July in Demacia Capital was, as expected, hot and humid.
Even though this magnificent city, worthy of its name, was close to the Conquest Sea—with Conqueror's Bay to the west and the towering Dragonspine Mountains to the north, making it warm in winter and cool in summer—by July, it inevitably became stiflingly hot.
The humid sea breeze greatly increased the air humidity within Demacia Capital, and the entire city was enveloped in a persistent, muggy airflow, leaving everyone feeling sticky and damp.
Unlike Demacia's political system, the humidity and heat of the July sea breeze were egalitarian, affecting nobles and commoners alike.
While nobles could use their cellars to store ice, commoners could choose to sleep outdoors "disregarding decorum"; once night fell, they would take their papyrus mats and lie on their rooftops, enjoying a rare coolness—in terms of high temperatures and humidity, everyone suffered equally.
What's more, in Demacia Capital, even the poorest people with no savings could buy a cold drink from ice vendors who roamed the streets.
Although most of the ice in these affordable cold drinks came from naturally frozen ponds or rivers in winter, and consuming them often led to stomach issues, who cared?
Anything that could relieve the heat was good ice—clean and sanitary!
The early morning was the most refreshing time during these hot days; as the first ray of sunlight climbed over the majestic city walls of Demacia Capital, diligent Demacians had already risen to begin their day's work.
Most of those who rose early were commoners; they needed to seize this precious cool time to set a simple tone for the day's upcoming toil.
However, not all nobles continued to sleep at this time.
For example, in the Crownguard Manor, located in the noble district to the west of the city, the owner of the best-located top-floor bedroom was already awake.
A pale little arm reached out from under the covers, then accurately grabbed a wind-up mechanical alarm clock on the bedside table.
"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling—click."
The knob was twisted, and the alarm clock's bell stopped.
The next moment, the energetic little girl opened her eyes. Her azure eyes stared at the ceiling, adorned with the Crownguard family crest, and then she let out a long yawn.
Her name was Luxanna Crownguard, nine years old this year. Those familiar with her usually called her Lux, and she was the little princess of the Demacian noble Crownguard Family—her father, Peter Crownguard, was the current patriarch of the Crownguard family.
This lavishly decorated room was Lux's bedroom.
The gilded bronze alarm clock she had just turned off was a gift from Petyr to Lux on her birthday last year, said to be from a place called Piltover.
This magical little gadget, as long as one remembered to wind it up on time every day, could tell time with incredible precision, eliminating the need to compare time daily with sundials and calendars. More importantly, as a fine product from Livyck's workshop, it could also function as an alarm clock, set to ring at a specific time by winding its spring.
In Demacia, this was an absolute novelty!
Lux's brother, Garen, had been eyeing this alarm clock for a long time, repeatedly trying to borrow it to "take it apart and see its internal structure."
But Lux refused him firmly every time, and if Garen persisted, she did not hesitate to resort to the "tell-on-parents" tactic.
This was not because their sibling relationship was strained or Lux was unwilling to share, but because Lux's previous birthday gift was a wind-up music box. That beautiful, delicate box, which could play "Hymn of Valor, First Movement in G Major," could never be put back together after Garen borrowed it to "take it apart and see."
That time, upon realizing Lux was crying from anger, Garen reluctantly called his good friend, Jarvan IV, the prince of Demacia. The two sat together, scratching their heads and fiddling for a long time, using all their strength, just to barely put it back together in its original form.
Unfortunately, the music box was indeed reassembled, but besides getting a music box, the two also had three extra gears, two gear shafts, a coiled spring, and several small trinkets whose purpose was unknown.
Naturally, a music box missing these parts could no longer play beautiful music.
Since then, Lux refused to hand over any delicate items to Garen, and she also understood why every time Garen had a birthday, her father's gifts to him were either shields or greatswords...
This was the first time Lux had used an alarm clock to wake herself up.
