#thon extras

Introduction

“SHE is with me!”

—Vi, Chapter 26

The spirit-god Janna, guardian of Zaun, has been twisted into a force of wrath. The rapid development of Hextech during the years of Piltovan militarization has produced rampant pollution, as well as more subtle ‘arcane destabilization’ effects. Meanwhile Zaun’s bitterness and pain has been festering, reaching an all-time high during the tragedies of the failed uprising and the subsequent crackdown. Janna has been corrupted by these forces: the goddess is in agony, a force of nature that has grown furious and bent toward destruction.

This comes to bear in Chapter 26, when Janna resonates with Vi and infuses her with power, sending her into a frenzy.

But I’ve referenced air or the wind in some recurring cases so far:

Almost every time Vi hallucinated Powder; including some cases in Caitlyn’s POV where the wind acting up is meant to imply Vi is hallucinating

Moments in late Part 1 / early Part 2 where Vi is trying (unsuccessfully) to hear Powder again

A few other points when Vi is particularly wrathful, in turmoil, or feeling lost

The goal was to remain subtle, while making it possible to pick up on the pattern of the wind accompanying these dramatic moments over time. From the time Vi hit her lowest point, however far she traveled, the guardian has been following her — drawn to a Zaunite in need, as she surely is to countless others. But with her power dwindling, Janna largely lost the capacity to meaningfully help or inspire her people, and was left to simply stew in suffering.

The extent to which Janna has been merely watching Vi versus influencing her is deliberately left ambiguous. I will confirm that Vi’s turmoil is not caused by Janna’s wrath; but Vi's state serves as a magnet for it, and is potentially exacerbated by it.

So, here are the Janna “cameos” and a couple other hints throughout the fic so far! I will quote chunks for context, but bold the significant bits to facilitate skimming.

Compilation by Chapter

Chapter 4: Enforcer

Powder’s ghost is introduced when Vi is enraged after Caitlyn attempts to knock a reminiscing Vi into the river.

(...) the prisoner bared her teeth and glowered defiance. Vi leaned in, glaring back at her. Blood pounded in her ears. The wind was rising, shifting gusts tumbling down the walk. And she felt the weight of that gaze, the dying eyes all over again, like a waking dream. The eyes that found her when she faltered. They didn’t have any mercy for me, did they? (...) Vi had been Topside, on a walkway by the river. Vi had been down there, when the world burned. Vi was neither here nor there. The transit of air, the back and forth churn through jaws and throat and lungs, was explosive. A tug on her arm. A small hand brushed the back of her palm. Gently folded it into a fist.  You can always be strong, can’t you? For me?

The flashback concluding the chapter shows the first instance of Powder appearing, after the teen Vi is distraught over killing two Enforcers.

A gentle breeze rolled through the alley, misty and cool on her skin and her scalp. A soft hand on her arm, a once-familiar clinging at her side. The effect was immediate, steadying, and the ground was solid beneath her again. As if the core of her — her heart, her identity, everything she was and had ever once been — remembered, in that presence, that she needed to be strong. You did what you had to. You did great.

Chapter 5: Soldier

The flashback to Vi’s obsessive hunting of Enforcers during the Uprising

An Enforcer, threatening a beggar. Opportunity — a distracted Enforcer. Make him go away. Running, leaping into open air. The wind in her hair, the downward swing of her arm as she plunged; an acrobatic spin, through a two-story drop. Cast iron to helmet, breaking her fall.

Chapter 7: Renegade

When Vi has stabbed Sevika in the leg for “You could do about as much for our cause as you could for your sister.” Unusually, Powder urges Vi against violence.

“D’you keep things like that in your back pocket, just in case you need a quick potshot? Tell me.” Teeth gritted, eyes losing focus, the older fighter lifted a trembling and bloodstained hand toward her. She gave Vi the middle finger. Vi. This isn’t what you should be doing. Cold air washed through her lungs. Vi flinched, a sensation like breaking sharply from sleep. She saw her opponent, really saw her. Blood welling thickly between her fingers about the rapier. Zaun's blood, on a Noxian blade.

Chapter 10: Protector

Vi’s peaceful dream about looking out at a scenic coastline with Powder

The balmy breeze curled past their arms and faces, protective.

…which turns into a nightmare, as Powder dies again, and Vi can do nothing to save her

Vi nodded, self-assured and smiling as she remembered what had happened to her, and put it to words. “Powder… I’m different, now. I got strong enough to protect you.” “Vi…!” Their hands clasped, tender hands in armored ones. Tears rolled from soft blue eyes. “Vi, that’s great! But I’m still gone.” The sound cut out. No crash of waves, no cawing gulls, only a wind as steady as silence. The world blanched, anemic and grey, the color draining out in time with the roar. Vi’s smile stiffened, and her unblinking eyes found the open wound, the bright red gush of blood.

At the park with Caitlyn, Vi is entertaining with a story and is suddenly shaken, implied to hallucinate Powder in the water. As an aside, it is also revealed this chapter that Vi brought the body off a shore of Zaun by way of burial; maybe she saw an image related to that in particular.

A point in the escapade made Caitlyn scoff, and then give way to laughter. Vi’s eyes softened on her, strangely innocent. Enchanted. Then the warmth bled from her expression. Her story trailed off. “Vi?” Caitlyn asked, but her look was vacant. Fixed on nothing, in the water. The wind picked up from the lakeshore, dusting them with spray. Caitlyn reached for her shoulder. The Hound swatted her hand away, harsher than thwarting an attack.

Revisiting the site of Powder’s death, Vi vividly relives the scene and then steps ‘through’ the memory of her teen self.

