Backstory - Umbra, The Grim Puppeteer
Art is not created by me, check out the artist yourself. https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/8185f166-fd34-4bce-a741-70ba7f32a5e2/d6e3k0e-5a16fea1-03e9-41d7-8793-f3325355bd3c.jpg/v1/fill/w_714,h_1119,q_70,strp/meridian__mercy_cover_1_by_ninjatic_d6e3k0e-pre.jpg
[slayer-pantheon-popcorn]
Umbra, the Grim Puppeteer
Prelude
Umbra lived in Zaun, her dad -Oskan- was an inventor, and he often created puppets as prototypes for functionality on joints and limb movement, doubling as a fun activity for his daughter who he did not have a lot of time to spend with but whom he loved seeing smile. Umbra played with puppets and was intrigued in also becoming an inventor like her dad. Her mom -Saskia- spent most of her time in bed or at medical facilities, having a bad medical condition. So a lot of finances went toward medicine and funding for finding a cure for her condition. If Umbra could grow up and help her mom recover, then she would have achieved greatness in her own eyes.
At the age of 8 Umbra and her dad began working together on projects, and by age 12 they were creating all kinds of machines. Once she was 18, she and her father decided to go on a scientific expedition, as her mom was in remission from her symptoms at the moment. It was a great time to journey and find things to help them make advances in their studies, and possibly find a cure.
The Journey
Umbra and her dad made a journey over to the Shadow Isles in search of rare magic and secrets for their next big creation; the venture was with a group of inventors all with a similar goal. The expedition was expected to last around 2 weeks, just enough time to gather findings and return. Hardly anyone ever dared to touch the Shadow isles, so they all thought anything worthwhile would still be lying around, as it was known for its abundance of magic. Umbra and her dad decided to sneak off the boat and travel to a different part of the island, in hopes of better findings that they didn't have to share with the group, so they did as such.
At the Shadow Isles they found old ruins and set up a hidden camp about 5 minutes outside. At the dawn of the next darkened day Umbra began surveying the area, as her dad started deciphering runes and writings on the walls and around the area. The old ruins turned out to be an ancient library, excited he told Umbra and they decided to delve into the abyss of the ruins.
A Forest of Books
In the library they found a book of strange magic, containing secrets of life transferring power, however the magic would come at a cost and they did not want any scientific advances based on that... So they put it aside for the time being. Deeper in the overgrown library an even older book was found, harder to decipher than the last. Having pages full of notes on the language written in the book Umbra's dad thought it could be of great value, but his notes were back at camp so he decided to go back up and gather them. He departed towards the ground floor.
Umbra stayed down searching for any more books of value that might help them, gathering them in a pile. The wet and overgrown jungle that seemed to be present all over the library was of no help towards finding adequate legible books. Pushing vines and thorns out of the way, books and shelves getting pulled from vines, clearing out walk space while keeping everything in order was a difficult task for her. They had to wear hextech masks that provided ample breathable air while exploring the Isles, and they had additional canisters of air back at camp, so Umbra had to be mindful of her breathing while inside the library, however it seemed as though the plants here were different from above; making the air around her lighter. Umbra explored the verdant catacomb of books, and in the darker depths she noticed that the fruit on the vines had a faded glow to it; almost magical in nature.
Endless Night
Whilst investigating the strange plant life Umbra heard clambering that seemed to be originating from outside the library, the noises depicted chaos and destruction at the campsite. Soon after Umbra was caught off guard as her father ran to her, he pulled her a little bit away from the plants and with panic in his eyes he told her "Umbra! It isn't safe anymore... you need to run, go and find cover quickly! Don't let it get you!"". Umbra peaked over his shoulder and beheld a large silhouette standing at the bottom of the stair entrance, but it was over all too soon, blades filled the air and pressed their way towards Umbra and her dad Oskan, Umbra closed her eyes briefly and upon opening them again she saw the most horrendous scene that she would ever view... Her dad stood there, leaning over her, impaled with swords, and he whispered to her "Quick... run while you still can, and live"", the voice of her father was heard one last time before she sprinted away.
While running away as fast as she could Umbra caused much disturbance in the library, knocking books off their shelves and fruit from the vines, the creature seemed to be pursuing her relentlessly. Umbra quickly picked up a book and threw it in a direction, hitting a shelf and causing the books to avalanche down, during the commotion she slipped away into a dark corner and silently walked into another room. Knowing that she could well be the next victim she grabbed a long black curtain and covered herself in a small hole, hiding for the next day... and the next.
