There truly weren't words to describe the damage to morale that Trafalgar Water Law's assassination did to the city. It wasn't that the people of Piltover had any confidence that they would manage to repel the Noxian army that encroached ever closer by the day, but they looked to Law, at the weapons of war that he built, and they had hope. A fragile hope that maybe, just maybe, even if they couldn't win, they could avoid losing.
Now, Mel Medarda was left picking up the pieces as she stood before a podium before a crowd of Piltover's social elites. What was left of them, at any rate. A similar memorial would take place in the Undercity, and their mourning would be all the more fierce. After all, Law had been one of them, even if he was polished to an impossible shine.
“Trafalgar Water Law was not someone I knew for long,” Mel began her prepared speech, one rehearsed to perfection, but her mind was elsewhere. Concerns at how the mourning in the Undercity could turn to riots. How the Noxus army once more was on the move. The upper echelons of Piltovian society were now racing to abandon the city that they had called home for generations if they weren't trying to sell the city out to Noxus in exchange for their holdings going untouched when Piltover was conquered.
Above all else, she looked beyond the crowd at the buildings in the distance, recovery efforts that had just barely begun and now looked like they were going to be abandoned. Yet, instead of seeing potential, Mel saw angles of attack. Places where a would-be assassin could lurk in the distance and with magic or technology or something else entirely, she could be standing in someone's crosshairs.
“However, one didn't need to know him for long for Law to make his mark,” Mel continued. She had grappled with her fear, uncertain if she should take the risk. But it was the fact that Law had been murdered in a closed room that made such caution pointless. Piltover's man of tomorrow had entered seclusion, using every available second to develop the city's defenses. No one thought anything was wrong at first.
It was one of Law's employees, a young blonde-haired girl by the name of Tanya, who discovered his body. Every vital point had been stabbed with pinpoint perception, and his neck slit so deeply that he was nearly beheaded. The young girl seemed terribly affected, but she seemed determined to carry out Law's work, even if the battle seemed to be lost before it could begin.
“His brilliance was apparent from the first meeting. His potential blinding. But above all else, it was his sense of will that I will remember him for,” Mel continued, going through the practiced gestures, but she saw the faces in the crowd that she wasn't stirring any hearts. “When Noxus made their intentions known, he did not falter. He did not balk. Instead, he carried on with a laugh and a determination to fight, even if he had to do so alone.”
“It was that will,” she uttered, “that Noxian assassins stole his life in the dead of night. Not just because of his brilliance or innovations, but because of how he initiated people. Inspired them. And with his death, they hope to break us. Instead, I say that they have turned him into a martyr! An enduring light that symbolizes everything that Piltover stands for -- progress, compassion, and the will to bring about the future with your own two hands.”
It was likely her finest speech. One she had painstakingly revised and rewritten dozens of times over the course of three days. Yet, it was lost on her audience. A few sat a bit straighter, but most had tuned her out completely. Because, even as they sat before her, just as her mind was racing on how to keep everything together, they were planning how to escape with all that they could.
Mel's lips thinned before she stepped back, her gaze flickering to the other members of the council -- Heimerdinger, who carried himself with a familiar sadness at a student taken before their time. Cassandra Kiramman, her former partner turned political rival. Allira Salo, a weak willed man who was willing to open the doors to Noxus so long as it served his interests. Shoola, a political pragmatist. And, lastly, the head of Clan Ferros presented himself to the public for the first time for the better part of a decade, Stevan Ferros.
Stevan was a sickly man, one confined to a wheelchair with gaunt cheeks and sunken in eyes that were entirely too sharp. Clan Ferros was one of the pillars of Piltover, not quite a founding Clan, but only a generation behind. On account of Stevan's health, Clan Ferros had withdrawn from the council, but their influence could still be felt in the shadows.
Because, despite what she just proclaimed to the city, there was a significant chance that Clan Ferros was behind Law's assassination. No one would dare to make the accusation openly, but a pattern emerged for those who knew to look for it -- troublesome or unexpected elements in Piltover or the Undercity starting to gain momentum before meeting an unfortunate accident… and Clan Ferros just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to take advantage.
Mel took her seat amongst them, her hands clasped in her lap as she stared out ahead while the memorial continued without interruption. People gave speeches, spoke of Law's brilliance and ingenuity, before his body was interred beneath a statue of Law in a courtyard. Another time, Piltover would mourn one of its fallen stars, but Mel found there simply wasn't any time for it as the council found themselves once more entombed in the council chambers.
The half cog table felt so very empty these days with more seats emptied than filled. Mel took her seat beside Heimerdinger, seated on his right while Cassandra was seated at his left.
And the moment that the heavy doors to the chamber closed, the argument that they struggled with for days now resumed without missing a beat.
“We still possess the technology that Law developed, and we are continuing with production of more warships. We don't have as much time as we would have hoped, but we can still accomplish our core objectives,” Mel began, speaking to the council and she already knew which members supported one of two paths that they had available to them.
