#aboutshurima

[accipiteraches]

Thoughts on ‘Bloodlines’

Okay, last chapter...oh wait there are 12

So, we see how Thaliyah got to the capitol and that Xerath hideout is north the Sai? Did I get that right?

If only she hadn’t found that wome- wait, plotpoint where are you goiiinnnggg.....

Nasus has the best disguise. I mean...he tried, I guess.

WAIT, that line about the icathian building reminded me of how the aztecs build their houses. is that a coincidence?

“Yes, it had been foolish to stop, but the vendor’s lack of regard for history offended the scholar in Nasus. “ I know that feel, Nasus

Are we even at the capitol? Is Vekaura the name of the capitol? Or are they just at one random city?

Flower gardens because why not?

A black sun temple? That....has style.

A feather-robed hierophant?

feathered helmets? Maybe I can take more libertys at Accipiter’s design than i thought.

And then Nasus dropped the bomb

WAIT THAT STAFF IS A WAR-AXE

Nasus please they were only doing their job D:

“ Other guards were moving to the top of the temple, shouting in a language that owed a debt to Ancient Shuriman, but had none of the beauty and complexity of that lost tongue. “ Well, so much for ancient and modern shuriman

“ Ten warriors in dusty cloaks and overlapping strips of bronze armor stood between Nasus and the hierophant. The priest was a tall, slender man in a long robe of iridescent feathers with wide, wing-like sleeves and a cowl that resembled an ebon beak. The face beneath the cowl was patrician, stern and unforgiving. “ I’m sorry but this guy looks incredibly cool but maybe that’s just me xD

“The hierophant stood taller, puffing out his chest like a preening bird in mating season. “I am Azrahir Thelamu, Scion of the Hawk Emperor, First Voice of Vekaura, the Illuminated One, He Who Walks in Light and Keeper of the Sacred Fire. Bringer of the Dawn and-” “ First Of His Name, Breaker Of Chains and so on and so forth. But hey, it seems Shurimans like their titles.

wow nasus calm down I’m sure there are better way than killing- and he ulted.

So people of SHurima are generally called sons/daugthers of Shurima? That’s nice (And kinda ironic, since Cultists call Accipiter “Son of the Void” instead of Shurima)

Okay first of all: i have no idea how nasus thinks blood on a fake sun disc is going to prove anything

Second of all: “Ascended Bloodline”? Sivir is a descandant of Azir, who only ascended AFTER Sivir was born and her blood spilled. How can she even BE of ascended bloodline?

also: poor hawk-dude

“ He narrowed his eyes as he saw a radiant blue glow reflected on the surface of the disc from something in the far distance. “ and here comes the trouble

So Xerath managed to get 500 men under his command in the short time he had? maybe my numbers for the current shuriman military weren’t THAT far off

OH LOOK THE WOMAN PLOTPOINT

oh, so Vekaura isn’t the capitol but a small stop. good, that’s what I thought D:

“ , and when her eyes would occasionally flutter open, Taliyah saw they were a piercing blue.  “ ... wait....WAIT IS THAT SIVIR OH SHI-

“ But these days, it’s usually because they get very angry when I tell them I’m not going back.” - “Back where?” - “The city,” she said. “The one that rose from the sands.” BUT SIVIR SOMEONE COULD ACTUALLY TAKE CARE OF THAT WOUND

“ Fire was raining from the sky. “ XERATH ARE YOU KIDDING ME

so Xerath ahs war-beasts now. great.

“ and one with a soul so old it was like coming face to face with a friend who had walked beneath the same sun as he. “ So how old exactly is sivir? o.o

“ Your magic is strong, so if I were you, I would leave this city before Xerath rips it from you.”  ARE YOU TELLING ME HE CAN DO THAT

So Sivir’s crossblade has a name now? Chalicar. fascinating

“ Does he want to make us slaves?” TALIYAH THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR SLAVE PROBLEM

Is the pendant nasus gives her the reasons Sivir has a magic barrier?

XERATH WOULD YOU PLEASE CALM YOUR SHI-

I didn’t know Xerath used THAT MUCH FIRE

NO DON’T HURT NASUS

“ “I am no slave,” said Xerath. “Azir’s last act was to free me.” Nasus was stunned. Xerath a free man? It made no sense…“Then why all this? Why betray Azir?”“Azir was a fool and his gift was offered too late,” said Xerath. “ XERATH PLEASE

“ “What will you do when I am dead?” said Nasus, remembering how much Xerath had loved the sound of his own voice. “ Accipiter’s “I will make a plan while he talks”-plan is legit?!

okay so he will leave Nasus for Renekto- XERATH NO.

