"There is a place between war and murder in which our demons lurk." - Excerpt from the poem, "Scarlet Shon-Xan"
Off the southeastern shores of Ionia lies the island province of Shon-Xan. Once controlled by Noxus during the occupation, the island's freedom was regained in the triumph of the Ionian forces in their rematch against Noxus. However, while the province itself is free from the iron grip of Noxian tyranny, and its people begin to move on from the atrocities of war and strife, one major part of the province stands as a reminder of what has transpired.
In the northern foothills of Shon-Xan lies the Coeur Valley. Once, it was the battlefield of Noxian and Ionian forces as they fought to control routes deeper into Ionian territory. It was here in this forsaken place that Fury Company, a detachment of Noxus' 42nd Standard and lead by Riven, the Exile, had been completely wiped out in battle with the Ionian forces, and decimated by fire from Zaun's Melters, commanded by Singed, the Mad Chemist.
The ground itself remembers what took place here. The earth is brown and barren, and covered in murky pools of water, tainted by the remnants of chemicals unleashed upon the warring factions. Thick, acrid fog clings to the ground at dawn each day, causing lungs, noses, eyes, and skin to itch, and breathing to turn to wheezing and coughing.
Midday reveals the valley in full, and the true measure of the horror is revealed. Corroded chunks of armor and weapons dot the landscape, some even carrying the banners of their respective side, their tattered remains drifting lazily in the faint breeze. The entire valley is marred, sterilized by the chemical shells, and acts as a sick testament to the horrors witnessed by all whose remains lay embedded in the muck.
Though much of Ionia has recovered and rebuilt, the Valley of Couer remains as vivid and damned as it was on that fateful day. The only thing missing, some say, are the screams...
Post by The Animal Spirit on Mar 23, 2013 19:01:17 GMT -5
The beast man's nose twitched. Udyr surveyed the scene silently. It was a scar in the face of Runeterra, much like Yi's village. It was one of those times that Udyr decided to take an enthusiastic walks, and sometimes runs. He decided to come here to see if the rumors were true, that no animals dared to walk this land.
Udyr stepped onto the old battlefield, and proved them wrong. The beast man walked, his nose continually twitching as various scents wafted to his nostrils.
The proof that the state is a creation of nature and prior to the individual is that the individual, when isolated, is not self-sufficing; and therefore he is like a part in relation to the whole. But he who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.
A damp fog yawned across the valley floor sheepishly, as though reluctant to conceal the horrors of the day. The gagging stench would have betrayed its effort, had not the smell so thoroughly permeated the Ionian countryside. Death was now a permanent resident of the somber isle, and its purchase grew with every passing hour. After so many similar fields, Riven no longer took account of it...
At first, it had shocked her. Seeing the beaten and bloodied bodies left to decorate the fields like gruesome lawn ornaments had given her some pause. But, they were the enemy and had failed to prove their strength in combat, so, they fell. At least, that was what she told herself to keep moving. The smell of decay had assaulted her senses like no other thing ever had. This was no ordinary smell, it was the smell of rotting human flesh. Growing up in the Noxian slums had given her an understanding of death, that death was natural. She had seen dead bodies before, sometimes still leaking blood. However, nothing could have prepared her for death on this scale.
No one in Fury Company said a thing as they had passed fields of burned crops and corpses, some of men, others of women, and smaller ones of children. Nothing had been spared the might of Noxus' army. The Zaunite Mercenaries and their weapons were determined to test their chemicals on every village and hamlet that found itself too close to the march of the war machine. Whatever the Zaunites missed, Fury Company had been ordered to raize to the ground.
"How the hell is this the Noxian Way?" her second in command, Gilder Blackblade, had asked her one evening as Fury Company had bedded down for the night. "I understand strength above all, I understand conflict and sacrifice are a part of life, but this... With all due respect, Captain, this isn't right." He had cracked his neck and folded his arms. "I was trained to fight soldiers, to kill my opponent for glory and strength. There's nothing strong about burning families alive while they're huddled in fear, and no honor in defeating unarmed civilians."
