#shurima-demigod

[snugglyporos]

@infinite-xerath Honestly it's fairly simple: if there are people, Noxus wants to conquer them. It doesn't matter how bad the environment is. It also helps that Noxus doesn't seem to know about the literal gods and Eldritch horrors waiting for them, beyond probably dismissing them as local legends. It is telling that the Shadow Isles are apparently the one place that even Noxians want nothing to do with.))

Yes, but trying to conquer a frozen wasteland is leagues more difficult than trying to take over already developed territory. I know that in universe it was probably sold as 'oh we'll just go and beat them and they'll join us' but conquering a wasteland after you just sued for peace in two other conflicts strikes me as a tad unwise?

Because while I am not particularly up to date on my Demacia or Ionia lore, I am fairly certain there are things like roads and farms and the like, an ability to live off the land, so to speak. You take it over, make it yours, and then put it back to work doing what it was already doing.

The Freljord seems to survive on raiding? Mostly? And the things and places that don't are not particularly easy to get to?

To use a real world example, there's a reason why the vikings settled where they raided and not the other way around. There's a reason why the romans only made it halfway through Britain and to the Rhine, because at some point the ability to sustain a population of a certain size is impossible without endless amounts of moved materials.

Basically, you could probably station the entirety of Noxus' army in say, Demacia. Demacia has farms, the population that was fighting is now not fighting and replaced by Noxians who are in those jobs. But you could not do the same thing in the Freljord, because the Freljord has no way to sustain a giant army like that if it's just sitting there. It can't live off the land, the land is barren. It can't extract tribute, everyone can just get up and leave to other parts they don't control. They could try to build permanent things there, like roads and garrisons and the like, but those things are entirely dependent on aid from Noxus proper and if that doesn't come the whole thing falls apart?

And there's no way Darius, being a war genius, wouldn't know all of this? Unless his entire plan hinged on defeated the Freljordian armies in battle and capturing their leaders and making them submit. Or, it's an invading russia in winter situation, where there's just... endless expanses of nothing for hundreds of miles and it never gets any better.

Here's the other reason I can assume that either LeBlanc or Swain wanted him dead: not only was Darius defeated, he was captured, as was his son, who died against Sejuani's forces.

So Darius is defeated and captured, his son died there, and basically every time they lead an expedition into this place everyone dies horribly.

But the thing is, it's this endless attrition and stalemate that causes Darius to return and end up part of the council that now rules, because the Freljordian conflict is such a catastrophe. And yet, even still, he sends more expeditions to try and reclaim what little they built there, only now all the various scattered tribes are united either under Ashe or Sejuani.

So as far as I can tell, the opinion in Noxus should be that the Freljord is an icy deathtrap with nothing of value in it, except snow and angry tribesmen. Darius of all people should know that, he couldn't win against them and lost his son to them, and he apparently thought so poorly of the conflict that he turned him to overthrow the leadership with Swain and Leblanc.

The only thing that makes sense to me is that Noxus can't admit it got beaten by tribespeople and poros and beast men. So it has to say the conflict is ongoing so they don't lose face. But this is clearly not a conflict Noxus is winning, mainly because they destabilized their entire country in their biggest attempt at victory.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

What’s the difference between Ascended, Aspects, Freljordian demigods, Aurelian Sol, and whatever Soraka’s got going on? Are they all just different varieties of League gods?

Hoo boy, okay, so. First of all, Riot have been pretty adamant that there are no gods in Runeterra, every god-like being that exists in that universe is actually a spirit or just a very powerful being of some kind, but definitely no real gods, no matter how much it seems like they are definitely writing these characters to be actual literal gods.

I don't 100% know why they are so insistent on this, but I imagine it has something to do with censorship and ratings agencies, or maybe they just don't want to have to establish any actual theology on Runeterra. Volibear isn't the god of storms for real, he's just a super powerful spirit that can create storms in the Freljord, but not all of them, so please don't ask us whether every single thunderstorm in the Freljord was something he did deliberately. That sort of vibe.

To go through them point by point:

Celestials & Aspects

The Celestials are beings like Aurelion Sol and Bard, which exist as cosmic entities operating on levels of power and motivation beyond human understanding. They came into existence with the universe itself, and tend to busy themselves governing various parts of its operation. They are, again not gods (Riot is very insistent on this), but Aurelion Sol literally made every star in the galaxy, he's functionally the progenitor god of Creation.

Some of them, though, like to interfere in the mortal world of Runetera in various ways, and they tend to use mortal vessels to do it. That's where we get Aspects: Aspects are mortals who are chosen by the Celestials that live on Mount Targon to contain their power and be their avatars in the mortal world.

Leona is the Aspect of a Sun celestial, Diana of the Moon celestial, Pantheon is the Aspect of War (or he was, until Aatrox killed it, but he retains access to many of its powers), and Zoe is the Aspect of Twilight, and so on.

Soraka is another Celestial in mortal form, but she is NOT an Ascended. Rather than possess a mortal, she created a mortal body for herself and poured the whole of her being into it, which is causing her body to permanently burn up from the inside while she regenerates it with her magic. She lives on Runeterra and acts as a mysterious mystical wise guide and mentor to mortals who need it.

Ascended & Darkin

Ascended are somewhat similar in kind to the Aspects, but usually lesser in power. The Ascended are also human beings infused with Celestial magic and power, specifically with the power of the Sun, although as far as I know, that power is drawn not from the Celestial of the Sun who empowers Leona, but directly from the physical Sun itself. This means the Ascended aren't possessed by Celestials and retain full free will, at the cost (or let's be real: benefit) of being transformed into furries, which extremely coincidentally just so happen to closely resemble the gods of the Egyptian pantheon. but again, they are definitely not gods, please don't put it in the newspaper that they are gods.

