Squall, the Dessert Cyclone

Constructive Feedback https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/4jmJgjWr-champion-concept-greb-the-frozen-punisher?comment=0000

Lore: The Great Storm

Deep in the Shuriman desert, even before the great empire, a mighty sandstorm is said to have raged. To this day, it rages still. No one knows when the storm started, or how it came to be, but the one thing we do know… it’s growing…

Those who have gone to see it rarely desire to see it again. Tales tell of terrifying sounds that echo within the giant sand walls of the storm. The howling winds bring more than just constant claps of thunder, but also sounds that, for some, can only be described as the wails of the damned; ear piercing screams that would make a banshee weep. I myself have seen it once, and I pray that whatever lies within that storm stays there.

~Nasus

Short Story: Stranger in the Sands

“Traveling the desert this time a day is terrible…” The sun rose high in the cloudless sky. The dry heat of Shurima was enough to keep anyone… or anything… from traveling, which is exactly why they were out here. A small voice interrupts the merchant’s musings, “Father, are we there yet?” The old merchant smiles, “My son, it’s only been twenty minutes since you last asked.”

Drinking some water from his canteen, he motions for the boy to join him in the front of the wagon. “How’s our passenger doing?” He asks while gesturing toward the back of the wagon. “He’s good,” the boy replied, “and did you see the sword he carries?! He told me it was a family… air… lumin.. er?” “Heirloom,” the father corrected him, “and yes, I saw it.” Chuckling, he continued, “Not sure how anyone could ‘not’ have seen it.” The merchant had definitely seen the weapon. He had never seen anything like it. He guessed the weapon’s handle was about 4ft in length. The leather straps on it were well kept and on either end were two identical guards, very ornate, decorated with rare desert Jewels. Extending from the guards were two identical blades. The blades were double edged and 3 feet in length. A truly unique weapon and the craftsmanship was spectacular. Each blade also had small engravings on it. At first glance he wasn’t able to recognize the language, but he wagered that if he were to sell something like that, it would sell for more than he himself could ever hope to pay for it.

Now lost in thought, he recalled their first encounter with the stranger in the sands. It was two days prior, just past the area of desert where one could find the great storm, the found him unconscious among the corpses of half-a-dozen dessert beasts. The large cuts and gashes made it pretty clear whose handywork this was. Not one to leave someone in need, he stopped his wagon and hopped out to check his vitals. That is when he first noticed the strange blade. The merchant chuckles to himself out of a private sense of shame as he remembers thinking about taking the blade and leaving. Seeing as the man was alive, and his son was watching, he loaded the youth into the back of their covered wagon. Surprisingly, there were no serious injuries on the stranger’s body. Upon further inspection, they discovered why the man had passed out: Two broken water skins hung among his other possessions. He had nearly dehydrated. When the stranger finally recovered, he was very grateful, and promised to try and make it up to the merchant and his son. “The stranger cannot be more than twenty-five years of age,” the merchant thought to himself, “but his eyes hold a deep sorrow, and a steel that only comes with years of training… and years more of ‘real’ combat… In spite of this, he carries a smile and an air of peace around him. Eyes don’t lie,” the merchant had made his living reading people, “What has this youth seen ~” His thoughts were interrupted when the wagon suddenly stopped.

“Father! Father!” the boy exclaimed as he pointed up the road, “Look at that!” The merchant looked up and immediately recognized what the boy was pointing at. Before them was a large rock formation; it jutted out of the dunes like the large claws of a colossal beast long buried in the Shuriman sands. “This, son,” the father explained, “is called Gaia’s warning. See how the second talon there seems to point east?” The young boy nodded. “That,” the merchant continued, “is a warning for travelers on this road, for west of here is Xer’Sai territory. You could make good time traveling through it, but very few people make it out alive. So, we go around.” “Did you say ‘Xer’Sai’?” The stranger’s voice came from behind them. The merchant nodded and prepared to keep moving. “I guess this is where we part ways, then.” The stranger gathered his things and hopped off the wagon. The merchant was stunned and at a sudden loss for words. “Thank you again, for everything.” The stranger palmed something from his pocket as he approached the merchant, then quickly grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly and placing the palmed item into the merchant’s hand. “For the new water skins.” With a gentle smile, the stranger released the merchants hand and turned to walk away. Upon inspection, the merchant saw he now held several small, but very rare jewels. Finding his voice, he called to the stranger, “What’s your name, son?” The stranger turned back, still smiling. His eyes still heavy with sorrow, but this time he also sensed compassion, and hope. “My name is Squall, good sir.” As Squall turned to continue walking, the merchant called out again, “That way leads to the heart of Xer’Sai territory. Are you sure you want to take that road?” This time, Squall answered without turning around. Sticking his thumb up into the air, he called back, “Without a doubt.”

FIN

BIOGRAPHY: SQUALL, THE DESERT CYCLONE

 Within the great storm of the shurima desert lies a village of warriors and mages. The village is less like a town and more like a fortress, surrounding a great rift in time and space which peers into the void.

