Legendary

A man sat cross-legged within his private study, a room appointed to him in recognition of his recent achievement. It had only been one week since he had been inducted into the strict and incredibly powerful order, and though his entry into these hallowed halls had not been long ago, accommodations had already been made for him that in any other order would have been reserved for elders. Here, even the most recent of additions were made equals, for all of them would play equal parts in guiding the fate of Runeterra.

He ran his black-gloved hand along the ornate trim on the deep hood of his robe. Anyone in this world would recognize the fine black and gold robe for what it was immediately: the robe of a Summoner. Even after a week of living with such a lofty title he could hardly believe it. Such disbelief was not surprising, though he knew with time it would fade as he became more sure in his abilities and began to realize his potential.

He reminded himself quietly that he had earned this. He had proven flawless in his studies; in terms of tactics, none in his training class could match him. No other student could compete with his knowledge of the other Summoners and their Champions. In his mind's eye he could see every last pebble of the battlegrounds. Most importantly of all, his willpower and determination stood out from that of his peers. Only one of the gifted few who underwent the training together would ever be selected, and when the Tribunal had made their decision there had been no doubt.

Him. They had chosen him. His studies, though arduous, had proven to be hardly a challenge compared to what came after. What separated Summoners from the various powerful mages who made Runeterra their home was a carefully guarded secret of the order, and a terrible one at that.

Even after passing his studies and being selected, one test remained. To become a Summoner, he would be forced to gaze into the Void, and return unscathed.

Many candidates as brilliant as he, or perhaps even more so, had lost their minds to the madness of that infinite place. Whispers existed even outside the order of men like Kassadin, who had seen the Void and were forever haunted by it. Many legends about that forbidden place between the worlds had been told by Valoran's inhabitants, and not one of them was pleasant.

That was the Summoner's secret. To be worthy to shape the fate of Runeterra, they must be able to peer between the various planes of existence without fear.

The young Summoner had seen things in the Void that were both horrifying and awe-inspiring. He had retained his mind and his humanity, and since then had survived many more visions of that place between worlds. With those experiences, he had become free. When gazing from the Void, he could look down on Runeterra and realize all at once his world's great strength, and its great insignificance. Countless other worlds existed, not a one of them any less worthy, each with fates of their own. To that end, Runeterra was but a speck of dust in the cloud of existence.

He had come to realize that this was the knowledge all Summoners needed to discover in order to be made worthy. To guide their Champions and fight, the Summoner must be objective. Whether such battles yield a golden age, or the destruction of Runeterra itself, the Summoner must realize that both are equally insignificant compared to the remaining infinity. Even were it gone, the other worlds and the Void itself would not miss Runeterra.

He fixed his eyes on the crystal ball hovering between his hands. Even for all that great knowledge and the powerful change it had worked in him, he had other purposes for gazing into the Void; Runeterra was not the only world with power in it. His first task as a Summoner was simple in theory, but it had proven incredibly difficult for him. The Tribunal commanded all new Summoners to find a Champion of their own to fight for them. Many of the older Summoners had pulled their Champions from Runeterra itself, arguing that creatures of other worlds, or even from the Void itself, had no place in deciding Runeterra's fate.

That method of thinking was old-fashioned. If this world's fate could be decided by its denizens alone, then the very formation of the League of Legends would have been unneeded. Yet it had been proven time and again that without a push, Runeterrans would simply war and bicker with no progress to show for it. To that end, the young Summoner had decided that a Champion from another world was needed to tip the scales.

Since his initiation he had cast himself over and over into the Void, gazing upon world after world and looking for a powerful creature who met his expectations. In order for their partnership to be efficient, it was critical that he find someone, or something, with a mentality and a spirit much like his own. The search was grueling; there were so many planes to sift through. Yet surely, with so many worlds to discover, the creature he sought had to exist!

He returned to his work once more. Runeterra was depending on his efforts, awaiting his Champion. Many hours passed as the crystal orb hovered in his hands, and the images of many worlds and creatures passed through its depths.

Then, at last, he felt it.

The creature that filled the orb burned with curiosity, much like his own. He could feel its nature... her nature. Her sense of justice, her eagerness to help her allies no matter the cost, and her amazing capacity for knowledge astounded him as the Void revealed mote after mote of her essence to him. She was kind, innocent even, and he was unable to deny that he felt a twinge of regret for that. The League of Legends had many kindhearted Champions, but this creature had not experienced the death or ferocity of battle that was inherent to it.

