Valoran Battles: Chapter 3 – The Battle for Top Lane

Hey guys, I'm really sorry I didn't write anything for a long time. I've been extremely busy at work and university so I hardly had time for anything. Here's the next part :)

The Battle for Top Lane

Irelia stepped out of the jungle just in time for the minions to start waddling past the turret. These small creatures, summoned by apprentice summoners, had no will or consciousness of their own.  Still, they could hurt quite a bit when ganging up on you in large groups. The small crystals falling from them after they “die” were accepted in the shop as the only currency on Summoner’s Rift. Irelia’s plan was to kill as many of them as she could without “dying” herself until she got stronger. Getting crystals wasn’t the only advantage of killing minions. The energy they emit when they die is collected by the summoner who controls you, making both of you a lot stronger. Of course, no one *really* dies on Summoner’s Rift, but getting phased out until you get summoned again is bad enough. And it hurts quite a lot. 

Karma told her not to worry about the outer turret at start, only later she should start “pushing” hard. That’s exactly what she’s going to do. She just hopes that her summoner knows what he’s doing. People often asked her what it is like being controlled by a summoner. She could never explain it well but after a while she came up with a reasonable answer: “It’s not like becoming a puppet as many people think. It’s more like having a guide inside your head telling you what you *should* do and your body acts instinctively upon it.”

Irelia swiftly swung the four parts of her blade, cutting and stabbing the soulless minions. Blood splattered everywhere as severed body parts were flying through the air, coloring her shiny and spotless armor with crimson red. She looked around for any Zaun champions but couldn’t spot any in sight. Something felt wrong, it’s been a while now and at least one champion should have been here already.

Just as the thought entered her mind, a tall figure emerged out of the tall grass near by and raced towards her. She jumped backwards, readying her blade for the incoming attack. A trail of green substance was floating behind the figure. Just as he got close enough for attack range he suddenly turned back and started running around the fighting minions. The minions quickly fell to the ground, coughing, suffocating from the deadly green gas. When the trail of gas finally cleared, Irelia could see horrible burns on the dead minions. A creeping laugh was heard throughout the road.

“Singed.” Irelia mumbled to herself. The Mad Chemist was one of the last champions she wanted to run into. Even a small mistake against this crazy giant could mean a painful death. She wasn’t surprised to see him though. Zaun would be foolish not to send him into the battle grounds.

“Mix, mix, swirl mix.” Singed laughed as he was running around the place. “It’s good to feel the excitement of the battlefield again. I’ve missed the smell of burning flesh and rotting corpses.”

Irelia had a big grin on her face. Finally she could avenge her people by killing the Mad Chemist. This was her chance to show this sadist the power of Ionia.

The battle was long and weary. The two champions killed minions by the dozens, trying to not get caught in each other’s attacks at the same time. Irelia had to step into the poison every now and then, but she wasn’t a mere minion, the gas had drastically reduced affects on her. She could stand it as long as it was in small doses. She tried to swing at Singed whenever he got too close, but he was able to block most of it with his shield. Neither of them did any serious damage to the other.

Singed was pushing hard. Irelia had a hard time dealing with the poison and killing the minions at the same time. Consequently, her outer turret was in bad shape, the stone tower was slowly falling apart. Although Karma told her not to worry, Irelia didn’t want to give Singed any sense of victory, no matter how small and meaningless.

Just as Irelia’s spirit started to falter, she suddenly sensed familiar ripples through the air. Someone approached the lane from inside the forest, near the river. It seemed like Singed didn’t notice it, it’s a good chance to take him by surprise.

Singed started running towards Irelia’s turret to spread his poison as a new wave of minions was marching from the Nexus. Irelia made up her mind; she’s going to jump on him when he gets close enough to the turret.

“Mix, mix, swirl, mix.” He’s almost here.

Irelia’s blade flew through the air towards Singed, leaving a high pitched vibration behind. As Singed was about to block, the blade changed form midair, splitting into four pieces. Two of the pieces were able to bypass Singed’s shield, cutting deep into his chest and stomach. A gush of blood sprayed all over as Singed let out a monstrous shriek.

