#avarosan

Runeterra Playlist: The Freljord.

Here you’ll find a collection of diegetic but predominantly non-diegetic sounds and songs designed to transport the listener (as best as I can hope) into the respected region of Runeterra. Taking into account my knowledge of the lore including its themes, aesthetic and world-building to frame the style of this playlist. If interested, use the guide below to follow which track I associate to a specific facet of the Freljord region.

After Avarosa’s Iceborn rebellion, the Watchers were cast into the Howling Abyss and believed to be defeated by all but Lissandra. The story is long and complicated, but we know that Lissandra, after murdering Avarosa and corrupting several Iceborn into the Frostguard, has set about preparing for the Watcher’s return. 

But what if they...never left? What if they have been biding their time at the bottom of the Howling Abyss? Waiting...Trying to restore their power?

The Watchers never really left. They were simply weakened. They remain, to this day, at the bottom of the Howling Abyss, feeding off of magical artifacts and people in an attempt to restore their powers and their physical forms. We see this watcher shoot tendrils from its icy prison (black ice, perhaps?) and it doesn’t just try to kill him outright. 

Its trying to drain him. The Watchers need a source of highly concentrated magical energy to regain their true forms after their defeat in Howling Abyss. Lissandra could be working to gather powerful artifacts (like the World Rune) to expedite their return. 

From what we know about the Watchers, they had a physical form and a “void form”. All other images of the watchers look very similar to this. We know they were a cyclopean race with large horns, like this:

They haven’t been gone all this time...They’ve been waiting. Lissandra has been feeding them, and they’re growing beneath the tundra, biding their time to return. 

May the gods help us when they do.

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Avarosan

Much of the Avarosan territory lies in the temperate southwestern part of the Freljord. Using the mountains as a “buffer zone”, the Avarosan are able to protect their sacred site, Rakelstake from the Winter’s Claw. Skirmishes and raids often occur where their borders meet those of the Winter’s Claw in the west.

Winter’s Claw

The Winter’s Claw settle in some of the harshest environments in the Freljord. Winter’s Claw controlled port towns along the Freljord’s northern border are quite common.

Lissandra

Lissandra makes her home in the treacherous far east of the Freljord. Very few venture into this area due to its proximity to Noxus and its distance from many of the major Freljordian settlements. 

Kathe crouched low against the sprawling hills of the Freljordian tundra. It had been some time since she had been this far north, and she had almost grown too used to the calming embrace of the great fir and pine trees of the Avarosan forests. Her hunts rarely brought her out onto the open plains anymore, what with the war escalating with each passing week. It was becoming too dangerous to venture much farther than the treeline. Now, however, she had a job to do.

Her fingers brushed the snow beneath her, settling into a soft impression of a footprint. She had been lucky to track them this far, what with the winds blowing the falling snow over her quarry’s trail. It was a relief to see that it wasn’t all lost.

After a few moments of studying, she let out a soft whistle. A bird arced from the sky above her, and she held out her arm for it to perch on. A few whispered commands later, and it was off in the direction of the trail, its keen eyes searching for anything out of place. Satisfied that the animal would alert her to any anomalies, she turned back and began retracing her path.

Her camp was not far, and her companions would no doubt want an update from their scout.

“King Tryndamere.” She spoke as she approached the massive man, bowing her head slightly as she placed a fist over her heart “Our target has just crossed onto the open tundra. He doesn’t appear to know we’re following him yet, so we may be able to catch up with him soon. His prints are still fresh.”  

Tracking Winter’s Claw scouts was tricky, but she supposed that was why the King has asked for her aid. Humans and animals shared many of the same traits when fleeing from their predators. You just had to be able to see what they left behind.

Kathe usually tends to view things in the short term, and most of her goals usually revolve around survival. Does her family need more food? She needs to go hunting. Is there something odd going on out in the wilderness that needs to be checked on? She’ll go out with some of her hawks to figure out what it is. As a person, Kathe is very short-term-goal oriented.