The fact that his heart ached for it only solidified his decision. While he knew that she would suffer for her involvement in the League, he had known that he would suffer as well when he had set himself upon this path. He, too, was unfamiliar with death and destruction.

They were perfect for one another.

The young Summoner smiled sadly as he gazed at the purplish creature inside the crystal orb. He placed his hands on it as if doing so would allow him to touch her, this creature who was so much like him. "You and I will do great things. Your world will miss you, but for the sake of my own I need your help," he whispered gently, though he knew she could not hear him.

"I have been searching for you. I have risked everything for this; my magic, my sanity, and even my very life. And at last, I've found you," he said, his sad smile shifting to one of warmth.

"Oh, the wonders you and I will work."

The Hall of Summoning was a truly awe inspiring place. Great pillars soared to a ceiling that could never be seen, for it was too high for the light of even the wondrous blue-crystal lamps to reach. The room had no windows, for it was at the very center of the Institute of War, the headquarters for all Summoners. The floor was polished black marble, perfectly reflecting the visages of the numerous enchanted statues that guarded the hall, much like those that stood vigil over the battlegrounds of the League.

At the center of the room was a slightly-raised circular platform of stone, its surface adorned with many mysterious runes. Four of the great guardian statues were arranged around one half of the circle, facing its center. Around the remaining half of the platform's edge ran a raised set of seats, seven in all, acting as a wall as if to guard that side of the circle in the statues' stead.

One summoner stood out from the rest in their mighty thrones, his seat the highest of all. A great white beard flowed out from his hood, but the shadows within were too deep to see the wise eyes all Summoners knew to dwell within. Arranged to his sides were six other men and women, impossible to discern the age of each, for they were likewise robed.

This was the Tribunal, the governing body of the Summoner order. They, too, were Summoners, but their lot was not to fight. Theirs was to ensure the balance of things, for they alone knew the intricate magics which governed everything within the League of Legends. It was their magic that prevented each Champion from becoming too powerful, their mastery of the Void that brought new champions from far-off worlds.

"Have you found your Champion, Armen?" the High Summoner asked, his voice shaky with age, but not lacking in volume or its commanding, deep tone.

"I have," the young Summoner replied dutifully. "At long last."

A warm, comfortable laugh echoed out from the High Summoner's hood. "I can see it in you; the excitement. You have found some creature you wish desperately to meet," the old man said quietly.

Armen could not see his face, yet he got the overwhelming feeling that the elder was smiling warmly at him. That notion, and the thoughts of the creature he had seen, both physically and spiritually, brought a pleasant smile of his own to his lips.

"And do you believe that what you have seen can change the tide in the battles that shape our world's destiny?" the High Summoner asked.

"I do," Armen replied without hesitation. "Only the gods of her world are greater, at least amongst the race of her people. Once the Tribunal has seen fit to balance her, I have no doubt that she will prove a skilled partner, and a worthy adversary in the battlegrounds," he finished, his voice never once wavering in its determination.

"Hmmm. Yes, I see her," the old man chuckled, but it was not a rude or mocking laugh. "The innocence in her heart may be troublesome for you. Are you willing to make the sacrifices that may be required of you because of that?"

Armen spent a short moment in shock before recalling who he was talking to. It should not have been surprising to find that the High Summoner could gaze into the Void without a scrying orb, or that he had found her so quickly. After all, it was his duty to pull her into Runeterra; a task that would be impossible if he could not locate her with ease.

"I am prepared. With all due respect, High Summoner, the fact that she has not killed before now means very little. Many of Runeterra's mightiest Champions were once innocent children themselves," Armen pointed out, glad to know that the Tribunal could not see his sad expression within the depths of his hood; it would have done little to convince them. "I will not let it break her."

A moment of silence passed, and Armen began to wonder if perhaps the High Summoner could see his face.

"Very well," the old man called at last. "You know a Summoner's duties to their Champion. I have faith that you will be her steadfast protector and wise guide. The Tribunal will summon her from her world, and pass her into your care. She will be a guest in Runeterra, and you are her host. Remember that Summoner and Champion are not master and servant, but rather sword and shield; partners with a common destiny."

Armen's heart raced with excitement. Logically he had expected the Tribunal to agree, but he had secretly feared they would decline his preferred Champion. The High Summoner's words only helped to solidify in his mind the role he knew he was meant to play; a role he was eager to fill.

"I will not fail her," Armen declared warmly, his tone sure and ready.

The High Summoner stood slowly, the other six members of the Tribunal following his lead. "Then let us begin," the old man said seriously.

