Expanding Mordekaiser's Lore: Atela's Lore (Potential Champion Concept)
Mordekaiser. His gameplay is outdated (though I personally enjoy it, so no problem there.) However... his lore is so underdeveloped. He needs a champion whose lore goes together with his. That’s where Atela comes in. Enjoy. This is just the lore and general visual design. If you think I should finish the concept with a kit and everything, please let me know! Any thoughts, positive or negative, are welcome!
LORE: (Fun fact: "lore" and "long" both start with L.) Legends speak of the girl born deep below ground during the long-forgotten age of the Iron Revenant. Born of the crystals of life. Born, unknowingly, to ground this world in reality and save humanity from itself.
Some say Mordekaiser was undead well before his mortal death. He was a marauding warlord, devastating Runeterra with ease, yet without a soul. But that is simply not true. Because one being held him in this world, made him the human he was. His beautiful Atela. How they met in itself was no simple tale. Mordekaiser and his massive army were massacring a small mining village at the edge of his Kingdom. The puny beings their were attempting to spark some kind of "revolution." Ridiculous. Unstoppable, Mordekaiser smashed through wall, armor, and flesh with his immense mace, Nightfall, while his followers mercilessly killed off any who tried to run. Buildings were set ablaze, and the entire village was nothing but a sea of flames within minutes. That's when he saw her. Amid the smoking wreckage, a young woman lay there in tattered clothes. Asleep. Mordekaiser laughed, savoring the moment, raising his mace to deliver an excessively deadly blow. That's when he saw it. Clutched in her hands, a small, pink crystal, glittering like a diamond, and without a single imperfection. The Iron Revenant could sense a force emanating from it, something the likes of which he had never seen. It contained so much life. Mordekaiser, his soul being so near consumed by darkness, craved the object with a sudden burning passion. He bent down, gently pried her hands open, grabbed the crystal, and examined it. It was almost like instinct, a temptation whispering in his ear. Without any reason besides intuition, he pried open a crack in his hulking armor, and stabbed the crystal through his heart. There was a burning pain, unlike any sensation he had ever felt. But he did not give in. He could not be deceived. It was unmistakable--the crystal was anchoring him in the mortal world. Preserving his humanity. The pain slowly died down, and he felt so much more alive than before. Then, he looked back down at the girl, and saw something only a human can... her beauty. For the first and last time in his existence, he felt... pity. Not thinking, he picked her up, and began to carry her back to his forces. The battle was over, and they were already beginning to head back on the long road to the capital. Many glanced over, astonished at the sight of the girl in their leader's hands. But they didn't question it. They all knew too well that questioning Mordekaiser's actions meant death. It was a good way through the march home when she finally awoke from her seemingly endless slumber. The march halted for a second. "Wh... wha... what the hell am I doing here? Who are you?" She squirmed against the Iron Revenant's grip, and he released her. Taking a moment to come to her senses, she stared at Mordekaiser's hulking figure. "It... it can't be you?" "Yes," the man replied, voice hard and cold, "it is I, your lord Mordekaiser." She gasped. "How did I... why am I here?" "It's simple," Mordekaiser answered, "I slaughtered your village. You... you intrigued me. So I'm taking you with me to the capital." Being so corrupted, he didn't comprehend the immorality of his actions. But it didn't matter to her. "Of course," she said, gravely, "the rebellion. I never supported it in the slightest. I didn't really live there... I was their prisoner. Held against my will." "Wh-what?" Mordekaiser stuttered, taken aback, "what reason would they have to capture a lovely young lady such as you?" He had no relationship experience in the slightest. Never thought those skills would apply to him. It really showed, and she could tell. Her face flushed. "Are you trying to make me feel safe? So killing me will be easier? You don't sound like the Mordekaiser of legend." He sighed. "Can you answer my question?" "Well... it's complicated. I have a... talent. You'll see," she said, cryptically. The conversation ended there, and Mordekaiser's forces resumed the journey home. Whether the girl followed out of curiosity, or fear, none of them would ever know. "Oh... and... my name is Atela," she said quickly, and then quieted again. "Atela..." Mordekaiser whispered to himself, pondering.
Over the next few years, they grew closer. Mordekaiser had never felt any sort of emotional attachment to anyone before. And the mysterious Atela was living a luxurious lifestyle with him. While he had a natural affinity for steel, Atela was more interested in beautiful gems and metals. When Mordekaiser revealed the truth about the crystal he stole from her, she simply laughed. "Oh... that's the 'talent' I mentioned a while ago. Say... is there a mine in the capital?" "Yes," Mordekaiser replied, "but it's been inactive for a very long time." "Of course," Atela said, "I suggest you look inside." Puzzled, Mordekaiser sent a few soldiers into the long-abandoned mine. They came back with armfuls of pink crystals, all like the one Atela held when her village was destroyed, all radiating life, all radiating humanity. Apparently, they formed naturally when she was in the vicinity. Mordekaiser felt the closest emotion he had to excitement, and within a week the mine was up and running, churning out the crystals at an astonishing pace. Mordekaiser took all of the crystals, and, like with the first one, absorbed them into himself, further anchoring him in reality. It was all fitting in so perfectly with his plan... the one he formed so long ago. Much later, they married. Mordekaiser loved her beauty, and she loved his power. Legend has it, that night, Mordekaiser took off his helmet and revealed to her his face. A face that would've been corrupted by dark sorcery long ago if he had not found Atela. Everything changed when he died in battle a few days later.
