The Hero's Past

My trip to Ionia had been entirely unexpected, and I didn't know where to go next. Witt had said Lux wanted Ageless Water, so I eventually decided to head for Prexian. As for the great hero, I'd ask around as I went.

Poppy naturally had no objections. She'd been wandering for so long that where she went didn't matter to her.

We asked some locals for directions to Prexian and set off. On the road, Poppy told me the story of Warhammer:

Because Yordles were born at different times and had such varied personalities, they rarely met one another and found it difficult to become friends. Most knew each other only as acquaintances.

Fortunately, everyone had their own hobbies, and their lives were fairly full and interesting. Poppy was the exception.

Ever since she was born, she hadn't known what she liked. She was always wandering around alone, neither happy nor sad. Later, when she saw that everyone else had something they enjoyed, she tried imitating them:

She learned from Lulu how to look for sprites, from Rumble how to build all sorts of inventions, from Corki how to fly planes, and from Veigar how to conduct experiments...

She tried many things, but eventually gave them all up because she couldn't get interested. Later, on the advice of her clan leader, she left her homeland and went to live among other races. Plenty of Yordles had found enjoyment in the outside world, Kled among them.

After years of traveling around Runeterra, Poppy was still all alone, neither happy nor sad. It seemed everything was just as it had always been—until she met Oren.

It happened more than three hundred years ago. Demacia was in great turmoil then. Evil mages who wielded Dark Magic could be found everywhere. They captured civilians for cruel experiments, creating one horrifying tale after another.

That was why the people of Demacia hated magic, and they still did to this day.

When Poppy traveled to Demacia, she happened to arrive during a festival called the Fencings Festival. It was a gathering day for evil mages, and an eerie atmosphere hung over everything.

People didn't dare go outside that day, afraid they might run into the dangerous mages. But Poppy crossed paths with them.

That night, as she passed a farm, she saw a group of people sitting around a fire inside. The savory smell told her they were roasting meat.

She'd been on the road all day without meeting a soul, and she was starving, so she went over.

When she got closer, she realized these people weren't like ordinary folk. They wore black robes, and one of them even had a strange mask. A pile of bottles and jars sat on the ground, filled with liquids of different colors.

When they saw Poppy, they froze for a moment, then let out a sinister chuckle. "Heh heh heh. What's a little girl doing here? Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any parents. I'm looking for something fun to do, and I'm a little hungry. Could you give me something to eat?"

"Something to eat? Of course! Hahaha! Our roast is almost ready. We'll give you some in a bit."

As they roasted the meat, they opened the bottles and jars on the ground and poured their contents over it. Each time they did, the flames flared higher and shone with a different color, making the meat smell even more delicious.

Once they'd poured in all the liquids, one of them took a knife, cut off a piece of roast, and handed it to Poppy.

By this point, I was getting nervous. It was obvious these mages were no good, and the roast couldn't be good for her either...

Poppy felt no different after eating the first piece. She just wasn't full, so she asked them for another. But after the second piece, her head started to feel light, as though she were drunk. It took a long while for her to recover.

Then one of the mages stood up. "Could the potion we concocted have lost its effect? Why is this little thing fine after eating it? She even ate two pieces!"

"It shouldn't have lost its effect. Maybe adding too many ingredients caused a reaction. Let's try it on those little things over there."

The masked man took a torch and walked away. That was when Poppy noticed several children huddled in a corner. They were bound tightly, their mouths gagged with strips of cloth, and their eyes were full of fear.

The masked man casually dragged a boy over and untied him. "Don't be scared, child. You haven't eaten in two days, so you must be hungry. Here, eat this piece of meat and go home."

The boy didn't believe what the masked man said. His eyes were full of fear, but he was terribly hungry, so he cautiously took the roast and began to eat.

Halfway through, the boy suddenly clutched his stomach. Then he started scratching all over, looking like he was in terrible pain.

Poppy was horrified. She hurriedly held him and asked what was wrong, but the boy couldn't answer. Before long, he was lying in her arms, barely alive.

"Big sister, why... are you all right after eating it?"

Those were the boy's last words. After he said them, his skin quickly turned black and his body swelled several times over. His hideous appearance was like that of a demon.

Poppy's voice grew heavy as she spoke, pain written all over her face. "If I'd known what would happen, I would have stopped him."

The boy, now a monster, got back to his feet and obeyed the masked man's order to go to his side. The masked man was overjoyed and turned his attention to Poppy.

"Looks like the potion worked after all. This little one is just unusual. Look at her—doesn't she resemble the Yordles from the legends?"

"She does look a bit like one. We've never experimented on a Yordle before. Let's try it today!" one of the masked man's companions replied.

Poppy hated what they were doing, but didn't attack right away. She thought the mages might still have a way to save the boy.