Twilight groaned as the blackness in her vision slowly began to fade, giving way to a bright bluish glow. Though the darkness had finally managed to go away, everything was blurry and seemed to be gently swaying back and forth, as if she were looking through water.

Purely on instinct she moved to stand, but her front legs didn't have the strength to hold traction, and her hooves simply slid forward rather than propping her up.

"Is she well?" she heard someone say, a deep voice full of warm concern that seemed very far away, yet somehow she knew the speaker was very close.

"This is natural. She will recover soon," another deep voice called, a voice Twilight recognized as having the tremors of age in it. This voice, too, felt as if it were coming to her across a great distance. Or perhaps, her groggy mind reasoned, it was an echo, or even just imaginary.

Twilight closed her eyes, the waviness in her vision making her feel sick. Her whole body felt tingly, as if it were slowly recovering from being numb. Whatever the two voices were talking about, it didn't make any sense to her yet. Whatever was wrong with her, it felt absolutely miserable.

Many more minutes passed, and the voices seemed to grow closer as they discussed something Twilight couldn't follow. There was a great deal mentioned about 'summoning' and the 'Void', but it didn't mean anything to her. Eventually the second voice mentioned that it was leaving for a time, and the conversation stopped altogether.

At last the numbing feeling in her legs departed, and so she risked opening her eyes. The strangeness in her vision had finally vanished as well, and she could now see clearly.

Unfortunately, what she saw still didn't make any sense.

She lifted her head up from where it had been resting on the warm, polished stone beneath her. Blue light pulsed all around her, coming up like water through strange markings that carried the tell-tale swoops and angles common in all magical runes.

Ahead of her towered four enormous statues in the image of of some creature she didn't recognize, all of them looking at her with blue-crystal eyes. Each of them held a staff crowned with an enormous crystal diamond, almost like a spear, and the faces carved into them were stern. It was as if they were watching her carefully, and ready to strike at any moment if they had to.

Twilight simply remained laying on her side, unable to even think of moving as she took in the rest of the room ahead of her. This wasn't any place she recognized.

"Where am I?" she asked quietly, more to herself than anything.

"You are at the Institute of War," came the half-expected reply. It was one of the voices she had heard earlier; the warm and concerned one. "Can you stand?"

Twilight didn't honestly know the answer to that; she'd already tried it once, but it hadn't exactly worked out for her. Still, nothing was going to be answered by just laying down, so she rolled onto her stomach and forced herself to her hooves. Her legs still felt shaky and weak, but she managed.

"Good," came the voice again, relief clear in its tone. "I'm sorry for the condition you were in. I didn't realize that summoning you would have any such effect."

Finally upright, Twilight sent her eyes on the hunt for the speaker. It didn't take her long to find him, standing between the center two of the strange statues at the edge of the arcane circle she was standing on.

His appearance unnerved her. She couldn't see the creature's face, or anything about it at all. Every inch of it was covered in black cloth, and the hood was too deeply shrouded in shadow for her to see its face. Judging by the voice, the thing was obviously male.

She wracked her brain for ideas about what he could be. He was tall, far too tall to be a pony, and besides that it was clearly standing on just two legs. There were only two things Twilight could think of that were tall and stood on two legs. One was a Minotaur, but a Minotaur that tall would have been much, much wider at the shoulder.

The other thing it could be was a Draconnequis.

That thought brought an instant scowl to Twilight's face. "What are you?" she asked skeptically, the distrust in her tone practically tangible.

"Forgive me," the creature in black replied apologetically, walking out from between the towering statues and approaching Twilight.

Already agitated because of her previous condition and confusion, and not about to let a potential Draconnequis get too close, Twilight leveled her horn at the approaching figure, a command for him to stay back quick on her lips.

Her words never came, because as soon as she made her threatening move the massive statues reacted, the crystals atop their staves glowing fiercely. As quick as lightning the statues all began to move, each one jabbing their weapon towards Twilight.

"Enough!" the creature in black cried desperately, whirling to face the statues. "She means me no harm! Return to your vigil!"

The tips of their mighty crystal spears stopped only mere feet from Twilight, which may as well have been inches compared to the size of such weapons. She stood frozen in shock as the sharp crystals retreated, the glow within them fading while the statues returned to their previously immobile state, as if nothing had happened.

"I apologize... I didn't mean to cause you any alarm," the creature replied, sounding deeply upset. "You are my guest, after all, and this is hardly a fitting welcome," he grumbled.