Vi knelt; Vi supplanted the stooped and howling weakling; Vi closed her arms around the body, in her counterpart’s place. Felt the weight settle into her arms, sure as the breeze on her rain-damp skin. “Powder,” she said. “I came back again… I'm stronger now. I’ll make it right.” I know, Vi. The small hand on her cheek. I know. Vi broke. Vi broke down in bitter, shaking sobs.

Chapter 12: Monster

When Legion Vi rampages on the battlefield, brief wind imagery mixes with her typical fiery themes.

The Commander-General’s boom— “Blood for Noxus!” A redundant command. Dissolving into chaos. Dissolving in a sea of souls. Tapping into a vein of the world, and injecting herself into it; taking hold of a river of fate, and contemptuously upending it. Scattering them as she pleased. Transcending herself — lighter than air, cracking with impact, rampant as a burning gale. Reveling in all she was, all that had been built: a vessel for the tear and snap of thirsting jaws. Jaws that would take every offer.

Chapter 13: Drumming Song

Somewhat related, the day is dreary. The frequency of overcast days, and an unusual chill, are noted multiple times from about this point in the fic

Another connecting point, Vi’s eyes are described as silver (as they are a few times when she is at her darkest/'least human’; including when she stares down Ambessa in Ch24, and again while possessed in Ch26) in the grim moment that she intimidates Caitlyn after the spar, and it begins to rain

The eyes of the woman above Caitlyn shone almost silver in the grey pallor of the clouds, icy in a world that had been cast crisp, cool, and bright. Crimson hair, dark and dimly sapped of saturation. A flat line of her mouth. A mercurial, unblinking stare.

A sudden thunderstorm breaks out after the tense moment. It is Cait's POV, but as they argue, Powder is probably urging Vi to violence.

Vi grabbed her wrist, teeth bared. “Stand up. I'll drag you if you make me!” “Drag me, then!” Caitlyn shot back, while cold rain lashed down in gusting sheets. “Hurt me, force me, and stop pretending you’re better than it!” The wind whistled and whipped. Something rattled in the distance, a metallic clanging on hard ground. Caitlyn saw Vi’s eyes darkening. Then, with a shuddering breath, the soldier ducked her head. “I’m…” She looked up again, anguish in the grit of her teeth, and failed to say the word. No apologies, after all. There could be no betrayal where there had been no trust. “Please,” Vi said instead. “You have to make it to tomorrow.”

Chapter 16: Drumming Song (Reprise)

At the close of the duel, after Powder has steadied Vi in taking up the axe, and Vi returns to the block

A broken stage; a crisp fall breeze; a drumming heart; a drumming heart.  Vi squared her feet, grinding a sole into the ashen dust.  Caitlyn saw her purge a last, smoldering spark of compassion, blazing cold in the absence. She saw the warrior’s heart anneal with tempered wrath. She watched Vi transform, and wished she hadn’t. But there, she supposed, was her last sight. A demon who longed for cruelty. The wind howled, rippling over crimson hair and crimson cape. The gallop of drums melded into steady thunder, climbing to a crescendo. Caitlyn closed her eyes. Vi hefted the axe.

Chapter 21: Dear Friend...

By the garden pond, Vi seems to instinctively listen for Powder when she hears the wind; as Vi strains to hear her again, it only intensifies.

The water’s surface stirred beneath the breeze. Vi watched red leaves twirl down at a gust; she stared and listened, as if she might still hear someone. But Vi was alone. She closed her eyes, listening intently, listening for anything more, as the rising drone of wind flooded her ears. Vi was alone. “How is your mind?” The world fell quiet. Vi looked slowly back at the Wolf on the nearby trail. She faced the pond again, and took a sip of her tea. The cup turned in her hands. “Someone who used to follow me around… has gone quiet. I don’t know why.”

Ironically, she notes that someone who used to follow her (Powder) has gone quiet, but doesn't realize that another who follows her around (Janna) is practically screaming at her

Shortly after, Vi begins to sing; I attempted to frame the End of Part 1 sequence that follows — the brief moments with the key players, punctuated by the lyrics — as the wind thematically ‘carrying’ her song across the city.

When Vi had been alone again for some time, picking over her thoughts and clutching her emptied mug, she once again began to hum. She tried to focus on that. When no voice joined her, the words rose to her lips. The somber tune rolled through the garden, carried on the wavering breeze, slow and intent as a ceremonial march. “Dear friend… across the river… “My hands are cold and bare…”

Chapter 22: Anchor

In Vi’s opening scene of Part Two, the first sentence suggests the weather is noteworthy.

From her perch, Vi tipped back her head, eyes shut, for her nostrils and parted lips to drink in the cool damp of yet another dreary morning.

She tries to tell herself she’ll be fine without Powder. But as she sits alone and questions who she is, growing increasingly distressed:

I’m in control. I’m— The wind cackling like static in her ears, scouring her burned-out veins, winds picking over crumbs of flame that might just die in the kindling.

Shortly after, she gets an outright vision set up such that the reader can write it off as a metaphor -- this image of a storm-tossed ship, referencing Janna’s lore of guiding lost seafarers.

(...) a scoff cut its way from her throat, a sharp outburst of hoarded air, clean air crammed into the rusted, leaking cage of her lungs. What good has it done—? A storm-tossed vessel skidding down over the waves— eyes casting wildly to the stars, finding only dark—

The opening chapters of Part Two are Anchor, Vessel, and Figurehead, referencing Vi’s “anchor” of rage (first described by Ambessa in Ch14) while also nodding to the the sailing theme.

Chapter 24: Figurehead

When Vi learns of the recruiters set up in Zaun, she metaphorically storms back to Ambessa

Vi broke from the rails, tore away in a thunder of hooves and whipping wind, of sprinting boots on clean halls, and all the revolt amounted to was to return her to the familiar.

