A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"I am an artist with a sword—in more ways than one."~ Fiora, The Grand Duelist

Caalyx is a little angry at the start, he has been alone for a while. And As I told previously, Gregori is too rigid and one dimensional. I am changing that. The man is not John Wick. He is but a man who can laugh, cry and rage at the world.

Also, I am trying to get a good balance of show not tell... if that makes sense. Sometimes I find it easier to explain things rather than show it but that gets really stale really quick.

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"Caalyx meet my daughter Daisy." Gregori spoke, ignoring Caalyx's first words.

To the outside, Caalyx just seemed like a spear. Demonic and bloody, the kind of item you would choose to avoid. The random pulsing of the veins that ran along its body did nothing but help that viewpoint.

Daisy, Braum and Tryndamere just stared at it. Tryndamere's eyes gained a dangerous edge watching the spear, his mind flashing back to Aatrox as he cleaved through his people. Braum was intrigued at the seemingly living spear.

"Hello child. I am Caalyx. You might know me. I used to be called the Star Seeker." Caalyx started.

The three just looked at Caalyx without a word.

"OH! Your father is a right idiot isn't he?" Caalyx spoke with anger in his voice.

"What?" Gregori asked, confused at the sudden change in tone. Three sets of eyes shot toward him.

Caalyx vibrated on the ground. "You moron! They cannot hear me! I'm not in my complete state." 

The three pairs of eyes looked back to the vibrating spear.

"Ah."

That made sense. Old memories resurfaced. Walking through the desert then changing directions after hearing a couple of echoing voices. Following the voices till he eventually found two sentient weapons in an underground ruin.

"Hey moron? Start speaking for me." The voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"I distinctly remember you being nicer." Gregori retorted.

"I remember you being a considerate man." Caalyx shot back. "No words for over five years? Even that mage didn't show up. You could have at least brought my spearhead with you. Most of my essence is in that. I could at least speak to anyone that way. And when I'm finally unwrapped, you wrap me in minutes. MID CONVERSATION!"

"You were the one who vehemently opposed the idea of me carrying the spearhead." Gregori posed. The three looked at him in confusion as to what he was talking about.

"That's besides the point."

"I apologize."

"Good. Now repeat what I say to your child." Caalyx spoke, calming down after blowing up at Gregori.

And so Caalyx spoke once more, with Gregori as his speaker. "Hello child. I am Caalyx. You might know me. I used to be called the Star Seeker." 

Daisy looked up from the spear to her father. "Daddy has an imaginary friend?"

Caalyx started vibrating harder on the ground, "Great! Like father like daughter. A family of idiots."

"You want to be wrapped again?" Gregori replied, with venom in his voice.

The vibrating stopped.

"Flower this is not an imaginary friend. This is Caalyx. He is missing his head so he cannot speak to you." Gregori tried to explain.

"Will you find it for him?" Daisy asked hoping her father help this poor headless spear.

"Yes, we will pick his head up when we go to Demacia." 

"Okay!" Daisy replied with a large smile.

Caalyx shook on the ground, "She might be your child but she is a lot better than you."

"I take that as a compliment." Gregori replied.

"It is a compliment moron. To her not you."

"He thinks that you are a nice girl Daisy." Gregori relayed.

Daisy tried to reach for the spear. Gregori's hand shot out and grabbed hers before she made contact with the spear.

"Daisy what are you doing?" He asked.

"I wanted to pet mister spear." She spoke, her voice quivered.

Gregori shook his head, "Well you cannot touch Caalyx flower. Only I can. It is like how only Iceborn can touch True Ice weapons."

Daisy nodded, a little fearful of the spear now.

"What happens if you touch it?" Braum asked.

Gregori looked at him and Tryndamere. "Touching a Darkin weapon pits you against the Darkin. The one with the stronger mind will take control. Either you control the weapon or the weapon controls you. Usually the Darkin wins, they are old, thousands of years old, out minds cannot fathom their experiences in a short time. Due to that, they will almost always win. When they win, you become a puppet, drained of your blood and forced to kill others to replenish it by killing others. You will also grow and change shape to resemble the Darkin before they were forced into the weapons."

Braum's eyes widened and looked toward the spear.

Tryndamere looked angry, "What about you? How are you not dead?"

"The both of us." Gregori insinuated to the spear and himself, "We have a deal. My ability to use him stems from that deal and my doing a favor for him. I can only use him for a few minutes however, since I do not replenish blood through those of my enemies. I do it naturally, the moment I take in blood from the outside, blood magics interfere and stop my body from making its own blood."

