A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"Yup, that tasted purple."~ Lulu, The Fae Sorceress

YEAH!!! THAT TASTED PURPLE!!!

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The next day marked the move toward Freljord.

Despite wanting to further investigate the surroundings.... Caalyx and Gregori put that off for a future expedition. It was time to prioritize the move to the Freljord. 

When they had returned back to the house, Gregori and Caalyx fell into conversation on what their next move should be before Caalyx was wrapped up again. They chose to not communicate with the children for now, putting off unwrapping Caalyx for long and in a situation where enemy presence might exist.

The presence of The Void was something that scared Caalyx but it was also an opportunity for him. The chance to unite the warmongering Darkin to fight for a singular cause instead of against the people of the lands.

Gregori might not like that but Caalyx sure did.

It was the best solution his people might have. He did not hate them despite everything. They were his family. They fought with him. They bled with him. Their families married each other. His plan was to seal them all and prevent anyone from ever coming in contact with any of the Darkin ever again. But now? There was something better.

Death.

He could grant them the greatest mercy they could enjoy.

Death was something he had dreamed of. They had all dreamt of it. The end to their lives. They craved it.

Life lost its meaning when you lived that long.

Everyone they had ever known and loved all failed the test of time. Everyone except them.

No. This was an opportunity.

One he would capitalize.

And Gregori would probably agree with his decision since, he had lent a hand when he had put his brother out of his misery.

Gregori had chosen to carve warming runes stones before leaving for the Freljord. They did not have clothes that could keep them warm in the icy lands. They could have Annie create a fire but it would eventually tire her out while also leaving them under the influence of the land itself.

But preparation would keep them warm and going for longer. Getting to Rakelstake was very viable in the period of one day. Not even through the night. Just around six to seven hours. But first they would need to get to the large lake.

The group of kids were happy to spend the day exploring the area as Gregori spent time carving and preparing the rune for use.

After which, Gregori handed each of them a rune and told them to keep it on their person at all times. 

"The warming rune will keep you safe in the Freljord. It will ward of the cold while also keeping you pleasant. Do not remove it or lose it." Gregori stated.

"But I can make it warm?" Annie said as she brandished a fire in her palm.

Gregori nodded. "You can but how much longer can you keep this up without tiring out? We have to travel for almost an entire day and no one has enough magic to last that long."

Turning to the rest, he said, "We have to get to the mountain pass and find a large lake. We will stay the night there and move to our destination."

That got nods as relies and they restarted their journey.

"Where are we anyway?" Sydell asked, quickly cementing himself as the most vocal among the group.

"Tokogol idiot. Didn't your read the sign?" Faye chided.

Sydell gave her the stink eye before replying, "I meant where is Tokogol? Is it a part of Noxus? How far are we from Noxus? What is the closest destination from here? Just because you read the sign doesn't mean you cannot ask where it is. You are the stupid one."

Gregori gave the two of them stern glares, "Faye. No question is bad. Even if it is something everyone knows it is fine for you to ask about it. And Sydell you shouldn't make say things that are hurtful." Gregori answered the question, "Now. Back to the question. Tokogol was a Noxian settlement.... not anymore. But how far you are from Noxus? Quite. Very..... very far. And if you wanted to know the closest place from here? Well... that is more ambiguous. The easiest answer is that our current location is right in between Noxus and Demacia, but we are closer to the Freljord. And Rakelstake."

"That far?" Sydell asked.

Gregori nodded.

He brightened up after that.

"Were you afraid of someone coming after you?" He smirked. "Don't worry about that at all. I am stronger than most of the ones that come after you. That is without using my magic or Caalyx."

Sydell looked at him with pride.

Gregori's eyes fell on Faye, whose face had fallen after his reprimand.

"Faye. Chin up." Gregori said. "Its fine. Don't worry about it. It is my responsibility as a parent to tell you off when you do something wrong." Placing a hand on her head, he continued, "You just need to listen and fix your mistakes. That is all. Feeling bad for oneself does not help you improve and grow as a person." Softly rubbing, he coaxed, "Now give us a smile."

He watched a smile bloom on her face after a nod.

"See? That's not too bad is it?" He asked.

She shook her head.

A short while later, the path they followed opened up the mountainous region from his memory. Relying on his prior experience with the area, he led them down the mountain pass and down in front of the lake.

He pointed to the other end, beyond the lake, and said, "Just past the mountain and you'll see an endless sea of whit-"

"Sea!" Briar exclaimed in shock.

Gregori blinked in confusion before replying, "Not the sea you want Briar. It.... it is an expression. When someone says there is a sea of something, it means that there is a lot of that thing. Not necessarily a sea." He explained.

Briar's face fell.

"Don't be down. You are already seeing and experiencing so much. You'll see the sea soon enough. You can be sure of that." He assured.

He set up the wards near the mountains and away from the lake and had them all sit close.

"Take a rest. Sleep if you want." He stated as he placed his belongings down. "You are free to do as you please for sometime."

He leaned against the rapidly rising stone and crossed his legs as he watched the children play. They ran to the water and drank some and explored the general area around them.

"Don't go too far!" He called out to the rapidly retreating backs.

Rell stayed behind, choosing to sit and watch rather than play. 

Gregori did not force her to go play and let her do what she wanted. He noticed her dropping her guard around him more often. Letting bits of emotion slip through while dropping the every present frown on her face.

Not too long after their adventure had begun.

SKREEEEEEEEEEEE

A ear splitting screech echoed through the mountains. The kids running back screaming.

They arrived near the wards and started looking around frantically. Gregori stood up and extended his head out of the wards alerting them to its position and bringing them in.

As they sat huffing and puffing, he said, "You ran from the noise?"

They nodded not having the energy to eke out words due to their mad dash back.

"That was a Silverwing Raptor." He told.

"What do they look like?" Rell asked, curious as to what kind of creature would make that noise.

Gregori explained, "They are like dragons. Large. Big wings. But they are also like birds. Feathers and a bird like head with beaks." He waved his arms to indicate its size as he spoke, "They usually just fly around and carry any creature away before eating them. They have to be large though. Elnuks or Elmarks preferably. Children? It is not enough to fill their stomachs. They would just ignore you." He continued, "Demacia has soldiers that ride these creatures into battle. They are quite glorious to witness. The silver color of the creatures along with the silver, gold and blue armor of the Demacians... It looks really regal."

"We can ride them?" Asked Daani in anticipation.

Briar and Annie looked intrigued at the question and turned to him in expectation as well.

"No." Gregori shook his head, disappointing all three. "It is too dangerous. They have to be trained since young. The one you heard is probably an adult already. You cannot train something like that. Its wild nature is too much to control or change."

"Can we see it?" Asked Annie.

"No." Gregori denied once more. "Too dangerous. I don't want to take any risks with you children around. Our destination is in reach. And there is no need to put ourselves in a situation like that."

"But-"

"No buts Annie." Gregori cut in sternly. "Go around and play but stay in vision of me and do not do anything dangerous."

The kids looked at him and nodded.

He turned to Rell, "You are free to play with them as well. You might feel like you are older than them and shouldn't but you were deprived of that childhood. I wouldn't mind if you have fun alongside them." He stated, giving her the option to do what she wanted while also saying that he wouldn't mind whatever she did.

She looked at him in thought. After contemplating her next course of action, she stood up and made to go join the playing children. As she did, the metal that stayed near her fell down, leaving her completely bare of her armor.

Gregori leaned back once more and watched as the children frolicked.