Boring weekend, felt like typing up something about my favorite characters. This contains a small, but healthy amount of speculation and tying loose strings up. This is mainly just a history lesson on the Freljord.
League of Lore - The Freljord
The Freljord is a frozen, unforgiving wasteland on the north side of Valoran. It is an area defined by it's instability, and harsh climate. Blizzards and ice storms are common in The Freljord, it's people are barbaric, and untamed yeti and ursine prowl the land. To a commonman, the Frejlord seems like hell on Earth, right next to the Shadow Isles. However, it contains a rich history spanning years and years, and recently, Freljordians have strove to great heights to unite the land and create a prosperous Freljord.
The Era of Prosperity: The Frozen Watchers
Long before the League of Legends had been established, before Ashe and Sejuani, the Freljord was a prosperous land. It was led by a group named
The Frozen Watchers. These leaders were mysterious. No one was quite sure who, or what they were, but they did know that they gave their people what they wanted. They taught them and kept them safe. However, this did not come for free. The Frozen Watchers demanded their people, which they named the
Iceborn, to compensate. The Iceborn created an empire for their leaders and the Frozen Watchers remained content. While the Frozen Watcher's took care of the Iceborn, their rule was almost tyrannical. This upset many Iceborn, one named
Avarosa.
Avarosa demanded choice. She abhorred the Frozen Watcher's rule and aimed to overthrow their dictatorship. She started a campaign against her leaders and managed to get a following. She was the leader of the rebellion. In an effort to dethrone the Frozen Watchers, Avarosa gathered her army and rampaged onto her governments palace. However, the Frozen Watchers met Avarosa with their own soldiers and a thundering battle took place on the bridge now known as the
Howling Abyss. Both parties suffered grievous losses, but in the end, Avarosa and her group had slayed every last one of the Frozen Watchers and sent them howling down into the abyss below.
The Era of Instability: The War of the Three Sisters
Avarosa was coronated the new queen and leader of the Iceborn, however, by defeating the Frozen Watchers, the stability and prosperity they had brought was now gone. Not everyone agreed with Avarosa. Not even her own two sisters, Lissandra and Serylda, thought Avarosa had done the correct thing. Lissandra especially believed Avarosa had made a grave mistake and thought her unfit to be a ruler. All three sisters believed they would be a better queen of the Freljord. Avarosa maintained rule for a short time before her sisters had had enough. This sparked the war known as the War of the Three Sisters. The people of the Freljord split into three factions, each one led by one of the three sisters. The land became bloody and wartorn as the three factions battled to rule the Freljord, however, there was an evil spreading across the land far more sinister than the war itself.
Anivia, the Cryophoenix, had witnessed the war atop of her nest in the highest mountains. She was the only one who sensed the forbidding menace. This was an evil that corrupted ice itself: it had to be stopped. Anivia's quest was to unite the Freljord to make sure the warring sisters didn't demolish it, but now, she also had to try to identify and stop the growing evil of
dark ice. Despite Anivia's attempts to create treaties and peace, the war raged on, and she felt the menace grow stronger. One night, in midst of the turmoil, someone (heavily speculated to be the Ice Witch, or Lissandra) snuck into Avarosa's sleeping quarters and assassinated Avarosa. This caused the war to grow and people's fealty to become more passionate.
Avarosa's Heir
Years and years after Avarosa's assassination, the war continued. Small skirmishes kept occurring throughout the Freljord over territory and hunting rights and so on. However, most people had forgotten for what reason they fought for, they only knew they had to fight. Ashe, the Frost Archer, daughter of the leader of the Frost Archer tribe, was always a bright and cheerful girl. In one of the many battle the tribe endured, Ashe's mother was murdered. Ashe, being her only daughter, was elected as the new leader of the Frost Archers. Her people, eager to take revenge on Ashe's mother's killers, were furious when Ashe told them they were to seek peace with them instead. Thinking of her as a naive child, they concocted a plan to assassinate her and elect a new leader. On a routine hunt, Ashe was alerted by an eagles cry that danger was imminent. She turned around to find her hunting group ready to kill her. She ran far into uncharted territory, still under pursuit of her tribe. She found a bow made of true ice sitting upon a tombstone and quickly got it it to fend off the invaders. Upon grasping the bow, she felt a surge of power. A power had awaken inside her and within seconds she took down every last one of her attackers.
Ashe returned, to people her people's surprise. Feeling betrayed, but still passionate about her goal she convinced her people to follow her. Eventually, Ashe's tribe, now named the Avarosan trusted Ashe and swore loyalty to her. It soon became one of the largest factions in the Freljord.
