Winter's Wrath

“Just because the past was awful doesn’t mean the future has to be.” 

“Which is why I’ll ensure it’s not.” Sejuani challenged, arms crossed in front of her as she stared her former friend and comrade down. She may be Iceborn, but her ire was a hot fire inside her chest.

“I don’t know why you insist my desire is to make the Freljord and its people suffer. My goals are to ensure the safety of the strong, and in turn the Freljord, and conservation of the old ways. The Freljord’s enemies would never seek peace, at least not one that would last forever. We cannot allow our enemies to think us weak. Allow them to view us as vulnerable.” Her own flavor of propaganda she told everyone. What most didn’t realize is that this was a lamentation of one of her fears. The fear of her and her people being walked over and subjugated. She wouldn’t suffer such a pain and disgrace.

“How will you be remembered?” 

“As a Warmother, firstly.” Sejuani reached for her drink to take a quick chug. There was a small hiccup and cough following as she leaned back in her seat. Her tongue rubbed against the front of her teeth, hidden by closed lips as she thought.

“Depending on who wins this damnable war determines the rest. Victory, I will be remembered as a hero to my people. As the Warmother that the Freljord needed. A strong leader, a competent woman. Someone who did everything to ensure the strong survived for generations to come, and the Freljord remained an independent land that the others of this world fear.” Her shoulders slump, fingers curling against the armrest’s edge only to relax.

“If Ashe wins, then lies would be told and I’d likely be made a villain. A woman who could of been great but allowed her desires to get the better of her. Probably some propaganda about how I didn’t care for my people, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.” A slow blink.

“Who were you before the world laid the shadow of grief at your feet?” 

The question was simple but powerful. Who was Sejuani before she was Warmother? Who was she before she commanded the rampage and slaughters of countless people and tribes? Who was she before today?

“I was a girl,” her voice was quiet, scratchy and rough. “Born in a blizzard and abandoned by my own mother. I suppose that is when the shadow of grief, as you put it, started.” A deep breath, she tilted her chin upwards and looked to the other before her. “After that, I was trained. Made strong by my grandmother. She showed me the love of ice and snow. The compassion of frostbite. And that if I don’t fight and take what I want, then I won’t survive. Then I met an other girl of a different tribe. She taught me friendship. Kinship. Sisterhood. How it’s so much warmer under the snow. Life was harsh, I still had to fight for everything I wanted. But at least the Summers were warm. That is, until my mother returned. Within five years, she gained control of the tribe, dwindled our numbers, moved us to inhospitable land, and let us be picked apart like carrion. The Summers became cold again, and I thought I’d never see the only one I’d call a friend ever again. And then, I found her. only for her to abandon me again.”

~~ Ashe stood, an eyebrow raised, listening to the harsh words coming from the mouth of her once kin. She knew how Sejuani would warp her own memories and how she would see Ashe’s departure as a betrayal, she was prepared for her wrath. She wanted to hurt the archer but Ashe would not let it be so. 

“Sejuani….” She scoffed a tad, softly. “…I could not stand by and watch you slaughter a village just to win favour or make a name for yourself. I wanted your name to be of honour not blood. I believed in you, it is why I made that oath, I would have stayed by your side. Alas, your bloodthirst is not something I could back. You can call me a deserter or a bitch but the reality is I rule in peace and love, my people do not fear their leader.” She may have been merciful but she was no pushover, she lowered her hood, revealing her brilliant white hair to the elements. “I did not abandon you, you threatened my life and forced me to run because my views were different from yours.” She tried not raise her voice or snarl but anger lilted her words. Her gentle icy hues, flared a little in annoyance. 

Sejuani should have just charged her, perhaps she would get an arrow or two off, but not without Sejuani being able to get on top of her. As far as she was concerned, in an actual one-on-one fight she’d win. But that would be ignoring Ashe’s prowess with a bow. arguably, the reason this petty war wasn’t over was because of her former battlesister’s skill with a bow. Her own icy blue hues stared back into Ashe’s, only wavering at the long breaths that tempered her fury.

Her entire body tensed up when she felt her hood pulled down, knowing this might be the end of her. How foolish of her to let down her guard, thinking her fantasies of being accepted with only a couple words dashed in the moment, knowing her neck was going to be–

But instead, she only felt the tenderness, or the best Sejuani could muster, in her fingers slowly treading though messy locks of hair. “ Sej. .” Her words were cut off by the other’s. Even in a hushed tone, her words carried strength. It sent shivers down her spine that the coldest winters could barely do. 

“ I . . don’t want to be alone anymore. “ Though not the words Sejuani might be looking for, the archer’s confession was too much to handle, the first few drops of tears falling onto thick fur, before her cheeks were drenched in a steady stream of salty liquid. “ Just. . give me a minute. “

A small shiver ran through her body when she heard Ashe utter her name. It was like a knife piercing her gut, but it was a hurt that she longed for, as much as she hated to admit it. Her eyes were closed when she heard the other’s confession, but shot open when she heard the request for time. She was stalling. Of course she didn’t know what to do. How foolish of Sejuani to think she actually would have come prepared for anything other than Sejuani’s surrender.

“You’re stalling.” Sejuani mumbled, the fingers on Ashe’s head tightened into a grip on the snow white locks. Teeth ground against each other as Sejuani used her leverage to wretch Ashe off her chest. “You just expected me to surrender, didn’t you? To lay down myself at your feet and give up everything for you?” She spun Ashe around and tossed her to the ground, spitting at the dirt.

