(Champion Concept) Envriél: The Shifty Snowmad.
=====Appearance===== https://i.imgur.com/gOuW0ln.png Image courtesy of my younger brother.
=====Lore=====
The sound of howling wind and the stomping of feet through snow blended together into a constant din that accompanied the weary caravan through the lion's share of its route.
Some of the younger or more amateur merchants complained earnestly about the cold. Seemingly unaware, or indifferent, to the fact that it had been one of the warmest seasons in the past half a decade.
Darin Rubar led the caravan, as he was the most experienced when it came to the ice slick roads of the frozen north.
The sound of snow muffled hoofbeats were ever present, so it took a keen ear to notice the excited canter of Ronnen Branks’ mare. Not that it mattered, as soon enough the man and beast came trotting out of the blinding white and into plain view.
“Have you found us any game then?” asked Darin with a sceptical glance. The intrepid hunter didn't seem to be laden with any prize worth the grin that marked his face.
“Even better.” Ronnen exclaimed as he turned his horse around and started walking her beside the wagon. “I have found a path through the glacier that could shave days off our journey.”
“It’s called the windshatter pass, and wer’ goin’ round it.” Darin informed him with an uncompromising expression.
Ronnen’s grin melted away “Wha- But why?”
“Because that pass is one of Envriél’s favorite haunts.” Darin nearly spat at the name.
“Who is Envriél?” Ronnen asked with genuine intrigue.
Darin sneared “She is an unscrupulous witch. A snowmad who travels the northern backroads, stealing gold and wealth from any traveler she encounters.”
Ronnen considered the elders words carefully before speaking again “Witch or not, she surely wouldn't be able to overcome all of us at once... Right?” The more he thought it over, the more confident he became “I mean, why else would she not attack travelers on the main roads?”
“Perhaps you're right…” Darin allowed “But we are still going the long way.”
Ronnen threw back his head in frustration “Uuugh! Why are you so afraid of a single bandit?”
Darin shook his head in disappointment and sighed “Maybe I should just start from the beginning.”
My first encounter with the snowmad was decades ago, on the very pass that you’d have us travel. I was younger then, same as she. A mysterious maiden with eyes like a hollow glacier, backlit by the sun, and skin that was uncharacteristically dark for the region.
She smiled at me as I approached and asked “Would you like to buy a magic whistle?”
“That depends on what it does and how much it costs.” I asked, welcoming the excuse to stop and rest my mule.
“This whistle can transport you across any distances in mere moments.” she insisted. “All you have to do is play the right tune.”
“An intriguing tale stranger… and just how much would such a device cost me?” I was such a fool back then, to even consider that such a ludicrous claim could be anything other than bait to a trap.
She smiled wickedly and said “Three hundred, and forty seven gold pieces.” It was an odd and very specific number, one which just so happened to be the exact amount that I had on me at the time.
I would have dismissed her as a clear and obvious charlatan, but she had chosen her bait well. Indeed, I was tempted in by the sweet promise of what could be done with such a miraculous device, should her claims prove genuine.
“Alright...” I said finally “Show me that you speak the truth, and I will pay your price.”
Without hesitation she pressed the golden whistle to her lips and begin playing a simply dreadful diddy that sounded like a child playing random notes for the first time.
Then, right before my very eyes, darkness rushed out of the deepest cracks of the glacier to hide her, and a moment later the veil lifted to show naught but empty space.
I was so stunned by the apparent power of the whistle that I almost didn't notice her poking it into the small of my back like some kind of weapon.
“Give me the money.” she demanded impatiently “I show you it’s magic and you buy it. That was the deal!”
“And I'm a man of my word.” I assured her as I untied the satchel which I kept my gold in.
Like an animal with its food she tore the coin from my grasp. Then she forcefully shoved the whistle into my hand, and begin trudging off as fast as she could through the snow.
“Wait.” I called to her “You never told me how to use it.”
A wicked cackle filled the pass, as she slipped away without ever looking back. It only then occurred to me that we hadn't yet exchanged names.
For years I tried to get the whistle to work, cursing myself for not being more attentive to the awful tune that she had shown me. But nothing I ever did seemed to stir the device, so I eventually took it to a professional appeaser of magical artifacts to get some advice.
And do you know what she told me?
She told me that it didn't contain even a single drop of magical energy. And so whatever feat of sorcery I had seen, could only have been achieved through the witch’s own power.
The whistle was worthless, and I had been tricked out of my hard earned gold.
