Lanpoa’s Sage
by AbiwonKenabi
This lore event follows the May 28–29 Featured Matches. Bandle City beat the Freljord 2–1. That makes this a mostly positive lore event, but with some elements of danger to it.
Preface—Timi’u, Sage of Lanpoa
An Argyrian yordle named Timi’u, a renowned sage of Lanpoa, will join the cause of whichever faction can give him access to an ancient shard of Argyrian True Ice discovered in the seabed near the new nexus.
The mystery of the Mothership deepened with the discovery of a community of yordles on the Nyrothian island of Argyre. These yordles, who resemble Gnar rather than Bandle City yordles, are organized into rivalrous tribes that continually feud over access to Lanpoa, an artifact much like a smaller Mothership. During the Nyrothian dispute, the Freljord explored Argyre and befriended the Argyrian yordles. They invited yordles from Bandle City to assist them in communicating with Lanpoa, with somewhat controversial results—the Bandle City yordles succeeded, but then reported that Lanpoa wished to speak only to them. The Freljord’s requests, they said, would have to be conveyed through yordle intermediaries. The Freljord was not happy about this. (Some report hearing Sejuani inside her tent, shouting phrases like “skin them all” and “scheming little betrayer-yordles!”) It has been a tense situation ever since.
Timi’u is an Argyrian sage known for his remarkable ability to interpret and even manipulate Lanpoa’s sensors. When the deep-sea nexus appeared, he fell into a vision trance that lasted for days. His yordle friends brought him blankets to keep him warm, and occasionally succeeded in geting him to half-consciously consume a few bites of pie from Lanpoa’s food replicator. A Frostguard healer was asked to take a look at him, but when she approached, Lanpoa projected a forcefield that threw her back into a snowbank. A medic from Bandle City tried next, but even he was repelled, with Lanpoa threatening the terrifying curse known as access denied, and abruptly sealing its doors around Timi’u. His friends feared the worst.
On Monday, May 24, Lanpoa’s doors opened. Timi’u emerged, not only alive, but positively beatific. He held in his hands an artifact, which he named the quadronic scanner, and proclaimed that he had received a wondrous vision. In his vision, he became a sliver of True Ice that broke from Argyre and drifted through the deep seas, past Valoran and its fiery skies set ablaze by the Rune Wars, to eventually sink into the seabed. He begin pawing the air as though drawing, and a yordle hastily fetched him paper and a pen, imported from Valoran. Timi’u drew a pattern, with a circle in the center and lines leading to it from the edges. The image complete, he cheerfully pushed the pen through a point near the central circle, then fell back into the snow and curled up in blissful sleep. Summoners doing field research on Argyre immediately recognized it as a leyline-nexus diagram, and soon both Bandle City and the Freljord had dispatched survey teams.
Decision—The Sensor
Timi’u squirmed as the sailors all around him scurried around the cramped hallways of the SS-4 Anchovy. While the other Yordles seemed unfazed, Timi’u felt very trapped in this hunk of metal under the ocean. Bandle City had insisted this was for his own safety. He wiped beads of sweat from his thick fur, adjusting his hold on the Beep-Beep, his scanner gifted from the beloved Lanpoa.
“We have reached our target destination!”
“Good, prepare to emerge.”
“Emergence protocol initiated. Emerging in 5…4…3…”
The cabin shook violently as the submarine gained speed. Timi’u clutched a pipe in the wall, wishing for the sweet chill air of his homeland…
“2…1!”
The portholes swam with bubbles before revealing an endless blue horizon.
“What’s the status above deck?”
“All sensors read negative. Above deck is all clear, ma’am.”
“Excellent. Scout Dewey, would you please escort Mr. Timmy-O to the surface?”
Timi’u harrumphed. “It’s pronounced Timi’u.” He was not fond of the way Bandle City mispronounced most of the words from his culture, but he couldn’t deny that their results were convincing enough to look past that. The Beep-Beep’s incessant noise was proof of that.
“My apologies. Scout?”
Timi’u followed the scout up a ladder, where he emerged blinking in the bright morning sun. His earlier prayer for the air of Argyre was answered as he felt the rush of an icy breeze. He and the scout wandered onto deck, glancing around. Not far over one of the deck’s rails was a slab of ice. Timi’u guessed that the True Ice shard had frozen some of the ocean around it. He held Beep-Beep aloft, it’s light flashing rapidly. Slowly, he made his way to the center of the ice, tipping a curious ear at a chunk in the middle. While the ice around it seemed shiny from the sun, this ice sparkled, oblivious to the heat that melted it’s peers.
