Jolly Cooperation

For much of his trek, Lucian would find himself to be alone on the slopes of Mount Targon. It would not be until he had trekked higher up the mountain that he would encounter occasional glimpses of the inhabitants. Men and women, armed and armored, glancing at him with suspicion, evaluating how much of a threat he might be. None came forward to speak, but they would maintain a careful eye on him. It would not be much longer until the building he sought would appear to vision, upon the peak of the mountain.

Lucian was carefully watched for the entirety of his remaining ascent. Two men standing by the massive double doors leading into the temple, dressed in sun themed armor, gazed upon him the entirety of his remaining way up. Just like the Rakkor, they were evaluating him as a potential threat. A natural action for a guard from such an area to take. When Lucian would almost be on the steps leading up to the temple itself, one of the guards would gesture to stop.
"What is your business here?" would be the question that came following.

The man nodded, a simple acknowledgement that he had heard what Lucian had to say. No emotions were revealed. He slid the door to his side open only slightly, and then called out into the temple
"Artemisia!". Within an instant, another soldier clad similarly to him was standing on the other side of the door. The two briefly held discourse in a language foreign to Lucian before the woman on the inside of the temple took off, and the man who she had spoken with slid the door shut. The man returned to his statuesque pose as he waited. Several moments later, someone rapped against the inside of the door. The guard slid the door open again, and was addressed by a voice from the other side, still speaking the same Hellenic language as before. The man turned to face Lucian and then addressed him, now speaking a language he would understand.
"The Avatar of the Sun will see you. You may enter.". Both of the doors swung inward, admitting Lucian entry. On the immediate inside stood the soldier the guard was speaking to. She wordlessly gestured for Lucian to follow. It would be only a moments worth of following before they would encounter Leona, headed toward the temple entrance herself. She was not wearing the armor for which she was so well known, instead she wore simple sleeveless clothing made of cloth with a belt around the waist, ending just above her shins, and sandals on her feet. She gave a nod to the woman that came with Lucian, and she wordlessly took her leave. With that done, she spoke to Lucian.
"Welcome, Lucian the Purifier. I apologize if your welcome so far has been cold, we on the mountain are more inclined to be practical in speech than polite." Leona said, with a slight smile. A noted contrast to the total lack of emotion seen from all the others.
"I was told that you wish to speak of forming an alliance?"

Leona nodded back at Lucian. Perhaps she should not have used his entire title when speaking to him, as now she figured that he would be consistently calling her "Leona the Radiant Dawn", a way of addressing her that was far more formal than she was used to. Nevertheless, she did not bother to state her preference. He would likely begin using a less formal method to address her soon.
"You flatter me, Lucian." she said, smiling briefly in response to his closing comment.
"If it is the undead which you fight, then I am more than willing to ally with you. However, such a matter must be discussed with the Elders first, especially if you wish for the assistance of the Order of Iron, and not just myself.". Leona knew of the Shadow Isles and the undead threat, but that they posed so great a threat that Lucian would seek her out to help his order, she did not.
"Perhaps you would wish to present your case to the elders yourself?"

Leona nodded. She had expected him to agree.
"Very well then. Come, I will lead you to them.". Leona gestured for him to follow, and then started down one of the many hallways of the temple. The two passed by innumerable marble carvings and statues as they walked through the temple. Every one of them told a story of its own. There were statues of great heroes, their deeds recorded in a script only the natives of the mountain could understand, the countenance they held in life forever recorded in their new face of marble. Each looked as if the very person stood in that spot, their life story but a breath away. There were carvings of scenes into the walls, some glorious, some bloody, some tragic, some mythical, and some only too real. The battles of man against man, the battles of man against demon, the battles of gods themselves, the moment of victory captured, the tragedy of defeat, the lamentation of the departed. Thousands of stories unforgotten, captured in marble to be told again and again throughout the ages.

Leona slowed down when passing certain ones, a different emotion expressed on her face each time. She knew all of the stories the marble told. She knew the messages that the myths held with them, and the lessons which each piece of history held. Oh, how many times she had heard them. Some of them would bring to mind her own plight. She wondered if, when all was said and done, if the details of her own life would be recorded in marble, her countenance framed beside all the rest of those whose memory was made immortal. She wondered what lessons might be drawn from her own life. Most of all, she wondered how she would be remembered when she inevitably passed on.

