Biography[]
Since ancient times, there have been those who prayed to the winds. From sailors seeking good weather to the downtrodden calling on winds of change, mortals have placed their hope in the tempests and gales that sweep across 
Runeterra.
Surprisingly, the wind sometimes would seem to answer. Seafarers might spot a 
bright blue bird just before a healthy tailwind billowed their sails. Others could swear they'd heard a whistling in the air right before a storm, as if to warn them of its approach. As word of these omens spread, sightings of the bird grew more common. Some even swore they had seen the bird transform into a woman. With tapered ears and flowing hair, this mysterious maiden was said to float above the water and direct the wind with a flick of her staff.
The faithful called this wind spirit Jan'ahrem, an ancient Shuriman word meaning “guardian,” for she always seemed to appear in moments of great need. As time went on, she came to be known more simply as Janna.
Her name spread across the Shuriman continent's coasts, and the seafaring people of Oshra Va'Zaun were her most fervent believers. They depended on calm seas for the trade ships that traveled through their city's port. Statues and shrines were raised in gratitude for Janna's benevolence. After the 
Shuriman empire enveloped the city, these displays of devotion continued... for a time.
When the emperor issued decrees suppressing “false idols,” Janna's statues were torn down. Yet despite the growing worship of the Ascended god-warriors, many still offered quiet prayers to Janna, for what could god-warriors do to protect ships from storms? These mortals often wore amulets with the image of a bluebird—smaller, more personal tokens in Janna's honor.
Through all of this, Janna continued to aid the vulnerable who called upon her. In a region rife with upheaval, she remained constant. Those with an eye toward history might appreciate the irony of “winds of change” being the only thing that did not.
After the great empire fell, once verdant lands became a desert as the remaining Ascended brought war and chaos—yet Janna shielded the city, now known as 
Zaun, from the turmoil.
Over the centuries, Janna watched as Zaun's ambitions grew. While the city was still a robust trade port, its denizens aspired for more. They dreamed of cutting a canal through the isthmus on which they lived, opening a path that would unite the seas surrounding Valoran and Shurima. The city poured great effort, wealth, and time into the construction. Prayers to Janna waned as mortal dreams focused on mortal machinations.
However, the canal's excavation made great portions of Zaun unstable. On one cataclysmic day, entire districts on the River Pilt collapsed below the western sea level, and thousands suddenly found themselves fighting for their lives against the clashing currents.
As these unfortunate souls faced their doom, they prayed for salvation. They called out the name of their ancient protector:
Janna.
Though these mortals had seemingly forgotten her until now, Janna did not hesitate to help them. An immense gale swept over the city as she took corporeal form. Impossible walls of air held flooding waters at bay as people fled the drowned ruins of their homes. Ferocious gusts of wind cut through the suffocating smoke from fires caused by the destruction. Yet while she saved many, thousands still perished that day—but all who survived witnessed Janna's benevolence. Never again would the city's people forget their savior.
To this day, through the rise of 
Piltover and the ongoing struggles of modern Zaun, Janna's faithful wear bluebird medallions and show reverence to the winds. And through it all, Janna stands steadfast by the humble and the meek. Zaunites all know that whether they fight for breath amid the toxic clouds of the Zaun Gray, stand against the brutality of violent chem-barons, or fend off other threats, Janna will not abandon them.
Change log[]
| The Storm's Fury | |
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Updated to the current version. |
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Fourth version.
  Janna
Many of Runeterra's sailors have strange and unusual superstitions, which is no wonder as they often live or die by the tempestuous whims of the weather. Some captains insist on pouring salt onto the deck so the sea doesn't notice they're from the shore. Others make sure to throw the first fish they catch back into the water as a show of mercy. It's not surprising, then, that most implore the wind itself for steadfast breezes, calm seas, and clear skies. Many believe the spirit Janna was born out of these prayers. She started small. Seafarers would sometimes spot a bright blue Seafarers created ramshackle shrines of seasparrow bones and shining oyster shells which they tucked into the bows of their ships. The more successful vessels built their shrines as figureheads on their masts, hoping their more ostentatious displays of faith would be rewarded with even better winds. Eventually, Runeterra's seamen agreed upon a name for this wind spirit: 'Janna', an ancient Shuriman word meaning 'guardian'. As more sailors came to believe in Janna and made increasingly elaborate offerings to gain her favor, she grew ever stronger. Janna helped explorers traverse new waters, blew ships from treacherous reefs, and - on particularly starless nights - wrapped the comfort of a warm breeze around a homesick sailor's shoulders. For those sailing with ill intent - pirates, raiders, and the like - Janna was sometimes said to blow them off course with sudden squalls and storms. Janna took great joy in her work. Whether helping people or punishing the deserving, she felt happy to watch over Runeterra's oceans. For as long as Janna could remember, a single isthmus separated the western and eastern oceans of Valoran. In order to move from the west to the east, or from the east to the west, ships would have to brave the long, incredibly dangerous waters around the tip of the southern continent. Most ships subsequently made offerings to Janna for strong winds that would expedite their perilous journey around the rocky coast. The city fathers of the bustling trade city on the isthmus' coast tired of watching ships make the long trek around the southern continent, which could often take many months. They hired the most innovative scientists to use the rich chemical resources recently discovered in the area to create a massive waterway that would unite Valoran's major seas. Word of the canal spread like a pox amongst sailors. Such a passage would open up boundless trade opportunities, allow for easier passage through dangerous waters, reduce time at sea and introduce the transportation of perishable goods. It would bring the east to the west, the west to the east, and above all: it would bring change. With the canal in place, sailors wouldn't need Janna's winds to keep their ships safe from