 Long ago, according to his ancestors, this tair in space was discovered, and from it came many  terrifying creatures of the void. A group of powerful warriors and mages gathered together to combat it, but were unable to repair the opening. Fearing its spread, they determined to seal it off from the world and protect Runeterra from the creatures that came from within. To ensure that none of the creatures escaped, and that no one would find it and interfere with their mission, powerful mages cast spells to create the wicked sandstorm that we know of today. For the most part, and no creatures were able to escape the storm, except one: The Xer’Sai. These land-sharks came with the ability to burrow deep beneath the sands and swim like fish in water. They were also more animalistic than most the creatures that came from this void, and thus elected to run and hide instead of fight.

 Each generation is trained in either combat or magic as soon as possible. Very few were lucky enough to possess talent in both. Squall was one such child. He was only 2 when he was discovered to have talent for magic. The child played and made dust devils of his own size with no training at all. When he turned 8, he was also found to have amazing reflexes, and so became the second person ever to wield his father’s unique weapon. 

 The people in the sandstorm live difficult lives, and as such are very tightly nit. There is no distinction in family names. Everyone is either a brother, a sister, a mentor, a teacher, a father, or a mother. Squall was already fighting on the battlefields against the void creatures at age 10. He has suffered much in the way of loss, like everyone in his village, but still he pressed on. 

 He is now 26 years of age, and having learned of the Xer’Sai, requested and was granted the special mission of hunting them down. He leaves with this goal, but also one other. His people have been trying for ages to figure out a way to close this rift, but with every passing year, the rift grows ever so slightly, and the creatures that emerge get equally more deadly. He hopes that in his journey he may learn more about this rift and maybe find a way to close it off for good.

 In all of this, he remains hopeful. Though he has seen many great sorrows in his life, he chooses to smile and appreciate what he has in life.

“The void must be stopped at all costs: its creatures eliminated, its portals closed. We cannot keep up this fight forever… Ugh, there’s a miserable thought.”

Base Stats:

Health: 600-2200

Health Regen: 10.0-22.3

Mana: 400-1100

Mana Regen: 8.7-20.5

Range: 175

Attack Damage: 60-110

Attack Speed: 0.667 (+0-55.2%)

Armor: 30-90

Magic Resist: 32.1-53.4

Move Speed: 355

KIT:

Innate Steadfast...(Passive): His life of fighting endless hordes of void has given him nerves of steel and a resolve to see things through. Squall has passive Tenacity equal to 10/15/20/25% at levels 1/6/11/16.

Dancing Blades: Every 4th basic attack hits all targets around Squall, dealing 70/80/90/100% AD physical damage (levels 1/6/11/16) , slowing targets hit by 30% for 1 second. (Effect Radius: 350) Auto attack range is 175. (if you didn't get it from the story, he wields a double sword)

Q: Furious Strikes: Cost: 50 at all ranks______Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8 seconds Squall's next 4 attacks gain 30/40/50/60/70% attack speed and deal an additional 5/10/15/20/25% AD physical damage. In addition, his Dancing Blades ability will knock up opponents hit instead of slowing them.

W: Slicing Tempest: Aura Radius: 325______Active Range/Area: 800/375_____Active Cost: 40/45/50/55/60______Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds Passive: Winds thrash around Squall and deal magic damage to nearby enemies equal to 5/10/15/20/25 (+5% AP) per second. This passive effect is lost while the skill is on cooldown.

Active: Squall gathers the magic winds around him into a small funnel and throws it out in a straight line in front of him. The cyclone deals 40/80/120/160/200 (+50% AP) magic damage to all enemies in its path, but stops if it hits a champion. Upon striking an enemy champion, the slicing Tempest swirls around the enemy for 5 seconds, dealing its normal damage to that champion and other nearby enemies. This ability goes on cooldown when the cyclone dissipates, or after it no longer affects a struck enemy champion.

E: Blinding Dash: Max Dash Distance: 500______Cone: 535______ Reverse arc: 600_____Cost: 40/30/20/10/0____Cooldown: 10 seconds all ranks Squall dashes forward in a targeted direction. At the end of his dash, he kicks up sand in a small cone in front of him, blinding enemies hit for 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 seconds. The duration of the blind is reduced by 50% if the enemy is facing away from him. This dash cannot clear walls, but if he dashes into a wall, he will do a reverse sweep and blind targets behind him in an arch. Duration of the blind is unchanged.

R: Desert Storm: Cost: 100 at all ranks______Cooldown: 120/100/80 seconds For the next 12 seconds, Squall's slicing Tempest has +150 Aura Radius and the damage is increased by 10/20/30 (+3/4/5% AP). Enemies within the storm have their vision obscured and have their attack speed reduced by 15/20/25%. While active, Squall is unable to gather and throw out his Tempest (can't activate W), but he can reactivate his R to gather and throw out 3 larger cyclones (think Twisted fate Q) that deal 100/250/400 (+70% AP) magic damage to any enemies in their path (900 range). If Squall reactivates his ultimate in this fashion, his Slicing Tempest goes on cooldown and this ability ends.

If there is anything else you want to know or think is missing, leave me a comment and I will try to add it!