Champion Concept: Arinar, First Sword of Ionia and Zhaar, the Darkin of Chaos

INTRODUCTION

The darkin, a race of malevolent creatures, has always been present in Runeterra. Many of them were imprisoned within dark, enchanted and powerful weapons. And many of the were released from them; by mortals, driven instane by whispers about power, endless glory and immense strength. Such is tne nature of darkin. Twist, corrupt ant ultimately, infest.

So far three darkin were presented to us: Aatrox, already freed from his prison; **Rhaast **, waging battle for survival with Kayn, and the darkin of Varus' Bow, who is patiently waiting for his moment. These three represent War, Death and Vengeance. And now, with the resurgence of an ancient weapon hidden deep within deserts of Shurima, the fourth darkin has emerged.

Chaos.

ARINAR, FIRST SWORD OF IONIA / ZHAAR, DARKIN OF CHAOS

As the shadows of twilight closed in, a group of Ionian excavators wiped tears of exhaustion off their cheeks. They were working tirelessly for hours, barely having any rest. However, they were pleased with their work. Extremely pleased. They were sure, that the ruling council would be extremely interested in their discovery, now hidden inside a locked crate; a runic sword, obviously magical, bathed in a bloody red aura and emanating immense power.

After they landed on Ionian shores, they were greeted by a group of soldiers, led by Arinar, a powerful swordsman who led the defense of Ionia against recent Noxian invasion. Albeit young, this man has already proven himself to be a capable commander and an extremely deadly combatant; already achieving the rank of First Sword of Ionia.

As Arinar looked over, his eyes were attracted by a glow coming from one of the crates. Being polite to the excavators, he demanded to see what lies inside. Of course, they agreed. They had no right to oppose the First Sword. They opened the crate, revealing a hidden sword within. For few minutes, everything was silent. Except for voices in Arinar's head.

They spoke of power. They spoke of death. They spoke of chaos.

As he reached out to pick up the sword, he was intercepted by one of the excavators, who was brave enough to stop the First Sword from laying his hands onto the blade. Unfortunately for him, he was immediately dragged away by Ionian soldiers, who were, just like their commander, mighty impressed by the runic blade.

Arinar picked up the sword, and soon, his mind was full of maddening whispers. He closed his eyes, almost wanting to put the blade back. But he couldn't. It was too late. One specific voice took over all others and over the First Sword's mind. Soon after, Arinar found himself surrounded by corpses.

"It had to be done." a voice in his head said. "They were obstacles in our way to our ultimate goal; my freedom."

"Who are you?" Arinar asked in his mind. He patiently awaited for a response, and he got it.

"I am the chaos incarnate. I am Zhaar. And you, mortal.. are my vessel.. and my prison."

ABILITIES

Arinar is a melee champion, who is slowly being consumed by Zhaar, the Darkin of Chaos. As the game goes on, Zhaar's influence grows stronger, even altering Arinar's appearance. Zhaar thrives in creating chaos among enemies and especially among practicioners of magic, who are, in his opinion, the "reckless wielders of chaos". As Arinar levels up, he looks less and less like a human, and at level 18, he is fully corrupted and his appearance is now darkin. Arinar does not use mana for his abilities; his primary resource is life itself.

Passive: The Darkin Reborn

• As Arinar gains levels, he slowly becomes consumed by a darkin of chaos, Zhaar, twisting his appearance and granting him additional bonuses. At maximum level, Zhaar fully consumes Arinar, finally re-emerging as whole darkin.

Chaotic Endurance: Arinar continually generates shield, that absorbs next magic damage that he takes. The shield is able to absorb up to 20 (+30 per level) magic damage. Whenever a nearby enemy dies, Zhaar absorbs they energy to instantly replenish 5% of maximum shields.

Fiery Ascendance: Arinar's blade slowly consumes his strength while empowering itself. Arinar takes 2/1.2/0.6/0% (at levels 1/6/11/16) of his current health with every basic attack in order to increase damage of his basic attacks by 4 per level.

Being a melee bruiser-type of champion, Arinar relies primarily on Chaotic Endurance to provide him with the survivability he needs in order to wreak havoc. This passive also makes him a strong counter to mages, while making him less useful against attack damage champions. Fiery Ascendance is a double-edged sword ability, that increases power of his basic attacks at the cost of his health. This is because just as the runic sword grants Arinar additional strenth, it also slowly destroys his both mind and body.

Q: Frenzied Flurry (6/5.2/4.5/3.6/3)

• Arinar performs three quick slashes in his frontal arc, dealing 15/25/35/45/55 (35% of AD) damage per attack. If Arinar hits an enemy champion, he applies Fiery Ascendance on both himself and the enemy.

If Frenzied Flurry kills an enemy, Zhaar's hunger for flesh is partially sated and causes Arinar to restore 3% of his maximum health, doubled when killing an enemy champion. While under effects of Seed of Discord, Frenzied Flurry applies life steal on the first enemy hit.

Arinar's bread and butter ability and also the primary source of his damage. The area of effect is similar to Riven's Q - Broken Wings. Arinar cannot move during the channel, but it moves him a little bit forward with every slash. Total cast time lasts for approximately 0.5 seconds. Can be used to last-hit minions to restore health or simply deal damage to enemy champions.

**W: Dark Simulacrum ** (18/16/14/12/10)

• Zhaar conjures a shield for 1 second, that completely negates the next non-ultimate ability that hits him. Dark Simulacrum is then replaced by a copy of that ability, that can be used within next 4 seconds.

