Almara, The Grand Inquisitor

-- Appearance --

I am not a very skilled drawer at all so I will simply explain her appearance here. (If anyone would like to try to draw her and put it in the comments then great, be my guest!)

Almara has fair skin and bright blue eyes. She has hazel brown hair that is tightly fixed into a bun at the back of her head. She is slender in weight and has a regal and upright stature. She walks with purpose, dignity and has an aura of wit and intelligence about her. However, her most discernible and intriguing feature is a mystifying, luminous blue third eye in the lower-middle of her forehead, which gives off a light magical blue mist (Her purpose for having this will be discussed later in the lore).

Almara wears a tightly fitted robe, that descends into a flowing dress at the hem and trails behind her slightly. It is lined with a silver metallic material and has a mixture of silver swirls throughout the dress, particularly in the upper mantle and the lower hem. Her arms are tightly fitted with a sheer material, that stops at her wrists, cut off by thin silver bangles with a dangling blue gem from the bottom of the bangles. Despite the cut-off, a thin strip of sheer material still ascends up her hand and wraps around the base of her middle finger, to create a fingerless glove/strip-type effect. The upper dress is connected to a light blue sash that seems to float around the top of her head. The waist of the dress is connected to two blue ribbons that curve around her lower body to attach to either side of the hem of the dress at the front. She also wears a small silver diadem with a brilliant sapphire set in the centre.

She wields a sword but carries or wears no sheath, which is, in fact, the same sword depicted in the Demacian logo (minus the wings), pictured in the image below. She wields it pointed downward, flowing with the natural direction of her arm, accentuating her slim features.

https://i.imgur.com/Bg45fSa.jpg[/img]

Her whole appearance paints her as both a regal and intelligent woman - perfect, for the Grand Inquisitor of Demacia.

-- Abilities --

Almara, The Grand Inquisitor, is a ruthless but elegant fighter, who, despite wielding a sword, is actually a ranged AP support with strong single target and area of effect CC.

Her basic attack animation consists of Almara raising her sword at her target and using it as a rod to blast a small bolt of blue magical energy at it.

Almara wields an advanced and well-practised form of forgotten magic - called Parenium (pronounced Puh-ren-ee-um) magic, a rich magic said to rival the power of celestial beings and even lesser-gods, gained from articles and artifacts from her travels in Ionia, the deserts of Shurima and an undercover mission in the Shadow Isles - similar in power to that of Bard's and just as effective, even amongst the petricite walls of Demacia. Her magic is primarily blue in colour, which matches the third eye she possesses, which is the source and regulator of her powers, which she conjured by ritual using the artefacts and articles previously mentioned (more about this in lore).

Passive - Parenium Power - Every 3rd auto-attack grants Almara a stack of 'Secret Knowledge'. Her next basic ability use after gaining at least 1 stack of 'Secret Knowledge' will expend it to increase the damage of the ability and shred a percentage of magic resistance for 3/5/7/10 seconds (at levels 1/6/12/18) based on how many 'Secret Knowledge' stacks were consumed. (Max 3 stacks, with damage increase and magic resistance shred 2/5/10% at relevant stacks).

**Q **- Parenium Blade - Almara instantly creates a magical, illusory version of her sword in front of her and sends it spinning forward, dealing 70/90/120/150/180 (+ 70% AP) magic damage to enemies hit. Once it reaches its max range it stops (resetting the hit counter so enemies previously hit may take damage again if hit again), then spins and moves again in a right-arc (from Almara's perspective) back to her current location dealing magic damage and slowing enemies hit.

W - Demacian Will - Almara slices her blade in a crescent shape, creating raw Parenium energy which is in the same shape and blasting it forward. The crescent of energy starts large and shrinks smaller as it reaches its max range. Enemies hit are dealt 50/70/90/120/150 (+60% AP) magic damage.

E - Diplomacy - Almara levitates and her third eye blasts a laser of Parenium energy in a straight line, stopping at the first enemy hit, dealing 30/50/70/90/110 (+45% AP) magic damage on hit. The enemy hit is also charmed for a maximum of 3 seconds.

R - The White Tower - Concentrating her magic, Almara forms a Demacian White Tower at a target location. After 1.5 seconds, it activates, warping all enemies caught in its vicinity to its post. Then, after 3.5 seconds, the White Tower pulses with Parenium energy, again warping enemies in the area towards the centre post, if they are still within its range. The secondary pulse ending in its destruction also slows enemies caught by 30/40/50% for 3 seconds.

