A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"Ooga booga monkey brain press Q"~ Master Yi, Dumbass Bladesman

Slow chapter but it is needed.

Also I'll drop 5 chapters in the first week of March. So.... yay?

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Gregori sat in front of the campfire, one hand on the log as support and another holding a large glass of mead.

A group of Avarosans stood off to the side cooking various meats and preparing bread for the feast.

His children all sat close to him, either using the Avalance beasts to support them or just playing about.

But the one thing he spotted in all of them was curiosity and intrigue. A new place and a new culture. They watched everyone move around. They observed the way they talked, even though they could not understand the language, they even tried to replicate some of their actions.

Daisy sat with them.

Closer to Annie and Gregori.

She missed them. Missed them so much. All her thoughts for the past few months was how much she had missed her family. And now that they were here, it felt like it filled a hole that she did not know existed.

Another thing caught her attention, however. The boy named Daani. He looked so different compared to everyone else. She had seen Ionians before but none this striking.

After a few minutes of observing him, she eventually gathered the courage and asked him directly, "Why do you look like that?"

Daani flinched before looking at her and then put his head to the ground.

Gregori, hearing the question, stepped in, "You shouldn't ask it like that flower. Be polite." He did not want Daani to feel like an outcast or feel bad for how he looked. If he did not feel comfortable in his original state, it might lead him to constantly use his shapeshifting to hide his true self away from everyone.

Daisy looked at her father in confusion, "No. He doesn't look like an Ionian that is why I asked."

The statement got the attention of the Iceborn in the group, none of them had seen anyone who looked like that.

Gregori nodded before replying, "But you have to ask your question politely, do not be blunt flower."

That got Daisy to put her head down a little sadly before she nodded softly.

"Now.... even I wonder... Daani.... are you Ionian?" Gregori asked him.

Daani, still with his head down, replied, "I don't.... I don't know...."

Reaching out his hand, Gregori placed it on Daani's head and patted it softly, "Its fine Daani. You don't need to speak about it if you don't want to. I'm sure no one really cares about what you look like." As he finished, Gregori gave Daisy a glance and pointed with his chin.

Daisy nodded. "Yesh!" The word came out awkwardly as she bit her tongue as she spoke.

From the side, Rell watched this interaction and her impression of Gregori went up a notch. She had expected him to pressure Daani into answering the question.... but he backed off.

Something she did not expect from adults.

She had thought that he had done it for her alone to get more information out of her but he seemed genuinely concerned for the children and seemed to show actual care for them all.

An unknown warmth spread through her and a smile cracked through her usually angry looking face. A smile no one noticed.

But a smile nonetheless.

"Daani's origins are a mystery for another day then!" Braum spoke through his fully stuffed mouth. His hand waved around in exclamation with a bone and a large piece of meat attached to the end.

Gregori turned to the man perplexed, how had he gotten the words out clearly when he had that much food in his gob?

A hand waved to his side seeking his attention.

Tryndamere.

Gregori looked to him.

"Speak." Came the words.

Gregori sighed as his shoulders drooped. He had expected some kind of smile as he was told to explain but Tryndamere spoke to him like a stranger. Which made his a little sad since he had felt like he had formed a proper connection with all the Iceborn.

But that thought disappeared as it came.

Gregori's eyes landed on the fire as he started to summarize his travel.

"After leaving the Freljord, I travelled all the way to a small town called Drugne." His hand pointed toward the star in the sky, one that was slowly darkening, "Following the star, of course."

The eyes of the kids all shot toward the fading star, their minds comprehending what their new father was talking about. They watched the star completely disappear. And then their eyes moved to Gregori. He hadn't been lying about following the star. It had let them here. They had forgotten about it during their travel but Gregori had been following it the whole time. 

HE WASN'T LYING!

Gregori, not knowing the thoughts of the children, continued, "There I visited an inn to stay the night. After a quick chat with the keeper, I found about a tavern that had burnt down a year ago.... one the owner said was burnt by a child and a bear." His eyes turned to Annie as he said it and she nodded shyly, "And then I decided to visit the tavern for further information. On my way there, I made an acquaintance with an assassin. A woman from Noxus, returning home after completing her mission. Her mission?" 

