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Why is Xerath still bound by his coffin?

James Stone·12/14/2014, 2:05:02 AM·16 votes·4,565 views

Something just came to my mind as I was reading a thread discussing Renekton's madness.

Xerath has ascended, right (Sorry if I'm wrong, I was a old lore lover and I can only muster half a fuck to give about this new one), honest-to-goodness, somehow-not-animalesque ascended? Then what are those bits of metal floating around him now?

In the old lore, they were his sarcophagus, as the old mages of Shurima had bound him to, afraid of his power. It was what kept him in check, power-wise, and stopped him from absolutely destroying half the League's champions single-handely at the same time.

But I don't think his imprisonment in the new lore involved Nasus and Renek sealing him into a sarcophagus, just sealing him, right? Otherwise, Renek wouldn't have to go all cliché "GO MY BROTHER, I SHALL SACRIFICE MYSELF TO CONTAIN THIS BEAST" and go mad over it. So, what exactly is that armor and why does it carry it around instead of proncing about as the being of pure, arcane energy he is? What, do the Ascended get offered a free armor from the sun too? And what exactly is the excuse for Xerath being equal power-wise to the rest of the League? He's an Ascended so powerful it took two Ascended to contain, not even destroy, CONTAIN!

And while we're on power levels, I was always under the impression Old-lore! Nasus and Renekton were equally as powerful as the rest of the League (Berserk-style freakout in Renek's Judgement nonwithstanding) because they came from a dimension where magic, runes and weapon/armor enchantments were very rare or non-existant, and as such creatures as Nasus and Renek passed as gods, while in Runeterra's dimension they were considered top-tier, sure, but at the same level of other champs and uber-powerful magicians, much more common.

But in these new lore, they are literal Physical Gods. How do they manage to lose to normal humans such as Graves, Miss Fortune, Ashe, Olaf, Sejuani, etc? Again, in the old lore, their dimension probably lacked guns and magical/runic enchantments (Ashe's bow, Sejuani's mace, most armors and weapons champions use), so it was normal to think they were gods, but now they're from this dimension! Excluding guns, everything champions use (Magical weapons/armor and boring old magic) was present during the time they were worshiped as Ascended! Why aren't they moping the floor with the other champs 1vs9?

Freaking hell, I miss the old lore.

39 Comments

Legacy of Xion12/14/2014, 2:43:04 AM25 votes

Welcome to the League of Super Smash Bros. Here we have Anubis and Sobek beating the shit out of SPINNING TOP KNIGHTS while Magical Girl lasers Nosferatu while Sonic the Hedge Armadillo spins after Jet Lee's Knockoff Bro in a bush while Lady Batsnipet and thr Golden Paladin chase Hulk Hogan with a door who is protecting Frost Archer with Dat ashe

When Narrative removed the League of Legends from League of Legends, I lost all confidence in Chancellor Valorum's Leadership.

Earl Eulrich12/14/2014, 2:11:39 AM15 votes

Freaking hell, I miss the old lore.

not much more to say there.

GreenLore12/14/2014, 12:22:41 PM8 votes

They released a piece of lore via facebook(don't ask me why they never showed it anywhere else),where we were told what happened during the sun disc ritual.

Nasus and Renekton saw what happened and tried to imprison Xerath in this sarcophagus,before he could reach his full power. But xerath managed to shatter the Sarcophagus almost instantly,which is why renekton decided to sacrifice himself.

While the sarcophagus is shattered it still isn't completely broken,thus limiting Xeraths power.

And it was said that Xeraths ascended form is a result of Xerath actually altering the sun disc ritual,thus becoming something even greater than an ascended.

On the matter of power levels: Just because Nasus and renekton went from humans to ascended,doesn't mean they are on a whole different level of power than the others.Being ascended is more or less the shurima version of being iceborn,while it gives the user new powers and immortality(in the form that you do not need to eat,sleep,drink and that you never age),it doesn't make them unbeatable.

DWT1234512/14/2014, 6:05:19 AM6 votes

[deleted]

Ariel the Cruel12/14/2014, 5:04:22 AM6 votes

Old lore: He escaped the tomb, but was still bound by the coffin. New lore: He needed pants, and that's as close as he could get.

In terms of oddity, don't forget to look at syndra. She lifted an entire castle (and associated city) into the sky without breaking a sweat. Yet in game, she is still afraid for little swords and blind monks.

Ironclad Dragon12/14/2014, 2:09:46 AM5 votes

The lore is merely a vehicle for the multiplayer.

Unfortunately.

Baval12/14/2014, 7:37:21 AM5 votes

His new lore is actually pretty good. And its still his sarcophagus, just he was put there by Nasus and Renekton instead of a magus.

Alternatively, and I think more interestingly, it could be that ascension makes your innermost desires your outer form. Nasus wants to protect people, so hes a dog. Renekton wants to hunt evil, so hes a crocodile. Azir is vain and wants to be seen as great leader so hes a bird. Xerath wanted to be free of bonds, so hes an aetherial being breaking out of a coffin.

LordHippoman12/15/2014, 7:35:58 PM3 votes

Renekton and Nasus were pretty much gods in the old canon too (Soraka literally was, albeit a somewhat downgraded one), but the Fields of Justice regulated powers of champs, which is why they had to level up and why Brand can be hurt by fire or whatever.

((Honestly the reason for the Xerath coffin is probably because it wouldn't be time or cost effective to make a whole new model for him because of the new backstory.))

Rainbowgasm12/14/2014, 5:49:13 PM2 votes

maybe it keeps him from becoming "grounded" and dispersing into nothingness like a small drop of honey in hot water.

Leti the Yeti12/15/2014, 5:02:31 AM2 votes

@xerath lore being him as a super god n shit

jax has a 100% win rate in his lore annnd so wat of it

Centuros12/15/2014, 5:45:56 PM1 votes

Well, since the game is no longer strictly connected to lore, any power-level discrepancies are just game balance now. They can go be god mode in stories if Riot wants, but not in-game (unless fed).

TwinTonys2/22/2015, 3:25:17 PM1 votes

I feel like it's important to point out the fact that the visual adaptations of each champions power are to illustrate what their abilities are. When you watch the cinematics you see that things such as ahris charm Nautilus ult and pull as well as size are each larger scale than what you see in game. This is because each champion's power is actually multiple times greater than what you're seeing in game. Also important to note that not everybody on Runeterra is necessarily magical. We see lesser beings and even hear the description of regular humans as being normal such as with Quinn and valor. As for the description as gods we also have to point out the fact that Shurima was an ancient civilization that appears to have been many lesser humans led by Azir who could appear as a god but used similar methods that champions such as Ryze had taken to further increase their power output.

Stars Shaper12/14/2014, 12:10:37 PM1 votes

In the fight that took place to subdue Xerath, Nasus and Renekton tried first to lock him in a sarcophagus but Xerath shattered it.

We still don't have the "long version" of that fight though.

warpenguin5552/22/2015, 4:18:44 PM1 votes

i think hes kinda fused with it

Gunpoint12/14/2014, 3:54:57 AM1 votes

Does it REALLY matter that much? If you want a reason, just make it up on your own. The chamber that Xerath was contained in sapped some of his power. There, happy?

Killstrado12/15/2014, 1:52:34 PM1 votes

Stockholmes syndrome lol he spent so much time on it now it's his security blanket and makes him feel safer in a world where the most powerful people, monsters, and robots hangout