Valoran's cliffs. They wouldn't need to build elaborate shrines or watch the stormy horizon for bluebirds. Their ships' safety and speed no longer depended on an unpredictable deity, but the ingenuity of man. And so, as construction progressed over the decades, Janna fell out of favor. Her shrines grew ragged, picked apart by gulls, and seldom was her name whispered, even as the waters grew sharp and choppy with winter. Janna felt herself weaken and her powers fade. When she tried to summon a squall, she'd only conjure a light draft. If she transformed into her bird form, she could only fly for a few minutes before needing to rest. She'd meant so much to those at sea only a few years prior - was this how easily they could forget someone who just wanted to keep them safe and honor their prayers? Janna was saddened by her slow decline into irrelevance and, as the canal reached completion, all that remained of her was a faded breeze. The opening of the canal was a joyful celebration. Thousands of chemtech devices were placed across the isthmus. The city fathers gathered for the ceremonial igniting of the charge as travelers from all over the world watched and waited, smiles on their faces and pride in their hearts. The devices activated. Chemical fogs of molten rock bloomed. Booms echoed through the isthmus. The cliff faces began to crack. The ground began to shake. Those assembled heard a roar of water and a hiss of gas. That is when the screaming started. In the years to come, no one would know the exact cause of the disaster. Some said it was the instability of the chem bombs, while others argued it was a miscalculation by the engineers. Whatever the cause, the explosions caused a chain reaction of earthquakes that shook the isthmus to its core. Entire districts collapsed into the ocean, and nearly half of the city's denizens suddenly found themselves fighting for their lives against the clashing currents of the western and eastern seas. As thousands sank beneath the tides, they begged for help, praying for someone to save them. They called out for the name that, until recently, their hearts had always beckoned in times of great danger on the high seas: Janna. Struck by a sudden surge of desperate pleas for aid, Janna felt herself materialize with greater power than she'd ever felt before. Many of those who had fallen into the water had already drowned, but as clouds of toxic chem-gas leaked from cracks in the streets, poisoning and suffocating the hundreds of people unlucky enough to breathe them, Janna knew how to help. She disappeared into the bleak, billowing gas, its acrid grasp overwhelming the helpless victims of the great canal's birth. Holding her staff high, she closed her eyes as wind swirled around her, the vortex so powerful that those who had summoned her feared they might be swallowed whole or ripped to pieces. Her staff glowed a brighter and brighter blue until she finally slammed it down, blowing the gas away in one ferocious burst of air. Those who had summoned Janna caught their breath and looked upon the woman who had saved them, vowing never to forget her again. With that, a gust of wind blew through the streets, and Janna was gone... though some swore they saw a bright blue bird make a nest high atop the iron and glass spires overlooking the city. Years after the city called Zaun was repaired and the shining town of Piltover was built above it, Janna's name endures in countless stories that tell of the wandering wind spirit who appears in times of great need. When the Zaun Gray grows thick, some say Janna blows it away, then vanishes as quickly as she came. When a Chem-Baron's thug goes too far or a victim's screams go unanswered, a fearsome torrent of wind might sweep through the alley and aid those who others are unwilling to help. Some say Janna is a myth: an optimistic fairy tale that Zaun's most desperate tell themselves to bring an ounce of hope to their hour of need. Others - the ones who think of Janna when the wind whistles through narrow corridors of the city or huddle around handmade shrines (now crafted of scrap and gearworks rather than bird bones) - know better. When the gust rattles the shutters and blows the laundry off the line, Janna is surely in the air. Every Progress Day, no matter how cold the weather, the believers throw open their windows and doors so Janna can blow away the stale air of the year past and welcome the new. Even skeptics can't help but feel their spirits lift when they spy a curious blue bird swooping through the streets of Zaun. Though none can be sure when, how, or if Janna will appear, most everyone can agree on one thing: it's nice to have somebody watching over you. |
| MISSING
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Updated to remove references to the Institute of War.
  Janna
There are those sorcerers who give themselves over to the primal powers of nature, foregoing the learned practice of magic. Such a sorceress is Janna, who first learned magic as an orphan growing up amidst the chaos of Zaun. Janna eked out what living she could on the streets. Life was tough and dangerous for the beautiful young girl; she survived by her wits, and by stealing when wits weren't enough. The unchecked magic that characterizes Zaun was the first and most alluring tool which Janna realized could both protect and elevate her. Janna discovered that she had an affinity for a particular type of magic - the elemental magic of |
| MISSING
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Second version.
  Janna's beauty. Like the wind, she is one gust away from terrible destruction."
There are those sorcerers who give themselves over to the primal powers of nature, forgoing the learned practice of magic. Such a sorceress is Janna, who first learned magic as an orphan growing up amidst the chaos that is the city-state of Zaun. Janna eked out what living she could on the streets. Life was tough and dangerous for the beautiful young girl, and she survived by her wits, and by stealing when wits weren't enough. The rampant magic that characterizes Zaun was the first and most alluring tool which Janna realized could both protect and elevate her. Janna discovered that she had an affinity for a particular type of magic - the elemental magic of |
| V1.0.0.32 (October 23rd, 2009) | Original version.
 Janna's beauty. Like the wind, she is one gust away from terrible destruction."
There are those sorcerers who give themselves over to the primal powers of nature. Originally an orphan growing up in the chaos that is the city of Zaun, Janna worked out what living she could on the streets. Life was tough for the beautiful young girl on her own. The rampant magic that characterizes Zaun was the first and most alluring tool which Janna realized could both protect and elevate her. As many magicians do, she discovered that she had an affinity for a particular type of magic - the elemental magic of |