It is briefly noted when Vi arrives in the tea room after her disastrous chat with Cassandra that she has been rained on, though it was dry just before; again, the timing could be written off as coincidence or the narrative ‘bleak weather goes with dramatic events,’ but it coincides with Vi at her most emotionally fraught and wrathful.

Chapter 25: Commander

As Vi hesitates on taking pursuit, the wind now more overtly calls to her, and Powder's voice returns. Tangent to seafaring, a navigation motif is referenced in compass metaphors. In effect, the winds set Vi on the course that we learn, next chapter, will bring her to Janna’s temple.

With the shift of pressure, a gentle tide dragged against her, wisps of it tickling her hair, clattering and whispering around. Not against her — amplifying her. Drawing her in. After them. She could settle it alone. Vi could fix it all, alone. The outcome in her hands. Wasn't that for the best? She gripped the edge, felt the strengthening grasp spasm like a compass needle. She faltered. Go, Vi. Her eyes shot wide. She swung her legs over, and plunged into the abyss.

Chapter 26: To Ashes and Blood

Ekko and Jayce note a thunderstorm breaking out.

Of course, as the standoff in the temple reaches a breaking point and Vi sinks into despair, the air is charged, the winds howl, and all hell finally breaks loose as Janna takes hold.

Conclusion

That should be most of them! Whether you noticed beforehand or not, when things went down in Ch26, I’m curious if the increasing emphasis on the wind felt familiar from the story so far. If so, this is why!

Vi is a misguided champion finally returned home — possibly to save it, possibly to herald its ruin. In the temple, her and Janna’s hearts at last converge.

I'll leave you with this:

Beyond these walls, the storm’s fury grows Over land and sea, the storm’s fury grows But I have nothing to fear For the blue bird is with me

A few connecting points run through these:

Vi's seeming consistency (skulked to a halt)

Caitlyn's behavior (didn't react / didn't react / sitting up to face it)

Caitlyn's feelings (quietly afraid / unafraid and glumly indifferent / unafraid and determined)

Caitlyn's expectations (expected violence, is incorrect; didn't know what to expect, is 'correct' insofar as she could not have predicted; thought she knew what to expect, is surprised when Vi handles her 'by the book' for the first time in entering the cell to cuff her. Even that first bit of softness Vi showed in Chapter 2 — opting not to infringe on 'the only space that's hers' — is withdrawn, leaving Caitlyn with no idea where they stand)

The first and second cases contrast feigned weary indifference with genuine, as Caitlyn, after the rebels' failed rescue attempt, is at her lowest and resentful toward Vi.

The second and third contrast Vi's off-schedule return with the gift to her 'clockwork' arrival for pickup time on the last day.

The choice of 'visage of death' seemed fitting for Caitlyn's first impression of her executioner-to-be; and as we learn over time, Vi is in some way 'death-touched' since her own near-death experience shown in her Chapter 12 wartime flashbacks, with an uncanny bond with/sixth sense for death (symbolized by the Kindred Wolf, and Vi's warning sense of fangs when endangered).

There's a related recurring theme of Caitlyn thinking of the dutiful Hound as her doom — 'Her would-be killer once, and her would-be killer again. Most literal bane of her existence' (ch. 5); the 'master of her failure, devout in its safekeeping' (ch. 7), a sort of destined destroyer. When Caitlyn is bitter at the start of Chapter 5 (Day Two), and when she feels hopeless after the failed escape in Chapter 7, she pictures Vi as symbolic of her doom, bound to her ever since Caitlyn's near-death experience in the invasion (when Vi defeated her).

Breaking pattern, the next "visage of death" is in what's meant to be their final meeting; for the first time, Caitlyn sees Vi's approach not from a prison cell, but on relatively even ground — as they take the field on opposite sides of the ceremony stage. Caitlyn is dismayed at the sight of Vi, a 'paragon of strength,' seemingly prepared to embrace her destiny. The moment marks a culmination of Vi's symbolism of Caitlyn's (and Piltover's) doom.

Chapter 15 (Day 10, the ceremony)

The one who took the field opposite her, trailing her own retinue of soldiers and attendants, was not the girl with frightened eyes, not the woman with a dashing grin, not the tender lover who had offered Caitlyn her entire heart. She did not skulk. She strode in the sun, and challenged all its radiance with the cold ferocity of her eyes. She came now as a visage of brilliant death. (...) Daughter of Zaun, orphaned and reborn, made into their doom.

Finally, there's one more use with a key turning point — after Caitlyn has flipped the script, proven her strength, and shown that if pushed, she can and will be Vi's destroyer in turn.

Vi impulsively tries to stop Caitlyn escaping with the Firelights, and Caitlyn gets a gun and trains it on her. This standoff is their last contact in Part One — and the moment the dynamic of prisoner and captor/executioner is conclusively shattered.

Chapter 18 (Day 10)

Caitlyn was not Vi’s to set free; she was not Vi’s to contain. She never would be again. (...) So Vi did not look away from the visage of death across the stage. Vi regarded all the power she had thought to deny her. She raised her head, and spread her arms in submission.

In Chapter 15, it's revealed that the execution is tied to a trial by combat between the "Champion of Piltover" and "Champion of Zaun." Caitlyn and Vi are to duel to the death; the victor is meant to take up the axe and slay the loser. Caitlyn learns of this only as the Noxian ceremony kicks off. The victory of elite warrior, soldier, and former Reckoner Vi is considered a given.

Most of the foreshadowing falls into a few general categories of Vi being suspicious, but in ways that appear reasonable.

Vi sparring with/training Caitlyn, and details of how she spars (discouraging carelessness)

Vi alluding to the nature of the ceremony in ambiguous ways that make more sense with context; such as her insistence that Caitlyn be ready to kill her if she has the chance

Vi ensuring Caitlyn is well-fed, beginning to bring her healthy breakfasts and arrange for a daily nutritious dinner

Vi discouraging Caitlyn from overexerting herself, even on the supposed 'last chance' spar on Day 9. Vi is focused on productive training and on Caitlyn being in good shape for Day 10.