Well that went awkwardly well

[accipiteraches]

Thought’s on Amumu’s new lore

Okay, they lost me once they started saying that ‘it is not certain’

like, that’s literally the only thing that I wanted from the lore: certainty.

Now they’re just listing stories that could have happened like this and that.

also: Shuriman Yordle emperors, what the.

Honestly I had hoped for more than just theories ._.

And the short-story is the same one we know

okay that was sad, on multiple levels.

[accipiteraches]

Thoughts on Sivir’s and Skarner’s new lore

Here we go:

Okay, her family was killed by a tribe called Kthanos. Apparently, now Shuriman deserves to have a happy family. But hey, we have a tribe name confirmed

OKAY YEAH SHE WAS VERY GOOD AT RAIDING I GET IT

Mhyra, a ‘companion’ of Sivir.

maybe Sivir should stop the raiding being ALMOST KILLED TWO TIMES BY A COMPANION NOW.

“ Sivir swore she would never allow herself to be betrayed again. “ I have bad news for you, princess

Iha Ziharo, a legendary ... uhm, mercenary?

Oh wait that’s a she

Oh no she was a good guy! ...? Sivir don’t do something you will regret-

GODDAMNIT SIVIR

Well, that went better than expected, i guess?

“ In the Year of a Thousand Storms “ aka Acci’s Birthyear? 

“ the lord of an ancient Shuriman city known as Nashramae “ XERATH I SWEAR TO GOD  

wait Xerath wasn’t even there yet, was he? Ignore my last statement

Oh so that’s how she got the Crossblade. That’s a nice explanation (and an ironic one)

And then Cassiopeia happened

Azir’s presene alone makes water flow again. Okay.

“ she was sure no one could unite the disparate tribes of Shurima. “ oh, alright then.

Kthaons confirmed assholes. I WONDER WHENT HEY WILL TEAM UP WITH MISTER ASCENDED ASSHOLE

THE WATER PEDICTION WAS ON POINT THOUGH, WASN’T IT

“ That Noxian bitch “ , language.

time to be diplomatic.

“ Sivir turned to its source and watched as a three foot wall of blue water rushed down the ancient riverbed. The water from the city. “ THAT’S A LOT OF WATER

And now, our favorite scorpion:

Skarner belongs to a race called the ‘Brackern’

They save their memories in crystals? I have sylvari dream feels.

so each barckern has it’s own personal crystal?

LOOK ANOTHER SHURIMAN CHAMPION WHO IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD  

So wait, one Brackern binds itself to a crystal, and when it dies, it buries the crystal until anew brackern fuses with it...?

‘would not long survive without crystla’ and ‘searching many years’ sounds a bit contradictionary but hey.

DID SKARNER DIG INTO THE ‘EARTH’ CENTER?

okay so the rune wars were a thing.

damn thieves killing an ancient race :V and poor skarner being alone ._.

Wow, Skarner has an actual goal now!

I’m a bit confused about the timeline and where Skarner fits in, but maybe that’s jsut me.

I like how Skarner is naming his surroundings, songs, deepdark. Adds a nice touch.

Amumu tomorrow!

[accipiteraches]

The Last Shuriman Sunset [Contest Entry]

Mistress of The Desert, Throne of the Sun, City of a Thousand Pillars, Shurima. The empire had many names. For us, it was "Cursed Lands", for they had the power and the audacity to take our prey and turn them into demigods, lifting our mark by themselves. How proud they were, oh, how foolish. The Shurimans had yet to learn, that those who dread us grant us the most power.

We walked through the masses of people filling the streets. They were waiting for their emperor to undergo the despicable death-defying ritual. However the emperor was not our only prey today. No, the whole city, the entire empire bore our mark. Unseen, unheard, we stepped on the stairs to the Dais and we watched the ritual happen, the same ritual that has already taken so many from our grasp and will now bring us so many more. We looked at the "brothers", reenacting the same old tale we have seen so many countless times, of birthright and envy, of misunderstanding and betrayal, of death. We witnessed as one walked into the light of the sun, embracing that which was his to take. And we saw his brother blasting him off his place. "I see water in his eyes." - "They are called … tears." The emperor died, his flesh not remade by the light, but burned to ashes by his friend. The sun unleashed it's wrath upon the city as soon as the man died. It's eternal light shattered every building, every plant, animal, human. We looked upon the desctruction. So many lifes to take, so much prey to hunt. And yet, the other brother was still standing, absorbing the power of the sun, making it's burning wrath his own, his tears completly vanished. We waited for him to die before taking the „brothers“ souls. But the man did not drift into oblivion. While the storm destroyed the capital, the once slave became a god. He turned to us, a mad grin on the remnants of his face. He saw us. He saw death. And he laughed.

