost your name for a while. I'd like to keep up with your stories, because you're great!

Wrathful Chicken12/17/2019, 3:46:48 AM2 votes

For this update, I'm wrapping up the debate by introducing the first non-demon reference: Solomon. The wise King himself. This is definitely the most direct reference to Abrahamic religions I'll be making.

The current canon for Zilean Zilean mentions how a new mage king is being crowned. What kind of mage could possibly fill such an important role? Well, King Solomon sure as hell can! [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

King Solomon will in fact hold a much more significant role than just having the credentials for the role. A very significant ability of Zilean's has always been glossed over with a weird explanation: his future vision. As of now, it is kind of just explained as the Frozen clock tower affecting him in some way to allow him to see the future.

That's weird.

So instead of giving a washed up explanation like this, I'm having King Solomon's magic be specifically prophecy. As for how Zilean ends up with the magic of prophecy? I'm sure you can guess that now. [slayer-jinx-wink]

Wrathful Chicken12/28/2019, 2:38:31 AM2 votes

I have officially concluded the first of three parts of this story. I didn't want that council meeting to draw on any longer than necessary. It has filled its intended purposes:

  1. Introducing the setting of ancient Icathia.
  2. Introducing all the primary characters of the story.
  3. Expressing the cult vibes Zilean felt in his official background.
  4. Foreshadowing the war and the Void.

Now I'll be diving into the second part which focuses on Zilean Zilean's discussion with item 3157 Zhonya and the depiction of the rift of the Void in its dormant state. I am setting up a gradual descent into pure darkness as Zilean walks toward the Void. Zilean will be monologuing as the ground he walks on is described. It will start as the sands you would expect from a desert and end at a pitch black darkness so black that you cannot even see if you are walking off the edge of a cliff. [sg-ahri-1]

The discussion with Zhonya and Zilean will be purely philosophical as they discuss how time and the void is related, particularly through the keywords: Temporal Void. Zhonya will be discussing this in a scientific perspective while Zilean will elaborate on a mystical perspective. The purpose is to convey the fact that some smarty-pants is actually thinking about this in a realistic perspective, but then reel in the fact that this is a fantasy setting and establish some in-game religious fantasy to express how the logic of Runeterra detracts from our traditional expectations.

  • Put simply, instead of simply establishing the logic of the fantasy, making it clear what could be real and what is definitely fake.

Its convoluted, but I hope that this will make the explanation more believable. By pitting real world concepts with fantasy, I'll be forced to address the way the world should work with the fantasy that the world is. The mere fact that the contrast between real and fantasy concepts are addressed instead of ignored is significant. It promotes awareness instead of misleading.

The third part of the story will be concerning the war, the Void, and the Clock Tower. You know, the juicy stuff. Particular points I will be highlighting:

  • The purpose of the Clock Tower's existence.
  • The method in which Zilean rescues the Icathian citizens from the onslaught of the Void.
  • The magical powers of The Council.
  • The Horror of the Void.
  • The vision Zilean receives upon removing the Clock Tower from time.
  • How Zhonya's Ring became item 3157 Zhonya's Hourglass.

The battle theme I plan on using for when Zilean rushes into the Void to save Icathia: https://youtu.be/UxJct5dz6bM

If you got any time theory info I can use. Let me know so I can add it in. I'll need as much research as I can for this BIG BRAIN topic.

Wrathful Chicken1/6/2020, 7:36:46 AM2 votes

Zilean Zilean has officially entered the hellscape that is the rift just beyond the Void. For now, this addition is a mere exposition to set up the abstract scenery.

The idea of this landscape is such that if you looked at it in a birds eye view, the entire landscape would look like a huge hole. Yet the truth is, the soil is so blackened that it only looks like a hole. When walking upon that landscape, the hills and the dunes also look pitch black, so looking forward at a dune is a stark contrast of complete darkness and a standard desert setting.

While it is true that its kind of ridiculous for Zilean to walk right into this without even taking notice to the landscape, this is a mere statement to show how Zilean came to the center in a way that transitions quite well narratively. It just goes to show, that one can step into the Void without even realizing it.

I'm honestly not sure what Zhonya's appearance should be, so I am not focusing too much on it. However, I do intend on her being middle-aged. While she could be youthful, I do want to express the time Zhonya and Zilean spent together and paint Zhonya as an individual who isn't vastly overshadowed by Zilean in knowledge.