Victory was impossible. However, there did exist a path that Piltover maintained its dignity but that path was one of violence. By inflicting as much damage as possible upon the Noxian army that encroached on their city, it made it impossible for the army to accomplish its original objective -- reinforcing the Noxian invasion of Ionia. A path that demanded they spill enough blood that Noxus fears more damage and accepts the fealty of Piltover on Piltover's terms.
That was the path she was advocating.
“We don't know what the assassin stole from his workshops,” Cassandra countered as the advocate of the other path. One of peaceful submission on the promise of guaranteed rights and protections. “Their weaknesses could very well be revealed already. Noxus might have the blueprints for their own gunships, and their means of production far out strips ours. Repelling this invasion means nothing if we cannot repel the second, and there will be a second. If only to avenge whatever humiliation we make them suffer.”
“Law,” Salo began, his tone testy. “Was one of the single most well protected people in the city and Noxus assassinated him. I don't understand how this can even be a discussion at this point. If we continue to resist, it'll be one of us that wakes up with a throat slit next time.”
“Aggression carries too many risks,” Shoola voiced, the ticking of her clockwork necklace ticking. “If we fail to inflict enough damage, then we won’t have to wait until the next invasion for Noxus to take its vengeance. Piltover will be torn down to its foundations and the only things left of it will be the Hexgate and work camps.”
Heimerdinger looked between them, his expression shifting to one of disgruntlement. “I cannot accept this defeatist attitude! We are Piltover! A beacon of progress! If Noxus is allowed to conquer our fair city, then everything we have achieved over three hundred years would be for naught! Technology meant to improve the lives of our citizens will instead be turned into weapons of war and conquest!”
Having Heimerdinger on her side of the argument was both a boon and a detriment. He still fully believed that they could win and he was blind to every possibility that they would be defeated in open warfare. He was still a vote in favor, however, but the day that Mel always suspected of happening eventually was fast approaching -- the day that Heimerdinger's optimism and willful blindness would see him removed from the council he founded.
But, if it was just the two of them, the course would have already been decided.
“At the very least, a showing of strength is necessary," Stevan voiced with a quiet rasp. His hands were steepled before him as his gaze swept over the remaining council members. “A surgical strike while they remain at a distance. It will give us leverage at the negotiating table-”
The door to the council chamber opened without any warning, cutting Stevan off, making all of them look over and every thought in Mel's head came to a screeching halt upon seeing a disheveled Law striding forward with that same damn smile like he was laughing at a joke only he could hear. The absolute silence in the council chambers was profound, only broken by Law's footsteps.
“The funeral was lovely,” he began, heedless of the slacked jaws and wide eyed stares. “Sorry, I couldn't attend. I was a touch too busy being kidnapped for the better part of a few weeks. Just managed to crawl my way out of the hole in was dumped in and learned that I was assassinated. Any clue on who did the deed?” It wasn't often that Mel found herself rendered genuinely speechless, but as Law tossed himself into one of the council chairs and kicked up his feet on the table, she found that she just didn’t have any words to say.
“So,” Law continued as if nothing was amiss. “What's on the agenda today?”
“My boy!” Heimerdinger managed to find his voice first, genuinely and honestly elated to see Law. “You're alive! You're alive! Oh, Jayce and Viktor will be so relieved! I can't even begin to tell what sorrow has befallen them since you died- wait, did you say kidnapped?! By who? When?!” It looked like it took Piltover's brightest mind to register everything that Law said.
“A few weeks? Maybe less?” Law answered with a tilt of his head. “Hard to say, really. The last thing I recall was the public unveiling of the gunships.” That was a month ago. “The next thing I knew, I got swallowed up by a shadow and dropped like a rock in some pit beneath the city. And, evidently, someone took my place and ended up getting assassinated.”
It was insanity, but he spoke of it casually. No, he sounded offended that his impersonator managed to get assassinated.
“As for who did it?” Law began, his lips thinning ever so slightly. “Well, that's a broader story. A long one to. But, I suppose it is relevant to the council considering it’s related to why Piltover got kicked over like a sandcastle a few months ago.” He mused, making the tension in the council room spike.
“Seems like Piltover was the battleground between two factions -- Asami and someone named Heartless,” Law began, his lips thinning and there was a glimmer in his eye that burned at the name of his former partner.
“Asami,” Mel questioned sharply. It took a moment to dig the name up from memory. “But, she-” Mel’s eyes narrowed when Law tilted his head pointedly, and she put the pieces together in an instant. “She faked her death, then? In the same manner that she created your imposter? With what? Magic?” The implications were unsettling in a way that made her skin crawl. It wasn’t bad enough that every vantage or shadow could harbor an assassin, but the very person she could be speaking to might not even be really them.
