The songs of war could be heard from miles away, the beating of the Noxian war drums shook the earth. Thousands of armor-clad warriors of different origins roared in both excitement and anger as they all set their eyes on a Demacian fort. A line of soldiers stood between these steel menaces and the safest place a defenseless peasant would ever have. The only thing keeping them from being overwhelmed was the narrow bridge that went over the deep moat which surrounded the fort.
Lives were on the line, homes were burned to ash, and the smell of blood and iron was in the air. Hervis Daubeny was in charge of the Demacian troops that were given the responsibility of defending the eastern front while the previous leader was called back to the capital of Demacia. A fatal mistake. Some Noxian decided that it was the moment to strike while their defenses were weakened. And they brought a whole legion with them.
With the villagers safe inside the fort, Daubeny was now left with the horde of barbarians just outside his doorstep. He stood in the ramparts overseeing the battlefield. His troops stood ready for the oncoming wave of iron, they raised their spears forward determined to repel the Noxians. But for Daubeny, he felt his will and strength faltering. Never before he had ever witnessed an army such as this. Armed to the teeth, war machines just waiting to be called in, and worst of all, the stench of gunpowder.
His eyes landed upon a group to the left, he quickly called for his archers. "Shoot down those grenadiers! Do not allow them to take another inch of our land!"
The archers made no hesitation and unleashed a flurry of arrows towards the enemy. Daubeny wanted it to be over, but the damn Noxians persisted. Every soldier on the ground braced themselves with their shields planted down, ready to take the oncoming threat. Steel, flesh, there is no difference in between when they smashed into a wall of shields. The Demacians shifted a little, but they all stood stoically in the face of danger.
Before Daubeny could give out an order, a series of tiny footsteps ran towards him. The Captain felt a small breeze for a moment, and then the earth shook violently. His eyes then wandered towards the center, and standing right between his shield bearers and the Noxian blight was a small blue yordle wielding a mighty hammer of justice. A large area was cleared out of any soldier, the tiny warrior stared down at the opposing side, her hammer buried deep into the ground.
"P-Poppy!?" Daubeny exclaimed. His eyes wider than ever, his hands gripped the edge of the ramparts and threatened to break it under his fingertips. "The Keeper of the Hammer, here!? Praise the heavens above!"
Back on the ground, Poppy twirled her hammer before swinging it at a charging soldier, sending him back into the legion. She dashed towards the enemy just in time as a large grenade landed on where she previously stood and the fuse burned out causing a massive explosion to rock the battlefield. The small yordle slammed her hammer into another, then she tossed her shield at the nearest footman. It bounced off him and Poppy quickly caught it while still in the air giving her enough space to throw down her hammer into the enemy ranks. Just within a single minute, one small yordle had already managed to break through the first wave like it was nothing. She stood defiantly against the Noxian army unscathed.
"This land is now under my protection!" Poppy declared. "So please, just go home!"
Daubeny felt his worries melt away, he stared at the whole scene with awe. Then something stirred inside him. It was rare, he was angered by the fact that these Noxians dared to attack his home, to attack Demacia. He pushed the rampart away and took a few steps back. Then he raised his fist in the air and let out a mighty roar. Inspired by Poppy's act of selflessness, he rallied his forces and sent them out to aid Poppy against the Noxian barbarians.
Every soldier that was able to lift a weapon went through the gates with no hesitation. Their boots clanked against the stone bridge as they moved forward, following the shield bearers in their steps as they advanced towards the enemy. Their stomping feet were as loud as the Noxian war drums. Poppy did not look back, she merely continued in her battle, the weight of her hammer crushed the opposing side with ease. And for the first time since the attack started, Demacia was fighting back the larger army. Because of Poppy's example, the shield bearers pushed the Noxian away, any legionnaire that even got through them were met with the rearguard who was responsible for anyone that slipped through their defenses.
Daubeny only feared that because of their resistance, the Noxians would in turn answer with their war machines. But he swept that thought aside and ordered his archers to rain down arrows on the enemy.
The yordle shattered her opponent's shield and finished him off quicker than he could react. Thousands started to dwindle into smaller numbers. A Noxian spell caster launched a fireball at her, but due to her smaller size, she was harder to hit. Her eyes focused on the mage, her hand tightened around the hammer as she charged towards them. A few more swings and a few more bodies to add to her count.
