"They chant my name, desperate for salvation."~ Sahn Uzal, Conqueror of Death
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"Can we trust that man?" Karma asked Shen as Gregori left the council.
Shen nodded, "The spirits led me to him. And he had just beat a Darkin in Zaun. His desire to fight them is real."
"But he expects us to give control over the war proceedings..." Kennen sighed.
"I would give it to him." Shen replied calmly, "The man has participated in more wars than us."
"We stopped the Noxian invasion. What greater war could he have fought?" Asked Zed stepping forward indignant at the humiliation he was facing from both Shen and the stranger.
Shen ignored him and turned toward the members of the Shojin who looked inconsolable, "Would one of you like to send word to your monastery?"
They nodded looking at the dust that had omce been their leader.
"Do not ignore me!" Zed growled as he stepped forward.
"As much as you might not want to answer his question Master Shen... It is a good question. We have fought back an invasion that lasted a decade. Why should we put everything in his hands?" Irelia of the Navori asked .
"The spirits have instructed me to follow him. And I will." Shen replied.
Master Worrul frowned, "But you did not look into his background?"
"I did." Shen replied. "And he has my support."
"That man is Gregori Hastur." Zaahen interrupted. "My host looked into him after they had met. He holds a right to the throne of Demacia. But he spent a majority of his years traveling. His exploits in Noxus is what gave him fame."
"A Noxian soldier? You expect to trust one after everything?" The council began to argue.
"He fought for the Noxians against the barbarians of the Freljord. And then retired. In more recent times, he led a one man invasion into Noxus and came out alive. He fought against an entire tribe of Freljordians, against their strongest warriors... alone. And won. He then participated in the Demacian invasion and personally helped my host and Demacia win that war. At the same time he has also been fighting and beating Darkin along the way. The man's entire life has been one big battle. And even if you wouldnt trust the man... the Darkin behind him can be trusted."
"A Darkin that calls you a traitor." Akali called out from among the rouge assassins and warriors.
Zaahen nodded, "We betrayed him. Our first general. Among our strongest. But it was a period of war."
"Don't sugarcoat it idiot." Rhaast spoke up, "We betrayed him because he decided to move all the mortals away from the battlefield and have only us fight. Objectively it would have been the right thing to do but we couldn't have that. We rallied behind Aatrox. The Void would have overwhelmed us without the presence of bodies in between. The sheer number and their endless consumption wouldn't have given us enough time to harm them in any feasible manner. Our corruptionhad just begun and Xolaani was doing everythinginher power to heal the wounded, eventually creating blood magic and dooming us to this cursed forms. He wanted a suicide mission while we wanted a proper long drawn out war. One plan had more support over the other but since he was the general we had to usurp his position in order to command the army."
Zaahen sighed, "War isnt black or white. But over the years I have come to realize that maybe his way would have been better than to become whatever we have become. Death would be the greatest gift to a Darkin."
"The realms stand because of our decision." Rhaast answered. "His opinion does not matter."
"Then why should we trust him?" The male among the two leaders of the Vastayan revolutionaries asked. "If his plans were ignored."
"Because we face Xolaani and Aatrox." Zaahen answered, "Two of the strongest and smartest Darkin. We need someone of that caliber in order to stand a chance against those two. And as much as I do not like to admit it.... Caalyx is our one shot at being one step ahead of them."
"And knowing his love for mortal lives he would also not let many of you die. A war with the least amount of sacrifice."
"Now what about this Shadow magic he was talking about? What about this order of killers?" The female Vastaya asked.
Zaahen looked toward Karma, "If Caalyx is right? And the Void truly has returned due to this magic.... then it must be destroyed. And its users banned from ever using the magic ever again. Any records of it left must be destroyed lest out world be overrun by creatures your minds cannot comprehend."
"You cannot decide what we can and cannot do. If this magic was truly forbidden.... then Ionia itself would have stopped us from using it." Zed countered, "The spirits would have stopped us."
Karma nodded, "Both the land and my kind have not responded." She sighed upon seeing their collective looks, "Let us make a decision regarding this after the war. When everything has died down."
-x-
"It seems that our luck has finally turned." Kennen said as he appeared near where Gregori and Shen were talking to each other.
