Wind Takers

God Chosen were nothing new in Runeterra.

Freljord had followers of the Three Gods, Bilgewater had the cult of the Sea God, and Mount Targon had the Sun and Moon sects.

But nearly all those gods lacked a complete doctrine, demanding nothing more from their followers than loyalty.

So the God Chosen selected that way could naturally only be fanatics infinitely loyal to their gods.

But Janna was different.

What she demanded that her followers pursue was faith, ideals, and the ultimate goal of Great Harmony.

Thus, the same method of choosing God Chosen could only serve as a tool of rule for selecting blindly loyal fools in the hands of other deities, yet here, it could become an absolutely fair standard for screening the purest idealists!

What did that mean?

It meant that the organization they were about to establish would be a force composed entirely of true believers in Janna's Ideology, the purest idealists, selfless and noble people who had risen above base interests—a force with the greatest fighting power!

"So this is Janna's choosing... This is what Janna's God Chosen are!"

Viktor trembled with excitement once more. He realized that this system possessed endless vitality and endless fighting power.

As long as Janna lived, as long as the faith endured, their path would never cease extending forward!

"Students, victory is right before our eyes!" Viktor could not help but put down his pen and paper, propping up his thin yet fighting-spirited body as he shouted to everyone:

"Are you willing to become pioneers of change and join this great evolution of human civilization?"

They were willing! Of course they were willing!

After realizing the great significance represented by the words "God Chosen," not only did those who had already accepted Janna's Ideology become firmer and purer in their faith, but the "threads" drawn from their bodies also became brighter and more dazzling.

Even those who had originally hesitated, wavered, and doubted whether the beautiful ideals described by Li Wei could truly be realized began to choose acceptance and belief. "Threads" began to emerge from their bodies as well, converging upon that Blue Bird.

Students were, after all, the most progressive, passionate, and energetic group.

After only one morning of classes, discussions, and speeches, as many as two-thirds of the nearly one hundred Zaun students present had become loyal followers of Janna's Ideology!

The remaining students were either still watching cautiously, worried about their own safety.

Or they had not yet fully accepted the ideals of Li Wei and Viktor, wishing only to finish university peacefully in Piltover, find a good job, and live a comfortable life for themselves.

And then there was a very small group.

They had actually already seen the terrifying potential of this cause and this organization, and believed that Li Wei and his followers would certainly succeed in the future.

But these people were too "smart," and too "flexible."

They were like entrepreneurs thinking about an IPO the moment they set up a pancake stand.

They could already foresee that if victory in Zaun truly came to pass, these dozens of obscure, green, youthful Zaun students would all become Zaun's heroes and great figures in the future, powerful people with authority in their hands!

If Janna's cause advanced even further, then these students' names might one day spread across all of Runeterra, making even Demacia and the Noxians tremble.

Who would not want to become a hero, a legend, a great figure?

These "smart people," who had seen that bright future, wanted that too.

They wished they could join their classmates right then and there, becoming part of this organization destined to create greatness.

But that was precisely the problem:

The more they thought this way, the more they wanted to become important figures, the stronger their selfish desires became and the shallower their faith grew—

The less likely they were to become true believers in Janna, and the less likely they were to have "threads" drawn from their bodies.

People like that had been excluded from the ranks from the very beginning.

"Not only must we maintain strict screening when bringing in new members—in the future, even official members of the organization, myself included, must regularly and openly undergo Goddess Janna's God Chosen evaluation under public supervision!"

"Besides that."

Li Wei took the opportunity to emphasize several more points regarding his specific vision for the God Chosen system.

With these rules in place, the framework of the organization gradually took shape.

There were ninety-six people present in total, sixty of whom had already become Li Wei's steadfast followers and true believers in Janna's Ideology.

Li Wei thus established the organization with those sixty as official members, while the remaining thirty-six would serve as probationary members and priority recruitment targets, participating to varying degrees in the organization's future work and actions according to their personal wishes.

Then, after an internal show-of-hands vote among the sixty official members, the following was quickly passed unanimously:

Li Wei would be elected leader of the organization;

Viktor would serve as deputy commander.

This result came as no surprise. Li Wei was the mentor who had strengthened everyone's faith, while Viktor had brought them enlightenment in Janna's Ideology.

In the eyes of these Zaun students, the two of them held the greatest prestige and were the most convincing.

Beyond that, however, no one continued discussing personnel matters in depth—

After all, there were only sixty official members at present. Two leaders were enough.

Besides, they had only just gathered together. While they knew one another as fellow students, they still had no clear understanding of each other's working abilities.

If they hurried into internal elections now, they would likely only choose those who were popular and eloquent among the students, rather than those truly capable of working and uniting the greatest number of people.

"I suggest that, based on the propaganda work currently needed, we divide into several outreach groups for different areas—factories, communities, and schools."

"Everyone can first begin working together in these groups, getting to know one another and building coordination through the work. Once the time is right and everyone has gained a deeper understanding of each other, it will not be too late to begin formal elections."

Li Wei's thoughts were clear and organized, and he quickly settled the disagreements and discussion over candidates for internal management.

Now the discipline was clear, the mechanism for selecting and appointing people had been established, and the organization was gradually taking shape.

"Teacher Li Wei, shouldn't our organization have a name?"

A student raised this crucial question.

"Right, what should we call ourselves?"

"Well..." Li Wei had always struggled with naming things. He could not be their mentor in that regard. "Students, what do you think?"

"Hmm." After a round of thought and discussion, someone suggested, "We are all people who will charge at the forefront for a great ideal—"

"How about the 'Dauntless Vanguard'?"

"..." Li Wei was speechless. "Sorry, Demacia has already registered that name."

"Teacher Li Wei, you said that although we are only a tiny Mars right now, we will one day start a prairie fire." Another person suggested, "How about we call ourselves..."

"Zaun Spark?"

"...That one's already registered too."

"Zaun Independence Army?"

"Too small. Your vision is too narrow."

"League of Heroes?"

"Calling ourselves heroes... That's a little out of touch with the people."

"Pioneers of Change?" Viktor tentatively offered.

"Children of the Wind!" Lina proposed something in the traditional Runeterra style.

"Li Wei & Viktor!" Seraphine chimed in cheerfully. She directly used the names of the two founders, making it sound like a band or some luxury brand.

All kinds of suggestions were put forward, but none could bring everyone to a consensus.

Struggling with the name, Li Wei could not help consulting Janna in his heart:

Janna, what do you think?

This was her organization, after all. They had to hear the goddess's own opinion.

"Uh..." Janna seemed even less decisive than Li Wei. "My title is the Storm's Fury, so in the past, organizations that worshipped me generally called themselves..."

"The Church of the Storm?"

Li Wei: "..."

Forget it. This useless bird's opinion was even less worth listening to.

He was still agonizing over the organization's name when suddenly—

A fierce gust of wind blew up outside the window. Air currents howled into the classroom, dispersing the foul air, carrying away everyone's weariness, and making the whole world abruptly feel brand-new.

"Wind..."

Li Wei suddenly felt inspired.

He quietly circulated the divine power within him, gathering a small whirlwind in his palm.

Janna was Storm's Fury.

And they were followers of the wind, but more than that, they were those who would lead the wind.

The wind of change would eventually, under their guidance, blow away the toxic fog hanging over Zaun, blow away the toxic fog over all of Runeterra, and sweep the skies clean for ten thousand miles!

"Our name—"

"Will be the Wind Takers!"