Beta Lore
In ancient Shurima, young emperor Azir was persuaded by Xerath, his magus, to attempt the fabled Ascension ritual - despite ancient warnings to do so only in times of direst threat.
Azir's hubris proved disastrous. As the Sun Dis cfocused the dawn rays into a transformative beam, Xerath betrayed Azir, shoving his emperor aside and stealing its power for himself.
In an instant, Azir was obliterated - and Xerath remade as a spectral being of pure, malevolent energy - as the city around them was swallowed whole by the desert.
Nasus and Renekton, Ascended heroes of Shuriman legend, sensed in an instant that something had gone terribly wrong and rushed to the Sun Disc. They hurled Xerath into a chained sarcophagus - but the magus shattered it into shards.
Renekton dragged Xerath into the Tomb of the Emperorsand shouted to Nasus to seal the door. With a heavy heart, Nasus entombed his brother with a madman in the buried ruins for all eternity. Or so he believed...
-------
Narrated by Nasus,
"The tragic fall of Shurima was nothing comparing to the tragedy of its rise from the grave.
In a market at the edge of a desert. A stranger appears. Cassiopeia, a noblewoman from Noxus looking to hire a guide to take her to the fabled lost city. But not just any guide, she hires a owner of a legendary blade, the mercenary called Sivir. Sivir gathers her band of sell-swords and set out in to the desert to find the very bones of Shurima.
Five days beneath the broiling sun a scout spots towers juddering upwards and a stairway leading underground. They climb down, into the darkness.
Ancient treasures gleam in the torch-light, even Sivir is astonished of the grandeur of the ruins. Her men head deeper in only to stumble into traps and be eviscerated. Sivir is stunned with horror, but Cassiopeia does not flinch. She sees only the statue of a huge serpent silently guarding the door to the tomb of the Emperors and smiles.
The ancient weapon is a key. Cassiopeia betrays Sivir. She picks up Sivir's blade, puts it into the lock. The guardians curse is triggered. The stone serpent comes alive. It pins Cassiopeia into its jaws, the venom sears her flesh like acid.
The Tomb door opens. Renekton emerges, the brother I loved and locked away, twisted beyond insanity, followed by Xerath, an architect of his torment. My failure is complete.
Sivir drags herself away, life blood flooding from her wound and then succumbs to darkness...
Behold, Shurima's legacy."
