MY NOTEBOOK
Nasus
A scholar and strategist transformed by Ascension. The preservation of knowledge, his brother’s fate and the loss of the empire all weigh on his decisions.
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Runeterra / The power of the sun
The power of the sun
Ascended
Shurima’s Ascended received their power through a ritual tied to the Sun Disc. Their stories are inseparable from the ancient empire.
Inside the story · 2 MIN
Transformed mortals · Sun Disc · The darkin legacy
A transformation, not a birth species
Shuriman Ascended began as mortals who underwent a ritual associated with the Sun Disc. Their new forms and extraordinary longevity express a transformed condition, not a population reproducing like an ordinary human community. Nasus and Renekton were brothers before they became god-warriors. Their shared origin matters as much as the striking animal forms by which they are recognised.
Power in service of an empire
The Ascended served as military leaders, symbols of divine favour and instruments of imperial expansion. Nasus also preserved knowledge, while Renekton’s conduct reveals how warfare could become destructive beyond military necessity. Their power did not remove moral responsibility. To understand the Ascended, read their role in conquest alongside their achievements and the reverence they inspired.
Why the darkin belong to this history
Aatrox’s biography traces his path from Ascended warrior through the horrors of Icathia to the conflicts that followed Shurima’s fall. Fallen god-warriors became known as darkin; some were later imprisoned within weapons. The connection is historical, not a claim that every Ascended became a darkin. Nasus’s continuing story is an important counterexample to that simplification.
Ascended, Aspects and exceptional cases
Azir’s delayed rebirth and Xerath’s seizure of power complicate any simple account of the ritual. Targon’s Aspects are a different relationship between celestial beings and mortal hosts. These connections share a cosmic background without being interchangeable. A dossier on the Ascended is therefore about specific histories of transformation, rather than a generic tier of powerful creatures.
RUNETERRA
People who shape the story
Renekton
Nasus’s brother, transformed alongside him and later imprisoned with Xerath. The bond between the brothers becomes a tragedy of sacrifice, isolation and manipulated memory.
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Azir
The returned emperor seeks to rebuild Shurima. His personal rebirth and the political restoration of an empire are connected, but they are not the same achievement.
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RIOT MMO
From Runeterra to the MMO
These histories explain the world in which Riot is developing its MMORPG. They do not establish a playable people, a class, a starting zone or a confirmed quest. Follow the journal for the distinction between Riot’s announcements and community analysis.
Follow the MMO journalSources & further reading
Original editorial summaries based on Riot’s published atlas and biographies. Older sources may describe earlier stages of an evolving story.