Shadow Isles Short Lores

TerraRising··6 votes·2,842 views

Here are the new short lore stories

(Copied from Surrender@20)

Elise

Elise's entrancing beauty and grace conceal the pitiless, black heart of a deadly predator. With ruthless cunning, she lures the unsuspecting with promises of favor from the spider god. Having exchanged her humanity to become something far more sinister, Elise sacrifices the innocent to maintain her power and seemingly eternal youth. No one can fathom how many have been caught in her web, slain to feed her insatiable hunger.

Evelynn

Swift and lethal, Evelynn is one of the most deadly - and expensive - assassins in all of Runeterra. Able to merge with the shadows at will, she patiently stalks her prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. While Evelynn is clearly not entirely human, and her heritage remains unclear, it is believed that she hails from the Shadow Isles - though her link with that tortured realm remains shrouded in mystery.

Hecarim

Hecarim is a towering, armored specter whose name is whispered fearfully across the length and breadth of Runeterra. He patrols the Shadow Isles, running down anyone foolish enough to set foot upon its cursed soil. As the vanguard of undeath, Hecarim rides forth from the Black Mist, laughing mockingly as he tramples the living beneath his iron-shod hooves.

Karthus

Karthus is a harbinger of oblivion, zealously devoted to the beauty and clarity of death. Even in his youth, he was utterly obsessed with mortality, growing ever more relentless in the pursuit of his dark desires. Yearning to be one with death itself, Karthus journeyed to the Shadow Isles and willingly offered himself to undeath. Karthus transformed into the Deathsinger, a dread lich existing solely to deliver the blessed gift of annihilation.

Maokai

Maokai was bound to a gnarled tree by the dark magic that transformed the Shadow Isles. The once-peaceful nature spirit is now a corruption of his former self. Infused with power that he never asked for, he has become a destructive force, sundering his enemies with wild magic and crushing limbs. Maokai continues to wander Valoran, seeking the means to bring life back to his forest home.

Mordekaiser

The vicious wraith Mordekaiser is among the most terrifying and hateful of spirits that haunt the Shadow Isles. Entombed in ancient armor, the Master of Metal is said to be the first of the unliving, a revenant who existed even before the Shadow Isles were wrought. His twisted soul thrives on his own suffering, as well as the anguish he inflicts upon others. Those who dare face Mordekaiser in battle risk a horrific curse: he enslaves his victims' souls to become instruments of destruction.

Thresh

Thresh is a sadistic, spectral reaper who relishes tormenting the living and the dead. Once a jailer who mercilessly brutalized all under his charge, Thresh was hanged from his own chains by the prisoners he had tortured. With his vicious essence unbound, the Chain Warden roams Runeterra in search of prey. He derives twisted joy from slowly breaking the minds of his most defiant victims, before trapping their souls within the sickly green light of his lantern.

Yorick

A terrifying and tragic figure, Yorick is a ghoulish being that exists on the edge of mortality. Some say he was the last of his family line, dying without an heir to continue its legacy, and that he is cursed to continue to his family's duty even after death. Wielding the twisted shovel he bore in life, he continues his macabre work, endlessly digging and filling graves upon the haunted Shadow Isles.

47 Comments

DG Ashabel11 votes

Hecarim His new lore has gone full Skarner. He's turned from the political representative of Shadow Isles who works to advance their agenda on the main continent into a random horsedude who runs around on his island and kills people. It's a mighty shame. I loved my pony more when he was a full-fledged character, not a random raid boss.

Elise They went way too "RAR EVIL SPIDER MONSTER" here. Yes, she's that, but she is also a charismatic cult leader and has been rumored to be a part of the Black Rose. They basically downplayed every aspect of her that isn't "wow so spider much evil very kill".

Karthus The same complaint as above. His new dialogue in-game is very elegant, almost poetic. The lore makes him sound like a random life-hating lich and makes him look more boring than he actually is.

Yorick is kinda... boring. I don't feel any hook in his lore and it skips from one thought to another several times. It's not terrible, but it's not very interesting either.

Overall, these aren't awful, but if the narrative team really expects these tidbits to foster people's interest in longer lore entries, boy are they in trouble.

Diahane2 votes

Overall, these aren't awful, but if the narrative team really expects these tidbits to foster people's interest in longer lore entries, boy are they in trouble.