“Behold, the True Ice,” Timi’u told the small group of scouts who had gathered around them.
The scouts nodded excitedly, and went about carefully carving out the True Ice using small picks. Timi’u was content to watch, until Beep-Beep alerted him once again. The signal read differently this time.
“Hold on!” Timi’u stopped them, bringing Beep-Beep closer to the True Ice. He peered inside its crystal depths. His jaw dropped. “It’s a message from our ancestors!”
The scouts looked confusedly at him, before Timi’u insisted that they get the object out. All the while, Beep-Beep tried to urgently tell him, to call out to the piece within. With careful paws and a few Summoners spinning their spells, they were able to crack through the ice.
The instant they did, a wave of magic washed over them. Timi’u and the crew were no longer in the Guardian’s Sea, but whizzing through the stars, high above Runeterra. They passed planets and comets and galaxies. They passed a massive dragon, sparkling with cosmic energy.
“Are they letting anybody travel the stars these days?” the dragon snarked, before dashing away into an asteroid field.
The Yordles’ eyes were wide, but not wide enough to drink in the vastness of space. Timi’u felt weightless. He watched Runeterra zoom back into view, with the magnificent sun shining over it. Back they went, to the Runeterra of another time. Over the same sea they had left, they saw the Mothership in full flight. Timi’u held back tears of joy at the sight. It did fly here! It really did!
Just as suddenly as it happened, the visions disappeared, leaving the crew dazed. Some of the scientists among the crew rushed to study the object. It was a dark blue ball mounted on a slightly bent antenna; a sensor, similar to the ones on Lanpoa. They discovered it contained a memory chip, which was why it was able to provide images and readings from the past. Timi’u took it carefully in his paw, inserting it carefully into Beep-Beep. The scanners alerts ended at last once it united with the sensor.
“The sensor speaks to me,” Timi’u explained, “A day will come soon when the stars align and the sensor will activate. It will allow Beep-Beep to gather information.”
The Captain nodded in understanding. “Report this to HQ immediately!”
Summoners—Where will you scan? The conditions in which Timi’u can scan are limited, and you can only scan one location in that time. Will he scan the divine nexus, providing information that will allow Yordle subs closer to the nexus and thus be able to explore more freely? Or will he scan the heavens, revealing some of the Mothership’s original path and a possible location of a part of the Mothership?
Discussion thread: Lore Event I (Bandle City)
Voting will close no earlier than Sunday, June 5, at 5 p.m. Pacific.
Resolution
by Abiwon Kenabi
“Thank you for joining us, Champion Poppy,” the captain said.
Poppy frowned. She wasn’t paying attention, and was more concerned about the submarine before her. She lifted her shoulders, feeling the heavy pauldrons. She prayed she wouldn’t have to swim.
“It’s no big deal,” she answered shortly, “Are we all ready?”
“Everything is set except for–ah! There he is!”
A Yordle, shorter than even Poppy, trotted up. His fur was a muddled gray and white, with a giant white ball of fluff that Poppy assumed was his tail. He clutched a device in one paw as if it meant his life.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Poppy,” she introduced, “I’m going to help escort you to the scanning area. Hopefully there aren’t too many monsters around.”
The Yordle nodded shortly. “I am Timi’u, of the Soo’Par Mane tribe.”
Poppy smiled before the crew of the SS-3 Anchovy made the call for departure. Poppy fiddled with her hammer, awkwardly holding it above her as they descended the narrow ladder. Once within the tight metal halls of the sub, the captain gave the signal. They were off, into the Guardian’s Sea.
Timi’u trembled slightly beside Poppy, muttering. “Blasted…just as soon as I got off this stultaj…subakvigita bulon…”
“Is everything ok?” Poppy asked. Her brow furrowed. It was her duty to make sure Timi’u made this journey, safe and sound. That meant sound of mind as well as far as Poppy was concerned.
“I am fine…it is just, I do not agree with these sinkfloat ships very well.”
Poppy squirmed. “I know what you mean. It’s kinda….tight in here.” She gazed around the small break room they sat in–with barely enough room for a table–before her eyes flashed to the device in his hand. “Hey what’s that?”
“It is the Beep-Beep, gifted to me by Lanpoa. I will scan the Nexus with this.”
