Chapter Text
Veigar was an extremely powerful and evil sorcerer.
His powers knew no bound and the crimes he could commit were far worse than any human being could, or even possibly think of doing. Could. He never actually did anything evil, his actions were mildly inconvenient at worst. While his powers and the magic he mastered was truly very strong, his yordle nature kept him from doing anything truly evil.
He had been living in the outskirts of Noxus ever since Mordekaiser's reign was over. A too-big-for-him house that had been abandoned far before he moved in. It was full of crates covered in ancient ruins and terrifying weapons that were covered in dried blood and dust. The rooms felt cold and empty and almost evil at first glance. Those who entered with the goal of robbery were quickly scared away.
This is because Veigar didn't really live in the entire house. No, he only inhabited one single tiny room in the far back. The room was covered in books and the walls had hanging lights all around them. Despite being The Evil Lord of Darkness, Veigar didn't really enjoy the dark. It made him feel uneasy and stressed for reasons he won't admit to anyone, especially himself. Still, the room was quite comfortable, despite being the size of a closet.
The same lived in and homey room was currently being torn down by the homeowner himself. See, Noxus has been getting more violent lately. Whatever it is didn't concern Veigar until he heard rumours of strong mages being given invitations to join the The Black Rose. That raised all the red flags possible for him. He was not getting captured for his magic again. The day he heard about it he went home and prepared to move. Which is why he was currently shoving everything of value into a bag that suspiciously fit in way too much into it. He could go to Ionia, however since they're directly at war with Noxus he's scared they'll sell him out.
Bilgewater was also an idea but he hated the smell. Zaun would be excluded for the same reason. Piltover was alright but he cannot afford to live in such an expensive and classist region. Every other region also had a weather system he wasn't a fan of. Which left only one place...Bandle City. Or in other words; home.
Veigar truly did not want to go back there, considering he told Mordekaiser where the portal was even though that's against yordle morals and rules. It did not matter as by the time he told the truth the portal would have changed places dozens of times, it still kept him haunted all this time later. It was proof of his evil nature, no other yordle would have done what he did.
He sighed solemnly as he gathered up his books and clothes. He didn't have too many of those, only his few pajamas and his signature blue robe and hat. He loved his robe and hat, had them custom made years ago. The tailor had suggested red instead of blue, since he was on Noxian soil, but he had always hated the color red. It made him dizzy if he looked at it for too long.
The table in the middle of his room was completely cleared out aside from one piece of paper, with the Bandle City symbol drawn on it. He really didn't want to go back. Just imagining the yordles faces once they see him is enough to make him sick. He's not scared of course, he's the master of evil after all. He's just...nervous. Just a little. He knew some yordles even while living outside of Bandle but they didn't really get along, so seeing familiar faces will be worse than seeing strangers.
And because he wasn't scared, he had a great plan! If his map was correct he should be able to open the portal deep in the forest where his old house is located! This way he'd be able to avoid completely everyone. He would need to buy groceries at some point but he could just wear a disguise. It's not like anyone knew what he actually looked like.
Gathering up his bag, he took one last look at his room. He'd miss all of it. Even if it was never that homey, it was still his. Now he’d have nothing. He took the paper off the table and stuck it onto the wall, raised his hands and after a short spell, the portal opened. Gold and shiny, just like he remembered. The particles flowing out made his stomach twist. Would his plan work? What if the portal is in the middle of the city and everyone is waiting for him. Staring at him. His hands were shaking, the more he waits the worse it will get.
He took a deep breath and jumped into the portal.
Light. So much light. In his face, ugh.
Veigar rubbed his eyes and looked around in a panic, squinting to see his surroundings. A giant and familiar forest stood all around him. The wind bustling through the tall trees and the sound of birds chirping is all that could be heard. He quickly stood up after stumbling over himself, looking for any sign of life. His plan...worked? It worked! He punched the air in celebration and quickly grabbed his bag off of the floor to begin his journey. He can't memorize forest patterns but if he finds some familiar rocks he can surely find his way back home. That's if his home still existed, even if it did it wasn't really home. More like...past establishment.
Pacing through the forest he kept looking behind him as if someone will magically appear, which in Bandle City, was possible. Despite the growing anxiety in his gut, he felt it was easier to breathe. Of course that made sense, Bandle City had the cleanest air there was. Especially for a yordle. A yordle... He sighed. A yordle wouldn't betray his own people, wouldn't be evil. Maybe he was something else altogether.
