"The heavens do not fear me because I am a god, they fear me because I am a man!"~ Pantheon, The Unbreakable Spear
2nd chapter of the 4 chapter update.
Can any of you guess which champion they would be meeting first? The location in the chapter is a pretty big hint. And I will be adding a pretty cool interaction once they meet the character. Just something to tingle your funny bone.
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"I suppose we will see each other a long time later...." There was a certain sadness in his words.
The entire tribe had come to send them off on their next journey. The tribespeople had tears in their eyes as he addressed them one last time.
Gregori gave them a curt bow, "Thank you for having us live among you. Thank you for taking care of Daisy in my absence and above all thank you for being such good friends to us." A soft smile remained on his face as he said those words.
He truly felt that way. This tribe, despite its initial behavior toward him had gone out of their way to help him. They accommodated him and his children. They fed them and shared weaponry and clothing.
It was a shame that they had to leave..... Gregori had grown accustomed to this land and its people.
His children were the same, though only Daisy and Daani were crying about leaving. Annie never cried about things like this. Rell and Sydell hid their emotions well enough but he could see the sadness in their eyes. Faye had his clothes in a death grip as she buried her face into his back, but the wetness forming in his clothes were a clear indicator of her state. Briar stood stoically facing the farewell group, her emotions hidden behind a large smile.
"You and your children are always welcome here Gregori." Ashe told them with a warm smile. She looked toward her Oathsworn, who gave her a nod. "Even though you are leaving now..." She opened her arms wide, "All of us consider you part of our tribe. Avarosa will stand with you as you have stood by us."
Her arms were an open invitation. One Daisy accepted as she sprinted toward Ashe and leapt into her. Ashe hugged her tight and kissed her head.
"I'll miss you flower." Ashe spoke as she looked lovingly in Daisy's crystal blue eyes. "You have your own journey to experience. Go ahead and make all of us proud." She cupped Daisy's cheek and gave her another hug. "You will do well right?"
Daisy nodded rapidly while sniveling.
Ashe stepped back from her only for Braum to step in and lift Daisy into the air.
"I will miss you little one. Be good for your father and stay strong." His words were short but loving.
He placed her back down and Daisy turned to Tryndamere.
Tryndamere placed a hand on her shoulder, "Daisy.... be happy. You are one of us and are welcome to return whenever."
Daisy nodded through her tears.
Gregori watched them with a smile. He would be lying if he said that even he did not feel emotional at the interaction.
He could see Ashe hold back her tears.
They thought that he hadn't noticed but Gregori could see her love for his daughter. Both Ashe and Tryndamere. It helped their case further when Daisy resembled Ashe so much. Though Gregori was sure the next time he would meet them there would be little ones of their own running about.
They had started to view Daisy as their own daughter and with her gone, they would try to fill the void with another child. It was inevitable.
Braum and him had a secret bet going on when they would have a child of their own.
As much as they might deny it, their child would probably grow up into one of the strongest Iceborn in the Freljord.
He looked up at the sky and for the first time in a year, he hadn't seen a star to follow to his next destination. Just some old fashioned travel using a map.
It would take a little over a week to get to one of the Demacian settlements and a week from there to get to the capital.
That was the current goal.
A few moment later, a teary eyed Daisy walked back to him but she had her teeth clenched. Gregori placed an arm around the girl. "We will return one day." He soothed the child putting on a brave front. She took a shaky breath and nodded.
He looked toward the Iceborn and gave them a nod. "Goodbye."
With those words, he turned around and led the group past the walls and into the snow. His baggage and the like were tightly fastened on Oompa and Loompa, both of whom the children were reluctant to leave behind. They were both fierce and strong beasts of burden.
Gregori walked forward without turning back. If he did, he would have noticed his children doing the same. Turning back would show that he was not sure of his decision, he couldn't afford to doubt himself at the start of a new journey.
He looked at the map in his hands and the sprawling white in front of him.
"Are you ready for a new adventure kids?" He asked the group trailing behind him.
The words got a reaction out of them as they ran forward to stay close to him.
He looked at the kids at his sides and they looked at him with large smiles plastered onto their hopeful faces.
"Are you?" He asked again, waiting for an excited response.
Daani was the first to react with a nod. Immediately followed by a loud shout of "YES!" from Briar.
That got the rest of them exclaiming their readiness for a new journey.
"Are we going straight to Demacia daddy?" Annie asked, with one hand holding Tibber's hand. She swung her hands as she walked, Gregori had imagined it to be quite an experience for the demon to be swung around like that.
"We cannot go straight there. It is too long and too dangerous." He pointed to his map and showed them the way. "We will use the trade route that the Freljordian's use to get through the mountains. And we should arrive at Uwendale in a week. From there we continue along the path to the capital. On the way, we will pass through a forest with white trees. Petricitetrees. There we will pick up the other half of Caalyx and then move to Demacia."
"We should go quickly." Faye cut in.
"It will take us a minimum of two weeks fairy." He turned to her with an expectant look, "Are you in a hurry?"
She nodded.
"Why?"
"I want to hit your parents."
His eyes widened in both surprise and appreciation. "Why would you want to hit them?"
Faye clenched her fists. "They were bad to you."
"So you want to hit them?" He asked.
She nodded. "You hit the ones who here bad to us."
Ah.
It was his fault that this child had picked up some violent tendencies.
That needed to be corrected.
"You shouldn't do that fairy." He waved his hand around as he spoke. "Sometimes, the greatest revenge is showing them how happy you are. Show them that even without them you can be happy and be even happier than you were with them. I only hit those bad to you because we need to leave Noxus quickly. It wasn't really a good revenge." He pointed to her, "Don't you want a good revenge?"
She nodded.
"Then I will just show them how happy I am with my little childr-"
"I'm not little!" Annie interrupted.
Gregori sighed before correcting himself, "Then I will just show them how happy I am with my big family. That would make them very angry. And you can laugh at them then."
Faye nodded and repeated, "Make them very angry."
"Indeed."
The group then continued on their journey to the edge of the Freljord, where they could have their first stop.
It wasn't a straightforward walk but rather an enjoyable one with each of the children keeping themselves entertained.
A snowball fight here and a little bit of magical pranks there kept the mood and the energy up.
But that was it.
The children were still children.
Daani, Faye and Annie tired out pretty quickly and had resorted to hugging onto the Avalance beasts and going to sleep.
The other three just walked with Gregori, animatedly conversing about random things. Asking him for stories of his life and about the world they would be exploring now. Gregori entertained every question happily.
It was a fun and lighthearted walk.
They enjoyed the scenery and everything in between, pointing out at any flora and fauna that stood out, any weird architecture that stood out.
That, to them, was the start of the greatest adventure.
By nightfall, they had arrived at their first destination. The first patch of green land. It was still frosty with a thin layer of white over the green but it was still a big difference from the constant white.
After unloading one of the large tents from the beasts, Gregori got to work setting it up. A few checks for stability later, the group sat around a warm fire cooking up some meat for their dinner.
Upon the completion of which, they had moved into the tent and piled on top of Gregori as they went to sleep.
There was no need to worry about safety.
The Avalance beasts were outside. And they were the second line of defense. The warding runes around their area would keep them hidden from anyone. And if someone did manage to cross the perimeter, the runestone inside the tent would let out a high pitched sound.