[LORE DISCUSSION] Shurima: Part 2 (Read the description please!)
So a bit odd right? While this week should be 'who killed Yasuo's master', I'm unfortunately not feeling too well and don't think I'll be able to dig into everything I want to regarding this issue. So there won't be a vote this week and next week will revolve around Yasuo's Master and his demise.
However, I don't want to leave you guys without anything to read, so instead I dug up a little idea for a Shurima event I made about a year and a half ago considering we're still in the swing of Shurima. Feel free to read it and enjoy it, maybe compare some things about the Shurima event I made and the one we have now. Just keep in mind I haven't updated or changed this since it was made over a year ago. Anyways, we'll be back next week and I'm sorry about the delay. :(
The Shurima campaign is an idea I had to both rework a few champion lore stories to better fit the theme of “everyone has a distinct goal for being in the League”, add a few new champions and overall expand on the races/ideas/zone of the desert itself. At this point Shurima is sort of a null zone, unknown and fairly bland. This lore event is unique because it can be done one of two ways: There’s the “Phase method” as I like to call it, involving a three-to-four phase event with every champion reveal. This is the more likely method as it’ll allow for one champion and one rework/VU to happen. The alternative is to make one MASSIVE patch with all of this content enabled. Unlikely as it may be, it’d still be fascinating to see done.
Pre-Reveal Phase: Shurinium and the Specter of the Sands The event itself would start with a sort of faux opening for a champion. Lore-wise, there is a big upheaval when a team of explorers wandering through the Shurima desert happen upon a massive cavern buried deep within the sands. These men explore the cavern and ruins, discovering a fantastic new material: “Shurinium”, a sort of sister-material to the true ice found in Freljord. These men foolishly awaken the Specter of the Sands, however. Only one man escapes with his life, the only material he has left being a chunk of Shurinium for League study. This is where it kicks off the event: Foremost, Shurinium seems extremely desirable as was the ore in Kalamandra to a variety of factions. Secondly, Shurima has neither “law” nor ruling authority, this being a government-lacking wasteland where anyone can make a bid for the control. Finally, “The Specter of the Sands” as the monster is called looms as an ever present threat, the only warning that it is coming being a sandstorm that blocks out the sun. Nobody knows what this behemoth looks like, as nobody has lived to tell the tale. This discourages small groups from venturing to claim fame and fortune, saving this wasteland’s riches only to those nations with the power to send troops or scouts to survey the area.
This pre-reveal serves as misdirection for League players: They’ll be expecting Specter of the Sands as a champion. This isn’t the last we’ll see of the Specter, but for now his reveal is done. Next we move to “Phase 1” provided we’re going about this by phases instead of one giant content patch.
Phase 1: The Establishment of the Noxian Forefront This phase begins with Swain sending out two people to Shurima to establish a foothold and hopefully add Shurima to Noxus’s list of territories. Swain worries that if they do not establish a clear rule in this land that enemies of both the league and Noxus (Mostly Noxus, Swain is just putting on a front to look good) will make use of shurinium. He worries that, if Noxus does not establish a foothold, enemies of Noxus can easily secure Shurima and put Noxus at a severe disadvantage. The lore of this would be told from Draven’s point of view, going into the desert with Sion. The two would wander the desert, searching for the perfect place to establish Noxus’s primary outpost in the desert. As they travel, however, the two find nearly all the areas barren, sandy wasteland asides from the minor rocky areas of canyons and boulders. Soon the two feel they are being followed by a large group, seeing figures in the distance hiding from prying eyes. After building up the tension, they discover they are being followed by a tribe of desert orcs led by (the next league champion) Ingra, a rough and aggressive female. Sion challenges Ingra to a one-on-one battle which he wins. Impressed by his strength, Ingra offers a bargain for Noxus: As long as Noxus asserts them as leaders of Shurima, Ingra and her tribe have no qualms with being beneath Noxus rule.
First and foremost, there would be two skins in this phase: Desert Wanderer Draven (DWD) and Shurima Sion (SS). DWD would have Draven wearing baggy pants and a thin vest, most of his body and tattoos exposed. His normal twin axes are replaced with spinning scimitars in the vein of Laurence of Arabia. SS would have Sion wearing heavy desert wrappings around his face and body, an emphasis on covering his decaying form while his axe is an ornate, sophisticated looking weapon.
