The sound of screams wake him from his drunken stupor. Zed slowly opens his eyes, the weariness from his drinking hours before still somewhat present, his mouth still somewhat numb.
He slowly stumbles out of the room he was staying in, only to see several buildings were burning. The village was being attacked, by whom it was not hard to see. More Noxians coming to prey upon villages. If they were still in the army or deserters it didn’t matter. One group would kill them all, the others would just raid them for all they had of worth while killing most of them. Either way, they would not live the night.
It had been months since he had been banished for unleashing the shadow. Having nowhere to turn, he began to drink and wander, not caring what happened anymore. Twice abandoned now, he no longer cared about the lives of others, only doing what aided him. And now that meant killing the fools that sought to kill him.
The shadows shuddered as he called upon them once more. He hadn’t bothered trying to learn about the power he had now, it only reminded him of what he had lost. It struck as a mass of darkness, tearing apart several of the Noxians as it struck. They retaliated, but even in his haze their attacks were easy to avoid. They came to attack villagers, not a trained assassin. And especially not one as powerful as him.
Even as he mowed through them, he felt little concern about their or the villages well being. He only killed them because he would be caught in their slaughter should they continue. It didn’t matter to him if he was saving lives, the would all die in some other cruel way later. This world was nothing but cruelty.
And when the last of them falls he knows he has to leave anyway. The people of Ionia look upon him with fear and contempt for what he can do. He would not be welcomed even if he did save them. He is already on the outskirts of the town when a young man runs up to him.
“You! You were the one that killed those Noxians.” he yells at him. Zed grunts, waiting for the hateful words to come. Best case for them it’s just that and he leave them. Worse case they attack and he leaves one more bodies.
“I...I want to know how you did that.” Well that certainly wasn’t what he had expected. “For so long I’ve have lived in fear of them and their attacks. There is nothing I can do to stop them...but I can’t cower in hiding anymore. I want to fight them like you do, I want to be strong!”
Zed rubs his hand across his face, feeling the stubble from his unkempt face. “Listen, what I have is not something that you want. No one will accept you if you follow my path.” he tells him
“But you have accepted it. I don’t care what it costs me, I will not let them take our home land!”
Zed grunts in annoyance. Did he really want some kid tagging along to learn from him? Why should he teach him the shadow arts? He stops to see the boy’s look on his face. His eyes burn to, with the same fires that used to burn in his. Could there be others that want what he wants to? To cull this weakness from his home?
“...Just do what I say and don’t slow me down.” he agrees.
“Yes Master!” the boy calls him with a quick bow. Now that was the last thing he was expecting someone to call him.
