Varus awakens the next morning on the pallet.

Mildew and dry rot already affect the places where his hands and legs have touched the sheets and the blanket.  Varus looks around the room.  Soraka sleeps on the floor in front of the door.  Varus sees his bow resting on the table.  He sees a window above the workbench through which he can he escape. He slowly gets up and walks over to the table.

Suddenly he reaches an invisible barrier.  He failed to notice the runic boundaries hastily drawn onto the floor.

Soraka begins to stir.  "I thought you'd try to leave unnoticed this morning," she says sleepily. "Thanks for waking me.  Are you hungry?  Would you like tea or coffee?"

"I'd like to leave," Varus says

Soraka smiles, "You need help, Varus.  And you can't even see it.  I can't let you leave.  We have much to discuss."

Soraka gets up and busies herself cleaning and preparing breakfast. She hands Varus some stew, cheese, and tea over the runic boundary.  They both sit on the floor and eat in silence.

Finally Soraka breaks speaks. "How did this happen to you, Varus?" she asks. "I know you were warden of the Pit of Pallas for many, many years without succumbing to corruption.  Why now?”

After endless moments of silence Varus speaks. "You remember the Noxian attack on the Pit of Corruption."

"Yes," Soraka replies.  "You fended them off."

"Well," Varus says. "My family and my village was not able to do so without me. They were slaughtered. After discovering their corpses, I went to the Pit of Corruption willingly, to gain power in order to enact justice for them."

"It sounds like what you wanted was revenge more than justice," Soraka surmises.  

“Revenge, justice… What’s the difference?” Varus asks.

Soraka smiles.  “What do you know of the Pit of Pallas?"

"The Pit of Corruption?" Varus replies. "It was created by a group of four enlightened mages in ancient times to bind a rampaging, bloodthirsty demon. All four mages stood watch over the pit after its creation.  However, the demon in the pit tempted them, promising fearsome power to any who dared enter.  They withstood the temptation for only three days.  The demon strew confusion among them, telling them how the others were seriously considering his offer till they all distrusted each other.  On the third night, they all succumbed.  The corruption twisted their minds and they created havoc all over Ionia.  This is why only one warden guards the Pit.  So he or she doesn't have to worry of the corruption of others, only about the corruption of themselves."

"Hmm..." Soraka says. "That is an interesting tale.  You should know, however, that the Pit of Corruption is a misnomer.  The Pit of Pallas is a more accurate name."

"What do you know of the pit?" Varus sneers.  "I've never seen you visit or study it. Do you think you know it better than me?  I'm living it now."

"I know what the stars tell me," Soraka replies. "Pallas was not a demon.  He was once one of my kind: a being of the stars.  He was the first starchild to visit Runeterra.  Back then the human tribes of Runeterra fought countless wars, and even a healer of his skill was barely enough to stem the tides of blood that washed the land.”

"He began to look for other ways to help humans beat suffering and impose some sort of order, focusing first on Ionia.  He wrote a code of ethics that he hoped would help guide the Ionian people to ease suffering themselves.  It was ignored.  Finally, he demanded that Ionians follow it, or else they face celestial judgement.  The first transgressor, a warlord that raided villages in northern Ionia, was punished by Pallas’s own arclight sword. Pallas surrendered his immortality that day in the hopes that he could improve the lives of the people of Ionia and all of Runeterra.”

"In the years that followed, many challenged Pallas, but none bested him. And he continued to punish those who transgressed his ethical code. Finally, as Ionians began to fear Pallas’s wrath, the island fell under a sort of order.  Roads became safer.  Villages didn't need militias to ensure their safety.  More villagers could dedicate their time to other pursuits, cultural, agricultural, and scientific.”

"But before Pallas was able to look to Valoran, the toll of his days of judgement came to pass.  He was not a god, and for our kind, violence comes at a price."

Soraka wipes sweat off her forehead. "I learned that first hand."