Sion’s rework would also accompany this phase (or at the very least lore update). Old Sion’s lore was basically him fighting for Noxus, nothing more nothing less. The new Sion lore I envisioned for this phase would place Sion as a grand warrior-general under Noxus who died because of one careless error. While he was brought back to life, Sion is forced to constantly be in combat to leech the life of enemies, meaning he cannot ever lead a quiet retired life. For Sion, every day is fight or die, meaning he joins the League of Legends because it is the only arena where he can survive.
The new champion of this phase would be Ingra. For Ingra I imagined a muscular, athletic female with razor-sharp gauntlets or claw weapons. (Similar to Vi and Nocturne, if you will.) Ingra would be an aggressive bruiser/tank (Possibly jungler) with an emphasis on brawling and a abilities inspired by wrestling, pinning enemies and vicious clawed jabbing. Long black dreadlocks, small tusks, green skin, abs and muscles, all in all she’s supposed to look like the type of woman you see in punk rock videos.
In her lore, Ingra was part of a tribe where females where the breeders and currency while the few males reigned supreme. In secret Ingra trained alone, honing her own skills with nothing but raw talent and furious determination until the day she could challenge her tribe’s leader to single combat. Shocking every single orc in her tribe, she successfully asserted herself as both the supreme warrior and first female chieftain of her tribe. Ferociously she defended her land from all invaders until she happened upon Draven and Sion’s scouting. Defeated in single combat, Ingra struck a bargain of both respect and convenience: Noxus may use orcish lands for their operations to eventually rule Shurima but Ingra and her tribe shall be the rulers. She joins the League both as a Noxian-Shurima ambassador as well as to further sharpen her skills, hoping to one day defeat the decaying juggernaut that is Sion.
This would be the introduction to the first “faction” of the Shurima event: The Noxian Forefront. Primarily led by Draven, Sion and Ingra, this faction is for summoners who feel that Noxian rule through pure strength and iron hand will keep Shurima from becoming a lawless wasteland, albeit secured under Swain’s dictatorship. (I avoided talking of a Sion rework because I want to focus on story building over actual development of skills. I have some ideas for the custom champions I made but not for said champions that already exist).
Phase 2: The Demacian Vanguard’s Birth After the Noxian Forefront is recognized by the Institute of War as a legitimate bid to bring order to Shurima, Demacia flies into a panic. Both Jarvan III and Jarvan IV agree that allowing Noxus unopposed control of Shurima and the resources it contains is a death sentence for Valoran. In retaliation they send their own pair of scouts: Quinn and Valor along with a guardian for the roaming monster in the sands (Galio). The goal of these three is to find allies in Shurima that may wish to assist Demacia in control of Shurima and help make a bid for this land. As Quinn, Valor and Galio wander through the desert they find that many of the tribes either wish to remain neutral or are already sided with Noxus in either fear or respect of their military might. Things only get worse when the three Demacians become entangled in a sandstorm, coming face to face with the Specter of the Sands. Quinn is badly injured, Valor and Galio searching desperately for aid. As luck would have it, they are led to a beautiful oasis that is home to a peaceful, wise tribe of humans by the leader and shaman of the tribe, Fangor. After healing Quinn’s grievous wounds, Fangor listens to their bid for allies. Finding wisdom in an alliance, honor in the Demacian conduct of guarding allies and nobility in both Quinn/Valor’s relationship as well as Galio’s determination to protect all that remains, Fangor offers his tribe and small territory to Demacia to establish their vanguard of Shurima.
As with phase 1, two skins would accompany this phase: Dune Tracker Quinn (DTQ) and Sandstone Galio (SG). DTQ is Quinn trading in her mail armor for more form-fitting leathers, head covered in blue Demacian wraps while Valor takes on a more beige/brown coat of feathers to blend into the sky and surroundings better. SG would be Galio’s head wrapped just as Quinn’s is but with a less emerald/gold color scheme in favor of a light grey/beige look. I would say this skin is inspired by the Sphinx and stones of Egypt, worn and weathered from many sandstorms.