I don't know exactly how canon Riot considers this anymore, but the lore was that the Aspects of Mount Targon gifted the power of Ascension to Shurima in order to produce Ascended that could serve as shock-troops in the war against the Void, which is a swarm of extradimensional horrors that are constantly trying to eat the world. Whatever the case, the Ascended DID fight the Void, and it traumatized and corrupted them so badly that they degenerated into body-horror blood monsters called the Darkin.

The Darkin fell into civil war and it got so bad that The Aspect of Twilight (not Zoe but her predecessor in the role) decided to use some magical trickery to imprison them all in their weapons, which is where they've stayed for a few thousand years, getting even more traumatized and mentally destabilized by the total sensory deprivation and solitary confinement. If any mortal touches a Darkin weapon, it immediately assimilates them and uses their flesh as a new host, and then goes on a killing rampage about it. That's where you get your Aatrox, your Varus and (eventually, once he devours Kayn) your Rhaast.

Gods, Spirits & Demons

This is the category for Ornn, Anivia, Volibear, The Seal Sister and so on. The Freljordian people worship them as gods, but they are, technically, only extremely powerful nature spirits, manifestations of the nature of the Freljord itself, which draw power from the land and to a lesser extent from their worshipers. There are many, many lesser nature spirits, which might be worshiped as gods by particular tribes or hold power over particular areas, but Ornn, Anivia, Volibear, The Seal Sister and the Iron Boar are the most powerful and most widely revered.

On a similar note, Ionia is absolutely choked to the gills with spirits, because those lands are soaked in magic. They are usually not worshiped as gods specifically, but take the shape of everything from dragons to living trees to sprites and will-o-wisps and which roam fairly freely in Ionia. This includes characters like Lillia, who is the daughter of a magical tree of dreams on whose branches the dreams of mortals grow and mature, and it includes Ivern, who is an extremely powerful and ancient nature spirit formed from the soul of a magical tree.

Demons are distinct from spirits, in that rather than drawing on the power of the land or fountains of magic, they draw on the emotions of living things for their powers. The most powerful demons are known as The Ten, who get their power from the most primal emotions that living things feel. Fiddlesticks is the demon of Fear, and Nilah somehow draws her strength from Ashlesh, the Demon of Joy, whom her order has imprisoned. We don't know who the rest of the Ten are yet, but Riot seems to have that worked out somewhere in their internal deep lore.

Swain has a lesser (but still powerful) demon of secrets called Raum bound in his arm through some sort of deal, Evelynn is a demon of anguish and pain, Tahm Kench is a demon of addiction, and Nocturne is a demon of nightmares.

Besides those, there are an untold number of lesser demons, who feed on more and more specific feelings, and thus are less and less powerful because there's simply less of that stuff around to feed on. They are often called Azakana, and may be demons that feed on feelings as niche as, like, noblemen's fear of their extramarital affairs with handsome commoners being discovered. Yone hunts the Azakana and collects their mask, although even he doesn't know quite what for.

Death

This is where we place the Kindred. Technically they are merely Spirits of Death, but more than perhaps any other category of creature, Riot keeps writing them as Literal Gods of death and I don't think it makes sense to think of them any other way.

The Kindred take on many different shapes all across Runeterra, seemingly influenced in large part by the expectations of the people or creatures who are dying, but their most popular visage is that of a Lamb and a Wolf, hunting together. Lamb's merciful arrow ends your life if you accept that your time is up and go gently into that good night, but Wolf hunts you down and rips you to shreds if you resist and fight to your last breath, destiny be damned.

The Kindred are there for every death on Runeterra, they are the mediators (as far as we know) of all forms of death everywhere, and by far the most classically "anthropomorphic embodiment of universal existence" style god in the lore that we know of. Where a god like Anivia only really has power in the Freljord, the Kindred have power everywhere there is life. Only the undead escape them, and even then, only temporarily.

In Conclusion

YES Runeterra has tons of gods, it obviously has gods, you can't walk five feet in that universe without tripping on a god, but they tend to be gods with hard limitations on their power and influence, and rarely have powers on the level of bending reality itself.

Even Aurelion Sol, who literally makes stars, can't snap his fingers and undo causality, for example, or suspend the laws of physics wholesale.

Riot's weird insistence on "no gods in Runeterra" is more of an affectation, a bit of a put-on, than an actual narrative principle, and most of the gods of Runeterra can be understood very comfortably through the lens of various non-Christian religions like Norse or Greek mythology, or the hero/god characters of something like Polynesian myth.

[goldlightwriting]

Darkin Reimagined

I’ve said before, on many occasions, that the Darkin are a plotline Riot clearly didn’t initially know what they were doing with. They were just stand-ins for demons before demons really became a thing in Runeterra, with old Aatrox being the only lead we had as to what their deal was... And then they were aliens. Now they’re fallen demigods. Also there used to only be five, but now there are over a dozen of them.

While I’ll admit that I like some aspects of the current Darkin canon, it really only serves to help bolster Shurima’s storyline, and I don’t even think that was necessary. We could have easily had a civil war between the Ascended that ended in Twilight of the Gods WITHOUT having Twilight then go “yeah now let’s imprison the rest in their weapons because I guess we can only do the Moonfall ritual once.”

