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Brackern[]
Surrounded around the Shuriman Continent are several clans of Brackern, including clans in the Shuriman desert.
Dormun[]
The Dormun are gigantic, slow-moving creatures protected with large chitinous plates covering their body. In the harsh conditions of Shurima they have evolved to survive the perpetual drought by utilizing an unknown sense to locate hidden reservoirs of water. Incidentally, certain nomadic tribes have built themselves a permanent home upon the backs of these beasts where they clean the creature and hunt any airborne pests who venture near.
Eka'Sul[]
Desert goats that travel in herds.
Mwatis[]
Mwatis are goatlike creatures with large plated casques on their heads. Mwati wool and plate are prised for felting and insulation.
Kmiros[]
Gigantic scarabs that roam in swarms, looking for unfortunate travelers to feed on. They seem to be common prey for 
Rammus.
Outerbeasts[]
- Main article: Voidborn
Beside the Xer'Sai, other creatures from the Void, referred to as 'outerbeasts', can be found in the desert.
- Xer'Sai: Creatures from the Void that plague the southern deserts. They are the size of big dogs on average, but can be smaller or much bigger.
Rek'Sai, as the queen, is by far the largest and most dangerous of her species. Xer'sai burst from their small burrows and ravage anything nearby, to the detriment of desert caravans. Once dead, the Xer'sai decompose at an abnormally rapid rate and become inedible.
Ralsiji[]
Large and aggressive minotaur-like creatures. They are humpbacked quadrupeds with long limbs and thick horns.
Shuriman Camel[]
A breed of camels native to the deserts of Shurima and are used by caravans as well as common folk as primary mode of transportation. Despite being well-suited for lengthy travels in the desert landscape, they are still prey to a many predator such as the Xer'Sai.
Sandswimmers[]
Sandswimmers
Sandswimmers are massive quadrupedal creatures that traverse the Shuriman desert in cyclical patterns. They got their name due to their preferred method of travel. Their narrow bodies and webbed feet are perfectly design for swimming under the sand. They feed on bugs and other small creatures most desert beasts ignore. Scavengers will often memorize the predictable paths these creatures take, and jump onto their backs to ride as far as they wish.
Skallashi[]
The Skallashi are large quadrupedal herbivores. These hardy beasts of burden are common across Shurima, ideally suited to the harsh desert environment. Their key body feature is their long legs. Notoriously bad-tempered, they are nevertheless treated with great reverence. Their brown hides are often painted with sacred symbols of protection, and their horns hung with totems and charms. While these creatures are mostly used for travel and carrying heavy loads, on some larger skallashi people are able to built miniature rooms for more comfortable travel. To own one is often considered a sign of considerable prosperity.
| “ | "I would set the world ablaze to protect our family." |
—  Ambessa, 'The Monster You Created'
| |
 |
Ambessa Medarda is a 
Noxian[1] warlord and the estranged mother of 
Mel Medarda. She also the ex-mentor of the wandering Noxus warrior Rell.
Background
Early Life
| “ | "I will give you the world, child, if you prove you can take it." |
| — Ambessa to Mel, 'The Monster You Created'
| |
|
When Ambessa was ten, her father brought her to the aftermath of the Battle of Hildenard to collect weapons from the fallen in exchange for a gold coin each, exposing her to death at the tender age. Even at her young age, she realized death was not just something to be feared but also to be respected. As she grew up, she chose a soldier's life, quickly rising to the ranks to become a general in command of several warbands. She became a mother of her firstborn son, Kino. While she loved him greatly, she realized he would never have the strength of a warrior in his heart.
Not long after the birth of Kino, Ambessa almost met her end in defending her ancestral home of Rokrund. As she lay among the bodies she was discovered by a lone wolf who gave her visions as she drifted near death, which miraculously brought her back to life.[2] The visions that Ambessa saw that day had strengthened her resolve and ambition: She would bend the world to her will so that any weakness her children might have could not be exploited. When her grandfather, Menelik Medarda, passed away, he had named no heir. Several branches of the family had vied for succession, however they were all outmatched by Ambessa. She vowed to forge a legacy worthy of the Medarda name.
