Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

Lissandra rose slowly from her throne. Her eyes, long gouged out during a past battle with the demigod Volibear, no longer functioned, but her "sight" was unaffected. Losing her vision had heightened her other senses and granted her the ability to "dreamwalk," a power enabling her to traverse through dreams. It was this very ability that allowed her to contact the Watchers buried deep beneath the earth. 

Her feet, bare and glowing with an icy blue light, did not touch the ground. Instead, she glided forward, supported by a writhing mass of enchanted true ice crawling up from the floor. 

To Li Lin, this was nothing unusual, but Sejuani, who had grown wary despite once being allied with the Frostguard tribe, viewed it as a display of intimidation. Even Ashe, the leader of the Avarosan tribe, couldn't help but feel uneasy. Lissandra's mastery of magic was unparalleled, far beyond the capabilities of any shaman or spirit walker across Freljord's tribes. 

As Lissandra drifted closer, Ashe inhaled sharply, the chill biting into her lungs. "I am the war mother of the Avarosan tribe..." 

"Ashe, I know who you are," Lissandra interrupted with a soft, almost mocking laugh. Her voice carried the commanding tone of a queen. "And you, Sejuani, the descendant of my sister Serylda's bloodline. I have always been watching you both." 

"Hmph. And here I thought you just wanted us to destroy each other," Sejuani replied coldly. 

Legends and songs often spoke of the Ice Witch manipulating Freljord's tribes, sowing discord and driving the descendants of Avarosa and Serylda to conflict. Though Sejuani had once dismissed these tales as mere myths, recent events involving Gregori, coupled with Li Lin's recounting of the truth, had forced her to reconsider. The Ice Witch was far from the noble figure depicted in Frostguard propaganda. 

Sensing Sejuani's hostility, Lissandra turned her veiled face toward her. "You harbor great resentment toward me," she observed. 

"If your Frostguard hadn't attempted to subjugate the Winter's Claw, perhaps I'd feel differently," Sejuani shot back. 

Lissandra chuckled dryly, her expression devoid of warmth as she pointed a pale, slender finger at Sejuani's arms. "And yet, if not for the bracers I created, you wouldn't be alive to hold such a grudge." 

Sejuani stiffened, glancing down at her armored bracers, each embedded with a shard of True Ice. Even Ashe turned her gaze toward them. 

"How could these be yours?" Sejuani asked, frowning in disbelief. "These belonged to my mother." 

"The Explorer's Bracers," Lissandra said, her tone calm. "A thousand years ago, I gifted them to a war mother of Serylda's descendants. That they've survived to this day is... unexpected. But this is not why we're here today." 

Cutting off any further questions, Lissandra adjusted her focus to Li Lin and Ashe. 

"I know why you've come," Lissandra said. "You've undone the magic I cast upon Gregori." 

"Does that mean you admit to what you did back then?" Ashe's voice was sharp, her face, usually flawless and serene, now hardened with disappointment. "I once revered you, Lissandra. You've betrayed me, betrayed Avarosa, Serylda, and all those who once trusted you." 

"You don't understand," Lissandra said, her voice deepening with cold indifference. "You don't know what truly happened. To stand against the demigods who enslaved humanity, to gain the power we needed—some sacrifices were unavoidable." 

"And so you brought the Watchers into our world, nearly dooming all of Runeterra? And yet you still failed to conquer Freljord," Li Lin interjected bluntly. 

Lissandra was silent for a moment, her expression unchanged, as though she had grown accustomed to being misunderstood by those unaware of the full story. 

"Li Lin, Councilor Li," she said at last, changing the subject. "I hear you've established a League to unite nations and geniuses. Why haven't you invited me to join?" 

"Not only that," she continued, her voice laced with curiosity. "It's said you defeated a high-intelligence Void being. Your league's goal is to prevent the Void's arrival, correct? It seems we might have much in common." 

"While you may have sealed the Watchers," Li Lin replied evenly, "your past actions make it hard for me to trust a traitor." 

Though her face was mostly concealed by her hood, the tension in the room grew palpable as the air turned colder. Lissandra remained still for several moments before speaking again, her voice cutting through the icy silence. 

"The Watchers are our ultimate enemy," she said firmly. "That is what truly matters." 

"Precisely why I came to you today," Li Lin said. Despite Lissandra's imposing presence, his demeanor remained composed. "Your seal won't hold for much longer, will it?"

Lissandra's brow furrowed slightly, surprised by his knowledge. Sensing Ashe and Sejuani's questioning looks, she hesitated before finally responding. 

"What is it you want?" she asked. 

"It's quite simple," Li Lin said with a wave of his hand. His clothing partially transformed into armor as he projected a detailed schematic of the Great Wall Defense Line in front of Lissandra. 

Although Lissandra's eyes were blind, Li Lin knew that the world she saw through magic was far clearer than what physical sight could offer. 

"This is..." 

