Tales of Runterra: Strength and Youth

 Tales of Runeterra

Chapter 15:

Strength and Youth

Her head whipped to the side as yet another gout of flame ripped through the forest. As with the others, she had no way of seeing this one coming, and she was forced to scramble out of the way as it passed by. The flames, crimson and hot, burned into the trees and quickly reduced them to nothing more than ash. Even though she wasn’t personally hit, just being this close to it was singing the hair from her arms.

And that was to say nothing of how hard it made it to breathe.

Luckily, the flames didn’t last long. As powerful as her opponent was, they weren’t fathomless. They had to cut off the supply of mana eventually, and with that the attack ended. The world went dark in the absence of the incandescent flames, and for a second Ieren had the time to take a deep breath and revel in the feeling of not being in the sun.

Of course, that feeling wasn’t allowed to last long. In the place of the flames, several blades of wind cut into the forest. Invisible and mostly silent, they would have been entirely undetectable save for the fact that Ieren could sense the mana propelling each of them forward and allowing them to slice through the canopy of trees as if they weren’t there. She snarled, then bit back a curse as she rolled from her comfortable position against the unburnt grass, before jumping out the way again.

The blades were a little harder to dodge than the stream of flame, but that was only because there were so many of them. She kept her wits about her, and soon she was through the barrage of attacks as well.

She knew her opponent, however. Perhaps better than they knew themselves. There was no way she was out of the woods yet. Figuratively or literally.

Sure enough, once that attack failed, her opponent moved onto their next element. The sound of popping, twisting, crackling electricity filled the air as the last of the hairs that remained on Ieren’s arms stood on edge. She frowned, then bent her knees. She allowed the lightning to be the only noise that filled the air.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Lightning, blue and fierce, struck a tree not far from her. The tree, unfortunate as it was, sparked briefly before catching on fire. The wood screamed as the centuries old pillar came tumbling to the ground, hitting other trees along the way and creating a startlingly loud sound.

Despite her situation, Ieren found herself wondering how anyone could possibly assume that those things didn’t make a sound if no one was around to hear it.

The next lightning bolt snatched her from her musings, and this time a tree to her right, though much closer, fell victim to the blind shot. The smell of ozone filled the air as the tree came barreling down, and though it fell mere meters behind her, she still did not allow herself to move.

Her opponent was a master of all elements, after all, and to move was to invite them to feel her footsteps through the ground. The plan being used was a simple one, though extremely effective. Had she not been trained in combat for as long as she had been, she might have fallen for it.

No, instead she kept her feet firmly on the ground, and used every once of her training to prevent her overcharged nerves from shaking her. She wanted nothing more than to run—to flee this area and never return. But that wouldn’t help her. She needed to beat her opponent.

“You can’t hide forever!” her opponent screamed. Their voice was deeper than Ieren’s, but not by much. “I will draw you out eventually!”

Lightning sang—a high pitched scream that echoed in Ieren’s ears something painful—before hitting another tree, though this one was much farther away. The tree fell, but the sounds were like far-off thuds compared to the two other ones. Mere seconds later, another tree fell, but this time to her right. Equally far away.

So, it was done? Had she lost their trail? A part of her dared to hope, and with a tentative step she raised her foot from the ground.

That was her mistake. Before she could move the earth seemed to spring up, wrapping around not only the foot she still had on the ground, but also the one currently suspended midair. She brought forth some of her own mana, but that proved to be useless. Her opponent not only had more mana than she, but they were much better trained to use it. Her mastery over the earth was flimsy at best, and it wasn’t long before Ieren was buried in the ground up to her neck. She snarled and spit and the sound of footsteps approached from the trees, but there was nothing else about it.

She had lost, and most disgracefully at that. She hadn’t the time to throw a single attack the entire match, and she was sure that such a thing was going to be noted in her evaluation.

“You’ve done rather well, Ieren,” her sister said as she fully emerged from the brush. She was taller than Ieren, and her snow-white hair fell confidently down her hair in a single, unmarred waterfall. Her steps were smooth, causing her to glide through the uneven forest path as if it were paved stone, and allowing Ieren to see every masterful sway of motion.

How she longed to be able to emulate it.