Using his skeleton, Mordekaiser's faithful sorcerers brought the behemoth back to life. He cursed them to be his liches for eternity, reviving him every time he fell. And the crystals in his heart let him retain himself, keep his humanity, while physically being nothing but a husk. Using his new necromantic abilities, every army he decimated only strengthened his own. And he always came back to his beautiful wife, Atela. Atela created a flowing dress for herself out of thin sheets of steel and gold, with a steel sorceress's cap, envying the magical prowess of her husband. They were astoundingly light and flexible, and her prize possessions. She wished to embed some of her crystals into the clothes, but Mordekaiser wouldn't stand for that, even for his wife. The human inside his darkness knew that he needed all the crystals he could get to preserve himself. She also created a large battleaxe out of steel, dreaming of fighting alongside her immortal husband one day. Mordekaiser died many more times. Eventually, his liches realized something--they needed to protect his skeleton. Eventually, some part of it would be stolen or destroyed, preventing their master from being resurrected. Thus, the Immortal Bastion was created. A massive fortress, it was the new center of his empire. However... his liches explained to him that defending his bones would carry a price. "Master... you require an eternal guard. Someone who will defend your corpse for as long as your empire stands." "Why don't you do it?" He asked, furious. "Because," they told him, "we are physically weak and millenias old. We couldn’t stop a fly from entering. Besides, only one you have a true bond with can be trusted with defending the heart of your glorious empire. "Oh no, no, this cannot happen," Mordekaiser quickly interjected, realizing what he had to do to preserve his life. "Master... she will die anyways. But, kill her, and you'll live forever." That night, Mordekaiser paced the halls of his fortress for hours. It was her life or his. That's when the darkness gnawing at his soul began to overpower him. There was no moon that night. He knew what he had to do. He slowly treaded into his wife's room. "Wh... what is it, Mordekaiser?" She asked, groggily. "I... I'm sorry," Mordekaiser said, voice breaking, "I need you to... do me a favor.” “What do you mean, love?” Mordekaiser paused a second, silence overwhelming the couple. “I need... an eternal guard. To watch the Bastion. “Ok... and I need to know this, why?” Atela asked, puzzled. “I love you,” he said, “I’m sorry.” "Wait... WHAT? But, you wouldn't... NO!" She screamed, realizing the weight of the situation as he raised Nightfall. “I... I’M SORRY!” Mordekaiser bellowed, showing the most emotion he had in his entire life. Nightfall came down swiftly, obliterating the woman, just as easily as it would've been so many years ago. If any bit of humanity was left in Mordekaiser, he might have shed a tear. Her spirit slowly rose from her corpse. Mordekaiser, completely empty inside, only needed to point in the direction of the Bastion. And she understood. "Yes... master."
Anger. She was so angry. He would kill her off... just to GUARANTEE immortality, which he basically already had. She had been standing watch at the entrance to the Bastion for so many years. First, she had mourned. Then, she had tried to forgive. Then, she had angered. She had had enough. So many times, her master had been resurrected. So many times, he walked out of the Bastion, looking at her spectral features guiltily. She wanted revenge. Her task was to defend. A few grave robbers had tried to get in on occasion, but she was always able to make quick work of them with her battleaxe. It took so much effort to resist her master's command. But she eventually mustered the strength. One grave robber... a young boy, in the confusion of a massive battle going on outside, quietly snuck up to the entrance to the Bastion. When he saw her, he froze. An old specter, wearing a dress and cap of steel and gold. Carrying a massive axe. It was just like the legends. He turned to run, but she yelled after him, in a weak voice. "P... please... enter." The boy turned around, and, not waiting a second, ran into the fortress. Suddenly, Atela was wracked with pain. She had disobeyed an order from her master. Even the blow from Nightfall was nothing compared to this excruciating torture. The boy zipped out as quickly as he had came in, carrying Mordekaiser's skull with him. Perfect, thought Atela, just one more thing to do... She entered the bastion, making her way through twisting and turning passageways, moving at just a crawl due to the intense agony coursing through her spectral form. She reached the central chamber just as the Iron Revenant was slain outside. She could tell, because the crystals that were in his dark heart all materialized in the center of the skeleton, compressed into a small pile. Doubled over with pain, she crawled on her hands and knees over to it. When she made contact, life coursed through her body. An unimaginable satisfaction overwhelmed her as the transformation took place. Suddenly, she was reverted to her youthful, human self. The crystals' energy flowed through her veins--as their creator, she was the one meant to host them. Her clothes were suddenly adorned with the jewels, fulfilling her old childish fantasies long after she had forgotten them. Mordekaiser's liches ran into the room, ready to resurrect him once more. But when they saw Atela, alive in her full crystalline beauty and Mordekaiser's missing skull, they ran towards her, furious beyond comprehension. She knocked them all down with a swing of her axe. It wasn't fatal--she knew they'd never be able to bring their master back. But she left the Immortal Bastion, never to be seen again. She waited. Waited many years, sustaining her youth with her crystals. Mordekaiser's empire fell, replaced by Noxus. When Mordekaiser’s most faithful followers finally found his skull and brought him back to life in the Shadow Isles, without his crystals in his heart, without his humanity, Atela was ready. Ready to finish what she had started. Ready to truly end the Iron Revenant's reign once and for all.
GENERAL VISUAL DESIGN: Atela is a young woman (think mid 20’s,) of above-average height and with short, blonde hair. True to the lore, she wears an armored large dress and cap of a sorceress, made of perfectly polished thin sheets of steel and gold, all adorned with her pink crystals. She carries a large, steel battleaxe, the blade of which also being made of the crystals.
SO... that’s it for now! I’ll make this into a fully-fledged champ concept if y’all want it, so please let me know! Also... I’m not sure if her title should be “Atela, the Bastion’s Watch” or “Atela, Child of Crystal.” I’d like to know what you guys want! Thanks for your time!
