Blogs
League Judgement: Quinn and Valor
Candidate: Quinn and Valor
Date: February 20th
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OBSERVATION
Quinn makes her way silently towards the double doors, Valor drifting on silent wings in the darkness above. Cautious in the unfamiliar surroundings, Quinn relies on her instincts to guide her, remaining alert, poised to leap into action at any moment.
As Quinn reaches the double doors Valor settles on top of the arch. Quinn cranes her neck upwards to read the plaque:-
The truest opponent lies within.
A thoughtful look crosses Quinn's face as Valor floats down to land on her absently outstretched arm. He holds his head high and stares at Quinn. She seems to be able to recognise the confidence in his eyes.
"You're right, nothing we can't handle." Quinn remarks, stepping towards the door.
She raises her free hand to open the doors, only to find that they won't budge. Valor clicks his beak inquisitively and Quinn holds the arm he is perched upon against the door, pushing the door with both arms. Still nothing. She continues to exert herself as Valor leans forwards and touches his beak to the door. The double doors swing open and an off-balance Quinn catches herself before entering the dark hall.
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REFLECTION
Valor launched himself into the air as Quinn raised her crossbow, ready to fight. It was dark, Quinn held her hand out in front of her to feel her way through the room. She halted when her hand met something. It was round, cold and rough - a stone pillar. Quinn felt her way around it, and as she did the texture under her hand changed. I grew more rough, but at the same time warmer, and softer. It took on a texture she was much more familiar with, the texture of tree bark.
As she rounded the corner she wasn't met with the stony darkness she had expected, instead she was greeted by a moonlit twilight. She was standing in a small clearing in a forest. There was a small campfire, burned down to embers, with two sets of sleeping furs and two packs of equipment on the ground next to it. Behind the fire there was a small stream trickling past the makeshift campsite. Quinn seemed to recognise this place. An expression of horror flashed across her face, before subsiding as she forgot why the place felt so repulsive. She pondered why she had felt the startling flash of emotion as she made her way over to the stream to refill the empty water skin she was carrying. The moonlight was filtering through the trees, and the sound of the stream was relaxing, and Quinn soon forgot what she was even wondering about and sat down beside the stream for a while.
"Quinn!"
Quinn turned around to see her twin brother, Caleb, approaching with a brace of rabbits held in his hands. He was taller than Quinn, but he was unmistakably her twin brother. They had the same eagle-like eyes, the same stance and posture, and the same dark brown coloured hair. He made his way to a flat slab of rock next to the fire and began to prepare the rabbits for cooking, motioning Quinn over.
"You had more luck with your traps than I did, mine hadn't caught anything," Quinn remarked to Caleb as she made her way to the slab of stone. A grin spread across Caleb's face.
"That's because you always put yours in the wrong place, you've got to pay more attention to your surroundings. Look for where the tracks converge in a natural choke point and..." He stopped and burst out laughing when he looked up to see Quinn with her eyes crossed and her tongue poked out at him.
"Fine, if you don't want to listen I'll stop lecturing you. Now come and help me cook these."
Quinn knelt down and began to skewer the meat Caleb had cut, placing them over the fire to cook. She watched his hands cut with precise, deliberate movements. Caleb was stronger than she was, always winning in wrestling contests. But Quinn was faster, lighter on her feet, and more agile. In any race or contest of agility she had always won. She was also a quicker thinker than Caleb, usually able to react faster to danger. The one thing they were both equally good at was their archery. Caleb preferred to use a longbow, while Quinn preferred her crossbow. Both twins were equally as deadly as the other once their hands had grasped their respective weapons.
Before long the rabbit had finished cooking and the twins were sitting around the still glowing embers of the fire, chewing on the skewers of meat.
"I'm getting a bit worried about tomorrow," Quinn stated.
"Oh? what about?" Caleb replied.
"What if the mountain is too steep? What if..." Caleb cut her off.
"Don't worry, we're great knights of Demacia! It's nothing we can't handle. Now get some sleep, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Caleb said as he tucked himself into his sleeping furs, discarding his skewer.
