@annie-versary liked for a starter!
Magic was subjective; he knew that. Demacia foolishly labeled it all as impure, an issue he’d long had with his homeland, but Lucian did believe that the arcane arts had their limits, and there was a fine line between that which was moral and that which was not. Noxus was another nation that had a policy on magic he disagreed with, for he saw their allowances as too liberal, perhaps asking for tragedies involving the more wicked sorts of spells.
While his first and foremost enemy was, of course, the Black Mist (Thresh, to be precise, but as a Sentinel, he had to at least appear uncontrolled by his emotions,) it was important to remember the history of the Isles. It was corrupt magic which had tainted the archipelago, marring a land that was once beautiful and teeming with life and instead rendering it devoid of any. No, magic was not inherently evil, but any true Sentinel of Light with a basic grasp of the history of their Order understood that it had to be kept in check.
Besides, there was a limit to how long even a Sentinel could spend on the Shadow Isles. The land quite literally leeched the souls of the living who dared cross into its realm, making it impossible to stay for more than a few days— if that —before one would lose themselves to its foul influence, joining its ranks whether they’d been overcome in battle or not.
As a result, it was actually quite often that the Sentinels found other forms of work in Runeterra, typically battling mages whose hatred and resentment risked more magical cataclysms which could potentially strengthen the grip of the Mist on their world, or spirits and ghouls which had seeped into civilization through less conventional means. In this case, Lucian’s task was the former; rumors of a corrupt spellcaster in a remote section of Noxus’s borders, a desolate section of the forest which provided the isolation often loved by those with sinister intentions, had drawn him here to hunt.
The only problem was that he hadn’t expected his mark to be a child.
His grip on the two pistols eased, and his hands lowered, pointing the barrels of both guns towards the earth. This was no writhing ghoul, no wailing ghost, no vengeful spectre— it was a girl, barely old enough to lift a weapon, let alone fight with it. And while some deaths were certainly necessary evils, and he was as little a stranger to killing the living when needed as the dead, this was a job he would not be finishing. No, not today.
The purifier approached slowly. Of course, he didn’t holster the weapons; he hadn’t ruled out that he might need them yet to defend himself, but he certainly would not be going in guns blazing as per the usual protocol.
‘ You there, girl, ’ he called out tentatively. He studied her closely; she looked unimposing enough, but it wasn’t her appearance which worried him, but rather whatever blackness might have seeped into her heart and tainted the soul she cast with. What was there even to say, though? It wasn’t often that he attempted to communicate with whatever was supposed to be on the other end of his barrels, but this was a case where he had to. ‘ I know I don’t know who you are, but I’ve heard some things ‘bout you. Bad things. ’ He watched for any sudden movements.
‘ I ain’t gon’ hurt you for it, but I need’a make sure some things’re clear. ’ He took another step forward. There was a seriousness to his tone, even despite his reluctance to shoot. ‘ Let’s talk for a second, you’n I, alright? ’