And the thing is, I do think there’s a way to tie the two together, but not so heavily that the Darkin are no longer allowed to be their own thing. I’ve talked about this at length in both my Aatrox and Varus videos, but I really do think that the Darkin would have been better as JUST demonic weapons that possess their hosts; this would not only work better for the existing Darkin characters, but it would also allow them to tie into other existing storylines more naturally. I mean, Yone’s got a demonic sword that’s trying to possess him, but that’s TOTALLY different from the Darkin weapons, guys.

So, once again, I’d like to present to you a new and refined version of the Darkin Saga.

Lore

None recall the true origins of the Darkin. Some say they are the first weapons ever forged, so tainted by ages of battle that they developed a bloodlust all their own. Others claim they are powerful demons, feared by the gods themselves and bound in inanimate forms. Still others claim they are an ancient race not born of Runeterra, magically imprisoned within their own weapons for crimes long-forgotten.

Whatever the truth, one thing is certain: the Darkin harbor an insatiable appetite for chaos and destruction. They offer power to any that dare to wield them, but corrupt the user’s mind and body in exchange. Scattered and hidden across Runeterra, many believed that the twisted influence of the Darkin would never threaten the world again, and most have forgotten these ancient weapons even exist... But one has remained free, biding its time for the perfect opportunity to unleash its fellows and wreak havoc on the world once more.

Fundamental Changes

-The Darkin are no longer all fallen Ascended.

-The Darkin have never held any loyalty or allegiance to any individual or faction.

-Darkin grow more powerful by consuming the blood of those they have slain, allowing them to enlarge and even alter their forms further.

-Fearing the potential of what the Darkin could become, the Aspects of Targon once rallied together in an effort to hunt down and confine these deadly weapons across Runeterra.

-Twilight is not the one that sealed the Darkin this time (though Myisha is still responsible for the death of the Ascended Host in Nerimazeth.) It was primarily the Aspect of Justice, Mihira, who imprisoned the Darkin as punishment for the many lives they stole during the Rune Wars.

-The Darkin Saga, as before, follows the Shadow Kayn timeline in which he triumphs over Rhaast, inadvertently allowing Xolaani to corrupt Jun.

-Aatrox, Xolaani and Varus/Paallas travel the world seeking to free and rally the other Darkin to their respective causes. Aatrox wishes to wage war against the gods, Xolaani wants to enslave all Runeterra to her will, and Varus/Paallas simply seek retribution for their suffering.

-Aatrox’s faction consists of: Horaazi, Anaaka, and Taarosh.

-Xolaani’s faction consists of: Baal, Ibaaros, and Stryaatu

-Varus’s faction consists of: Praa, Joraal and Naafiri(?)

-The three factions eventually convene at Targon to fulfill their respective agendas.

-Xolaani arrives with an army of possessed thralls, Varus with a band of warriors committed to helping him stop the Darkin, and Aatrox with a hoard of bersekers infused with his own bloodlust.

-With three Aspects missing (Atreus in the Celestial realm, Diana in Ionia and Zoe who-knows-where), it falls to Taric, Leona and Kayle to defend Targon.

-Taric and Leona devote themselves to protecting as many as they can, while Kayle leads an army of Celestial spirits to battle against the Darkin threat.

-Kayle calls forth the spirit of her mother to aid her, but to her horror, Mihira’s essence is bound and consumed by Xolaani, transforming her into the Aspect’s Bane.

-In desperation, Kayle sends a messenger to the only remaining ally she can think to call: Ryze.

-Ryze answers the call, though upon witnessing the destruction before him, he ponders whether or not Runeterra is worth saving, and whether or not it’s a fool’s errand to try. He contemplates some of the greatest tragedies of Runeterra’s history: the Void War, the Fall of Shurima, The Reign of Mordekaiser, the Ruination, and the betrayal of his own teacher, Tyrus. Ryze ponders if he should intervene, as well as whether or not he has any right to.

-Witnessing a band of mere mortals take up arms against the Darkin, however, Ryze has an epiphany: that these tragic moments throughout Runeterra’s history are, in fact, mere moments in history. Trials that the people of Runeterra have overcome. Time again the people of this world have braved impossible odds to protect what is dear to them, and they have always rebuilt after every disaster.

-Ultimately, Ryze agrees to summon World Rune fragments from his scroll. With them, he manages to destroy nearly every Darkin on the battlefield.

-Only three Darkin now remain in existence: Aatrox, Varus/Paallas, and Naafiri.

-Should Rhaast triumph over Kayn, he takes Xolaani’s power for himself. This results in most of the other Darkin not being freed as quickly and the Darkin Saga being delayed.

Revamped characters

Aatrox Name meaning: “Ender of worlds.” A blade with a heart that beats for bloodshed, Aatrox revels the brutality of the battlefield. The only Darkin to escape confinement at the hands of the Aspects, Aatrox has lurked in the shadows of history, turning the tides of war in some of Runeterra’s most significant conflicts. Its current wielder is a former member of the Ascended Host, who took up the cursed sword in desperation to fight back the Void. Though some lingering traces of the mighty god-warrior still remain, his name is all but forgotten to time, and he now fights for but one purpose: to wage war against the very gods that imprisoned the Darkin, even if it means the end of the world itself.

*Bonus note: maybe Aatrox’s host was the original wielder of the Infinity Edge?

Rhaast Name meaning: “Obedience through fear.” A wicked scythe with an equally wicked sense of humor. Rhaast revels in carnage, instilling terror into mortals. In the distant past, some say this Darkin even inspired a cult of worshipers. The scythe was initially hidden deep below ground in eastern Valoran, until Noxian soldiers found it through one of their expansions. Before they could take the scythe back to the capital, though, the escort was ambushed by The Order of Shadow and the scythe stolen by Kayn. Kayn and Rhaast now fight for control of one body, each seeking to claim the other’s power as their own.