It was a painful lesson... but it was one that I took to heart. Like any true man of business I learned from my mistakes, and used that experience to carve out a rather respectable name for myself as a merchant.
And then… I met her for the second time.
I didn't recognize her at first as she was hidden beneath an oversized coat that seemed to be made from the hide of some kind of mystical beast. Runes of pale blue magic striped the otherwise light brown mantle in a matrix of arcane energy. Everything about it just seemed to scream ‘magical’ and since she never once tried to sell it to me I'm inclined to believe that it's display portrayed genuine power.
“Would you like to buy some healing water?” she offered as I past by. I did not recognize her voice, as it had become somewhat scratchy and smoke like with age.
“No thank you.” I said gracefully as I beckoned my horses to keep moving forward.
Not willing to take no for an answer she chased me down, trying her best to catch my interest with one impossible claim after another.
It was then that I saw the glacier blue eyes, gleaming from under the shade of her woolen hat.
“You seem strangely familiar to me, do I know you?” I asked suspiciously.
“The name is Envriél.” she said cautiously. Then her voice suddenly took on the characteristics of a obvious lie as she added “You’ve probably heard of me from one my many satisfied customers! Someone who bought something amazing for cheap, and did not regret it.”
It was then that I recognized her.
I could have declared my realization and demanded to be reimbursed for what she had stolen from me. But it was a long time ago, and I didn't want to stir up trouble.
“Yes, that must be it.” I agreed, as I turned to watch the road ahead.
“Well….. Aren't you going to buy something then?” she not so much asked as demanded.
I shook my head and said politely “Thank you for the offer, but no. Not today. Sorry.”
However Envriél wasn't about to take no for an answer.
She kept running besides my wagon offering me questionable deals, and ludicrous promises. Every time I turned her down she became more desperate and aggressive, until she finally snapped.
I heard the something slice through the air, followed by the sound of breaking glass. Then I felt a flood of pain in my head and the world went dark.
I don't know if it was the impact of the bottle which knocked me out, or its contents, but whatever it was it got me good. It was days before I woke up again, in the home of a blacksmith who had found me stripped of all my belongings, and half dead in the snow.
It was a devastating loss that invalidated years of my blood, sweat, and tears. Thankfully though, I had learned not to play all my cards at once.
As soon as I had the means I traveled down south to my homelands, retrieved the coin I had saved away, and used it to get back into small time trades. That was when I first started traveling in a caravan, as I was hoping to find greater safety in numbers.
Can't say that it helped to much though, as it was in the company of others that I encountered the snowmad for the third and final time.
It was late spring and the favorably warm weather had melted the snow on the better traveled roads.
I noticed that one of the wagons had pulled to the side of the caravan. Naturally I figured that they had to stop for repairs, but then as I got closer, I saw who had stopped them.
I recognized Envriél immediately this time, as she was still wearing that rather eye catching pelt. She had even traded her simple fur cap for one that was decorated with golden antlers, which made her stand out even more.
She seemed to be trying to persuade the wagon’s driver into purchasing an undoubtedly worthless gold plated trinket of some kind.
Without thinking I directed my horses to pull me off the road, and I leaped out of my wagon to confront her. Despite the fact that I had no idea what she was capable of.
I approached her as one might approach a bear that you wanted to scare off; at a menacing pace, with my chest puffed out, arms readied by my side, chin tilted up, and making a lot of noise. “YOU!” I shouted, the raw anger and hatred in my voice catching the attention of everyone around.
“M-me?” stammered the wagon driver in confusion and panic.
I didn't answer her, as I was far more focused on Envriél and revenge then explaining myself, so instead I just let my actions demonstrate who my ire was truly for.
Without hesitation I grabbed ahold of Envriél’s collar, and lifted her into the air. “You took everything from me!” I shouted, as surprise and terror flashed over her beautiful, faintly glowing, blue eyes.
“No.t.. eve.ry.thi.ng.” she choked weakly. Once her surprise had time to transition into defiance.
The witch must have somehow wriggled one of her arms free from its sleeve, as the next thing I knew she was lunging a small hooked knife at me from the flap of her jacket. Of course, all I saw was a flash of blue crystal in the corner of my eye, and by the time I tilted my head to get a proper look, Envriél was already pulling something speckled with red into the hidden folds of her coat.
She stabbed me twice more before the pain started, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. With great effort I charged forward and bashed Envriél into the closest wall, making the ice crack under the impact of the blow.
Envriél screamed out in pain as she tried to pry my arms off of her, but despite my injuries my grip held strong.
