A Different Shurima

This is just a version of the Shurima lore that I wrote. I wasn't a big fan of Sivir being the last descendant of Shurima and then being revived and all that.. so I decided to write my own. It is just for fun nothing crazy. I hope you like the read. (Sivir is still in the lore just a different role)

Shurima's Rise and Fall (Part 1)

Shurima, a lone empire of the waking sands was one of the first superior civilizations  of Runeterra to discover the immense power of the Runestones. It's people were highly skilled humans that held high traditions of faith in their gods. In order to become closer with their gods, they wore masks similar to their god's likeness. These masks took the shape of many different animals; dogs, cats, alligators and even birds.

Azir, the wondrous emperor of Shurima had ordered his trusted court to study the great pillars of luminous ore; or Runestones. A few years past as research continued on, Azir's court had finally created one of the first Nexus, a structure of tremendous magical power. The Nexus was able to draw power from Runeterra and convert that energy into magic. With this Nexus some of the members of the court learned to draw power from it and use magic. Azir was one of the few and he learned how to control the sands with his magical abilities. He demanded that weapons be made using the new magic they had obtained. 

The 'Crown of Shurima' was created with this gift and given to Azir. The crown had two magically properties as long as the person wearing the crown had magic to provide it. The first, it's wearer  was protected with a mystical energy; that nullified all sources of magic against the crown or the person with it on. Second, the crown could not be removed without the wearer's will. With this crown and the  newly discovered magical power, Shurima would  have become the greatest empire to have existed. Unfortunately, fate had a different plan for the empire. 

 Azir's trusted court mage, Xerath; slowly became corrupted with thoughts of power. He researched day and night learning and discovering the great mysteries of magic. When he did sleep his mind was filled with dreams of his rule over Shurima and control over all Runeterra with his control over magic. Hidden from everyone in the kingdom, he plotted to take the power from Shurima's Nexus and use it to gain his 'rightful place.' Xerath knew that he needed to deal with Azir before he could even get close to the Nexus, but as long as Azir had the Crown of Shurima he knew that would be next to impossible.

Xerath dove into his research trying to find a way to beat the power of Azir's crown, he could find nothing. There was no way to remove the crown from Azir's head magically,but that is where he found his answer. He simply had to get Azir to remove the crown himself.

Azir was upon his throne just like any other day,but the heat on this day was crazy. The sun was baking the kingdom with immeasurable heat and Azir had been soiled with sweat. He signaled to his servants for him to get a cooling bath ready for him. When his bath had been drawn he made his way to the refreshing pools of water. Before he could enter Xerath approached him and told Azir about a new discovery he had made that would give Azir even more power to rule over the kingdom. He had stated that all he needed was the Crown of Shurima and he would infuse the new power within it. Azir hesitated but he had trusted in Xerath enough that even though he was suspicious he thought nothing more of it, and slowly raised his hands up to his crown. He removed it and placed it into Xerath's hands. "For Shurima" Azir said before he closed the doors to his soaking sanctuary. Xerath's plan had worked perfectly.

The malevolent Xerath headed hastily toward the throne room where Shurima's Nexus had stayed. He told the guards that Azir had summoned him and they left to seek their emperor. His moment was at hand, he was about to have complete control over all magic. This was exactly what he wanted. He began the ritual to draw out the power from the Nexus's core. As stated before, fate can be very tricky. Xerath's body filled with the energies of the Nexus. He could feel the power expanding and his control over magic growing, but this type of power could not be contained in his mortal body. His body disintegrated as he became a being of pure magical essence, not only did Xerath change but so did the kingdom of Shurima. The release of the amount of energy Xerath was stealing caused the people of Shurima to be infused with the spiritual masks they held. They became the animals they had worshipped for the gods. The sun above Shurima was blocked out by the thick clouds of sand that  were thrown into the air by insane winds. Chaos broke out within the dominion.

Azir dashed into the throne room with several guards; included was his mightiest warriors; Nasus and Renekton. Infuriated at the sight that laid there, Azir cried out to Xerath. A voice returned and shook the chamber. "POWER!" Xerath appeared in his new form. Azir's guards attempted to fight with the magical being only to realize they were powerless. Nasus and Renekton continued put everything they had into trying to defeat Xerath. 

A small shimmer appeared in Azir's eye as he watched the fighting unfold. It was the Crown of Shurima that Xerath had taken. In his new form he had dropped it no longer being able to hold it with his new body. Azir knew that with it's power he could find a way to stop Xerath's might. He ran through the commotion and swiped the crown off the ground. He needed to figure out a way to use the crown to his advantage. He needed to seal away Xerath's power forever. 

The emperor used his magic to summon the sands from nearby and created two enormous  pieces of a sarcophagus by making  the sands incredible dense. Azir yelled out to Nasus and Renekton "Hold him down. I will end this!" and the two brothers did what they were told. They grabbed Xerath's energetic form and made sure he could not move, even if for only a few seconds. Azir's magic slammed the sarcophagus pieces around Nasus, Xerath and Renekton. He then rammed the Crown of Shurima into the front of the tomb and whispered the words "For Shurima" one last time as he collapsed to the ground. The sarcophagus burst with magic and Xerath was sealed away. The power that Xerath had was already to much for the tomb to handle. It needed to continuously consume energy from everything around it because of this everything in the kingdom of Shurima fell into a frozen state of slumber. Over time the sands of the desert buried the secrets and history of Shurima.

(I will post part two if people actually like the story so far.)