Vainglory Hub
News
ALPHA
The dark room rippled with an eerie, surgical-bright glow centered on a glass tank at the center. Inside, a pale woman floated in a bowed shape, belly highest, swaying, her shaved head thrown back as if in laughter. Tubes snaked inside the glass and attached to nodes in her chest and temples. Great wounds in her torso had been stitched and bound together with white bandages. There was a low hum, the sour smell of chemicals and an echoing rhythmic beep that matched the slow beat of her heart.In one corner of the room, under a glaring light, a dwarf in thick safety goggles stood on a stool next to a headless robot in the shape of a woman. His power drill revved and died, revved and died, as he worked.
The door opened, startling him. The dwarf cursed and rubbed at a scratch on the white armor, ignoring the blind queen and the two guards who followed her. The queen pressed her fingertips to the tank. The raven on her shoulder glared through the glass.
Ungrateful wenches, she hissed. What would they have been without me? Wives. Mothers. Forgotten grandmothers telling boring stories. I saved them from mediocrity. I made them dangerous. I gave them a skill, a purpose, a family ... and how am I repaid?
The two Stormguard women looked at one another, then back at the tank. We returned, began one, but the queen continued as if she hadnt heard.
Betrayal. For some romantic notion. For a child who knows nothing of building and guiding an empire. But not you, my child. The queen rested her cheek against the glass. You will be more powerful than any soldier. You will never tire. You will never question me. You will never betray me. Because you cannot.
Does that mean I have your permission to put her together? called Frankie without turning around. I can get her head off and have her configured by tomorrow.
Yes, said the queen. She turned from the tank to smile in her terrifying, eyeless way, at the only two Stormguard who had chosen to return. And you, my loyal girls, will help me test her strength.
To be continued...
Team Solo-Mid
Super Evil Megacorps Vainglory has attracted one of the top eSports organizations, Team SoloMid (TSM), as it continues to gain momentum as the worlds leading touchscreen eSport. TSM, known for having appeared in the League of Legends World Championship every year since its inception in 2011, has jumped into Vainglory with the acquisition of Alliance, reigning world champion and the No.1 seed for the upcoming North America Winter Live Championship. Vainglory was recently crowned the Best Mobile Game by the GSMA and Gamelab Mobile during the 2016 GLOMO Awards at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and is currently the fastest growing mobile game on Twitch, with 150 million minutes watched in 2015.As a global leader in eSports, we are always looking to expand our reach and attract new fans, said Andy Reginald Dinh, CEO of TSM. The mobile games community has grown extraordinarily quickly in the past few years, and Vainglory has exploded onto the eSports circuit over the past six months; it will be exciting to see it reach its huge growth potential given the amount of devices on the market.
The acquisition of Alliance by TSM, who finished second in the 2015 North American League Championship Series (LCS) Summer Playoffs, is the latest a series of recent eSports team acquisitions in the Vainglory competitive scene, including Team Secret, G2 eSports and SK Gaming. The Vainglory eSports scene also includes hundreds of original teams, including home-growth professional teams paying players under contract such as GankStars, Halcyon Hammers and Phoenix eSports.
We are thrilled that Vainglory eSports has grown so quickly and that less than a year from our first tournaments, we have such rapidly growing viewer numbers and that so many professional organizations and partners are involved, said Kristian Segerstrale, COO and Executive Director, Super Evil Megacorp. Some day someone will create a competitive game on touch screens that will attract audiences that are 3-5x larger than the biggest PC games today. We are excited to be working with the amazing Vainglory community to be part of that evolution.
TSMs Vainglory team is made up of Nick CullTheMeek Verolla (jungle/lane), Mico MICSHE Dedicatoria (lane/jungle) and Michael FlashX Valore (roam). FlashX and MICSHE started their competitive careers as Alliance in the ESL Vainglory Cup Series in May 2015. Together, they won the Autumn North American VGL Qualifier last year, making it to the VIPL (Vainglory International Premier League) Season 2 in Korea last October, where they won in dramatic fashion. CullTheMeek was recruited from the first world champion team GankStars Sirius. This roster will now be competing as a part of the TSM family, and it recently won the North American VGL Winter Qualifiers #2 (defeating GankStars Sirius), earning the No. 1 seed at the Vainglory Winter Live Championships.
This opportunity, simply put, is a dream come true, said Valore. I have always been a passionate gamer, and TSM is the pinnacle of eSports in North America. As a kid, my parents always told me to find a job doing what I love, and thanks to TSM, I have been given that opportunity. Our team has always strived for success and now we have the supportive structure we need in order to achieve greatness. I am incredibly grateful for this chance and I know that we will not let TSM down.
THE COUP DETAT
Sparks fly from Kestrels magic arrow as it sails past the fire, gliding through the narrow gap between two swordswomen and piercing straight into the Storm Queens raven. It lands with an undignified squawk and a floomph of powdered snow.You all can do what you want, says Kestrel. I am not killing one of our own.
The queens best killers, twitching with anticipation of battle, their trembling weapons thirsty for blood, dart their eyes from Kestrel, to Catherine, to the dead black thing in the white snow with horror. Their white-gloved grips loose and re-tighten as Kestrel steps back beside Catherine, who crouches in a defensive position behind her shield, her perplexed eyes shimmering. In that stunned silence, there is a moment when she sees beyond the white and red uniforms, beyond the weapons, to the faces of women she used to know. The closest thing she ever had to sisters, once.
The Guards best daggerwoman breaks the spell, darting forward, crossing the distance in a blinding blue flash, appearing a breath away from Kestrel, her blades crossed over the archers throat. She is no longer one of us, she hisses. And now, neither are you.
Really, Livia? Kestrel grins. I put an arrow in the eye of a man at your flank at the last battle for Lionne. There is a popping sound, and all that remains where Kestrel stood is a phosphorescent cloud. The daggerwoman jumps back from the glowing particles, her daggers in a defensive position. Ive saved every one of your lives at one point or another, calls Kestrels voice, disembodied several steps away from the mist.
We have orders, calls a shieldbearer from the front line.
Sure, Marelde, and we are trained to kill, not think, says Kestrel, reappearing with a new arrow fitted to the nock of her bow, but it was Catherine who trained you with a shield when you were ten years old.
Eight, whispers Marelde.
And you, Amie. Kestrels arrow points at the forehead of a mage holding a sputtering ball of blue light. After the northern revolt, when you had night terrors, Catherine stayed up all night to comfort you. And you, Ivet, Catherine taught you to speak Lillaise. Ivet nods, resting her axe over her shoulder, staring at the snow.
I never knew her, and I dont care what she taught Ivet to say, scoffs Elena, the youngest of them, polearm at the ready, her stance low. Shes a traitor. She disobeyed orders, ruined a mission and disgraced the Stormguard.
Toujours fidele. Catherine sighs as all eyes turn to her. I swore loyalty, but in war, I was never loyal to the queen. I was loyal to the woman next to me. I had no thought for Mont Lille, or a unified Eventide, when the blades swung and the arrows flew. I fought because I was afraid of what the woman next to me would think if I did not.
Yet you abandoned us and fled like a coward, snarls Livia.
Catherine shoots a glare at the daggerwoman. There are no cowards in the Stormguard. I chose to disobey so that one day, you all would have another choice. But I have ... I have lived with the shame of my disloyalty to you for more than a decade, Kestrel.
Then make it up to me now. Kestrel lowers her bow. We found Julias whole family alive and well in Taizen Gate. They escaped and disappeared with the help of Gythians.
Catherines breath catches. Then we can waste no more time. Make your choice, ladies, and make it before the queens ravens find you.
To be continued...