Several other wagons had stopped now, so I knew that there were people coming to break up the fight. I needed to get her restrained before that happened, otherwise she would just slip away in the confusion.
“Give me your scarf!” I demanded of the woman sitting in the wagon behind me.
She seemed hesitant, but she reluctantly surrendered the fancy strip of embroidered blue fabric. Poor thing probably thought that I was going to hurt her if she didn't comply.
Using my elbow I pressed Envriél up against the wall, so that I could receive the scarf with my other hand.
Broken hawk feathers was that a mistake.
Now that only one of her shoulders was pinned down, Envriél had free rein to take that pretty little dagger of her’s and stab me right in the wrist.
See here? This is the scar I got for it. I never could move my hand right since then, but I digress.
Anyway, I was too blinded by pain to think straight, so I grabbed Envriél’s knife arm before she could pull it under that cloak of her’s. Naturally she attempted to pry it free of my grip with her other hand, and in that moment of frantic desperation I tried to tie the scarf around her arms. I couldn't tie a proper knot with only one arm, especially considering the wounded state of my free hand. So I had to momentarily loosen my grip on her.
That was my second mistake.
Now that she was no longer being sufficiently pinned to the wall, Envriél was able to twist her way free from between me and the ice. With her hands poorly bound she staggered forward into the beginnings of a run.
I wasn't about to let her escape that easy though, so I leaped after her, and managed to grab onto her at the last possible moment.
Envriél tugged against me once, before turning around to see what I was doing. She shot me a hard look of determination, then with a swift effortless motion she slipped free from her coat, and tossed it back at me in the process.
Perhaps I was just exhausted from the struggle, and loss of blood, but I swear that jacket must have been the heaviest thing I have ever felt. And by the time I got it off of my face, she was already long gone.
A small crowd of bystanders gathered around me, not a one of them seeming to know what they had just witnessed. One of the men had walked up to striking distance of me and asked “You mind telling us what that was all about?” in a rather accusatory tone.
I didn't answer him for awhile, as blood lose had dimmed my senses and made me sluggish. “She is a thief.” I said finally, after blinking the haze from my eyes. Suddenly I realized that I felt oddly lighter than normal, and not just because I had just shed that overly heavy coat. “Everyone… Check your pockets.” I advised, and in moments the crowd started to erupt with surprised declarations of missing items, and stolen currency.
“There.” pointed a woman after thoroughly searching her satchel “Check her coat.”
And just like that the crowd descended upon the blood and slush soaked garment like a pack of well organized rats. Methodically they rummaged through the seemingly endless maze of pockets, and debated over who rightfully owned each golden nicknack found within.
I too had missing wealth to retrieve, but I was in no shape to participate. Pain etched itself onto every bone in my body, as I sat there motionless. Blood pouring freely from my open wounds, and onto the cold, muddy, trampled, snow below.
Then I heard surprised gasping from the crowd, as they all scattered back from where they were. I turned my head to clearly see the magical fur coat, and all its contents evaporate away in wisp of cold blue fire.
It seemed that Envriél had successfully stolen from me once again.
Utterly defeated, I gave into the cold, and accepted the dark abyss of death. Although as you could probably guess, someone in the chaos did get me medical help, and I was saved from the Kindred.
After all was said and done, the snowmad had somehow managed to get away with over a third of the entire caravan’s wealth. And that wasn't even counting the handful of coin purses that were retrieved from her coat before it disappeared.
Darin Rubar concluded his story with a moment of grim silence as he rubbed at his scars thoughtfully. “Maybe now you see why I'm so afraid of that particular lone bandit?” he mused with a satisfied smile.
Ronnen shifted uncomfortably on his horse as he rubbed the back of his head. “Perhaps you are right in the path you've chosen for us.” he conceded “After all, you are my elder, and I would be wise to heed your wisdom; Lest I make the same mistakes as you.”
“Good lad.” Darin beamed “Now go roundup that brother of your’s, and see if he has found us any meat for our porridge this morning.”
Ronnen’s sheepish smile faded into a look of concern “Ohneir has not returned yet?”
Suddenly the foggy sky was lit with a crack of ghostly blue lighting, and the frigid air was filled with fiendish cackling.
“Broken hawk feathers!” Darin cursed to himself as he fearfully fumbled his crossbow into the armed position “Not again!”
Once he was done Darin signaled the wagon behind him to stop, and the instruction was quickly relayed down the whole of the caravan.
Then they waited. Peering frantically into the mist for what seemed like an eternity.