"The state has asked you to fight for her strength, her survival, and her expansion, Lieutenant." Riven's reply had been stern, biting, and she had called him by his rank rather than his name, In truth, she could feel the same doubts creeping into her at the sights and actions she had seen around her. However, she was a soldier, trained to follow orders unless she honestly felt she knew or could do better, and at that moment, she honestly didn't know if she could. "If you want to challenge my command, you know where your blade is, but I won't hesitate to defend myself with all I have."
She remembered the look on his face as he had backed down, his face turning stoic. "Understood, Sir. Forever strong, Captain, Sir." As he had left, Riven could continue to feel her doubts nagging at her mind. These men and women, they trusted her judgement, would die at her command if the need arose. Never had they questioned their orders before then, she thought. Though, the rigors of war, it seemed, were enough to erode the mind of most any devoted soldier. A breeze wafted through the air, pulling Riven from her thoughts as she crested a small hill in the valley.
Dusk was settling as the company marched on, the stamp of their boots thick and dull crossing the grimy stretch. Riven’s own boots were becoming stained a deep brown by the mud. She felt a pang of nausea as she realized it wasn't rainwater that dampened the soil... She forced the thought out of her head. There would be more fields, more fogs, more harrowing muck – she could process it all later. “Focus is essential,” her drill instructor used to bark. “A lot happens in the chaos of battle, but you can only accomplish one thing at a time.” Now it was marching.
Fury Company had trudged for days to catch up with the rest of the 42nd Standard, and the dreary trail through the Zaunite Melters’ aftermath was… messy. War was all about casualties, but the rising number of civilian losses was staggering. The High Command had expected the peace-loving Ionians to roll over and surrender in the face of Noxus’ military juggernaut. Instead the resistance was fierce and unrelenting. For a society that preached pacifism, the Ionians didn't hesitate to get their hands dirty.
Riven was impressed.
This was a particularly grim scene. The Coeur Valley was one of the few passageways through which the Melters could cross the foothills of northern Shon-Xan. The Ionians had made a desperate stand there that morning, hoping to stem or slow the pace of Zaun’s death machines. It was a telling failure for Ionia. They hadn't even managed to scramble half the forces Noxian intelligence had predicted, and ample countermeasures were taken long before the Melters attempted the pass. Still, for such a meager resistance, Riven couldn't help but notice the abundance of Noxian uniforms littered amongst the dead.
A day or two behind, the Noxian cleanup effort was requesting reinforcements....
Riven’s attention was drawn to the path by the sound of advancing footsteps. Someone was approaching the group from the front. Riven raised her blade high, halting the company and eclipsing herself beneath it. It was a true Noxian weapon, built to instill fear at sight alone.
The figure emerged from the fog. It was a girl, a couple years older than Riven, stumbling as she walked. Her clothes were torn and matted with blood. When she saw the company, her eyes went wide.
“No no no no no,” she muttered. “No more, please.” She fell to her knees and started weeping.
"Sergeant, Corporal." Riven ordered two men to retrieve the girl, nodding toward her. Handling civilians was a chore that had wearied the men over the past several weeks. They’d been trained to kill soldiers in battle, not to dispatch helpless bystanders. Ionia didn't even have a standing military.
"Sir." Both of the men spoke at once and moved to deal with the woman, their words heavy with what was necessary...
Only the strong survive, Riven reminded herself, grimly.
The two soldiers reached the girl and stood to either side, each silently hoping the other would take the lead. Riven was about to intervene when the girl made a quick motion and a thin red mist appeared in front of her. The two soldiers crumpled, dead before they hit the ground.
“Ambush!” Her warning was lost amongst the cries of her soldiers. On all sides of the company, corpses were rising, weapons in hand, and charging into their ranks. Except they weren't dead. Their eyes were very much alive with hateful resolve. Riven remembered the intelligence reports: less than half the expected opposition. It was a trap. The Ionians had planned this all along.
Riven's grip on her weapon tightened, and with all the fury and resolve that she could muster, she threw herself into combat. Three Ionian attackers were cut in half with a single swing from her massive weapon, their screams mixing with those from Fury Company as the Ionians struck with weapons full of hate and scorn.
"That blade!"
"The Butcher!"
"KILL HER!!"