"I got him!" Irelia thought to herself as she saw Singed crippled from the pain. Her blade returned to its normal shape as she dashed forward to land the final blow. The blade soared down towards the Mad Chemist's head, but to Irelia's surprise it met his shield instead. "Still moving, ah? That's OK, soon I will release you from your pain." Irelia raised her blade once more in preparation for another attack.

"You think you know pain? I'll show you *true* pain." An empty bottle dropped from Singed's hand while he was wiping his mouth from the green liquid. His wounds stopped bleeding almost entirely. He stood up straight again looking at Irelia with mad eyes.

Irelia heard about the Chemist's potions but she's never seen one in action. "That's fine." She thought to herself. "All I need to do is hit him again. How far can he go with those wounds?"

Suddenly a shadow appeared behind Singed. Irelia was already prepared as Shen was about to strike with his two swords. They both charged at him, trying to catch him unprepared. To Shen's surprise, Singed ran straight at him with amazing speed. A fist flew towards Shen. He tried to block it, but instead of hitting him, Singed's palm opened and grabbed the Ninja tossing him over his head.

Shen realized what just happened but he wasn't going to let Singed just run away to safety. The trail of poison already filled the air behind Singed as Irelia and Shen started running after him. All of a sudden, Shen felt a familiar sensation. He knew what it meant. A split second of void and he magically appeared a few feet closer to Singed, almost in swinging range. He dashed forward and was able to reach Singed. The Ninja's eyes turned red as he was grabbing Singed. For no apparent reason, the Mad Chemist turned around and started punching Shen.

Irelia wanted to jump in but she was too far. Nonetheless, her instincts told her to go for it. She jumped in the air, raising her huge blade, ready to strike. Just like Shen, she disappeared midair, and reappeared above Singed as he was still attacking the Ninja. The blade landed on Singed, but he was able to move in the last second, dodging some of the damage. Irelia's blade sliced his back as Shen's swords penetrated his ribs, filling the air with blood. Singed quickly regained his senses and started laughing as he kept running away from Irelia and Shen towards his turret.

The two pursuers were shocked. Any normal human would have been dead four times by now. They immediately started chasing him again, trying to catch up. He was so close and he started to slow down, leaving trails of both green and red behind him. Irelia and Shen kept running, but it was starting to get hard for them too. The poison slowly filled their lungs throughout this chase, making it difficult to breath. Singed was almost dead, Irelia was sure of it. Just as she thought about it, Singed started to burn; hellish fire covered his entire body, scorching and scarring his flesh even more than before.

"We'll get him." Both she and Shen thought. "Just a bit more."

 They were almost at the turret now. "He's getting away!" Irelia shouted towards Shen.

"We're diving this. Let me go first." Shen answered back.

When they arrived to the turret, Singed was still bleeding hard. The turret started shooting huge energy balls towards Shen. He didn't care, killing Singed was more important. He dashed forward again in hopes to catch him, but as he was nearing the end of his dash he realized that Singed ran too far. He almost lost hope, but suddenly Singed turned back. Catching Shen unprepared, he tossed him over his head. The next tower shot was too much. It hit Shen in the back, hurling him to the ground where he slowly evaporated to pure energy, waiting to be summoned again.

Irelia realized her mistake but it was too late. She started running away from Singed and the turret but as she turned around her feet hardly moved. At first she thought it was the poison that weakened her, but then she noticed the adhesive on the ground. Singed knew that chasing after her would be too risky, he was almost dead himself and he couldn’t risk her turning around and striking him. Still, this fight was a big victory for him. Just when he thought that Irelia got away, the same fiery fire that engulfed him not long ago suddenly wrapped Irelia's body. She screamed as the fire and poison were burning her from both inside and outside and slowly turning her into energy.

Singed stood there, wounded but victorious, as he knew that from that moment, top lane was his to rule.

