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If IoW was still around, what might Azir's lore look like?

Honoka Kosaka·3/5/2015, 4:45:33 AM·6 votes·995 views

Hi guys! I'm one of the fellows from GD, and I love lore! But recently the short paragraphs that are replacing old champion stories disappoint me with their lack of depth. However, I can still look back to their old lore on the Wiki and relive the wonderfully intricate stories of characters like Xerath and Skarner.

But what of the new champions? Azir has no lore beyond his little paragraph! It makes me kind of sad, as I really like him and think he's cool.

Let's suppose that the IoW is still around in the lore. Who is Azir then? Does he come from the same world as Nasus and Renekton? Perhaps he came on his own to stop their fighting! Or maybe he is the lost emperor, stranded in a strange land without anybody to rule over with no choice but to join the league in hopes that they may be able to return him to his home land so that he can stop his empire from tearing itself apart!

Does anyone have any fanfictions or judgements for him? I'd like to hear some other thoughts on this hypothetical situation.

Azir :3

7 Comments

Siachi3/5/2015, 4:48:27 AM4 votes

He actually does have a longer lore, but you kind of have to dig through the Boards to get it, because they're apparently STILL having technical issues with the client in getting things the way they want (Short lores in client with links to longer lores on the website).

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/zmvrQ7I6-short-stories-azirarisen

Anyway, no other opinions based on that at the moment, sorry; just wanted to share that he does indeed have a longer lore besides the paragraph.

Only thing I'd think of would be "He joins the IoW to represent Shurima, which he intends to use League connections to try to revive."

Maple Crusader3/5/2015, 1:32:02 PM4 votes

Here's what I imagined what Azir's background was if the IOW was still around. Azir may have originated from the same alien world where Renek and Nasus came from. Since he ruled Shurima, he probably arrived in Runeterra much earlier than the two Ascended brothers. Xerath could have been a loyal subject in Azir's Shurima rather than a slave. Xerath's betrayal would have been his decision to enact a forbidden ritual to "ascend" into a higher form, rather than stealing Azir's power for himself. Azir would have joined the IOW for the following reasons: to learn about how the world has changed, to establish his sovereignty over Shurima, to ensure that his city-state will be recognized, and to take vengeance on Xerath for flattening Ancient Shurima centuries ago.

CupcakeTrap3/5/2015, 9:29:44 PM4 votes

This thread is relevant to my interests. There is a strong likelihood that the restoration of Shurima will be the next major Factions storyline. (Factions is a community game mode where stories based around the Institute of War develop in response to actual outcomes of faction vs. faction matches.) The following is written from a Factions perspective, but that's pretty close to just "League with a League in it".

Basically: if Azir makes his play to restore Shurima to full statehood, the League will be instrumental in his efforts. If he just walked out and revealed the power to restore Shurima, Noxus would be there in two seconds flat to beat him up for his lunch money ("nice artifacts! we'll take those"), assuming that Demacia didn't get there first to lock down all this heretical magic and set up a puppet regime. Recognition as a League member-state would give Shurima a chance to maintain its sovereignty. He would need to seek out allies in the League to support the fledgling state, and would have to recruit Summoners and Champions to represent Shurima in the battles on the Fields of Justice (and possibly off the Fields) that would surely ensue.

From an out-of-universe perspective, I think the League really adds a lot to this story. Without the League, either Azir gets his new "empire" conquered right off the bat, or else the authors handwave a sudden surge of power that takes Shurima from "random wasteland" to a massive empire capable of fighting off Demacia and Noxus. To me, that feels like a cop-out. With the League, it becomes a political story that brings in many different Valoranian nations as Azir seeks allies in his fight to keep Shurima free. There's some real excitement there: Will he succeed? Will he fail? And if Shurima does emerge as a sovereign state, what will it look like? What tradeoffs will Azir have to make in that battle? Which Valoranian states will become allies of the new Shurima, and which will become enemies? I just find that much, much more interesting than "and then Azir does some magic and Shurima is back just like it used to be."

Anyway, I added some background below. Very draft-ish.

For a long time now, Shurima has been Council territory. Nobody was that interested in it. Other than the Floating Pyramids, there wasn't much to Shurima but a bunch of poor nomads and a lot of sand. Several Shuriman Champions are in the League, but Shurima is nowhere close to being a member-state.

24 CLE: The Hextech Revolution

The first major upset occurred in 24 CLE, prior to Azir's return, when the discovery of Void-tainted "dark sand" in Shurima catalyzed the so-called Hextech Revolution. The dark sand ("pyrikhos" in Shuriman) was created when the Void's energy mixed with the lingering enchantments of the ruined Shuriman civilization to create a versatile and abundant hextech energy source. Whereas before hextech devices had been hand-crafted with rare, specialized components, this dark sand seemed capable of powering virtually any hextech design, allowing for true mass production. The Shuriman dispute culminated in the Battle of Shurima, when Demacia launched an illegal attack on Zaun's pyrikhos mines. It was discovered that the mines had been built on top of a ruined temple built by a cult of Xerath, and the dimension-warping magic restored hundreds of these cultists to life.

Zaun emerged from the Shuriman dispute with ownership of much of Shurima's territory. It continued to mine the pyrikhos, but an alliance with Xerath has begun to expose Zaunite mages to the deeper mysteries of Shuriman magic, long thought lost.

24 CLE: Azir enters the League of Legends

Azir entered the League of Legends in the wake of this catastrophe. Although he makes no secret of his intention to become emperor of a new Shurima, he is by and large not taken very seriously. Shurima is still mostly owned by Zaunite megacorporations, and they do not seem interested in talking with some crazy bird-man who wanders the desert claiming to be Emperor. He starts talking to Summoners and other Champions, recruiting those he deems worthy to his cause.

25 CLE: The return of Shurima

If we do a Shuriman storyline, it will probably open with Azir using a spell to lift the Shuriman ruins up out of the sand. Suddenly, everyone realizes that he's not just some delusional bird-man lost in the past, but indeed someone with real power. Immediately, he would have to find a way to fend off Demacia and Noxus, who are now very interested in what's going on there. The League might grant provisional member-state status to Shurima while the matter is investigated and adjudicated; very possibly, League emissaries would be stopping Noxian legions and Demacian knights in their tracks just outside the borders with their "hear ye and be warned" proclamations.

At that point, the clock is ticking. Azir will have to choose his allies carefully. Under pressure from Demacia and Noxus, it's quite likely that the League would not be able to maintain an absolute truce for long; fighting might well break out here and there. While Azir is battling for Shurima's sovereignty, others will very likely be trying to use the League's dispute process to carve Shurima up into protectorates. There are endless possibilities as to where the story might go from there.

Impetual3/5/2015, 7:52:38 AM3 votes

It would be pretty cool to hear a bit about what kind of deal he would strike with the Institute of War (in order for them to get him to join the League of Legends), and the effects that it would have on Shurima.

There are some pretty cool possibilities.