Cries sounded through the battlefield as hordes of Ionian soldiers converged on Riven. With a powerful shout, her Ki thundered from her, kicking them all back as she spun around in a terrible circle, her blade trailing crackling arcs of emerald as she cut them down with little effort. In the awkward moment of hesitation that followed, Riven's eyes snapped back to her ranks, and found them nearly engulfed in a sea of flashing blades. Already the rear guard was overtaken. They were absolutely surrounded...
"Fall back!! Defensive lines now! Spears and pikes behind the defenders!!" Riven screamed for the unit to collapse to a defensive formation. The army needed to be warned. She drew a distress flare from her belt and fired into the darkening sky. Pale green light illuminated the entire valley. One of the Ionians leapt out at Riven. She slashed upward, bisecting him lengthwise. The Ionians had the advantage, but Riven wasn't one to surrender. If they could defeat her in combat, they deserved this victory. The strong would prevail.
A particular scream cut through the noise of combat, a male voice. Riven's gaze spun to face the sound as she spied Gilder clutching his chest as he fell to his knees, a fallen Ionian's spear having run him through as he was about to behead him with his greatsword. A chill flowed through her body as she watched the man fall in slow motion, before a burning fire ignited within her.
A battle cry echoed through the valley as green energy rose around Riven like a wildfire. Her eyes burned with emerald rage as she threw herself toward her defending soldiers, her family, and the only one she had ever known. The remaining Noxian soldiers tightened their ranks, backs to each other. Nearly half the company was already dead or dying. The Ionians were taking their time now, savoring the growing Noxian despair.
Like a storm, Riven skidded to a halt, turning to face the largest mass of charging Ionians. Her right arm lifted her massive weapon behind her, her eyes locked onto the horde, and with unbridled force, she swung. Her voice tore through the cries of war as she roared out in Noxian fervor, a massive blade of emerald might springing from her sword and eradicating a massive swath of the Ionian attackers. Winds howled, the fog parted, and Riven panted, her body aching from the exertion of her actions. However, even as she reveled in her display of force, she realized still more Ionians descended upon her position...
They were surrounded and outnumbered. Her men were tired, demoralized. The Ionians, by contrast, were fueled by their hate. She wondered how long they had lain there, amongst the bodies of fallen friends, waiting for this moment. She tightened her grip on the sword. One way or another, she would end this...
A whining sound suddenly cut through the haze of combat, then, light.
A blinding ball of light erupted thirty feet in front of her, sending Ionians flying. Riven spun, looking for a source, just as another explosion hit the edge of the Noxian circle. Riven’s ears were ringing, all she could hear was her heartbeat. Noxian and Ionian soldiers were in chaos, some fighting, some running, some… clawing at their skin.
And then she realized it.
The Melters had opened fire on them.
A burning sensation suddenly shook her from her shock. A searing pain, as if someone had touched hot metal to her face just below her left eye screamed at her mind, along with her chest, legs, and left arm. Just as she realized what it was, another blinding light erupted to her side, and threw her through the air like a ragdoll, her armor being blown apart by the force. She landed in a heap and crumpled, rolling end over end until a warm wetness surrounded her, and her lungs filled with murky fluid. Instinct caused her to move toward light, even as her body cried in protest.
Gagging, Riven broke the surface of the shallow collection of water and other fluids she dared not think about. She hacked and coughed, nearly emptying her stomach as the rancid stench assaulted her senses. Her eyes tried to focus as she lay there on the blood-soaked field, bile and water leaking from her open mouth.
Chaos was all she saw. Her soldiers...her family, melted. Pink flesh turned to festering red ooze and separated from bone, muscles liquefying under the power of the Zaunite Chemists' weapons. Nails clawed at skin to remove the burning chemicals, only to strip weakened flesh from their arms, face, legs, anything they could touch. Armor turned into deathtraps as the stalwart Noxian defenders screamed in unadulterated agony, their bodies literally leaking out from the gaps in the green plate. Others grabbed at their throats, choking as the fumes rose and burned their lungs, preventing them from breathing.
There Riven lay, her eyes opened in shock, her body too broken to move, her mind assaulted with the visions of her only companions being stripped away from her. The companions she had failed to protect, failed to be strong for. Not just them, but the Ionians too. Everything on the field burned and melted. Only the strong survive, she repeated… but that was meaningless here. Nobody would survive. By all rights, the Ionians should have won this fight, but they too would die. How did this follow the Noxian way?