The Crownguard family, as one of the most prominent noble families in Demacia, although not known for lavish extravagance, still had necessary housekeepers and servants. Normally, a servant would knock on the door every morning to remind Lux to get up.
Today was no exception—and Lux's main reason for setting the alarm was that she hoped to wake up earlier than her brother.
After all, Father and Uncle were returning from the eastern battlefield today, and Lux absolutely had to wake up earlier than her brother to greet Father and Uncle first!
Lux was the best child, so Lux would be the first to hear the story of the brave warrior defeating the evil Spellcasters, to avoid Garen spoiling the story halfway through every time!
Hmph!
This time, I, Lux, will spoil it for Garen!
"Get up, get up." Lux mumbled unconsciously, rubbing her eyes after letting go of the alarm clock, "Ugh, it's so bright. Why is it so bright so early today..."
"Ah! Ah ah—"
The next moment, Lux's shriek startled almost the entire silent Crownguard Manor.
........
Hearing Lux's scream, the first to arrive was Lux's mother, Lady Ogessa Crownguard, who slept in the adjacent room.
Anxiously kicking open the door, Lady Crownguard, holding a candlestick with a hand on its hilt as if gripping a sword, surveyed the room, then visibly relaxed.
She saw Lux lying safely in bed, only half her body buried under the covers, looking slightly terrified at what was beneath the blankets, as if she had seen something extraordinary.
Then, after a moment of bewilderment, Ogessa had a subtle misunderstanding.
"Don't be nervous, Lux."
Ogessa put down the candlestick, then waved away the servants and guards who had come at the sound, closed the door behind her, and sat smiling on the edge of the bed. She spoke in a gentle tone, as if she understood everything: "Darling, you've already had your ninth birthday, and it's quite normal for this to happen."
"Is it really normal?" Lux blinked her eyes in terror, her slightly dilated blue pupils revealing the little girl's unease. "You mean, when you were nine, this also happened to you?"
"I certainly did, though not at nine—it was more like ten?" Ogessa thought for a moment, then replied with a smile, "However, a year or two's difference doesn't really matter. This is a sign of growing up, indicating that our Lady Luxanna is a big girl now!"
Unfortunately, Ogessa's teasing did not relax Lux.
"Then when did it stop for you?" Lux still looked very nervous. "It won't be like this forever, will it?"
"Of course not forever." Ogessa began to explain basic physiology to Lux. "This kind of thing usually happens once a month, but it might not be very regular at first, so we need to be careful..."
"How long does it last?" Hearing "once a month," Lux nervously wrapped herself entirely in the covers, trembling. "I can't possibly see anyone like this! And today—Father and Uncle are coming back!"
"It just needs a little handling." Ogessa leaned closer to Lux, reaching out to stroke her long, golden, lustrous hair. "Don't be nervous, silly child, I told you, this is a very normal physiological phenomenon."
"But the stories don't say that!" Lux's voice was already tearful. "The stories say this is evil, I'm not going to be doomed, am I?"
"A lady should not use rude words like 'doomed.'" Ogessa gently stroked her daughter's small face, then helped smooth down her slightly frizzy golden hair. "And this has nothing to do with evil... Come, let me see, wrapping yourself in the covers won't solve the problem."
"..."
Her mother's touch and comfort finally made Lux stop trembling. With Ogessa's encouraging smile, she finally carefully lifted the covers.
However, there were no bloodstains on the bed as Ogessa had expected.
Then, as Ogessa looked on in confusion, Lux finally mustered her courage and extended her hands forward.
In Lux's pale little hands, a ball of light danced like a sprite.
Undoubtedly, this was magic.
And this also meant that in Petricite Demacia, within the Crownguard family, the leading family of the Demon Searcher, the only female in the direct new generation, Princess Luxanna Crownguard, had awakened an uncontrollable magical talent at the age of nine.
This incredibly shocking sight made Ogessa's eyes widen. Lady Crownguard stared in astonishment at the light sprite in her daughter's hand, her mouth uncontrollably falling open.