Paallas Name meaning: “To forsake mercy.” A malicious bow burning with contempt for all life on Runeterra. Though the Darkin had lent their strength to mortal races for untold ages, they were repaid with imprisonment. Paallas desires nothing but revenge, and now has the opportunity to claim it through its current wielder: an Ionian archer named Varus. Varus, however, harbors a burning vengeance of his own, and a will strong enough to keep the bow’s corruption at bay... For now. Both parties know that Varus is running on borrowed time, but the archer is determined to avenge is lover and son, Kai and Theshan, both of whom perished during the Noxian Invasion.

*In the Shadow Kayn timeline, Varus witnesses several other Darkin running amok and laying waste to the Noxian countryside. Seeing their cruelty firsthand, Varus begins to fully comprehend the evil these weapons represent, and realizes that his family wouldn’t want him to succumb either. He also comes to resent the Darkin, realizing they’re technically responsible for his families’ deaths as well, and vows to use Paallas’s own power against its kind. Realizing that one Darkin against many puts the odds against them, though, Varus reluctantly manages to sway Praa and Naafari to his cause, using Paallas’s memories to deduce that they’re the most likely potential allies.

Xolaani Name meaning: “Crusher of wills.” A pair of bloodletters imbued with twisted ambition. Xolaani is different from the other Darkin in that they seek to bring an end to all conflict. They have learned how to fragment their own essence and imbue it into several hosts at once, creating a sort of hivemind in the process; through this technique, Xolaani hopes to one day transform all of Runeterra’s inhabitants into their thralls, including the very gods that imprisoned them so long ago...

Baal Name meaning: “Binding of vessels.” An ancient staff imbued with powerful forbidden magic. In an ironic twist of fate, this same magic played a key role in imprisoning the other Darkin. It was only after Baal’s own imprisonment that the Darkin Staff learned the meaning of guilt, and has since vowed to aid its fellows in whatever way possible should the opportunity arise. That opportunity may come soon than expected as the flora of the Bandlewood is slowly tainted by Baal’s essence...

Ibaaros Name meaning: “Glory through killing.” A vicious harpoon once used to slay many legendary beasts. Among the Darkin, Ibaaros possessed what some might call a sense of pride, having been wielded by many powerful champions and heroes across the ages. Its final hunt, however, saw the harpoon lost deep beneath the waves. Though the Aspects surely presumed Ibaaros lost to time, it was there, in the depths, that the Darkin encountered something even more vile than its own kind: an abomination from a place darker than the abyss. When Ibaaros next emerged, it had fused into something entirely new, wielding the might of both Darkin and Void.

Joraal Name meaning: “Solitude in eternity.” Most Darkin offer their host the strength to slay their foes, but Joraal offers a very different form of power: a nigh-unbreakable defense. The Darkin Aegis has withstood blows from gods and demons alike, enduring the strain of attacks that even its host body cannot. Among the Darkin, Joraal has taken on more hosts than any other across history, and each one leaves fragments of memories forever embedded into the aegis. It times, these memories surface and swirl together, which has begun to affect even the Darkin’s own mind and personality...

Anaaka Name meaning: “Yearning for violence.” There are few even among the Darkin as eager for battle as Anaaka. The Darkin Spear charges blindly forward, ever-seeking its next adversary. Anaaka gives no thought or care for those it slays, desiring only the thrill of a good fight, even if each foe is soon to be forgotten. Perhaps what Anaaka truly seeks is an opponent that can quell its own insatiable appetite for battle...

Praa Name meaning: “Emptiness of life.” Equal parts elegant and deadly, Praa revels in making each battle a dance; a performance through which it can display its own lethal beauty. Every movement is made with killing intent, every strike aiming for a vital spot on the foe’s body. There must be no wasted movement, no imperfections in Praa’s performance. Alas, mortals are imperfect creatures, and so Praa has never quite found an ideal vessel among them. Perhaps being imprisoned in the spirit realm was a blessing in disguise, then; surely a more worthy host awaited the Darkin Fan there than in any Runeterran nation...

Horaazi Name meaning: “Seeking forbidden knowledge.” Horaazi represents a truth that both Aspects and Darkin are loath to admit: that perhaps gods, demons and mortals are not so different at their core. After all, is all life not born of the same stardust? Do all creatures not originate from that first wellspring of creation? Horaazi knows well this truth, as well as many others; the Lodestone offers knowledge, not power, to any mortal that would seek it... Yet for all its wisdom, Horaazi harbors a deep hatred for the one who would see an end to wisdom and those that would seek it: Xolaani.

Stryaatu Name meaning: “Wailing in agony.” The Darkin are often regarded as tools of war; deadly weapons or instruments meant to turn the tides of battle. But not all conflicts are won on the battlefield. Not all war songs are loud and imposing. Stryaatu offers a simpler solution: rather than slay your enemies, turn them to your cause. Let your emotions manifest as melody. Place your heart’s desires into the strings... Give yourself over to the harp, and the harp shall instill your hatred and bloodlust into the enemy. Watch as kings and generals turn upon each other with every note you play. That is the power of music: the power of Stryaatu.