"Cap-Captain...!" Riven's amber eyes refocused at the sound of her title being called, faintly. She blinked one, twice, three times, slowly moving her head toward the source of the voice. As she found it, her aching body became numb, frost gripping her limbs. Please, not her...
"Private...A-Anatolia..." Her body was heavy, but Riven dragged herself across the field toward the sound of the voice. Her breathing was strained for many reasons, but mostly because she feared what she would find when she arrived.
Private Amata Anatolia was one of the newest recruits to join Fury Company. From day one, her drive to achieve had been overshadowed only by Riven's own. The girl was only a year or so younger than Riven, and despite their close age, she had joined the military because of Riven's poster-child status, herself also a child of Noxus' streets. During training, Riven had taken a liking to the girl that pushed herself harder than anyone else she'd ever seen. The bond they had developed was jokingly referred to as her being Riven's shadow.
Riven saw much of herself in the girl, had gone out of her way to push her, to get to know her, and to drive her to become great. Now, as she finally dragged herself across the field to the side of the wounded woman, her heart felt like a block of ice. The girl's emerald eyes were glazed over, her ebony hair messed with mud, blood, and other unidentifiable substances, and her pale ivory skin even more pale than normal. Upon closer inspection, Riven could see a deformation in the girl's chest where her ribs had been broken which explained her wheezing, and the way in which her body moved suggested her back may have been broken as well.
"Ca-aptain..." The girl's eyes brightened faintly as her silver-haired commander appeared at her side. The sounds of the destruction seemed to fade away as the girl spoke, flashes of light punctuating her words. "I..." The girl wheezed. "I'm...so-sorry that we-we failed you..." Riven choked back the guilt she felt at the girl's statements. "We...we were not strong...for Nox-us, f-for you..."
"Private... Don't speak. Save your strength. That's...that's an order. You are heavily wounded...we need a medic for you..." Riven tried her best to sound commanding, strong for the girl before her, but ultimately, her words died in her throat.
"Forgive my...belli-belligerence, Sir... But...we both know this is it for me..." The girl wheezed and her lips trembled, along with the upper half of her body. Shock was quickly setting in for her. Riven wheezed herself, failing to contain a faint whimper.
"No. No, this isn't the end for you." Riven clenched her fists and her teeth, fighting against her own instincts telling her the girl was right. "You can't die yet... Death is a promotion, and you haven't earned that yet! D-Do you hear me, Private Anatolia!" Riven was nearly beside herself with emotion, tears battling their way to the front lines as she tried to hold them back. "I order you to live, god dammit!! I won't let anyone else die on this damn field!! I won't fail any more of you!" Anger, hatred, and despair tore at Riven's body as she struggled to stand, rising to her knees, her entire body quivering.
Then, a soft hand touched her cheek.
"Captain..." Riven's eyes turned to look to the girl again, whose face was soft. "...I...I need to tell you something..." Riven shook her head. She didn't want to hear it. "...I don't blame you...because...I know you loved us, just...just like we- I...we loved you..."
"...Am-Amata don't... Please..." Riven begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You...were the only person that I loved enough-enough to die for. I knew it could... never work but... ...All of us...loved you in our own...ways" The girl's hand slipped slowly down Riven's cheek, wiping away her tears and landing heavily against the blood-stained ground. "We...we never fought for N-Noxus...Riven." Riven's eyes were wide, per pupils tiny as she quivered, her brow furrowed, her mouth hanging open as tears continued to fall from her amber gaze. "We fought...for you..." The girl's head tilted lazily to the left, her gaze still soft, and a faint smile on her lips, a gentle sigh escaping them as she fell silent.
As the private was quietly promoted to the afterlife, the thunder of chemical shells detonating among the ranks of the Ionians and whatever was left of the Noxian forces, another voice rose: a shrill, wailing cry of anguish and loss. Riven screamed her pain to the darkened, reddened skies above, painful tears staining her cheeks. Her body ached, her heart ached. In that moment, she had lost everything she had ever loved...