"W-what are you?" Twilight asked again, recovering slightly from the fact that she had almost been stabbed to death with nothing more than a split-second's notice. The fact that this unknown thing in black had prevented that from happening was certainly helping her opinion of him a little more.

He held his hands in front of him in a placating gesture, as if to signal he wouldn't approach her again. Staying where he was, he reached up and threw his hood back, revealing his face.

He had tan skin, and no coat of fur. A patch of black hair that would never have passed for a mane sat atop his head, and a darker tint to his cheeks and jawline hinted at the stubble of what would otherwise be a full beard. He strongly resembled the creature that the murderous statues were modeled after.

He didn't look old, though clearly he was some kind of creature Twilight had never seen before, so she couldn't say for certain. He had hands rather than hooves, similar to Spike's clawed variation. She couldn't see the rest of him through his cloak, but she realized that her worry that he was a Draconnequis was pointless, for he had no wings or tail that she could see.

"I'm a human," he said at length, politely giving her time to her thoughts as she looked him over. "We don't exist in your world."

That sent up a big red flag for Twilight. She hadn't recognized the name 'Institute of War' when he'd mentioned it before, but then she had never heard of the Crystal Empire either until she'd been sent on a mission there. She had just assumed it was someplace in Equestria that the general public didn't know about.

That's not what it was starting to sound like at all.

"What do you mean 'my world'?" she asked cautiously, her mind already dreading the answer she knew was coming. The signs were too many, and too obvious.

"I'm sorry," the human replied sadly, his face perfectly matching the expression any pony would wear for such an apology, "but you are no longer in the world you were born into. You have been summoned to my world... Runeterra."

Though she had expected such an answer, the shock of that hit Twilight hard. Magic had long argued in favor of there being worlds besides the one that contained Equestria, but nothing had ever been proven. Yet here she was, clearly facing a creature not from any universe she was familiar with, in a place she didn't recognize.

Her mind raced as she re-examined everything the man had said and that she had seen. Where magic was concerned, she didn't have a drop of skepticism regarding the fact that she might really be in a world other than her own. Yet despite her observations, and her reasoning, she still hung onto a few moments of denial. However, the more she thought on it, the more she came to realize that it was true. This was not her world.

The realization slowly crept in that it meant she was alone. All sense of familiarity, and any hope of finding some, vanished in an instant. In this world there wouldn't be any Celestia, or Spike, or her other friends. Her parents, her brother... None of it would be here. Her already questionable standing abilities gave out, along with her composure, as she slumped to the ground, breathing heavily in panic. She sat there, staring at nothing as her heart and mind tried to wrestle with the idea that she was now somewhere she didn't know or understand, with no one she knew.

She suddenly felt a gentle touch atop her head, a physical contact that broke her out of her dark reverie and steered her gaze back to reality. She looked up to see a black-robed arm hovering ahead of her, a gloved hand resting between her ears. Her eyes ran up the length of that arm, her suddenly teary eyes fixing on the eyes of the human. He was smiling at her comfortingly, but she could see in his eyes that somehow he knew what she was feeling. As if he had expected and worried for it all along, and had simply been waiting to comfort her through it.

"I am sorry," he said again, his comforting smile turning sad. "I wish that I did not have to tear you from your home."

"Send me back," Twilight pleaded, her voice strained with sadness on the verge of breaking free. "You brought me here, so you have to be able to send me home!" she reasoned, needing to believe that.

The human sighed, and looked away from her, pulling his comforting hand from her head. "Yes, I can... but I will not," he said, and it was clear that he wished he hadn't had to say those words.

No matter the sympathy or regret in his tone, it did little to stall Twilight's anger. "You..." she growled, jumping back up on her hooves. "You take me away from my home, my friends, and all you do is keep apologizing! If you're sorry, then send me home! I didn't ask to be here!" she shouted.

The statues did nothing this time, though her posture was more threatening than ever. Even if they had moved to attack her, Twilight wouldn't have stopped; this anger was justified.

"I asked for you to be here," he replied quietly, his tone subdued, as if he understood that he deserved her anger and was willing to take it in stride.

"Why?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Because I need your help," he said firmly.

Her anger at being held prisoner in a world not her own wasn't about to just vanish, but his words confused her. "My help?" she asked, not willing to let go of her less-than-friendly tone, or her fierce scowl.

"Yes." The man nodded, and then sighed. "Please understand... The world you come from is at peace. Though you will miss your world, and it will miss you, its fate is secured. You have gods that watch over your world, and they are benevolent. I mean no harm by saying this, but even in your absence your world will prosper," he said quietly.

