- This article is about the Realms of Runeterra story featuring Vrynna. You may be looking for A Good Death, the short story featuring Kindred.
Lore[]
- This story is from Realms of Runeterra. The whole story is featured in the physical book. Due to legal reasons, only the story summary can be added on this page.
Summary[]
The young, unscarred 
Vrynna is trodding through the snow with the hunting party. She is walking together with the three cousins - Shiverbones, Rylor, and Halgar - while their scout is looking for tracks up ahead. Halgar complains about the pointless hunt, but Vrynna has to admit there is truth in his words: The tribe is starving. It had been a month since the last successful hunt and their reserves ran out. She walks on and on and falls into a meditative state where she only focuses on putting one foot before another, just to keep moving. She too begins to doubt the hunt. A lone figure in her path breaks her trance and she jolts back in shock.
Their scout Sigrun Ice-Runner, one of the oldest living members of their clan or even the whole 
Winter's Claw, admonishes Vrynna for not noticing her earlier. Halgar makes fun of her, but Ice-Runner snaps that he didn’t see her either. She claims she found the tracks of a big thunderhorn up ahead. The leader of the hunt, Shiverbones, consults his totems of the 
old gods and decides to chase the prey. Halgar taunts Vrynna, the “unscarred” again, but she is determined to prove herself.
Ice-Runner picks up on the word and turns the conversation toward her son Hrolur, who first called Vrynna unscarred, albeit jokingly. He had died in the summer during a raid by the Storm Crows, and Vrynna had lost her mother and sister. All of Ice-Runner’s other sons were dead, and she never had a daughter, so they bonded over their loss. From that day until today, they had never spoken another word, but Vrynna knows that she has exacted bloody vengeance upon the Storm Crows.
The hunting party sets out after the thunderhorn, but snow begins to fall, soon obscuring the tracks. They pick up the pace, but the storm gets worse. Eventually, Shiverbones stops them. Ice-Runner wants to go on, but the leader overrules her. He wants to abandon the hunt, and everyone but Vrynna turns back without discussion. She wants to pursue the thunderhorn, even if that means the hunters could die. Together with Ice-Runner, she persuades him. If they die, it is the will of the gods. And so they press on.
Finally, they find the thunderhorn they had been chasing, but it is already dead. Carefully, they approach the carcass to find out what could have killed it. Shiverbone calls out that no axe or spear caused these wounds. Rylor suggests yeti. Vrynna shudders, but they wouldn’t come this far south… she thinks. Ice-Runner examines the tracks and claims it is a wildclaw. The ferocious beast jumps from a drift of snow, pouncing on Rylor and killing him immediately. They see it is a large one, an 
6 Alpha most likely, and get ready for the fight. Ice-Runner is the first to react, she fires an arrow at the wildclaw, and it turns toward her. Shiverbones and Vrynna come to help, with axe and spear. Vrynna thrusts her spear into the side of the beast, but it turns and rips the spear from her hands. Now defenseless, its claws rake across her face, and Vrynna falls.
When she awakes, only Shiverbones and Ice-Runner are still fighting the wildclaw. Halgar is down, but not dead. Despite his crushed leg, he still wields a bow. Ice-Runner is too slow to avoid an attack, and she is swatted aside. The beast turns on Halgar now, laying on his back. Vrynna - who lost her spear - jumps onto the giant cat with her hunting knife and lands a few brutal stabs before she is thrown off. This is enough for Shiverbones to drive one of his axes into its neck, finally landing the killing blow. The survivors gather around the dying Ice-Runner. Vrynna thinks it is her fault, but the elder says everything is well. It is alright to die for a hunt like this. She will see her children in the afterlife, and names Vrynna a worthy daughter.
Shiverbones and Vrynna return to the clan. They had dug Halgar a shelter and left him to guard their prey, while they notify the clan. The migratory clan moves to the location, and feasts. Their healer takes a look at Halgar’s leg and Vrynna’s eye. It isn’t said out loud, but Vrynna knows she will never see with her right eye again. During the feast, Shiverbones names her scarmaiden and they toast on Ice-Runner. Vrynna realizes the simple truth of the 
Freljord: Each day is a fight for the survival of the clan. They may die tomorrow, but right now, the clan lives.
Characters[]
Featured Characters[]
- Vrynna
- Halgar
- Shiverbones
- Rylor
- Sigrun Ice-Runner
Mentioned Characters[]
Trivia[]
- Apart from the three
named demi-gods, the story also notes that Shiverbones has totems of the Seal Sister and a two-headed raven.
See also[]