Zhonya's eyes are currently an expression of how she is willing to experiment on herself in order to learn more about time. However, it could be something more. Another addition I made was the explicit statement that Flauros is an Exorcist. That is because, I have decided to involve the council in the fight against the Void. This Icathia is known as a city of magic. Modern Runeterra has different perspectives on magic due to the Rune Wars, but this is long before the Rune Wars. People embraced magic quite readily and wanted to pursue greater forms of magic. Icathia is one of the great centers of magic in Ancient Runeterra. This is why their leader is known as the Mage King.

Thus the Council is filled with Magus, people who traverse the world in pursuit of knowledge. Zilean Zilean is no exception, he is a Magi. Thus, people of Icathia tend to have a special form of magic. The Council being particularly accentuated in their specialized magical craft. Zhonya is not in the Council and that is one of her desires. Not merely for the influence, but for recognition of her own efforts. That said, she also needs a special form of magic that she specializes in. This is something that I am currently brainstorming and it may be associated with these unique eyes of hers.

After a bit more extrapolation on this rift of the night sky, Zilean will state that this is the result of a Temporal Void. From there big brain talk begins. Some topics I plan on discussing is the A and B theories of time, moving spotlight, theory of relativity, Nagakabouros, the multiverse, teleportation, and the universal forces.

I would like to hear anyone's theories on how the universe of League of Legends functions physically. Also any theories on how physics works in general helps.

Wrathful Chicken2/7/2020, 5:48:32 AM2 votes

Finally, the theoretical discussion starts and it starts with the Void. I will start by referencing Aristotle's opinions on the Void. The key topic here is in regards to Nagakabouros and how the universe was born. The reason it relates is connected to motion. Aristotle believes that all things that we consider void was once filled. Thus, there is a relationship between motion and what is void. This is what Aristotle means by nothing doesn't exist. Even nothing has a relationship with something. [zombie-brand-mindblown] The Void is a shadow of what once was, and that is a critical part to how the universe of Runeterra is born. The Void is what was leftover from infinite existence. In Runeterra, that infinite existence is Nagakabouros. At the beginning of the universe, the universe itself could be considered Nagakabouros. When Nagakabouros decided to move, time was created. When Nagakabouros split itself apart from the past, Void was created. When the Void encapsulated a part of Nagakabouros, form was created.

The Void serves as a boundary that gives existence its form. As was in the beginning, the world was formless and void. This is a reference to the Genesis of the Earth in seven days. As it is truly the starting point of existence, the Formless Void is the primal void. While Void has refined itself to become more apocalyptic, nothing is more chaotic and horrifying than the Formless Void. A cancerous nonexistence that is stuck within a cycle of perpetual life and death, it is the physical manifestation of hell itself. An amalgamation of consciousness that loses its identity due to its formless nature. Only knowing dying, it seeks to split apart to maintain its own form. In the process, it devours all existence it comes in contact with. This further increases the difficulty of breaking away from the Formless Void. An immortal existence, with the largest of them all becoming an inescapable hell.

The Formless Void shall make its appearance in the third part. [sg-syndra]

Wrathful Chicken2/15/2020, 7:50:41 AM1 votes

Whipping out the time bomb itself, I have finally introduced the means to the end. Zhonya's Ring and a couple time bombs. Yes, those time bombs are the ones that Zilean currently uses. Now, this may seem like an obvious attempt to delay the discussion, but it is the opposite. This is giving Zilean a tangible object to discuss. This is part of how I create (what I consider) an engaging narrative rather than a boring lecture.

One skim through any of the stories I've written, and you'll quickly notice a vast difference between standard literature and my own. There are two reasons for this. One part of it is the simple fact that I'm in no way making writing my career. So, I haven't really deeply engaged in trying to hone my writing skills academically since I'm actually a Computer Engineer. The second reason is actually a silly one: I hate reading.

Yes, you read that right. I HATE READING.

It used to be so bad that when I was younger, I was literally locked up in a room to read a book. Then after 6 hours passed, I would only have read 3 pages. That's because there are some things that really grinds my gears with things I've read. Things that both bore and confuse the living hell out of me as I am reading. The only way I've gotten around to dealing with it was actually writing a diary forced me to write in a way where I could read a bulk of information and not get bored as hell. As a result there are some trends I explicitly try to minimize as I write anything:

  • Pause Button Moments
  • Static Dialogue
  • Uninterrupted Lectures

Pause button moments are exactly what they sound like. They are times when as you are reading, reality is paused in order to discuss something. When I read a story, I consider it a movie. I literally can't see it as anything else. As such, when I read some dialogue and then it suddenly breaks into a paragraph of context with no further speech, it feels like the flow is broken.