Her soldiers had been taken from her by the fire of her allied Zaunite forces. The Ionians, the stronger foes in the fight had been forced to die the death of cowards, unable to even fight back. Her conviction, her belief in Noxus, its ideals, what she fought for, everything had been stripped from her. The proudest warrior of Noxus, the poster-child of the Noxian spirit, her unshakable resolve, had been broken and shattered. There was nothing left for her to fight for, nothing left to give her meaning. She looked to her runeblade, stained with blood, and pulled herself numbly to her feet, gripping the weapon, and dragging it behind her as she simply walked with no direction or heading...
As she fled the cursed valley, explosions rocked the ground around her. Soldiers on both sides were subjected to horrific, unspeakable deaths. Something changed in her then. The conviction with which she charged boldly to war had evaporated, and without it she was… lost.
Even as the soldier died in her, something new took its place...
In that death, an exile was born...
Last Edit: May 29, 2013 2:29:40 GMT -5 by The Exile
She wasn't quite sure why she'd found herself back here. This was the last place in the world she wanted to be, but some part of her simply had to remember this place, see the terrible remnants of that bloody battle again. She'd walked for days after her boat ride had ended, and had found her way back to this battlefield.
Thoughts of battle were still fresh as she sat on a hilltop overlooking the valley below. This route was on her way to the mainland proper, on her way to meeting with the Kinkou and other prominent Ionian figures. The vistas below were simply reminders that she did not belong here, didn't feel as though she lived, truly, in the present.
The world moved along, but she did not. For her, time stood still, and her heart, her soul, were forever trapped in that single moment. She was haunted by this place every day of her life, and every night in her dreams. This broken, battered field was as much a part of her as anything else, and it always would be. She sighed and took a seat.
Tomorrow, she had some things that needed to be done...
Post by The Darkin Blade on Jul 13, 2013 12:40:18 GMT -5
Aatrox glided over the old battlefield of Coeur valley. War ran through his blood - no, it was his blood - and while he had slept during the Noxian invasion of Ionia, this place in particular called to him, almost crying out his name. When he began the flight, he didn't know whether it would be a beautiful or a horrific sight.
It was neither. The bleak battlefield...it was the remains, not of a war, but of a slaughter. No side had won this battle. There were no survivors. No survivors, save the white-haired commander of the Noxian forces.
She was the only color remaining on the field, where nothing dared to grow or move. Even then, she was as bleak as her surroundings. Aatrox had heard of her exploits. It was time for she who was once the butcher to meet the spirit of war.
His shadow passed over her, and within moments, he landed on the ground behind her with a dull thud. He stood, simply motionless, waiting for her to recognize his presence.
The shadow passing over her caught her attention even as her thoughts wandered to the field around her. Such things were not normal in the slightest in a land where things did not grow, things did not live... Riven spun, blade in hand, to face the dark being that stood at her with eyes as red as the blood that had stained the soil behind her. Her eyes narrowed and her brow tightened.
"You..." She knew little of the being known as Aatrox, the Darkin Blade. What she did know, however, was that he craved battle and conflict for the sake of his own amusement. Such things irritated her, and she had kept her distance from him. Now, however, it seemed she had no choice but to face the dark creature.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Jul 15, 2013 11:14:02 GMT -5
Aatrox smiled. "Well, you know I don't want to kill you; you'd already be dead." He doubted this was entirely true; she would certainly put up a fight if he had attacked her. "No, I merely was...intrigued. I have heard of your exploits, Butcher," emphasizing that last word, "and more importantly, have heard of your flight afterwards."
With a swift motion, he turned the other way. "You hate war - is that not true? - and by extension, hate me." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "But just because you no longer wield your blade does not mean you do not fight your own war. Even an imbecile could see that you war with yourself."
He looked to the field, as if remembering something he never knew. "Ever since this battle - no, this fruitless slaughter - you have been torn, haven't you? Between home and where the heart is? Between peace in the face of war or war for the sake of peace? This war you fight...it is a rare thing. One that I can never see myself." He fell silent, standing as if a statue commemorating the fallen on the field.
Riven scoffed. The being was a wordy one, and he'd still managed to avoid answering her question. Why was he here? What did he want with her? She didn't have the desire or patience to listen to him drone on about his sick beliefs about war and conflict. His ideas were meaningless to her, and he was a nuisance.