-- Lore/Backstory --

Demacian-born, Demacian-bred. Pure in all forms. And yet, an outcast within her own walls, but with no-one knowing. Almara was a Demacian scout sent out through Runeterra to survey dangerous forms of magic and the dangerous beings who used them. Her scouting sent her to the war-torn lands of Ionia where she watched as the Noxians shred apart innocent Ionian villagers with the flick of a finger or the touch of a hand. She was sent to Shurima where she watched volatile energies swallow towns and villages whole beneath the sands. She once even went to the Shadow Isles where she witnessed creatures appear and disappear through the night and watched as innocent souls were torn straight from their bodies.

But the most dangerous things she found, the most arcane and vicious, the most powerful, was the lost artefacts of Parenia. Purgatory.

She was the only one to have spotted them. Bright, glowing runic scriptures and stones buried in hidden crevasses, that's lights pierced the smokes of war, the sands of silence and the shadows of terror, to find the eyes of Almara. She was chosen by a new power. She was chosen to change.

Over her travels, she found herself being more secretive and in possession of more and more artefacts. She realised the patterns and the connections they shared and once she had found enough they formed to create the Eye of Parenia, seared into her forehead. Once it was reborn, it awoke and the very fabric of reality was rewoven. A blue light suffocated space itself and it warped and moulded and split and shattered until the light was done. Not everything had changed, but enough to be noticed by Almara.

Almara awoke after the reality-shift, to find herself seated in the Grand Inquisitor's chair at the royal council, discussing with them the latest strategies practised to defend against the coming Noxian invasion. The Eye was watching too. But nobody noticed. Its blue mist enveloped it in secrecy and Almara knew she had to protect it. She felt connected to its life force and not weakened at all by the petricite sewn into the very chairs, tables and walls that she was near. She had a higher calling.

And as the Grand Inquisitor, not only of Demacia, but of Parenia too, Almara knew she had to both protect what she loved and purify the world anew, do her best to forge the reality she lived in to one that was peaceful and she knew that what the Eye had already done was one step towards that. She heard of an Ionian girl who had gained the power to will blades, and of a Noxian girl who had defied her own comrades in protest.

For now, she would act as any inquisitor would and would focus on punishing the defilers of peace that were present here, under the secrecy of Demacia, but she knew she had a greater agenda to attend to, one involving secrecy under the Eye too. One in guiding all those who lived, to peace in Parenia.

-- Personality --

"As Inquisitor, I will quash any who defy the rules of Demacia. Heresy will not be tolerated."

As a high-class official, Almara takes her duty very seriously and her personality no doubt reflects that. Stern, serious and steeled, Almara works through life with a conviction and purpose, both domestic and celestial. She is controlled and powerful and both trusts Demacia and the Eye completely. But often, her steeled-exterior wavers in the slightest in the struggle between working for Demacia and working for Parenia. Even then though, she knows she must regain balance and work for both, no matter the cost.

She does not take lightly to those who would threaten peace, as much as any other Demacian.

-- Voice Lines --

• When picked in champion select - "Demacia knows peace. The world will soon know too."

• When banned in champion select- "This is only a minor setback for my purpose."

• When spawning- "The Eye awakens for Demacia."

• When re-spawning after death- "By Parenia's will, I will not fail."

• Move line 1- "The Inquisition moves."

• Move line 2- "I move forward, for both life and the after."

• Move line 3- "Two goals, two feet. I can do this."

• Auto Attack Line 1- "I wield the blade of Demacia. You think you stand a chance?"

• Auto Attack Line 2- "Parenia's magic will be your end."

• When casting Ultimate Ability- "Demacia and Parenia together! For peace!"

-- Gameplay --

As a strict Inquisitor, it feels only appropriate that her abilities reflect that, with a variety of abilities filled with CC to emphasise her ruthlessness in seeking peace and purity. Also, players have to think very carefully about how they use her abilities, to maximise damage and the amount of time she gets to lock down her enemies for. Her ult is quite unique, and her team's efforts will be crucial in utilizing its full potential.

Her passive - Parenium Power - is quite a strategic passive and punishes players for brashly-used abilities and for Almara players just swinging into battle, Eye blazing. A good Almara player will wait for full stacks of her passive and then release a torrent of abilities, to best utilize the additional damage and magic resistance shred that comes with the stacks. However, sometimes the situation will call for use of abilities without full stacks, meaning that great Almara players will know the right situations to use whatever stacks they have in order to utilize both her passive and the opportunities that present themselves for the player. Interestingly, as a support, the magic resist shred may open opportunities for AP bot laners.