 She thought for a moment. Perhaps a wrong choice of words in front of the warmother. She knew there was more to life then simple fighting but perhaps she was too eager to prove a point. “This is true. We fight for scars to tell of stories to inspire others to greatness. To make friends amongst the campfire who can share stories as well. We fight so that the children of the future can do so for the enjoyment, the honor, the will to grow stronger. This is simply why we fight, why I fight at all cost.” 

 She raised a blade to the sky. “You know me well. While i stand and breath I shall fight any cause that comes our way. It it furthers our goals or yours it is worth dying for. The future of Freljord is on the line and I can risk no less, sitting idly by. I shall stare the thousand pierced bear in the face with no fear and deliver the message that the Winter’s Claw is coming.” She said the last part with a little bit of a smile at the thought. What a death it would be, told for generations to come.

Sejuani’s stone cold expression held for a moment more before a smirk finally broke through. She shook her head and even let out a small chuckle at the humorous acceptance at a mission that would surely end in her death. A hand placed on Vrynna’s shoulder firmly squeezed as a sign of appreciation. “I’m glad you and your kin are on my side, Vrynna.”

It was sticky, wet, and hot. Or at least hot compared to the frigid ice and snow. It tasted of iron and always had a pungent scent. It could trickle down in drops or flow like a river, depending on where the cut is.

Sejuani’s palm pressed through the piles of snow beneath her. Her arm shook and strained with the strength required to push herself up. She was an Iceborn, one born of frost and snow, able to weather the blizzard. But even she wasn’t immune to the stinging cold of the ground of the North. A desperation to live, desire to survive surged through her, pushing her up on her knees and out of the suffocating white blanket around her. Blood dripped from the side of her head, melting the snow beneath her. Her sight was red, like a film had been placed over her eyes. What was it that knocked her down? Where was Bristle? Her weapons? That didn’t matter in this moment, she needed to get up. To survive.

Just trying to stand up was journey in itself and when she was finally able to, her knees were cocked inward and back hunched. Ragged breaths beat against the frozen air that surrounded her. When she first looked around, she saw nothing but ice and snow as far as the eye could seen. Then, some paces away, she spotted a muzzled and tied Bristle being dragged away. A quick count of adversaries: four. She was weaponless, bleeding, slowly freezing. But a fire of determination burned within her, bolstered her body. Slowly, she wretched herself upright. One step, then an other, and yet an other. Her body howled back in pain, but she ignored every ache that bit back from each step. She was Warmother and nothing, not even her own body, would hold her back.

Her steps picked up pace, heavy as they crunched the snow beneath her. Eventually, she made it into a full sprint. There was a rage in her heart, desire to kill. It was all too familiar. Each raid she felt this blood rush. The only difference, this time, was the lack of a weapon in hand.

By the time the first assailant realized someone was on them, Sejuani was in the air, baring down on them. A knee on the chest and hand around the abdomen, Her free fist pounded down on the fool who dared challenge her. The grip on his sword slackened, giving Sejuani the opportunity to take it and fling it at the closest enemy. Its tip pierced through their neck, blood bubbling from their wound as they fell forward, pushing the sword deeper. One hand grabbed the assailant’s chin and the other on the back of their head. A quick jerk and a loud crack followed, body falling limp. Sejuani pushed herself up, only to be met with an axe to the back. Her head whipped around, her ire present in her icy blue gaze. As the axe came down again, she caught  the blade in one hand, pushing against it. More blood dripped from her open wounds, her ears ringing a high pitched squeal that she forced herself to ignore. A free fist jabbed at her would-be murderer’s throat, swiftly followed by a hard kick to the gut. They bent over and within a moment Sejuani’s large arms were around their neck. She pushed up until a snap was echoed about, letting the body crumple to the floor. Picking up the axe, she turned to the last person standing. Someone with a hammer that had to be wielded with two hands.

With a roar, Sejuani charged and the assailant swung their weapon horizontal. Dropping to her knees, Sejuani narrowly ducked under the strike, using the axe to trip up her final opponent. When their face hit the snow, Sejuani swung the axe up and around, gashing open their ankle. A howl of pain was the response, only for the other to be met with the same treatment. Straddling on her enemy, she picked their head up by their hair and threatened the edge of the axe against it. “When you aim to kill someone,” her voice was ragged, blood dripping down onto their back. “You make sure they’re dead.”

A long drawn out sigh passed her lips, her body sinking further until the water reached just shy of her nose. What bliss! The water felt as if it was undoing every knot and strain in her muscles, letting soreness wash away with the lapping water.

That was, until she heard the door open, followed by someone ‘joining’ her. She wanted to speak up, but seeing the towering woman, she immediately closed her mouth, hiding under the water for a moment.

'Why is she here? Wait, is she here for the bath?’ She thought to herself, surfacing shortly after. She didn’t know what to do, say, but a cough from she archer made her presence known to Sejuani. “ Surprised to see you here.. warmother. ”

Sejuani cracked open a single eye when she heard the familiar voice. Did Ashe sneak in? No, she would have heard the door. She must have already been in here and Sejuani just didn’t realize. Her eye closed as she twisted her neck from side to side, a cacophony of satisfying cracks following.

“I can say the same to you.” No title nor name, likely that Sejuani still did not see her as worthy of receiving such. There was a small rising feeling that halted in her chest, simmering back down. It was like the water was preventing her from getting angry and lashing out. Probably for the best.