League of Legends: Short Stories

Illaoi: The Burden

"Truth Bearer, this is why we must retreat to Buhru. We cannot save the paylangi" the Hierophant said. The heavy-set woman grinned, obviously pleased by the prospect of leaving Bilgewater.

"You've mentioned that before" Illaoi said, walking around the stone table in the center of the room. She rolled her shoulders, loosening the muscles to fight off a yawn.

Beside the Hierophant, an elderly serpent caller stood. He wore a vestment made from ropes. Each indigo-dyed cord had been woven to curl; their varying thicknesses and faded kraken ink gave him the illusion of being draped in rough-hewn tentacles. His face was completely covered by a black tattoo depicting the endless teeth of a leviathan's maw. Monks and serpent callers were always trying to look scary. It was an annoying habit of most men.

"The greatest beasts won't approach Bilgewater" the serpent caller said with a wheeze. "They stay out in the deep water, away from the stench of the Slaughter Docks. At best, a few half-starved younglings will heed our summons."

Only the greatest children of Nagakabouros were strong enough to consume the mists and defend the city from the Harrowing. The rest of the Serpent Isles didn't have this problem.

It was yet another reminder of the ignorance of Bilgewater's population. The mainlanders and their descendants didn't give time for fresh water to flow through and clean their docks. Instead, the paylangi settled permanent anchorages around every shore in the bay. It was so foolish. Many of the priesthood asserted it was proof the paylangi actually wanted to be consumed by the Black Mists.

"Crap" Illaoi said. If she was going to stay, she would have to find a way to defend the city without serpents. She picked at the food from one of the offering bowls around her, before selecting a mango. She needed a plan, and these two fools were useless.

A loud crack interrupted her musing. A heavy, wooden door had slammed open downstairs.

Gangplank's voice howled, the words were unintelligible, echoing around the stone walls.

"We pulled him from the water, as you commanded" the Hierophant smiled, adjusting the jade collar of her office. "Perhaps it would have been better to let his energy return to Nagakabouros?"

"You do not judge souls."

"Of course Truth Bearer, it is for Nagakabouros to judge" he said, implying that Illaoi's opinion was biased.

Illaoi walked between the two clerics, dwarfing the pair of them. Even for an islander, the Truth Bearer was tall. It had always been so. She was taller even than the largest Northman. As a girl, she had been self-conscious about it, always feeling like she was stumbling into people, but she had learned. When I move, they should know enough to get out of my way.

She lifted the Eye of God from its stand. The golden idol was larger than a wine barrel and many times the weight. Her fingers tingled against its cold metal. It had been placed next to the giant roaring fire, which illuminated the room, but the Eye of God stayed forever cool and damp to the touch. Illaoi deftly shouldered its massive weight. In a dozen years, the Truth Bearer had never been more than two strides from it.

"Hierophant, I remember my duties" Illaoi said as she headed down the stairs. "We will not be retreating to Buhru. I will stop the Harrowing here."

The high priestess had done little but complain since arriving from Buhru, but there was some truth in her words.

When Gangplank's ship had exploded, Illaoi's heart had jumped. It had been many years since they had laid together, many years since she had ended the relationship... but some feelings still lingered. She had loved him once... stupid, old bastard.