There are also several moments in sparring that are echoed in the duel and events that follow; as well as significant foreshadowing for the means by which Caitlyn will take control of the fight. But I'll leave most of those out, and keep this post focused on the foreshadowing for the duel itself!

I know some of these may feel trivial, but they ramp up as they go.

Chapter 6 (Day 5)

This chapter opens on a few-day timeskip to show Caitlyn and Vi have begun the sparring arrangement, initiated by Vi's request to feel the fellow warrior's strength (maybe that is Vi's only surface intention at first; as her respect for Caitlyn has grown, she becomes interested in understanding her strength. The dedication to actually train and prepare her naturally follows, probably first in an honorable sense, then with her increasing fondness for Caitlyn personally).

We see the first hint that Vi, though committed to holding back, discourages Caitlyn from being lax on her defense. Caitlyn will not be able to afford neglecting her guard in the later duel, when Vi will not be holding back.

The Hound did not harm her, striking barely hard enough to qualify as unpleasant, striking only somewhat harder if Caitlyn began to grow careless.

We also introduce in the arrangement the expectation that Caitlyn go all out, and the accepted risk that if Caitlyn can incapacitate her captor, she will kill her.

“You could get lucky. Lay me out, take my dagger, slit my throat.” She’d drawn a finger across, almost playfully, as she said it. Madwoman. Of course, Caitlyn accepted.

Vi probably is not starting this as a conscious scheme, not with the outright thought I'll train and prepare her; even so, she has already begun encouraging Caitlyn to kill her if she 'earns' the chance.

Chapter 7 (Day 5)

At Belinda's, a moment that gains additional meaning with the duel context:

But the next time the baker saw Caitlyn — saw either Caitlyn or Vi — would probably be in five days. On a stage. Piltover and Zaun, upon the stage. Piltover and Zaun, as witness. And Caitlyn would not be all right.

She is presumably thinking about the duel (in which she expects to crush her opponent) as well as the execution, and no longer relishes in the thought of either.

Chapter 9 (Day 6)

Vi first brings Caitlyn a boxed breakfast — an equal helping to Vi's breakfast, in the spirit of fairness.

“It’s hardly your gourmet Piltie fare, but nutrition-wise, you won’t find much better. And your sparring frankly needs all the help it can get.” (...) Inviting Caitlyn again to try her best to slay her, with some addled sense of warrior’s honor. Seeming to believe a hearty breakfast could make just the difference, and even more nonsensically, offering it regardless.

We also see more of Caitlyn's uncanny observational skill, with Vi reflecting on her rapid progress. Vi is impressed, but doesn't really register it as a threat. Except:

It may have been moronic to give her so much practice.

Chapter 10 (Day 7)

Vi brings another breakfast.

When they visit Zaun and the site of Powder's death, more on the nose hints are dropped in the exchange after Vi breaks down:

“You’ll be the last one. I’m going to rip out the fucking heart of the city that let this happen.” “Unless I can slay you first.” Not a question. “Yes.” A frustrated breath. “Does one or the other of us really need to die?” “Yes.” Resolute. “It’s not just for me. It was never just for me. It’s for the city to heal.” “What if my death won’t heal the city? What if conquest can't?” “Then prove it with your strength. Kill me first, and fix things your way.”

The last line alludes directly to the fact that they will be dueling for leadership of the city. My hope was for this exchange to stand out as at least a little odd, but for the sentiment to feel dramatic/tropey enough not to cause suspicion, given the sparring arrangement.

Chapter 11 (Day 8)

Some language implies Caitlyn picks up on Vi's longing for "triumph" — a deliberately curious word choice to describe an execution; but it is meant to feel reasonable symbolically, or able to be tied to Vi claiming her "overdue" kill from the battle in the invasion.

The end drawing near. Caitlyn realized that she looked upon a Hound who, with each fading minute, seemed to make peace with that again. A Noxian warrior. A warrior waiting to claim her overdue triumph.

Vi is deliberately written as kind of a jerk today, as Maddie has helped smooth her doubts and refocus her on her 'purpose.' But she still doles out advice and training that misleadingly can be assumed to pertain to the "final chance" spar tomorrow.

“Don’t get careless,” Vi advised, catching her wrist. The reprimand was punctuated by a stinging blow to the ribs — restrained, but still smarting at the checked upper threshold of how hard she would punch.

She hits on what will in fact give Caitlyn her resurgence in the duel:

“You can’t outlast me. You can’t overpower me directly. You need to use your greatest strength. Observation.” “I can’t observe my way to victory.” “Today, you’re probably right. You’re running out of steam. What you can do is plan your counterattack.”

She really does just keep going-

“Work out what’s your best bet to win quickly,” Vi continued, “when you face your very last chance. Take heed of what attacks you definitely need to avoid. Think what you’ll do if I’m not holding back. Understand?”

After the spar:

Vi had done her due diligence. Vi had rebuffed carelessness, nipped bad habits in the bud, let her opponent train her eyes to follow. Caitlyn would have her fair chance. What more could Vi offer her?

She then offers Caitlyn soothing ointment, asks what else she needs, and gives her a foot rub; all she can do to try to have her in top shape. This very belligerent Vi, even seeing Caitlyn as an enemy and trying to close her heart, cannot help but offer her some kindness/comfort. In a darker light, she is of course preparing herself for "necessary" violence by preceding it with as much benevolence as she can offer; and some part of her even hopes Caitlyn will actually win.