Quinn smiled at him, reassured. There had never been any obstacle or challenge they hadn't been able to overcome. Quinn rolled up in her sleeping furs and, relaxed by the silence and the warmth of the embers of the campfire, soon drifted off to sleep.
...
"Quinn! Quinn wake up!" A voice shouted.
Quinn opened her eyes to see her brother's soot stained face hovering over her, a red light glowing across his face. She could hear a roaring, crackling sound, and she could smell smoke. She sat bolt upright, eyes surveying the campsite. The forest was flaming around her.
"Get up, get up! We've got to move." Caleb shouted. Quinn pulled herself free of the furs as Caleb pulled her towards the stream. As they made their way towards the stream she was able to get a better look at the forest. The camp was surrounded by flames, licking up the trees and blazing towards the sky. The only opening in the conflagration was the stream. They broke out into a run and leapt over the stream, only to find that the fire had already made its way to the other side as well. They continued to run, trying to keep ahead of the racing fire. A stag darted across their path, its eyes wide with terror. They continued to run, but the flames were catching up with them.
A large flaming branch fell from above Quinn, but she nimbly dodged to the side to avoid it. But Caleb wasn't as fast, and he was knocked to the ground by it. It landed on his right foot, trapping him under it.
"CALEB!" Quinn shouted, dashing towards him and dragging the branch off him, ignoring the fact that it was blazing with fire.
"I'm ok." He said as he tried to stand. As soon as he put weight on his right foot he fell forward. Quinn caught him and took a look at his foot, it was burnt on the back, and it was probably broken by the branch.
"Come on Caleb, I've got you." Quinn said as she dragged him to his feet and put his arm over her shoulder. They hobbled onwards, just barely managing to stay ahead of the flames. The air was hot, and Quinn's lungs burned from the effort of carrying her brother, but she continued on. Eventually they were surrounded by flames, with only the path directly ahead of them clear of flames. There was only one way to go. The twins continued to move forwards.
Quinn's heart sank as she saw what was ahead. They had reached a ravine, at least as wide across as Caleb was tall, if not wider. There was no way he could jump it, not with his foot in the condition it was. The flames had already reached the edge of the ravine on either side of them, and were closing in. Quinn propped Caleb against a tree at the very edge of the ravine, frantically trying to think of a way to get her brother across. The ropes in her equipment pack! She could jump across and... her hopes were dashed as she reached to her back for her pack when she realised that in their hurry they had left the packs behind. She swore and turned to Caleb.
"Can you jump it?" She asked.
"No way. Can we drop ourselves down to the bottom?" Caleb replied.
Quinn looked over the edge, a black abyss. There was no telling how far down the ravine went. She turned and shook her head, tears beginning to blur her vision. The fire was only a short length away now, only three or four steps away.
Snap! A flaming tree gave way to its own massive weight and slowly came toppling down on top of the twins. Caleb reacted instantly, grabbing Quinn.
"What are you..." Quinn blurted before Caleb picked her up. With a massive effort and a scream of pain he threw her across the ravine. She landed with a thud on the other side and managed to turn just in time to see his calm eagle eyes staring at her before he disappeared behind a wall of flames.
"CALEB!" Quinn screamed, her vision distorted by her tears.
"CALEB!" Quinn could hear something else crying with her.
"CALEB!" It was an eagle's shriek.
Quinn blinked to clear her eyes, and she was no longer hunched in the middle of a half flaming forest, but kneeling on the floor of a stone hall. Valor was on the floor in front of her, crying out at seeing her in such pain. His brown eagle eyes reflected Quinn's grief as she stared into them. Those eerily familiar eyes suddenly hardened and focused on something behind Quinn. She whirled around, crossbow outstretched, finger on the trigger. She saw a robed man standing there.
"Why do you wish to join the league, Quinn? An you, Valor?" The man asked quietly.
Quinn's face hardened as she realised what had just occurred. She stood up proudly.
"I wish to represent Demacia." Quinn stated, "And to fight in remembrance of my brother."
Valor shrieked his agreement.
"How does it feel, exposing your mind?" The man asked.
Quinn glared at him, tears still staining her face. The man murmured something quietly before disappearing into the shadows.
"Sorry."
Quinn wiped the tears from her face and marched proudly through the open double doors, Valor flying by her side.