Eventually though a smoky voice spoke up from nowhere and everywhere at once, as if the very fog itself was talking. “Hold your fire… or I will crush your intrepid little scout friend into dust.”
“Ohneir?” Ronnen breathed, his face turning white.
Darin’s hand quivered more and more until he was shaking to violently for his crossbow to be much use anyhow. So he lowered it to the wagon floor, although he did not actually bother disarming it. “Okay.” he shouted “Now show yourself!”
Heartbeats passed before the vaguest outline of a figure became visible in fog. Each step she took brought her mysterious clocked image into sharper view. Her smile was covered by a long and fancy blue scarf, but one could still easily see the smug expression in her eyes.
“Where is my brother?” Ronnen demanded. The poor lad tried so hard to sound threatening, but his words were choked by fear and uncertainty.
In a smooth serpentine motion Envriél weaved one hand out of her coat and revealed a small doll made of what looked like faintly glowing blue jade stone. “Right here.” She promised with a triumphant flourish of her wrist “And if you don't do exactly as I say, I'll smash him into a million pieces!”
Ronnen gasped in horror and bewilderment, but Darin remained skeptical. “And why should we believe that toy is really our scout, and not just another one of your tricks?”
Envriél seemed taken aback. “That… Is actually a good idea.” She chuckled “And to think I went through all the unnecessary effort of actually catching this poor sap.”
Before anyone could say anything more, Envriél covered her eyes and threw the statue to the ground in one lighting fast motion. Causing It to shatter into a brilliant display of blinding light, that dimmed away just as quickly as it had appeared. In its place sat the haggard form of Ohneir Branks, bloody and broken, but still breathing.
While everyone else was still reeling from the flash, Envriél had slipped her decorative looking knife over the boy’s throat. “Then again.” she purred “There is something to be said about having the real thing.”
Darin gritted his teeth “What is it you-”
“Money.” Envriél interjected without hesitation “All of it.”
“You can't be serious!” Ronnen scoffed in disbelief.
“Very.” she insisted sternly “I will also be taking your ivory, your fire beads, that redheaded guy’s rhinestone, every drop of honey you got, and any bits of jewelry you have on you.” She shrugged “You can keep the melons, they’re too heavy for me to carry and they're a pain to sell on time anyway.”
Darin growled deeply in his throat before saying “I wish I could answer your demand, but I'm afraid you have overestimated the value of your hostage.”
“What!?” Ronnen snapped, his expression that of shock and betrayal.
Darin held out his hand in a reassuring gesture towards Ronnen, but he never actually took his eyes off of Envriél. “Of course I will do everything in my power to see that the boy is returned unharmed, but I cannot speak for the entire caravan.” His eyes narrowed with bitter insinuation tinted in his voice “Unfortunately for us all, there are some people in this world who value money over the lives of others.”
Envriél didn't seem to catch the implication, either that or she just didn't care. “Fine.” she said dismissively “Just twelve thousand gold pieces then. Oh yeah, and the rhinestone. The man who owns it is rather hard to miss... He's a big guy, with red hair, a beard, and half a tattoo on the left side of his face.” With a wicked purr of satisfaction she pressed her knife harder against Ohneir’s neck “And don't waste too much time raising the money, I haven't got all day here.”
Darin slowly, and non threateningly, retrieved his loaded crossbow. Then he stepped out of his wagon, and handed the weapon to Ronnen “Keep an eye on her. I'll try my best to pull the ransom together.”
The following few hours were a tense exercise in debate, begging, and bargaining.
More people then Darin would have expecting were willing to pitch in to help Ohneir, and some even gave up their entire wagon of goods, by selling them off to less generous members of the caravan. Although admittedly it was quite likely that those people were other members of the Branks family.
An understandably large number of people wanted to know why they weren't trying to overpower the mysterious bandit. Luckily there were other merchants within the caravan who had encountered Envriél before, and they backed up Darin’s claims that direct action against her would only get people killed.
Strangely enough the hardest part of the ransom to acquire was the rhinestone.
The red headed man was indeed, easily distinguished from the rest of the crowd. But when asked about the rhinestone he refused to admit that he owned any such thing. That is… Until he was offered a fortunes worth of ivory and cinnamon bark.
It was probably one of the toughest and most stressful fundraising campaigns that the old merchant had ever been engaged in, but they had made their goal.
Some of the more daring or ignorant members of the crowd followed Darin up to the head of the caravan to keep tabs on where the money was going, and to see what all the fuss was about.
“You’ve got it?” asked Envriél impatiently, before Darin had even entered her line of sight.