Breath Of Dead Air
Her mask had gotten below 10% air remaining, so after a long wait and thirsted mouth she braved walking the library floors, desperate to find a way out to recover the extra canisters of air back at camp, if they were even still functional. She started to gather the books she had piled together, and knowing that her mother was in an ill condition she relished the possibility of life transferring magic -as a way to help her mom come back to a healthy state- so she ransacked the area which her father had held the book until she found it, knowing that if she could return then she would return victorious. Though the book seemed to be more of a few pages and less of a complete book, it had very formal writing and depictions of a woman coming back to life, with other pages torn and missing. Searching for more helpful material she came to a lowly lit room, a room that had a strange sensation, it was fit with a broken floor that had water flooded into cracks and missing stone bricks that pooled it together, a drip came from the ceiling and graced her cheek, a welcome relief. Her mask had gone to 2% at this time, and she knew that it was only sooner or later, so she decided to bare the island air with no covering, she gasped for air... but to her surprise her lungs found traces of purified air, it was not easy to breathe but she managed. It was inevitable; either starve to death, or risk the water and fruits which were before her. She drank the water and tasted the fruit, an unexpected sweetness was there. But the most ready thing on her mind was finding a way to get out safely and journey back home, flipping through a plethora of pages searching for any protection she could amass. It had been a week, All seemed hopeless, she fell deep and deeper into depression, she was all alone... she was scared by everything around her. Looking back on her past, her father, the person who she had always viewed as her guardian, she remembered many different things; she remembered all the puppets that were made and given to her, mostly for testing purposes, but also for her enjoyment and out of love. She decided to take that memory of her past and push it toward her future, a way to let the memory of her father live on and to stop the bitter loneliness. She started to construct the one thing that always brought a smile to her face, hoping that it would stave off the darkness that surrounded her. A crude puppet was constructed after 2 weeks of work, inadequate tools did not help the matter, and she bequeathed the name Oskom to her puppet -a nickname she gave to her dad meaning "guardian", and embraced it as though it were a fragment of him.
Bitter Cold
2 years later. Umbra started back on her daily routine, she woke up, "Good morning Oskom... if any morning is ever good here. Did you sleep well? Oh, I slept like a brick, well not as much since we constructed these beds that is" she smiled, "Well I'm off now to study and eat breakfast, I'll see you later Oskom, I love you... loved you... Do you love me?" she waited for a few seconds but the puppet let out no response, her head dropped, the smile had long since vanished. She plucked a fruit from the vines and sank her teeth in, but wait... something was missing, the fruit had lost its sweetness, and seemed to be growing bitter. She returned to her water well, the glow was noticeably dimmer, the water colder. Later on, while trying to examine the plant life more fully, to check on its condition and figure out why it was deteriorating, she happened upon a dark stairway, crumbled and overgrown near the bottom, she slowly worked at clearing it out. Finally at the end of the stairs she came to a tunnel, the walls were amassed in huge webs, old webs long since abandoned. She returned for the day, but exploration of the possible way out caught hold of her mind, and she decided to return the following morning.
Tangled Cavern
She plunged deep into the silky caverns. Sparks flew through the air as she hit an old weapon blade against stone and caused an old torch to be brought back to life with the breath of flames. The cave lit up; careful to not light the old webs on fire she kept the torch's flame small. Further down the tunnels she came to an opening, a huge open area with what appeared to be natural formed bridges overhead appeared before her. No other exits seemed to exist, and she was not equipped to climb to one of the bridges. Wandering around she came to an ancient looking alter, "maybe a place of worship?" she thought, approaching it she dusted off an old book resting on the altar, she tried to open it but could not, the book was sealed with some kind of string... stronger than any thread she had known. Determined to figure out what the book was about she grasped it tightly and tried to pull it open with all her might. Something was triggered, the book flew open and webs shot out completely engulfing her body, she couldn't move her limbs, and she fell to the floor. The fall was cushioned by the webs, and she looked over toward the book now lying on the ground, the webs didn't reach her mouth so with nothing left to do she recited the only things that she could read from the pages open. Speaking the ancient language, hoping something in there could undo her binding. With wonder the webs began to loosen and seemed to almost fall off, she started to get up and began regaining her composure when suddenly they grabbed at her again, tighter this time, she was panicking... They began to work their way up toward her head, with her arms free she tried to tear the webs apart but didn't have enough strength. She began to suffocate as her entire head was covered, but then the webs loosened again, however only around her face, her entire scalp was still entangled. Sharp pains filled her as the webs dived into her head, she let out a scream, as the webs tangled themselves in. It was only moments before they had completely taken the place of her hair. She didn't know what had just transpired, but it seemed that her scream had alarmed some demonic creatures to her presence. She heard giant clattering from the bridges above and fled the cavern.
