Chapter Text
“...A girl.”
The shadow seer, Shi, kept her eyes trained on the dark magic clustering in her hands as she spoke, though her gaze was concealed through her mask.
“What are you on about now?” Kayn asked, leaning against the wall beside her.
“An outsider girl will come, and shake the Order at its core.”
Despite Shi’s prophecies never being incorrect, Kayn blew it off with a psh, blowing his long bangs out of his face.
“Nothing could shake the Order of Shadows, oh ye of little faith.”
“I am not so sure. It is you that will be the most affected.”
“Wh-N-Me?!” he sputtered. “How dare you! Nothing shakes me to my core!”
“To your left!”
“What is it?!”
“An unknown enemy!”
Blades swirled past Rowena’s head and she squealed in fear. Something was chasing her, and had been for several minutes now. Kala’naah could barely even sense them in Rowena’s eyes, leading her to assume their position much of the time.
“Some kind of teleportation or shadow magic,” she explained. “I can’t tell what it is!”
It had been two years since Rowena had set out on her own. She returned to the city every few months to check on things and drop off trinkets she’d picked up, arranging them neatly amongst all of Tempestra’s belongings. She never stayed long; it was always less than a week before she would set out again.
In the meantime, she and Kala’naah had nearly perfected fighting with one body, even learning some new spells in the process. The two had yet to even return to cleric work; not that either of them minded. Rowena had been working as a cleric for nearly a decade, after all.
“Get out of your head! Behind you!”
“Eep!”
Rowena ducked into the shadows at her feet to avoid two shurikens flying through the air, aiming for her neck. Her pursuer watched in bewilderment as she disappeared, though it didn’t last long.
Unfortunately for her, it was a bright, sunny day, which meant that the only shadows were from the ones the trees cast. If she reached a clearing, she was screwed. She hoped to the gods above that her attacker really was using shadow magic.
She could feel their presence on her, and Kala’naah took control of her arm to block an attack with her staff. Rowena kicked towards the presence in response, only to find that it was an illusion, shadows dissipating before her very eyes.
“Shit!” before she could turn around, gloved hands grasped her upper arms with great force, and she found herself looking face to… mask.
The structure of it looked threatening, like the attacker had large, metal teeth, and their eyes glowed red with rage underneath it. A deep, gruff voice echoed under the helm, startling her with its sudden gruffness.
“Where did you learn shadow magic?!”
She struggled against their hold, kicking her feet and trying to raise her arms despite his fierce grip. It was clear that she wasn’t going anywhere, and she was beginning to become terrified . She had no idea what he wanted–possibly even to kill her.
“Kala’naah! Take it!”
“With pleasure. ”
Rowena’s veins glowed violet as the spirit made her way into her body, taking it over and kicking their attacker as hard as she could in the chest. It knocked the wind out of him enough that one arm became free, and she plunged her fingers into the fabric of his clothes, aiming for a spot with no armor.
“Do not touch me,” came Kala’naah’s voice as she began to drain his life force, energizing Rowena in the process. The attacker pushed her off and was gone in a flash once again.
The two could still sense his presence, though he couldn’t be seen. Rowena’s eyes glowed under her bangs as they darted around, hoping to catch any sign of him.
“Maybe both teleportation and shadow magic,” Kala’naah communicated. “But he’s definitely still nearby.”
“What do you want from me?!” Rowena called out.
She was met with only silence and cawing birds at first, but eventually heard the deep, foreboding voice again. He still remained unseen, yet it sounded like he was right next to her ear.
“I want to know where you learned shadow magic from. You are not of the Order. You have no access to the Tear.”
“The what…?”
The figure emerged from the shadows once again, and Rowena was able to take in his full form. He was nearly fully clad in Ionian armor with a mask that completely covered his head, blades descending from the backs of his hands.
“I’ve never seen you in the Order before. How are you using our magic?”
Kala’naah remained in control of her body, preventing her from trembling with fear, even going as far as to speak for her.
“I do not know what this ‘Order’ is that you speak of.”
He scoffed and circled around her. “You’re an interesting girl, you know. Shadow magic without use of the tears, and a spirit ally that talks for you. My, my.”
He stopped in front of her suddenly, his arms still clasped behind his back as he spoke. “I am not here to kill you. I was simply trying to catch you. I have questions.”
“Bold of you to ask questions when you have yet to introduce yourself,” Kala’naah countered.
He put his hands up as a sign of trust before slowly reaching up to remove his helmet. Once it was off, he allowed it to fall to the ground, revealing white hair, red eyes, and a scarred, pale face.
“There. A sign of trust.”
Kala’naah crossed Rowena’s arms and scoffed. “Hardly. Do you have a name, then?”
“...Call me Zed.”
“That sounds so fake,” Rowena chided internally.
"Okay then, Zed , why are you obsessed with chasing us?”
He resumed his predatory circle around them with his hands folded behind his back as he continued. “Have you ever heard of something called Yánléi?”