While there would be no rework to accompany this phase (Unless Galio is in a bad enough spot to qualify for a rework), we’d get to elaborate more on Galio’s lore. Galio would be confronted with guarding Quinn from harm, his greatest and most painful failure still being the death of his master. With Quinn injured we’d be able to see Galio confronting his greatest fear of losing someone he has to protect once more, shining more light on Galio’s character and his ability to overcome the past.
Fangor’s introduction to the League would be the new champion of the patch, Fangor himself being an AP support with a bit of emphasis on tank. Much like traditional shaman from lore and legend, Fangor would be shirtless and wear a kilt. A wolf pelt would be covering his head so that the only visible thing is his weathered, wise chin. To make a more unique approach to weapons, however, Fangor would carry around a mighty totem pole with one arm, his other arm secured around a tomahawk with a spare on his belt. Fangor would throw the tomahawk at range while mid-range (Around 300 or so) and melee range would have him swing his totem pole. His play style would be akin to Lulu, duel-natured elemental spells with a focus on either guarding a friend or disabling a foe.
Fangor’s lore has him cast as the next shaman of his tribe, his people peaceful and quiet. Oblivious to the world around him, Fangor awakens one night after a horrifying nightmare of a decaying, cursed Shurima. Fangor goes on a spirit quest, wandering through the desert without any supplies sans his tomahawk and totem pole. As he succumbs to the elements, he envisions those who would destroy Shurima if they are given control: A demon masquerading as a general and the nightmares of Shurima personified themselves. In these visions he sees salvation in the form of a woman with two sets of wings: One of an angel and one of pure stone. Awakening from his stupor, Fangor discovers Galio and Valor carrying an injured Quinn. The angel and two sets of wings from his vision had arrived. Leading them back to his tribe’s oasis to mend them, both tell him of the Noxian Forefront, Runeterra itself and even the Institute of War’s league.
Fangor joins for many reasons: To keep the elements that are allowed to run rampant in the League in check. To bring peace and order to Shurima thanks to Demacia. Yet most of all, Fangor fights in the League to keep those horrifying premonitions from becoming reality. Totem and tomahawk in hand, elements at his beck and call, Fangor enters the League under the Demacian Vanguard. Thus phase two ends with the introduction of “The Demacian Vanguard” faction. The primary leaders of Quinn and Valor, Galio and Fangor all fight under this banner with the goal of bringing Shurima under Demacia’s command and to keep it’s valuable resources from the prying hands of Noxus.
Phase 3: An Alliance of Necessity Following the creation of both a Demacian unit and a Noxian unit for the sake of conquest, tensions would begin to rise in the desert. The Institute would keep quiet on this, attempting to downplay the possibility of a sequel to the Kalamandra incident. Summoners begin to draw lines, saying who deserves the land among the two. At this point, however, the journals transition to Sivir. Sivir, as we discover, is one of the few remaining native humans of Shurima (Something she kept hidden due to tales of Shurima being a barbaric wasteland). Conflicted with her duties to her mercenary group as well as her native heritage, Sivir plots a course to Shurima to possibly aid the war effort and find which side she could support. It is within this desert that her mercenaries wander, following Sivir as she struggles to find who could possibly lead her native land in this time of crisis. Unbeknownst to her, Sivir’s instincts lead her to follow what seems to be writing and directions in the sand. For twenty days she travels through the harsh land with her worn out, ragged mercenaries until she discovers the humble city of Tutnokima. Here she finds humans without wealth, living in old stone hurts of ancient Shurimian design, all of them regarding her with wide eyes and shock. Within this old decrepit city she meets the “leader” of the tribe, Killian. Last descendent of the royal advisers to the original Shurimian kingdom (Before it fell into chaos and was swallowed by the sands), Killian is barely an adult but incredibly knowledgeable, already a master of Shurima’s fabled “mystic sand” magic. He tells Sivir that the glaive she wields is shurinium in origin, a symbol of royalty. Sivir is, in fact, the last remaining of the royal Shurimian family. While unsure that she has the capacity to lead a nation, Sivir agrees to put both her immense wealth from her mercenary work into creating a land for her native people. Killian, ever the advisor, warns Sivir that she will need allies. With Fangor aligned with Demacia and Ingra siding with Noxus, there is only one last race to turn to. Riding by camel with Killian, Sivir arrives at a massive stone complex, humanoid scarabs tending to themselves. Killian tells her that these are the Zzxi’vik, an ancient race of creatures who evolved thanks to the magical energy...or so they assume. Hidden for centuries thanks to the disinterest of the League with Shurima, Killian and Sivir request an audience with the Zzxi’vik queen. Despite distrust, all three agree that an alliance must be formed to keep Shurima in the hands of the natives. As a show of respect and trust, the queen sends the most cunning and agile of warriors to be the Zzxi’vik ambassador: Yagu-Yagu. With the immense wealth of the mercenaries, Sivir’s royal blood, Killian’s youthful yet brilliant advice, the might of the Zzxi’vik people and the ambassador, Yagu-Yagu, the Shurimian Alliance was formed so the Institute of War would recognize that this land belonged only to one group: The Shumerian natives and them alone.