Well, at this point they should know plenty the trouble they have ran in xD

GreenLore4 votes

Hecarim needs a new lore anyway,his old one is all about him slaughtering his way to the league,but the league doesn't exist anymore. He never struck me as much of a political person,I mean sure he was in the league,does that mean he is a politician?do guys like mundo or twitch look like they have any idea about politics?Do we know if he even remained in Valoran and didn't just go back home after signing in? Tbh,he always seemed like the dude who is leading an army and simply takes his orders,because they allow him to slaughter people. Since he is part of the SI-army,it makes sense for him to guard the shadow isles as long as they aren't busy invading others.

Elise is mentioned to lead people to the spider with promises of giving them spider powers,so while her cult isn't mentioned,it is mentioned how she lures people into her trap. And well there isn't much else to her currently.That black rose stuff is just speculation.

Karthus dunno whats wrong with it,I mean just the way the lore talks about his fascination about death makes it clear how he views it(I mean it talks aboud how he brings the "blessed gift of annihilation" and his obsession with the "beauty and clarity of death" which do sound a bit poetic)

Yorick well the problem here lies more with yoricks full lore which simply doesn't have a "hook"

Remember those short lores are only small introductions to the characters,they aren't retcons(except for maybe hecarim) or expansions,they are just a summary of the current lores of the characters and since most of them aren't really good and did mostly evil things in their lores,it is not surprising that these short summaries make them look evil.

Chromatic Eagle2 votes

Hecarim His new lore has gone full Skarner. He's turned from the political representative of Shadow Isles who works to advance their agenda on the main continent into a random horsedude who runs around on his island and kills people. It's a mighty shame. I loved my pony more when he was a full-fledged character, not a random raid boss.

Elise They went way too "RAR EVIL SPIDER MONSTER" here. Yes, she's that, but she is also a charismatic cult leader and has been rumored to be a part of the Black Rose. They basically downplayed every aspect of her that isn't "wow so spider much evil very kill".

Karthus The same complaint as above. His new dialogue in-game is very elegant, almost poetic. The lore makes him sound like a random life-hating lich and makes him look more boring than he actually is.

Yorick is kinda... boring. I don't feel any hook in his lore and it skips from one thought to another several times. It's not terrible, but it's not very interesting either.

Overall, these aren't awful, but if the narrative team really expects these tidbits to foster people's interest in longer lore entries, boy are they in trouble.

When was Hecarim ever a poilitical representative of the Shadow Isles? His old lore made him into a rampaging monster.

Elise I'd partially agree, but it summarizes her appearance and gives some motivation to her deal with Vilemaw.

Again I'd partially agree with Karthus. Think it was a summarization of why he is the way he is.

I agree about Yorick.

DG Ashabel3 votes

"While Hecarim's origin and intent were still a mystery, his destination became clear when he reached the Institute of War and, in a voice both ominous and commanding, demanded entry into the League of Legends."

His lore does have him do plenty of rampaging, but it presents him as a grimdark general of spectral horde who joins the League of Legends to represent the Shadow Isles. He was in fact the first Shadow Isles champion presented as joining the League for reasons other than a personal agenda.

CupcakeTrap10 votes

Maokai was bound to a gnarled tree by the dark magic that transformed the Shadow Isles. The once-peaceful nature spirit is now a corruption of his former self. Infused with power that he never asked for, he has become a destructive force, sundering his enemies with wild magic and crushing limbs. Maokai continues to wander Valoran, seeking the means to bring life back to his forest home.

Riot complained that it felt weird ending bios with "and so they came to the League of Legends to pursue this goal." Apparently, "wandering Valoran in search of ______" doesn't give them the same discomfort. There's a lot of it about.

No, no, don't have Maokai go to the League and try to find allies to help him retake part of the Isles, or to find arcane secrets that he might be able to use to restore his forest: just have him "wander Valoran".

Ark Angel HFB9 votes

No, no, don't have Maokai go to the League and try to find allies to help him retake part of the Isles, or to find arcane secrets that he might be able to use to restore his forest: just have him "wander Valoran".

Apparently having him do so while being an angry monster...

Starting to think Riot only knows how to write non-humanoid monster two ways...

  1. Angry Monster that stays in one relative location. (Skarner)

  2. Angry Monster that roams a bit. (Moakai, Renekton)

Neon Robot5 votes

[deleted]

Dreamspitter2 votes

Currently Riot is Riot GAME not GameS

Neon Robot2 votes

[deleted]

Dreamspitter2 votes

Currently Riot is Riot GAME not GameS

That's the thing, if they want to diversify they'd have to either do things the hard way and bring all their old lore into coherency and build games and concepts around that or... They could flatten everything and build it from the ground up. The approach they've taken effectively gives them free reign to do whatever. Sounds good on paper. Then again, free reign to do whatever is what allowed George Lucas to create Episode One.

