New Amumu long lore found on PBE

darkdill·12/18/2014, 1:40:56 AM·27 votes·8,214 views

Source: http://www.surrenderat20.net/2014/12/1217-pbe-update.html


"Greed and Tears

"The gods were angry, and shook the land. Cracks rent the earth," said old Khaldun, his crag-featured face lit by firelight. "It was into one of these fissures that a young man ventured. He found an opening; the entrance to a tomb, hidden for the Jackal knows how long. The man had little ones to feed and a wife to please, and so he ventured in, lured by opportunity."

Adults and children alike crowded in close to hear the old storyteller's words. They were all weary - they had traveled far that day, and the Shuriman sun had been unrelenting - but Khaldun's tales were a rare treat. They drew their cloaks tight around their shoulders against the chill of the night and leaned in.

"The air was cool in the tomb, a merciful relief from the scorching heat outside. The young man lit a torch. Its light made shadows dance before him. He stepped cautiously, wary of traps. He was poor, but he was no fool.

"The walls inside were smooth obsidian and carved with ancient writings and images. He could not read - he was a simple man - but he studied the images.

"He saw a boy prince, sitting cross-legged upon a sun disk borne by a team of servants, a beaming smile upon his face. Chests of coins and riches were piled before him, the offerings of strangely garbed, bowing emissaries.

"He saw other carvings, again showing the smiling prince, this time walking among his people. Their heads were pressed to the ground before him. Stylized rays of sunshine radiated from the boy's crown.

"Before one of these images was a small, gold statue. It alone was worth more than he could have hoped to earn in ten lifetimes. The young man took it, slipping it into his satchel.

"He did not intend to linger. He knew it would not be long before others came upon this place. When they did, he wanted to be gone. Greed makes fools of even the greatest men, and he knew that others would willingly spill his blood to claim that golden statue - and the other riches that were surely further in. Avarice was not one of the young man's faults, however. He felt no need to delve further. The other treasures hidden here were someone else's to claim.

"He looked upon one last image before he left the tomb. It showed the boy prince dead, lying upon a bier. Those closest to him were wailing... but further back, people were celebrating. Had the boy prince been beloved, or had he been a tyrant? There was no way of knowing.

"That was when he heard it: a sound in the darkness that made his skin crawl.

"He looked around, wide eyed, holding his torch up before him. Nothing.

"'Who's there?' he said. Silence was his only answer.

"The young man shook his head. 'It is just the wind, you fool,' he thought. 'Nothing but the wind.'

"Then he heard it again, more distinctly this time. A child was crying in the darkness further into the tomb.

"Heard anywhere else, his paternal instinct would have been to go to the sound. But here, in the darkness of a funereal tomb?

"He wanted to run... but he did not. The sobbing touched his heart. It was filled with such misery and grief.

"Was it possible there was another entrance to this tomb? Had a young boy found his way down here and become lost?

"Torch held high, he crept forward. The weeping continued, echoing faintly through the gloom.

"A wide chamber opened before him, its floor black and highly reflective. Golden artifacts and jewel-inlaid walls glinted within. Gingerly, he entered the room.

"He stepped back sharply as his heel sent ripples spreading out across the floor. Water. The floor was not made of reflective obsidian - it was covered in water.

"Kneeling, he scooped a handful of it to his lips. He spat it out immediately. It was salt water! Here, in the heart of Shurima, a thousand leagues from the nearest sea!

"He heard the sound of the boy weeping once more, closer now.

"Holding his torch before him, the young man glimpsed a shape at the edge of its light. It appeared to be the child, sitting with his back to the man.

"Carefully, he stepped into the room. The water upon the floor was not deep. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and fear clutched at his chest, yet he did not turn to run.

"'Are you lost?' he asked, as he stepped closer. 'How did you get here?'

"The shadowed figure did not turn... but he did speak.

"'I... I don't remember,' he said. The sound swam around the young man, echoing off the walls. The boy spoke in an old dialect. His words were strange... but understandable. 'I don't remember who I am.'

"'Be calm, child,' said the man. 'All will be well.'

