The Fall of Shurima was a historical event that marks the end of the once-greatest empire on Runeterra. It speaks of Xerath's betrayal and the obliteration of the capital of Shurima, The Sun Disc.

Lore[]

These snippets are from the Noxian Calendar from Realms of Runeterra. However, they may be incorrect or biased due to the Noxian point of view or the old age.

2000 BN — Azir's Failed Ascension

Denied godhood by a base act of treachery, the last Shuriman emperor, Azir, was lost, along with the Sun Disc itself. The people, filled with fear and sorrow, looked to the remaining Ascended to protect them. ^[1]

History[]

2500 BN - 2000 BN

Shurima lays siege to the city of Nashramae, with Nasus and Renekton at the helm. Renekton almost burns the entire city to the ground, but Nasus stops him.

Xerath saves the life of Azir from an assault that claimed all of his brothers, Azir promises that one day, Xerath and all of the slaves of Shurima will be free once he becomes emperor.

In an attempt to ensure Azir's future as the ruler, Xerath causes all of his brothers to be stillborn; however, the Queen manages to bear a son, so Xerath feels obligated to kill her. Azir's father, the Emperor, was present when it happened, and so Xerath killed him as well. Azir is crowned the new Emperor and his first act was the prosecution of the killers of his mother and father, whom Xerath ensured were mages from another land.

With Azir's place on the throne, Xerath expects Azir to end slavery. However, Azir instead focuses on making Shurima a more expansive empire and deflects Xerath's mentions about it. Xerath then decides to steal the throne from Azir as revenge. However, in secret, Azir begins his plan to free all slaves in Shurima.

2000 BN

Azir forces the priests of the Sun Disc to perform the Ascension ritual on him. As his last act before attempting the Ascension ritual, Azir frees all the slaves of Shurima. By this point, Xerath's plans to take control of the empire are irreversible and he cannot back out. Xerath disrupts the Ascension ritual, killing Azir and making himself Ascend. The Shuriman capital collapses from the magical fallout caused by the disruption of the ritual, obliterating all of its inhabitants and burying the city underneath the sands.

Xerath, now an Ascended, is locked in the Tomb of the Emperors with Renekton, where he then works on corrupting Renekton and driving him to madness. Nasus goes into self imposed exile at this time. The spirit of eternal fire, who had been imprisoned by Shurima, was set free and his fate after this remains unknown.

Trivia[]

2500 BN - 2000 BN

• The infamous Nether Blade of Horok is used to slay a thousand deceivers in the latter days of the empire.

2000 BN

• When the Shuriman Empire fell, Ixtal and Oshra Va'Zaun had regained their independence. However, Skarner, a founding member of the Ixtali civilization, was left distrustful towards the world outside Ixtal.

References