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Brand - A Force for GOOD (new lore and all that)

Voidac··3 votes·1,442 views

"I am a creature of ever-lasting fire. I am a creature who burns away what needs to make way for what will be. I am a creature born to renew the world."

Brand isn't mindlessly burning down forests and villages for the sake of doing so, he does so in order to bring about new life. Wild fires make way for new diversity in plantlife, as well as altering the balance in that ecosystem. Basically: what he's doing isn't bad.

But here's a problem I found: Runeterra is full of warfare and terrorism, yes? Old magic as well as new magic shaped the world of today. The League was founded as a way to resolve disputes without dropping gas-nukes on populations. So much destruction, so much death. Now we have Brand who, like wild fire, must burn away the old world to bring about the new one. Garen and Lux, with the assistance of a summoner, captured Brand . We assume he's being held at the IoW... which no longer exists.

Who's to say anyone should stop Brand? Who's to say the new world shouldn't be born?

(I'll assume some of you have played Skyrim. Remember talking to Paarthurnax? About the end of the world, and the coming of the new one. Who are we to stop the birth of the new world, etc.)

Also, how's the progress coming with all that new lore? Will be ever see Brand get updated lore? I REALLY LIKE BRAND, OK?

23 Comments

Alljoy8 votes

Basically: what he's doing isn't bad.

I do wish people would stop trying to pigeonhole everything into 'good' or 'bad'. Such a black and white view on the lore would just make it shallow.

A Superb Villain4 votes

He is a fire that burns, that is it. He is just fulfilling his purpose; Brand isn't evil so much as he is a force of nature. Sure, he may derive pleasure from fiery destruction, but who wouldn't feel satisfaction successfully accomplishing a goal they are proficient at?

Voidac1 votes

The point of my post is to say how not-black-and-white Brand's intentions are. :) But I feel you.

Solideus2 votes

I think Brand fits best in the Freljord; the place could use some less blue champions. Besides, that might actually be where he'll end up if his Rivals on the official site is any indication.

Being a force of fire and destruction seems like the anti-thesis to Freljord's frozen protector: Anivia. Anivia could be responsible for locking him up for so long, like she supposedly did to Gnar, or it might have been his other Freljord Rival: Lissandra.

Who knows. Maybe he'll be brought up if they go back for some development in the Freljord.

Then there's his third Rival: Ryze. It's unclear how that rivalry would play out, though. Maybe we'll get some more details after his upcoming VU.

Voidac1 votes

Lissandra actually has a quote for him.

"You really picked the wrong side."

Does this suggest she knew Brand before becoming Ice Born? Or maybe she knew Kegan Rodhe and thinks he willingly chose to accept that flame. It couldn't be something as simple as "you're made of fire, durrrr". Which is ironic because Lissandra is my favorite champ after Brand... I would love to see the lore on this, how she knows him, why they're rivals, and if they knew each other before.

The Soulforged1 votes

I've always taken this as a headcannon of mine when someone posted this cools story of brand possessing Avorasa.

Dotintheparadox1 votes

No, Lissandra is literally the person who sealed him up last.

Voidac1 votes

She didn't. According to his Judgment, it was a bunch of "long-haired barbarians".

Dotintheparadox2 votes

Which he would call people from the Freljord, also Lissandra has some pretty long hair.

Voidac1 votes

I've thought about this, too. Lissandra fits the bill quite well, but I'm not sure she was access to that kind of power. Tearing out his soul and imprisoning it in an ice-cage? Remember, Lissandra didn't always have her powers, they were given to her by the Frozen Watchers.

But you're on the right track. I believe the Frozen Watchers were the ones who imprisoned Brand.

Dotintheparadox1 votes

Okay, here's some info, sorry that I can't remember the source, but here goes. Brand doesn't normally use a body, he's actually supposed to just be a living inferno supposedly he needed the human body because he was sealed up in true ice for so long, he was weakened. Now, also, Lissandra's powers were much greater when the watchers were around, she could have legitimately sealed him away then.

Voidac2 votes

That's actually wrong. Brand does need a body. Before being sealed away, they had to rip him out of one. If he didn't need a body, why would he be constantly using bodies, going so far as to say: "This body is just one of many!"