“Can I see it?”
Timi’u shook his head, his ears flopping. “I never let Beep-Beep out of my grasp. This is more important than my life.”
Poppy shifted her grip on her hammer. “I think I know what you mean.” She smirked, noticing Timi’u’s shoulders relax. Keep talking Poppy, it makes him feel better. “So…uh…how are things in Argyre?”
“Not great, I’m afraid. With the Valorans coming from the ice land, and their conflict with Bandle City…Argyre has been changed forever.”
“How so?”
“Brought into the future. Yet old wounds from the past still exist…it is, how do you say it? Bad juicebox?”
Poppy chuckled. “Something like that.”
Timi’u’s mouth twitched slightly, before becoming serious again. “I thank you and all of Bandle City for your courage and assistance. Lanpoa wishes to guide us on a new path, and most of Valoran would stand in our way. But Bandle City welcomes us.”
Poppy blushed. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just following orders. You’re helping us, too, ya know? Seems like nowadays, not many factions are willing to trust us.”
“Why is that?”
Poppy shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess people see that we’re small and just…dismiss us.”
Timi’u nodded slowly. “Yes, I think I understand. It is unusual though, Bandle City has many Beep-Beeps of all sorts. More than the Freljord, surely.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about all that. All I know is that all we can do is serve our nation honorably and do the best we can. That’s what I try to do anyways. Justice will come to those who strive for it…or so they say.”
Before he could reply, a crewmember poked his head in. His worried face was all Poppy needed to rise from her seat. They had run into trouble.
“Radar, get a read on those things. I wanna know everything about them. Torpedos, get a bead on them. Defenses at the ready!” the captain ordered, standing at her seat on the bridge.
“What is it?” Poppy leaned in, her hammer at the ready, though she wasn’t sure what it could do at this time.
“Monsters. A bunch of them,” the captain explained, her lips tight, “We can handle a few of them but the readings are off the charts. We’re still about a hundred miles out from the nexus site.”
Timi’u closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “The stars will line up soon. Time is short.”
The walls around them shuddered before a thundering BOOM put Poppy off-balance. Several alarms mixed in an ear-grating tune with the hissing and screeching of pipes.
“Torpedos! Status?”
“Ready and aiming, ma’am.”
“Fire at will!”
The sub rocked again, this time the resounding BOOM was much further. An unearthly wail followed it, making Poppy’s fur stand on end. It was strange to hear the battle but see none of it.
“We’ve gotten some thaumic readings, captain! They line up with the Void,”
“Is it friendly?”
The bridge floor swayed again in response.
“We can’t get contact with anyone.”
Poppy looked to Timi’u; his eyes were bulging, his paws white as they clutched Beep-Beep. She was suddenly reminded of that hot desert day just a few years ago, grappling with Voidling after Voidling. She could handle them, but then she could breathe in a desert. The ocean was a different matter. She turned back to the captain.
“Is there anything I can do to help, ma’am?” she asked urgently.
The captain nodded. “Suit up.”
Though she normally had no problems carrying it, Poppy’s hammer felt effortlessly light. Swinging it was a different matter, however. The cumbersome underwater suit allowed her to breathe and move but not much else. She would have to make do. She glanced back at the tube that connected her back with the Anchovy. The Anchovy’s lights shone back to her, piercing the darkness. She felt somewhat comforted by that.
“Poppy, do you read?” a fuzzy radio voice called in her ear, “Sharks. Two o’clock.”
Poppy shifted, seeing figures moving in the darkness. She held her hammer up as they approached. Several massive sharks raced towards her. These sharks had massive, endless maws, with twisting fins behind them. They weren’t like any shark Poppy saw, but then again, Poppy hadn’t seen too many sharks.
The first shark darted in, knocking her back; her sluggish reactions in the water made blocking difficult. She would have to start moving before she needed to. A second shark approached, this one she smashed with little difficulty into the rocky sea floor. The shark sparked lightly at the impact, but otherwise stopped moving.
She did this several times, hitting shark after shark. A rush of bubbles behind her made her jump, before she realized with a BOOM that the Anchovy had fired a torpedo, taking out another one. Two more took it’s place.
“We’re running out of time,” Poppy said, bopping another shark on the skull. Despite the sickening crack, it lashed out for another strike. Poppy obliged it, hitting it again in the mouth.
“Keep at it, Poppy!” the captain replied, “We’ll get through them.”