Spells fired using Dark Simulacrum do not cost mana. After successfully negating a spell, Arinar restores 25% of maximum Chaotic Endurance shields.

Another piece of Zhaar's arsenal against mages; Dark Simulacrum allows Zhaar to use the attacker's own magic against them, creating confusion and possibly making them pay the ultimate price. Especially effective when negating a powerful, burst or crowd control abilities (like Pantheon's W - Aegis of Zeonia, or Ahri's E - Charm), maybe opening a new strategy Zhaar can use to decimate his enemies.

E: Seed of Discord (13/12/11/10/9)

• Zhaar infests target enemy with an essence of chaos, causing them to emit a dreadful aura, that increases damage taken of all nearby enemies by 8/10/12/14/16%. While standing in the aura, Zhaar's attacks and Frenzied Flurry grant him_ 20/30/40/50/60%_ attack speed for 1 second and a bonus of 2/3/4/5/6% life steal that stacks up to 5 times.

After 3 seconds, the aura dissipates, replenishing_ 25%_ of** Chaos Endurance**'s shields per enemy within.

Just as Zhaar has no direct gap closer, he needs something, that would allow him to stick to his foes as he shreds them to oblivion. This exactly is the primary purpose of Seed of Discord; however, there is more utility added into this ability, that can potentially turn the scales in a teamfight. Also, it rewards Zhaar for attacking the infested target instead of other enemies, so Zhaar needs to make a careful decision about who he wants to corrupt. The area of effect is similar to Vladimir's R - Hemoplague.

R: Pandemonium's Embrace (120/100/80) -** Passive:** Increases width of Frenzied Flurry by 33/66/100%.

-** Active:** Zhaar surrounds himself in a raging vortex, becoming untargetable for 3 seconds. During this time, he moves at_ 75% movement speed_.

All nearby enemies suffer 1/2/3% of their maximum health in damage every 0.5 seconds and are drawn towards Zhaar. After 3 seconds or after re-casting the ability, he emerges from the vortex, cleaving all nearby enemies for (100/150/200% of AD) physical damage, applying Fiery Ascendance's damage to all enemy champions hit and generating 25% of** Chaos Endurance**'s shields per enemy hit.

Pandemonium's Embrace's passive is connected to Arinar's conversion to Zhaar; his reach grows bigger, allowing his Frenzied Flurry to become more devastating. As of the active, this ability grants him the ultimate answer in teamfights; even though he is not able to directly deal damage, he is protected from enemy attacks while allowing allies to deal damage more easily to the clumped up enemies. And just as the enemies are drawn close enough, Zhaar welcomes them by cutting them down with his cleave. This ability can also be used as a lifesaver in teamfights; however, its usefulness in 1v1 combat is questionable, because of its movement speed penalty.

QUOTES Zhaar's voice is somewhat simillar to Rhaast's, while Arinar's voice is something between Yasuo's and Kayn's.

Banned Arinar: Not today, darkin. Zhaar: They only postponed your demise.

Picked Zhaar: Chaos eternal! Arinar: Do your worst, darkin.

Movement (pre-level 11) Arinar: One step towards destiny.

Arinar: You are just a weapon. I am the one in command. Zhaar: Is that what you really think?

Arinar: Most decisions are made within moments.

Arinar: Stay alert, and nothing will surprise you. Zhaar: I have.

Movement (post-level 11) Zhaar: Do you feel your death approaching? Arinar: Not just yet.

Zhaar: Almost there..

Zhaar: Get me out of here already! Arinar: Hush, hush.

Arinar: I feel.. lightweight. Zhaar: Strange. I thought death was a heavy burden.

Movement (at level 18) Zhaar: Chaos abounds.

Zhaar: I've not rotten in that weapon only to walk again!

Zhaar: Rest easy, Arinar. You were not meant for this world.

Zhaar: I can sense their disorder.

Attacking (pre-level 11) Arinar: One blade, one mind.

Arinar: Bow to the First Sword of Ionia!

Arinar: Draw your last breath!

Arinar: Ariel Ton!

Attacking (post-level 11) Zhaar: Destruction!

Arinar: Chaos.. chaos calls!

Arinar: Focus is for the weak.

Zhaar: Deal with them, puppet!

Attacking (at level 18) Zhaar: I will devour their souls!

Zhaar: Arinar wouldn't do this.. but I will!

Zhaar: That will serve my ultimate goal!

Zhaar: Agony comes...

Levelling up Pandemonium's Embrace to level 1 Zhaar: Slowly, we are getting there.. Arinar: You are nothing.

Levelling up Pandemonium's Embrace to level 2 Zhaar: Do you feel the cold yet, Arinar? Arinar: My mind.. slipping..

Levelling up Pandemonium's Embrace to level 3 Zhaar: I am.. whole!

Upon using Seed of Discord Zhaar: Go with my blessing!

Zhaar: Spread my word.

Zhaar: Weak mind, weak soul. ** Upon using Pandemonium's Embrace** Zhaar: YES! BATHE IN MY POWER!

Zhaar: DESPAIR!

Zhaar: HEED THE CALL OF CHAOS!

If you made it this far, then congratulations and thanks for reading this champion concept! Make sure to leave a comment below! And don't pick up strange weapons if you can at all avoid it.

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]