"Celestia and Luna," Twilight whispered, certain that the human was referring to them.

In response he simply nodded, though she could tell he clearly did not recognize the names. "This world, my world, is not so fortunate. There are no gods here to ensure a bright future. Here, the forces of good, evil, and neutrality are all equally balanced. Until one of them triumphs, Runeterra suffers from stagnation, at constant disagreement with itself," he whispered darkly.

"I don't understand," Twilight replied quietly. "How can you know my world will be safe? It might be peaceful now, but new evils attack Equestria all the time!" she said angrily, knowing full-well that, as the Element of Magic, Equestria was in danger without her.

"We are watching your world now. Because you are a guest in our own, the happenings of your world are now our concern. If something comes to pass that could not be prevented without your presence, we would return you to your world, this 'Equestria', immediately," he said with a comforting smile. "I understand that your world depends on your strength in times of trouble... it's for that very reason that I called upon you. For now, though, your world is safe."

"And yours is in trouble," Twilight said quietly, unwilling to admit that what the human was saying made sense. When trouble came knocking, Twilight was fairly dependable. "And you won't let me go back unless I help you?" she asked, scowling.

"That is unfortunately so," the human replied with an apologetic smile.

"But the minute something bad happens in Equestria, you'll send me back to stop it?" she prodded.

"We would never allow your world to suffer for the sake of our own. You have my solemn promise that you will be returned home if you are needed," he said gravely. It was the first time Twilight had seen him so serious, his expression determined and proud.

After many moments studying him and thinking over his words, Twilight sighed. "So I'm not a prisoner, but I can't just go home whenever I feel like..." she muttered, still trying to piece it all together.

"Never a prisoner," the human said indignantly. "You are our guest."

Twilight rolled her eyes, but gave up on her rebuttal with a sigh. "What about my friends and family? Will they know I'm gone?"

"Yes, they will know... But time passes differently between worlds," the human said, snapping his fingers suddenly as that realization came to him, something he recalled from his training. A crystal orb appeared as if from thin air suddenly, hovering between his hands.

Twilight looked into it, fully expecting there to be something, but all she could see was a bunch of black nothingness.

"You have already been in our world nearly an hour," the human said with a broad smile, clearly seeing something within the crystal ball that Twilight couldn't. "But in your world, it has not even been one second yet."

That put Twilight's eyebrows up a few notches in surprise. "Not even a full second?" she asked in disbelief, poking her head up through the man's arms to gaze at his side of the orb. "How can you tell?" she asked, still unable to see anything but blackness.

"I'm hiding the vision from you with my magic. Please understand. Allowing you to gaze upon the Void could cost you your sanity, or worse your life. You will simply have to trust that what I am saying to you is the truth; I have no reason to lie to you," he said with a reassuring smile. "Even if you were to stay here for a hundred years, it would only be half a year at the most in your world, and we will certainly not keep you that long."

Twilight stared at the black inside the orb intently, as if still expecting to see something that would prove him right. Half a year was a very long time, but like he had said, she wouldn't be kept that long. Even if she stayed for ten years, it would only be half of a month in Equestria.

The orb vanished suddenly, his gloved hands settling on her shoulders and spinning her around to face the smiling human. "Your friends and family may miss you, but it will not be for very long. I know that you will miss them, but I promise that you will be returned to them in time. Will you help me?" he asked, smile still in place all the while.

Twilight eyed him carefully, mulling everything over one final time. Either way it seemed she was trapped here. "I don't suppose I have a choice," she muttered, scowling. With a sigh, her displeased expression faded, and she nodded. "Yes, I'll help you."

"Wonderful!" the man cried, clapping a hand twice on her shoulder and laughing. "What is your name?"

"Twilight Sparkle," Twilight replied, unable to deny a smile at his enthusiasm. If she had to be trapped here, at least the first creature she had met was entertaining. "What's yours?"

"Armen. Armen Trimmek," he replied with a bow. "I am looking forward to working together. There's so much for me to teach you, and so much for you to learn."

Those words brought an automatic smile to Twilight's face. "You're in luck; it just so happens I love to learn," she said, her smile widening. "What does 'working together' mean, exactly?" she asked, realizing that she still had no idea how she was supposed to help him.

"It's very simple, really," Armen said, smiling excitedly. "I am your Summoner, and you are my Champion. We will be partners in the coming battles that will mold the fate of Runeterra!"

Twilight's smile faded suddenly as her eyes widened in surprise. "Did you say 'battles'?"