Jaret - the Cold Fury
Jaret is a CCOS March entrant, the contest can be found here
LORE
They say every time you spill the blood of others- a part of you dies. But at the same time, another part of you truly begins to live.
(WIP) In the frozen wastes of the Frelijord, bitter wars were once waged across the snowy peaks between three sisters, the echoes of this struggle still resonate through history- with the current tribes battling for supremacy using words, actions, and patience alike.
But words and patience are not what fell upon a sleeping Avarosan village. Instead, a band of the Winter's Claw swept upon the helpless hamlet. Unprepared for such an onslaught and weary from the harvest-work the day before, none possessed the strength or ability to stand against them. They were driven from their homes and brought down by the weapons of the raiders- men and women, children and elders, the strong culled the meek where they stood, ran, or fell to their knees in subjugation. Should a champion have appeared, they might have survived the battle, for the Winter's Claw held strength of will and body to be the salvation of the Frelijord; but none stepped forwards except a few in a futile attempt to buy their families time to escape.
Atop a nearby hill, one of the villagers watched in apathy, unable to bring his emotions to bear as he witnessed his entire life be destroyed in front of his very eyes. He had come across a Winter Claw tribesman the day before as he helped in the harvest. The tribesman had insisted he was starving and had a family that he could not support- if he did not return with food- they would perish. The villager had gifted the tribesman with a loaf of bread and promised him additional food stores if he brought his family to meet with him at dawn.
The villager had brought the supplies, using the scythe he'd used to harvest as a walking staff to help make the climb easier. The tribesman he had met the day before awaited him, along with his family. The villager tried to escape but his legs did not avail him- he was brought down by the man that just hours before had begged for food. He attempted to swing his scythe towards his opponent- though the farm-tool was no weapon of war. It bounced off of the Winter's Claw's shield and was shattered by the axe chop in reprisal. The villager was forced to his knees and then the ground by his foe as the rest of the raiding part descended on the village like wolves.
Watching the buildings burn and blood stain the snow, the villager found himself cold both inside and out, unable to respond with body or mind as he watched even his son and wife be killed by the raiders. But something began growing within him, with every scream, every cry, every drop of blood and every body hitting the floor, some manner of cold fury built within him.
Strength entered his limbs, strength he had not known he had possessed, nor did he suspect was entirely of his own body; but it was strength he needed all the same. With a shove of his arms, he found himself upending his enemy and hurling him backwards. The tribesman laughed, rising to his feet as the villager did the same.
"Finally, the Avarosan grows some backbo- URK!"
In a blur of speed, the villager had leaped forwards, latching his teeth onto his opponent's throat and ripping backwards to sever his jugular. The death of his opponent had sickened him, but the villager felt the cold within him grow, he turned his eyes onto the village burning below. If the Winter's Claw wanted the strong, they could have it.
The outskirts saw him appear first, a silver-haired figure leaping onto tribesmen with hands curled into claws of hatred and bloodthirst. The heavy furs and armor worn by the tribesmen were no better than paper or cloth, neither were the bones beneath them. Blood stained the snow, not the blood of farmers, millers, and blacksmiths no- the blood of the Winter's Claw began to creep through the village.
The leader of the raiding party, the one who'd asked for bread, angrily shouted at his soldiers.
"He's just one man, find him and take him down!"
But the villager was no longer just a man, some primal power, some inner strength had surfaced; it was not his power nor a power of his father or mother- it was something different- something ancient- something powerful. Encountering a trio of tribesmen behind the mill, the villager swept his arm forwards with his palm outwards, some instinct driving his actions. From beneath the ground, shards of ice emerged, piercing the tribesmen one after another, the blood soaking into the spikes and running down their lengths. The villager ran on, emerging into the village square to encounter the last of his foes, including the leader, the man he'd offered bread to.
Worry tinged the large warrior's brow as he gestured with his ax, "Kill the Avarosan!"
Raiders ran forwards from all directions, but the villager didn't flee. With a closed fist, he smote the ground, conjuring up several orbs of glowing blue power. One of the raiders failed to stop in time, sliding into an orb and causing it to explode in a fury of freezing energy. The villager swept his fist through the air, striking one of the remaining orbs to hurl it into an approaching group, the orb didn't explode on his contact but flew through the air to strike the warriors, sending them flying through the air as the orb detonated.
The leader of the warband stood alone, his last warriors breaking ranks as half of his men fell from the murderous onslaught of this man, this one man! Indecision rooted the leader in place as the villager swept both of his arms over his shoulders as though to hug himself- indecision gave way to outright fear as the arms swept outwards with a ring of light expanding along the ground from the villager. The leader attempted to flee as the ring passed him, he didn't know the purpose of the ring and dared not to find out. But the last sphere was hurled through the air as the last one had been- launching just to the side of the leader but not touching him. Frightened laughter emerged as he drew near the sphere- the villager couldn't reach him now!
That was when a series of shards emerged from the ground, killing slower men and ripping through the frozen earth with growing power the more that were slain by it. The trail of icy spears reached the sphere and caused it to explode just next to the leader, hurling him through the air and onto his back. It was then that the ring of light revealed its purpose, coating the leader in ice as well as his men. Within seconds, the only figure still moving in the village was the villager. He approached his frozen quarry and held out his hand- as though to help the Winter's Claw to his feet. A shard of ice appeared in the formerly empty hand, growing and twisting until an icy scythe was held directly over the heart of the raider's leader. The villager looked down at him, his clothing and hair tinged with blood and his eyes shining with a bright blue light that the raider had seen only once before- in the Bola of Sejuani and the club Boneshiver, held by Trundle the Troll-King- the hue of True Ice.
