Once a swordmaster in the warhosts of Noxus, rose through the ranks on the strength of her conviction and brutal efficiency, and was rewarded with a legendary runic blade and a warband of her own. However, on the Ionian front, Riven's faith in her nation was tested and ultimately broken. She severed all ties to the empire, seeking to find her place in a shattered world, even as rumors abounded that Noxus had been reforged. Now forced to return in chains, she faces the judgment of her former homeland...
"A warrior's blade reflects the truth in their heart. Mine is black, and broken." — Riven | |
Background[]
Early life[]
Riven was born on a farm in the coastal farming village of Trevale, in Noxus. Her father had been a soldier, slain in battle and her own mother was said to not survived the birth, leaving young Riven to work the farms as an orphan. Working a farm wasn't her lifelong goal, however. She longed for more. Inspired by warband conscriptors that would frequent Trevale, she would eventually join the Fury Company and pledge her strength to the Noxian Empire. Alongside her sisters- and brothers- in arms, whose bonds were forged in the heat of battle, a bond she saw as unbreakable, Riven thrived.
Despite her youth, Riven proved to be a natural soldier. Years of working at the farm made her strong, and in turn, allow her to master the weight of a longsword so much taller and heavier than herself. So strong was her dedication, that it got her noticed by pale sorceress in his court.
, the emperor of Noxus, who bestowed Riven her own massive runic blade, said to be enchanted by a certainNot long after, Riven and her warband would sail for Ionia, intended to take part of the long planned Noxus-led occupation. The war dragged, and it became clear that Ionia would not kneel. Fury Company was eventually assigned to escort another warband, through the embattled Navori Province. The warband's leader, a commander by the name of Emystan, had just commissioned weapons from a Zaunite alchymist, and was eager to test them out. Riven had been glad to put her life on the Altar of the Noxian Empire across countless campaigns, but the something had been off about this one. The soldiers, the weapons' purpose, something was off. It made Riven uneasy.
This campaign, much like the others, was met with strong resistance. It was the land itself fighting back. Stranded on a muddy landslide during a rainstorm, the Ionian resistance saw an opportunity. Seeing the opposition, Riven called Emystan for backup. It would be the last Captain Riven would ever do.
A flaming arrow, flown from the ridgeside, embedded itself into the wagon. Riven had instinctively drawn her sword, but it wasn't enough to protect anyone but herself. Chemical flames burst from the wagon, engulfing Noxian and Ionian alike, leaving them to suffer a slow agonizing death. Saved from the toxic mist by the magic in her Runeblade, Riven could only watch in horror as both family and foe slowly choked to death on the poisonous fumes. There she realized the high cost of the war bent not on expanding Noxus's borders or spreading its ideals, but one of complete and utter annihilation. One of complete utter betrayal and atrocity.
Memories of the event would only come to Riven later in nightmares, but the impact was enough. Disgusted with the betrayal, Riven had come to hate the blade that saved her life, her final tie to Noxus. Seeking the assistance of a windblade master, Riven would have it shattered, but even that failed to bring her peace. She wandered the Ionian countryside, deciding exile was a better price for someone who'd wrought as much damage as she.
Contemporary history[]
Eventually, her travels would return her to the village where she'd broken the sword. There, she would be taken in by a pair of Ionian farmers, distraught over the loss of their own sons, but unwilling to live in the past and fully ready to embrace the future. Once she'd regain her health, Riven would help them in the fields until one day Ionian soldiers came for her. Then, she learned that the master she'd sought help for to destroy her blade had perished, and that in seeing her blade, the Ionian soldiers have new evidence as to who might have done it.
Now dragged to court, Riven faced trail for the murder of Elder Souma, whom she currently had no true recollection of ever meeting. After being bombarded with questions, Riven's blade, the Runesword she had sought to destroy and now laid in pieces sans one, was brought out. The final piece, found embedded in the corpse of Elder Souma, was slotted back into the weapon and revived the deactivated weapon and her memories. Riven was in fact, she revealed, the one who killed Elder Souma.
That night she was made to stay in the trail room, to await her sentence. A hooded man, who'd had approached her the day before prior to her arrest, came to her. There, he revealed himself to be Yasuo, Elder Souma's apprentice, who'd been tasked to guard the elder but had left to fight in the Noxian Invasion. He'd return to his village to his master dead, his village attacked, and first and foremost had been accused of Souma's murder. Now seeking vengeance, he challenged Riven to a fight, to which she agreed.
The battle was on then.
Only stopping when Riven's Runic blade, activated but still very much in pieces, slid and a piece shot out, the piece flying in the direction of Riven's adoptive father, Asa Konte, who'd had come to Riven to free her from her chains. It would've killed him were it not for Yasuo's windwall, stopping right as it was about to embed itself onto the old man's neck. There it was where Riven understood, that they both could not escape their pasts, but can embrace change. When the magistrate returned, Riven was ready to face her sentence. The council, seeing as no longer wishing for additional bloodshed, had sentenced her to years of servitude in the farms around the village, starting that of the Kontes. Riven, now reforged somewhat, agreed.