Another exchange where Vi's mind is on the ceremony:

“I'm… focused. Focusing on what I need to. And I want you to be ready to try to kill me.” “What do you suppose I’ve been doing?” “Death’s fangs haven’t come close,” Vi said simply. The Kiramman’s brow furrowed. “And you think I can bring them… closer to you? You want that?” “I want you to have a chance.” “You want to feel better about yourself.” “Would you rather not have a chance?”

A big hint is snuck in after Vi returns Caitlyn to the guardhouse—

At the lobby, Vi double-checked that the Commander was slated to receive a nutritious dinner, as Vi had ordered on day six and scheduled through this evening and tomorrow’s. The soldier at the front desk, who’d waved her over, confirmed almost before she could ask.

So Vi has arranged for Caitlyn to receive a nutritious dinner on the evening of Day Nine, after the final spar! This could be written off as just Vi being decent; but if not for the duel in mind, it might have made more sense to arrange for a fine dinner or Caitlyn's request, without regard for nutrition, on the final evening.

Chapter 12 (Flashbacks + Evening of Day 8)

Can't quite be called foreshadowing, but Vi reflects on her path up to this point, with the defining moment of the Reckoner arc being her horror at being pitted against Riven (a prisoner) in a duel. Vi in the present is preparing to fight and kill a prisoner in a new test crafted by Ambessa; her hesitation against Riven is the type of 'weakness' she is being pushed to overcome.

Chapter 13 (Day 9)

A lot is sprinkled in on Day 9!

As they square up for the final spar:

They faced each other, a comfortable distance for the start. It all felt like routine, a mirage of unending normalcy between them. As if they had done this yesterday and each day before; as if they would again tomorrow.

Immediately after, Vi has a meaningful pause before she lies:

“I suppose this will be the last time,” Caitlyn remarked. Maskless, cold-eyed and serious, Vi stared her down for a long moment. “Yeah. Guess it will.”

She combatively urges Caitlyn to be ready, asking how many times she's killed up close (Caitlyn has never). Then:

“Tell me, then. If you can stun me, defeat me, will you go for the kill?” “Is that even a question?” “Say it. Tell me you’ll kill me.” A call to violence. A belligerent soul, calling upon another to reciprocate.

Caitlyn is here, and Vi's mind is on the fateful showdown a day out — and her resolve depends on the assurance that Caitlyn is equally willing to take up the axe and kill her. Caitlyn answers her goading, picturing taking her dagger to kill her.

“What good will it do?” Caitlyn pushed back, exasperated. “Ready your mind. Listen to me,” Vi said, and her voice grew resonant and clear, fervent. She brushed her knuckles to her own jawline, and briefly pressed; her eyes danced with a cold exhilaration. “You land a perfect strike, right here. I’m on the ground — your enemy is on the ground, helpless at your feet. You have the blade in your hands. What do you do?” (...) “I kill you,” Caitlyn spat. “I take your blade and kill you.” “Good.” A chill smile. “Don’t lose sight of that resolve, if—,” “Shut up and fight!”

Days of training and buildup for a final fight are then wrapped up in a few sentences, practically summarizing how Caitlyn reaches her limit and Vi proves insurmountable in the desperate clash. This is meant to be surprisingly anticlimactic while still able to be written off as its own twist, a subversion of the fight's importance, as we shift instead to the emotional core of the chapter. In actuality, the details of this fight are irrelevant with the real showdown in store.

Caitlyn cries out in frustration ("You said you wouldn't hold back!"), as Vi the day before had implied she would face her with her best. She also notes:

She had suffered restrained strikes and controlled throws. She was unsteady with exhaustion, and the Hound was not. Caitlyn had failed — even with the Hound pulling punches, fighting much as she had every day thus far.

The reason is of course that Vi refuses to harm her before the duel. But called out, Vi shows fleeting emotion, probably aching with what she hasn't told her, and steels herself again.

“Was this all a joke to you?” “I just wanted…” Emotion crackled through Vi’s expression. She pinned her eyes shut, and smoothed her exterior again. Her lip curled; head low, eyes newly savage, her face was one that refused to apologize. “I wanted you to have a fucking chance.”

She then discourages Caitlyn from overexerting herself, despite that this is supposedly the end.

“We should call it here,” she said, and gave the weight of the words time to sink in. “You’re just wearing yourself out.”

When the storm breaks out, Caitlyn bitterly refuses to move, and Vi almost but doesn't quite get herself to apologize for intimidating her. But Vi is highly invested in Caitlyn making it through.

“Please,” Vi said instead. “You have to make it to tomorrow.” Caitlyn yearned to spite her with disagreement. She didn’t care about tomorrow; she couldn’t care less about the sanctity of the Noxians’ gruesome spectacle. If she could have drowned the Hound or herself in sheer spite, she would have gladly. Vi shook her head, beseeching, at whatever it was she saw. “Please,” she said again.

If Vi only cared about the execution going smoothly, Vi would probably not be emotionally pleading here; she is this way because she considers it vital that Caitlyn have her last chance.

In their heart-to-heart at the Kiramman house, Vi suggests a way Caitlyn might be spared:

“You could plead. Proclaim allegiance to Noxus — stand with us, urge the people to submit. That could be as valuable as the… alternative.” “You still wouldn’t have me. I could grovel before you, escape with my life. But would I be myself any longer?”

Not much can be drawn from this now, but there is a point in the ceremony, preceding the reveal of the duel, that Ambessa will specifically ask Caitlyn if she will bow to the Empire. As it is presented in the ceremony, the idea is that because Caitlyn (representing Piltover) remains in defiance, Piltover and Zaun's dispute must be settled the way that follows.

Chapter 14 (Evening of Day 9)

Caitlyn enjoys a 'typical' dinner, i.e., the nutritious dinner mentioned previously.

The typical guard brought a typical, good dinner shortly after the Hound returned her (...). Caitlyn had eaten, and now lay contentedly on her cot, thinking about whatever she pleased.