No matter how she pleaded, the masked man answered only with that sinister grin. Poppy was furious. As far as she could remember, it was the first time she'd ever been angry.

She was about to attack when the masked man began chanting and ordered the monster boy to attack her. She couldn't bear to hurt him, and even after he grabbed her by the throat, she still hesitated.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Poppy spotted the other children in the corner. They'd all been dragged over and were about to be fed the roast.

She couldn't bear to watch all the children turn into monsters. Summoning her strength, she broke free and rescued the two children closest to her, but the mages still forced roast into the mouths of the other two.

"Don't!"

Poppy shouted, but it was too late. The two children turned into monsters just like the boy, then attacked at the mages' command.

This time, Poppy didn't hold back. She tore the monsters in two, then charged furiously at the mages. Her attack clearly caught them by surprise; they hadn't expected a Yordle to be so powerful!

But the mages were no weaklings, and they were especially skilled in offensive Dark Magic. Their spells struck Poppy with an intense burning pain.

Just then, a shadow suddenly appeared. He wielded a massive hammer and looked imposing as he struck down the mages while they were off guard!

Each blow of his hammer killed someone, weakening their assault considerably. Poppy took advantage of the opening to crush two of them with blows to the skull, but the masked man managed to escape.

"That must have been Oren, right?" I guessed.

"Yes. That was how Oren and I met. He didn't look down on me for being a Yordle, and he didn't seem afraid of me either."

Oren took Poppy and the two surviving children to a temple where there was plenty of Nullstone. The evil mages didn't dare go near it. Then he told Poppy what Demacia had been like back then, just as she'd described earlier.

The two of them lived together for quite a long time. Poppy discovered that Oren was a lot like her: he was always by himself, had few friends, and didn't like trying new things. His favorite thing to do was hunt down mages who preyed on others.

Because of what had happened at the farm, Poppy hated those mages too, so the two often worked together. Back then, Poppy felt she'd found a purpose in life...

Before long, they'd made names for themselves in the region. Every mage feared running into them. But gradually, Poppy realized that Oren was becoming a little extreme.

He didn't just hate evil mages; he also shunned anyone who could use even simple magic. Fortunately, Poppy often talked him down, and he was willing to listen to her.

"Thank you, Poppy. Without you, I would've fallen into darkness long ago."

"Thank you too, Oren. Without you, I never would've found my way in life."

They looked out for each other and became very close friends. For the first time since her birth, Poppy had found happiness.

When people devoted themselves to something, they often felt they never had enough time. Poppy had no concept of time, but Oren did.

During one battle, Oren injured his shoulder. Unlike before, the wound took a long time to heal.

Poppy thought it must have been some unusual magic, but Oren said it was because he was too old—he was already over seventy.

"That was when I noticed all the wrinkles on his face and the white in his hair. I finally understood just how short your lives are."

After years of fighting Dark Mages, Oren's body had suffered greatly. Though he'd once been strong and sturdy, by the time he was near death, he'd become so thin that he was little more than skin and bones. He barely looked human.

Poppy tried many things, but none of them could save him. It was probably just as he'd said: this was an ending no one could escape.

Oren gave his Warhammer to Poppy and told her where it had come from:

"Three master craftsmen with exceptional skill made this Warhammer together. It was forged with the unique craft of Nullifying Craft. In the hands of a true hero, it could bring peace to this region. Sadly, I wasn't able to do that."

"No, you are the great hero. Just look at the Kingdom of Demacia, which was only just founded. It'll surely become a world without Dark Magic."

"The road ahead is still difficult. I hope this hammer can keep serving its purpose. I hope it can be given to a true hero—a true hero..."

Oren repeated "a true hero" several times. Then he stopped breathing. He died peacefully. Perhaps, given the state of his body, death was a release.

After Oren died, Poppy inherited his wish and began searching for a true hero.

She first searched in Demacia, then left to visit even more places. She went east to the Immortal Fortress, west to the Silver City, south to the Deep Forest, and north to the Frozen North. Poppy had been to almost every famous place on the Valoran continent.

She met plenty of brave people along the way, but whenever she entrusted Oren's Hammer to one of them, things ended in tragedy. That continued until she met Ryze in the far north.

Ryze was a Bald Man and a mage. Even in the freezing snow, he went bare-chested. His rough skin was a deep purplish blue, and runes covered him from head to toe. He looked weathered and powerful.

After learning why Poppy had come, Ryze advised her to go to Demacia and find Sage Tabor, who could use divination to locate the great hero.

So Poppy trekked thousands of miles back. She found that Demacia had become prosperous and stable. There was no sign of Dark Magic anywhere, and she couldn't even sense the presence of ordinary magic.

"I don't know whether Oren's wish came true, or whether I should keep searching for a true hero. Anyway, I found an old member of the Tabor Family. You know the rest."