Darin dragged the heavy bag halfway to her, then backed away with his hands up. “You got what you wanted. Now let the boy go.”
Envriél shuffled up to the bag with her half dead prisoner, and inspected its contents. She smiled gleefully, and in a surprising display of strength she slung the heavy bag over her shoulder.
Ohneir slumped limply to the ground the moment he was released from the snowmad’s grip. There he lay motionless, bleeding onto the ground, and groaning in pain.
Darin breathed a sigh of relief “Does this mean that we can be on our way now?”
Envriél hummed thoughtfully “There is one more thing…”
A blur of sudden motion.
Darin blinked… Envriél was right in front of him.
A familiar dagger lay embedded hilt deep into his chest, piercing his heart with all the weight of Envriél and the bag of gold behind it.
There was no time to react, no time to think, not even time to feel pain. And as Darin Rubar slipped away into death, he heard his killer say in her smug, smoky voice. “Now, I have taken everything.”
=====Basic Idea===== Envriél is a deceptive bruiser who will leave her opponents constantly second guessing their decisions until it’s too late. She is a money loving sleazeball who will eagerly lie, cheat, and steal her way to victory.
=====Base Stats===== Health: 580 +85 Health Regen: 8 +0.8 Mana: 380 +20 Mana Regen: 8 +0.8 Attack Damage: 55 +3 Attack Speed: 0.67 +2.9% Armor: 23 +3 Magic Resist: 20 +1.25 Movement speed: 335 Attack Range: 150
=====Abilities===== P: Obscuring Cloak Envriél becomes Unreadable if she hasn't taken damage from enemy champions within the last 12 seconds. (reduced by 1 second per level down to a minimum of 4 seconds at level 9) While Envriél is Unreadable enemies cannot see her current health or mana. This effect lingers for 1.5 seconds after taking damage from a champion.
Q: Liar’s Brew: mana cost 40/45/50/55/60, cooldown 4, range 1000, effect radius 230, avoid radius 230-500. Envriél lobs a magical cocktail at the target location which briefly slows enemies hit by 70% for 0.1 seconds, and applies a stack of Swindled for 6 seconds. If a Swindled enemy avoids a cast of Liar’s Brew, then they will become immune to acquiring new stacks of Swindled until the effect expires.
Swindled: Enemies take 10/15/20/25/30 (+10/15/20/25/30% AP) additional magic damage from Envriél’s basic attacks, increased by 50% per additional stack.
W: Coat Rack: mana cost 90, cooldown 20/19/18/17/16, dash range 450, toss range 600. Passive: Envriél’s armor and magic resist are increased by 12/14/16/18/20 (+7/9/11/13/15% of total armor and magic resist)
Active: Envriél instantly clears all negative effects currently affecting her, and very briefly becomes untargetable as she dashes in a target direction. At the same time she throws her coat behind her, slowing the first enemy it hits by 50% and rendering them nearsighted for 1 second.
For 4 seconds after using Coat Rack Envriél gains 15 movement speed, but losses the passive of this ability as well as instantly breaking Obscuring Cloak.
E: Mug: mana cost 60, cooldown 12/11/10/9/8. Passive: All enemy champions generate a stack of Loose Change every 80 (-4 per level, down to a minimum of 30 at level 14) seconds, stacking up to 5 times. For each stack removed Envriél steals 20 gold from them, and causes them to drop a Pilfered Coin somewhere nearby. Either Envriél or the champion she stole from can pick up Pilfered Coins to gain 20 gold. Every time Envriél picks up a Pilfered Coin she regains 4/5/6/7/8% of her max health.
Active: For 3 seconds Envriél gains +10/20/30/40/50% movement speed towards enemy champions or Pilfered Coins, and can move through units. Additionally, her next auto attack within 5 seconds steals 30/60/90/120/150 (+30% AP +30% AD) health, and consumes all stacks of Loose Change. Against minions and monsters the healing is reduced by 50%.
R: Kidnap / Flee The Scene / Ditch Hostage: mana cost 100, cooldown 140/120/100, capture range 350, teleport range 4500/5500/6500. Target enemy champion with less than 300/500/700 (+50% AP +10% of Envriél’s bonus HP +100% bonus AD) health is transformed into a keepsake and hidden beneath Envriél’s coat for up to 6 seconds. While an enemy is captured, Envriél may recast the ability to disappear with her victim, only to reappear in a chosen location after a 1.5 second warning. Recasting the ability a third time will free her captive early, and stun them for 0.5 seconds.
