compared to the tragedy of its rise from the grave.

In a market on the edge of the desert, a stranger appears.

Cassiopeia, a noblewoman of Noxus, looking to hire a guide to take her to the fabled lost city.

But not just any guide. She hires the owner of a legendary ancient blade.

The mercenary called Sivir.

Sivir gathers her band of sell-swords,

and they set out into the desert to find the buried bones of Shurima.

Five days beneath the broiling sun, a scout spots towers jutting from the dunes,

and a stairway leading underground.

They climb down into the darkness...

Ancient treasures gleam in the torchlight.

Even Sivir is astonished at the grandeur of the ruins.

Her men head deeper in...

only to stumble into traps, and be eviscerated.

Sivir is stunned with horror, but Cassiopeia does not flinch.

She sees only the statue of a huge serpent,

silently guarding the door to the Tomb of the Emperors... and smiles.

The ancient weapon is a key.

Cassiopeia betrays Sivir!

She picks up Sivir’s blade - puts it into the lock.

The Guardian’s curse is triggered.

The stone serpent comes alive!

It pins Cassiopeia in its jaws.

The venom sears her flesh like acid.

The tomb door opens.

Renekton emerges, the brother I loved and locked away, twisted beyond insanity.

Followed by Xerath, the architect of his torment.

My failure... is complete.

Sivir drags herself away, lifeblood flooding from her wound...

and then, succumbs to darkness...

Behold, Shurima’s legacy.