She reflects on her and Vi's lovemaking, their peaceful moments afterward — and of course, Vi's tendency to make sure she has enough to eat.

Talking. Talking about nothing in the kitchen, talking like old friends, while Vi rustled through cupboards and set canned soup heating on the stove. Possessed by the impulse to nourish, as if there were any practicality in the upkeep of Caitlyn’s health. Comforting, all the same.

I went back and forth on wording of the above, debating whether it was a good level of 'hint' while not being too blatant.

The conflicted Vi has her scene anxiously drilling on the punching bag. Toward the end of her guilt-ridden reflections is the reveal that there's something she's been hiding, but not what; and the reason Vi hasn't told her, despite her present feelings for Caitlyn.

I should have told her. Shoulda’ told her everything. The knowledge wouldn’t change anything. It only would have robbed her of peace. (...) I should have told her. I should have told her.

Ambessa visits Caitlyn to give her villain speech about how Vi will be perfected by her sacrifice. As their increasingly bitter conversation ends, Ambessa walks away and takes the last word to supply some practical advice.

“Rest well, Commander. You have a big day tomorrow.”

Chapter 15 (Day 10)

Vi in the morning walks the city and eats a to-go box of her regular breakfast. The soldiers who arrive to transport Caitlyn offer her the same.

“A box has been sent — if I’m understanding the notes correctly, it’s the same you’ve broken fast on, the last many days? If you want consistency. Or if you prefer, any simple request and we’ll see what we can do.” Caitlyn didn’t know why she’d asked. “I’m afraid I lack an appetite, this morning.”

The Piltovan uniform Caitlyn is provided is noted to include "snug and sturdy" boots with a slight heel, and overall that everything is "sharp and functional." Care has been taken that she has functional clothes to fight in.

Ambessa's speech in the stadium is laden with subtle hints, such as her presenting Zaun's challenge as active, not yet settled.

"Zaun has earned the right to reclaim its dignity — to challenge the long-held status quo, and reclaim the future once stolen from it.”

Similarly, she frames Vi's 'intentions' in a way that makes more sense with her having opposition/the contest yet to overcome.

“Today, in the wake of the removal of this city’s failed body of governance, Vi casts forth a claim… to the rulership of Piltover. She intends to close the book on the past, and to rise, in just leadership, as founder of the next era of these great cities."

Not a clue but a fun detail. When Ambessa reveals Vi's title — that she will "uphold the ongoing peace of both Piltover and Zaun… as the Enforcer!" — the deciding blow of the duel is foreshadowed in metaphor.

Nothing could surprise Caitlyn anymore. Not a swift punch to the gut;

The soldiers lining the stage are meant to evoke the image of the soldiers framing the Mel and Caitlyn vs. Ambessa combat.

a block of Noxian soldiers sporting an abundance of banners (...). This contingent streamed up the steps behind the axe-bearer and to either side, beginning to trace out the stage’s perimeter in a stately wall of crimson and black.

At one point in the novel Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, Ambessa describes a land dispute within Noxus being settled "as Noxians do" (via war). The language is echoed here:

“But you bear now the great fortune of joining, of reconciling, beneath the banner of the Noxian Empire. We are gathered today that you may lay this unending feud to rest, as Noxians do.”

The naming of "Champions" to settle disputes is in this context a nod to oldschool League of Legends lore, as mentioned in the League references compilation post.

For the sake of concluding this post, the definitive reveal:

Caitlyn’s blood froze. Across from her, the Hound’s attendants were taking off her armor. “The chosen representatives,” Ambessa proclaimed, “will resolve the dispute via champion combat. The victor shall take up the axe and behead the loser!”

Should be just about all of them! I'm curious how many of the hints might have made you pause or been picked up on, or how early folks predicted the duel.

Chapter 2

As Vi handcuffs Caitlyn before they set out on Day 1, there is a play on one of Vi's in-game lines ("Freeze! Or don't. I don't really care.")

“Rules,” she said, brusque. “I choose the route. You don’t leave my line of sight. You don’t make any sudden movements. We clear?” “As crystal.” A final click. “Oh, and don’t try to escape.” The Hound looked up at her, and shrugged. “Or do. I don’t really care.”

Chapter 3

In the first scene, Vi is ready to counter Caitlyn's seeming attack by flipping a table at her. This is a reference to a line in the song "Here Comes Vi" from Vi's champion launch — A total rebel, flipping tables on the enemy

And Vi was squared to rise, one hand palm-out and ready, one braced to flip the table. The Commander watched her coldly, ever sifting through possibilities, from where her slender hand had snapped out to the basket of stale rolls between them. No sudden movements. That was the other thing. Vi had laid out so few rules, and the prisoner was toying with them.

In the final scene, Caitlyn's observation of the rockets that strike the research building...

Following the soldier’s gaze, she caught one snapshot frame: the streams of trailing, plasmic blue light lancing across the afternoon sky, straight and narrowly fanned; their culmination in a clustered slew of red-banded, copper-colored hulls, juddering in propulsion.

Adding to this (in Ch. 4), when Vi reports to Ambessa:

She gave an account of her view of the rocket strike, the four waves of five in rapid succession

In terms of icon appearance and number of waves, this is an exact match for LoL Heimerdinger's ult-upgraded W skill (Hextech Rocket Swarm)

Chapter 5

"Blood for Noxus!" is a voice line of Noxian champion Katarina, which I reused for the battlecry introduced here.

In Vi's flashback of the battle, the prototype "Flash Harness" she uses to teleport to the barricade and take down Caitlyn's squad of Enforcers is named after the most common Summoner Spell, Flash, which is often used to initiate an attack.

