Arcane Anew

Orion slowly regained consciousness on the floor again. This way getting old. Why couldn't he land on the bed? At least his headache was gone as he stood up with a sigh. Still, he could feel an unsettling disturbance within, as the memories and his soul continued their fusion. 

"The magic," he thought with a growling stomach, "I would love to start, but I'll starve at this rate." Some questions remained unanswered but he couldn't linger on it in his current situation. Walking over to the desk, he reached for what initially was thought to be washers and flat cylinders, but turned out to be currency.

Currency here was simple but strange. Bronze, silver, gold coins with a ten to one ratio going up. Holed versions were half value of their full counterparts. Why bother? Yet they existed, five bronze for a holed silver or ten for a full. This explained the opening bar negotiation scene a bit more in Arcane. Shaking his head, he had three full bronze and five holed bronzes. A day or two of food at best for his growing body.

Unbarring the door, a thin layer of dust sprinkled down. His money situation didn't seem terrible but there could be long gaps between small gigs. That is assuming general petty theft isn't a gig, but more professional theft, smuggling, or crime. Orion made his way downstairs, cautiously peering down the rusted metallic rail just in case.

His "home" wasn't much anymore. Dust and mold were creeping in on every surface, a small table barely fit in the cramped room, and the kitchen was a step away. It was lucky the power still worked; you would think it would've been cut-off by now. Against one wall was a moldy mattress leaned up, likely to never be used again.

Depressed, Orion sifted through this boy's memory. The usual fate of miners that didn't return, the kid's parents were likely dead. Foreign emotion invaded his heart and mind- grief, sorrow, loss... Not his emotions, but he couldn't stop the bond forming between him and the boy whose life he now inhabited as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Fuck this place. And fuck this kid." Orion growled, gritting his teeth with growing anger at himself, the boy, and unrelenting indescribable confusion battled inside him. He sucked in a sharp breath and went over to the door, grabbing his jacket hanging near rotten metal-fused boards. It was slightly too big but he was growing into it- one of the few valuable possessions worth anything besides the gun. Shelter, clothes, and food- his top three.

After a quick check, Orion stashed his belongings, two bronze coins and three half-bronzes and the gun came with him inside his jacket, then stepped outside. Taking all of his money was dangerous as he could be mugged. There was still a risk of his home being ransacked, but it was better than nothing.

Before heading out he took the rotten metal-fused boards from just inside the entrance and propped them in a way to make the door appear sealed and abandoned. "Come to think of it, this boy didn't lock the door from the inside before he went upstairs?" The key was with his parents so he couldn't lock it from the outside, he could only shake his head. Passersby may be fooled, and that's the best he could do. Perks to being in an isolated alley.

A smile of excitement crept over his face, despite everything, as he turned and walked out of the winding Emberflit Alley. The air warmed upon exiting onto the local road. It would be exactly what you would expect of a Steampunk and Victorian aesthetics: stone and brick roads, electric and neon lights, and green luminescence of Chemtech devices. The street was sparsely populated, only a few moving in either direction.

Orion couldn't help but gawk at everything, new and yet familiar. Rat-faces, hybrid humanoids, deformed humans, and steam-emitting metal augmentations mixed with Chemtech were everywhere. He forced himself to stop and keep walking; in the Undercity, especially off the collector roads, staring could land you in trouble.

Keeping his head down, he pressed on. The buildings however, once in the distance, were now towering around him and he was met with bustling life! More augmentation, open drugs and alcohol, creatures locked in cages, smells of delicious food mixing with metallic rust, and alluring prostitutes overly perfumed whistling at passersby to come visit.

Swallowing, Orion remembered a food stall this boy visited close to the main road running from the primary Piltover bridge, connecting the major elevators descending, and down to the docks on the southern edge. He sat to get a bite, it wasn't great. Stale bread to mop up a thick stew. He couldn't identify the ingredients, but it filled his stomach. Better not to ask questions. There went three half-bronzes too, but damn was he hungry!

"Mind your owned damned business!" A voice snapped nearby. Suddenly a boy crashed into him from behind. His half-finished meal spilled onto the stall and floor. The owner yelled, "Take that shit elsewhere! Stop having your fights near my stall!"

It all felt faint for Orion as he stared in horror at his spilled slop before turning to the culprits, his anger bubbling. He couldn't believe what he saw though...

The kid lay stunned on the ground next to him, and a fierce young lady stood over him. This woman - short-cropped pink hair, defiant stance, clenched fists - stared fiercely between the boy, stall-owner, and him? What the hell?!

Orion's words however got caught in his throat as he noticed the resemblance to a main character. Vi?