"What's your point, demon? What do you want from me?" She was getting impatient. If he wished to torment her, he'd need to find someone else. If he wanted to challenge her, she'd fight him and make him regret it. She had things that had to be done, and she'd remove any obstacles that halted her path.
Post by The Darkin Blade on Jul 17, 2013 16:09:53 GMT -5
Aatrox didn't move. "It's simple, really. I merely wish to talk. Nothing more, unless you so wish." His hand moved slightly on the hilt of his blade, as if caressing its edge, signalling what he meant by 'nothing more.'
Facing Riven, he stood as stalwart as before. "Do you really think that by preaching peace that you can clean your slate of blood? It's a simple idea, yes, and...admirable..." - He spat out this last word, not wishing to praise peace - "But what good can it really do, Butcher? You cannot turn back time and fix what you think are your mistakes."
"I can't fix what I've done, demon, but I can work toward making the future brighter in spite of it." She glanced to the field behind her. She didn't like how the creature spoke to her as if she were some toy for his amusement. That being said, she had no interest in dueling him. She was not here to fight...
"A proper Noxian does not take the easy way out." She scoffed. "Were it so easy, it wouldn't be worth doing." Riven turned back to face the crimson eyes of the darkin warrior, her face stern, the field of Coeur behind her. "If anything I can do can bring these poor souls some modicum of rest, some meaning to their deaths and sacrifices, I'll gladly do it... Honor, strength, integrity, all these are lost of a creature like you who only knows fighting, combat, and death..."
Post by The Darkin Blade on Jul 17, 2013 22:57:50 GMT -5
Aatrox scoffed at Riven. "You think that just because I simply revel in the glory of combat, I don't understand those things? And you really think that you know better?" He scowled at her. "I have seen empires rise and fall. There has been everything from silent strikes in the night, slaughtering thousands who could not defend themselves, to fights to the death between the leaders, aiming to spare the lives of their troops."
His scowl melted back to a neutral expression, although his eyes still seemed aflame. "I know what it is to fight both honorably and dishonorably. And I once cared, as you do, for things outside of war. If you lived to be as old as me, you, too, would see that peace is futile. There will always be war! There is no stopping it!" He swiped through the air with his hand at this statement, his face scowling again.
He simply stared at her for a moment. "You humans...you always think you know everything. You think that peace is a good thing. You think that war is avoidable. You think that I am...a monster..." Looking down, he made a fist with his hand, closing his eyes as if contemplating within. When he looked up, he was no longer scowling, but his face was set in a wicked grin.
"You never seem to realize that you yourselves are the greatest monsters of all." With that, he laughed, turning to walk away from Riven.
Aatrox scoffed at Riven. "You think that just because I simply revel in the glory of combat, I don't understand those things? And you really think that you know better?" He scowled at her. "I have seen empires rise and fall. There has been everything from silent strikes in the night, slaughtering thousands who could not defend themselves, to fights to the death between the leaders, aiming to spare the lives of their troops."
"You've seen all that death, all that suffering, and yet you still revel in the carnage of combat." Riven shook her head. "You claim to be so wise, but it's you who's blinded. How can one as disconnected from the act of killing claim to know anything about what it means to fight with true strength and honor? Even my countrymen are mindful of the lives they take, for you, it's all about the battle, and nothing else..."
His scowl melted back to a neutral expression, although his eyes still seemed aflame. "I know what it is to fight both honorably and dishonorably. And I once cared, as you do, for things outside of war. If you lived to be as old as me, you, too, would see that peace is futile. There will always be war! There is no stopping it!" He swiped through the air with his hand at this statement, his face scowling again.
"That's where you're wrong. There will always be conflict, but war does not need to be the way in which it is settled." Riven frowned and crossed her arms, her amber eyes staring fiercely into the crimson gaze of the darkin. "Peace is only as strong as one's ability to act without violence. When one side gives in to their anger, their hatred, their greed, or their lust for battle, the other side must rise to defend themselves, or they will perish." Her brow furrowed. "That give, that break, that is weakness. And that is why so many believe war to be an inevitability. They give up on peace because they are too weak to keep pushing for it. That is the essence of war, and the weakness of peace. It all relies on one's determination to follow their devotion to it as a concept."