“But…” The Commander’s eyes narrowed, on a detail. “The ‘Flash Harness?’ Really?” “What? That’s what it’s called, right? Short-range, unanchored jump. Codename flash.”

The activation of the Hextech War Standards / 'Portable jump-anchors' to teleport troops — introduced in the flashbacks, and featured in Chapters 7 and 17 — is called Summoning:

And then a monster in their midst — not to summon more, but simply there to lay waste.

(Ch. 7)

Enough to confuse the dimensional mapping — to risk putting who or whatever arrived at least partway in the ground. The glow snapped out, the summoning sharply aborted. “Oh, good!” Vi sighed, walking forward. “You kept the safety interlock.”

(Ch. 17)

Vi could knock it down, and stop the waypoint summoning up any surprises.

A small nod to LoL terminology; oldschool LoL (pre-2014 lore reboot) had game-explaining lore that players were "Summoners" for the League of Legends, a system of summoning Champions to contests mediated by the Runeterran "Institute of War" to settle conflicts, in order to prevent further wars. The main game map is still named Summoner's Rift.

Chapter 6

There is a brief jungling joke when Vi recalls retrieving the pelt of a Murk Wolf / "murkwolf" for one of Ambessa's tests. Vi's typical role in LoL is as a Jungler, meaning she starts a match getting her gold and experience primarily by fighting monsters; and Murk Wolves are a camp, or group of monsters, in the in-game jungle. (The two-headed Greater Murk Wolf appears in canon Arcane as the monster Dr. Reveck / Singed tracks down. Presumably Vi hunted a normal one)

(Official art for Murk wolves. The Piltover Enforcer's job is to get in the jungle and punch these)

"‘The beasts that reside here — bring me one of their pelts.’ Stuff like that.” She brushed a hand over her uniform’s fur mantle, and couldn’t help but smile. Stumbling, as the murkwolf's jaws ripped the spear from her grasp. The vice-like snap of teeth on her arm. Wide-eyed, screeching, punching it out. She looked up. “Some days, I thought either the Wolf or her tests would kill me."

Chapter 11

The title Ambessa proposes for Vi's rule, "The Piltover Enforcer," is of course a reference to her in-game title.

Chapter 12 (all the cameos!)

A few champions are referenced in Vi's flashback saga this chapter. The first is seen toward the end of Vi's service in the Trifarian Legion.

(Darius LoL splash art. I actually hate playing against him. Character-wise, he grew on me after his comic)

Darius, The Hand of Noxus, is the Commander-General appearing in the major battle where Vi becomes a terror but is then mortally wounded. Reawakening after Ambessa saves her, Vi's narrative observation of him is loopy from blood loss and pain medicine:

“The way she fought… and so young. If the Legion had ten like her…” The Commander-General’s gruff voice, somehow regretful. The tone of condolence. The Hand. The Hand of Noxus — of the whole Noxus. Wow.

And just before he gives Ambessa a lead for someone who might heal her protegee, his appearance is described:

The grim and strong-jawed face, strangely hesitant for a man made of hulking pauldrons and armor and axe.

(Kindred splash art. Really one of the coolest champion designs/concepts)

While Vi is being transported to the capitol in a feverish haze, dying of infection, she has a dream/vision where she sees Kindred, the Eternal Hunters — the two-in-one champion comprising Runeterra's embodiment of Death.

Pain. Dry, steady, consuming. Pain chewing its way through the drug-haze, fang and smolder and spark. Lying between domains. A Wolf and a Lamb, watching, watching. Her head in a lap. Thin arms cradling her. Blue eyes, so like her own eyes, stubborn, tearful, watching Death.

Powder's ghost is here, staring Kindred down, watching tearfully over Vi at the brink of death.

The "Wolf of violent death," and Noxian warriors' particular reverence for it, is referenced frequently throughout the fic; the "Lamb of peaceful death" is referenced infrequently by comparison. Vi is said to be "between domains" here because she is dying indirectly of a war injury; enough time has passed that her death may classify as peaceful (a similar uncertain case is presented in the novel Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, where Ambessa wonders if her grandfather, dying slowly of an injury, can still be taken by the Wolf).

Building on what we know of Kindred, it is implied that Vi has the option to give in to a peaceful death, or keep fighting — in which case, the (Kindred) Wolf will test her when the time comes.

Facing Death. Weak enough to go; not yet weak enough to be taken. Death’s offer, plain as its presence. Declined. “Not… yet…” The Lamb, fading in shadow. The Wolf, waiting to take. The Hound, waiting to fight.

(This is what Ambessa was referring to with "Fight, Violet. If it takes you, do not stop fighting." Her firm belief is that her disciple, as another great warrior and symbolic 'Daughter of the Wolf,' will be tested as Ambessa was, as shown in the Blood, Sweat, and Tears music video. But Vi is healed probably just in time, and we don't see it come to that).

(Vladimir LoL splash art. I've never actually played him in a normal match, but I do like him in ARAM – all random, all mid – another game mode)

Vladimir, The Crimson Reaper, is implied to be the blood mage who heals Vi's maimed hamstring and infection — but charges Ambessa exorbitantly for it, naming a price high enough to 'challenge her to refuse.' While healing others isn't part of his in-game skillset, it seems well within the bounds of what we know about hemomancy and his power level. His true identity as a literally ancient legendary mage is not known; in accordance with some lore, he presumably has adopted a cover identity as an aristocrat (and little-known cult leader). His cameo is brief, when Vi wakes up in an eerie chamber and sees strands of blood levitating overhead:

A nobleman’s light voice, sweetly uncaring. “Tsk… Oh, darling, no. You don’t want to be awake for this.”

The healing is excruciating, and she falls unconscious again. When Vi wakes up post-healing and talks with Ambessa, Ambessa references Vladimir's affiliation with the Black Rose:

“This particular mage… as luck would have it, he has associates with whom I am on no friendly terms.”