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Valoran Battles: Chapter 2 – Introducing Ionia

Chapter 2 – Introducing Ionia

"Welcome to Summoner's Rift. Today's match between Zaun and Ionia is about to begin. Please welcome Ionia's first champion."

As the loud voice echoed throughout Summoner's Rift, a blue beam of light gradually materialized near the shop of the north-east Nexus. A few seconds later, a bright wave of light shot out from the beam and suddenly disappeared all together. Where the beam once was, now stood a young woman dressed in a long black and white robe, holding two enormous fans.

"Karma - the Enlightened One!" 

As the voice continued, Karma took a bow and started going towards the shop to check if she was the first to be summoned.

"Ionia's second champion for today's match is none other than…"

Karma watched as the beam disappeared, waiting to see who else will be fighting today. She hoped to see someone very specific, a dear friend. She wasn't disappointed. Out of the light came out another young woman with long white hair and a giant blade floating behind her.

"My blade is at your service." Said the woman while bowing before Karma.

Karma returned the bow. "It is truly wonderful to see you here today friend. Together, we shall triumph." 

The loud voice interrupted their short conversation. "Irelia - the Will of the Blades!"

"I wonder if some of the Kinkou guardians will be here today." Karma continued.

"Here comes the third Ionia's champion!"

"I guess we will find out soon." Irelia replied.

A tall man wearing blue clothes appeared out of the light. The clothes covered every part of his body except his eyes. Besides the armor pieces he wore on his shoulders and hands, he had two swords strapped to his back.

"Shen - Eye of Twilight!" The announcer yelled as Shen spotted the two females and started walking towards them.

"Shen! It's good to know that you are by our side." Karma said as the tall ninja approached them.

"We will win this match no matter what. Galrin, Navori, and Shon-Xan should always be a reminder of what could happen if we lose." Said Irelia, not sure if to herself or to her two fellow champions.

Shen replied "True balance shall be achieved this day. It is good to see you here as well friends. And you will be glad to see who else stands besides us on this day."

Just as Shen finished his sentence the announcer's voice was heard. "I hope you are ready for our fourth Ionia's champion of this match!"

Shen stared intently at the beam as it disappeared. Wearing green clothes and armor, holding two Kamas, the female figure started walking towards the other three.

"The Fist of Shadow." Shen said as he bowed toward the female approaching them.

"Eye of Twilight, we travel the same path." The female bowed back as the announcer shouted "Akali – the Fist of Shadow!"

Karma had a smile on her face as she looked around her. "With this team today there is no chance for us to lose to the Zaun scum."

"If those two fight as well as they acted in "The Tale of Reina" then this should be easy." Irelia smiled as well.

"And please give a roaring welcome to the last of Ionia's champions for today!"

A tainted shadow surrounded the white haired man that came out from the beam of light. As the black energy dissolved, the four champions standing near the shop stood speechless. The man holding a huge bow that appeared before them was not who they expected to see. The vile energy enveloped the lower part of his body, making him seem half human half demon.

As the man started walking towards the shop the announcer continued. "Varus - the Arrow of Retribution!"

Irelia's smile quickly disappeared. "What is he doing here? Karma did you know about this?"

Karma lowered her head. "I was told that there is a chance Varus will come. I know this is not optimal but he is a valuable force for us. Do not worry, I can control him."

"The Zaun criminals will all pay their debt today for helping Noxus in their war. I can feel the Mad Chemist, he's here. The guilty will know agony." Varus said as he got close to the shop.

Karma took a long look at everyone around her. "Well, now that we're all here I can tell you the plan."

Valoran Battle - Chapter 1

So, there was a time when I played a lot of League of Legends and I wanted to start writing a really big scale series of stories about it. I called it 'Valoran Battles' and wrote a few chapters. The idea is that it tells the story of a certain battle taking place between nations. Here's the first chapter:

Valoran Battles #1 – Zaun vs Ionia

Chapter 1 – Introducing Zaun

"Welcome to Summoner's Rift. Today's match between Zaun and Ionia is about to begin. Please welcome Zaun's first champion."