Law raised his hands before giving an almost dismissive shrug. “Not a clue. Could be magic. Could be tech. But the point is the battle that kicked over our city has been an ongoing development. When I started making a little too much headway in defending Piltover, Asami put me in timeout and tried to make me desperate enough that I’d work with her again. Funnily enough, the guy named Heartless turned out to be on the side of the angels. Allegedly. Sent a guy to help me get out of that hole, and here we are.”
There was almost too much information packed in too few words. While it was a relief to see that Law was alive -- assuming that he was Law and not a doppelganger meant to trick them into thinking that he was back, any relief she could feel was completely outweighed by the sheer slew of new concerns she had. They had investigated to figure out what had happened during that… calamity that destroyed so much of the city. Only to discover that conflict was ongoing in the shadows?
That they were just pawns on a larger board?
“I-I don't understand,” Salo admitted, sounding shaken and looking for guidance. It was only then that Mel thought to spare a glance at her fellow councilors, finding them in similar states of shock. Cassandra in particular had an expression of alarm and it only took a moment to recall why. Up until three days ago, so many plans had revolved around Law.
Cassandra had bet the future on him by arranging a marriage to him with her daughter. Mel wondered what commitments she had pivoted to with his death to have an expression like that with his resurrection?
“Honestly, there's not that much we have to worry about,” Law voiced, and that was the single most absurd thing she had ever heard. “The point that we need to concern ourselves with? It's in Asami's interest that Noxus takes over Piltover. It's in our and Heartless’ interest for us to not be conquered by Noxus.”
“To what end?” Mel questioned sharply, feeling the political lines in the room reshuffling with every word uttered.
“No clue,” Law answered with frustrating ease, as if it were no concern of his. “I'm not even sure what they're fighting over. And, frankly, I don't think it really matters either.”
“How can it possibly not matter?” Cassandra asked, her tone every bit as sharp and Law seemed more amused by it than anything.
“Isn't it obvious?” He asked, raising an eyebrow in their direction. And when it evidently wasn't, he elaborated. “Noxus and Piltover. We're pawns on the board of a much bigger game. Asami, or whoever she represents, wants to control this world through Noxus. Heartless is countering them, and with or without our permission, they'll act accordingly to their interests. Meaning, at this stage it's not a question of independence. It's a question of which thumb we're going to end up underneath.”
The room shifted uneasily at a bitter truth. Assuming every word that he said was true, then… then they had far greater concerns than an expansionist Noxus. And that was a daunting thought.
‘One that we can't do anything about at this stage,’ Mel understood all too well. They didn't know enough about their enemies or the game that they were playing to even start preparing. So, instead, they had to address their immediate concerns. While she didn't trust Law, or know if he even was Law… that didn't matter at this moment.
“Then our course is clear, is it not?” Mel began, bringing the focus of the room back on her. “Piltover shall fight to determine its own fate. Regardless of who its enemies might be. I call for a vote.”
They had been in a gridlock for three days. Three votes for surrender, three to fight.
Cassandra looked alarmed, her gaze darting between her and Law for a quick second, realizing exactly what Mel planned. “You can’t be serious,” she half blurted before she could stop herself, standing up abruptly. “He was dead!”
“We’ve made no progress in three days. Noxus looms ever closer, and we’ve wasted enough time,” Mel replied smoothly. “We need to break the gridlock, and who better to do so than the esteemed star that so much of our defeces rely upon? Without Law, it wouldn’t even be a discussion of whether we could resist such an invasion.”
Cassandra looked like she bit into a lemon, caught so thoroughly flatfooted that she couldn’t even hide her expression. However, all the same, she sat down and didn’t resist the proceedings. Not when she had the chance to go forward with the marriage between Caitlyn and Law.
Heimerdinger stood, “We don’t exactly have protocol for something like this, but now is as good as a time as any! Law was never officially removed from his position as spokesperson for the Undercity; therefore, it stands to reason that he remains a member of the council and is entitled to a vote!” Salo and Shoola both grimaced, but there was little that they could do at this point. The momentum was on their side.
Mel nodded, “Then I put forth the motion that Piltover shall commit itself to rightfully defending itself from Noxus aggression. That we dedicate what resources we have to seeing off this army and maintaining our full independence from any other interfering governing body.” With that, she raised her hand to declare her vote.
Heimerdinger was second to declare his vote, and after him, Stevan. Mel could tell that Stevan, in particular, wasn’t happy with how she had worded the motion, but offered no comment. Once the vote went through, she suspected that he would attempt to scale down the scope of any operation against Noxus, but he knew there wouldn’t be any operations if he didn’t vote with them now.
Law, as expected, raised his hand in favor. And, with him, the motion carried.
Mel let out a breath that she hadn’t been aware she was holding, even if she knew deep down that this was the easy part.
For Piltover was now at war, and it felt like Noxus was the least of their worries.