Prologue: My Darlings

What passing-bells for those who die as cattle?

Only the monsterous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires...

Yasuo looked down at the small table before him. Strewn across the wodden surface were baubles, mementos of happier times. Times before the invasion, times before the unfeeling, metallic beasts crawled from the oceans and onto their shores, before the green smoke streaked across the sky like furious dragons.

Before the end of everything.

He looked at the toys with storm grey eyes, no smile nor happy thought filled his waking conscious, only the cruel realisation that he was so foolish. The tokens from the past were all from different times of their lives, yet he could never bear to throw them away. Small toys, hand-carved rattles and hairbands of various colours, each one held a memory that drove the pain deeper into the samurai's heart.

He picked up one of the smallest items, two golden buttons tied together, the shape resembling a maple seed. Both buttons shone from the candle light that illuminated the room, brown metal intricately twisting around the sigil of a jade dragon, the symbol of Ionia.

"Yasuo, dinner's ready".

He didn't say a word, not even moving from where he sat. Her voice was so sweet, like fresh honey, quite the opposite compared to when they first met, but that was when he wanted to kill her, hunt her down for a reason he pretended that was justifiable.

Footsteps became louder as he heard her move closer to the bedroom. Riven's head peered in, her white hair tied up in a bun, caramel skin shiny from sweat. She looked concerned, looking at her husband's back. "Yasuo, dear. Dinner's ready".

"I know. Thank you, Riven".

Riven could not resist a frown when she saw what he held in his fingers. But, she left him alone, returning back to the kitchen. From experience, she knew that if he wanted to discuss something, he would say it when he was ready. He looked at the shiny medals once again, finally placing them back onto the table, his wife was waiting for him, and he didn't want to appear uncaring towards her. Making his way to the door, he looked at the table one last time. He clasped damp fingers around the candle's flame, plunging the room into darkness, the final streak of light dissapearing as he shut the enterance.

Rin and Ran, I remember you so well. You wanted me to teach you how to fight, how to carry on our lineage, you both begged me to teach you the wind technique, and I agreed...

That was the greatest mistake i've ever made.

When I struck down my brother so many years ago, he was but a single seed torn to pieces by the howling wind. But, I met your mother, and for a while I felt as if death had finally left my side.

And I raised you both, so different but so perfect together, just like your mother and I. When the time came, you stood for your home like we both did so long ago...

You paid for it in blood, against people who I would never expect we needed to fight.

The resistance grows strong, and the Herald watches over us, ensuring that we will destroy the Piltover-Zaun conglomerate forever. No more robots, no more hiding and finally and end to the shells of green gas that murder our home.

This to you, I promise...

Ionia will never be conquered as long as I draw breath, I will see us free for both of you...

Erimus Invictae, my darlings...

Invictus, I promise you this, will all my heart.

hello my fellow writers! I hope you like my new story, PROJECT: Invictus. Believe it or not, I've had this idea for a while, but when I was going to originally put it up, there was like a tidal wave of project stories, so I waited until it died down...

Also, if you haven't read 'Follow The Wind' by Tahimikamaxtli, read it now! It's my favourite story by far becuase of it's character development and by the fact that I cried like a little bitch after finishing it :)

Remember, this takes place after the events of 'Follow The Wind', about 10 years after Rin and Ran are seen in 'After The Rain Falls', to Rin and Ran would be about 18-20 by this point...

Thanks for reading, and I'l see you soon :D