Traders later came across the remains of the village, and the blood that still stained the snow. The village was deserted, with only frozen statues of the raiders remaining, though one curiously appeared to have had its 'heart' removed. Of the villagers no sign could be found, though a series of graves could be located on the hill nearby.
Innate: Cold Fury Whenever (X) deals damage to an enemy champion or epic monster with an ability, they are marked for 2.5 seconds. (X) can dash to the marked champion when he auto-attacks them. This consumes the mark. The mark cannot be applied again for another 3 seconds after the mark fades. Dash range is 575, gains 25 range per level to a maximum of 1,200.
Q: (X) fires a series of frozen shards forwards- passing through units and dealing magical damage to them. For every unit slain by the shards, the ability gains Added Damage to deal to the next unit in line, which stacks per killed unit; this is doubled for Champions. If this ability strikes a W sphere that hasn't detonated by touching an enemy, it will detonate the sphere with all Added Damage stacked onto the explosion. Damage: 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 / 175 (+ 50% AP) Added Damage: 20 / 35 / 50 / 65 / 80 (+ 10% AP) Cooldown: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 seconds Range: 900 Mana Cost: 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 Note: The shards initially are blue but begin to turn red the more 'additional damage' they get in order to help visually show the increasing power.
W: (X) conjures up 3 spheres of cold energy around his position, one in front and one off to either side behind him. If an enemy champion touches the sphere, the sphere explodes and slows all damaged units. These spheres can be hurled forwards if (X) auto-attacks them. If multiple spheres strike the same unit- the slow grows multiplicatively stronger and the duration is refreshed. Damage per sphere: 50 / 95 / 140 / 185 / 230 (+ 30% AP) Cooldown: 14 seconds Orb Duration: 4 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5 / 6 seconds Slow duration: 2 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75 / 3 seconds Range: 125 for forming, moves 650 when auto-attacked normally and 850 when auto-attacked with scythe Explosion Radius: 350 Slow: 20% / 30% / 40% / 50% / 60% Mana Cost: 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 Note: The sphere's explode when their duration expires.
E: (X) summons a scythe, which increases (X)'s auto-attack damage by a percentage of his AP while active and the duration is prolonged every time he kills another unit while it is active. The cooldown is rather long but begins when he summons the scythe, not when it expires. The first auto-attack will deal increased additional damage and inflict a mark, every 3rd auto-attack after the initial one will then have the same effect. Auto-attacking with an active E increases the range the sphere can travel. Normal Additional Damage: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 (+ 15% AP) Increased Additional Damage: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 (+ 30% AP) Cooldown: 40 seconds Duration: 8 / 11 / 14 / 17 / 20 seconds Killed unit extension: 1 / 1.25 / 1.50 / 1.75 / 2 seconds longer duration Mana Cost: 50
R: (X) creates a ring of energy that spreads from his position over 1.5 seconds, he can move and even dash during this time. Enemy champions within this ring need to leave before it completes growing or else an explosion of power freezes them in place, stunning them and dealing damage. If the ring encounters any W spheres they will detonate. Damage: 150 / 300 / 450 (+ 100% AP) Stun duration: 1 / 1.5 / 2 seconds Range: Ring is a 450 radius circle by the end of the growth Cooldown: 100 / 90 / 80 seconds
PLAYSTYLE Jaret is a champion that needs time to achieve his true potential, requiring several levels to make his innate the strong pursuit method it is meant to be. His mobility is not without cost, he puts himself squarely in the line of fire when using it and his only crowd control that could prevent a reprisal takes time to use. As his kit doesn't benefit very much from building tanky- that means he has to pick his moment carefully lest his Cold Fury land him in hot water. Interacting with his W is key to Jaret's playstyle, moving them into position is challenging but, when done correctly, provides a scary amount of control over where his lane opponent can go. Jaret's ultimate provides a decent area that enemy champions need to vacate ASAP or else face serious consequences- as such he works very well with a team that brings additional crowd control to keep the enemies in said area. If Jaret manages to maneuver his sphere behind a creep-wave, watch out for a Q+W combination as the extra damage from killed minions can be nasty in an AoE. Jaret's E has a long cooldown but with proper CSing and some purchased Cooldown reduction, he can have it up extremely often. Keep an eye on how many attacks you've dealt and try to play around your empowered attack. Be very wary of diving Jaret with his R and W up as a melee unit, he can throw his W down and then use his R to detonate them all at once to cause massive damage and slows, not to mention the follow-up stun. Pay attention to your minions, Jaret can use them to deal increased damage to you if you're not careful. Minions don't detonate the spheres on contact- don't think standing behind the wave will prevent him from throwing them at you.
TRIVIA Jaret's powers seem closer to the ancient Frelijord champions like Lissandra and Anivia rather than the younger champions near his own age like Ashe and Sejuani. Jaret left a grave with his own name on it alongside his family's graves. Jaret's scythe does not appear in his hand so much as grow from it, leading some to believe he forms it from ice stored in his body.