Ask Malzahar

Nadri went simple this time around as she carried a couple thermals filled to the brim with a warm spiced tea for the season as she stepped out of a rift besides Malzahar.  “Got you something."  She murmured at him, holding out the closest tightly closed thermal towards him.  "I know you don’t mind tea so I made you some black cinnamon spiced tea with a spoon of honey.”

-

Malz had been traveling the edge of the border between Shurima and Demacia for any trinkets of interest. He’d been observing a merchant stall when a void rift opened up beside him. And the person who stepped out had not been the man he’d expected.

Or a man, for that matter.

He turned to Nadri after hearing she’d gotten him a gift. Malzahar glanced at it before purple magic lifted it from her hand. Something for him. A gift. “I certainly do not mind such,” he began, turning the thermos around. “But a-gift from you is quite unexpected.”

He looked back to her. “What is-the occasion, preserver?” And then with amusement, “Or is there none and you seek to-poison me?” Not that he believed she would. It was impractical, and though their relationship was rocky, it wasn’t near that bad.

ngl this song fits malzy

She eventually finished dusting off the plaque, slowly standing back up and dusting her hands off against the pant legs, getting them rather grey from the debris.  “Hard to believe now but yes, this was my original name.”  Nadri murmured to him softly, her eyes trained back down to stare at it as it brought back the faint emotions that were tied to that name.  

“I only found out this was here a couple years ago and it seems my own parents believe I’m no longer a part of this world.”  It was clear that it did sadden her a bit but the tone changed as she glanced up and back to Malzahar, eyes a glow in a faint violet light.

“You saw me coming home on a particularly unfavorable day from what I recall.  Understandably, I was already starting to dislike my place in this city.  Felt stifled and abused by it’s hidden system.”  A rather short exhale escaped her mouth as it twisted into a rather disappointed frown.  “Running into you was like finding a hidden fork in the road.  A change that scared me initially…”

That’s when she remembered.  How he floated before her, dropping her project of a hextech cube that ran on and on without end.  A mini power source that wasn’t made of the actual crystal that did the exact same thing.  Something for the common folk instead of the rich.  She was looked down upon for such and even told her project partner would be sharing the credit, even though he didn’t help her with it.  

She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes before letting her head lower a bit into a sad shake.  “I don’t know what possessed you to take me from this place but, in the end, it was probably for the best.  Who knows how much longer I would have lasted here…before finding a more…permanent…end.”

So that was her name. And she had a grave. An empty grave. And to add to that, she was still alive. “So they-made a grave for someone who is still alive.” He managed to to keep the amusement out of his voice until the last word.

Malz slapped a hand over his mouth as a chuckle escaped. A grave for a living person was hilarious. He wanted to bust up laughing, but he knew Nadri would never forgive him if he did.

He should have better control over his voice than this.

Hand still over his mouth, he looked back to Nadri. He cleared his throat as she spoke. An unfavorable day, frustration from Piltover’s system. His hand fell with his amusement as he listened. Piltover had always had a hidden system, of course it had one then. Had she been angry that day?

Yes, she had. That was why she’d dropped that strange cube, and why she’d run off. She’d been mad. He’d said...something, and she got angrier and run off. Was that how he’d known to pick her?

Malzahar closed his eyes. He reached to that presence at the back of his mind. He reached for it to help give an answer. Was her anger at Piltover how he’d known she was whom it had chosen?

The Void “nodded” back.

He opened his eyes again. “I am-surprised you do not know why. Surely I must have told you then. Or you have since-realized it. You know who I am. What I am. As a prophet, I-serve another.”

He looked back to the plaque. A reminder of her old life. His old life. “It saw potential within you. Perhaps-no one else did. But The Void saw your strength and-chose to save you-as it did with I. It asked you-throw away your old life for one of better purpose.”

Nadri wandered through the pathways for a few more minutes, moving from the filled graves to the placeholders.  The graves for those who’s bodies weren’t found or recovered.  She stood still for a moment, counting the rows with her eyes before glancing over at Malzhar, knowing full well what he did earlier with the man but made no mention of it.  

Eventually, she started down the path once more, stepping slowly and steady up and around the path before turning down the row to the left and read the names on the plaques before finally stopping before one and turned to it.  She said nothing as she knelt down and slowly started dusting off the plaque, letting the engraving show clearly as it read:

‘Bethany Clause June, 5th of XX- October of XX’

There wasn’t much to it as the last year date just stated her former life’s age to end at 22 as of October.  The month of her disappearance from this world.

“Malzahar.”  She started slowly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.  “Do you remember when we first met?”

He followed, glancing at the names. None of them rung a bell. Not that Malzahar had expected any to-no one would bury his own outside his followers-but they were interesting to read. And the graves themselves, level as they were, were of note.