Shen turned toward him, "Master Kennen. You bring us news of them?"
"Both groups will be heading here at the same time." He answered.
Gregori nodded, "An estimate on the time?"
"The dawn after two nights."
"The day after huh...." Caalyx repeated, "Any last minute issues?"
"None." Kennen answered, " The other Darkin are currently being sustained by the blood of Ionia's most vile criminals as you suggested."
"What of the armies themselves?" Gregori asked, "Has Xolaani gotten more thralls? And is she healed?"
"She has an army." Kennen answered, "Significantly less than before but she has managed to replenish some of her forces on the way here. Quite a lot of people had ignored our requests for evacuation."
Gregori nodded thoughtfully, "Aatrox?"
"Our scouts have reported at least four other Darkin are following him right this moment...." Kennen answered, "And they too have a bunch of thralls following them."
So it was two armies.
"Do the thralls look different?" Noticing the confusion on Kennen's face Gregori clarified, "Their clothes I mean."
Kennen shook his head, "The scouts haven't shared anything regarding that with us."
Shen sighed, "I will check it myself." And with a flash of blue light, he disappeared.
Kennen stood beside Gregori, looking out at the surroundings and spoke, "I asked about you."
Gregori nodded, eyes shifting back to the battlefield.
"And I received nothing but good words." He continued.
"Depends on the person you have questioned." He replied with a smile.
Kennen let out a short laugh, "Yes indeed. Your enemies would speak badly about you. But no.... I asked another Yordle."
"Poppy?" Gregori asked making a connection.
Kennen turned to him, "How did you know?"
"Zaahen would have told you that I had come to Demacia. And since Xin Zhao had to have come here earlier.... I can guess that you would have met, considering your shrine maiden's close connection to Zaahen." Gregori replied.
"Astute." Kennen replied with his hands behind his back.
"And that aside from Poppy, the only other Yordle I've talked to is Kled."
"Kled?!" Kennen looked intrigued, "I can only assume the two of you fought?"
"Not at all. We just went on our merry way without anything to worry about." Gregori replied.
Kennen sighed, "It might seem like a boon... but the never-ending nature of our lives is such a curse. It is why most Yordles act like children. It is the only way to stop our minds from crumbling. Kled saw the horrors of war and his childlike nature couldn't survive that. Madness took hold. The same is true with me. Every day I stand on the edge of madness, holding myself back from falling into it. Quite a lot of us older ones who've stepped into this realm struggle with this. There is one Yordle in Zaun who is trying to replace his body with metal completely in order to remove his immortality."
"Curse of immortality. Tell me about it." Caalyx grumbled.
Gregori frowned as he remembered something. The dead Yordle he had seen in Zaun.
"Hasn't that Yordle been seen in your dimension recently?"
"Smeech?" Kennen frowned in thought, "Yes."
"Recently in terms of mortal life. In the past few months." He corrected.
"No."
The answer came.
Gregori's eyebrows rose, "Well.... he should have woken up in your home since we found him dead."
"Bodies take time to reform." Kennen answered, "Bandle City would be in uproar if he didn't. We can feel the magic increase with the birth of every Yordle and it is usually one in hundreds of years. A decrease would be hard to miss."
"Hmmm....."
"In my talks with Poppy... she said that you were a good man who cared about his children a lot." Kennen calmly said, "Where are they?"
"Safe."
"And what if you don't make it back alive?"
"They'll live." Gregori answered without a second to think about it. "They are strong."
"Mentally. You'd hope."
"I'm sure."
The two fell into silence.
Until a sword appeared in front of them followed by Shen, "The thralls wore clothes from Noxus ,Demacia ,Shurima and Bilgewater."
"It seems Aatrox has been busy." Gregori said as he pushed himself to his feet and dusted his hands off. "How about we begin the final preparation?"
"The Darkin in Bandle City is being unsealed as we speak. But unravelling so many years of Bandle magic will take a lot of time." Kennen answered.
"Very difficult isn't it." Caalyx said.
Kennen nodded, "The seal was meant to be permanent."
"Hopefully you are done with the unsealing by the time they reach." Gregori said, "Otherwise to stall would not be optimal.... lest they latch onto our plan."
"I will get it to you." Kennen said as he turned around and faded away, "Before its too late."