"He stepped closer, and the figure resolved itself before him. His eyes widened.

"The shape before him was a god-statue carved in onyx, nothing more. It was not the source of the crying, nor of the child's voice.

"That was when a small, dry hand grabbed him."

The youngest of the listeners gasped, his eyes wide. The other children laughed in false bravado. Old Khaldun smiled, a golden tooth glinting in the firelight. Then, he continued.

"The young man looked down. The linen-wrapped corpse of the tiny prince stood beside the man. Dull, ghostly light emanated from the deathly boy's eye sockets, though his entire face was bound in burial wrappings. The corpse-child held the man's hand.

"'Will you be my friend?' the boy asked, his voice muffled by linen.

"The young man lurched backward, breaking free of the child's grasp. The young man looked down at his arm in horror; his hand was shriveling, turning black and withered. The wasting touch then began to climb up his arm.

"He turned and ran. In his shock and haste, he dropped his lantern. It hissed as it fell into the lake of tears, and darkness descended. Still, he could just make out the glow of daylight up ahead. He ran toward it, scrambling desperately, even as the wasting death crept up his arm towards his heart.

"At any moment, he expected to feel the deathly boy's grasp upon him... but did not. After what felt like an eternity, but could only have been a matter of heartbeats, he burst from the darkness into the desert heat once more.

"'I'm sorry,' echoed a mournful voice from the gloom behind him. 'I didn’t mean to.'

"And thus, the Tomb of Amumu was unearthed," said old Khaldun, "and the deathly child released into the world."

"But everyone knows he isn't real!" cried one of the children, the oldest of them, after a moment of silence.

"Amumu is real!" said the youngest. "He's wandering the land trying to find a friend!"

"He's real, but he isn't a boy," said another. "He's a yordle!"

Khaldun laughed, and pushed himself to his feet with the aid of a gnarled walking stick.

"I am old, and we have far to travel tomorrow," he said. "It is past time I was abed."

His audience began to dissipate, smiling and talking in low, familial voices, but one child did not move. She stared at Khaldun, unblinking.

"Grandfather," she said. "How did you lose your arm?"

Old Khaldun looked down at the empty sleeve pinned at his shoulder, then flashed the girl a grin.

"Goodnight, little one," he said with a wink."

101 Comments

Earl Eulrich12/18/2014, 2:05:02 AM23 votes

might be the first lore redo i actually really like (especially as he could still be a yordle), though it still doesn´t offer any reasoning for giving up on the league (and it doesn´t offer much more intel on mumu than the original lore, but it adds a little more to shurima).

Trylobyte12/18/2014, 4:46:09 AM12 votes

[{quoted}](name=Foolish Lantern,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=lxqPbXrE,comment-id=00020001,timestamp=2014-12-18T04:39:17.491+0000)

This is becoming an increasingly apparent trend; champion stories reveal less about them and more about the world.

Regarding Amumu's lore, they give us a vague idea of what the Sad Mummy is about - he cries, he is cursed, he was once royalty - while establishing more of Shurima's culture. Is this more appropriate than a biography, like those once provided by Riot for us to read, or should we know more about a champion and less about the world?

It's already more informative about Amumu than his old bio...

the14baller12/18/2014, 5:57:33 AM10 votes

In Game Version Excerpt:

"The young man flashed backward, breaking free of the OP jungler's autoattack range. The young man looked down at his stats in horror, his magic resist was lowered, turning him into a easy target for a mage [...] He turned and ran. In his shock and haste, he forgot to take the ally Thresh's lantern. It glowed as it slowly disappeared, and the Fog of War descended. Still, he could just make out the light of his turret up ahead. He ran toward it, scrambling desperately, even as the enemy's team 16/0 Katarina shunpoed up his minion wave towards his heart..."

LordHippoman12/18/2014, 4:25:34 AM9 votes

Somebody get me that "It's Happening" GIF, STAT.