"His corruption began. Justice slowly turned into vengeance.  He began to see breaches of his code as affronts to his honor.  He began enforcing even slight suggestions in his code as if they were serious offences.  He began to view himself as a god.

"A darkness then came to Pallas. Gradually his body became wreathed in it. His sword when unsheathed started gathering red tints of the blood he spilt.  He saw these phenomena as necessary afflictions, sacrifices he made for his people.

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"The Ionian people began suspecting his corruption, but everyone was too afraid to do anything about it.  Finally, an Ionian mage traveled to Runeterra to search for help.  He met with the most powerful Valeran mages of the time who agreed to help him entrap Pallas.

"They traveled back to Ionia and managed to trap Pallas in the pit. And in his anger he tempted his mage guardians with power and corrupted them."

A silence fell across the room.  Varus thought carefully for a moment.  "I have a few questions about your story."

"Ask away," Soraka replied.

"The same thing happened to you right," Varus said. Soraka looked shocked. "Yes, I've heard your story as well. When Warwick tricked you into attacking his enemies, you became a mortal.  And you fight all the time in the League.  Yet you are still not corrupted like Pallas."

"I've never thought of that," Soraka observed. "I guess my motivation was different from Pallas's.  My goal was to protect Warwick, not force him to comply with my sense of ethics or morality. Also, most of my actions in the League are healing my allies, not harming my enemies.  That might allay corruption from violence.  Still, my actions have made me mortal.  That is my consequence."

"Also," Varus added, "You still haven't explained why the Pit of Corruption is a misnomer.  It sounds like corruption is a central theme in Pallas’s story."

"That is true," replied Soraka. "But the name Pit of Corruption doesn't quite reflect the full story.  After Pallas heard of the terror the dark mages he created wreaked across Ionia and all of Runeterra, he once again communed with the stars and attempted to repent.  The stars listened and attempted to purify him and return him to his celestial home, but they found his corruption too great and the entrapment too strong.  They were able to grant him his celestial body back, by way of a magical ritual which greatly endangered his life. So despite the corruption, he lives on in the pit.

"The stars tell me of a prophecy related to him, that one day a human will find a way to purify him and remove him from his cage, so that the stars can reclaim him.  A human will find him and end his suffering, as he once ended the suffering of humans years before his corruption.”

“Yes, corruption is a central theme in Pallas’s story.  But so is vengeance, judgement, and redemption.  The name, Pit of Corruption, ignores all the good he tried to do and his potential for redemption.”

Soraka gets up collects both of their dishes and places them in a basin of water and soap.  She begins to scrub them.

Varus stares at her back, hunched over the basin.

"Do you believe I'm the human that prophecy foretells," Varus scoffs.

“Perhaps,” Soraka replies as she scrubs.

"That's ridiculous.  I am corrupted."

"Maybe that's how you purify Pallus," Soraka counters, turning around to face him. "Perhaps you take his corruption to me, so I can purify it.

"Hmmph," replies Varus.  "I wish you the best of luck with that.  I intend to leave the second your barrier spell fails."

"The darkness you've undertook corrupts not only the body, but the soul,” Soraka adds.  “If my treatments are successful, after awhile you'll want to stay and continue them."

Soraka stands, dries her hands, and begins rummaging around her work bench.  She opens a couple of chests under it and pours through its contents.  Finally, she finds the bag she was looking for.  She removes a simple neck chain and a matching wrist chain, and sits back on the floor across from Varus.

"I will remove the barrier you're trapped in on two conditions," Soraka speaks.  "First, you will help me find a way to alleviate your corruption. Second, you will wear this chain binding you to me."

"And if I refuse," Varus replies.  

"Then you will stay where you are until you agree to these terms."

"Fine," Varus sneers. "I refuse."

Soraka looked at him sadly.  "I'm sorry, Varus," she says.  "I should have come to you a long time ago, when I first heard the rumors.  This is my burden to bear as well.  I will go find some herbs that will help purge your corruption."

She leaves the cabin.  The door shuts with a thud.

Varus waits, imprisoned.