http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/en/featured/shurima/skarner
I've written fan lore for years on numerous forums and for numerous games across multiple genres; this one is a top contender for one of the greatest video game lore pieces I've ever read. That story was top notch. It was poignant, brilliantly written, and the incoporation of the Brackerns' unique terminology was inspired. Thank you lore team.
Sharjo38 votesOne of the best if not the best colour story I've read. I've always loved the first person perspective stories like Vel'Koz's, Gnar's with Rengar and Sion's, but Skarner's takes the cake, if only because it tackles the really hard task of telling a story from the perspective of a character who doesn't communicate like humans do. It's really awesome.
The bio for him is also really great too; I'd say it's pretty faithful to the original bio he was given long ago and gives him clear direction and purpose in the narrative. I was really hopeful that Skarner's lore would deliver, and it TOTALLY did.
Riot! Get the fellow or fellows who wrote Skarner's lore some drinks! They deserve it!
Malicious Metal17 votesOr give them some crystals!
Sharjo7 votesThat works too!
Just not the Namesongs. Then there'd be blood to pay.
Malicious Metal14 votesOnly if they won't listen to Skarners dreamsong. Death isn't the only song he can sing.
Hell, I'd invite him over for some Karaoke.
ArbiterOfTruth7 votesDoes this mean Hexakill will be a thing?
Sharjo2 votesI'd buy their albums.
UomoAfide4 votesBe ready for Brackerns and Rachni live stage tour next year
Lintu Puck1 votesactually I hear a new Pentakill album is being made
Sharjo1 votesIt is! And I'm SO DAMN EXCITED.
Ironclad Dragon3 votes
I miss my kind, but this is nice.
THE RlVER KlNG6 votesHear, hear! I'd say that piece rocked; it really shone above the rest. I can't stop singing my praises.
Crystal puns aside, I think what stands as the true mark of a great writer is their ability to write pieces such as these. The dialogue and action we got in stories like Amumu, Sivir, and stuff from the Targonian events like Leo's story were great, but the ones I immediately fell in love with was Skarner's. Xerath's. Nasus's and Renekton's were great as well. What made it even better was that they found a way to convey the Brackern's unique language (the syntax and mechanics of the grammar were even different in some areas) in a way that was beautifully alien but also struck home in a deep and personal way.
Sion's stories are excellent due to their sheer length and the breadth at which they span all of Noxus; everyone is present in those stories and it also gives the largest amount of context for the Black Rose we've ever gotten. Rengo and Gnar was great. I'm biased for Vel because I main him, and First Contact is my favorite cinematic.
To the lore team! 
RiotRiotJaredan21 votesSend congrats to Jellbug (supported by the Foundations team and Narrative discipline, of course). She was the principal writer on the piece. I've already passed along the kind words, but still, no harm in letting her know when you see her around these parts!
Sharjo5 votesOk.
Clears throat and begins screaming in to the abyss
JELLYBUG! YOU DID AWESOME! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! YOU ROCK!
RiotRiot Calad8 votesJellbug hype!
Solideus3 votesI really liked the read, high praise for the writing!
But...I couldn't help but feel their history was very disconnected from the history of Valoran.. Are you confident that you can use them in stories in a way that makes them feel like they are part of the world?
Seems to me they were distancing themselves or inactive for all of valoran's relevant history. Like, they're just as alien to the world and the setting as actual space-aliens would've been. Because..they barely even interacted with any of it in any real way?
I feel like there were many other ways you could have used the Brackern race without compromising their core themes, like making them a dormant army from ancient-ancient-ancient Shuriman, or something. Why didn't you go for something more easily made relevant to the contemporary world of Valoran?
THE RlVER KlNG8 votesExcept that destroys the whole concept of the species in the first place, present since Skarner's first lore - powerful protectors of the earth and its processes......? Not everything has to be about us humans. Riot should feel free to extend their writing boundaries beyond what is familiar to us. Your statement comes off as kind of arrogant and irrelevant, assuming everything should be controlled by humans and lead back to them. You do realize this is a fantasy genre, right?
Solideus6 votesI'm sorry, but If anything seems arrogant here it'd be your response; try to have some self-awareness. Going for ad-hominem just because we disagree is a bullshit approach.
Having no relevance in the world isn't core to Skarner's story, and grounding the Brackern in the world isn't mutually exclusive to the Brackern's concept. So, I think my critique is fair and arguable. I loved the story, it's just ONE critique.