Taarosh Name meaning: “Fighting until death.” The Blessed Isles seemed the perfect place to seal a Darkin weapon; who better to resist such temptation than those who could expel their darkest urges? However, the monks of the Isles never foresaw the day a grief-stricken king would arrive on their shores and unleash centuries of evil in an instant. As the Ruination swept through the land and corrupted everything it touched, Taarrosh stirred, its power amplified by the Black Mist. It didn’t take long to find a worthy vessel: a corrupted rider once belonging to the Iron Order. While Hecarim would lead his unending crusade against the world of light, Taarosh knows a greater conflict awaits: one that will shake the very heavens...

[thegoldentigress]

33. What’s the first ship you played? -cosmosoracle

Fiiiirst ship oh boy uhhhhh

Actually prior to my rping with any Sett's, shocker I know, it would maybe be eitherrrrrrr @piltover-sharpshooter 's Cait and Dira orrrrr Dira and Nasus who was by @shurima-demigod ,as those were the first ships I can genuinely recall, sure I had shippy banter but actual solid ideas were those two as far as memory serves me right.

And current obviously I have my dumbass Sett(s) and I have a few Discord ships with friends involving Garen ( @burden-and-truth ), Azir ( @bird-of-shurima ), ocs with a great many friends and more

[technological-terror-reborn]

// New Starter for: @infinite-xerath //

--------------

Oh, Shurima.... the vast desert land that housed great cities and even greater threats, some of them being void-born monsters and others of deranged demigods. From what the robot had gathered, they were either called Ascended warriors or Darkin warriors.

A loud crackle could be heard near the city of Nerimazeth as a hole was formed for a short while outside of the city, and from that hole, something came out. Once it did, it closed and disappeared as if nothing happened, and the thing that came out rose from the ground. Nightfall was back from the torn realm he was unfortunate to be stuck in, but now he was free. This land seemed familiar, but more studying was required to completely know this land. Heavy footsteps sounded as the metal robot started to walk, observing the dunes rise and all, feeling the wind blowing East, and the very quiet sound of a scanner activated as he looked around. He was looking out for anything that was either out of the ordinary or was known in these lands, whatever he found first, it was something to study first.

[league-of-starlight]

With at max four characters per region with a demon, celestial and final boss to round it off. 28 characters in total, which is way too hopeful, but let me cope. Explanations for each one below the cut.

I tried to approached it with a mix of realism, which is why we have characters who have already been shown off, and a dream character list. Even then, I had to cut characters I think would've been interesting.

Zaun/Piltover: Honestly, this was the easiest one with Zaunites, but I had to pick someone for Piltover and I went with Blitzcrank. Imagine he has his sitting down animation from the Wild Rift trailer. Alternative characters were Warwick for the monstrous side of Zaun and bringing the family together, or Jayce for being the Piltover Poster Boy.

Ionia: For Ionia, I wanted someone for the spiritual aspect and someone to represent the factions spli between the Kinkou, and the order of shadow. So I went Karma and Zed.

Demacia: Sylvanas as a transforming character would be fun. and if we need a character to represent the base demacian, Fiora would be more interesting an Garen. I will admit I have a little soft spot for the guy, but I have to be ruthless. I had ideas for Kayle and Morgana too, but I had to cut them.

Bilgewater: I tossed up between Gangplank and Fortune. And while I like Sarah a lot, I picked Gangplank because I can imagine him biting an orange and he's immune to damage for five seconds. Pyke was added because I think his moves would be cool. Imagine if he sunk under the ground before leaping out to slam the opponent with his blade?

Yordles: I chose Kled for this, because every faction needs a comedy character. I also wondered for Gnar, and I almost did, but I think Kled would be easier for hitboxes since he'd be on Skaarl.

Noxus: Darius and Katarina are already in, so I had only one pick left. And, I felt Swain was the best choice. If Katarina wasn't there, I might have gone for Samira for the flashy gun-work.

Freljord: You do not understand how much I wanted Nunu and Willump there and I almost did. But I had to add some demigod rep and Volibear was easiest. Lissandra might be tricky, but I think she could be a fun ice character with her being an ages old sorceress. And as for Braum? I like him.

Ixtal: This was harder than you think. I narrowed my choices down to Neeko, Quiyana and Nidalee. I also thought of Rengar, but I'd have to add Kha'Zix too and I'll explain why I couldn't do that later. But, despite my good choices, I chose Neeko because shapeshifting is always a fun concept for a fighting game. Maybe the other two can get their chance if I ever do a DLC list.

Shurima: I went with Taliyah here because I played Tremor in MKX and I'd want to see how they'd handle her. Maybe she gets a redesign that shows her in the present day?

Targon: This was harder than you'd think as well. I chose Pantheon because I think he'd be cool. I could have done Leona and Diana, have the exes sword fight under the sun, but if I picked one I'd need to add the other and I didn't have space. To be honest, Soraka is here because of personal bias. Imagine that her victory quotes are just encouraging and wise. Leona was very close, and was almost there.

Shadow Isles: This went between Thresh and Kalista as characters to best represent the darkness of the isles. And while I like Kalista and have interesting ideas for her spears, I feel like Thresh is a perfect pick for the cruelty of the Isles.

Void: I could have done Kha'Zix, but then I'd have to add Rengar and we already have Ixtal sorted. Bel'Veth is too much of a final boss character and we already have a transforming character with Shyvana. I had an idea for Malzahar and Kassadin as the polar opposites of humans in the void, one who embraced it and the other who despises it, but in the end, I picked Vel'Koz because of his alien feel. Ideas for his move-set? Watch Shuma Gorath from MVC3, add some lasers and scientific ramblings.

Demon: Fiddlesticks. He'd be so much fun in motion.

Celestial: Bard would be an excellent joke character.