Tryndamere, the Barbarian King
Tryndamere was a young man, born into the harsh Freljord. His tribesmen were barbaric people that fought for territory and resources against the surrounding tribes. In one invasion, an enemy tribe ambushed his clan in the silence of the night. However, Tryndamere and his people were strong warriors and they easily defended their territory. They expected more barbarians to come, but they weren't prepared for what followed. Aatrox, hidden by the night, empowered the enemy tribesmen. Tryndamere and the other fought valiantly, but they couldn't hold off the demon-empowered warriors. They were quickly tore down and the enemy tribe pillaged Tryndamere's home and set fire to everything he knew. Tryndamere, being the last barbarian standing, challenged Aatrox to a duel. Even though he was gravely wounded, he was being fueled by his undying rage. Aatrox simply smiled and left with the remaining warriors.
Tryndamere vowed to find this enigmatic figure and avenge his people, but he knew he couldn't fight him in a duel. Tryndamere needed to train, so he scoured the Freljord. Drunken by rage he challenged the strongest warriors and soldiers to fight, never losing a duel. As he grew stronger, he gathered a new tribe which he called the Barbarians. Tryndamere elected himself the Barbarian King, which became his new title. Tryndamere and the Barbarians soon received an invitation to Lissandra's coronation as leader of the Frostguard tribe.
A Freljord United
When Princess Mauvole died of natural causes in the capital of Freljord, Rakelstake, Lissandra was the heir to the throne. Lissandra was to become the leader of the Frostguard and invited members of the Avarosan, the Barbarians, and the Winter's Claw. In her coronation speech, she announced fealty to Ashe, and declared that the unification of the Freljord was crucial. While most were glad that the Avarosan and the Frostguard had created an alliance,
Sejuani, the third princess of the Freljord and leader of the
Winter's Claw, was disgusted. Sejuani went into isolation and the Winter's Claw disappeared off of Valoran for a short while. Both the Frostguard and the Avarosan suspected Sejuani was preparing for war.
To prepare for the impending war, Ashe allied with the Barbarians. The League of Legends, noticing the progress the tribes were making at uniting the land, granted sovereignty to the Freljord and acknowledged it as a city-state.
King Tryndamere and Queen Ashe
In response to finally becoming a city-state, the united tribes wanted to elect a king and queen to rule the Freljord. They chose Ashe as their queen and Ashe chose Tryndamere as her king. Ashe claims the marriage is strictly political, but it doesn't stop the voracious media outlets in Valoran from speculating. Ashe also appointed Nunu, the Yeti Rider as Freljord's League Emissary, and she offered Sejuani the spot of Royal Advisory Council. Sejuani emerged from hiding declaring that she would never accept Ashe as her queen. Surprisingly, a majority of the Winter's Claw disagreed with Sejuani and went to Ashe's wedding.
Progress was coming and Ashe's vision of a united Freljord was coming closer and closer. Sejuani would be a hurdle to cross, but the Winter's Claw army would be no problem against the united strength of the Avarosan, Frostguard, and Barbarians. However, the darkness, the evil Anivia felt was becoming stronger.
Quinn's Journey Into the Freljord
Months after these events,
Quinn and Valor, Demacia's Wings, were sent to travel the Freljord. The Avarosan camps were civilized and modern. Ashe made sure to make Quinn and Valor feel at home. They then set their sights on the Winter's Claw camps. They infiltrated their way in, and surprisingly, they were very similar to the Avarosan ones. They were civilized and well-stocked. Sejuani was obviously prepared in case anything were to surprise them. Quinn and Valor made their way to the eastern part of Freljord and came upon the Troll King and his trolls pillaging an Avarosan village. She then made her way to the Frostguard settlements, Avarosan's supposed strongest allies.
Lissandra had the air of a noble queen. The city was normal during the day. It was modern and welcoming. However, during a patrol of the city at night, Quinn witnessed a group of hidden figures whispering in a foreign tongue. Feeling uneasy, she fled the city. However, Lissandra in her true witch form chased her down. Quinn barely lived to tell Jarvan of her encounter.
What Does The Future Hold?
The Avarosan continues in it's attempt to unite the Freljord, while the Winter's Claw aims to unite the Freljord in it's own brutal image. The Frostguard feints their loyalty to Avarosan, but in reality, they aim to corrupt the Freljord. Quinn will tell Jarvan of her encounter, and soon, Ashe will find out who Lissandra truly is. This will spark a war much, much larger than the War of the Three Sisters. One thing is for sure though: Lissandra's army is much larger than it lets on.