As the loud voice echoed throughout Summoner's Rift, a blue beam of light gradually materialized near the shop of the south-west Nexus. A few seconds later, a bright wave of light shot out from the beam and suddenly disappeared all together. Where the beam once was, now stood a purple giant holding a massive cleaver. He stretched his muscular deformed body while looking around with a dazzled look over his face.

The loud voice from before could be heard again. "Dr. Mundo – the Madman of Zaun!"

The purple giant raised his cleaver high over his head while shouting. "Mundo!"

"Please give a big welcome to Zaun's second champion of today." The voice continued.

Another beam of light materialized. Once it vanished, a tall man covered in bandages appeared. The man was carrying a huge green tank on his back and holding a large wooden shield. Although most of his body was wrapped in bandages, even his mouth, you could see scars and burned tissue covering his entire body.

"Singed – the Mad Chemist!"

Mundo looked around as if being startled by the loud voice. "Where? Mundo hard to see, sky too shiny outside Zaun."

Singed noticed Mundo and started walking towards him. "Dr. Mundo, it seems like Zaun is really desperate to win this one."

Mundo turned towards Singed. "Come to Mundo!"

"Like always, you look like you had one too many "Shimmer" to drink."

Mundo didn't seem to appreciate Singed humor. "Mundo no need "Shimmer", "Shimmer" is for weak."

"Right… I wonder who else our beloved city is going to summon."

"And for our third Zaun champion of today…"

Singed and Mundo waited for the beam to perish to see who else is there.

"Join the glorious evolution." Part human, mostly hextech augmentations, an odd looking "man" holding a metal staff started pacing towards Singed and Mundo.

"Viktor – the Machine Herald"

Viktor's third robotic hand, stretched out all the way from his back, hovered above his head and started waving to all directions.

"Stop that, this is why I can't take you nice places!" He yelled at his hand. "The crowd is at the Vaskervon Coliseum, who cares?"

Viktor approached the giant couple that was waiting for him. "Ah, the infamous Singed and Dr. Mundo… "

"Humph, so Zaun sent the robot, what a joke." Singed mumbled.

"Mundo thinks… No, Mundo doesn't think. Wait. What? Mundo!"

"Replacing your brain would not even make a difference." Viktor said just as the announcer voice appeared again.

"Zaun's fourth champion is about to get summoned here to Summoner's Rift!"

When the beam disappeared, loud squeaks and steam noises drew the attention of the three champions. A metal human shaped robot started advancing towards the three, his huge hands and metal frame shaking and bouncing all over the place. An odd voice came out from somewhere inside him "Fired up and ready to serve."

Viktor could not believe his eyes. One of his biggest creations was standing before him. If he was just a bit more human he might have felt anger and frustration remembering how the credit for his work was stolen from him. But he no longer human and had much more important things on his mind.

"A golem. They summoned a golem to fight with us. Unbelievable." Singed said in disbelief as the golem was almost near them.

"Blitzcrank - the Great Steam Golem!"

The four champions looked at each other intently.

"Well, I just hope that our last champion is someone useful." Singed said to the other three.

"And last but not least, welcome the final Zaun champion!"

With the four champions waiting for the beam to vanish, the announcer continued "Urgot - the Headsman's Pride!"

Singed said what everyone else were thinking: "Oh my."

Out of the light came out a mechanical lower body consisting of four legs and holding a massive scarred and rotting body on top of it. Formerly a legendary Noxian soldier, this part machine, part body raised by necromantic magic is a huge terror to be dealt with on the battlefield.

"I thought Urgot part of Noxian army. What he doing here?" If it was possible to hear stress in the metallic voice of Viktor, that was it.

"Urgot legend. Urgot strong. Helps us beat those peaceniks." Mundo tried to explain the situation as best as he could.

As Urgot arrived near the four he started speaking. "We must win this war. We… will win this war. Singed will go north, Viktor north-east, Mundo into the jungle, Me and Blitzcrank will go east. Come now… they will know fear."

Nothing else had to be said after that. The five went to the shop and advanced into the jungle together.