Alternate Lore for Poppy - Noxus Poppy; The Legend Seeker

As legend describes it, this hero is the only person who can unlock the full power of the hammer and lead Demacia to true greatness. Though Poppy has searched the furthest corners of the kingdom for this legendary fighter, her quest has proven fruitless. Each time she has attempted to pass the hammer on to a potential hero, the results have been disastrous, often ending in the warrior’s death. Most people would have abandoned the task long ago, but most people do not possess the pluck and resolve of this indomitable heroine.

Poppy was once a very different yordle. For as long as she could remember, she had been in search of a purpose. Feeling alienated by the chaotic whimsy of other yordles, she preferred to soak up stability and structure where she could find it. This drive brought her to the human settlements of western Valoran, where she gazed in wonder at the caravans striping the countryside in an endless file. Many of the people there looked tattered and weary, but they stumbled on in pursuit of some ephemeral better life that might lie just beyond the horizon.

One day, however, a different sort of caravan passed through. Unlike the other travelers, these people seemed to move with purpose. They all awoke at the exact same time each morning, roused by the sound of a watchman’s horn. They took their meals together every day at the same hour, always finishing within a few minutes. They set up their camps and took them down with remarkable efficiency.

While yordles used their innate magic to fashion extraordinary things, these humans achieved equally astounding feats through coordination and discipline. They acted in concert like the cogs of a gear, becoming something much larger and stronger than any single person could ever be. To Poppy, that was more marvelous than all the magic in the world.

As Poppy watched the camp from the safety of her hiding place, her eyes caught the gleam of armor emerging from a tent. It was the group’s commanding officer, wearing a brigandine of gleaming steel plates, each piece overlapping, each an integral part of the whole. The man’s name was Orlon, and his presence seemed to stir the souls of everyone there. If someone became discouraged, he was there to remind them of why they pressed on. If someone collapsed from exhaustion, he inspired them to get up. It reminded Poppy of certain yordle charms, though again, without magic.

As she found herself creeping closer to the camp, she was startled by the sounds of a Noxian war horn, making her stay in the safety of her hiding spot to see what was surely to be a beautiful battle in which the stalwart general would shine even brighter. It was no such thing, and as the day grew into night, the battle continued on with both sides losses only growing.

At last the commander from Noxus showed himself, clad in black armor which seemed to snuff out the light around him, he was all as impressive as Orlon, but in an entirely different capacity. The warrior moved forward through the battlefield, his own hammer swinging with a bloodied fervor, ending the lives of each Demacian he struck with a single, sickening thud, with the might these two hammer swingers brought to the field grew, the lives around them shank in comparison. Poppy could do nothing but watch from where she was, in awe of the warriors.

Somewhere along the line she had heard the Noxus commander's name called in a rallying cry by his forces, Rager, the Goliath of Noxus. It was sometime after dawn when the Rager and Orlon finally collided. The sound of the two hammers colliding echoing through the land, and for a moment, caused the yordle to cover her ears from the deafening boom. When she looked up, she saw the two standing firm, hammers crossed along their shafts. She wondered what they could possibly be saying to each other, and like any yordle, curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to get a closer look, moving slowly through the bloodstained battlefield to where they stood, their indomitable wills colliding.

They moved in on each other again, each warrior trading blows as the the showdown reached it's climax, the yordle remained on the edge of her seat. Once again, their hammers collided, but this time, the yordle steeled herself, determined to not look away from this outcome. The Demacian staggered, and a moment later was felled by the following swing, crushing his armor to his chest, and likely his body underneath. There was no divine intervention, no saving glory, Orlon died, and in that instant, so did his legend.

Rager spoke, calling out to the yordle, the two warriors had long spotted the observer, but could not draw themselves to do anything about it earlier. He asked about her name, and then her opinion of the battle and what she learned from it. Poppy responded in earnest, still in awe of the power this general held. He gave her one offer, to join Noxus and learn how to win wars and to be the one standing after the battle's end. She pledged to follow him, wanting to fight like him, and be like him. Victory tasted sweet and she wanted to taste it herself.

Time has a way of catching up to all, regardless of how powerful you might seem. In was raining the day Poppy killed her master, taking his hammer. She did not hate Rager, in fact, she owed him everything. But such is the way of the hammer of Noxus, to crush the weak and to be held by the victor. So now Poppy waits, waiting for the legendary hero of Demacia to rise, and to meet them in battle, her hammer against theirs.