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2018 Lore Tournament - QUARTER FINAL [3/4] : The Eye in the Abyss vs Where Icathia once stood

LordRedStone Nr1·12/26/2018, 2:52:54 PM·12 votes·12,348 views

6th December: Frozen Hearts vs An Explorer's Journey 7th December: The Black Powder Plot vs Human Blood 8th December: The Girl Who Came Back vs At the Edge of the World 9th December: Leaving Weh'Le vs Art is Life 10th December: The Cage vs The Shadow Door 11th December: Stone Cold vs Hunter of Shadows 12th December: Stains on a Name vs The Monster of Kalduga Outpost 13th December: The Dreaming Pool vs The Curator's Gambit 14th December: Then, Teeth vs Frozen Hearts (winner from 6th December) 15th December: The True and Ghastly Tale of the Beast of Boleham Tower vs The Black Powder Plot (winner from 7th December) 16th December: The Principles of Strength vs At the Edge of the World (winner from 8th December) 17th December: Confessions of a Broken Blade vs Art is Life (winner from 9th December) 18th December: A Different Hunger vs The Cage (winner from 10th December) 19th December: Twilight of the Gods vs Stone Cold (winner from 11th December) 20th December: The Eye in the Abyss vs Stains on a Name (winner from 12th December) 21st December: Where Icathia once stood vs The Dreaming Pool (winner from 13th of December) 22nd December: From the Ashes vs Frozen Hearts (winner from 14th December) 23rd December: Whom does the Desert know? vs The True and Ghastly Tale of the Beast of Boleham Tower (winner from 15th December) 24th December: QUARTER FINAL: The Principles of Strength (winner from 16th December) vs Art is Life (winner from 17th December) 25th December: QUARTER FINAL: The Cage (winner from 18th December) vs Twilight of the Gods (winner from 19th December) 26th December: QUARTER FINAL: The Eye in the Abyss (winner from 20th December) vs Where Icathia once stood (winner from 21st December) 27th December: QUARTER FINAL: From the Ashes (winner from 22nd December) vs The True and Ghastly Tale of the Beast of Boleham Tower (winner from 23rd December) 28th December: SEMI-FINAL: The Principles of Strength (winner from 24th December) vs Twilight of the Gods (winner from 25th December) 29th December: SEMI-FINAL: Where Icathia once stood (winner from 26th December) vs <winner from 27th December> 30th December: FINAL: <winner from 28th December> vs <winner from 29th December>

#2018 Lore Tournament: Day 21

Today is the third quarter final, in which both of our stories deal with the lovecraftian horrors of the Void. In the first story, The Eye in the Abyss, a group of Frostguard warriors take the journey down into the Howling Abyss, where the Watchers lie, frozen. In the second story, Where Icathia Once Stood, a member of the Icathian Kohari warriors recounts how the people of his homeland brashly summoned the Void to defeat Shurima and regain independence, and, in their foolishness, were destroyed themselves by the terrors within.

The Eye in the Abyss by Anthony Reynolds Sivgar, an Iceborn warrior of the Frostguard, takes the honored journey into the Howling Abyss with fellow Frostguard companions Olar and Halla. The three of them take the long journey to the bottom of the wide chasm, unknowing of the horrors that await them at the bottom of the abyss…

##vs

Where Icathia once stood by Graham McNeill Axamuk, a Kohari warrior of Icathia, recounts how he and his companions, Saijax and Colgrim, stood with the city against the might of the Shuriman army and their Ascended warriors. Icathia has a plan to use a devastating weapon that will wipe out the Shurimans entirely, Ascended and all. Yet little do they know of the unimaginable terrors they are about to unleash on Runeterra…

[EDIT] Sorry for the confusion, seems like my first edit got lost. WIOS still wins with 51 to 31 votes.

13 Comments

Blood Magicks12/26/2018, 3:09:32 PM9 votes

I have to say "Eye in the Abyss" was one of the best stories of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing Sigvar lose his mind and the events in the pit were some of the most tense moments all year. There is also a lot to be said about the worldbuiliding in this story, it's awesome as hell.

But... On the other side you have... perfection. Icathia is huge in scale, structure, execution, ideas, prose, imagery, emotion...

Conductor Tharizdun, I can't seem to be able to find the brakes on the Icathia hype train??? What do we do???

The Iceborn12/26/2018, 9:06:30 PM3 votes

Eye in the Abyss was very chaining for the lack of a better word.. It truly made your heart race especially when they had to climb up! I was so nervous for them to get killed and Lissandra not getting the message in time! I was shaking it was an incredible story!

Camille Ferrøs12/26/2018, 4:13:40 PM1 votes

its really funny how I haven't been able to vote on a single one of these... LOL

RyzeTheSmurfMage12/26/2018, 6:22:34 PM1 votes

Ok this time I'll answer seriosly. Eye in the Abyss was almost perfect, and it truly showed us the tension of the upcoming Watcher threat. But Where Icathia once stood shows us an actual war, and the description of what horrors the Void does to you, as well as giving us more insight on the Ascended and showcasing their fire related powers (the vulture one). My vote goes to Where Icathia once Stood.

wolvius12/26/2018, 6:56:35 PM1 votes

This was a difficult choice I loved both stories, both great insights into the void threat. One showing the mind warping effect the watchers can have on people which eventually can corrupt even ascended beings and the other a full-blown catastrophe that consumed all life in an entire region and wiped out two armies.

It's a shame Kai'sas existence contradicts the reason for Olar's sacrifice.

Curious Melody12/26/2018, 9:47:24 PM1 votes

I'm sensing a glorious duke-it-out between Noxus and Icathia in the finals. It was obvious for a long time that Noxus was objectively best lore-piece of all the regions, while Where Icathia Once Stood is the best singular story. Let's just hope for close finals.

RyzeTheSmurfMage12/26/2018, 3:08:02 PM1 votes

Where Icathia once stood obvisoly. We got to see more of Shurima.

Fishing Boat12/28/2018, 7:50:06 AM1 votes

I'm so sorry Sigvar. I was completely riveted. Truly chilling. BUT ICATHIA WAS JUST SO MASSIVE. Truly unforgettable stories.

EdgeLady12/26/2018, 3:23:53 PM1 votes

No question for me: I chose Where Icathia Once Stood. It conveys the explanation of something important, combines it with emotion, and, as a bonus, actually shows one of our known champions, Jax, in person. The Eye in the Abyss just doesn't add up. Sure, it's interesting and intriguing, but it entirely deals with Frostguard people we don't know, and only makes passing mentions of champions. Secondly, the same emotion just isn't present in The Eye in the Abyss; a majority of it is the journey itself and exposition. That's not to say it didn't make to this quarter final for a reason just as much, but for me, Where Icathia Once Stood definitely wins.