Lissandra's Ice Born powers have shown no deterioration in the absence of the Watchers. Even after they left, she maintained the ability to change her appearance, immortality, etc. Lissandra's quote doesn't mention putting Brand away, she just says he picked the wrong side. It's easy for those points to seem like they align, but I just don't think she was the one who did it. There are too many groups and tribes out there who are better equipped at ripping souls from bodies.

A perfect example are the Frostguard, a tribe dedicated to protecting the secrets of the Freljord. They fit the bill almost too well. Lissandra did end up corrupting them and turning them into her own personal protectors, but I believe they sealed Brand long before she was on the scene.

A Superb Villain1 votes

Admittedly, with all the Void creatures, errant magic, and ongoing wars, Runeterra is not an entirely enjoyable place to live at times, especially if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could a better world be made once the old has been burned away? Perhaps. The issue with completing this goal is the millions of lives who have no interest in causing harm, the average citizens of various nations.

Starting anew sounds nice, but at the cost of every living thing it hardly seems a fair trade.

Voidac1 votes

How insignificant are humans lives to the age of the earth? They are a fraction, a blink, a mere spark. The destruction and poisoning of the world through magic and technology ruins the world for those who'd come after us. What if he was born of nature itself as a way of correcting, adjusting, resetting itself?

Really makes you think about the value of life itself and who we are compared to mother nature.

A Superb Villain1 votes

Then it becomes pointless destruction. If every iteration of the world's continuity hinges on the ability of each following civilization to achieve utopia, then there exists infinite possibility for failure, especially if outside forces are capable of interfering, such as the Void.

Voidac1 votes

Well, what we don't know is... what does Brand do after he's achieved his goal of cleansing the world? Does he just wait for everything to go bad again? Or does he protect the world, to allowing it to grow. And if it comes to corruption again, he'll reset it. It's not pointless destruction, he was a set goal in mind. It may be pointless to us, but not to him.

I really wish they'd expand on the lore like they used to. This is a champion that they could tell of in so many different ways.

The Soulforged1 votes

He's made to destroy, if he destroys too much however, it will be bad. He only wants to destroy, there needs to be a force that'll stop him or else balance will end in the world burning.

The Soulforged1 votes

Think of him as the yin in yin and yang. He's bad, but he's necessary in the world to be balanced.

Voidac1 votes

The yang would probably be humanity. But when humanity begins to tear the world apart, doesn't that mean Brand turns into a force for good in the destruction of humanity. The world WAS balanced, but conflict has lead to some pretty terrible catastrophes. Brand seeks to set everything back to zero, he isn't part of the yin and yang, he dictates the balance.

The Soulforged3 votes

His intentions are... "BURN BURN BURN!", instead of, "I'm a force of nature so I do this stuff." He's literally this fire that doesn't care about what he burns and if its for good or evil. His presence is necessary, but I don't believe it really matters to him. He is however, needed, or the world wouldn't function properly.

Dances2 votes

{quoted}

His intentions are... "BURN BURN BURN!", instead of, "I'm a force of nature so I do this stuff." He's literally this fire that doesn't care about what he burns and if its for good or evil. His presence is necessary, but I don't believe it really matters to him. He is however, needed, or the world wouldn't function properly.

fire both cleanses and destroys,not that it cares either way as to truly cleanse something is to destroy and to destroy is to cleanse

Voidac1 votes

His "intentions" were clearly stated in his Judgment. He constantly speaks of 'cleansing' and 'purification' because he believes the world is full of corruption. And he's correct. You have to look at it from the perspective of the planet itself. The current inhabitants care nothing more than for their own personal growth or the growth of their clans or nations. Nations that gas innocent Ionians, that meet in open warfare, and created a system so that mega-powerful mages don't tear the world apart. Nature is defending itself, and Brand is one of those defenses.

"I am the fire that cleanses the world!"

Of course he doesn't care about what he burns, but he doesn't want to destroy the world. Never once does he say he wants to destroy it. He wants to set it on fire, to cleanse it. He likes the world, and he wants to make way for new life. At least, that's how I perceive his lore.

The Soulforged1 votes

I see your point :) it was a nice discussion.

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