Recent events[]
In the later years, Riven was caught and she was forced to fight as a Reckoning in the Reckoner’s Arena, which is run by Darius’s brother, Draven. She later helped Lucian, Senna, and Vayne escape during the harrowing in Noxus and temporarily joined the Sentinels of Light to atone for her sins. Her whereabouts after the events of the Sentinels of Light were unknown, presumably returning to the Kontes’ farm.
Personality[]
She was ruthless and efficient as a warrior, but her true strength lay in her conviction. She entered battles without any trace of doubt in her mind: no ethical pause, no fear of death. She is a determined and fiercely devoted individual with internal discipline.
Appearance[]
Riven is a tall woman with an athletic build, tanned skin, dark golden eyes, and platinum white hair tied up in a bow.
She usually wears a two-part white dress, as well as bandages on her right arm and she has parts of black armor that covers her shoulder, left leg, and a metal glove on her left hand.
Relations[]
[]
Riven was a Noxian soldier sent to Ionia during the empire's invasion. A traumatic experience during the campaign involving chemicals caused her to question her devotion and sever her ties to Noxus, wandering ever since. was approached by a Noxian military commander named Emystan, who Riven's unit was assigned to escort, to help her break the bitter stalemate of the war in Ionia. When Riven called to Emystan for support during a battle, both sides were annihilated by the chemicals he created. Seeing the approval of slaughter of the innocent caused by Singed and Emystan also made Quilletta Varn grew more disillusioned by the empire's ambitions, which led to her rebel against the empire and the events of comic Blood of Noxus.
[]
suspected Riven of being the one who killed Elder Souma, whom Yasuo was supposed to protect ("Wait, that ... huh", "Huh, swift strikes... ", "Another blade?", "Who taught you ?") Riven eventually confessed to unintentionally killing Elder Souma: desperate to erase her past as a Noxian invader and killer, Riven begged the elderly -master to shatter her runic blade, which was the past's memento. Souma succeeded, yet a stray shard struck his neck, killing him.
The confession absolved Yasuo of murder, yet not of his personal guilt of abandoning his post that led to Souma's accidental death and him having to kill multiple brethen in self-defense, including
. Yasuo's presence or absence making a difference was highlighted during Riven's trial, when he focused the Wind Technique on Riven's sword as Souma would have, and the shard that killed his master nearly did the same to Asa Konte, Riven's adopted father. This time, Yasuo was able to stop the shard before it could cause any harm.[]
Her blade was enchanted by
, who is seemingly trying to take it back.Her Battlesisters[]
Riven's sisters in war Noxus, where she was sentenced to life in the Fleshing Arena. The group leader, , was sent by LeBlanc to retrieve the blade. She was angry when she found out it was broken (and LeBlanc will possibly be, too).
, and were tasked with and succeeded in bringing her back to[]
finds her a worthy opponent when she was forced to fight in his arena.
Sentinels of Light[]
Riven helped the Sentinels of Light escape from Reckoner's Arena and would later join them in their fight against Ruination. Riven was initially rebuked by , due to her past actions during the Noxian Invasion, but eventually gained her respect during their time together as Sentinels of Light.
Read More
Biography
Starring Champion
Mentioned Champion
Alternate Universes
Trivia[]
- The bandages she wears are there to hide the permanent scars she obtained from Zaunite chem-tech explosives during the Invasion of Ionia.
- Riven's
- However, this may be mostly due to the magic of her blade.
, is one of the fighting ways of a combat technique known as Ki. also uses one of the techniques, the . and also have similar effects to and wind technique.
- Riven was imprisoned and forced to fight in the Reckoners Arena, when she was extradited back to Noxus. She would eventually escape the arena with the help of the Sentinels of Light.
- Riven's theme is that of an exile who still believes in her homeland's ideals and wishes to fight for them while restoring the true Noxian way.
- Riven's initial backstory had her being a 'gooder than good' Demacian who was exiled for helping Noxian refugees escape persecution (her current one was inspired by Seta Sōjirō from Rurouni Kenshin and might be referencing Aragorn from Lord of the Rings and/or Meetra Surik from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords).
Change log[]
Character blurb | |
---|---|
4 Aug 2020 (During V10.16) | Updated to current version. |
MISSING | Original version.
Once a leader in the warhosts of Noxus, Riven is an expatriate in a land she previously tried to conquer. She rose through the ranks on the strength of her conviction and her brutal efficiency, and was rewarded with a legendary runic blade—however, on the Ionian front, Riven's faith in her homeland was tested and ultimately broken. Having severed all ties to the empire, she now wanders with her shattered sword, seeking atonement for a past she cannot forgive.
|
References[]