The hot, humid weather arrived right on schedule in Demacia City that July.
Though this magnificent city lived up to its name as the Imperial Capital, perched beside the Sea of Conquest with Conqueror's Bay to the west and the towering Dragon Ridge Mountains to the north, its climate was mild in winter and cool in summer. But in July, it was still unavoidably hot enough to leave people struggling to breathe.
The damp sea breeze sent the humidity soaring throughout Demacia City, enveloping the whole place in an oppressive, muggy heat that clung to everyone.
Unlike Demacia's political system, the humid heat of the July sea breeze treated everyone equally, nobles and commoners alike.
The nobles could store ice in their cellars, but commoners could also choose to sleep outdoors, "in defiance of propriety." Once night fell, they could carry their rush mats up to their rooftops and enjoy a rare bit of cool air. When it came to the heat and humidity, everyone suffered about the same.
Besides, in Demacia City, even the poor with little to their names could buy a cold drink from the ice sellers who made their rounds through the streets.
The ice in these cheap drinks mostly came from ponds or rivers that had frozen naturally in winter, and drinking it could easily give you the runs. But who cared?
If it cooled you down, it was good ice—clean and hygienic!
The early morning was the briefest, most precious respite from the heat. By the time the first rays of sunlight climbed over Demacia City's towering walls, the hardworking Demacians were already getting up and starting another day of work.
Most of the early risers were commoners. They needed to make the most of the brief cool hours to set the tone for another hard day ahead.
However, not every noble was still asleep at that hour.
For example, the occupant of the finest bedroom on the top floor of the Crown Guard Manor, in the noble district west of the city, was already awake.
A small, pale arm emerged from beneath the covers, reaching with uncanny precision for the wind-up alarm clock on the bedside table.
"Ring, ring, ring—click."
The knob turned, and the alarm clock fell silent.
A moment later, the energetic little girl opened her eyes. Her bright blue gaze fixed on the ceiling, painted with the Crown Guard family crest, and she let out a long yawn.
Her name was Luxanna Crown Guard. She was nine years old, though those who knew her usually called her Lux. She was the little princess of the Demacian noble Crown Guard family—her father, Peter Crown Guard, was the family patriarch.
This lavishly decorated room was Lux's bedroom.
The gold-plated brass alarm clock she had just silenced had been a birthday present from Peter the year before. Apparently, it had come from a place called Piltover.
This marvelous little contraption could tell the time with perfect accuracy, as long as you remembered to wind it every day. There was no need to check the time against a sundial and calendar. More importantly, as a fine piece from the Leevik Workshop, it could also serve as an alarm clock, ringing at a set time when its spring was wound tight.
In Demacia, this was an undeniable novelty!
Lux's brother, Garen, had been eyeing the alarm clock for ages. He had tried several times to borrow it so he could "take it apart and see how it works."
But Lux always refused outright, and whenever Garen persisted, she didn't hesitate to deploy the ultimate threat: "I'll tell Mother and Father."
It wasn't that the siblings were on bad terms or that Lux didn't want to share. Her previous birthday present had been a wind-up music box, a pretty little thing that could play the first movement of the Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major. But after Garen had borrowed it to "take it apart and see how it works," he'd never managed to put it back together.
That time, when Garen realized he'd made Lux cry, he sheepishly called over his good friend, Prince Jarvan IV of Demacia. The two of them sat together, scratching their heads and fiddling with the pieces for ages. They put all their strength into it, and eventually managed to reassemble it more or less exactly as it had been.
Unfortunately, although they had put the music box back together, they ended up with not only the music box but also three extra gears, two gear shafts, a coil of spring, and several little pieces neither of them could identify.
With those parts missing, the music box could no longer play its beautiful tune.
After that, Lux refused to let Garen near anything delicate. She also understood why, for every birthday, Father gave Garen a shield or a greatsword...
This was the first time Lux had used an alarm clock to wake herself.
As one of the foremost noble families in Demacia, the Crown Guard family wasn't known for extravagance, but it still had the necessary stewards and servants. Normally, a servant would knock on Lux's door each morning to remind her to get up.
Today was no different. The main reason Lux had set the alarm was that she wanted to wake up before her brother.
After all, Father and Uncle were due back from the eastern front today. Lux had to get up before Garen so she could be the first to welcome them!
Lux was the best-behaved child, so she would get to hear the brave warriors' stories about defeating evil mages first. That way, Garen couldn't spoil the story halfway through like he always did!
Hmph!
This time, I, Lux, am going to spoil it for Garen!
"Time to get up, time to get up," Lux mumbled absentmindedly. She let go of the alarm clock and rubbed her eyes. "Mm, it's so bright. Why did the sun rise so early today...?"
"Ah—aaah!"
The next instant, Lux's shrill scream woke almost the entire Crown Guard Manor from its slumber.
When she heard Lux scream, the first to arrive was her mother, Lady Ogesha Crown Guard, whose room was next door.
She kicked the door open in a panic, holding a candlestick as though it were a sword hilt. Lady Crown Guard surveyed the room, then relaxed a little.
Lux was safe in bed, but most of her body was buried beneath the covers. She stared down at them, looking terrified, as though she'd seen something dreadful.
After a moment of bewilderment, Ogesha made a small, rather awkward mistake.
"Don't be scared, Lux."
Ogesha set down the candlestick, waved away the servants and guards who had come running at the sound, then stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She sat on the edge of the bed with a smile and spoke gently, as if she understood everything. "Sweetheart, you've already had your ninth birthday. This is perfectly normal."
"Really? It's normal?" Lux blinked in alarm. Her blue eyes were wide with worry. "You mean this happened to you when you were nine, too?"