Tryndamere furrowed his brows, "You used it against the Draklorn?" 

"Indeed." Gregori nodded. "I could have taken them out without using the spear but there were too many unknown variables in the mix. Using the spear removes any obstacle in my path, though it would leave me weak for some time."

"Do not speak of me as if I am animal." Caalyx shook on the ground.

Gregori let out a snort, "Of course not. You are no animal. Everyone!" He gathered their attention, " Caalyx here, was one of the ancient Shurima's greatest generals. Uncle to the last king, Azir. He then became an Ascended to protect his people from invaders. Only then did he become an animal."

Caalyx's raged, "I was no animal! There is respect in what I represented."

Looking down, Gregori spoke, "Did you have an animal head or not?"

"AGHH!" Caalyx grunted angrily, "Yes."

Gregori smiled at the spear.

"Mister spear can become an animal?" Daisy chirped, excited at the prospect.

"No. When he became an Ascended, he took on characteristics of a creature. Shuriman royals usually took on bird like features."

Caalyx vibrated.

Gregori listened to him then continued, "Caalyx looked like a falcon."

"Wow!" Daisy exclaimed. "Mister spear is an old man and a bird!"

"How did they become Darkin?" Braum asked.

Gregori answered, "After a war against big threat, they were corrupted. But they held the corruption back until their emperor failed his Ascension and the Sun Disc fell out of the sky. The Ascended then fought with each other to become king but the corruption took hold. Finally they were all sealed within indestructible weapons."

"Caalyx and his brother were kept together and were not found until, I heard their voices all those years ago."

"You left his brother?" Daisy asked with a sad expression on her face.

Caalyx replied, "We didn't leave my brother. Thousands of years of life is not good to one's mind. When Gregori had found us, he was barely sane. Despite being half crazy, he taught Gregori. He showed him our lives through magic. But it took a lot out of him and by the end of our teaching, he could barely form words without lashing out like all the other Darkin. So, I asked Gregori for a favor. I would let him wield me if he put my brother to rest. And with mine and Gregori's help, my brother moved on. I remain. I remain for I have a noble cause to stop all the other Darkin from wreaking havoc in these lands. Your father has offered his assistance in this task."

Gregori repeated Caalyx's words to the three. Braum had tears in his eyes while Tryndamere had lost the rage in his eyes, his face switched to an expressionless mask.

Daisy had her head down and was shaking.

"What is it flower?" Gregori asked softly.

She replied, while sniffling. "But its so sad. The brother will never be free."

"Suryaa IS free child. Even if his soul is gone he is always with us, aiding us in our quest." Caalyx consoled the now fully crying girl.

Gregori gathered his daughter in his arms, "Daisy... Suryaa was imprisoned in a shield. The shield is indestructible."

Daisy stopped crying and looked up at him.

Realization dawned on the three.

"I carry him with us. Everyday. And he has not failed us, not once." Gregori finished.

Daisy hugged Gregori hard and stayed like that for a while. Eventually, her sniffling stopped and stilled into deep breaths. Gregori drew circles into her back as he shifted the sleeping child into a better position. The intense training and now an emotionally draining conversation had taken a greater toll on the girl than he had imagined.

The three grown men, stared at the fire in silence. Caalyx also chose to remain silent, reminiscing his old life. His children. His wives. All dead thousands of years ago. The last to go was his brother. 

Tryndamere broke the silence, "You told me that a Darkin cannot be killed. How is his brother dead?" He kept his eyes on the fire as he spoke.

Gregori took a moment to reply, "You cannot kill but you can assimilate. Caalyx and his brother were talented in magic and weapons. They had been figuring out a way to kill themselves. Thousands of years and you will have at least a few ideas to try right?"

Tryndamere nodded.

"They came up with one idea that worked. By attempting the Ritual of Ascension by using the other Darkin to both power it and act as a catalyst.... you could empower one but kill the other. Suryaa might have passed but his power still remains within Caalyx. Which is why Caalyx split himself in two. One to be hidden away and another to assist me."

"Then how do you plan on stopping the murderer of my family and my people?"

Caalyx vibrated for a second.

"We are working on a plan. The first step of which is to unite both pieces of Caalyx and then find as many Darkin as possible. And if my observation is correct, then Aatrox is doing this for us."

"You haven't told me what the plan is." 

"I do not plan to. However I can only hope for you to trust me on this. I will avenge both your people and my own." Gregori promised, while watching the embers from the fire rise and disappear into the wind.