I don't know why you accuse me of saying the Brackern's story has to be human-centric. The Brackern being too non sequitur is valid, fantasy genre or not. The fantasy genre doesn't mean ANYTHING you can come up with is equally good storytelling, so I don't know what you are going for there.
Please don't continue the argument though, I don't want to have further conversation with you. I'm sure there are lots of other people that actually has something interesting to say.
Melledoneus3 votesI'm sorry, I just read his comment and I didn't see a scrap of ad hominem. Don't throw that term around like I see countless others do.
Solideus3 votesFYI, Implying that I'm arrogant is an attack of my character rather than my arguments, you might be confusing what ad hominem means with something else.
Melledoneus2 votesYour statement comes off as kind of arrogant and irrelevant, assuming everything should be controlled by humans and lead back to them.
He specifically said your statement came off as indicating a tone of arrogance. Never did he attack your character. As I said before, I see no ad hominem. If anything could have been ad hominem, it'd be this:
try to have some self-awareness.
Straight out of your response. Many people could argue that you are attacking his character, since you are directly implying he has an innate lack of self-awareness, and this was without even indicating his post.
I rest my case.
Doctor Ivellius2 votesSo you think arrogance is not a character deficiency but lack of self-awareness is? Hm.
Also,
You do realize this is a fantasy genre, right?
doesn't come across as dismissive to you, either?
Melledoneus2 votesWell, no. Calling someone arrogant is just as bad as saying they're not self-aware. But that wasn't the focus of my argument.
He specifically said your statement came off as indicating a tone of arrogance.
I was simply saying he was referring to the statement's tone, not the person. Thus, it can't be ad hominem if he's talking about the actual content of his post rather than the person behind the post.
[You do realize this is a fantasy genre, right?] doesn't come across as dismissive to you, either?
But that's based on interpretation. One person can interpret it as a genuine, sincere question while another can take it as a condescending statement. That's not concrete proof of ad hominem, thus you can't really use that unless we're talking theoreticals here.
THE RlVER KlNG2 votesI said that your idea of centering more on humans is arrogant - in no way did I call you yourself arrogant. Sorry if you took it that way.
Are you saying that the Brackern have no real significance in the world because they didn't interact with humans? Dude, that is arrogant. I 'm pretty sure those guys were keeping the world in balance by harmonizing themselves with the crystalline energies of the universe long before Noxus was raiding villages and Demacia was spreading propoganda. That sounds pretty important to me.
The fantasy genre doesn't mean ANYTHING you can come up with is equally good storytelling, so I don't know what you are going for there.
Im pretty sure anything your imagination can dream up would make a good fantasy, including crystal scorpions angry over human hubris.
Please don't continue the argument though, I don't want to have further conversation with you.** I'm sure there are lots of other people that actually has something interesting to say.**
Speaking of arrogant and dismissive. Also, last sentence was chock full of ad hominem. If you don't want to have a lively debate, at least try to end it more nicely.
"Hey, I think we just have different opinions on what the League universe should be and whether it fits into the fantasy genre. Let's not devolve this into something nasty. Have a great day!"
"Yeah, same here. Have a good one!"
Hyrum Graff1 votesSend congrats to Jellbug (supported by the Foundations team and Narrative discipline, of course). She was the principal writer on the piece. I've already passed along the kind words, but still, no harm in letting her know when you see her around these parts!
Skarner was good, but Renekton's color text was even better. Switching into 1st person to show Renekton's moment's of clarity was a stroke of pure genius. Pun intended but not working very well.
Malicious Metal20 votesNow I really want to hear Skarner's Dreamsong.
THE RlVER KlNG7 votesA haunting chorale album to serve as the spiritual successor to Warsong would make my day.
Ralanr2 votesBut could you hear it? Could anyone?
Man now I want to hear it...
TzQGRUST397 votesThat color text is amazing. Lore team really managed to create an incredibly unique race of creatures in that lore. The part that got me is when Skarner put the namestone in his mouth to keep it safe, the Brackern are amazingly intelligent, yet still undeniably animal. A great mix.
Furfrou3 votesI hate that they're destroying the lore I have known and loved for years, but Skarner's story was a beautifully told reminder of why we read the lore in the first place. Please who so ever worked on this epic continue doing your best! I felt passionate about Skarner just from reading the LORE!