But....that's also what's leading to J.J. Abrams doing Episode 7.

Neon Robot3 votes

[deleted]

Dreamspitter2 votes

Maokai was bound to a gnarled tree by the dark magic that transformed the Shadow Isles. The once-peaceful nature spirit is now a corruption of his former self. Infused with power that he never asked for, he has become a destructive force, sundering his enemies with wild magic and crushing limbs. Maokai continues to wander Valoran, seeking the means to bring life back to his forest home.

Riot complained that it felt weird ending bios with "and so they came to the League of Legends to pursue this goal." Apparently, "wandering Valoran in search of ______" doesn't give them the same discomfort. There's a lot of it about.

No, no, don't have Maokai go to the League and try to find allies to help him retake part of the Isles, or to find arcane secrets that he might be able to use to restore his forest: just have him "wander Valoran".

The contradictions were always going to exist. Riot hasn't demonstrated an ability to set up a character with flat establishment, just identifying who they are, what drives them, and what they desire. Instead seem to need to insert that continuing impetus. Primarily because flat establishment means that you still need to motivate your character out of their house, with impetus they can be blown to their new location via wind.

"Face the wind!" -Yasuo

Ark Angel HFB7 votes

Is no one going to talk about the massive change to Maokai!!!

Now he was a spirit all along.

This is a massive change to character origin. Do you guys really think they will keep his character intact?

Maokai never wanted to bring life BACK to his forest... he wanted to return to being a normal tree. This is a complete character assassination!!!

People WAKE UP.

I was in the Role Play event held by Riot that brought Maokai into the league... this is a complete departure from his original character!!!

Him being a tree means that he was always used to being in one place and well... being a tree.

Nature spirit is a whole other ill defined thing... If it was a thinking reasoning thing then it even more undermines the current Moakai.

See his old lore he HATES that he is alive, he has tried to kill himself and he can't even do that. The magic that brought him to life is so twisted he can't even kill himself to find peace. The magic just keeps bringing him back to life. "I would end this burden, but it always returns."

Further more the most central thing about the character, the fact that he is a walking warning against wild magics is gone, or down played to the point that it might as well not be there.

Old Maokai didn't want to really restore himself so much as end the act of living as a thinking creature.

New Maokai is literal a spirit trapped in something... It could have been a tire... or a rock... and oh god I think I know what they are going to do to maplhite. T_T

Baron Von Bangin5 votes

Couple years to late for this complaint.

PhoenixSlayer136 votes

About a year late actually.

I think that there can be some easy overlap between the two ideas. Maokai wants to end the twisted existence he's been caught in, but after ages of trying to end himself, eventually he realizes that he has a duty to nature to restore balance to the Shadow Isles. Once he's done that, he can finally end his tormented un-life.

Ebonmaw Dragon5 votes

Is no one going to talk about the massive change to Maokai!!!

Now he was a spirit all along.

This is a massive change to character origin. Do you guys really think they will keep his character intact?

Maokai never wanted to bring life BACK to his forest... he wanted to return to being a normal tree. This is a complete character assassination!!!

People WAKE UP.

I was in the Role Play event held by Riot that brought Maokai into the league... this is a complete departure from his original character!!!

Him being a tree means that he was always used to being in one place and well... being a tree.

Nature spirit is a whole other ill defined thing... If it was a thinking reasoning thing then it even more undermines the current Moakai.

See his old lore he HATES that he is alive, he has tried to kill himself and he can't even do that. The magic that brought him to life is so twisted he can't even kill himself to find peace.

Further more the most central thing about the character, the fact that he is a walking warning against wild magics is gone, or down played to the point that it might as well not be there.

Old Maokai didn't want to really restore himself so much as end the act of living as a thinking creature.

New Maokai is literal a spirit trapped in something... It could have been a tire... or a rock... and oh god I think I know what they are going to do to maplhite. T_T

They changed his origin long time ago... RIP Dear Tree of Zaun

PhoenixSlayer136 votes

Well... they mostly seem to be in line with their respective champion's full lores. Nothing like "Ezreal is embarrassed by becoming a celebrity" at least.

TerraRising6 votes

I'm curious if any of these had to be changed because of how badly received the Shurima ones were.

I mean, I sincerely doubt it given how much Narrative appears to care about our opinions, despite Rioters protests to the contrary.