"Ah! Ah ah—"
One can only say, like mother, like daughter—listen, even their screams have a similar rhythm.
........
Ogessa concealed the matter of Lux's awakened magical talent. She instructed Lux to stay still under the covers, then quickly got up and found her sister-in-law—Lux's father's sister, Tiana Crownguard, who was a Commander in the Dauntless Vanguard.
Professional matters should be handled by professionals.
Tiana's husband worked in Demacia's Demon Searcher legion. Among the people Ogessa could reach, Tiana was probably the most capable of solving this problem.
Compared to the flustered Ogessa, Tiana did not appear too surprised upon receiving the news. She narrowed her eyes, pondered for a moment, then left with a quick "Wait a moment."
Then, when she returned, an eight-inch-long short rod was placed in Ogessa's hand.
"Take this and give it to Lux." Tiana said with a sigh of relief, "It can absorb Lux's magic, allowing her to live like a normal person, without fear—later, we can use it as a hilt to forge a sword for Lux, so no one will know she is a Deamonsworn."
"What is this?"
Ogessa examined the short rod in her hand with some surprise. She didn't see anything unusual about this unassuming rod—if anything, only the convenient grip on it seemed a bit evil.
"An Illuminati collection, it can suppress magic without causing Deamonsworn to become fatigued like Petricite." Tiana rubbed her brow. "Thankfully, its previous owner has passed away. With the Crownguard family's standing, we can temporarily borrow it. Don't worry, its function has been verified for thousands of years. It's said that when Demacia was founded, it was already the 'Confessor's Relic.' As long as Lux holds it, she can live like a normal person."
"That's wonderful, thank goodness!" Ogessa exclaimed with relief, quickly rising. "I need to give it to Lux quickly—Petyr will be back soon, and I don't know if the noble council will be willing to increase pressure on Noxus this time..."
"Go on." A smile finally appeared on Tiana's face as well. "When Brother returns to The Capital, what he'll most want to see is Lux's carefree smile."
Ogessa nodded, rose, and hurried away. To conceal her true purpose, she even deliberately took some feminine supplies with her.
However, this day was destined to be turbulent for the Crownguard family.
When a nervous Lux saw her mother again, she received two pieces of news: one good, one bad.
The good news was that being Deamonsworn wasn't scary; as long as she carried this short rod, she would be fine. The short rod had already been made into a sword hilt, and Lux only needed to wear this long sword.
The bad news was that her uncle—the Ranger Commander who used to tell her stories of the outside world, who always showed a set of perfectly white teeth when he smiled, and who was beloved by the warriors—had suffered a shameful assassination attempt on his way back and died of his severe injuries.
It was said that Noxus assassins had disguised themselves as farmers and used extremely malicious curses.
Lux, who had woken up early, did not get to hear the story of justice triumphing over evil first. Instead, in a flurry of chaos, she encountered death for the first time and witnessed evil overcoming justice with her own eyes.
Watching her uncle lie peacefully in the marble sarcophagus, Lux suddenly felt an unspeakable, heartbreaking sorrow, though she didn't know why.
Garen, who arrived shortly after hearing the news, even brought his sword and loudly declared that he wanted to join the army.
"I want to join the Dauntless Vanguard—the Demon Searchers are fine too. If you don't agree, I'll go to Uncle Jarvan!"
........
The news of the Ranger Commander's assassination quickly spread like a storm through Demacia Capital.
Nobles came to offer their condolences in a continuous stream, and the first words from everyone's mouth were condolences.
Lux blinked her eyes, pouted her lips, trying to look as if she wasn't disgracing the Crownguard family—but no matter how hard she tried, crystal tears still streamed down, silently forming lines on her small face.
Then, just as she was sobbing uncontrollably, a deep, magnetic voice appeared beside her ear.
"Mage Cultivation System ready. You will become the strongest Spellcasters in Runeterra under my guidance—hmm, am I here at a bad time?"