He shook his head and kept on moving. Tree after tree the area began to seem slightly familiar. He just had to be careful to not stumble upon the city itself and it will all be okay. The sky was slowly losing it's color, birds quieting down. He needed to get to his house before the sun set entirely to avoid the attention of Bandle Scouts. To avoid seeing him. Jumping over a fallen branch he took a turn that seemed like he took before, his memories of his life before Noxus were hazy but lately it's been coming back to him these past few months. Things that seemed blurry before were slowly becoming more and more clear.
It was especially useful as he entered a small path hidden by vines and grinned as he saw a house he knew all too well. Veigar quickly ran to the door at a speed he wasn't even aware he had. He had a spare key around somewhere, he knew he did. After digging around in the mossy grass for a few minutes he pulled out the rusty key in victory. The door took a bit to get open, creaking loudly at every step. He held his breath as he slowly and quietly entered the house, wary of making too much noise. It seemed so new yet so familiar at the same time. He didn't recognize any of the notes stuck to the old fridge, yet he recognized his own handwriting. There were so many books laying around. Ah, he remembered those, he left them on the table because he had planned to return soon. He chuckled dryly.
He closed the door with too much force and put his belongings on the doorstep, the house was so dusty. The windows were covered in moss and it felt like it's been abandoned for centuries. He'd need to clean everything up, starting with his room. Despite the building being two stories tall he was still somehow shocked there was an upstairs. It was...difficult not knowing your own house. The stairs creaked loudly as he made his way up, he was shocked they didn't break but yordle architecture was always superior.
Veigar spotted his room immediately, not because he remembered what it looks like or which door it is, but because it had a giant sign that said ''KEEP OUT. VEIGAR'S ROOM'' on it. The sight made him cringe, he was confident he had lived alone. Ugh.
He pushed the door open and froze.
It seemed... new? Not like he remembered his room at all, but it didn't look as abandoned as the rest of the house. The floors weren't nearly as dusty as the rest of the place and the windows were clean and clearly kept for. His bookcase was so clean it freaked him out, these books were decades old, how are they so clean still? Maybe he had put a spell on his room before he left, but he didn't sense any magic whatsoever.
What made him nervous the most however was that the bed was made.
Veigar may not have all his memories but he was certain he never made his bed. Not now, not before, not ever. Was someone using his house? If so, why just the bedroom? Nothing else seemed new or kept for. Maybe some yordles found his house and used it as a sleepover location. But if so then why try to keep it clean and organised, if they assumed its abandoned. It's as if the room was awaiting his return and no-one elses. He shook off his nerves and focused on cleaning instead, where did he keep his cleaning supplies?
The hours passed by as Veigar scrubbed the floors and the walls.
His hands were hurting from gripping the wet cloth but slowly the surface of everything around the house was becoming more and more shiny. Well, as shiny as a centuries old house can be. The vacuuming and scrubbing was finally paying off. He groaned as he got up back into the supply closet, haphazardly dropping the buckets and cloth back inside. Now that the house didn't have enough dust to kill an allergic yordle in it, he can move on to step two. Stocking up on food and supplies.
Unfortunately his search of the house resulted in decades old moldy food and expired first aid kits. Throwing everything out was easy. It was the going outside part he was worried about. There are no hidden shops in the forest nor in little shop caves where no-one can see him. He had to go to the city to buy his needs. It was the early hours of the morning now, the sun slowly showing itself. When did the stores open? Maybe if he's super early he won't see anyone who knows him. Maybe the shopkeepers won't be curious about this new yordle they've never seen before. He took a deep breath. It's fine, no-one will recognise him!
Except they would because he had no clothes aside from the blue robe and pyjamas.
If he wore the robe and hat it's would be way too obvious it's him, he might as well wear a neon sign with VEIGAR on it. In the midst of his thinking he suddenly realized something-- his room. He didn't bother to investigate the contents of his room since it was so clean he went on a cleaning spree everywhere else. Surely he had clothes, right? He quickly made his way up the shiny stairs towards his room. He stared at the closet door and slowly reached to open it.
Sure enough, it was filled to the brim with clothing. Hoodies, shoes, shirts and the likes. Veigar immediately noticed the lack of hats. Did he not wear them before? No use pondering over that now, he needed to get to the stores as fast as possible. He grabbed the only hoodie that would cover his head, some pants and rushed downstairs. Luckily he discovered a lot of coins during his clean-up, so affording things won't be an issue.
The door opened with a loud creak as Veigar quietly stepped outside. The sky was a pretty shade of pink and the stars were as bright as ever. He could still draw the meaning in all of them. He took a deep breath and made his way towards the city.
