#theclockworkcontrivance

Orianna knew the path she walked led only to some form of damnation, but she would willingly do it for Father. He was everything to her, and He treated her like she were a real person. Despite her cold metal shell, somewhere within her beat a human heart. A heart capable of breaking, loving, and grieving. He could see within her His daughter, and treated her with a kindness unfamiliar to the Contrivance. 

In Piltover, watching and listening to every move on the board did not go unnoticed. The people did not enjoy being watched as if they were criminals, and the police were inclined to agree. Such revolting behavior...They would rather be comfortable than safe. Safe from Jinx, safe from crime, safe from...Virtually any threat. Yet they would throw it all away to be comfortable? Pathetic.

However, just because she was told to stop watching the populace did not mean she was going to. She just needed to get...Creative. People will notice clockworks and cameras, but spiders-No, people do not notice spiders. They are too common to be noticed. This was the goal Orianna hoped to achieve-She had heard that Elise, the Queen of Spiders from the rumored Shadow Isles, was capable of using her spiderlings as tiny spies.  This could prove invaluable to the clockwork, as locating Jinx would become that much easier.

In the short term, Orianna’s goal was to take revenge on Jinx. However, in all of her investigating and chasing of the maniac, Orianna learned something. People were inherently flawed, valuing morals and emotions above their own well-being or that of others. 

However, there were people like Father-Who was willing to sacrifice for the good of others. But the actions of the few do not outweigh the actions of the many. Orianna would enact the vengeance she was created to obtain-But after that, she thought of the safety of others. No one should be able to do this to anyone ever again.

She had heard of a scientist who shared this view. A man named Viktor, who most Piltovians hated. But where others saw a monster, Orianna saw a savior. Father had created an AI, and an AI was the next logical step in evolution. Humans were too destructive and simple, but machines could be made perfect. And with perfect machines...Goals are achieved much faster.

Under the cover of night, Orianna had left Piltover to venture into Zaun. Locating Viktor was now her number one priority. If she could get him to help her, then not only would the law be after Jinx, but a portion of the city’s underworld. She would have nowhere to hide when mechanical eyes locked onto her.

Great power existed in Runeterra, power that resided in both its past and present. Orianna had heard tell of ‘demons’ that lurked the land, searching for a battle worthy of the blade fused to their arm. If the legends were to be believed, there were once an entire clan of these warriors-But they somehow all seemed to vanish. That is, except for a notable barbarian and a Noxian woman. Of course, rumors were rumors-But Orianna was a being of great power, power that was bound to the Infinity Gear. Her Father gave up all he had to see into the Infinity for an answer to the question, “How does one bring the fallen back to life?”

The answer to that question, however, is not for mortal eyes. Instead, the Infinity gave Father a vision of a wondrous gear that would create for him the vengeance that he so desired. Orianna, however, was indeed struggling to track down Jinx. With enemies in both Piltovian’s underworld and the police force that were her ‘allies’, Orianna had no choice but to seek greater power. Perhaps this effort was in vain, but she was willing to throw away everything just to see Father smile again.

Even if it meant corrupting that which made her...Unique. For Him.

Roaming the dark streets that same night, of course, was our infamous criminal in the rising, Jinx. She’d just finished off some strange robot man, probably crafted by Vi, she figured, and was setting off with a remain to place on Vi’s doorstep. Really, it was more of a “try harder” than anything else.

Clink.

The menace froze in her tracks, staying completely silent. The repetitive clanking of metal rang throughout the street, echoing alongside the sleeping buildings. In that moment she knew she was being persuited once again, and that rush of adrenaline that kept her thriving for life boiled up inside her.

Quietly, she shifted PowPow into the ready position. It was game on and she had the upper hand, or so she thought.

The cocky villain let out a boisterous giggle, the sound resonating and repeating with the echoes that flew about. “I didn’t think Vi would send me more than one toy tonight!”

_______________________________________________________________________

Orianna stopped for a moment as she turned the corner, partially out of surprise. It was really her-Jinx stood but fifty yards away, her blue hair and pale skin illuminated by the moon’s cascading glow. Even from this distance, Orianna could see the crazed grin on the menace’s face. Gritting her mechanical teeth, the clockwork let out an ear piercing roar.

It was time. Vengeance would be hers. Jinx couldn’t be allowed to escape again, not when she was this close to Orianna’s grasp. 

The contrivance did a quick spin, then leaped into the air and sent the clockwork pieces sailing towards Jinx. As soon as she landed, Orianna dashed off to get as close to her as possible-She was at a disadvantage form this distance. Jinx’s guns would fill her full of lead if she didn’t get as close as possible, where they would be almost useless.

Orianna’s blood-soaked path to Jinx was all she was concerned with. All other matters were nonexistent, for what could take the place of righteous vengeance? However, there were hardships Orianna had to face to get her way. This was to be expected-People naturally feared her, and justly so. Just underneath the metal skin lied something inhuman, something that should never have been given life and yet now was as conscious as the rest of them. 

Orianna was bound only to Father’s will, for he had forsaken everything to obtain his vengeance. The Infinity reached out and bestowed upon him visions of what had to be done, of the contraption that could bear a piece of its essence-The Infinity Gear. With only a whisper, he could ask her to annihilate the whole city and it would be done. So long as the order came from his soulless lips, she would obey it without question. 

Yet he hesitated. Nay, not hesitated-It seemed as though he was enjoying the time with his new ‘daughter’ and knew that when her task was complete...Well, it simply wouldn’t be the same. 

“Father, simply say the word and her head will be on a spike by morning. If I have to burn this city down, if I have to forsake everything I once was, everything I will be and have been, I will do it if you ask it of me. But if you do not want that, then why are you content to sit and wait for me to do it within the lines?” Orianna spoke, her voice coming out pleadingly. Her Father, wrinkled skin hanging from his face like a man from a tree. His hair was sparse, thin white strands on top of his head that made him look ill. His features looked as though they were decaying, where as once they stood proud on his face, they now were thin and hollow. 

“I do not expect you to understand,” he replied weakly, staring off into the distance at something Orianna couldn’t see, “But this is how she would have wanted it. She was.....She was a pinnacle of justice. She was one of the best investigators this city had...She could never see it burn.”

Tears formed in the old man’s eyes, and for a moment Orianna felt something stir inside her. She wanted to reach out, to hold him, but in that moment she understood that she could not comfort him anymore.