This lore rework is less of a rework and more of an expansion for Sivir (And what I would assume could add to a VU), giving the mistress of battle a reason to fight in the League outside of sheer wealth. Note that much of her lore is still intact and in place: Sivir is still a mercenary and still a wealthy woman. Now, however, she puts her talents toward securing her homeland for those who inhabit it and saving it from being just another territory for a nation, much akin to how Ionia fought to reclaim the small piece of land Noxus had taken. Rather than releasing a new skin, this phase would introduce two champions to the league: Killian, The Adviser of Shurima and Yagu-Yagu, The Claw of the Zzxi’vik.
Killian would be a young man, between sixteen and twenty three, with long hair, a thin build and baggy Arabian-inspired clothing, an ancient book tucked under one arm. Silver/Gold tattoos would trail around his exposed body, glowing as he casted spells. He’d be a cheerful young man but wise beyond his years, much akin to Ezreal. His role would be an AP mid, a mix of utility and raw power to add another magus to the mid lane or support to bottom.
Killian’s lore revolves around him being the last sand-magus of Shurima, the hereditary markings ending with his family and his parents. Without a guide to show him the way, Killian kept himself in solitude the moment he was able to read. Determined to keep the traditions of Shurima alive, he studied every single tome, scroll and book in his arsenal, quickly mastering the art of mystic sand. Without that to hold him back, Killian went even deeper. He researched Shurimian lore. He discovered the tales of old. Killian even predicted the summoning of the Specter of the Sands as the ancients foretold.
With Sivir’s acceptance to the “throne” of Shurima, Killian is determined to be the best adviser to her he can be. While humble, quiet and comfortable standing just outside of the spotlight, Killian has no qualms with stepping up to the plate should his Queen require the aid of her adviser. Killian joins the League just as Sivir has, both to show just how powerful the Shurima nation is as well as to protect Sivir from harm. Woe to those who sink beneath Killian’s mystic sands...
Yagu-Yagu’s race is the Zzxi’vik, giant humanoid scarabs that function much like ant and termite colonies. About six to eight feet tall (Yagu being about five feet), most Zzxi’vik have golden or brown carapaces to blend into the sand, able to fly short distances or kick up dust with their admittedly small wings. Instead of hands every Zzxi’vik has small claws used for rending, though the main weapon of a Zzxi’vik would be his or her large mandibles (Anywhere from a foot to two feet long). The Zzxi’vik are not violent, however. In fact the Zzxi’vik are an extremely peaceful and benevolent race. They simply wish to be left to their own devices. The only downside is that many Zzxi’vik are not vastly intelligent. The smartest of them is the queen while many hover between simplistic and borderline handicapped.
This changes once the Demacian Vanguard and Noxian Forefront arrive. Should either of these nations take over the Zzxi’vik would likely become subjugated or used for nothing but scientific experiments to determine if the Zzxi’vik indeed evolved from the chaotic magic that infested the desert or were actually denizens of the void who migrated to the desert centuries ago.