Meanwhile, Daubeny was instructing his archers back on the ramparts, their aim was true and most of their shots landed. But something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over the edge and noticed that the Noxians at the back stopped abruptly. Then they started parting away making a narrow path. It was as he feared, they were sending out something that would surely break through their defenses. He called back his troops immediately and ordered them to make a defensive line once again. Poppy chose to stay behind or she simply did not notice that her fellow Demacians were retreating towards the fort.
What she did notice was that her enemy started to slow down with their advance, a few looked back as their attention was caught by something and then they simply grinned back at her. None moved, which made Poppy feel uneasy. She had stopped, unsure why these Noxians hesitated. She readied her hammer for whatever challenge that is to come.
As for Daubeny, he demanded to know when his reinforcements were even coming, he was given terrible news after. They were still a day away. He looked back at the opposing army, his questions of what manner of contraption would soon be answered as something started to rise out of the parting sea of metal. A hat of sorts and two white fluffy ears. It continued to rise and soon enough, Daubeny could describe what this creature was. It was small, its arms were crossed as he glided through, Daubeny was unsure how, he simply guessed that this creature was a mage of sorts. But the intimidating halberd on his back contradicted Daubeny's guess.
His clothes were tattered and stained, his face had a large nasty scar, and his one good eye burned with a raging inferno strong enough to melt stone. The Noxians started chanting this creature's name, they raised and slammed their weapons on anything solid to mimic the beating drums. Daubeny then felt his blood run cold as he recognized the name that started to fill the air.
"Kled! Kled! Kled!" The soldiers went on as he practically flew.
Kled was smiling, his jagged teeth bared for all to see. With a mighty roar of his own, the small white yordle hopped onto the nearest soldier's head and started running towards the fort. Hopping from one head to another.
"Pardon me! 'cuse me! Hey, I'm walkin' 'ere!" Daubeny could hear him shout.
The Captain quickly ordered his archers once more to shoot down the talking rodent. A flurry of arrows was released, but Kled simply swung his halberd and the arrows were gone. A few unlucky Noxians were met with their death as some arrows landed on them instead. When Kled was already on the edge, he hopped over Poppy, landing gracefully on the ground before setting his eye on the row of shields before him.
"Holy shit!" He bellowed. "Where the fuck am I and why are there Demacians!?"
"Ha! You're dead now Demacian!" A foot soldier taunted. "With Kled on our side, nothing can-" He was cut short as the army parted away to make room for Kled's mighty steed to pass through, which was a fatal accident that ended his life as Skaarl crushed his skull under her foot.
The drakalops ran to her partner's side. Poppy stared after the yordle known as Kled, curiosity grew inside her as her eyes scanned over him. Kled seemed to be distracted by the fact he had no idea of where he was. Then he glanced over his shoulder and stared at Poppy, his grin started to shift into a full-blown smile.
"Aw, ain't you the cutest!" He snickered. "Well howdy, there cousin! Wonderful day ta cut some throats, right!?" Poppy remained silent, she opted to raise her shield defensively.
"Get her Kled! Snap her neck!" A Noxian cheered.
The whole skirmish was at a standstill, both armies were too focused on the two yordles to even fight anymore for different reasons. The Noxians simply wanted to see the legendary Kled in action. The Demacians were glad that they were getting some time for their reinforcements to come, but they don't know how long it would last.
"Now, I don't know why I'm here, to be honest, this doesn't look like my property! But I did need some leg room! And I'm willing to let you go. So I'll give you the count of three to leave my property, or else I'll be havin' some stew tonight with you as my prime ingredient." Kled mounted onto Skaarl's sale and raised his halberd towards Poppy. "Three!"
He screeched out before he dashed towards Poppy, his halberd bounced off her shield. But Kled didn't stop there, Skaarl would dash around Poppy and Kled would swing his weapon around wildly. Poppy could only block a few with her shield and hammer, some swipes were able to land a few cuts. Poppy hissed, but she wasn't helpless. She swung her hammer across, but Kled hopped over the weapon while Skaarl ducked under it. Luckily she had her shield, and Kled was sent sprawling on the ground with the air kicked out of him.
Daubeny wanted to help Poppy, but if he did so, then the battle would resume. The barbarians seemed to be distracted by the fight, so much that the Demacians were given a moment to rest, but they kept their guard up in case something went wrong.
"So this is the ferocious Kled..." Daubeny muttered under his breath. "I thought he was merely a Noxian myth... Such speed, such savage techniques. His rage is unmatched!"