She journeyed back to return to her studies, fixated on finding a solution and leaving the abyss which hold her hostage, deciding to read the book which had condemned her head. She approached her shelter, looked at Oskom and said “Did you miss me? Were you worried?” but he let out no reply, she stated “Okay, look here Oskom, children your age are way ahead of you in terms of speaking. I’m getting really tired of all this silent treatment” but again no sound escaped him. She fell down and wrapped her arms around the lifeless puppet, tears in her eyes, “It was scary without you, Oskom, I was so afraid; I don’t know what happened to me down there” she said as she began to fall asleep curled up in the puppets lap…
Awaited Time
Over the next 2 years the fruit had become almost overbearingly bitter, and the water had grown colder than ice. She knew that her time was nearly expired, she looked in the watered room again, but today there was no glow... and not a drip from the ceiling, it was pitch black and only shadows filled the room. Her fixation on finding a solution to get out of the library was no longer a choice. She had to do it, and had to do it soon.
Finally after 4 years spent in the labyrinth like library, deciphering old scripts, subsisting on bitter fruit from the overgrown plants and the near frozen water from the damp room; a book of object manipulation was discovered, though she didn't have tools to make a guardian that could fight for her on its own... she could now fight using a guardian controlled by magic. This was it. Umbra grabbed wood and metal working it into her puppet Oskom. Claw like fingers, the cloth curtain she had used as a shelter for 4 years fashioned into a cape, and a large scythe worked from the weapons lying around. She wasn't proficient enough on her own yet to fully use the object manipulation, but through her many studies she joined it together with a particular magic involving spider webs and strings, gathered from the book she found down in the caverns, a magic that she used as an alarm system to warn of incoming danger by stringing threads across the library and attaching them to a bell. It was strange to hold spider webs instead of hair in her hands, but she had begun to grow accustomed to it over the past 2 years. This magic further cemented her idea of controlling her puppet Oskom. Everything had fallen into place.
Day Break
2 days later she ventured outside for the first time in over 4 years, the mist was harsh on her lungs but over the years she became adapted to the dying air that surrounded her. Umbra made the trek back to the boat that she had arrived on, only to find it torn in half and washed ashore. She started working on reconstructing the boat, using Oskom to do the heavy lifting, often stopping to clear cursed enemies out of the way. Once she finished she gathered 4 of the books that she regarded as valuable and started the journey back to Zaun to see her mother. She looked back to the Shadow Isles, hearing a whisper almost shout out towards her, "You have left, but you will never truly escape... the haunting of the shadows", she looked back toward the open sea, a subtle glow began from the wood and ores comprising Oskom, magical energy pulsated from the lifeless puppet... Oskom took on a darker twisted appearance and the cloth changed from cape to cloak, almost as what seemed to be a last reminder sent out from the Isles, like a curse placed on her. She made the curse her own however, and thought since death took her father from her, so now was her protector in the likeness of death, protection from beyond the grave. With a look of contempt she looked back at the island and muttered "Death isn't always cruel; it might even be your salvation".
Still Tears
She returned home, rushing to her house and then the hospital, no sign of her mother anywhere. She walked along the streets in disarray, eventually ending up at the graveyard of all places; she entered and looked around... Silently she stopped and saw the grave, read the year of death -(4 years ago)-, the name -Saskia-, and then dropped to the ground; she threw the book of Life Transfer magic to her side, tears filled her eyes and she pulled out a jagged knife...
Was she going to end it all? Was there nothing left for her?
She dug the knife into the tombstone and etched -& Oskan-, looking at her puppet, and then to the skies. "You might be gone now, but someway somehow; I will finally make you proud, and then join you in heaven's cloud" she whispered.
Resolve
Standing up, she gained a look of determination, but thinking back to the Shadow Isles she remembered lore that she had heard from her father... lore about the twisted island, holding souls captive. What if her dad's soul could not rest? What if he could not be with her mom? Almost losing face she stopped, and then remembered hearing about a book... a book which held secrets about the Shadow Isles, and a way to cleanse them. She gained an even greater look of determination, "I don't know if you hold him captive, but I will find out and free him from you if I must". She grabbed her book and put it with the other four, glancing at the 4th book depicting dark horrifying magic which she was weary of reading before...
