TALES OF RUNETERRA: IONIAN
VARUS THE ARROW OF RETRIBUTION
Apart from him now, Varus was the culmination of loyalty and honor. A great archer from the ancient kingdom of Shurima, he was assigned as a temple guard in the eastern region, and he put his duty above all else.
In the early days of the war with Icathia, although far from the cursed place, Varus's hometown was attacked. When the other guard left his position to help protect the outer village, he did not budge, and screamed loudly with every arrow he released—because he chose to keep his vow rather than go home and protect his own family.
The envoy from the Ascended Host found him kneeling and meditating deeply amidst the corpses of his enemies. It was said that the cold gaze was disturbing even the God-warriors themselves, but, seeing his glorious sacrifice, Varus was offered a position in their army.
As one of the great Ascended, he was deeply consumed by his grudge against Icathia, and the Voidling horror they unleashed. It seems that Varus did not understand Shurima's great victory in that war, his mind had severely damaged—and the collapse of that kingdom centuries later. Cruelty continues, which then makes him a cold-blooded killer, reshaped and sent to countless wars by his depraved race.
Their names are feared all over the world.
Darkins.
And raging among their neighbors, they destroyed anyone who opposed them. With this Crystalline arrow, Varus killed the enemy commander and Champion, helping the darkin defeat the entire enemy army with great ease.
At one point, Varus is cornered by Moon-stalker Vastaya and the human witch who serves the golden-armored queen Valoran. They tied him into his arrow, Varus howled with such a deep fury. At the time, the darkin influence was well understood, but the queen chose to use the dangerous weapon at the end of the war, sacrificing herself for more important causes.
A few months later, the queen took Varus to the First Lands— - a place that would later become known as Ionia. Having turned ugly due to the power of the arrow, his last act was to order his followers to bury him alive in a dark well, submerged under a mountain temple overlooking the village of Pallas.
And it was there that Varus was imprisoned, by the natural magic of Ionia, and the rituals that the temple guards performed.
The arrow remained hidden centuries later, unknown, untouched, and forgotten, until the Noxus invaders attacked the First Lands. Two monster hunters—Valmar and his girlfriend, Kai—fight first wave hawk at Temple of Pallas. Although their courage is great and manages to drive the assailants away, Kai is mortally wounded, and a grief-stricken Val takes him inside, in the hope that the well's forbidden magic can recover him.
But the temple only had a curse, and the two hunters were consumed by the darkin power stored within. Their bodies were destroyed and transformed into new bodies, bodies fit to free Varus from that prison. The creature freed from the well was a beautiful creature, so pale and beautiful, some human and some darkin. After more than a thousand years, Varus was reborn.
However, the human and dark elements of the imperfect form continue to fluctuate, and each takes control for a short time before being overpowered by the other. Varus fights to silence the two human souls forever, and launches vengeance for the destruction of his race. But, Kai and Val fight against the evil influence, and hope their love can defeat the darkin hatred.
As long as they can shackle Varus no one knows it—but when this sadistic and selfish killer manages to take over his new host, he will definitely re-assemble with his people, and make the whole of Runeterra into a dusty barren land.
...DARK KIN'S...
Varus followed the river that flowed in the desert. The water is sandy but still drinkable. His new body was beautiful, agile and strong, but it had the weaknesses of flesh. He's feeling hungry. He's feeling thirsty.
A few days earlier, a humpback creature with feathery hands like a bird had said that the place was Shurima, but it must have been wrong. Shurima that Varus remembers is a ruined barren land.
“Have I been in jail for so long?” thought.
He hated the human voice that came out of his mouth. The voice sounded like an animal and primitive, but at least he could speak again. About how long he has been in prison, it is difficult to answer. He did not understand the concept of human time, and the bird creature did not recognize him. He had no idea as long as what Darkin War had been.
“My body once destroyed this world,” he said. “And now we are forgotten? How is it possible?”
With enough time, even the worst horrors can fade.
“Ras that can forget its own destruction do not deserve life,” Varus said.
We didn't forget. This is Valmar, Varus said. The horror turned into a myth so we could hear it, then learn from it and not go crazy.
The thought was ridiculous, and Varus knew he would not allow the destruction of his people to fade from memory. He was just about to say it until he heard a noise near the river in front of him; the sound of screaming, the moaning of animals, and the sound of tools on the rock. He advanced, approached the fallen Obelisk, then he looked around.
The new river reveals a kind of ruins of an ancient structure consisting of pillars and statues of animal-headed gods. Right, this was the source of the magic that Varus felt. Ancient magic. The kind of magic that the fire-haired queen used to enslave her people.
The magic used to imprison him under the Ionian rocks.
The brown-skinned man, and wearing a wolf-skin robe was digging through the ruins, looking for a coffin room alongside a large creature carrying rubble rock excavated from the inside of the structure. Armed fighters wearing leather armor and carrying hook-tipped machets guarded the area. Varus smiled and approached the Obelisk, pulling his bow as it landed. A purple light flashed as the Crystalline weapon rope was pulled, then an arrow made of purple lightning formed in the air.
Why did you have to kill them all? It's Kai's voice. He hates unnecessary killing.
Varus felt his hands tremble as Kai fought against his will to lower his arrow.
“Your people destroyed my people,” said Varus, while strengthening his intention to stabilize his target. “Only that's the reason I need.”
He saw at the end of the arrow stood a burly fighter with a double-branched beard and a bald head looking at Varus, then he shouted giving a warning.
So everyone you see has to die?
Varus sighed, and among the strands he released a fire arrow. The arrow flew away with a flash through the heart of the bearded fighter, creating a hole through his body. He knelt with his mouth wide open. The other fighters threw spears, but Varus had already moved from where he was before. He leaped from the Obelisk then unleashed a fiery red arrow from his bow. Varus moved again, five fighters dead. Three other fighters fell, punctured by the shattered ruins.
The spear was thrown towards Varus. He moved to the side, stood up and then threw two fire arrows that pierced through the chest of his attacker. Varus ran forward, jumped and continued forward deeper and deeper into the ruins, then a fiery light burned his target with terrifying precision.
In just a few seconds, it was all over. 16 people died, and Varus did not even sweat in the slightest. He felt the suffering of the human soul inside and then smiled. Every death they saw would weaken him to the point of no longer being able to fight back.
The man who dug up the ruins of the city had fled, left his tools and fled to the river. Varus let them run. They were insignificant, and killing a human without a weapon always triggered a rebellion from the human soul within his body.
Varus walked into the ruins, momentarily staring at the dog-headed human statue and the crocodile-headed man as he walked past. Inside it was extremely cold and dark, its walls were filled with huge Relief Discs that emitted a golden light towards the beautiful grounds. The stone floors were filled with ancient magic spells that were even older than the time of the Icathia rebellion.
“A very powerful protective magic, but it has faded,” said Varus, he passed through a large stone guarded ruins of a snake-headed god statue. The previous calamity had knocked down the statue, and inside was a dark sandstone-walled room.
He entered, the sparkle of the light burning from his heart only revealing the rocks, which were charred by the ancient fire.
Varus breathed. “Where are you, my sister.?”
***