The Phoenix's Child: A League of Legends Story

Chapter 2

I couldn't bring myself to say anything; I was frozen in place. I didn't want to say anything that would put me on the spot and yet, if I remained silent, it was just as bad.

"Basilisk got your tongue?," he said as he chuckled and took a step closer towards me.

My mind was racing, looking for the most adequate thing to say and nothing really came to my mind. "Help me, Kaija..." I muttered to myself, maybe a little bit too loud.

"What was that?," said the blonde man before me. It seemed like he realized how terrified I was at the mention of the word 'legion' and his demeanor quickly shifted to a more approachable self. "Forgive me, where are my manners. I must have come off as too imposing. People know me as Legion General Knil, but you can address me as simply Knil." He moved his hand forward, asking for mine, and I hesitantly returned the gesture. Good thing I was wearing gloves because my hands were already starting to sweat from how nervous I was. He gently grabbed onto my hand and inspected it for a second, noticing the Noxian craftmanship in which the back of my hand and forearm were protected with.

"What an exquisite garment you have. Such fierce yet delicate blades of Noxian carbon steel. As sharp as it looks, it makes for a fine forearm guard. May I take a closer look? The craftmanship seems familiar."

I gulped hard and looked up at him and decided to comply. I shakily took my arm guard off and handed it over to Knil. "B-be careful. There's a hidden blade that slides out." I took a deep breath as his hands retrieved the armor from mine.

There was a noise behind me, which briefly sent me back to my surroundings; the man that I had humiliated a minute ago was recovering from the blow I had delivered and it seemed like he still wanted more. He lunged himself forward towards me and just as I quickly reacted to get out of his way, the legion general met the man's move with a knee to his face. "You persistent bilge-rat. Learn your place." This time it really knocked the pit fighter out.

My breath caught in my throat again and my eyes widened in shock. This man was as layered as an onion.  I could hear the people behind us murmuring and talking about what was happening at the moment. I really disliked the situation I was in; I was attracting way more attention than I hoped for.

"Don't fret, my child. They won't notice that you are vastaya. Remember, I placed a morphing spell on you, Tazzlyn. To them, you look just as any other Noxian woman." Kaija's words promptly relieved some of the anxiety that was brewing inside me. Yet, all I wanted to do was to go into the passenger's cabins until the boat docked on the Ionian port.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that...," he was looking at me, hoping I would give him my name.

"Kaija!" I quickly blurted out in response to his apology. I didn't want him to know my real name and that was the first thing that was present in my mind. I heard the actual Kaija laugh; she seemed amused at my answer.

"You really had to use my name?," she said jokingly.

"I wasn't going to give him my actual name and no one here knows yours so... I figured!"

Knil's words snapped me away from my own thoughts. "Kaija? What a lovely name. I have never heard of a Noxian woman with a name as peculiar as yours. Does it have any meaning?"

"Uh..." I genuinely did not know what to answer now. I could've just said no, but I felt compelled to look for a meaning to Kaija besides it's actual one.

"Don't ask me for help. You started it down this road. Solve it yourself," Kaija said with a slight scoff.

I was genuinely lost now. I just wanted to run for it, but that was going to make it all worse. I took a few steps back into the edge of the ship and supported my weight against it. I looked down at the ocean behind me and listened to the waves crashing into the hull, and I got my answer.

"Ocean. It means beautiful ocean." I tried to sound as convincing as possible and it seemed like he bought it.

"Beautiful ocean? Well it clearly reflects upon your beauty," he said with a lot of confidence in his voice. In all honestly, the compliment made me all the more nervous. "Well, Kaija-," Knil said as he followed suit my actions and laid himself against the edge of the ship alongside me, "- how come you have a garment that once belonged to a Noxkrya Arena's fighter yet I have never caught wind of you?" He held he garment through its belts and was still inspecting it. "And why is there Shuriman alloy in it? You don't find this material in the noxian cities of Shurima. Even that weapon you carry..."

I was getting dragged down a hushtail hole. I did not know how to answer his questions and not seem suspicious. "I'd rather not answer that, sir." I mustered my courage for what I was about to say next, "Some times there's a charm in the secrets. Am I right?" I tried saying it in a flirty tone as I grabbed my forearm guard away from his hands and tried to make my way. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Legion General Knil, but I'm afraid I must go." I turned around, and quickly put the garment back on as I started to hurriedly walk away.

"I think you're forgetting to do something, Tazz," Kaija warned me.

I was startled when Knil quickly moved towards me and grabbed my unarmored wrist in the blink of an eye. "I think you're forgetting to do something, Kaija." He twisted my right arm behind my back and slammed me against the edge of the ship, pressing my head against the cold rail of the hull with his free hand. Knil overpowered me for the time being, as I fruitlessly tried to break free. One of his knees was pinching my legs and I could barely move.

I was so terrified now. I felt my blood boil but in fear and exasperation. Tears began to form in my eyes as I hyper ventilated. How did I end up in this situation? I wanted to escape the damned Noxian ship.

"I can see through your magic spell, Vastaya. I can feel your immense destructive power. The Empire could benefit off someone like you." His grip on me grew ever more oppressive and I started to choke in my own tears.

I closed my eyes and extended my free left hand, summoning my lance to it. I quickly swung it in a backwards arch and wounded his right arm, which made him loosen his grip in recoil, allowing me to break free. I pulled out my lance away, ripping apart his muscle strands.

Knil screamed in pain and backed away from me while holding onto his new wound. "Clever move, but wrong one." He regained his composure and drew his black steel sword with his left hand while he kept the right arm close to his chest. The people around us gasped very loudly this time and there were a few desperation screams scattered around the boat.

I held my fighting stance and started pouring my magic into my lance, which started to glow with a molten red color.  Knil came at me with full force, both of our weapons clashing with fury. I paid close attention to his movement patterns as I met them with parries and blows of my own. Yet, he quickly recognized I was starting to read him and his form changed completely to a full aggression style lance users can barely parry to. In a matter of seconds, he started to corner me against the edge of the ship and his blows were coming with even more force. I took a quick look at his feet and saw an opening.

I glided to the right, dodging his last incoming blow and swept his left leg, throwing him completely off balance. I lunged myself against him, our blades meeting with a deafening clash. I started to pour even more of my magic into the lace, heating the blade against Knil's sword to a scorching flame. My lance's blade started melting through his black steel sword and I forced him to tussle against me. Every second, the edge of my blade melted and dug deeper into his, yet he was starting to overpower me again as we tussled. I gave it all my strength for a second and dug my lance deep enough into his sword for me to shatter it. I twisted my lance downwards in a drop using my body weight, and with it, I broke off the upper half of Knil's sword.

I used his shock to pull myself away from him and I quickly climbed on the edge of the boat. I took one last look at the legion general, who was clearly worthy of his title and he looked at me with eyes full of astonishment and just as much rage. I took a deep breath and jumped off the edge.  The magic inside me unraveled as I shapeshifted into a bird of infernal radiance, what some may call a Phoenix, and flew away into the Land as fast as my wings allowed me.