GenoXx12/18/2014, 4:19:49 AM7 votes

I am quite sure he is a human child. It said a "boy prince"...in Shurima......He's human guys

CupcakeTrap12/19/2014, 12:08:12 AM6 votes

I appreciate the momentary mention of him possibly being a yordle. I take that as a positive sign: a reluctant admission that they'll take at least a token step to avoid demolishing established lore. This Amumu background is vaguely backwards-compatible. So it seems at a first glance, anyway; maybe I've missed something.

Trylobyte12/18/2014, 12:45:59 PM5 votes

[{quoted}](name=Grand Viper,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=lxqPbXrE,comment-id=00080000,timestamp=2014-12-18T04:54:49.382+0000)

How so? I'm actually incredibly confused as to what we know about Amumu now that we didn't before.

We didn't know he was royalty? He's a mummy, mummification wasn't done for the average person. He also has the King Tut skin, and I actually have no idea how this is any different from his original lore.

I'm legitimately confused as to what I'm supposed to be finding here, what is it that we now know that wasn't known before?

  1. He is sad

  2. He is a mummy

  3. He is some sort of royalty since he is a mummy

  4. He does not know how he is a mummy

  5. His touch is cursing (It's his innate passive)

  6. He may not remember his past

We've known this information for literal years. This short story I see absolutely nothing that says any different, not even his dialogue.

  1. We knew this. It's in his name after all.

  2. Same.

  3. That was inferred, but not known. There's a difference. Skins aren't canon, so we can't rely on his Pharaoh skin, and mummification wasn't just for royalty. The royal ones are simply the only ones most people know about. In fact, a quick Wikipedia visit shows the Egyptians had multiple methods of mummification based on how much the family could pay.

  4. It explicitly states in his old lore that yes, he was well aware he's a mummy. "While Amumu still hasn't learned much about his past, he has learned a great deal about who he has become. He is most assuredly undead..." Now, he's not sure. This change must've slipped by you.

  5. But now we know the curse affects normal people and Champions differently, since his passive doesn't cause any damage to champions but just a touch was enough to cause a regular guy's arm to rot off.

  6. Or he may. He's more likely to now since he's, you know, in a tomb filled with a detailed history of his life. We know more about his life now than we did before.

Gigglebytes12/18/2014, 1:54:50 AM4 votes

I believe in the yordle!!! Also this is a REALLY long lore and I really like that. Hopefully people complaining about the lores will be comforted by this.

Hellioning12/18/2014, 7:38:06 PM4 votes

Ugh. I'm really getting tired of having the viewpoint character be some random joe unrelated to the champion. Like, at least Rengar is a champion so we care about what happened to him, even if Gnar's bio is completely useless when it comes to telling us about Gnar. I don't give a damn about that swordwife/that Noxian cartographer/Khaldun, because I'm probably never gonna see them again.

Like, I get the point of these bios is to show off how powerful these champions are supposed to be by comparing them to the 'normal' inhabitants of their territory, but they tell us very little about the champion themself. Amumu's bio is probably the best, because they give us a backstory and basic character and still leave questions to figure out, so I suppose my disappointment is because I was expecting something new.

Well, at least they're giving us the bios now.

Impetual12/19/2014, 8:59:48 AM3 votes

Eh, it doesn't tell us much about Amumu, which is kinda dumb for a story** about** Amumu.

It's an enjoyable read, but kinda pointless. It barely tells us anything about Amumu at all, and considering he is the character this story should to be about, that's pretty bad.

Although it is well written, it doesn't really say anything of consequence. It's kinda pointless. Is this supposed to count as lore?

Trylobyte12/19/2014, 6:44:17 PM1 votes

But suppose he was only disliked by a specific group or class of people. Sure, if he were universally hated they would do that, but that wouldn't be so much of an option if the ruling dynasty, AKA his, were still fond of him but everyone else didn't like them. It takes powerful people to execute damnatio memoriae, after all.

You're putting a lot of effort into your research but not a lot into speculation on why this situation could be different.

The Soulforged12/18/2014, 1:45:35 AM1 votes

So it seems we still don't know if he's human or a yordle :/ At least this lore brought a lot more to his character :)