PhoenixSlayer132 votes

Shrug

Dunno. I'm just happy that everyone is in their right place, at least according to most recent changes (see Maokai).

LordHippoman6 votes

Kinda sad they didn't mention Elise's spider cult. That's my favorite thing about her.

Melancholy Exile5 votes

Evelynn

Swift and lethal, **Evelynn is one of the most deadly - and expensive - assassins in all of Runeterra.** Able to merge with the shadows at will, she patiently stalks her prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. While Evelynn is clearly not entirely human, and her heritage remains unclear, it is believed that she hails from the Shadow Isles - though her link with that tortured realm remains shrouded in mystery.

I'm not saying there couldn't be an interesting story in this, but how exactly does one contract Evelynn and what does she really need money for?

Diahane6 votes

Evelynn

Swift and lethal, **Evelynn is one of the most deadly - and expensive - assassins in all of Runeterra.** Able to merge with the shadows at will, she patiently stalks her prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. While Evelynn is clearly not entirely human, and her heritage remains unclear, it is believed that she hails from the Shadow Isles - though her link with that tortured realm remains shrouded in mystery.

I'm not saying there couldn't be an interesting story in this, but how exactly does one contract Evelynn and what does she really need money for?

Maybe she doesn't ask for money, but for other forms of payment. Like souls and creepy things.

LordHippoman16 votes

Evelynn works only for Kit Kat bars and Kool Aid packets. The purple ones are her favorite.

Diahane5 votes

Evelynn works only for Kit Kat bars and Kool Aid packets. The purple ones are her favorite.

Creepy things indeed.

Melancholy Exile3 votes

Yeah, I imagine that must be it. Upon reading her full bio, as I was hardly familiar with it, it notes that her work costs "the highest of premiums" and I think an expression like that makes it far more apparent that we're not just talking about cash.

I think that opens the more interesting avenue then of just what she does work for. There's certainly story potential there, although it's hardy something that couldn't have been investigated in the pre-retcon Runeterra.

DG Ashabel6 votes

Okay, as much as I spoke up against the lore team over the past month, let's put blame where it's due - Evelynn's lore is exactly the same as before, except without pointless fluff like "Some people theorize that she is this or that."

In fact, it's been the tragedy of Evelynn's existence for five years now that all her lore can be summarized in four-five sentences.

Diahane5 votes

Okay, as much as I spoke up against the lore team over the past month, let's put blame where it's due - Evelynn's lore is exactly the same as before, except without pointless fluff like "Some people theorize that she is this or that."

In fact, it's been the tragedy of Evelynn's existence for five years now that all her lore can be summarized in four-five sentences.

Yep, but they know about it and commented a few times about having her on the rework list, right? So Evelynn is just a matter of time and bad aging of an already pretty vague character.

DG Ashabel4 votes

Yeah, she's been in rework land for a very long time now.

Last I heard, the difficulty with reworking her is that she's almost a blank slate. She has a physical appearance, an ability kit and a vague Shadow Isles reference. That's about it.

Diahane3 votes

Yeah, she's been in rework land for a very long time now.

Last I heard, the difficulty with reworking her is that she's almost a blank slate. She has a physical appearance, an ability kit and a vague Shadow Isles reference. That's about it.

This is an area in which at least anything will probably be better than the present situation. I personally never got any idea on what kind of character could Evelynn be made into.

DG Ashabel4 votes

I think a major issue with her is that she's basically a vampire. Not the suave Bram Stoker or Castlevania vampire that Vladimir is, but more like From Dusk Till Dawn or Buffy vampire, who are basically a leaner and more intelligent Hulk. The problem there is that Vladimir has the vampire angle fairly thoroughly occupied (even if he's not really one), so she'd need a different one.

I wanted to say that a good angle with her would be making her something that feeds specifically on pain and suffering (would look very good with her savage "rip and tear" abilities and her bondage gear), but Mordekaiser has that position occupied.

On the other hand, the "pain and suffering" angle opens up turning her into a "good" Shadow Isles champion. Make her like Cenobites in Clive Barker's Hellraiser, especially the infamous Pinhead (who ultimately ends up working for a better world on several occasions). A character who doesn't simply feed on pain, but handles it like an art. Give her morals and a very questionable method of upholding them.

Basically, push the BDSM angle all the way into her character and lore. She already wears bondage gear as her everyday wear, so it wouldn't be a long shot.

