" ʜɪ, ɪ'ᴍ ʀᴇʟʟ "

It felt like a month since they had arrived, the journey wasn’t nearly as bad as the first few days … she felt like it was the first day of school all over again, she knew nobody and had nothing to keep herself occupied with aside from her power.

Then the training begun, alittle excitement was acheived on first lesson, but alas it brought her memories she really wouldn’t want to relive at points. The persistant bending of metallic materials of different origins, subtle bouts and challenges to increase her focus and raw magic. She refused medicinal treatment for the stress on her muscles it caused, the pain was all part of the process for her.

The talks with her friend were nice, she would ask him each time his name, her name, and how they met, repeated to ensure he held his memory, as proof of their arrangement. All of this to save one boy’s life, but she owed it to him, it was the guilt that drove her to protect the ones who were stripped of their power.

Finally, the ascended approached her after weeks, he seemed busy at all other times, naturally running a city was difficult perhaps? She wouldn’t ask, “ they’re doing great, ” she spoke mostly to ensure they were given credit, but albeit the focus challenges were fun. “ Have you come to ask me to try to free you again? ” it was blunt, but obviously on her mind.

The trek to Nerimazeth was long, taking Xerath and Rell even further south. A small escort was arranged to ensure the safety of Rell’s friend more than anything; the boy’s life was of little concern to the Magus, but his survival was crucial to ensure Rell’s cooperation. To that end, he was given food and water at regular intervals, and when they reached Nerimazeth at last, a private room where soldiers watched over him at all times.

Two weeks had passed, and Xerath found himself occupied by other pressing matters. He had his acolytes set to training Rell so that she could further expand her power, and occasionally offered the boy moments of lucidity so he could speak with her. Progress was slow on both fronts, but it was progress nonetheless…

One morning, Xerath approached Rell in the midst of her training. “How have you fare you thus-far? I trust my acolytes are performing adequately as your mentors?” There were no other ferromancers in Nerimazeth, but Xerath gathered the most competent mages he could from across his territories. Hopefully, one off them could help her unlock her true potential…

Then the training begun, alittle excitement was acheived on first lesson, but alas it brought her memories she really wouldn't want to relive at points. The persistant bending of metallic materials of different origins, subtle bouts and challenges to increase her focus and raw magic. She refused medicinal treatment for the stress on her muscles it caused, the pain was all part of the process for her.

The talks with her friend were nice, she would ask him each time his name, her name, and how they met, repeated to ensure he held his memory, as proof of their arrangement. All of this to save one boy's life, but she owed it to him, it was the guilt that drove her to protect the ones who were stripped of their power.

She huffs, eyebrows furrowed, eyes glowing the incandescent yellow, “ not a chance… ” she murmurs, the plating from her horse beginning to bent and crack around them, slowly each piece rises from the dirt, hovering towards her and clankily reshaping her steed, the iron stallion acted as a real warhorse and dragged it’s metal hoof across the dirt, signifying a charge.

“ Magic is half of it, I already made my quota for big and stupid Noxians for the week, you can go now, ” the girl stood much shorter than he, but only one step backwards was taken for distance… at least the sheet metal from her steed was displaced around them… she had the advantage.

Rell had a gut feeling she was making a life altering mistake… but it was far too late to turn back now, she would devise plans further as he heals her friend… perhaps an escape plan of some kind, she wasn’t the quickest fighter but she could always prove her worth in a fight. She was getting ahead of herself though, a nod as she knows she should remain here, “ I’ll stay for a bit… so your people know where I am. ”

She could hear the thunderous stampeding from quite a distance away… another soldier –!

This one was massive, vastayan perhaps, thr body came at her so quickly and with such speed she had to dismount her stead and watch the figure bust her armored horse into individual plates now hutted into the ground around where she landed. Standing quickly and prepping her lance upright while pointed.

talesofruneterra​:

The wanted posters had grown more and more frequent as of late. Every Noxian platoon sent after her had wound up dead, usually mangled to death by their own armor. How many soldiers had she slain now? It didn’t matter, because this had to be end today. Aurok Glinthorn marched alone to the Iron Maiden’s last-known location, mace in hand. He would find and put and end to her, for the glory of Noxus!

