The Maelstrom

by Arzellous

This is a Beyond the Battlefield story, set prior to the Mirrorwater storyline.

Volibear grasped the harsh rock cliff above his head.

“Almost…there” He grunted loudly. For the last hour he had been scaling the sharp cliff, slowly heading towards the summit. The climb had been difficult, at one point, the Ursine nearly fell, a plummet that would no doubt be fatal. As the leader of his tribe, Volibear had sworn that he would protect his tribe, always put their safety first. That meant he must go through the traditions of the Ursine, scaling the harsh face of the Mountain of the Maelstrom. The enchanted gauntlets donned upon his claws fizzled with energy, on occasion, they would spark and release a bolt of energy flying through the air. After the first few times this happened, Volibear stopped being surprised, and engaged into a curious observation of the runes and engravings crafted into the gauntlets.

Volibear lifted his exhausted arms once more, and with a great relief, pulled himself up over the edge of the summit. The tribal armor upon him weighed down the warrior, but nonetheless, the Ursine had managed to reach the summit. Volibear had been told that he must look into the Maelstrom, and that he would then absorb the wisdom and clarity of mind he would require in order to lead his tribe.

“My condolences.” Volibear turned to search for the voice. Claws ready, jaw open, and releasing a powerful roar, the noble warrior released a challenge that would cause any mortal’s will to live all but shatter. The challenge of an enraged Ursine is not an idle threat, especially from a warrior such as Volibear.

But Kassadin is no mere mortal. The Void Walker was kneeled on the ground, looking into the Maelstrom. “I am sorry for your loss, your brother was a noble leader. Sadly, he was unable to ward himself from the Void. I tried to warn him, but sadly, he would not listen. I hope you do not make the same mistake.” Driven into a fury, Volibear charged at Kassadin, swinging his claws wildly at the Void Walker. Surprised by the sudden assault, Kassadin was thrown to the ground, and received several slashes to his body before he managed to Riftwalk away from the threat.

Grasping his wounds, Kassadin continued to avoid the Thunder’s Roar, but he only had so much mana, and Kassadin could already feel his power weakening. He knew he had to tranquilize the beast.

“How dare you dishonor the Ursine with your words of slander!” Volibear screamed, with a new burst of energy, the monstrous body of Volibear charged at the weakened Kassadin. With no other alternative, Kassadin focused all of his energy into releasing what last bit of mana he had. With one final, agonizing wave of energy, Volibear was thrown to the ground by the shocking power of Kassadin’s Force Pulse. Lying on the ground, gasping in pain, Volibear realized that he could not defeat this… monstrosity, no matter how powerful he was.

“I am not -AGH- your enemy.” Kassadin pleaded, “We will kill each other if this continues, and then nothing will be able to protect your tribe from the threat at hand!” Volibear stopped for a moment. Kassadin did not even need to see the bear to know what he was thinking. The Ursine are incredibly loyal, and will defend their tribe at any cost. And Volibear was no exception to this rule. If there were a threat to his tribe, he had to at least acknowledge it.

“What… threat?” Volibear grunted.

“The Void.”

Volibear kneeled on the ground next to his new ally, listening closely to his tale.

“The Void is a space between worlds, a rift that births the most horrible creations, and fathers the darkest, most terrifying kind of magic. After the ancient Rune Wars, the Void and it’s creatures discovered that they could slip through small cracks in the walls of reality. You have most likely not witnessed these creatures, as you are far north of any livable conditions for them.” Kassadin casted a spell as he spoke, creating an image in front of the Ursine, an image that brought chills colder than the most frigid day on the Freljord’s lands.

“The Maelstrom.” Kassadin said, pointing to the sky, “It is one of these cracks, fortunately, I was able to intervene before it opened completely. I was barely able to save the Frljord before, and as a result, there is a scar here, a scar in reality, that could at any time burst open again, and release the monstrosities that I have fought to keep locked away.” No sooner had the words been spoken than a miraculous rainbow of light exploded from the Maelstrom, arcing through the air in an array of whites, blues, greens, and yellows; and finding it’s target in the center of Volibear’s chest. Staggering back, Kassadin had just enough time to glimpse the horror and surprise on Volibear’s face, before the hulking body fell to the ground.

A wretched monster crawled over the limp body of a troll chieftain, dripping ooze from its mouth, leaving a thin trail of decay across everything it touched, except for, strangely, the troll’s club. The wrinkled creature looked to the sky, and released a massive glob of the strange substance into the sky, where it disappeared. Looking onward, an army of Ursine, human, trolls, and other strange…. things, fought against a swirling swarm of purple creatures. Each one was outfitted with fangs, claws, and wings, they leapt from one victim to another, leaving not a single survivor. As a disheartened Volibear looked on to the scene, he saw his tribe, the mighty Ursine, fall. His people slaughtered before the hands of this floating wizard, that demon with glowing purple fists.

Volibear gasped. Air rushed into his lungs. He felt a new power flowing through his body, a new energy that the Ursine had never felt before. Volibear turned to look at Kassadin.

“I have seen the horrors you speak of.” The Thunder’s Roar spoke. Volibear stood, and took a step forward. Calling upon his new strength, Volibear looked into the Maelstrom, and delivered a threat, one single, primal scream, a majestic roar, that warned the Void, and all of it’s inhabitants, that they had gained a new enemy.

Volibear shoved another human out of the way. These pathetic lumps, they had no power compared to the Ursine, but a soldier was a soldier. With one massive cleave, Volibear broke down the giant oak doors that opened into the main Throne Room. The humans inside immediately turned their attention to the looming figure in the doorway.

“I come from north of the mountains, from a place where few go, and even fewer return. I come with a prophecy, one that will destroy this world, and several more, if fulfilled. We must not let this happen. I pledge my allegiance to whomsoever will take arms with me and oppose this threat, WHO WILL FIGHT WITH ME???????”

The queen of Avarosa smiled, ‘now this is a warrior’.

“Thank you Ursine, I will come to arms with you! Now tell me, have you heard of Mirrorwater?”