Biff Manly3 votesRammus's lore had better still be "What the heck IS a Rammus? We don't know either!"
RiotRiotJaredan12 votesOK?
MrWasjig3 votes
Ok
Masterkerfuffle2 votes[slayer-pantheon-thumbs]
Theiki Kayle2 votesI loved the story as well. Every part of it. Especially how he fused with the namestone, it gave me the image of an actual scorpion shedding its skin somehow (which is also exhausting for them). And how he seems to be a mostly peaceful being, since he actually tried talking/singing to the thieves. I don't think Skarner is evil at all.
"I sang long into the many nights, sang until my heart was empty and cold, but they did not return."
Scaythe2 votesIf I could just propose a bit of an edit. And please don't think I'm nitpicking or trolling. I too believe the lore update is fantastic in every way. But could you change your wording to is fantastic and is great. Your wording of "was" indicates past tense which assumes you're saying Skarners old lore was great and are in favour. Which had me kind of confused at the start. Seeing as you're a lore writer you should understand the clarity. :)
If you don't care totally disregard this haha. Just thought I'd let you know!
Regardless, cheers to the lore team for a fantastic update!
Xulsigae1 votesI wonder what makes Skarner special other than he found the best stone to bond with.
Sharjo5 votesHe's simply the the one who was fortunate enough (or unfortunate enough) to wake up early to defend his kin. The role of protector has kinda been thrust upon him in that sense.
Him being among the strongest of the Brackern probably also helps his case.
Also he's a highly unique being in modern day Runeterra considering he's the only living Brackern who isn't hibernating. A true oddity in the world of men and yordles.
Xulsigae1 votesOh I agree he's unique today and has a burden put on him with his circumstances. I just am sometimes bothered by characters chancing upon macguffins that make them more powerful and what not. Trundle and Ashe and others come to mind. It's not a breaking point for me, but I like to have characters have inherent greatness before they get the thingy that boosts their powerlevel. It's a relatively easy trope to make where a 'normal' character through little or no effort just happens to get powerful. That makes the macguffin the center of attention rather than the character, at least for me.
revliledpembroke1 votesSo, is it weird that the arachnid Rachni and the arachnid Brackern (well, Skarner at least) both talk about communicating as singing? Are there bugs that sing in other universes, is this a coincidence, or did someone play a lot of Mass Effect?
Peridition5 votesSo, is it weird that the arachnid Rachni and the arachnid Brackern (well, Skarner at least) both talk about communicating as singing? Are there bugs that sing in other universes, is this a coincidence, or did someone play a lot of Mass Effect?
Its one of those instances where truth is stranger than fiction. Many insects communicate with one another by sending messages via small vibrations. Which often sounds like a song.
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/27/432934935/good-vibrations-key-to-insect-communication
I think both were inspired by the real thing.
Tesla Effect1 votesMakes you think if every crystal that Runeterra used might be a Brackern ancestral crystal.
ADCsBabysítter1 votesWell.. what if the old 
was one of the thieves :O
Solideus1 votesI'm curious whom the thieves might be. It could just be some generic Shuriman thieves, except they seemed to use explosives or magic to unearth the Brackern.. Any magicians could be the culprits, like Noxians or even Xerath's new underlings. Perhaps Piltovians? We know Hextech uses crystals to channel elemental magic, and the lifestone was already built into a weapon, so there's a good argument for them there. Another contender would be the Demacians! They're not that into magic, but we know Lucian uses some kind of magical stone/crystal weapons, so there might be something going on with his particular group.. My bet's on the Pilties, though.
CasterGilgamesh1 votesi died a little inside reading it but it was so good....
Rune Keg1 votesReading that made me want to play skarner again.
Ayame Isaki1 votesIt was an enjoyable read to be sure. The imagery invoked, particularly with regard to their communication, reminded me of the Rachni from Mass Effect. I wonder if there was some influence there (intentional or subliminal) or if it is merely coincidence. Regardless, I've found all the Shurima stories to be wholly enjoyable so far (I have Amumu left to read).
EDIT: I've now Amumu's story and I clearly (unintentionally) saved the best for last.
AGarner1 votesAre we just gonna ignore that Leona tried to kill Skarner?
THE RlVER KlNG1 votesUnspecified, Shuriman human female with a wand that glows.
Must be the god-infused Targonian paladin of the sun.