@metalmancisms

Rell had been minding herself, following a lead in tracking down yet another former student that managed to escape… no such luck here, though the battlefield she was traversing was mostly old armor and weapons she was safer in the open, Noxian assassins were more dangerous than their warriors… at least to her. She summoned her steed, patting the metal plating as if it were real, smiling a bit, “ let’s look again tomorrow. ”

It was proof, and so with a confident nod she would stare upward with amber hues, “ I’ll get that thing off you one way, or another. As long as you can save him, I can do it, ” her voice was stern with accepted confidence… however long it took, she would be here for a bit anyways. She just hoped this wasn’t a mistake being made because of her judgement… but what did she care, as long as she could give the life back to every former friend she had… it was guilt driven.

Good… So long as the life of her friend was on the line, he had all the leverage needed to ensure Rell’s cooperation. This girl, were her magic only refined, could well be the key to setting him free… And from there, Xerath could at last begin his long-awaited conquest.

“ Yes , yes and… well yes, Noxian’s were trying to get rid of you, the evidence of what they did to us but I followed them, I couldn’t let them just bury you somewhere in Shurima, ” she continued to elaborate her reasoning, she held the magical piece of Allender within her sigils, the piece of his soul that had been ripped from his body, many pieces in fact, stolen power used to fuel her neverbeforeseen magic. Rell still didn’t understand why it had to be her…

“ You have to keep remembering these things whatever happens, okay? ” guilt drove her to want to save all her friends… of course she wouldn’t bring up the refugee camp she had constructed for them, not yet.

Allender was still hopelessly confused. “Get rid of me? I don’t understand. Rell, what did they do to me? What happened to the others? I don’t…” He blinked, the light in his eyes subsiding. “Rell, I…” Suddenly, Allender returned to his comatose state, eyes going blank once more.

“ Minutes?! ” Rell’s voice raised alittle, shovked expression peered between her friend from the academy and Xerath, who’d proclaimed godship– and for a good point. She darts her gaze back, “ listen – your name is Allender, you’re from Noxus and you were the son of black-steelsmiths. Famous ones ! Please remember this– ” her hands held tightly onto his own, they still felt cold even though his body teemed with life .

Though still confused and terrified, the boy named Allender listened attentively to Rell. He brought a hand up to his head as the memories started flooding back. “That’s right. I remember we were at the Academy, and we fought… Then they took me to a room, and…” There, the memories seemed to trail off. “I don’t understand. How did we get here, Rell? What happened to me?” He looked up. “Is that really a god?”

While watching as the ascended being performed some kind of magic– it was truly a work of a miracle– he spoke! Rell approached quickly, her hands open as she first notices his eyes… they glow blue alike the aura of Xerath. “ How did– what did you do?? ” she had to ask, though pleased that her friend was at least alive, a piece of his magic still within her mashed power and sigil.

The boy blinked in surprise. “Rell? Is that you? What happened? Where are we?” He then jolted in alarm upon seeing Xerath. “AND WHAT IS THAT!?”

As the guard approaches, she stops her treading around aimlessly, mostly fueled by impatience and attention disorder, her hands letting go of the iron steed and taking the tray, nodding her head with a full lipped smile– of course as she finally manages to begin eating with the tray set down beside her–

His voice beckons, his first words preparing her for another attempt at the seal, but the next few causing her to tense, “ may not… survive? Well I don’t want him to die! ” she shouted, but realized she did, shrunk and took a step back, “ I’m… sorry I just. I really need this to work. ”

Xerath stared at her silence for a moment, then look to the boy. Irritating as it was, he needed to appease her to ensure her future cooperation. “…I will be careful. If it seems as though he may perish, I will stop immediately.” With that promise made, the Magus moved over to the comatose boy, and placed a single digit upon his forehead. “Awaken.”

The Magus reached out to touch the boy’s will with his own. It was fragile; so much more than a typical mortals. Xerath had to ensure that he didn’t exceed the boy’s limits, slowly filling the empty mind with his own. Normally, the point of this spell was to repress another’s will, but there seemed little point in that when the will was basically dust. Instead, Xerath used his power to coax out what remained of the boy’s thoughts and personality. After roughly half a minute, Xerath pulled back, and the boy began to sit up. His eyes had an unearthly blue glow to them, but otherwise seemed alive.