What an arrogant being, thinking that it's lifetime as a slave was enough to justify this insolence. The man who thought he was free of all chains shall realize what folly it was to defy us. We turned to the ashes of the emperor, his soul waiting to be reaped. These two brothers who tried to cheat us. They shall realize that death is not only their end but also their redemption. But until then, let them be the architects of their own misery.

We left the city. No arrows were shot that day. The people did not, could not understand that their empire was going to fall that easily, without any sign of crumbling, of weakness. They chose the teeth. They should have known that every sunrise is followed by a sunset. And that every life, theirs and that of their empire, ends with us.

For anyone who wants to vote for it, click here.

[accipiteraches]

Thoughts on Nasus’ and Renekton’s lore

OH BOY IT’S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH

Okay, Nasus was a strategist? fascinating. Gives him a bit more war-like attitude

Wait, is Library of the Sun an actual building or just a nickname?

‘summers’ is the Shuriman way of counting years?

Okay they’re going with the ‘two very different brothers’ trope. Not that they didn’t before, but now it looks more obvious

NASUS IS THE OLDER ONE (was that confirmed yet?)

Collegium of the Sun? okay so every important building had ‘of the Sun’ at the end of it’s name?

THE YOUNGEST GENERAL IN SHURIMAN HISTORY (Headcanon: He was the one that named the Jackal Division)

silently loving the fact that, when I wrote ‘shurima was known for it’s great tacticians’ this now turn out to be true

maybe I need to change Acci’s few on him if he becomes more military-ish now

so legions are a thing

and now we have a...Nasus Library?

okay he’s still a curator, I was worried for a second

SUDDENLY AMUMU

SUDDENLY ICATHIA?!?

WHAT NO DON’T KILL HIM (and wait, we have physicians as doctors?)

Okay so the Sun-God (and it’s priesthood?) decides who ascends.

 Renekton carried him into the sunlight THAT BURNED AZIR DOWN AND MADE XERATH A MESS?! not bad.

Oh..so that’s what they meant when they said ‘Renekton didn’t ascend properly’

WAIT WASN’T THAT EXACTLY WHAT XERATH TRIED?! JUMPING INTO HIS ‘BROTHERS’ ASCENSION?!

So there were other Ascended around the time of Nasus and Renekton?

New city: Nashramae

And then Renekton went fully library of Alexandria on that sh*t

So the Tomb of the Emperors wasn’t a tomb used all the time but buried before then?

DIVINE WATERS FROM THE CITY!!! I DON’T WANNA SAY I TOLD YOU SO BUT-

‘The Piper’ is a starsign?

‘Astrologer’s Tower’ is a mountain? Or an actual tower of an Astrologe?

EMPEROR XERATH ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

XERATH HAS A FRICKING CAPITAL?! SOMEONE WAS BUSY

New City: Nerimazeth

New Guy to hate: Malouf

and he’s dead.

“Tell your ‘emperor’ his cycle nears its end.” <- agreed

OKAY RENEKTON LET’S GO:

Renekton’s lore until now: he really likes fighting okay?

And Nasus was like: Let’s stop this before it get’s out of hand

so renekton was ‘too young’ for the military, but WHAT is too young?!

MOAR CITY: Zuretta

also, Shurima has a coast in the south, too? and mountains? I NEED A NEW MAP DAMNIT

So Renekton also accomplished a victory without bloodshed by his pure presence. not bad.

I love the subtile hints in Nasus’ And Renekton’s lore and I look back at Azir and Xerath and I’m like “YOU SEE THIS IS HOW BROTHERS WORK”

Jackals are known as cunning and clever

Crocodiles are known as ... fearly agressive. welp.

So Renekton was a commander (now if we get a horse, snake and lion ascended I’m happy)

Oh look there’s Brand again  

Palace of Ten Thousand Pillars? So that’s the royal palace?

Is The Whisperer a metaphor, or something religious, or Xerath?

Icathia had warrior kings. WIth Axes okay.

WAITWAITWAIT Icathia was still around Nasus and Renekton’s time?

Okay damn that was a lot.