Her Q - Parenium Blade - is again another strategic ability. Being able to time it correctly to try and hit enemies both times of the ability will utilize its full potential. Moving to account for the curving and return of the blade will mean that Almara will be able to dish out decent damage at early levels.

Her W - Demacian Will - is another nifty damage ability for Almara. Almara players will either have to be tanky enough to get close to ensure enemies are hit by the crescent or good enough snipers to hit enemies from afar. Either way, this ability is a nice projectile that can hit a range of people depending on their positions to Almara.

Her E - Diplomacy - is a pretty useful ability. A nice bit of damage and a charm make it something really useful in the bottom lane. However, the slow movement of the laser makes it often quite difficult to hit. Pairing Almara with bot laners who also have their own bit of CC might be useful in hitting this ability.

Her R - The White Tower - is a great team fight ability. In combination with her teammates, Almara will be able to make the best use of this ability. The initial warp, if enemies are caught, will give a clear signal for allies to engage heavily in team fights - and allies who can keep enemies caught in the area for the first warp will be extra useful. Enemies have a short amount of time to then try and escape the area before the second warp, but allies who can keep them locked down will be rewarded greatly with another repeated source of crowd control.

A typical combination of her basic abilities will be, with hopefully full passive stacks, Q > E > W, as this will ensure that they are hit by both procs of her Q as when it returns the enemy should be close to her position and will ensure that they are hit by "Demacian Will" when they're close. However, this is of course not factoring in the enemies own strategy.

With her ultimate, a combo may consist of R > Q > W > E, as the R should be able to lock down enemies enough that she can land a few hits of her Q and hits of her W even at max range due to their position being predictable - i.e. the centre of the tower. The E, even though it is only usable on a single person, will ensure that they are locked in the tower for the full duration if timed well enough. Again, this is in the case that the enemies don't react to her combination - which they most definitely would.

Overall, Almara is a strategically strong champion, whose positioning of her abilities will make her a strong asset to any team. Enemies will ensure that she can't move into spaces she wants to be in and will escape out of the way of her punishing AOE's so that her overall lockdown is negated and her power is diminished - especially with items like quicksilver sash and banshee's veil.

-- Champions that she works well with --

Irelia - Irelia's area stun and ultimate can ensure that enemies are slowed and stunned enough that Almara's own ultimate can unleash its full potential. Even if enemies do decide to try and escape "The White Tower", then they'll have a "Vanguard's Edge" to answer to.

Jinx - Jinx's area of effect auto-attacks and huge ultimate may work nicely with the initial warp of Almara's ultimate, and her traps may be helpful in locking down any who try to escape the subsequent warp that initiates shortly after. Her traps may be also beneficial in helping Almara secure a safe "Diplomacy".

Orianna - Again, Orianna's ultimate and W slow may be really helpful in stopping enemies from leaving "The White Tower" radius. Also, Almara's magic resistance shred will be a nice damage amp for Orianna's own abilities.

Blitzcrank - Blitzcranks grab may be a nice little way to get enemies close enough for them to be hit by both procs of damage from Almara's Q and the damage of her W. Also, his brief area of effect silence, if timed right, may be crucial in ensuring enemies are kept in the warp zone of "The White Tower".

-- Champions that work well against her --

Kassadin - Kassadin's blinks mean that he can escape the initial or subsequent warp of "The White Tower" pretty quickly. Also, generally, his mobility means that he can dodge most of Almara's skillshot abilities if used unwisely.

Vayne - Vayne's mobility and unpredictability can be quite a nuisance for the area of effect abilities in Almara's kit. Vayne's invisiblity makes it hard to predict where to put down "The White Tower" in fights, and her knockback can be disorienting to Almara players looking to lock down an enemy or Vayne herself with a well-timed "Diplomacy".

Tahm Kench - Tahm's ability to save his teammates will almost always reduce the effectiveness of Almara's charm and his own ultimate will separate his team so that they cannot be grouped completely together by Almara's ultimate. Also, the general stickiness and tankiness of Tahm Kench will be a nuisance for Almara to try and get away from and cut through.

Yasuo - Just to mention the king of projectile blocking, Yasuo's wind wall can cut most of Almara's basic abilities short, and his mobility in his E will often mean he has plenty of opportunities to escape her ultimate before it even takes effect.

**Thank you for taking the time to read my character creation, a lot of time has gone into creating this and I really hope you like it, please comment what you think of it and upvote it so Riot possible sees it! I'd love to see one of my creations in the game! **