Lanius stared at his back in the mirror. His whole right shoulder-blade and back, aside from the plum fur patches, were filled with cyan veins, similar to tattoos. This pattern continued over to his right shoulder and followed over to his chest, all the way to the area above his heart. Similarly, his left side of the face had a few blew veins directly below the true ice eyepatch.
Lanius looked cofused. Freida, in the form of the small ice phoenix sat on top of a chair and observed.
The rest of the Ionians had gathered around Ahri and also currently looked at the young man's body.
"Runic tattoos? When did you get these?" Akali questioned. "You didn't have them two months ago."
"He didn't even have them a week ago, before he started climbing." Ahri stated.
"I'm as surprised as you." Lanius muttered. "Did you know about this, Freida?"
"People that harness runic magic undergo physical changes. Their genes get altered and they gain the ability to harness and chanel magic. But since the Winter's genes already have magic on embedded in them, only their physical appearance changes." Freida explained.
"So if I were to obtain this rune, I'd get to use ice magic?" Kayn asked with interest in his eyes.
"You'd likely go mad or die, as your body wouldn't be prepared." Freida replied, causing Kayn to flinch.
"Go mad, no thanks. I'm already trying to kill one brain that's not mine." he mumbled.
"So, now what?" Xayah asked. "Do we go straight to Freljord."
"Going straight to Freljord would take too much time. The best solution is to go from Demacia." Akali proposed.
"Demacia? The magic hating land? Ugh." Rakan rolled his eyes.
"Either that or we waste more time. We've only got a month left before the winter starts. I have to reach the Howling Abyss by then." Lanius muttered as he placed on him a new set of bandages. "What bothers me though is getting back in time."
"About that...somebody should go back to help better organise the Ionians." Sett explained.
"Actually, Akali would be the best one. She's a Kinkou after all." Kayn proposed.
"Me? I don't know. I think that I'd be more helpful here, rather than there." Akali muttered with a sceptical look on her face.
"You're perfectl everywhere, girl. That's why we want you to go there." Sett replied as he wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders.
Akali seemed more skeptical.
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The cold winds of Targon blew as the boat sailed away from it. Lanius kept his eyes on the other boat that sailed away, towards Ixtal.
"And just like that, you obtained half of the rune. The other half awaits in Freljord." Freida sounded.
Lanius looked at his right hand, where the half of the rune rested.
"I've saw...stuff, when I touched it. What it can do, Freida. No wonder why they hid it, this thing is the ideal weapon of mass destruction. The Noxians stand no chance against it...and the Ionians alike if it falls into the wrong hands."
"Did it fall into the wrong hands all those centuries before you? Before it was hidden? Don't worry about it." Freida reassured him.
At that moment, Xayah approached him and stood next to him.
"What's up?" Lanius asked her.
"Nothing much, just wondering about Demacia. If these dudes hate magic that much, what will they think when they see six magic users?" Xayah took off her hood and looked at him. "To be more precise, what will they think when they see four vastaya and two magic users, with one of them being the embodiment of nature?"
"Well, guess we're gonna dance." Lanius proposed.
"Is this an invitation?" Xayah asked with interest being depicted in her eyes.
"Woah, slow down Violet Raven." Lanius teased her. "I was joking. I'd like to not resort to violence against nations that I'll need to go to later."
Xayah sighed. "But wher's the fun in that? You know that I haven't had any real fun here since the Isles?"
"You'll get plenty of fun and battle dances back in Ionia. Noxian hunting is a fun sport." the young man replied.
The Rebel rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you're going to let me kill one guy at least."
"Only one? Deal." the young man gave in and shook her hand.
Xayah smirked and turned her head towards the sea. Lanius also faced the sea. "So, you got any other relatives besides Rakan?"
"A father. I don't see him often, as the Lhotlan have become nomadic now. In short, Rakan's the only one I really have left." Xayah replied, then turned to look at him. "What about you? Aside from the Verhea, I mean."
"Well...the Ziraq have accepted me as their own, which was odd, considering the fact that I'm not a full vastaya. I have an old grandmother and a sister-like friend there. But other than that, it's Ahri and Freida...and I guess you guys too."
Xayah raised an eyebrow." You think of us as family? Even when you've only know us for a month?"
"Look, I know it sounds odd, since you dislike Akali and Kayn, the first for not intervening to stop the magic abuse and the other for attacking vastaya, but they have assisted us in many occasions. Sett is probably neutral and Ahri...is a traitor for you. But for me, they've helped me a lot." Lanius muttered.
"Have they helped ypu though?" the Rebel asked.
"Akali and her master woke me up. Sett helped us during the wraith attack. He even hekped ypu in Bilgewater. Without Kayn's information and help, I wouldn't be able to get to you. As for Ahri...she was with me from the start. First to sustain herself, later because she loved me. And I loved her too, from the start. She isn't the traitor you think she is."
"It's not that she's a traitor. It's the fact that she wants to turn into a human...to betray her heritage." Xayah tried to explain herself, feeling uncomfortable.
"Ahri is a vesani, perhaps the last one in the world. Vesani need foreign life essence to survive. But she hated that, she hated having to drain people because she couldn't control it. She hated acting like a demon, she hated being called one too. She can't betray her heritage, when she's actively trying to find clues about her ancestors. That new kama Akali had, it belonged to one that we assume is her father."
Xayah didn't respond for a few seconds." I didn't know." she finally said.
The young man chuckled and gave her a soft punch on the shoulder. "It's all right. Let's go talk to the others, righr?"
"Good enough." she replied and went towards the others, with the young man next to her.
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Jericho Swain looked at the crowd below him from the dais. The majority of the Noxian forces had gathered to hear him.
The Noxian Grand General could see many soldiers. Some of them partook in the first Ionian invasion...would they listen to him now?
He scanned once more. Darius and the Witch stood next to him, as well as other generals.
Swain took a step forward and cleared his throat. "As you all know, Noxus is a mighty and glorious nation, one that no other kingdom can be compared to. Of course, the reason for this nation's glory is no other than you, its brave soldiers, who gave their lives for it, by fighting to the fronts. So I ask you this, great warriors. I have been informed that the Ionians have been planning to invade us, under the ruling of the hideous Demon of the Frost, the Winter."
He made a short pause to read the faces of the soldiers. Rage, fear, disgust? and thirst for blood. The crowd began buzzing like a wasp nest. Swain raised his arms, silencing them.
"Will we allow them to come here, to rape, burn and pillage?" he asked. "Wilk we allow thousands to die? The answer is of course no. So I ask you this. Fellow Noxians, will you join me, in reclaiming back what is ours?"
The crowd began shouting. They were ecstatic, they were enraged. And on top of it all, they were blood thirsty.
"WILL YOU JOIN ME, IN RECLAIMING IONIA?"
The crowd roared in ecstasy. Swain sat back with a devious smile.
"I'm coming back for my arm, blade witch. You better be ready to lose yours."