She tried to imbue the same principles in her two known children, particularly in her daughter Mel, whom Ambessa tried to mold into a warrior and leader willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure their survival from a young age. This seemingly proved futile, however, as her son Kino preferred diplomacy and dismissed war as "A failure of statecraft", and Mel adapted his way of thinking, considering war and killing only as a last resort.
| “ | "Because you weakened me! I couldn't endure the look in your eyes whenever I made the decisions—the necessary decisions to keep us safe!"
|
| — Ambessa on why she sent her own daughter away, 'The Monster You Created'
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|
Eventually, she sent Mel away from their home to Piltover, pointing out that her sentimentality would work well among the "soft-spined idealists", and would later use the excuse that it was for her to oversee their family's interests in the city.[3] In truth, she sent her away because she could no longer bear Mel's disapproval of her decisions.[4]
As an old guard of Boram Darkwill's regime, she disapproves of Swain's rule and his Triferian council, citing his rule is weak. Furthermore, she is known to look down on Darius as she often refers him as a witless brute. Despite this, she had shown to have genuine respect toward Swain and even called him as "a true general" unlike Darkwill. Therefore, it is possible that she seemed to only dislike how he ruled Noxus.
Sometime in the past, she encountered a warrior girl named Rell and was impressed with her fighting capabilities that she decided to take Rell in as a protege and part of her warband. During the battle between Ambessa and her niece, Rell magic surfaced and she helped Ambessa defeated her niece and her forece. Ambessa demanded Rell to kill her niece as a test of loyalty, which Rell complied. However, before Ambessa could officially inducted Rell into her force, Leblanc snatched Rell from her and Ambessa lost her greatest protege back then.
Visit to Piltover
Mel eventually came to power in Piltover as a Councilor and the wealthiest person in the city,[5] and she would later sponsor the research of 
Jayce Talis, whose Hextech enterprise revolutionized trade and travel around the world; thus having a hand in Piltover's undeniable progress.[6]
Apparently too distracted to have been able to do anything at the time, her son Kino was killed by a powerful man who Kino offended.[3] Ambessa realized that the man was not done with his grudge and would strike again and could have enough resources to potentially overpower the Medarda family.[4] To aid their victory in a potential war, Ambessa visited Piltover in hopes of getting her hands on weaponized Hextech.
Having heard news of the city's ongoing conflict with Zaun, she tried to convince both Mel and Jayce to finally engage the undercity in war and use his Hextech weapons for it. Mel determinedly refused and convinced the Council to avoid any war-inciting actions as well, but Jayce was swayed enough to attack one of 
Silco's Shimmer factories with 
Vi. When Jayce accidentally killed a boy,[3] however, Jayce completely changed his mind.
Mel confronted her about her manipulation of Jayce and she finally told Mel about the impending conflict with Kino's killer at Noxus. She then asked Mel to let the war happen, after which she would be welcome back home and at her side. Mel would ultimately turn down the offer, taking off her family ring as she agreed to Jayce's proposal of peace with Zaun by granting them their requested independence.[4]
Appearance
Ambessa is a muscular, brown-skinned woman with light brown eyes. She has coily hair in varying shades of grey to black, worn loosely above the shoulders. She wears Noxian styled clothing befitting her rank, mostly made up of black and red colours, with metallic silver elements, and a red cloak with black fur worn to one side. She is shown to have numerous battle scars on her face and upper body.
Personality
Ambessa is a confident person, showing no shame or emotional weaknesses. Merciless to her enemies, she prefers aggression over passivity due to the way her father brought her up and the Noxian culture she was raised in. Accompanying her ruthlessness is brazen indulgence, freely enjoying the decadence of Piltover and the local cuisines of foreign lands. Eloquent and well-versed, particularly in military history, she is as capable of manipulation as she is capable of violence, so long as it serves her, and her family’s, interests.
Despite her relaxed stance on using violence, Ambessa does not appear to disregard diplomacy entirely, as despite Kino adopting a purely diplomatic philosophy, Kino was not exiled like Mel was. Additionally, Ambessa is selective with her violence, expressing a readiness to kill one if it means avoiding a larger conflict in the future. She is a survivalist above all else, willing to do whatever it takes to protect her clan, and more importantly, her family.
Ambessa is one who respects aggression in any form, either in diplomacy or in war, but she also values cunning and guile, so long as it does not detract from a show of force. Ambessa describes this to Mel as a need for her to embody "both the fox and the wolf". Although one can embody an aspect of one or the other, one cannot succeed in her family without embodying both, but the most atrocious offense to her is a showcase of weakness and ineptitude.
Abilities
- Skilled Melee Combatant: Ambessa is a skilled melee combatant. Her preferred weapon thus far appears to be a weapon similar to a katar. Ambessa also shows excellent reflexes and agility, able to cleanly decapitate someone with one swipe of the blade.