Essentially I am forced to press pause on the movie to read that context. Then I can play the movie again. A couple times, excusable. However, many times when it does happen, it happens consistently and very often. The flow is completely broken and it forces me to backtrack to figure out what the hell is going on. Try doing this on an actual movie. Pause, wait 3 minutes, play again. After a minute passes, pause for another 3 minutes. It's ridiculously confusing. [sg-shisa] What I find remedies this for me is by paying attention to how long it takes for me to read what I write and then considering whether that is acceptable for the situation. One way you will see this manifest in my writing is the absolute absence of "Random goon said..." The times I do this are when I expect immediate responses. So when you read it in your head, it feels natural. People have the capability to fill in the blanks and understand who is who, without needing to be handheld. It's easy to tell who should be saying something based on the context that came before it. Why? Because it FLOWS my dude. (OO )~ I only include said phrases when the characters need to take a moment to think. I add context when that thought is actually an extended period of time.

Static Dialogue is when it feels like the characters have dropped everything they are doing to have a conversation. Following the same ideology as pause button moments, it is also a way that makes flow feel broken. However, it is basically the opposite end of the spectrum. The readers are unable to fill in the blanks in what the characters are actually doing while they are talking. When this happens the story seems like it loses its dimensions and essentially becomes reduced to a visual novel rather than a movie. This isn't really an issue in regards to not being able to follow what is happening, rather its an issue of keeping things interesting. When things aren't moving, the story gets boring. [zombie-nunu-bummed] You'd think this comes into conflict with the first solution quite often. It doesn't. That's because the annoying context in literature tends to be oversaturated exposition and character monologue. I solve the character monologue by timing when it's appropriate to have a monologue in regards to how awkward it would be to not be saying anything for that long. For oversaturated exposition, it's really just a matter of focusing on action over detail. The way things move is much more interesting than the way things look. That's because movement is DYNAMIC. I strongly believe that if you want to present how something looks in detail, it's better to have an illustration. I am unfortunately even a less experienced artist than I am a writer so that simply isn't a viable option for me. However, that is no excuse to make my stories boring as hell to compensate.

Uninterrupted lectures are just the worst. We are not in school kids. We are on a game site to read a story some guy with a crazy chicken icon wrote. What I'm talking about are the dialogues that go paragraphs upon paragraphs without any kind of action in between. You could consider this along the same realm as static dialogue on an extreme level. I wouldn't blame you if you do, but the main difference is in what kind of issues this causes. That being the sheer duration of the lecture causing a sense of aimlessness. Think of it as being bored out of your mind so you fall asleep in class. Then the teacher wakes you up and you ask, "What did I miss?" [sg-zephyr] This is caused by a lack of a clear objective to a dialogue. The obvious solution is to break it up into parts, but it is important to understand why it should. Essentially the issue is like trying to climb up stairs that's 20 meters high but only has 10 meter steps. The dialogue is expecting readers to accomplish too much in one go and its unreasonable for the readers to actually follow along. So, the dialogue should be broken down to smaller ideas to convey with actions in between. What makes this solution different from the others is that it takes some creativity from the author to implement. Essentially the character needs to be actively doing things to help convey the whole point that is that is trying to be made. This is what I am doing with Zilean Zilean right now. I am giving him something he can tangibly interact with so he isn't just "talking," he's presenting his point.

I hope this insight into my writing style helps some of the aspiring authors that might be reading this story. I know this is by no means the formal way to write a story, but the formal way never really worked for me reading it. If I can't stand reading what I write, then I should write it differently. So that's what I do. This style of writing has worked for me thus far, which is impressive since I still hate reading. [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

Wrathful Chicken3/1/2020, 7:17:41 PM1 votes

Well this is unfortunate. The boards are shutting down.

I have ported my story over to my sandbox. However, I have no intention of using Reddit. That said, I am afraid to say that Demons of the Mage King and Zara's lore is on the verge of being completely scrapped. Without a platform nor any community interaction, I don't see much reason in continuing these lores. I'll be needing support now more than ever.

That said, I will still try regardless. It's just that if I can't even tell if anyone is reading my lore, what is the point of writing it? With the removal of the boards, I will no longer be able to tell whether or not my lore garners even the slightest attention since views are not present in Reddit nor on the League of Legends Wiki Blogs. I will be posting Demons of the Mage King as a League of Legends Wiki blog. My lore for Zara can be found on the original Zara custom champion blog.