The name sounded familiar, though Rowena couldn’t quite place it. Sensing her hesitation, Kala’naah responded with a firm “No.”
“Who taught you shadow magic? I am the leader of an order where it is our magic, and the practice is quite closed .”
“An order, you say? I can’t say I’ve heard of it.”
Zed was suspicious, but sensed truthfulness in her voice. “I’m still baffled by how you managed to learn without coming into contact with the tear, but for now… I suppose you do no harm. I ought to kill you just for knowing it.”
Rowena breathed a sigh of relief in her head, pleased that she wouldn’t be losing her life to a rogue shadow ninja today. Kala’naah remained silent as he stepped closer, standing nearly eye-to-eye.
“You are fascinating. If you so choose to come to the Shadow Order, I would welcome you. You have talent,” he explained. “...but if you choose to exist on your own, I’m sure that you would be mistaken for one of us and killed anyway.”
His last words chilled her to the bone, and he disappeared into the darkness of the forest with his helmet once again, a whispered “Navori…” filling the air.
Kala’naah scoffed. “So spooky,” she said sarcastically. “So, I’m assuming we’re going to Navori next?”
“Not quite yet. I want to run home first.”
Rowena slammed open the door to her tree-home, rattling the massive bookshelves in the living room. “Tavish!!”
The large man became startled and dropped something small he’d been working on, turning to the front door with a glare. “I told you not to slam the damn door like that!”
In the time Rowena had been traveling, Tavish ended up moving into her home instead. There was no point in occupying both when Noxian orphans were still all too common, after all. He was slow to go through things though, resulting in the living room being filled with dust-covered boxes and his own trinkets crudely shoved in with Tempestra’s old things.
Oh, Tempestra…
She shook the grief out of her head and shut the door behind her, bouncing over to the desk and tying her now overly long bangs up. “What’s a ‘tear’?”
He visibly tensed. “Huh? Like, the things that come from your eyes.”
“I can tell you know what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know what she’s talking about.”
“Oh, fuck off, demon of the deep!”
Tavish sighed and leaned against his hand, toying with his long beard with the other. “So which one did you run into?”
“Huh?”
“You know about the Tear, so you must’ve run into someone from The Order of Shadows, right?”
“...Yeah. He said his name was Zed.”
He leaned back in his chair and picked up his screwdriver to roll between his fingers, chuckling. “Oh, of course it was Zed,” he sighed. “Fine, fine, I suppose it’s time to tell you.”
Many years ago, when Rowena began to study under him, she’d asked where he’d picked up the magic. He vaguely promised to tell her when she was “older”, and she had long since lost interest, assuming it was rather ordinary.
Much to her surprise, Tavish told a tale of his own past, shortly after returning to Ionia with Tempestra.
“They wanted me for my strength,” he explained. “Lots of Freljordians are berserkers. I’m not one, but… I’m pretty damn close. Offered to teach me their magic, so I accepted.
“This was back when Old Master Kusho was in charge. I would’ve continued fighting for him, but alas; he died. Zed took over, and I left. I was afraid of what it would become without Kusho there. They tried to find me, but ‘hide a tree in a forest’, as they say. That’s why I would rarely leave the house.
“Before I left, though, I chipped the tear and took a small amount with me–enough that I could replenish my power if it faded. The longest-lasting way to maintain shadow power… is through tattooing.”
Rowena processed his words and her eyes widened, remembering that before she could begin her training, he insisted upon tattooing her with a small, barely noticeable symbol on her arm, hidden amongst the now hundreds of runes covered by her clothes.
“Hide a tree in a forest”, indeed.
“So that’s why he wanted to hunt me down so badly,” she finally said. “Do you think he noticed the chip you left?”
Tavish scoffed. “Hardly. It regenerates anyway, so I doubt that’s why they wanted me. Probably just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t spill their secrets.”
She took in all of her newfound knowledge, staring down at her lap.
“Tryin’a decide what to do, huh?”
“Of course. What… What was it like?”
He sighed and stood up to fetch the now squealing tea kettle. “I’m not gonna tell you what it was like for me. That was a long time ago. What I will tell you is that if you choose to go, you’ll have an opportunity to hone your shadow magic to a master’s level that you wouldn’t get with me.”
He returned with a cup on a saucer, setting it down in front of her before he continued.
“You just have to decide if you want to continue being a cleric, or being a shadow mage.”
Rowena stared down at her reflection in the drink, taking in her appearance, much like the first time she saw herself in the puddle.
Why should I have to choose…? Maybe I’m selfish. Maybe I want both.
...Can I have both?
Rowena spent the night at home to rest and replenish with a home-cooked meal before setting out again, this time with her bag loaded up. Kala’naah chuckled and tangled herself in the amplicator as they walked, taking over the staff to relieve the load on Rowena’s back.
“So, onward to Navori, then?”
“Absolutely.”