“That was pathetic,” was all she was able to get out. She struggled against her bindings but found herself unable to do so. The rocks were hard and unyielding, and never her strongest element. Even more than that, her own sister’s mana was inflexible. It would not allow any control over the elements that wasn’t her sister’s. “I wasn’t able to do anything. You just toyed with me.”

Her sister, Era, raised an eyebrow as she looked down at her. A slight downwards twitch—something that Ieren was constantly on the lookout for—clued the younger in on what her sister thought of that statement.

“I am several years your senior,” Era responded. She shook her head, then made her way over to her younger sister’s side. A small, perfectly graceful slap of her foot against the soul and a small knoll, barely above her knee, rose from the ground. She was sat on it in one smooth motion, sitting primly like elementalist monks were taught to. “Is it not sensible that I would be that much more skilled than you?”

Ieren wanted to disagree, but the words were taken from her mouth. The older elementalist snapped her fingers, and the rock cage she was trapped in crumbled into pebbles around her. Not expecting to be freed so suddenly, she was left to become acquainted once more with the dirt of the forest, and she couldn’t say that this reunion felt any better than the last.

“Come,” Era commanded. It was soft, and almost pleasant, but no less a command. “Sit.”

A light tap, and Ieron could feel another mound appear from the earth, right behind her and right next to where her sister was sitting. She didn’t feel the urge to sit and talk right now, especially after the trashing she just endured, but she hadn’t much choice. Once again, her sister was the older, and Ixtal tradition forced her to obey her senior.

“You’ve been fighting far harder lately,” Era continued. It wasn’t a question, and neither of them could pretend it was such. “I have an inkling as to why.”

An inkling? Ah, so Era was being coy. Ieren wasn’t exactly silent or coy on issues that were plaguing her, and the rapid successes of the 10th Yunalai was something that she could not ignore. It was obvious, however, that Era wanted her to be the one to broach the subject, so broach it she shall.

“Qiyana raided another mining facility today,” she said. She left it at that, and hoped that would be enough to satisfy her older sister’s sudden curiosity. When Era said nothing, however, she knew that she would have to continue. “An entire outpost of twenty or so people, all of whom were armed, were unable to stand against her. One afternoon, there were countless of them, all pedaling their loud, suffocating machines, and the next afternoon, they were all gone, and the forest was already healing its wounds.”

Ieren could feel her emotions spiking. It was hard not to considering she was trained not to allow them to do so. Still she couldn’t help herself. Qiyana was being a hero, and despite the disapproving glare of Era she couldn’t contain her excitement anymore.

“And that wasn’t even the first one she managed to destroy! Three other towns, all of which were occupied by the outlanders, were reclaimed in the last week. Her mastery of the elements is unparalleled, and she is so young, just barely older than me!”

Ieren’s smile absolutely dominated her face by this point, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. This wasn’t a new topic between the sisters, and it likely wouldn’t be the last either of them heard of it, but it was too much. The Yunalai princess was an inspiration, and also something that she and her fellow students couldn’t stop talking about.

They would never say it—couldn’t say it, actually—but they all admired Qiyana. While the adults were willing to keep to tradition and allow their homes and families to be destroyed, Qiyana was the only one thinking of the next generation. Of the future. The destruction started slow , sure, and they would be safer if they stayed out of the way and let the Outlanders have their way, but nature wasn’t quite as miraculous as it seemed. The trees of Ixtal were powerful and grew back fairly quickly, but they didn’t return in the span of days. It wouldn’t be long before the Outlanders consumed enough trees to discern a path towards the capital.

And once that happened, there was nothing anyone could do to stop a full-on invasion. They couldn’t afford to think about the complexities of the now. They needed to act for the sake of the future. Of their future.

They needed to act with Qiyana.

“And what of this?” Era asked. Her voice was deceptively neutral, betraying none of the disapproval that her now openly shown frown conveyed. “It is a given that the Yunalai are strong. What does this to do with your own renewed vigor?”

Ieren took a second to answer. She knew there was a right or wrong answer here, she just couldn’t determine which was which. Finally, she decided to once again go for the truth. There was no way she was fooling her sister, after all.

“I want… I want to help her,” she stammered out. The words felt difficult to say, especially since she knew Era did not support the young princess. There was no other way to phrase it, though. She wanted to take control of her own life, and the only way to do that was to follow the Yunalai in her crusade.

Even if that meant going against tradition.

