Vi obviously didn't believe Lux's words.
"How is that possible? We're not like the Piltoverians..."
"The division happened later." Lux stopped, "How about it, interested in hearing a bit of history—just like a story?"
"A story?" Vi subconsciously wanted to refuse, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Powder struggling to lift her small bucket. Seeing that she couldn't hold on but was still gritting her teeth, she simply put down her own bucket. "Alright, then, just a story."
Just let Powder rest for a bit.
"Once upon a time, there was an inconspicuous coastal city named Oshra Va'Zaun." Lux smiled and began the story. "This city didn't really have any special products. It didn't have dazzling gems, nor did it produce strange flowers and plants. Even the birds living there were ordinary, the most common kind of cyan-colored small birds."
"..."
"However, Vazuan's geographical location was very special. It was the junction connecting the two continents of Valoran and Shurima. On the east and west sides of the city, the ocean currents of Guardian's Sea and Conquest Sea continuously washed over it." Lux outlined the two oceans in mid-air with simple light. "Because sea transport was always cheaper, it had two ports. The people here would carry goods on their shoulders and backs, crossing mountains, transporting things from one port to another."
Powder's eyes widened, looking at the light in Lux's hand in disbelief.
"It's already hard work carrying a bucket." Lux pointed to the bucket at her feet. "Let alone carrying goods over the not-so-flat remnants of the Magnificent Barrier—but at least this way they could earn money. So, the Oshra Va'Zaun people lived here generation after generation, supporting themselves with their shoulders and backs."
Vi raised an eyebrow.
"They worked diligently. They were grateful for the vitality and prosperity the sea brought to this ordinary city. Sailors at the time believed that a Storm Guardian was protecting them, and the messenger of this Storm Guardian was the most common cyan-colored small bird in Vazuan. So, the Zaunites also believed that the Storm Guardian brought them good fortune." Lux continued her story. "The people of this city had always believed in that Storm Guardian. They built altars, erected statues and shrines, and on the sunniest day each year, they thanked the Storm Guardian for her protection."
Vi muttered in a voice only she could hear: "A clichéd fairy tale."
"But the good times didn't last. The emperor issued an order to remove all false idols in the country, and the Storm Guardian worshipped by the Vazuanites was among them." Lux's tone shifted. "At that time, there were many such deities worshipped throughout the empire. Most cities followed the emperor's will and destroyed their shrines and statues, but the Vazuanites chose to keep their faith. They no longer erected giant wind spirit statues but instead adopted cyan bird ornaments as a folk custom to commemorate their Storm Guardian."
Vi finally showed a hint of interest, seemingly anticipating a battle between the Storm Guardian and the emperor.
"Later, the empire collapsed, and War broke out everywhere. However, Vazuan, as a vital transportation hub, was preserved in the War under the protection of the Storm Guardian." Lux calmly continued her story. "After the War ended, a new era arrived. The Vazuanites no longer had an emperor, nor did they need the protection of the Storm Guardian. What they now yearned for was not Guardian, but prosperity."
Skipping the fighting part, Vi looked a little dejected.
"Carrying goods on their shoulders and backs no longer satisfied their trade demands. The Vazuanites began to dream of digging a canal through the isthmus beneath their feet, opening up a sea route between the continents of Valoran and Shurima." Lux raised an eyebrow. "The Wind of Change watched everyone here, watching them transform their faith in deities into trust in the tools in their hands, watching them, like grown children, gradually unleash the power to change the world."
"..."
"The Storm Guardian was no longer needed, and with the decline of faith, she could no longer stir up storms. But even so, the gentle evening breeze would still carry away the sweat of those digging the canal, and it would disperse the snores of workers sleeping at night." Powder seemed a bit bored, so Lux handed her a paper pinwheel, which Powder then disdainfully returned. "Later, an accident occurred during the canal excavation. Perhaps too many explosives were used, or there was a calculation error, but a piece of land subsided, seawater poured in, and a large amount of deadly toxic gas was released from the Void Rift in the earth."
At this, Vi finally frowned.
"In helpless prayer, Janna used her last strength. That day, the Zaunites saw the wind spirit appear, then transform into a howling wind, blocking the seawater, extinguishing the flames, and dispersing the toxic gas, protecting the canal to complete its final process." Lux concluded the story. "Then, she simply disappeared into the dust of history."
Lux told the story very well—although Powder didn't seem to understand it at all, she vaguely thought of something.
"So, you're saying Piltover was originally part of Zaun?" Twisting her nose, Vi returned to her previous nonchalant demeanor. "Vander also said that, but he said... we personally built the Sun Gates."
"But the wealth of the Sun Gates didn't flow back to Zaun." Lux added the second half of the sentence. "I've analyzed various aspects of Piltover. Although I can't access many confidential documents, it's clear that this wealth, created by the Zaunites, is being squandered by the Piltoverians in their own way."
"So what are you trying to say?" Vi felt a surge of irritation. She felt like she was grasping something, yet not quite, and couldn't help but clench her teeth. "Are you telling me about your vast knowledge, showing off your intelligence?"
"I want to change all of this." Lux stared into Vi's eyes. "Take back the wealth that was stolen and return it to the people who created it."
"..."
Vi didn't speak, just looked at Lux in front of her, at this girl who had recently been fetching water shoulder to shoulder with her.
She clearly wasn't from her world. She was a mage, with a bright future, and even Vander paid close attention to her every move—but she was also different from those Piltoverians.
"What, is there something on my face?" Looking at the seemingly dazed Vi, Lux showed a bright smile. "Or do you have any questions?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why not?" Lux shrugged in a very Zaunite way. "Whoever works, gets paid. The more you work, the more you get. Isn't that only natural?"
Klein's small class · History:
History is always a little girl dressed up by others. It is the scattered fragments left by the past, like footprints on a beach washed by the sea.