The Placidium

By day, as they walked the mountain roads, Jia Ruo practiced his swordsmanship at Yi's side, while Yi taught him the profound principles of martial arts in simple terms. At night, as they rested in the forest, Jia Ruo and Yi meditated together in midair, mana circulating through their bodies as green and purple light shimmered in turn.

Some things took many words to explain; others took few.

As the weather gradually warmed, Ionia bloomed from a bitterly cold spring into a bright and pleasant land.

Yi had finally let go of his worries—Jia Ruo had mastered all of his teachings.

As for the road ahead, that was up to Jia Ruo himself to walk.

May Wuju endure forever.

That day, Yi, Jia Ruo, and Neeko came to a bridge.

On the other side of the bridge lay the Placidium.

"This..."

Jia Ruo gazed up at the magnificent bridge, unable to hide his awe.

The bridge passed beneath a series of towering arches, and ropes hanging from them kept it suspended in midair.

Each of those arches, it turned out, rose from the cliffs below the bridge.

Clouds and mist swirled beneath it. Jia Ruo couldn't tell how far down it went, but looking over the edge made his head spin.

Even on Earth, with all its advanced technology, he had never seen a structure so breathtaking.

There was no doubt about it: this had to be the work of magic.

As they crossed the bridge, which was as wide as a six-lane highway on Earth, Jia Ruo saw people coming and going, including quite a few Vastaya.

Like the villagers they had seen along the way, they wore all kinds of colorful clothing, though most of the people on the bridge carried bamboo baskets or travel packs.

It took them nearly ten minutes to cross.

Like Jia Ruo, Neeko had never been to one of Ionia's big cities before.

They looked around in every direction like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.

Though the streets weren't laid out in an orderly grid, their irregular paths through the Placidium had a beauty all their own.

The broad, clean streets were lined with houses unlike those in the villages.

They were made of wood, but not from lumber assembled into buildings.

Rather, they seemed to have been built around living trees, with people adding walls to complete them, giving them a natural beauty.

Here and there, merchants had set up stalls between the houses, selling mostly food and decorative trinkets.

"The Placidium is so prosperous! Neeko likes it here."

This city, where humans and Vastaya lived together, felt to Neeko like the beginnings of her ideal homeland.

"Master, the Placidium is enormous. Where do we go to report to the council? And what was that work you said you had for Neeko and me?"

"Don't rush, Jia Ruo. Just follow me. And I'll tell you about Ionia's current political situation, so you don't accidentally offend anyone."

With his hands behind his back, Yi walked ahead of Jia Ruo and Neeko and began explaining his understanding of Ionia.

Ionia was made up of many allied provinces, spread across a vast archipelago surrounded by perilous waters.

The Placidium lay at the heart of this land, and was one of Ionia's most sacred places.

Many people traveled long distances to study at its renowned academies or meditate in its flourishing, untamed Magic Gardens.

It was no surprise, then, that Noxus coveted the city as a target for invasion...

At present, Ionia's ruling heads—or, in other words, its leadership—were a council made up of respected Wise Persons from across the region.

Seeking balance in all things had long been central to Ionian culture. The boundary between the material and Spiritual Realms was therefore faint here, especially in the wilderness, among the forests and mountains.

Though the magic of this land could be unpredictable and the creatures that dwelled there dangerous and wondrous, the people of Ionia had lived in abundance for hundreds of years.

The monasteries of the Warrior Monks, the provincial militias, and even the land of Ionia itself had been enough to protect its people.

But all that came to an end twelve years ago, when Noxus launched its invasion of Ionia.

The Empire's vast army swept across Ionia. After years of bitter fighting, the Ionians defeated the enemy at a terrible cost.

Ionia now stood in a fragile peace.

The differing responses to that war had divided the land. Some groups, such as the warrior monks of Shu Ji and the Kinkou Order, wanted to return to a peaceful, secluded existence and their pastoral traditions.

Others, like the more radical Navori Brotherhood and the Order of Shadow, advocated militarizing the magic of the land and establishing a unified nation powerful enough to retaliate against Noxus.

Ionia's fate hung in a delicate balance. Almost no one wanted to tip it in either direction, but everyone could feel the land beneath their feet stirring uneasily.

"Ionia is at a focal point, and whether it sinks or floats remains to be seen. This time, the council won't stand by and do nothing about Zed—or the Order of Shadow—doing something like this."

At that, Yi paused. He thought of Master Kusho.

He had once been the Sect Leader of the Kinkou Order, as well as the former Eye of Twilight.

Yi had met Master Kusho briefly once, in a chance encounter long ago.

Yi couldn't remember when, but he was certain that Ku Shuo was a man of profound wisdom.

Later, Yi had heard some shocking news: Ku Shuo's beloved disciple, Zed, had not only killed his master with his own hands, but had also driven his fellow disciples from the Kinkou Order and founded the Order of Shadow on its old site. From then on, he had gone by the name Zed.

Yi could only regret that the world had lost a master, while the council had turned a blind eye to the matter.

It was an internal affair of the Kinkou Order. They had no right to interfere.

Perhaps that seemed cold, but wouldn't killing one's master be punished?

No.

Since ancient times, the various schools of Ionia had kept out of one another's affairs. Interfering in another school's business had always been taboo.

Yi had never expected to cross swords with Zed himself.

Kusho, what had happened between you and your disciple?

"And then?"

Jia Ruo's voice pulled Yi from his thoughts.

"Then we need to report this to the council. Look."

Yi raised his hand. Following the direction he pointed, Jia Ruo saw a magnificent monastery.