Then Nadri stopped. He floated just a bit behind her to get a look. Bethany Clause. Was that name familiar? It felt familiar, but the reason why escaped him. October. That must be this month. Was Nadri here to lament the death of a friend?

He didn’t have time to consider that. When we first met. Did she mean the day he tried to sacrifice her? Not that it had worked, but he’d certainly tried. Malz rested his cheek against one hand to think.

His eyes flicked down. No, that hadn’t been a sacrifice. That was something else, he recalled now. The Void had ordered a different ritual. But it felt so long ago. Time flowed different to one who not only lived quite long, but leapt through worlds, and it felt now as if he’d known Nadri all his life.

Malzahar hummed a moment as he thought. There was more to it. Nadri had been familiar when he dragged her in to cut and coerce. But why?

Why was it so difficult to remember now?

He tried to think. Was there something here that might remind him? Perhaps something on the way? Nadri had avoided the festivities. That meant...they brought back bad memories. And she did consider her change bad still.

The festival. Right. That ritual had been the night of a festival like this one. Yes, he’d met Nadri in that alleyway to drag her off. He had planned to meet her there because he knew she’d pass by. And he knew...

He’d met her there before. Malzahar had seen it happening, but he knew the alley because they’d met once before in it. She’d had something with her. A cube?

Malz finally let his hand fall. Looking to her again, “It is-difficult to say. But I-believe I do. I can not recall if we spoke. But-you had something with you, did you not?”

“Whatever you chose, just try not to get too much attention.”  It wasn’t like she was going into the main city, with the hustle and bustle of people wandering around the top layer of the city-state that laid above the Zaun Grey.  To be honest, he would easily see her skirt most the city till the northern most part where it became more suburbs and common housing compared to the wealthy aristocratic housing of the city.  Understandable, the festival grounds were in this part of town but even that was avoided by the smaller Preserver.  After all, she had mixed feelings of want to hatred of the festivities each time the event came around.  

Soon, Malzahar would see her come to the edge of a cemetery and actually hop/floated over the grating to get inside.  “Almost there…”  Was all he could hear from Nadri as her gaze was focused in a certain direction as she followed the pathing that was already laid out in that direction.

“As if I must be-told,” he mused to himself. As powerful as he was, he’d been killed enough times to know to keep a low profile in places like Piltover. Or, low enough. Malz wouldn’t forgo his style of clothing, but he knew better than to float.

Hopefully they wouldn’t see his eyes glowing.

He continued to float after Nadri out of interest, occasionally glancing at passers by. As they approached the city, Malzahar pulled his hood in hopes of obscuring his face and lighted down. Concrete. Not the most pleasant to walk on. But he’d manage.

Nadri thankfully avoided the majority of the city. He could watch the festivities from a distance. So, keeping Nadri in his peripheral, he decided he would. Children ran about in the streets playing with what he presumed were hextech toys and begging for candy. Adults watched from the edges or weaved through the hectic kids. So innocent. So naive.

He saw a man glare and raise a hand amidst the gaggle of children. No doubt to strike one. Malzahar snapped beneath his cloak. A cry followed it as the man collapsed, void magic eating his leg. 

Malz looked back to Nadri as she spoke. He stopped when he saw graves. A graveyard? Nadri couldn’t remember anything from before, though. Had she befriended someone from Piltover that got buried here?

A shrug was all he could see as her arms shifted beneath the heavy cloak to cross over her chest.  “Make my usual trip to Piltover.”  She told him slowly, before glancing to the side to look at him.  “I know I go a few times a year but this trip isn’t for treats.”  It was a terrible mark at the Piltover’s Fall Festival where children and teens would beg their parents to go out to the carnival grounds to celebrate the cooling weather with the usual seasonal treats and candies with rides and games.

“Do you plan on following me there?”  Nadri raised an eye brow at him, curious to see if he would honestly make the trip with her or not.

Piltover? That was certainly far from the desert. And annoying. And Nadri admitted she didn’t even want food from there. So why go? She barely spent time there these days. Surely she couldn’t consider it homely.

“Perhaps-if only to see why you are traveling there.” Malzahar wasn’t exactly keen on visiting Piltover. It was loud and bright. That annoying hextech was everywhere. He could hardly travel around the city without seeing something go wrong and explode. The city layout also made no sense; without a follower to guide him, Malz would get horribly lost.

How irritated she seemed. So indeed, something was wrong. And the moment she mentioned, sacrifices, he knew why. He placed a finger just under his chin. “It is-that anniversary again? It almost seems it was-just yesterday.”

He would laugh if he didn’t know it would bother Nadri. Malzahar didn’t consider becoming a voidtouched bad. His own becoming had saved him and graced him with power. But given Nadri hadn’t accepted The Void, she would find such an event horrendous. A vile reminder. She wouldn’t respond well to him speaking too proudly of it.

So a bit of gentleness would do better.

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