Soraka and Warwick Lore Updates

RiotRuaan is currently hosting an AMA style thread talking about lore changes coming to Soraka and Warwick, two champions with intertwining stories.

Continue reading for the preface to the changes and both Soraka and Warwick's new lore entries!

Let's start off with RiotRuaan's introduction to the changes and brief rundown on the old lore vs the new lore:

"Welcome to the Creative Design AMA for Soraka and Warwick! This will be a typical lore AMA: ask me questions about the characters' stories, personalities, and roles in the world, and I'll answer them!

Because details from the original story have changed let's first talk about the lore behind these characters, both old and new.

Old Lore

As some of the oldest and most loved characters in League of Legends, we knew that we had to approach changes to Soraka and Warwick's lore carefully. However, we felt that there were some opportunities for improvement in their original story.

In Soraka's original bio, she attempts to curse Warwick as a punishment for his heinous crimes against the Ionian people, but instead grants him incredible power. This should be a moment of triumph for Soraka, but instead Warwick embraces his transformation into a feral beast, and Soraka loses much of her own power. She is forced to seek atonement for her transgression while her vicious enemy is still free to harm her people. Double fail.

As for Warwick, we believe his original lore focused too much on Soraka—so much, in fact, that it wasn't really Warwick's story at all. After he becomes a werewolf, Warwick's goals are unclear, and his role in the world is ill-defined as well (he's from Zaun, but he fights for Noxus—why?). Warwick is a two-dimensional monster from beginning to end: his story focuses on Soraka's moment of decision rather than Warwick's own desires.

New Lore

In these updated bios, we've heightened the emotional conflict between Soraka and Warwick, and provided both characters with stronger motivations after their encounter.

First, we've focused the story on Soraka and Warwick as individuals. This is a highly personal story for both of them—it is the tale of how Soraka's pure, trusting nature led to her fall from grace, and it is the tale of Warwick's decision to transform himself into a literal monster. We've also moved the stage for their conflict away from the Noxian/Ionian war. We wanted this story to be about Soraka and Warwick, not their role in the war.

Next, we wanted to tell a story in which they both come away as equals. While Warwick lures Soraka out of her grove and into a mortal body, she is still able to defeat him in his weaker human form. Warwick then bets everything on Singed's unstable potion – and while he's much, much stronger now, he’s left with the absolute need to hunt down Soraka before he loses his identity and his mind. This sets the stage for future conflict between them in a way the original lore did not.

Where Soraka's original lore left her seeking atonement, she now comes away from her encounter with Warwick driven to make a difference in the realm of mortals. She seeks to heal the wounded and protect the weak – an opportunity that was more limited when she was bound to her celestial grove. She's had a taste of mortal pain and has seen the harm just one cruel man can do. Like the original lore, she has still lost her immortality and the guidance of the stars, but now she can use her power to do what she believes is right.

Finally, Warwick is still as much a monster as he was before, but we've fleshed out his role in Zaun society by revealing him to be a twisted, manipulative manhunter. The cruel nature he's always had is still evident in the way he plots to trap Soraka, but we've also given him an ongoing struggle: a battle between his ruthless intelligence and slow descent into feral rage.

As someone who loves both of these characters, I was really excited to work personally on the updated story for Soraka and Warwick.

FINAL NOTE: We're aware that Singed's bio will also need to be updated to match the story here. We will try and get that to you as soon as possible"

Now on to the new, separate lore entries!

Here is Warwick:

"Warwick, the Blood Hunter

Warwick was once a man revered for his ability to track down human specimens for the darkest types of scientific research. When his ambitions exceeded his physical limits, he drank a dangerous elixir to transform himself into an unstoppable manhunter. His newfound strength bore a heavy price.

Before his transformation, Warwick found his calling in Zaun as a “procurer” of human test subjects. Known for his crafty methods and ruthless determination, people regarded him with a cautious mixture of fear and respect. As his reputation grew, so did the demands placed upon him. His clients wanted more rare and dangerous specimens, and they wanted them sooner. To meet their demands, Warwick needed strength that transcended his limited human form. His longtime friend, Singed, devised a powerful formula. The recipe called for three critical components: silver from the Shadow Isles, the fang of a Balefire dire wolf, and the blood of a celestial being. Warwick tracked down the first two in short order, but the third proved a much greater challenge. He traveled to Ionia to trap Soraka, a creature believed to be a child of the stars, but she discovered his ploy and drove him away with powerful magic. Unable to tolerate his failure, Warwick returned to Singed disfigured and furious. He demanded the chemist’s incomplete potion, but Singed warned him that the results would be unpredictable. Ignoring his friend's warning, Warwick drank the concoction. The brew transformed him into a creature both man and wolf, infusing him with raw strength and heightened senses. Exhilarated, he immediately began testing his newfound power. Each day his instincts became sharper, but his human half slipped further away. He could feel himself losing control: though he always got his prey, he often failed to bring them back alive. Now he seeks the blood of Soraka to stabilize his transformation before his mind gives way to the feral urges of the beast.

“Eventually the beast catches up with all of us.” - Warwick"

...and here is Soraka:

"Soraka, the Starchild

A healer gifted with the magic of the stars, Soraka holds all living creatures close to her heart. She was once a celestial being, but she sacrificed her immortality and entered the world of mortals. So long as evil threatens life in Valoran, Soraka will not allow herself peace.

Soraka lived for centuries in an enchanted grove. A being of the stars, she healed the wounded and sick that sought her out. One man called Warwick came to her grove and begged her to heal his wife, who lay lifeless in his arms. His despair touched Soraka's heart. Though it was too late to save his wife, she offered to help heal the pain of his loss. Unwilling to let go of his grief Warwick ran from the grove, but returned over the following days to hear Soraka's guidance. She began to grow attached to the grieving man. One day Warwick told her he had found the men who killed his wife. He believed revenge would heal his pain - and if he died fighting, he would at least find peace. Though she pleaded with him, Warwick ignored her and left the grove. The voices of the stars warned her not to follow him, but Soraka had to intervene.

She stepped into the mortal world for the first time, and soon found Warwick desperately fighting a group of men. She tried to heal him, but for every wound she closed, the men inflicted two more. Soraka realized that she would have to fight to save her friend. The stars screamed in her mind, telling her not to use her powers for harm. Ignoring their warning, she struck the attackers with a flash of brilliant light. Crying out in terror and shielding their eyes from her divine radiance, they fled. Soraka’s celestial form faded and the stars fell silent – for her transgression, she became mortal. She still felt the power of the stars within her, but they no longer offered her guidance. She took comfort in Warwick's safety, gently healing his wounds, but the man she had called her friend slipped a dagger between her ribs. As her blood spilled, Soraka realized he had fooled her, and everything he had done was a complicated ruse. Feeling humiliated and betrayed she called once more on the power of the stars, searing his flesh and cursing his cruelty. He retreated with an agonized howl, leaving Soraka to reflect upon her fate. Though her life had changed, she felt empowered and renewed with a singular purpose. No longer bound to the grove, Soraka set out into the mortal world, vowing to heal the wounded and protect the helpless.

"The cruelty of one will not blind me to the suffering of many." – Soraka"