Yagu-Yagu is a bit of a runt among Zzxi’vik. Five feet tall with oddly oversized mandibles and sharp claws, Yagu is by no means as imposing as his other Zzxi’vik brethren. While he sports the same shimmering gold carapace and bright, beady eyes, he is far more dangerous than others give him credit for. Yagu-Yagu would be an assassin, utilizing a mix of traps and trickery to quickly kill his target and escape before anyone would realize he was there.
In lore, Yagu-Yagu is one of the very few Zzxi’vik warriors there are yet at the same time one of the weakest. Whereas most Zzxi’vik use their immense physical strength to bully opponents, Yagu-Yagu used tactical wisdom to defend his hive. Where many Zzxi’vik would spend days lifting boulders and testing their strength, Yagu sharpened his claws. Where many Zzxi’vik used simple clubs or stone pillars for weapons, Yagu manufactured traps and tools using small caches of shurinium. In truth, he was the next stage in Zzxi’vik evolution: Using not only mandible and claw but intelligence and planning.
Quickly, Yagu became well known among his people. The queen even recognized him as her greatest asset despite his weaker physical strength. Yagu-Yagu even found a way to ward off the Zzxi’vik’s predators by careful use of plants to ward off the beasts that would attack his people. When Sivir and Killian came to the Zzxi’vik looking for allies, there was nobody more qualified to represent the best these scarab beings had than Yagu-Yagu. He joins the League with Killian and Sivir, showing just what happens when you seek to steal the homeland of the Shurimians from those that were raised there.
With these two, we get out third faction: The Shurimian Alliance. Led by Sivir with Killian as an advisor/tactician and Yagu-Yagu representing the Zzxi’vik, this third faction strives to have Shurima recognized as another of the nations in the League so that their ancestral homeland can remain in the hands of those who live there.
Phase 4: The Specter’s Ascension With three factions now existing, tension slowly rises in the League. Summoners are unsure of what to do with these three opposing forces gunning for the sandy wasteland. The Institute of War demands a meeting of all three factions to be held in neutral ground in Shurima. As Swain, Jarvan III, Jarvan IV and Sivir all meet to discuss a way to either peacefully coexist or spiral negotiations into threats of war, the sky becomes black as a sandstorm approaches. From the whirling sands the mighty Specter of the Sands emerges, everyone prepared for combat. Yet as it appears, the sand begins to dissipate, one of the many floating pyramids of Shurima hovering over the colossus (Easily twice as large as both Vilemaw and Baron Nashor). At this point the colossus asserts itself: The Specter of the Sands is, in fact, Ramuhaga the VII, the last leader of Shurima before it turned to chaos. Having sealed his soul inside a colossal stone construct, he bid his time waiting to be awoken so that he may continue ruling Shurima. While others are skeptical, two of the neutral Shurimian champions acknowledge him: Amumu and Xerath. Ramuhaga offers all present beings an ultimatum: He shall rule Shurima as he did thousands of years ago or he shall bring war to every nation though sheer magical might. With that, the sandstorm begins anew, Ramuhaga vanishing just as quickly as he had appeared. All negotiations are put on hold upon Ramuhaga declaring his rule. The Institute of War decides to bide it’s time and give into Ramuhaga’s demands for the moment...or so it seems. Xerath and Amumu are given amnesty to join Ramuhaga as “loyal subjects”, both serving as spies as they are the only two the immortal lord will trust. In the meantime, The Demacian Vanguard, Noxian Forefront and Shurimian Alliance strike a temporary truce until Ramuhaga is defeated. Even as some summoners ally with Ramuhaga and foresee his rule to be one of purity and grace, many agree that he must be stopped...no matter the cost.
The danger comes from Ramuhaga’s stone champions, constructs of stone that take the form of champions in the League. The objective of the map is to build up your items, hold the line (Nexus) for several waves and, upon the final wave, defeat Ramuhaga the colossus. I imagine this map type having four modes: Easy (5-10 waves), Medium (10-15 waves), Hard (15-20 waves) and Endless (99 waves). Each difficulty means that Ramuhaga will be more and more difficult to fight thanks to the fact that he has both more time to prepare and grow his power. (While I do have minion ideas, I’ll save those for later/if you have sufficient interest in this concept.)