Final Boss: I was originally going to pick Mordekaiser because... look at him. But then I had an idea. Atrox wants to plunge the world into a chaotic war, right? in the hopes that by destroying reality, it will destroy him too? Well, who better a final boss for a fighting game, that by someone who relies on bloodshed to keep his form?

And that's it, what do you think? Who would you pick? Let me know if you'd want a DLC wish list too.

[thedepressedjuggalette]

To me it isn't surprising that Riot pulled that shit with Noxus because Riot has been pulling this shit with fucking Shurima for literal YEARS.

To put it simply they tried to take a centrist stance on a literal SLAVE NATION.

Long explanation is that the character of Azir was the unwanted and shunned child of an emperor and befriended a slave child who didn't even have a name and lost his also slave father to overwork and his body was just left there as the other slaves were forced to work -- that is how bad the slave treatment was. Azir gave this slave child a name -- Xerath. And Xerath being the absolute GOAT kept Azir from being assassinated and on a path to becoming Shurima's emperor by using his magic.

Azir never freed the slaves like he had promised Xerath. He kept on saying "Later" that he had to "Wait for the right moment".

Eventually Xerath confronted Azir and guess what the fucker said...

Azir told Xerath "Know your place."

Yeah.

Now how does Riot take a centrist stance on this?

Simple.

Xerath convinced Azir to do the Sun Disk ritual to become a Shuriman Ascended -- basically a demigod.

And the story when the perspectives are shifted, Azir was going to free the slaves DURING THE RITUAL SO NO ONE COULD REVOLT AGAINST HIM.

Xerath, fucking done with all this bullshit killed Azir, took the ascension for himself and then was sealed away for thousands of years, sending the entirety of Shurima into chaos.

Yeah...

How very telling of you RIOT.

There is something funny about people insisting "Oh Sevika's probably gonna die by the end of the show cuz she's not a League Champion," and then she outlives several League Champions.

That said, the fact that she had literally a minute of screen time with no spoken lines after getting that fucking poster promising her 'story would continue' suggests to me that they did intend for her to die. They just changed course on account of her surprise popularity, but was too far along in production to do anything substantial. I mean, her being on the Piltover council is cool and all but it's kinda hard to feel like that matters now.

I could talk about how utterly centrist the whole finale was in how they circumvented the conflict between Pilt and Zaun by using Ambessa and Noxus as a scapegoat, but I figured they were gonna do that anyway so I did my best not to get invested. Sevika was the one character I stuck around for, so the fact that they didn't kill her, but also didn't do much with her just leaves me feeling, "...Well alright then."

Maybe more will come of Sevika in the future. Maybe she'll get her own story going forward. Maybe they'll make her into a champion. They already dipped their toe by putting her in Teamfight Tactics. Til then, the pretty colors of Arcane aren't enough to wash the bitter taste out of my mouth.

[dawnmarsalexandrailieva]

Amumu

Legend claims that Amumu is a lonely and melancholy soul from ancient Shurima, roaming the world in search of a friend. Doomed by an ancient curse to remain alone forever, his touch is death, his affection ruin.

Anivia

Anivia is a benevolent winged spirit who endures endless cycles of life, death, and rebirth to protect the Freljord. A demigod born of unforgiving ice and bitter winds, she wields those elemental powers to thwart any who dare disturb her homeland

Aurelion Sol

Aurelion Sol once graced the vast emptiness of the cosmos with celestial wonders of his own devising. Now, he is forced to wield his awesome power at the behest of a space-faring empire that tricked him into servitude.

Heimerdinge

A brilliant yet eccentric yordle scientist, Professor Cecil B. Heimerdinger is one of the most innovative and esteemed inventors Piltover has ever known. Relentless in his work to the point of neurotic obsession, he thrives on answering the universe's

Ivern

Ivern Bramblefoot, known to many as the Green Father, is a peculiar half man, half tree who roams Runeterra's forests, cultivating life everywhere he goes. He knows the secrets of the natural world, and holds deep friendships with all things that grow.

[herpleasvre]

   made a ship tier list when probably no one is still up but they’re in no particular order besides... tier

[demacianpuppet]

Nothing about the question is stupid, it is actually not super clear if you don't know every single piece of lore.

Basically you can imagine Runeterra (with its cosmos) exist in three different plane of existance - celestial, spiritual and physical.

The celestial realms is the one we know the least. It is home of the celestial beings we know as Aspects and some other celestial entity as Bard and Aurelion Sol. These being wield celestial magic aka the magic of creation itself. Runeterra was created with world runes, powerful artifacts which can change the fabric of relation itself.

The world is indeed called Runeterra (literally, “rune-world”) because of the World Runes—these immensely powerful artifacts are the actual tools of creation, which unknown celestial beings were using to fashion a whole new plane of existence. For some reason, this work halted, incomplete, and the runes were left scattered and hidden within the world they were creating. (Link)

However, it seems like the celestial Aspects can't just interact with the physical plane without any help. They need a vessel to interact with, which we know as the Aspects.

The Ascended are similar to the Aspects as the creation of these uses the celestial magic of the sun. (This knowledge has been given by the Aspects to the people of Shurima for unkown reasons. We only know that the Ascension ritual was a gift. I have my thoughts and theories in that regard.)

Ascended are not the same of course, and still human in their mind (which caused some problems like the Darkin War) but do wield celestial magic and are usually called demigods but us lore geeks (powerlevel are not super clear tbf).

Now, we still have the physicial realm and the spiritual realm. These two are heavily influence each other.

Spirits and demons are usually influencedy by the emotion of humans and other intelligent races. (I will use humans when I mean all higher intelligent races we have in the game.)

