Who they are
Amumu is a mummy from ancient Shurima whose touch is a curse: anything he embraces dies, leaving him eternally lonely. He roams the desert looking for companionship.
Nobody agrees on where he came from. Some say he was an undead prince, others a wandering spirit, and others a yordle who blended into Shuriman culture. His sad story lives on in folklore and song across Valoran.
Their story belongs to Shurima. A fallen empire of living gods, waking up again.
Their story, step by step
- Step 1
Origins that cannot be pinned down
Amumu's true origin is unknown. Several legends circulate in Shurima and none can be checked. The most credible theory says he was a yordle who joined Shuriman society, though even that is disputed.
- Step 2
Three legends
In one tale he was a young prince whose touch killed a servant girl who befriended him, and her grieving grandmother cursed the emperor to eternal loneliness. In another he was a cruel youth who sent slaves into deadly catacombs to find an artefact of immortality, was sealed in, and was cursed to be forever alone. In the third he was a yordle ruler who vowed to live as a beggar until he found one true friend, and died of a broken heart after countless refusals.
- Step 3
A cautionary tale
His legend outlived the death of Shurima's last emperor, Azir, and became folklore about a mummy whose presence brings sickness and death. A popular song, 'The Curse of the Sad Mummy', tells of his loneliness and tantrums when rejected.
- Step 4
Khaldun's encounter
The storyteller Khaldun claims that, after an earthquake, he found Amumu's tomb and met a bandaged child in the shadows who asked to be his friend. When Amumu took his arm it rotted away, and Khaldun escaped with the loss as a permanent reminder.
Turning points
- The legend of the curse placed on him, in whichever version is true
- Becoming a figure of Shuriman folklore after Azir's death
- The tomb encounter that cost Khaldun his arm
Where their story stands now
Amumu is said to still wander the desert in search of friendship, which his touch makes impossible. Whether he is alive or undead, what species he is, and where the curse came from remain unknown.
Who they are tied to
Where this fits in the story
- Shurima · step 1
The Ascended and the Sun Disc
The Sun Disc floated above the Circle of Ascension at the capital's center, turning the desert fertile and giving warriors the power to ascend. The Ascended led Shurima's expansion for centuries.
- Shurima · step 2
Icathia
After centuries of domination the Icathians rebelled. Facing defeat, they unleashed the Void, and the Ascended sealed its rifts at tremendous cost.
- Shurima · step 3
Xerath's betrayal
Xerath betrayed Azir around 2000 BN and the empire collapsed. Nasus had earlier locked away his brother Renekton, who had gone mad, and Xerath's betrayal freed him.
- Shurima · step 4
Azir returns
Azir was resurrected when Sivir, his last descendant, bled into the sacred sands. He restored his fallen city, and the new Shurima is reshaping the politics of the whole world.