Who they are
Kindred embody the two sides of death. Lamb offers swift, peaceful endings with arrows, while Wolf hunts those who flee their fate.
Legend says a lonely pale man split himself in two to gain a companion. Cultures differ on whether they revere Lamb or Wolf, and Kindred appear wherever life ends.
Their story belongs to Wanderers. Demons, spirits and ancient survivors that belong to no single place.
Their story, step by step
- Step 1
One lonely god
By legend, Kindred began as a single lonely spirit who embodied death, a pale dark-haired man shunned by everyone because all must meet him. To have a friend, he split himself in two with an axe. The halves became Lamb and Wolf, who guide souls to the afterlife.
- Step 2
Masks and myths
Carved masks at ancient graves spread the legend across Runeterra, and each land read it differently. Demacia honored Lamb's quick arrows, Noxus fought violent battles to avoid Wolf, and the Freljord honored Wolf's chase. Bilgewater celebrated those given true death instead of undeath.
- Step 3
The unfinished tale
The bard Soates left her last story, Lambs in the Orchard, unfinished on her deathbed. Under King Jarvan II the playwright Tarnold completed it, but actors who spoke the ending in Kindred masks fell lifeless. The ending was meant only for the masked.
- Step 4
Ambessa and Tryndamere
Wolf met the badly wounded Ambessa Medarda at Rokrund, took her to Volrachnun and tested her in combat and will. After she passed, she saw herself ruling Noxus and Wolf chose her. When Tryndamere collapsed in battle, he refused Lamb's swift death and fought on in his rage. Kindred nearly took him until Ashe arrived and killed the enemies, and they vanished.
Turning points
- Split into Lamb and Wolf
- Chose Ambessa as Wolf's chosen after testing her
- Withdrew from Tryndamere when Ashe intervened
Where their story stands now
Kindred remains ancient and has no fixed home, and they keep appearing wherever life ends. Open questions include whether Lamb and Wolf will destroy each other when Kindred is forgotten, who their Mask Mother really is, and what the Etherfiend will consume afterward.
Who they are tied to
- Ambessa →Wolf tested her near death and chose her, and the encounter shaped her ambition.
- Tryndamere →They came for him as he collapsed but he refused Lamb's mercy, and they withdrew after Ashe intervened.
- Fiddlesticks →Fiddlesticks, an equally ancient being, calls them the Grey man, which suggests he remembers them from before the split.
- Karthus →Karthus followed their tally-men after they collected his sisters' bodies, and he joined them and still performs their rites in death.
- Amumu →A cursed mummy who wanders the deserts of Shurima searching for a friend.
- Ivern →A gentle tree-like spirit who tends life across Runeterra, redeeming his past as a warlord.
Where this fits in the story
- Wanderers · step 1
Demons of fear and misery
Evelynn and Nocturne are demons that came to life during the Rune Wars, Fiddlesticks is a very old demon of fear, and Tahm Kench travels the waterways feeding on bad bargains. None of them is tied to one kingdom.
- Wanderers · step 2
Spirits and celestials
Kindred are twin spirits of death, Lamb and Wolf, who shepherd souls onward. Bard is a celestial being who travels between worlds protecting powerful artifacts.
- Wanderers · step 3
Survivors of older ages
Aatrox and Zaahen were Ascended warriors of Shurima who became Darkin. Jax and Zilean come from Icathia, which fell when the Void was unleashed. Ryze hunts World Runes, fragments of primordial magic, to keep them from being misused.
- Wanderers · step 4
Travellers with a cause
Alistar escaped Noxian gladiator slavery, Nami left her underwater tribe to save it, Shaco is a marionette turned jester, and Senna turns the Black Mist against itself to free trapped souls.