His eyes swept the group, increasing the tension, before he continued, "Killing the King of Demacia, Jarvan the Third."

Gasps spread through the group and the now forming crowd.

"I did nothing to her because she was just a weapon that had been aimed at Demacia. But the results of her actions led to a war within Demacia... one between the mages and the rest. Anyone with magic was either killed or imprisoned. Even children were not spared...."

CRACK

His eyes shifted upwards to Braum, who looked enraged. The bone in his hand, now in two pieces. The large man couldn't believe that Demacians would go so far as to hurt innocent children..... just for possessing magic.

"But nothing could be done about it. However, I knew the woman's brother. And he owed me a favor. And I called it in after completing our travel to Noxus Prime. After digging through the library for information on certain families, I found Annie's mother's childhood home. Breaking into it I found some interesting information. But the house was still empty so I went to the next place on my list. What the book had not mentioned about the second location was that it was claimed by Noxus and they had built a fortress. Using the favor I had called in... I received information about places were young girls were held.... my intention was to goo through every single one until I had found Annie. And after our transaction, some of my words to the brother had struck a cord. Which in turn, gave me an opportunity.... A distraction as I broke into the fortress.... The brother had set his sights on Noxus in its entirety.... He had planned to take out The Vision of the Trifarix and spread fear through the nobles. The plan failed but both the brother and I had achieved part of our goals. He had shaken up the hierarchy of power while I had successfully freed a girl. A girl who was experimented on and chained at the end of the fortress." 

Everyone followed his line of vision as it landed on Briar. She smiled and waved.

"After which I went through the information on other places and I saw a picture in one of them. A person in a picture I had seen once before. One that hung from the childhood home of Annie's mother."

Eyes widened as they put things together. Ashe clutched at her clothing.

"The person in question? Annie's grandmother....." Gregori sighed. "Not the family reunion I was planning for but we do not get what we want do we?" He raised his palm and stared at it. "But before getting Annie I decided to eradicate the ones who attacked my home and killed my wife and my unborn child."

Another gasp. But one from Daisy. Annie looked shocked at the thought.

"A baby sister?" Annie asked.

"Or brother..." Daisy continued.

Ashe dropped her eyes at that. She had sent a man who had lost a wife and two children to certain death so that his last child could live. It was a miracle that he hadn't just killed her for her actions.

Bringing both his daughters in for a hug, he continued. "And so.... I destroyed the entire house. Everyone that stood in my way. They all died. In that moment I wasn't just Gregori.... I was a monster. One that existed to destroy. But after that night, I waited until I was mentally ready again before I went after Annie."

His eyes were closed as he spoke. The guilt of his actions came rushing back.

The children did not understand his words properly but the adults all did. Destroying a family meant removing everyone. Adults and children. Everyone with their blood would have to fall.

Braum looked at Gregori with a complex expression.

Did he think Gregori was heavy handed? Yes. But was it warranted? It... It was.

He hated to think what he would have done if he hadn't saved his nephew from the avalanche and the Draklorn. 

He couldn't imagine the pain of losing both a wife and a child.

Not knowing the turbulent emotions going through those around him, Gregori continued. "I arrived at the place and took Annie away... and along with her, I took away all the other kids, adopting them as my own in the process. But there was one more school. One that was also a way out of Noxus. I had gone there fully expecting to find more children but there was only one." His eyes fell on Rell.

Rell finally understood. He hadn't come for her alone. He had come for everyone there but only she was left.

"After picking up the child we escaped through a hole in the Bastion's outer wall. And that is when we faced the biggest challenge. A Darkin. One similar to the one that attacked your tribe." His eyes bored into Tryndamere as he spoke.

The other barbarians leaned closer. They needed to know about creatures similar to the one that killed their families.

"Every Darkin is held within a weapon. You know of my spear and the one with the sword. But this one was a ballista. A long ranged weapon similar to a bow. But one meant to wipe out armies. We were very lucky to win the battle against it. But we did beat and seal it away. I plan on unsealing it and interrogating it soon enough but for now I plan on resting until I am fully healed. But when I do interrogate it..... you are welcome to join me Tryndamere."

With that Gregori finished and pulled his daughters into a tight hug. One that increased in size as all the other kids joined in as well.