He simply stared at her for a moment. "You humans...you always think you know everything. You think that peace is a good thing. You think that war is avoidable. You think that I am...a monster..." Looking down, he made a fist with his hand, closing his eyes as if contemplating within. When he looked up, he was no longer scowling, but his face was set in a wicked grin.
"You never seem to realize that you yourselves are the greatest monsters of all." With that, he laughed, turning to walk away from Riven.
"It takes a monster to know one, demon. I have been a monster...but I regained my humanity when I lost everything on these fields..." She turned her side to the creature, glancing to him out of the corner of her eyes. "If you were something more than a monster, you've long since given up on that part of you. One who has known only battle, craved only conflict for so long, can never truly understand peace, or my drive to save my homeland from its tyrant."
Post by The Darkin Blade on Jul 19, 2013 0:13:01 GMT -5
Aatrox stopped. Turning around, he directed his blade towards Riven. "You think I do not know how to kill myself, simply because I revel in the combat of others? Try me, Butcher. I will show you just how false that is." He did not strike, but merely held the position, staring down at Riven.
Aatrox sneered as she continued. "You say that it is merely human weakness that prevents peace, that all that's keeping you from attaining peace is how people collapse. If this lack of strength, as you say, is so common - in fact, unavoidable - then does that not mean that war itself is equally unavoidable?" He scoffed. "Human nature is not so simple as to be divided into 'dos' and 'dont's'. Tracing all the causes to just one don't...that is as nearsighted as calling the sky the ocean because it is blue."
When Riven went back to him being a monster, he went quiet. "You are not the only one who has lost everything" he said, almost whispering. "I understand your wish to bring Noxus out from underneath Swain...but have you given a thought as to what you would do after? Would you take command yourself, and try and lead Noxus into a golden age of 'peace' and 'prosperity'?" He bowed his head, closing his eyes. "No...even if you did, would Demacia not take that as a sign of weakness, and smite you where you stand? As you said yourself. Humans only war because they are too weak to even consider peace."
He leapt into the air, flying away from Riven. "Fare thee well, Butcher. We will meet again...and I hope that then, we will fight, so I may show you the true strength of war." With that, he vanished out of sight, leaving Riven alone one the Coeur once again.
Riven didn't feel the need to reply to the creature as he flew off. Someone like him could never understand her, or the way conflict truly worked. Peace was not impossible, and if the deaths of those she'd cared about on these fields had meant anything, had showed her anything, it was that people could change. It was true there was a time to fight, but there was also a time for peace, and if one were to truly dedicate themselves to finding that peace, ending the suffering of others at the hands of greedy ambition, one would find that there was far less need for conflict and strife than one might initially think.
It had taken Riven one terrible loss to realize all of this, to solidify her goals and mold her into the person she was now. These fields would always remain a part of who she was, and part of her would always remain on these fields as well. For the moment, however, she would make camp at the edge of the valley. She had a great many things to do in Ionia, and that journey would beging, and continue, tomorrow...
Welcome to Maelstrom, Original Characters, Summoners and Champions alike. We are a divergent setting roleplay forum for the ever-popular MOBA by Riot, League of Legends. This means we are based in Riot canon, but your characters' actions can have a real, lasting impact on the world. Together, the Maelstrom community endeavors to bring the League of Legends setting and characters to life through collaborative storytelling and meaningful development. We welcome you along for the ride.
Hang out in a citystate, visit the Institute of War, explore the uncharted recesses of Runeterra. Whatever you decide, good luck, have fun and happy writing.
hello new skin yes. gonna work out some kinks but let me know what you guys think. it's not all that flashy but i didn't really like the tabs so the side bar is back. oh and the cbox has also made it's appearance. -rurin.
Maelstrom was created by Swain. Written content is copyrighted to their creators on this site. The skin is created by Wolf and mini-profile template by Kuroya of Gangnam Style. The board and thread remodel is by Kagney and has been heavily edited by Rurin. League of Legends is owned by Riot Games. Maelstrom does not claim ownership to any images used unless stated otherwise.
cbox
Chat box has been removed for the time being. Please contact me at Wyerden@gmail.com, or skype name DearCryophoenix with for any questions or concerns.