"I'm coming for you".
THE END
[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]
I tried to make it tie into her kit and theme and everything. Hopefully it was a good back story, and explains her abilities and whatnot... Need less "cute" champions, ones that can fight and have fought.
TL;DR inventor dad made puppets, they went to Shadow Isles, both parents died, she found magic and made a puppet to protect herself.
Quotes:
Noted: She is bound to be slightly awkward given her growing up with an inventor and living alone for 4 years. She thinks Oskom is alive.
Champion selection: "The puppeteer becomes the puppet"
Champion Ban: "I work alone anyway. whispers Shut up Oskom."
Game Start: "My search continues, and this place looks rather promising"
Movement order: "What a tangled mess we're in" "Never know what I'll find" "As good a place as any"
Movement Oskom: "March!" "A little to the left, no your left... never mind" "And you go over there... Perfect!"
Attack: "Sic 'em Oskom" "Slice and dice!" "Tear them a new one!" "Oskom, quick, use attack!"
Passive stun: "Oh, did you trip?" "Getting tangled up are we?" "Wrapped up like a present, soon to be the past"
R Last Strand: "Incoming!" "Catch me catch me!" "Cya!"
Kill: "Nice job!" "Oskom, high five!" "Let's hope they stay dead" "Mwahahaha, hey join me laughing Oskom"
Penta kill: "We. Are. Unstoppable!" "Hexakill! Wait... I mean Penta."
Death: "I... failed... Forgive me" "But I can't die yet..." "Farewell Oskom..."
Respawn: "Oh. I, uhh, I knew that would happen!" "Did you miss me?"
Joke: Uses Oskom as a kite "Yeah if I ever reverse that island I'm calling it The Shadow Smiles".
Taunt: "No, I wasn't being serious, I was just pulling your strings"
Laugh: "Laugh. Er... Hahahahaha... ha"
Dance: Creates 2 strings going up and performs aerial acrobatics.
"You and I share a common goal, but our paths are far different" "Hmm... you haven't, like, used my dad as a fleshy minion thingy, right?" "Yes, I can consider you my ally" "What's with you people and lanterns?"
"Sooo, are those technically your babies?" "Hey that fruit I ate wasn't... nevermind"
"Are you the keeper of souls?" "What's with you people and lanterns?"
"That magic, I know that magic" "All you spin are webs of lies"
"Are you the keeper of souls?" "Sorry, I thought you were dead, third time is the charm?"
"You're seeking vengeance with the Isles too?"
"Oh, my heart strings" "I love you... work, your work!"
"Mhmm, yeah, reeaally impressive" "You're wrong about Viktor"
"Those machines are rather crude, but A for effort"
"Oh it's the rebel. Why can't you go forward in time and grow up"
"Such long hair! The kind of strings I could make with that..."
"I bet you can understand Oskom! What does creeeeek mean?"
"And now I know why our hospitals suck"
"You would make fine material for a new creation. No Oskom, I'm not replacing you"
"A giant teddy bear? Why are you a giant teddy bear?" whispers "Were you brought to life like Oskom?"
"Oh, you look like a mini Oskom! Or a caster minion?"
"You... you're piloting a trash can?"
"Awww, you'd make such a pretty puppet!" "Hey Oskom, do you want a sister?"
"That scythe is BEAUTIFUL!" Before transforming "So even your scythe talks, I knew I wasn't crazy" After Darkin transform "You became a real boy?" After Shadow Assassin transform "So now it's giving you the silent treatment, I know how that feels"
"You're pretty poor depictions of death. Show 'em how it's done Oskom"
"I'm pretty sure this is a downgrade"
"Let us lay wait in the shadows"
"Ghosts? I don't like ghosts..."
"Sometimes defense is the best offense"
"You like the big bloody sword? Okay Oskom, suit yourself"
"They think they can outrun death? Good luck"
"I already have one of these, but okay"
"Oskom, come on, just one whisper, I know you can talk." wood creeks "gasp!"
"Oskom, Oskom! We match!"
"What do you think? Much better than that old thing you've been using"
"Oskom, you're gonna get some pretty killer moves"
1st completed AP item "An alternative approach? This might work"
2nd completed AP item "Hmm, seems like this stuff works pretty good"
3rd completed AP item "I am just loving this"