“There’s no time!” Poppy realized. She thought of Timi’u, clutching his Beep-Beep. He had to get to the nexus. “Just go!”
“We can’t leave you out there!”
“Timi’u needs to be there now.”
Poppy spun her hammer, propelling herself forward alongside the sub. The Anchovy smashed into several sharks, but a flash of light told Poppy that the shields were still up. Using the momentum of the spinning hammer, she knocked several Void sharks away. It did little to deter them, and they simply circled back around to pursue the Anchovy. Their teeth sunk into the hull, pulling them off-course. Poppy growled, tugging on the tube of the suit to pull herself closer. The weight of the water on her movements was taking it’s toll, making her motion even more sluggish.
“Not like this!” With a mighty swing, she sent a shockwave through the water, battering the sub and the sharks attached to it. They screeched in anger, making Poppy want to cover her ears through the water helmet.
The Void sharks turned on her, screeching all the while. They closed the distance in an instant, and Poppy shut her eyes against the oncoming impact…
She only felt the water shift as they halted right before her. They shrieked again for a moment, thrashing and then darting off into the darkness, apparently no longer interested in their fight.
A crackled, slimy voice spoke on the radio. “Targets dealt with, they won’t bother you anymore SS-4 Anchovy. We wonder why it took you so long to ask for our help…Icathia is always willing to help its….precious allies.”
Poppy shuddered. She preferred the sharks’ shrieking to the Icathian’s voice.
Back aboard the Anchovy, the crew was sullen. Though they had survived the attack and were reaching their destination in the nick of time, the bridge was strangely quiet. Though they spoke excitedly about the findings they might have from Beep-Beep, the comments were clipped and their bright eyes often fell just as quickly.
Beep-Beep started to glow brightly in Timi’u’s paws, it’s sensor beeping incessantly. “This is close enough,” Timi’u declared, twisting a knob on Beep-Beep.
The sub’s head scientist leapt up, leaning over Timi’u’s shoulder to peer at the Beep-Beep. Poppy felt the room hold it’s breath.
“They’re thaumic signatures,” the scientist reported, “Very detailed! Send them to the sub’s hextech memory.”
Timi’u twisted another knob, lighting up some of the bridge’s monitors. The screen streamed with numbers that Poppy didn’t understand the meaning of. The lead scientist seemed very squirmy about them, though.
“Thirteen varieties of thaumic readings, interacting with Androkor’s Trajectory, which leads to Bandle’s shoreline. It also reports readings of magic levels within the other leylines, but they…It’s… It’s lining up with the Mothership’s thaumic readings!”
The Yordles stirred from their slum, shooting each other looks of triumph. Some of the other scientists rushed to the monitor, confirming the lead scientist’s claims. The crew cheered.
Timi’u leaned in, squinting at the screen. “Do you…do you see that?”
The scientists blinked, squinting more closely. “What?”
“A sign from Lanpoa…” he muttered. Timi’u rung his hands, his face nervous. “I need to get back to Argyre. Beep-Beep….it is trying to warn us. The waves spell doom.”
The lead scientist scanned the thaumic readings again. “It’s just data. Nothing too unusual.”
Timi’u shook his head. “No no no. Data is everything. Lanpoa speaks this language and I have heard it. Argyre is not ready…they are too far behind. We need spellshooters and teachers…I must go before the League.”
Poppy bit her lip. “I can help…Bandle City can help. You’ve done well to help us, it’s only fair.”
“I thank you, Poppy, but Argyre needs to stand alone someday, just as Bandle City’s time is fast approaching. You cannot rely on Icathia for this, just as Argyre needs its independence. We need to be ready.”
The crew looked on worriedly, but Poppy raised a hand before they could express concern.
“The sooner I see the day where nations like Bandle City and Argyre can stand alone and proud, without outside agendas interfering with their ideals…the sooner, the better, I say.”
The lead scientist slowly nodded. “Yes, this data gives a lot of context as to what sort of engineering will be required to augment the subs to be fit for passing the runic barrier surrounding the nexus…we may not need Icathia to travel the area safely anymore.”
Poppy nodded. “Good. Then let’s get this information back home, everybody.”
Poppy tried her best to smile as the crew lurched back into action, readying the Anchovy for departure. Timi’u’s warning rang in her ears, but it was so outlandish she pushed it out of her mind. She had done her job admirably, and so had everyone else. So why was everyone so tense?
FACTIONS 