"C'mon cousin! Don't ya got anything to say to good ol' Kled!?" The maniac wheezed. He launched himself towards her using the powerful blast from his pistol. His halberd went over his head and towards the blue yordle. Poppy stepped to the left and spun on her heel. The hammer in her hands went full circle before it slammed into Kled, but the older yordle held on and made an attempt of swiping at her with his halberd but she was too far to reach.
"Shut up." That was all she said before swinging down her hammer at the ground with Kled still on it.
But to her shock, the drakalops intervened in time and managed to step between Kled and the ground and acted as a cushion, preventing him from getting smashed into the ground. The Noxian grinned wildly as he raised his gun at her. Poppy retreated, and much to her surprise, the gun only made an audible click.
"It's empty, cousin!" He yelled out before Skaarl pushed him towards Poppy. He bared his jagged teeth at her and bit down into her armored shoulder. His teeth proved as strong as her armor, which was truly shocking. Both yordles went down, Poppy's arm that held her hammer was pinned by Kled's halberd.
Kled started clawing at Poppy's armor, he was too much in a hurry or too blinded by a mist of fury to properly remove it and was too eager to sink his fangs into her face. She tried to push him off her but the older yordle snapped his teeth at her other hand and shook it like a wild dog. The Noxians that spectated the fight started to cheer even louder, they wanted blood, and they might just get it. An archer on the ramparts had enough of it, he pulled back the string of his bow and aimed straight at Kled's head. The arrow flew before Daubeny could even protest, it zoomed across the field and towards its target. Then Kled unexpectedly turned and caught the arrow in his hand.
The army of Noxians saw this, and every single one roared with rage. This in turn caused every soldier to charge towards the fort. The Noxians ignored the two yordles on the ground, they all ran around Kled and Poppy. Angered and offended by the audacity of the Demacian archer, to think someone would just ruin the beauty of one on one combat. Using their newfound hatred towards their enemy, they slammed into the wall of shield for the second time today, but this time they promised that they'll break through it this time.
"Demacian dog, how dare you!" A grenadier yelled as he demolished a few shield bearers with a single explosive. Pieces of metal flew around and some shrapnel even injured a few Demacians.
Daubeny scowled underneath his helm, he ordered the troops to fall back. Kled got off of Poppy and pulled his halberd towards him. "Tryin' to be a sneaky-sneak!? No one takes a shot at Kled without getting chopped up like a tuna!"
Before Kled could even climb onto Skaarl's saddle, his attention returned to Poppy who recovered. Her shield was back where it belongs, and her eyes were filled with determination. "Your fight is with me, Kled. I won't let you near that fort!"
"Well that's gonna be a problem, ya see, this place is my property. And I don't take kindly to trespassers." He said as he hopped onto Skaarl.
"How about I show you the other end of the hammer?" She decided that it would be better if she just finished him now. He was still Noxian anyway, just like the rest of them. "For Demacia!" Poppy roared out as she charged forward.
"GET OFF MY LAWN!!!" He screeched out in return.
Suddenly, a pillar of light slammed into both yordles, anyone who was too close was thrown away from the large blast. Every man or woman that was present that day was too busy in their war to even care. Demacians were battling for the lives of their people, the Noxians only wanted to expand their territory. The only one that would ever care was a single raven perched on a spear buried halfway into the soil, overseeing the whole battle. Then out of curiosity, it flew straight into the light as it faded away, never to be seen again.
The skirmish raged on for another day, Daubeny and his troops proved resilient against the tide of Noxus. And he was generously given his reinforcements, and the Demacians were triumphant that day. Of course, there were still questions. Poppy was not found among the victors, nor was Kled. Some just thought that the blue yordle simply returned to her quest, the one that lasted for almost a thousand years. Many Noxians were disappointed with Kled's disappearance, especially after all the trouble they did just to bring him to battle.
But unbeknownst on both sides, there was something far greater in play. Right on the spot where the two yordles fought, was a small crack with a blue light leaking out. If one would stand close to it, you might just hear the manic laughter of a deranged yordle.
Somewhere in an unknown location, Skaarl popped her head out of the bushes and looked around curiously. Then her eyes landed on a small cottage just a few feet away. What caught her attention was the oddly colored horse that was seemingly speaking with a rabbit. Out of curiosity, she went over to investigate.