- Manipulative Strategist: Ambessa is able to sweettalk the Chem-Baroness, Renni into leading the assault on Piltover's memorial to council members killed by Jinx in their council room while at the same time, pretending to show concern for Piltover and so managed to convince them into invading Zaun. Her setup was successful partially due to her ability to use their emotional loss over their loved ones.
- Leader: Ambessa led her soldiers on war campaigns to expand the empire of Noxus for years, earning both fear and respect for her vast conquests. Her experience was appreciated by Salo who knew that someone with a firm hand was needed to contain the threat from Zaun.
- Teacher: With her years of experience, Ambessa has proven herself to be an excellent tutor, training Caitlyn to hone her combat skills.
Relations
Mel Medarda
Mel Medarda was exiled from the Medarda Clan after Ambessa accused her of harboring weakness that was unbecoming of the Clan. Although for years it was assumed Ambessa exiled her for that reason alone, it is later claimed by Ambessa that she exiled Mel to prevent her from influencing her ruthless decision making and weakening her; something she could not permit to happen to anyone in her family, including herself.
Ambessa continuously holds Mel to these standards, however, even after Mel's exile, dismissing her emotional outburst and saying she taught her better than to let her emotions run loose. Even so, Ambessa holds a soft spot for Mel with a desire to protect the family and sought to have her rejoin the Medarda Clan after Kino's death.
Kino Medarda
Although Ambessa was dismissive of Kino's purely diplomatic approach to statecraft, he was not exiled like Mel was, which suggests that Ambessa believes Kino's philosophy isn't wholly wrong, simply incomplete.
When Ambessa delivers the news of Kino's death to Mel, Ambessa shows dismay over his loss, believing she was too distracted to prevent his death from occurring.
Elora
Ambessa addresses Elora by name upon arriving to Piltover. Their relationship is unknown, but they are at the very least acquainted with one another.
Jayce Talis
Ambessa uses Jayce to try and incite war between Piltover and Zaun, and put Jayce into a position to develop Hextech weaponry. Once developed, Ambessa wishes to use them for her Clan to ensure that the Noxian that Kino crossed with doesn't slaughter the rest of the Medarda Family as revenge.
Ambessa uses Jayce and manipulates him into impulsively acting against Zaun, which succeeds. When Mel confronts Ambessa about her manipulation of Jayce, she is indifferent about this fact. Jayce is simply a means to an end.
Rell
Rell is Ambessa's former protoge after she takes a liking to her fighting skill and magic. Ambessa sees Rell is not just as an asset but also a daughter she wishes Mel to be. She wishes for Rell to become her successor in case Mel could not or both Rell and Mel could become a powerful sister duo for Ambessa to gain power and take down the Black Rose. After Rell was taken away by the Black Rose, Ambessa hatred toward them even more amplified.
The Council of Piltover
Ambessa believes the Council lacks agency against the Zaunite threat, and allowed the problem to accumulate over years, doing nothing to prevent its advance. Ambessa tells Jayce that the Council is at risk of letting themselves get blindsided by Zaun in an upcoming war, and that he would need to properly prepare for war if they were to avoid this fate.
Jericho Swain
Despite her great respect toward him in the past, Ambessa detests Swain and sees his regime is not as strong as the old regime of Boram Darkwill. She often refers him as the man with vision but has no foresight.
Darius
Despite Darius's achievements within Noxus, Ambessa looks down on Darius and sees him as an arrogant brute with no cunning.
Draven
Like with Darius, she looks down on Draven but much more as she refers him as filth and going as far to pity Darius for having a brother like him.
===Samira===
She holds great respect of Samira and hopes to challenge her some day.
===Riven===
She despises Riven and calls her as a pathetic traitor of Noxus.
Arcane Show Appearances
| Season One appearances: 2/9 | ||
| Welcome to the Playground: Absent |
Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved: Absent |
The Base Violence Necessary for Change: Absent |
| Happy Progress Day!: Absent |
Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy: Absent |
When These Walls Come Tumbling Down: Absent |
| The Boy Savior: Alluded to only |
Oil and Water: Appears and flashback |
The Monster You Created: Appears |
Read More
Starring Champion
Trivia
Media
See Also
References
- ↑ League of Legends loading screen tip during the airing of Arcane.
- ↑ Blood Sweat & Tears
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 8: Oil and Water
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 9: The Monster You Created
- ↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 2: Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved
- ↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 4: Happy Progress Day!