As someone already stated before, Janna is a wind spirit which gets her power from the workship of the people from Zaun. Then people stopped believing in her, her power vanished almost completely.

Evelynn, a demon of pain, was born from the suffering during the Rune Wars. She feeds on pain of her victim by toturing them to death.

These spirits and demon needs humans since they get their power from them. They can be pretty powerful being especially if they have a lot of believer (Janna) or had a feast before. However, they can be destroyed.

Now, we know about 10 great demons which represent some of the most powerful emotions humans can experience. Fiddlesticks (another champion) represents fear and Ashlesh (wielded by Nilah in her weapon) is joy.

These demons are incredible powerful and seem not to be able to be destroyed to begin with. Nilah's order was only able to seal Ashlesh away and I think if they had a way to do kill them, they would have down it ages ago.

Now, we also have the contrast to greater demon seem to be the so called spirit gods (again a term we lore geeks use). These include Anivia, Ornn, Volibear, Seal Sister and Kindred. (I'm not including Nagakabourous because we have no idea in which category to sort them. Probably celestial? They are weird.)

And I mentiond before lesser spirits and demons need human to not wither away. While greater demons and spirit gods also are more powerful with the influence of humans, they seem not to need it.

Like Ornn lives in solitude in his forge and Lissandra made all efforts to erase the existance of the Seal Sister and still, both are active and seem to survive fine by themselves.

Also, greater demon seem to be able to inflict the emotion they represent with just their present (see Fiddlesticks Color Story and Nilah as whole champion) and Spirit Gods also seem to be able to affect and change humans as well. Like three most known spirit gods of Freljord also have human counterpart with special connection to their element. (Iceborn for Aniviva, Stormborn for Volibear and Hearthblood for Ornn).

Also, I would like to mention that we have regions which have a deeper connection to the spirit realm than other, Ionia and Freljord being heavily influence by the spirit realm in one or another way.

TL;DR: Celestial beings (mostly Aspects) are being from a complete different plane of existence which seem to be able to wield the magic of creation itself but can't interact with Runeterra without a vessel first.

Spirit Gods and Greater Demons are powerful being which seem incredible difficult to destroy and have powerful influence with their mere presence over humans. Their less counterpart (spirits and demons) are heavily influence by humans instead and need them to not wither away.

Here is a question for all the League of legends lovers out there. Especially the ones who read the lore.

What separates the celestials from all the other gods worshipped on Runeterra?

I know that the celestials are littarly what the name implies, celestial gods representing different aspects, like war, twilight, etc.

But what about the other gods? Are they celestials too, or are they gods/godlike beings who are purely native to Runeterra?

I know that this might sound like a stupid question, but I am genuinely curious.

[inspired-flame]

🔥 + Nasus :)

Send me  🔥 + a word and I will write a NSFW headcanon for my muse.

@shurima-demigod

Considering the amount of paperwork Karma has to do in a day, she's gotten very good at going through them on autopilot, letting her just kind of.. think when she wants to.

Karma, despite the very doting and emotional nature of her and Nasus' relationship... ends up fantasizing more than just thinking... usually when she's doing paperwork and he joins her. The thing is, she is very well aware that an intimate relationship between them is.. a little risky. With Nasus just overall being a literal giant and Karma having a genetic condition where she has brittle bones... yeah. To her it's almost an unspoken agreement that they're avoiding it simply because she knows he would never forgive himself if he hurt her- even if she's okay with it because of how easy it is for her to be injured.

Either way, Karma consistently fantasizes about sex with the Curator, and she is prepared to risk/compromise the structural integrity of more bones than just her pelvis. She can regenerate, she doesn't care. Now only if she were brave enough to come out and say it-

[goldlightwriting]

Shurima Reimagined

I love Shurima's storyline. Despite all my initial resentment for it during the Great Retcon, I've come to grow deeply attached to this region, its characters, and its history. Compared to the Shadow Isles, I think it's one of the best-handled narratives in all of League of Legends lore.

In spite of that, I still have a couple issues. Primary among them is that certain parts of the Shuriman storyline feel extremely disconnected or like they have massive gaps missing. This is most evident in the two-part trailer for Azir's release, in which the second trailer just seems to sort of... Forget the antagonists?

Like, where are Xerath, Renekton, and Cassiopeia while Azir is getting revived? Are they still in the tomb? Have they made it back up to the surface? Does Cassiopeia ever even interact with the mad demigods she set free? And what is Xerath's initial reaction to seeing the city he destroyed ages ago suddenly revived? Evidently he doesn't think to investigate it because Azir's shortstory reveals that he doesn't know anything that happened around his death until he basically uses the sands to Moody Blues his final moments and reveal Xerath's betrayal. In short: at no point are we led to believe that Azir and Xerath have even MET in their Ascended forms yet.

There's also just the permeation of Riot's bad habits that things happen "because magic." Cassiopeia was bitten by a big stone snake and its venom turned her into a snake lady with poison powers... Rather than just killing her, I guess. Azir was revived because Sivir conveniently bled onto the spot he died centuries ago, and he Ascended because a conveniently beam of sunlight struck him from somewhere underground (this is supposed to be proof of his 'worthiness' to Ascended but Xerath's story makes it explicitly clear that this is BS.)

So yeah, without further ado, here are some of the changes I'd make to Shurima. Nothing as drastic as my previous ones, but hopefully you'll all still enjoy.

Fundamental Changes

-Members of the Shuriman royal line have trace amounts of Celestial magic in their veins.

-The Chalicar is a weapon passed down through the royal line since the empire's founding. Legends say it hails from the heavens and possesses a hidden power, though none have been able to wield it to its full extent for ages.

