--- ☀ The Heart of the Tomb ☀ ---

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We follow the string without reserve through the winding dark corridor and up a long set of stairs. Ezreal's gauntlet glows brighter and he uses it to look around as we walk. But I am not worried about where the string leads us or what we may run into along the way. I know very well where we are headed.

A small landing and an intricately carved wooden door appears at the top of the stairs. The string passing through the door and the light of the gauntlet cast shadows on the wooden carvings. I am hit with a sudden mix of emotions about entering the room on the other side of the door.

I used to spend a significant amount of time in that room when I wasn't out with my people or wandering around Nerimazeth. That room was of great importance to the people. It was a symbol for them. A gift from them to me, a gift that I didn't want nor thought I deserved. Perhaps it meant more to them than it ever did to me.

"Are you alright?" Ezreal stands firmly next to me, gauntlet shining brighter than ever.

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. "Yes, it's just been a while."

I push on the door and it swings open revealing a cavernous room with smooth, shiny decorative stone tiles and towering golden, gem-inlaid columns. Candle lit chandeliers hang from the high ceiling. I know from memory that we are entering this chamber from a side door and that the main focal point of the room is blocked by columns from where we stand. The string of light connected to me hovers in a straight line to the centre of the room where it meets a long, wide green and gold carpet that runs across the room, perpendicular to us. The path of the string makes a sharp turn to follow along the carpet out of view.

We walk along the path of the string. More of the room opens up to us as we pass by pillars, nearing the carpet. The carpet is a deep emerald green with woven gold borders that shine in the candle light. At one end of the carpet is a large mural of a door. I look towards the door, I remember bits and pieces of the stories told by the carved and painted images. Ezreal turns to look at the other end of the carpet. At that end, is the object I am connected to by the string of light. I hesitate to look that way. But then I hear Ezreal say my name.

"Akeda?" There is worry in his voice.

I turn to see what the matter is. At the far end of the green and gold, there is a slightly elevated platform, upon which is a large, lonely throne. The string attached to me connects to a gold medallion that hovers slightly above the throne. Ah, yes, that medallion...

"That would be the Nomad's Medallion you came here for, I guess."

"Why are you attached to it?"

"Because it was given to me by the nomads I travelled with, who eventually settled here and helped me build Nerimazeth."

I suddenly feel awkward. Would it be right to let Ezreal take the medallion? I look down at his arm. After all, he already has that gauntlet. I know that we almost died getting here, but that medallion was a gift from the first of my people. Does a symbol lose its value once its people are gone? Or does it become more valuable?

I walk towards the throne. It is a path that I haven't walked in a very, very long time. The greatest change is who else is in the room with me. No longer is it the people of Nerimazeth, the first followers of Shurimeth, the first Shurimans. Instead, it is a single other soul, born in Piltover and raised by expeditions and the history of Runeterra since them.

The thin string of light vanishes as I step onto the throne platform. I raise my hand above the decorated throne and the round medallion descends into my palm. It hasn't changed in all these years. The gold shines just as brightly as the day I received it and the polished emerald at the centre sparkles like it's brand new.

Nerimazeth (Ezreal X FemaleCharacter, (LoA))Where stories live. Discover now