"I went through it myself, though not when I was nine—probably a little after I turned ten?" Ogesha thought for a moment, then smiled as she answered. "But a year or two makes no real difference. It's a sign that you're growing up. It means our Miss Luxanna is a young lady now!"
Unfortunately, Ogesha's teasing did nothing to calm Lux.
"When did it stop for you?" Lux still looked terribly nervous. "It won't go on forever, will it?"
"Of course not." Ogesha began explaining basic hygiene to Lux. "Usually, this happens once a month, though it might not be regular at first. So we need to be careful..."
"How long does it last?" When she heard it happened once a month, Lux wrapped herself up in the covers and began to tremble. "I can't let anyone see me like this! And today—Father and Uncle are coming home!"
"We just need to take care of it." Ogesha leaned closer and ran her hand through Lux's shiny golden hair. "Don't be nervous, silly girl. Like I said, this is a perfectly normal bodily function."
"But that's not what the stories say!" Lux's voice was already trembling on the verge of tears. "The stories say it's evil. Am I doomed?"
"A lady shouldn't use a crude expression like 'doomed.'" Ogesha gently stroked her daughter's cheek and smoothed down her tousled golden hair. "And this has nothing to do with evil... Now, let me have a look. Hiding beneath the covers won't solve anything."
"..."
Her mother's soothing touch finally stopped Lux from trembling. Encouraged by Ogesha's smile, Lux cautiously lifted the covers.
But there was no blood on the bed, as Ogesha had expected.
Then, while Ogesha looked on in confusion, Lux finally mustered her courage and held out both hands.
A ball of light danced like a sprite in Lux's pale little hands.
There was no doubt about it. This was magic.
And that meant that in magic-suppressing Demacia, within the anti-magic Vanguard's own Crown Guard family, the sole female direct descendant of the new generation—the family's little princess, Luxanna Crown Guard—had awakened an uncontrollable magical talent at the age of nine.
The shocking sight made Ogesha's eyes widen. Lady Crown Guard stared at the little sprite of light in her daughter's hands, her mouth opening uncontrollably.
"Ah—aaah!"
Like mother, like daughter. Just listen to them—those two even screamed in almost the same rhythm.
Ogesha kept Lux's magical awakening a secret. She told Lux to stay beneath the covers and not move, then hurried off to find her sister-in-law—Lux's paternal aunt and the Fearless Vanguard's commanding officer, Tiana Crownguard.
Professional matters needed to be handled by professionals.
Tiana's husband worked with Demacia's Magic Seekers. Of all the people Ogesha knew, Tiana was probably the best equipped to deal with this problem.
Unlike the flustered Ogesha, Tiana showed little surprise when she heard the news. She narrowed her eyes and considered the matter for a moment, then rose in a hurry, leaving only the words, "Wait here."
When she returned, she handed Ogesha a short rod, eight inches long.
"Take it and give it to Lux." Tiana spoke with palpable relief. "It can absorb Lux's magic, allowing her to live like a normal person without fear. Later, we can use it as a sword hilt and forge her a sword. Then no one will know she's a Magic Corruptor."
"What is it?"
Ogesha examined the unremarkable little rod in her hand with some surprise. She couldn't see anything special about it—except that the protrusions meant for gripping looked a little sinister.
"It's a relic kept by the Illuminators. It can suppress magic without exhausting Magic Corruptors the way nullstone does." Tiana rubbed her brow. "Fortunately, its previous owner has passed away, so the Crown Guard family can borrow it for now. Don't worry. Its capabilities have been tested for over a thousand years. They say it was already a 'penitent's tool' when Demacia was founded. With it, Lux can live just like anyone else."
"That's wonderful, thank goodness!" Ogesha got to her feet in a rush, relieved. "I need to get it to Lux right away—Peter will be home soon. I wonder if the Noble Council is willing to increase its pressure on Noxus this time..."
"Go ahead." Tiana finally smiled, too. "Once my brother returns to Demacia City, the thing he'll most want to see is Lux smiling without a care in the world."
Ogesha nodded and hurried away. To keep anyone from guessing, she also brought along a few women's supplies.
However, the Crown Guard family's day was destined to be anything but peaceful.
When Lux next saw her anxious mother, she received one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that being a Magic Corruptor wasn't frightening. As long as she carried the rod, she would be fine. It had already been made into a sword hilt, so all Lux needed to do was carry the sword.
The bad news was that her uncle—the one who told her stories about the outside world, always smiling with a neat row of white teeth, and beloved by the soldiers—had been treacherously assassinated on his way home. The Ranger General had been mortally wounded.
Apparently, Noxian assassins had disguised themselves as farmers and used an especially vicious curse.
Lux hadn't woken early enough to be the first to hear a story about justice triumphing over evil. In the midst of all the confusion, she encountered death for the first time—and saw evil overwhelm justice with her own eyes.
As she watched her uncle lying peacefully in his marble coffin, Lux suddenly felt an indescribable, heart-rending pain.
Garen arrived soon after the news reached him. He even brought his sword and shouted that he wanted to enlist.
"I'm joining the Fearless Vanguard—or the Magic Seekers, if you won't let me! If you don't agree, I'll go ask Uncle Jarvan!"
News of the Ranger General's assassination spread through Demacia City like a storm.
Nobles arrived in an endless stream to pay their respects, and every one of them began with the same words: "My condolences."
Lux blinked and pouted, trying to keep from disgracing the Crown Guard family. But no matter how hard she tried, clear tears kept rolling down her cheeks, silently tracing lines across her little face.
Then, just as she broke down sobbing, a low, magnetic voice appeared beside her.
"Archmage Development System online. Under my guidance, you'll become the most powerful Spellcaster in Runeterra—huh, did I come at a bad time?"
Before you continue