Yordles didn't really have a set sleep schedule. Being immortal naturally meant sleep wasn't vital. However the residents of Bandle City still liked to follow a set schedule for comfort. In Veigar's opinion this was the Bandle scouts fault. Them and their stupid rules. Who needs over 500 rules to memorize anyways? Psychopaths, that's who.
His pace slowed down as the city itself came into vision, he was already drawing out a plan of which stores to stop by. He could really use some food first, but other materials mattered more. He needed to pick his first store with the idea to run out and leave any second and not come back to the city...
Medicine.
He approached slowly and the second he stepped into a medicine stall he felt all eyes on him.
He tried to regulate his breathing, it's fine. Nobody was looking at him. It's in his head. He shakily made his way to the medicine. Wait, he doesn't recognize the labels, what did he want again? He took a deep breath and looked through his pockets. Oh, his list. He picked everything out slowly, he shouldn't drop anything- that will draw attention.
Veigar made his way to the cashier and prepared for the worst. Shockingly they didn't ask anything unusual, just gave him his total and sent him on his way. They did look at him weird though, was it obvious he isn't local? He could try to do this a few more times if he fought the urge to throw up. Fuck, his legs hurt too. Was the walk to the city that long? He swore it was only 10 minutes.
The sky was suddenly way too bright, his breathing still shaky. There was nothing to be scared of! He's Veigar, the master of evil! He could kill and defeat anything in his path. He could get through a shopping trip.
It's fine.
It's fine.
It's fine.
The orange of the sun was shining down upon Bandle City. The sun going down created a beautiful atmosphere, golden and sparkly. Yordles everywhere chatting along calmly. Evening truly was a peaceful time for the city.
Veigar was on his home floor, bags next to him, staring at the ceiling. He doesn't remember how he got home, or when. He had all the items on his list, so clearly he shopped as he intended. Still, he needed to catch his breath. Just a bit. He noticed the bright walls eventually turn orange. Has sunset come already? But...that would mean he'd been lying here all day.
Hope none of the food went bad. He thought.
He groaned as he slowly got up, his legs cracking from being in place for so long. He picked up the bags and brought them into the kitchen. Canned food, pasta, rice, juice and the likes. He didn't remember getting apples though. He hates apples. Still, it was a pretty normal shopping spree. He then carefully put away all the medicine he bought, there's a LOT, how did he have enough money? Oh well, doesn't matter. What does matter is that he doesn't have to leave his house again! For now.
Which means he has all the free time in the world! He laughed in a very evil way to celebrate this small victory and stumbled into his bedroom to keep practicing his magic.
Evil doesn't rest, after all.
The Bandle Scouts have a very strict schedule.
Get up in the morning to scout the nearby forests, log your findings, return to base. It was the same every morning, for every young and old member of the scouts. Teemo knew nothing would ever come from the logs, Bandle City was safe after all. However it's better to be safe than sorry. Once every month, however. Teemo goes to a different forest within Bandle. The forest he scouts then is much further, more of a pain to get to. The branches here get a lot taller and the air feels sinister. It was probably due to all the shadows.
The reason he scouts this forest and didn't assign anyone else to it is due to one single reason. The abandoned house within.
Now, Teemo knows nobody lives in the house, he knows exactly who the house belongs to and why it's abandoned, that information however is irrelevant to his actions. Every month he sneaks through the window and cleans the bedroom up a bit. Just to be decent enough to come back home to. He knows nobody will ever return to it but it still feels rude to just leave it to rot.
As he approached the familiar road in front of the house he... found nothing. He looked around confused.
Huh?
The house was right there. It's always there! But what was supposed to be an old dusty house is just an empty piece of land now. Is he going insane? He rubbed his eyes to make sure he isn't going crazy.
It has to be witchcraft, he decides. He'll need to ask Lulu about it later.
Feeling uneasy he returned back to the city.
Veigar was currently asleep.
As it happens, anytime he sleeps his current location briefly goes missing. He calls it a safety spell. Anyone can harm him while he's asleep but that won't happen if nobody can see where he is! It doesn't actually disappear of course, simply turns invisible.
He had originally planned to spend the whole week practicing magic. After a few hours however he decided to take a small nap to regain his energy. Being anxious did always make him tired. A planned one-hour nap however quickly turned into a very deep sleep.
It's fine though, not like he was in a hurry to begin living in Bandle.
A little sleep is what he deserves after such a stressful move.