Diahane3 votes

I think a major issue with her is that she's basically a vampire. Not the suave Bram Stoker or Castlevania vampire that Vladimir is, but more like From Dusk Till Dawn or Buffy vampire, who are basically a leaner and more intelligent Hulk. The problem there is that Vladimir has the vampire angle fairly thoroughly occupied (even if he's not really one), so she'd need a different one.

I wanted to say that a good angle with her would be making her something that feeds specifically on pain and suffering (would look very good with her savage "rip and tear" abilities and her bondage gear), but Mordekaiser has that position occupied.

On the other hand, the "pain and suffering" angle opens up turning her into a "good" Shadow Isles champion. Make her like Cenobites in Clive Barker's Hellraiser, especially the infamous Pinhead (who ultimately ends up working for a better world on several occasions). A character who doesn't simply feed on pain, but handles it like an art. Give her morals and a very questionable method of upholding them.

Basically, push the BDSM angle all the way into her character and lore. She already wears bondage gear as her everyday wear, so it wouldn't be a long shot.

Sounds good, but if I'd have to make a bet I'd bet on Riot reworking her fashion sense. Seems like it's the latest trend removing the "skimpyness", considering the discussions on Caitlyn's eventual VU and the latest texture updates.

The BDSM niche could be really interesting on the character though.

Ulric Greatsword5 votes

Gangplank "Look at what crawled out of the plot holes!"

TerraRising4 votes

Gangplank "Look at what crawled out of the plot holes!"

Careful. they might pull a Freljord and claim he rules over a fleet of undead ships.

Diahane3 votes

Gangplank "Look at what crawled out of the plot holes!"

Careful. they might pull a Freljord and claim he rules over a fleet of undead ships.

Or could retcon him into Johnny Depp.

Ulric Greatsword2 votes

Or could retcon him into Johnny Depp.

After reviving for the 5th time: Gangplank "This is just like the first four!"

Dreamspitter3 votes

Spooky plank is now canon

Dreamspitter3 votes

That was great

Jakethenight4 votes

Shadow Isles got Shurima'd.

Sneak Dog4 votes

Hecarim is an angry undead centaur guarding the shadow isles. Yorick is an undead grave-digger. Mordekaiser is a wraith in an armor enslaving souls.

I am not exactly into it yet. Especially Hecarim, what happened to him that he now just tramples people on the Shadow Isles? What kind of lazy boring thing is that to do? He makes the shadow isles sound like some location you hear off at the start of an rpg and you know you'll get there 3/4th into it and Hecarim is just galloping back and forth over the shores, awaiting your arrival.

While I also mentioned Yorick/Mordekaiser, I do think these are their characters were you to briefly describe them. They just don't sound very interesting in this format.

Irongrinder4 votes

Confusion. I was under the impression that the changed lore for the Shurima characters were placeholders for upcoming, better stories. Moreover, most of the reaction to it was negative, at least in my experience--shorter and shallower was not better.

And with the claims that Riot's listening to our feedback...and then they're changing lore that never needed to be changed in the first place...

God, am I disappointed.

Dotintheparadox3 votes

Mordekaiser "Desolation is coming."

Stars Shaper2 votes

Mordekaiser

The vicious wraith Mordekaiser is among the most terrifying and hateful of spirits that haunt the Shadow Isles. Entombed in ancient armor, the Master of Metal is said to be the first of the unliving, a revenant who existed even before the Shadow Isles were wrought. His twisted soul thrives on his own suffering, as well as the anguish he inflicts upon others. Those who dare face Mordekaiser in battle risk a horrific curse: he enslaves his victims' souls to become instruments of destruction.

Surely better than what they've done with Shurima, I would have liked to see a mention about how Mordekaiser 's purpose in existence was different than the will of the Shadow Islands.

If this is a preview of a Shadow Isels event then I'm all up for it :) Harrowing and Shadow Iselnds looks like a nice theme couple.

Ultîma2 votes

After reading through these, I have to admit those particular short bios are not nearly as cringe-inducing as their past attempts. The characters are summarized thematically in an accurate manner that doesn't betray their old stories. I even feel that Mordekaiser previously had a much weaker, nebulous story that seems a bit more reinforced by the idea that he's a soul-enslaving wraith. Evelynn has always been out of place and I don't think they really attempted to transform her in a better character yet. Hopefully she is headed for a lore-retcon because the idea that one can even hire a shadow-dominatrix-assassin from a land of spirits and undead tests my suspension of disbelief even in the rules of this world.

TL;DR; Sad to see long stories go, that being said the short bios are done in a tasteful manner.

More from Story, Art, & Sound

More by TerraRising