#valkyrie-solari

“How is she?” The tall amazon asked, her heavy boots crunching on the broken floor tiles as she walked alongside Caitlyn. The face of the former sheriff was clouded in dark of the corridor, the orange neon light lighting up her calm but sharp face every time they passed a light that was induced in concrete walls. “Her condition is stable. She probably shielded herself from the blast and only suffered external injuries. Nothing our medicine can’t fix” She reassured her solari ally, receiving a nod. “The worst she got was dislocated shoulder and a heavy concussion from the landing but they told me she is slowly coming to”. Which was the reason why the two of them were heading to the hospital hidden underground, outside the eyesight of the enemy which patrolled the skies, scanning streets with the merciless crimson searchlights.

They entered trough double doors that slid open with hiss to let them the pass. The dark grey concrete walls turned to polished white hallway in an instant, both women narrowing their eyes at the sudden bright light that showered the hallways. “Sherif, miss Solari, welcome!” The familiar robotic voice called out. Blinking few times, their eyes adjusting to the light, the two women came face to face with Blizcrank, their ever so helpful, if a bit unconventional ally. The yellow paint was peeled and more than few screws were missing from his body, but it seemed not to bother the robot as it beeped and booped, motioning the two to follow. “Miss Janna woke up three minutes and 26 seconds ago. Ever since regaining her consciousness she has expressed great distress and sense of urgency. She insisted that this unit would come retrieve you immediately”. The women nodded, both seeing how getting shot down from the sky and crash landing in ruined city center could leave one feeling more than little edgy.

Sliding open the door of the infirmary room, Caitlyn stepped in, Leona following in her wake. On the large hospital bed, bandaged and looking quite beaten and hurt laid Janna. The blonde’s whole body was covered in bandages a screen monitored her heart rate and vitals. Shaken, beaten, but alive and kicking as far as the computer was concerned. Her eyes darted open at the sight of her friends. Trying to pull herself up, Janna winced in pain, gasping with hurt before her friends rushed over to her, gently pushing the sorceress back in the bed. “Careful now! You must not move” Caitlyn scolded the woman for her recklessness. “Just because you are stitched up and dosed with painkil-..” She was interrupted by Janna however. “Where is he?!”. Both Leona and Caitlyn exchanged puzzled looks at this. “What?” Leona asked, hoping the bedridden pilot would elaborate. “Where is he? Is he hurt as bad as I am?” Janna asked again, the sense of urgency and fear evident on her voice. The confusion was evident on their face and the temptress growled with annoyance, coughing as pain hit her throat and lungs. As soon as it subsided, she spoke again with even sharper tone, her voice growing desperate. “Zed! For crying out loud where is Zed!? Is he hurt?”. 

“We’re approaching the bay, Zed!” The pilot called for her companion from between her clenched teeth, gripping the controls of airship. For the whole trip, she’d maneuvered Tailwind, a state of art zeppelin, with expertise only a very experienced pilot could pull off. The violent and surprising winds and storms of Guardian’s Sea had offered only little challenge to her, but now when the coast of Valoran was ahead, she was getting more nervous. Chewing her lip, she looked at the lights far off in the distance, shining from the continent. With the dark skies, the neon light hues were visible, and even more so, was the red sky and smoke rising from where the battles had taken place. Those smoldering husks of city districts told of the cruel reality ahead. War. A war between two ideals that could not coexist.

The tall man walked to the helm of the ship, his steel boots echoing from the floor. Leaning his head down a  bit at the entrance, he stepped into the pilot’s cockpit. “You are tense Janna” He muttered, his hand reaching up to massage her shoulders as she flew. With a practiced expertise, the large, but very nimble, fingers found and unknotted her shoulders. The woman whimpered mildly at the strong massage, but then relaxed, her tension relieving, if only for a bit. The armored ionian sat on the co-pilot’s seat beside her, his body making the leather cushioned seat creak a bit as he adjusted himself there. The electric blue eyes looked at the blonde who worked the controls, a small smile resting on the lips of the ninja at sight of her talent blossoming. “No need to worry, there is no pilot better than you in Valoran, artificial, or living”. Janna let out a sarcastic chuckle, although she did feel flattered by the compliment regardless. “The Zaunites may not have a pilot as good as me Zed, but they can throw a hundred pilots at me and just bet on one of them getting lucky” She  told him with a sliver of worry in her voice. Pulling on the controls, she elevated the ship, flying just below the dark clouds and switching off the lights from the ship, save for absolutely most crucial ones. The two were shrouded in the dark, looking out from the windows as the airship pushed forward. “Their ships are enormous. Over sized behemoths designed just to scare and ravage this land. There’s no finesse in those brutes” Janna carried on, sounding angry at the mere memory of the ships which existed solely to sow destruction upon people. Sky was not meant to be feared for, but to gazed at and enjoyed.

“Then we will destroy those monsters and their creator alongside them” Zed answered simply, even though both of them knew it was not so easy. “Thank you, Zed” Janna replied quietly, sincerely. Cocking a brow at her, ninja answered: “I’ve not yet even started yet, don’t thank me”. “No, but I mean thank you for.. Deciding to join us. To join the fight. You see it like we do. Victor will not be satisfied with just obliterating Piltover, or Valoran even. He will not stop until everything is made of metal. Until there is nothing but machines living here...” the woman shook her head, sad but determined expression on her face. “Demacia’s steel legions were supposed to arrive a month ago, but noxians cut managed to intercept them. They are out there somewhere, fighting the war of their own”. The ionian let out a dry chuckle. “Aren’t they always?”. They both let out a short laugh before falling to silence again.

The coast was now before them, and they could truly see the destruction. Blinking, the ionian stood up from his seat, looking down far, far below them. The fires burned at the small settlements and towns, the toxic fumes rising up in the air. Flames burned bright, the ground was grey with ashes and darkness of the clouds gave no light from sky to speak of better. “Its... Just like back then..” Zed muttered quietly, looking at the complete destruction, the monument of cruelty and madness of men. War. “Just like back then in Ionia...”. But it was not so, this was by far worse. The scale was different. Back then, the Noxus and Zaun would have not been able to do destruction of this scale, but they’d upped the playing field. Shaken, Zed sat down. He’d seen his homeland destroyed and ravaged once. And now Piltover and Zaun were doing the same to each other. Janna looked at him concerned, she had guessed it would affect him, just like it did most Ionians. And she also knew it was the very reason Zed had chose to take up arms, so this destruction would never come to his homeland again. “Are you o..” Her words were interrupted by a small red light igniting on the command board. There was no siren or signal, but the small crimson light was plenty enough. Both of the two looked at it, a chill going trough their spine. “Oh no...”. Falling silent, they both turned to look at radar and on the very edge of the radius, they saw two large dots appear. “Zaunites ships... And they are coming for us” Janna cursed, her mind running wild. How would they know she was returning from Ionia? There should not have been any battles in this direction. “Were we ratted out by someone?” Zed growled, looking at the horizon, the two dark shapes showing far in the distance against the red sky. “I don’t know” Janna answered grimly as she began making preparations for the confrontation.

I was a Warrior once, of pride and strength, with all the blessings of the gods laid upon me. 

I had a woman, I loved her with passion that rivalled the sun. She was mine and I was hers. 

But it was not to meant to be. 

She left me, for a higher calling. For something that was to her more important than my love. 

There was a sketch of the Solari symbol.