(Riven LoL splash art. She is my absolute fave! My main since 2011! I actually felt so bad having Vi punch her out!)

In the "Reckoning arc" of the chapter, when Vi climbs the ranks of one of Ambessa's arenas to repay the debt, her much-hyped final bout — which she is horrified to learn is against a prisoner, rather than another voluntary Reckoner — is against Riven, the Exile, an elite Noxian soldier who deserted after witnessing the Empire's cruelty. Per her lore, after some soul searching in Ionia, Riven was captured and hauled back to Noxus. Her time in the Reckoning Pits is also featured in a gorgeous League cinematic, Awaken, from 2019.

As Vi describes her across the arena:

A soldier — a veteran. Somewhat older than her. White hair, bound back into a short, wild tail; tan skin, with a smear of dark grease about steel-sharp amber eyes, to dampen the glare of the cold sun. (...) Vi had heard the tale. Most soldiers had. A woman born in Noxus, who had known the favor and gifts of Noxus, and one day thrown it all away. Ingrate. Deserter. Exile.

Vi confirms she (Vi) has the advantage unarmed, referencing Riven's specialty:

Her strength was in close quarters, same as the Hound. But she was a swordswoman without a sword. (...) From the first furious trade of blows, the arranged advantage was clear.

She also notices a sympathetic tone when Riven briefly speaks to her. Presumably, it's because Riven sees her old self in Vi — a loyal young soldier who's bought into the Empire's talk of glory and honor.

A woman who spoke like an old soldier to a pitiful kid. As if she knew something Vi did not. As if she knew anything.

(Another warning — major spoilers ahead for the climax of Part One)

Chapter 15

The naming of "Champions" to settle the cities' dispute via champion combat is an ironic nod to that oldschool LoL lore mentioned in the Ch. 5 section above. And of course, the playable characters are still called Champions.

Chapter 16

Caitlyn's near-superpowers of precision and prediction that culminate this chapter could be considered an extension of her LoL ult — her signature, long-range 'never-miss' ability, Ace in the Hole. This is accompanied in-scene by the use of increasingly dramatic gun metaphors to describe her, despite the melee combat. Headshot is also one of her ability names.

The Commander at the barricade — the chill clinch of certainty, in a sniper lining up a headshot. The Commander before her — who amassed and queued up a payload of specific annihilation, and prepared to squeeze the trigger.

Soon after:

Vi was an exploded diagram, a thousand decoupled gears spinning freely in their impotence. Caitlyn was a dreadnought, fixing her beneath the gun-barrel.

Accurate depiction of the dread felt when enemy Caitlyn locks on, and you're low HP and alone-

Chapter 18

The standoff when Caitlyn gets the Hexrifle, and Vi's death-sense giving her a vision of the Kindred Wolf, is an even more direct nod to the inescapable Caitlyn ult, complete with Caitlyn crouched with the shot lined up.

The specter of Death’s jaws yawned around her — immense, inescapable. (...) Any direction Vi might fake, leap, or lunge — suddenly, Vi’s every potential trajectory, infinities of possibility, terminated with an Enforcer’s bullet through her skull.

Ekko's first line to Vi when he removes his mask ("You've forgotten your roots, Vi") is one of his in-game voice lines if he encounters Vi on the enemy team.

Chapter 19

Ekko's Hex-Armor has a capability of making him briefly ethereal and faster. While Vi is on-the-fly figuring out how it works, she mentally dubs it 'ghosting':

He put on a disarming burst of speed, right when he ghosted — like all his strength propelled a fraction of the weight, before it steadily restored.

This is a reference to a less-used Summoner Spell, Ghost (though with some changes, like the added near-invisibility, and a much shorter cooldown)

Additionally, the rhythm Vi picks up on (Ekko keeping distance right after Ghost runs out, and engaging again when his spell is ready), and Vi's barb that Ekko is fighting too defensively — are meant to nod toward a tendency/strategy of being cautious while on cooldown, and going for an attack when your 'kit' (your key abilities, whatever you need for your combo, etc.) is ready.

“If you wanna fight, then fight, Little Man! (...) Aren’t you banking a little hard on your tech?” “I’m playing smart,” he cut back.

When Vi gets her gauntlet thrown to her, and Ekko pops Ghost to avoid being hit by it, we finally make the reference directly:

Vi was already charging when the phantom reappeared. So Ekko faced her, wide-eyed and scowling, with all the woe of a full cooldown timer to contend with.

The appearance/animation of Vi's Q skill ("Vault Breaker") was adapted to the description in its first use:

Blue energy arced over the alloy surface, and was discharged in a scatter. Then the swirling droplets were reabsorbed, gravitating into a faintly, then moderately, then violently glowing fist. With a single, weighty pulse and trill, it hit full charge. In one clean motion, with a hoarse yell, Vi shoved with her legs, thrust her fist, and launched. Energy screamed from ports on the back plates. She shot forward, metal knuckles leading the breakneck slam of a punch like a rocket.

Chapter 20

The 'fixed-anchor' teleportation the rebels use to get back to the hideout is termed a Recall:

“Recall successful,” the Firelight confirmed, and gave way to a chortle of relief.

This was named after a core gameplay ability that teleports a champion back to their team's base, after a duration of motionless charging. In-game, when you survive a fight at low HP, typically your goal is to find a safe place to Recall so that you can return to base and heal.

Chapter 21

Last but not least, the award for best LoL reference goes to...

“We might be in agreement somewhere,” Silco mused, feigning surprise. “I have more ideas, you know. I’m rather partial to League.” “The League?” Mel questioned, perplexed. “Better than a Triumvirate?” “The League of… something or other, I don’t know. You can workshop it.”

I couldn't resist