“Helping her would only damn us all,” was Era’s practiced reply. Though Ieren knew that her sister truly believed such words, it was plainly obvious that they were the words she was commanded to say. “The raids against our villages only started because Qiyana riled them up enough to send more our way. Their initial attempts on the forest were small and barely made any headway. It wasn’t until they became interested in the threat that they started redoubling their efforts.”

Ieren didn’t believe that to be true, but she also couldn’t deny it. Instead of continuing the point, she shook her head and averted her gaze. The trees looked lovely today, as they should have been. It was in the middle of the summer, and though it made the air insufferably humid, that extra moisture in the air was amazing for the forest.

This was what she wanted to protect. This was why she needed to get much more powerful.

“Ieren,” her sister continued. “I only want what’s best for you.”

“Then why won’t you let me be off?” she asked, her tone maybe harsher than it should have been towards her elder. “I have asked you countless times to let me assist Qiyana, and yet every time you refuse me.”

Era huffed. “My apologies, sister, but you are simply not strong enough to attend to Qiyana the way you are now.”

Ieron bristled. “And how do you know that? I might not be as powerful as you, but I am still plenty powerful myself!”

“Not for what the princess is doing.”

“And what exactly is she doing?”

The two sisters turned to glare at each other, and Ieren knew that it was only because they were alone together that she was allowed such insolence. The princess might have been able to get away with her behavior, but that was only because of her strength. There was no one that could punish her—not even the eldest Yunalai could—and as such she was allowed her fleeting moments of passion.

Left unsaid was that Ieren did not have such a convenience. If she acted out as well, she would be subject to the full punishment of their people. Of their tradition.

Ieron found herself, like many others of her age, despising the tradition.

Still, she could not allow herself to deny her sister’s words. It was the truth that she couldn’t do as Qiyana did, even under the princess’ direct orders. It was already proven that the Emperor didn’t care for the fates of Qiyana’s subjects, and would punish them regardless of whose orders they were following, leaving the princess with only a few subjects left to attend to her, none of whom were particularly talented themselves.

She shook her head. It also wasn’t as if Qiyana needed the extra help.

“You wouldn’t be allowed to assist her regardless,” Era continued. Done with the conversation—they had had it many times before, after all—she rose from her seat. Ieren hurried to follow her, as both seats would retreat into the earth shortly after. “Not by the elder Yunalai, and not by myself.”

Ieron bristled. “Why not?”

“You would question our leaders?”

“Never,” the younger sister replied immediately. She didn’t believe her words, but, again, she wasn’t strong enough to say otherwise. “But Qiyana is also our leader. And she deserves the help.”

“And you believe yourself to be the one who could do that?” Era asked. She had stopped in her path back to the village, turning just enough to cast a mana-filled glare back at her younger sister. “You believe yourself the one to overturn the decision of the Empress, and the decision of the older Yunalai? You believe yourself the one to ignore the decision of not only your superiors, but also my own, and assist the wayward princess in her folly?”

The words were meant to dissuade her, this Ieron knew. She was meant to quail before her sister’s words, as well as her sister’s mana that now suffused the air like a cloying fog. Gone was the sister that allowed her enough time to think and prepare, and now stood before her the warrior that was raised to protect the Yunalai through any danger.

Now stood before her was the woman she was trying to be. Now stood before her was the woman she was not. Not yet, at least.

Still, she could not—would not—back down here. She believed far too much in her cause to allow doubt. Even with the rumbling of the ground and the shaking of the trees and the moistening of the air did she stand her ground, knowing full well that any one of those three elements, among others, could strike her down in an instant and there was nothing she could do about it.

“Yes,” she said. No more. Her voice was shaky and there lie another thing she was unable to control. To speak any more words seemed utterly impossible, so she had to content herself with just that much.

Her sister, of course, said nothing to her response. The air remained thick with her mana, and Ieren had to wonder how she managed it. She didn’t pose a credible threat to Era in their fight, but she still forced her older sister to use some powerful moves. Just how much stronger was she?

After a tense minute that felt like hours, Era finally relented. The forest seemed to come back to life as slow, cautious sounds from the wildlife finally restarted as Era released her hold on the world. The older woman turned once more, and didn’t wait for Ieren as she continued her trek back to their village. She did, however, manage to say one last thing before she disappeared into the treeline, Ieren unable to follow due to the shakiness of her own legs.

“Then you better become strong enough to.”