Who they are
Xerath is an Ascended who betrayed Azir around 2000 BN, which led to the fall of the empire. His actions also freed Nasus and Renekton.
Their story belongs to Shurima. A fallen empire of living gods, waking up again.
Their story, step by step
- Step 1
A slave with an education
Xerath was born a nameless slave in the Shuriman city of Nerimazeth. His parents taught him to read, do mathematics and learn history, which was unusual for someone in his position.
- Step 2
Friend of a prince
Prince Azir, the emperor's least-favored son, noticed him and befriended him. He gave him the name Xerath, meaning one who shares. After Xerath saved Azir from assassins, he became the prince's trusted advisor.
- Step 3
Dark studies
With access to forbidden libraries, Xerath studied dark sorcery. To clear Azir's path to the throne, he used curses to kill the emperor's other heirs and then the emperor and queen themselves. He pointed Azir's anger at conquered regions instead.
- Step 4
A promise broken
Azir became emperor, and Xerath expected him to end slavery as promised. Azir refused, saying the empire would fall without it. Xerath began secretly planning his friend's ruin.
- Step 5
The Ascension
He persuaded the vain Azir to undergo the Ascension ritual. At its climax Azir embraced Xerath as his eternal brother and ended slavery. Xerath went ahead anyway, vaporized Azir and took the ritual's power for himself, which destroyed the Sun Disc, the city and the empire.
- Step 6
Prison and return
Renekton and Nasus sealed Xerath in the Tomb of Emperors with Renekton, where he tormented his captive for millennia. Cassiopeia and Sivir eventually opened the tomb. Xerath emerged, declared himself Emperor of Shurima and took Nerimazeth as a base.
Turning points
- Becoming Azir's trusted advisor after saving him
- Azir refusing to abolish slavery
- Hijacking the Ascension and destroying Shurima's capital
- Being freed from the Tomb of Emperors
Where their story stands now
Xerath is free and hunting for knowledge and strength to rebuild his rule, and he is pursuing Sivir. Azir has also returned as an Ascended being, so their old rivalry is open again.
Who they are tied to
- Azir →Xerath was Azir's closest friend, then betrayed him and destroyed him during the Ascension, and now faces the resurrected Azir as a rival.
- Renekton →Xerath was imprisoned with Renekton and tormented him for ages until the tomb was opened and both were freed.
- K'Sante →A proud monster hunter who defends the independent city-state of Nazumah.
- Cassiopeia →A scheming Noxian noblewoman turned serpentine creature with a petrifying gaze.
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.