Leona noticed that Lucian had some interest in the carvings and statues as they walked by. Perhaps she would have the opportunity to explain some of them to him later, she thought. It was not much longer before the two came across a sealed off section of the temple, guarded by soldiers clad identically to those at the entrance to the temple. The doors they stood by were sealed shut, and occasionally a word or two would be audible, coming from the other side. Leona looked toward one of the guards, then asked
"Council is in session?". The guard merely nodded.
"Very well. Tell them that Lucian, a champion from the League of Legends, wishes to speak with them about forming an alliance.". The guard nodded again, and slid the door open for a moment to slip through, the voices of those on the inside becoming audible for but an instant as the door slid shut again. After a few moments, the door opened again, and the guard passed through. He gestured for the two to enter.
Beyond the doors was a circular room, lined with twenty stone seats, a table stretching between them, with a large open space in the middle of the room, the perfect place for an orator to stand. Of the twenty seats that existed, only ten of them were occupied. Leona hovered by the door, not taking the center, but instead gesturing for Lucian to go forward. All eyes were fixed upon him. One of the Elders stood up.
"Lucian, champion of the League of Legends, we were told you wish to form an alliance with the Solari. Enlighten us as to the details of what this alliance might entail."

There was silence in the room for several moments as all the elders thought upon Lucian's words, and considered his offer of alliance against the Shadow Isles. The Solari were not officially the enemies of anyone, save for the remaining elements of the Lunari, and it had been that way for ages. Was it so wise a decision to involve themselves in the wars of others? One of the elders stood up to state his mind.
"The Solari have rarely, if ever, involved themselves so extensively in the affairs of others, and for good reason. We are not many. We devote ourselves to the sun, and as unfortunate as it may be, we simply cannot spare the resources to help the rest of Valoran. We can have but one overarching purpose". Nods and murmurs of assent spread throughout the room. Cleaving through the ambiance came another voice, an unexpected one.
"True, we are not many. But has it not been proven time and time again that the greatest impact on the course of history is made by few?" Leona said, stepping forward, into the center of the room.
"It would be the easiest course of action to simply sit on our mountain and let the world take its own course, as we have for almost as long as we have existed. To simply sit here and continue our existence with no risk to ourselves.". Leona paused for a moment, letting her words take root.
"But are we truely at no risk? Are we so naive to think that the rest of the world will simply pass us by because we take no interest in them? We will wake up one day to find the world at our door, and we will know that we did nothing to stop it from twisting and convoluting itself into far crueler shape than it is now. If we are marched on, we no doubt would slay many of our attackers, but could we ever outlast a foe who we have let amass as much power as they would please? We would be destroyed, wiped from the face off the world and forgotten. Is that a fate any of you wish to befall?". Leona's eyes rested on each and every one of the elders, for but a moment, before continuing.
"We forget the path taken by our founder. He brought the light of the sun to the dark corners of the world, and purified them of the demons within. Since his passing, we have let ourselves slip into gradual nothingness. Even today, what are we to the great powers of this world but an isolated cult?. Again, Leona paused.
"So now, I say to you, we take action. We cease letting the world pass us by and we shape its future. Even if we are to all face our inevitable doom because of it, we will die fighting, remembered as those who would not simply pass into oblivion.". Utter silence followed as Leona's speech sank into the minds of all those present. Before she resumed the position in which she had been before, she said
"I cast my vote with Lucian."

Leona's words still hung in the air. She leaned against the wall as some of the Elders began a quiet discussion. It took some time before one of the Elders stood up to address Leona.
"How are you certain the world is the way you say it is?"
"For I have seen it with my own eyes. In all the time I have spent away from the mountain, I have found the truths of the world below are far less pleasant that we would believe them to be. War is brewing. It has been for years. The sooner we take action, the more lives we can save from the devastation that will inevitably come to Valoran." came Leona's immediate reply. The Elder nodded and took a seat. After several more minutes of quiet discussion, another Elder stood.
"I believe we are ready to cast our votes. Are any opposed?". Silence. The man continued.
"Very well. All those who are in favor of an alliance with the League champion Lucian and his forces, please stand." One by one, Elders rose from their seats. First, five of them stood. Then another. Another. Finally, only one sat. After several moments of complete silence, the man broke the tension in the air as he grudgingly took to his feet. Leona smiled. Eleven votes. The Solari would not sit and watch as the armies of the dead destroyed Valoran. The Elder who had previously called the vote took a brief glance at the standing Elders surrounding him, before setting his gaze on Lucian.
"Very well then. Lucian, we accept your offer of alliance. Further details must be discussed, but I am certain we will be able to establish some means of transmitting messages. At this time, we must spread the word to the rest of the Solari.". With that, the council was dismissed. Elders filed out of the room, and only Lucian and Leona remained.