League Outskirts - Plains

"If you say so." Riven removed her hand and went about setting up the rest of her camp. After some time had passed, a nice fire was going, sheltered from the breeze of the plains by the pit Riven had dug for it. Riven was sitting on her bedroll and cooking some rabbit meat over the fire for her meal.

As she waited for the meat to cook, she retrieved a whetstone from her pack and went to work tending to her broken blade, as was her nightly ritual. She was not one for conversation, and as such, she had been quite quiet, all things considered.

Riven glanced to Leona as she spoke, before turning her head to her blade and sighing, holding it up to the light of the fire to inspect her work so far. "I don't really know what there is to tell..."

She lowered the blade to her lap and continued to hone the edge. "I grew up on the Noxian streets, more or less living by myself. When I became slightly older, I found myself at a military training camp." She paused and looked again to Leona. "From there, I trust you know the rest."

Of course there was much more to Riven's story, but to her, they were, in most ways, unimportant details. What Leona wanted to get from her was unknown to Riven. She didn't much talk about herself, and really hadn't since she'd been with Fury Company.

Riven shrugged. "I suppose I don't. In-depth conversation wasn't really something we did in Noxus." Her attention once more turned to her blade's edge. "Words meant less than actions, and it mattered little where you came from or what your story was, so long as you were strong enough to prove your worth." She looked to Leona briefly. "Something I am told the Rakkor follow as well."

As Leona asked about her blade, Riven sighed and returned her gaze to the green runes and blackened material of the great sword. "My blade..." Her amber gaze seemed to drift, as if thinking through a great many things at once before she began to speak again.

"The fires of the underbelly of Noxus were fierce. They burned hot, belching black smoke into the sky from endless sources as the Noxian War Forges churned and produced the strongest weapons in all its territories. From this cauldron of might, a blade was forged from the material known only as Blackstone. So rare was this ore that the entire supply from a single exclusive merchant was used to forge one sword..." Riven's fingertips studied the cracked surface of the weapon as she told its story.

"The material was all but unbreakable. So strong was it that magic itself was used to shape the stone into a blade, as no amount of heating and hammering with a traditional forge could chain it to its will, and more still was used to infuse it with a mighty enchantment; to harness the very willpower of the wielder and bring it against those that would stand against him." At her words, the single remaining rune seemed to flicker as Riven's fingers followed the lines.

"For weeks the weapon was crafted by the most talented weapon-smiths of Noxus. It was the only one of its kind ever produced, and as such, upon the commissioning of the weapon, it was deemed that the weapon, a truly massive and iconic blade, only be given to the strongest spirit of Noxus, to carry on her might into battle." She sighed, her words almost somber. "Me..."

"I was called to the chambers of High Command, and there, on a knee, I was presented with the weapon by none other than General Marcus Du Couteau himself." Her eyes were dreamy and far away, almost as if she was recalling a dream from long ago. "There, I took an oath..."

"I swore upon Noxus and her people, my life, my blood, and all that I was, until the day that I died, that I would never raise my blade against her, and that I would fight to end all that would oppose her strength, no matter the cost to myself.” As she recited the oath, Riven's eyes became downcast, the firelight flickering off of her bangs and hiding her face.

"It's...an oath I still follow... Even to this day...after...after everything that has happened, those words are a part of who I am, and they remain." She released a shaky sigh, and her grip tightened on the handle of her blade. "That oath, the promises I made to Noxus and myself, and to her people... They're all that I have left." A faint glitter in the darkness would catch Leona's trained eyes. A single darkened drop of wetness staining the surface of the honed form of her blade. Outwardly, she gave no other signs to the turmoil and sadness she felt inside.

Almost as quickly as it had arrived, Riven cleared her throat, and her voice seemed to regain its composure. "The rabbit should nearly be done, I think..." She leaned forward to test the meat with a simple knife from her bag, looking for cooked flesh all the way through.

"You can't bring me something that is already there, Solari." Riven sighed and went about pulling the rabbit off the spit and cutting away pieces of the meat. "We both carry burdens, similar, but different. You fight to protect others, I fight to save others from themselves." She separated the meat into two separate piles and placed it on a flat rock. The liver of the rabbit was also cut in half, and shared, as it held the most nutrients.

"It isn't much, but a meal is a meal out here. Please, enjoy." Riven would take a bite of meat and place it in her mouth, nodding quietly to herself in praise. Not too bad, she thought.

Riven ate in silence as well. It was odd having company, but it wasn't an unpleasant experience. She chewed and swallowed, her thoughts turning to recent knowledge. LeBlanc having a large part in Kalamanda's events wasn't much of a surprise to her, but without proof, it would remain to be seen if anything would, or could, come from it. And proof could only be found with Katarina Du Couteau, Talon, or Prince Jarvan Lightshield.

She sighed. She'd heard of the Butchering, and the attacks on Noxus by Brand. She could only assume both had been pulled into the fold of Swain's dark clutches. She couldn't battle such a thing alone, but perhaps she didn't have to... Noxus had to be saved by Noxian strength. She'd sooner attempt to fight an army by herself than ask Demacia for help. She glanced to the woman at her side.

Leona, however, was not a Demacian. She fought to protect others, for a noble cause. She was very strong, granted truly awesome power by the sun itself. Yet, Leona only called upon that incredible power, power that no doubt surpassed Riven's own strength, to protect others. Such use of power was responsible, and was a strong component of Riven's own beliefs. Leona's allegiance was to her covenant with the sun, and to protect those other than herself. She cared not for political standing. If it came to the point where violence had to be used to quell violence...the Radiant Dawn would make a truly respectable ally...

Riven swallowed her most recent bite and regarded Leona for a moment. "You fight for others, to protect those blinded by circumstance, or bound by unjust acts..." Her amber gaze turned back to the crackling fire as she continued. "There may come a time when the peace we have in Runeterra is sundered by the greed and corruption of a few individuals. If such a time comes, if violence must be met with violence to end the suffering of everyone...could I count on having your light at my side?"

Riven stood, and for the first time in a long time, a feeling of faint warmth spread across her body, emanating from her chest. Suddenly, the darkness that seemed to hang heavily over her head seemed somehow...lighter. As Leona looked, a small smile found its way to the corners of Riven's mouth.

"War is an ugly thing, and I assure you that it is not my intention." She sighed. "However, if it does come time to raise my blade again for less than peaceful reasons, to put a stop to the suffering and meaningless death caused by greed and corruption...I'm honored to be able to call you my ally, Radiant Dawn."

Riven would then pull her right hand free of her armored gauntlet, and offer her wrapped hand to Leona.