-Setaka was a member of the royal family who came closer than any other to unlocking the Chalicar's hidden potential. It is for that reason she was chosen to Ascend and lead the Ascended Host during her time.

-Azir never planned to release all the slaves. He does, however, free Xerath right before attempting to Ascend.

Azir: "Xerath, you have a been a true friend and brother to me, and now, my final act as a mortal is to at last uphold my promise to you. I know that you shall continue to faithfully serve me, once I emerge from the sacred light."

Xerath: "...No, Azir. I shall not serve you, nor anyone else, any longer!"

-Rather than incinerate Azir, Xerath instead casts a curse to imprison the emperor in stone just he starts to Ascend (Cassiopeia can later get this ability from him.)

-Xerath draws all the power of the Sun Disc into himself as before, causing a violent explosion that destroys the capital.

-Nasus, Renekton and Xerath fight for a time before they resort to using the sarcophagus to try and trap him.

-As before, the resulting power gap causes members of the Ascended host to turn on one-another and war for control of Shurima. This conflict rages for over a hundred years before the Aspects conspire to intervene.

-The war was just fueled by lingering grudges and greed; there was no influence from the Void or hemomancy.

-The Chalicar, a weapon with the power to store Celestial energy, is used to kill every member of the Ascended Host save for Nasus and Renekton by draining the solar magic from them, rather than blasting them with moonlight.

-The Chalicar is returned to Setaka's tomb until it is found by Sivir, who is able to harness the Celestial magics within thanks to the traces of royal blood within her.

-The Tomb of the Emperors is sealed with a powerful enchantment, which ancient writing claims can only be undone by royal blood. Surprisingly, the seal seems to react to Sivir's presence.

-Cassiopeia stabs Sivir and attempts to open the tomb using her blood, rather than the Chalicar.

-The Guardian Serpent springs to life and fills the chamber with poison mist. In desperation, Cassiopeia continues onward, hoping to escape the poison by taking shelter in the tomb, which does indeed open for Sivir's blood. In doing this, she inadvertently sets free Xerath and Renekton (as well as the energy zombies that Xerath apparently made while he was stuck in there.)

-Cassiopeia was transformed into a Baccai via Xerath's magic. His power mixing with the poison in her veins is what caused her to take on a serpentine form.

-Sivir flees the chaos, seeking the Oasis of the Dawn said to be hidden beneath the capital in the hopes of healing her wounds.

-Sivir bathes in the water and her wounds heal. Before she can leave, though, Sivir notices a strange stone figure nearby bearing an expression of pain. For reasons she can't explain, Sivir feels an odd sense of kinship with him, and pulls the figure into the Oasis of the Dawn.

-Sivir is not a direct descendant of Azir, but Setaka (who had children before Ascending.) Royal blood still binds her to him, though.

-Azir is freed from his petrifying curse, and he and Sivir take some time to catch up and explain the situation to one-another.

-Once Azir learns that Xerath is free and the Ascended Host are no longer alive to face him, the emperor resolves to stand against his old friend. Sivir is convinced, albeit reluctantly, to help Azir Ascend using the Chalicar.

-Azir undergoes a modified Rite of Ascension, using Celestial power stored within the Chalicar. Because it contains the power of the Ascended Host slain in Nerimazeth, Azir is able to draw on their collective strength to rebuild the capital.

-Azir's magic allows him to conjure soldiers and weapons of the Ascended Host from the sand; this includes the Ascended themselves, but they lack the same strength and autonomy they once did in life.

-By this point, Xerath, Renekton and Cassiopeia have long-since left the tomb. Xerath promises Renekton vengeance against Nasus, and Cassiopeia even greater power in exchange for her loyalty.

-The War for Shurima begins anew as Xerath and Azir both seek to amass power and influence across the continent, waiting for the day they might meet face-to-face once again.

[chaotick-musings]

"Before you come to kill me, I swear it was not my fault. And please do not take this the wrong way. Where are your mother's clothes located in her house?"

Sett breathes in deep.

“My mother...is an ADULT...and...she can MAKE HER OWN DECISIONS!” He said through gritted teeth, pretty much to himself, so that he didn’t lose control.

“Please, give her these clothes as they are the most comfortable” He said, handing him the clothes with the best smile he could

@shurima-demigod

[piltover-sharpshooter]

She leans back and thinks.

"If I had to chooose...Targon's gods seem to not meddle in human affairs much, Piltover doesn't have gods unless you count Janna but that's more of a spirit, and the Bilgewater Bearded Lady while brutal does want the best for her followers...."

" So I'd say Freljord and it's Old Gods either not doing anything while the people suffer or actively make things worse. Though if we count the Ascended as gods or demigods as some do, then absolutely Shurima after the Darkin War."

„I like your attitude.“

She tips her hat.

"Why thank you, I try to assume that humanities' qualities, the best and worst ones, are our own instead of coming from a higher power. Were that not the case, everyone would use it as an excuse."

[thesandqrator]

Now, now, @book-of-knowledge , @shurima-demigod .

Listen to @emperorbirbman . Emperor knows best, after all.

Blink twice with your right eye if you are under duress.

[lighthooks]

[ drunk ]

[ drunk ]   your  muse  takes  care  of my very drunk muse 

" no you should -- ! ... " he pauses, lost in thought, cloudwalking through the sand , following his new, tall, dark, rather handsome friend. . . What was he saying ?! This was an ascended, cloud 9 would have to wait

" ... what was I saying -? Ah yes, so there I was, back against the wall -- ! "