[accipiteraches]

Thoughts about Taliyah (and the new info about Shurima)

I like how she’s a teen (about 16 year olds), with most Shuriman Champions being a good thousand years old and the youngest being... I guess Sivir? That could lead to an interesting dynamic with Acci (who has - to this point - almost only talked to older characters)

talking about dynamic with Acci: The two could either turn out to be good friends or the worst of rivals, both being in their teen years and wielding destructive forces of nature (without really knowing how to control them). The question is, how Taliyahs view of Azir will change (if it will, at all)

speaking fo the emperor: I find it interesting that Azir is known as ‘a living god who misses his slaves’. I understand where this idea came from and that it’s probably not canon, but I never thought that the emperor would have that image beyond the borders.

I think when Acci heard of Azir, what got him curious was the ‘living god’ part (if he even heard the part about the slaves). I guess he became a soldier of Azir one or two months before Taliyah heard of the emperor in Ionia.

Also, I imagine Acci becoming super salty if anyone asks him if he’s a slave of Azir. He’ll probably excuse it the first time, explaining that this is not how Shurima works now, but if they mention it a second time, he’ll make sure they’ll pay.

I like the idea that Shurimans give people something of themselves to be remembered. In Ancient Egyptian mythology, being remembered after death was very important, so this idea ties well into it. I doubt Acci met many people he would’ve given anything from himself aside from Quinn, who probably got a feather of Gahiji.

With Taliyah’s tribe wandering around I imagine that Acci and Taliyah could’ve met one or two times already, though I’d have to talk to Muns about that

What caught me by suprise is that magic isn’t common in Shurima. Really? I mean, I understand that not every second born child is a magician but I did imagine Shurima being one of the more magical places, especially in comparison to Zaun and Piltover. Begs the question: Which places HAVE many magicians? Ionia, okay. But...what else? Noxus? Demacia? Targon?

The Great Weaver. This will be a long one, so bear with me. I always imagined Shurima being very sun-oriented for... well, I guess obvious reasons. The Sun Disc, the fact that it is highly based around ancient egypt, the desert-facade where the sun is almost always present. So, changing this idea to a ‘Great Weaver’ seems...odd. Not that I mind the idea of a Great Weaver, Neith in her form as godess who weaves the destiny of humans was a thing, and yet, it feels off. BUT, I might have found an explenation for that (at least one I will go with until we get more info):

From a scientific view point, Religions ‘evolve’. The oldest Religions that we recorded were ‘Nature Religions’, where people were dependant on the nature and couldn’t quite control it the same way we do it today. They believed in spirits living in every stone, every tree, every animal. I think the religion of the Native Americans is a good example for that. But the more people got together, the more independant they became from nature. Now, they were a society, and they needed rules, justice, law. This is where ‘State Religion’ or ‘High Religion’ came in, like the mythology of Ancient Egypt. It was about law and order, about how one can be ‘less of a dick’. The leader of the society was the religious leader (the Pharao, for example) and thus, ensured a good coexistence. And then, ‘World Religions’ happened, the question after the individual became important, about what one can do for one’s own life, not what the masses can do. I guess most people know what i’m talking about.

Now, what’s my point? I think what we saw in Ancient Shurima, The Sun Disc and Ascension were highly tied to a ‘State Religion’/’High Religion’, with Azir as emperor attempting the rite to become a god and lead his empire to glory. However, what Taliyahs describes sounds more like a modern ‘World Religion’, she talks about how the Great Weaver has a plan for herself. My point is: Maybe, with the Fall fo the Empire, a good chunk of it’s religion got burrowed, too. I’ll leave it open to discussion wether or not the Great Weaver was a god of Ancient Shurima and maybe the only one who endured the fall or if he’s a completly new being. The fact is that the only people I have seen talking about Mother Desert and about the Ascension rite were Xerath and Azir, who, obviously, lived around that time. But here comes Taliyah, a teen from the ‘modern’ times of Shurima, and talks about a Great Weaver. Strange, isn’t it?

[accipiteraches]

Friend: Piltover will reign surpreme! The City of Progress!

Me: But have you heard of Shurima?

Me: Great holiday place, bring the kids.

Friend: To feed them to Rek'Sai or what?

Me: That's what you proposed.

Me: YOU HAVE A TERRORIST PROBLEM PILTOVER. ALL WE HAVE ARE SANDSHARKS, A ROAMING MASS-MURDERER AND A VERY MAD CROCODILE!

Me: ...and maybe a cult problem here and there...

[accipiteraches]

We should stop seeing death as the counterpart to life. Or is the tip of a spear the opposite of a spear?

Riaz, Division Commander of the Jackals