"The Wall Project," Li Lin explained. "My plan is to establish defensive lines across all nations and regions, especially in places where the Void is likely to descend—like Icathia. You must be familiar with the Void War that nearly wiped out Shurima's Ascended warriors." 

Lissandra fell silent once more. She had no real confidence in resisting the Watchers. Even the colossal weapons standing hundreds of meters tall within Frostguard Fortress could only slightly delay these horrifying abominations from consuming the world. It was like trying to extinguish a fire with a cup of water. 

Over the past two years, Lissandra had secretly gleaned insights from the dreams of merchants from Piltover and the Avarosan Iceborn who had accompanied Ashe to the League of Legends. She was well aware of the power of Li Lin's mechs and mechanical legions. With those forces combined with the Ascended, they could potentially eliminate terrifying entities like the self-proclaimed "Empress of the Void." Although they still fell short of the Watchers, at least the odds of victory wouldn't be zero. 

"If it increases our chances against the Watchers, I fully welcome it," Lissandra said decisively. "Time is of the essence—this project must begin immediately." 

She deliberately ignored Ashe and Sejuani, already well aware of Ashe's ambitions. Since becoming the War Mother of the Avarosan Tribe, Ashe had sought to unify the Freljord. 

Lissandra, with her unrelenting need for control, would never relinquish her grip on the Freljord. No matter how much support Ashe garnered from the League or Li Lin, Lissandra would not yield an inch on matters of governance. 

"I think—" Ashe began to speak, only for Lissandra to raise a hand and cut her off. She gestured with a slight tilt of her chin, signaling them to follow her. 

"One more thing," Lissandra added. "To better understand the strength of the Watchers, I invite you to journey beneath the Howling Abyss." 

Ashe frowned. She could tell that Lissandra was intentionally avoiding her but noticed Li Lin's interest in these creatures. Since he said nothing, Ashe decided to hold back her thoughts for now and followed Lissandra's lead. 

The Frostguard Fortress had no direct path to the Howling Abyss—not even through magic circles—because anything magical, or imbued with magical energy, would be devoured by the Watchers. Such items could either create Void creatures or awaken dormant ones. 

Every so often, the Frostguard selected a group of warriors to descend into the depths of the Howling Abyss by scaling the icy cliffs. This journey typically took an entire day and was fraught with danger. Only Iceborn with diluted bloodlines, who could endure days without rest and fight without faltering, could attempt it—and even then, the mortality rate was high. 

This method, however, was unnecessary for someone like Lissandra, whose centuries-long battle with the Watchers had equipped her with the means to confront them directly. Leading the trio, she descended from the Frostguard Fortress, eventually reaching a bridge suspended hundreds of meters below a cliffside. Lissandra dispelled a magical seal, conjuring a flawless platform of True Ice beneath her feet. The platform adhered to the cliff face, forming an external lift to lower her into the abyss. 

She turned to grant Li Lin, Ashe, and Sejuani the same magical aid, but before she could act, she noticed that their bodies were already clad in intricately constructed armor. With a hum, the anti-gravity mechanisms activated, allowing them to hover effortlessly in midair without the need for magic. 

Lissandra concealed her shock and nonchalantly remarked, "Impressive technology. Let's descend." 

The gale winds of the Howling Abyss screamed through the chasm, producing a bone-chilling and haunting wail that unnerved even the most stalwart. Although their advanced armors allowed them to descend quickly, Lissandra, relying on her ice platform, moved at a far slower pace. It took over an hour to reach the final bridge—approximately seven kilometers down—and the area bore unmistakable signs of Void corruption. 

The surrounding terrain had changed dramatically. Gigantic growths of organic matter erupted from the depths, warping the ice and stone into grotesque and indescribable forms. The wind no longer howled, but the air grew ever colder. Even those with Iceborn bloodlines could feel the biting chill. Without the protection of their suits, Ashe and Sejuani doubted they could have survived the climb down. 

"The last stretch is also the longest," Lissandra said, her voice trembling slightly. "Once we go farther, there will be no more places to rest. But from the looks of it, you won't need them." 

"This will be the most perilous, frigid, and darkest journey of your lives." 

As she spoke, an involuntary shiver passed through Ashe and Sejuani. 

As they pressed onward, another half-hour passed. Finally, they reached a vast expanse of ground made entirely of True Ice. The space before them was immense—large enough to house a thousand Frostguard Fortresses. Yet the once-brilliant True Ice was now tainted, its radiant blue glow swallowed by encroaching darkness. 

But even this was not the deepest point. 

Not far from where they landed loomed an unfathomable precipice. The chasm's depth was obscured, and even the glow of True Ice failed to penetrate its abyssal darkness. 

"That connects to the Void itself," Lissandra explained, her tone grave. "You don't want to know what's down there." 

She gestured toward a fissure leading away from the abyss. "We won't need to descend any further. Just follow this crevice... and remember: do not look down. Do not stare at anything directly. Keep your gaze fixed forward." 

Her lips curled into the faintest of smiles, more warning than reassurance. 

"Otherwise, not even I can save you." 

(End of Chapter)

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