Riot is not new to occasionally changing the lore of certain champions in their game. A few years ago they started a major campaign to rewrite big parts of Runeterra which have resulted in some really interesting lore and cool events since. Now with the new “Explore Runeterra” event, they have decided to give Ryze some new lore (again).
Ryze’s new lore is presented in the form of a comic, which also features the champion Brand, as their two stories have now been intertwined in hopes to create a more interesting dynamic for both champions.
The story is that Ryze took in Brand as a student way back in time. Brand was originally a young man called Kegan Rodhe. He and his mother were shunned by their town since Kegan’s father was a reaver that belonged was an enemy of their community. Despite being a healer, his mother eventually passed away due to the harsh winters and passed away. Kegan burned the entire village in revenge and left to wander the tundra’s where he would eventually meet Ryze.
Ryze took him under his wing and they roamed the world together in order to fulfill Ryze’s quest of finding all the runestones. However, one day Kegan decided to seize the power of the runestones for himself. He stole one of Ryze’s runes which ended up burning away his body and turned him into Brand.
Ever since Kegan turned into Brand, Ryze and Brand have been in an eternal race for the remaining runestones. Ryze in order to protect the world from the devastating power that they can unleash and Brand in order to seize that power for himself.
The new lore adds some new interesting dimensions to both champions that were quite boring before. Previously, Ryze was searching for the runestones in order to prevent another runewar from happening but players didn’t know what a runewar was in the first place, so his lore didn’t resonate with most players. Brand was originally just a vengeful spirit from Freljord that wanted to watch the world burn, also quite lame.
Riot Brazil has also teased more upcoming information on the new Ryze and Brand lore with a short teaser trailer on Twitter.
O poder já levou o mundo à sua destruição antes. As Runas Globais não podem cair nas mãos erradas novamente. Ele deve escondê-las, custe o que custar. pic.twitter.com/gGSJo0klvR
— League of Legends BR (@LoLegendsBR) July 25, 2018
It’s still unsure whether the lore rework for Ryze means that he will get an ability rework as well. His abilities in the comic are really similar to his abilities in the game though so don’t expect anything for now. Brand, on the other hand, is way stronger in the comic than in the game. He is able to melt an entire room with his incredible power. It probably doesn’t indicate to a rework for Brand but it might be cool if his abilities looked more powerful.
