Vladimir (2024)

A fiend with a thirst for mortal blood, Vladimir has influenced the affairs of Noxus since the empire's earliest days. In addition to unnaturally extending his life, his mastery of hemomancy allows him to control the minds and bodies of others as easily as his own. In the flamboyant salons of the Noxian aristocracy, this has enabled him to build a fanatical cult of personality around himself—while in the lowest back alleys, it allows him to bleed his enemies dry.

	"That which runs through you will run you through." —Vladimir
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Background[]

Early life[]

Vladimir was once a prince of Camavor, but was given away as a royal hostage to an unknown Darkin as a bargain to save the kingdom from the monster's tyranny. Should the king break faith with the Darkin, the prince would be slain.

Taken by Darkin[]

Vladimir was then taken to Shurima in which his Darkin master dwelled at. He was given the permission to write and sent customary letter to his kingdom, but his letters were all ignored. He eventually learned that his father had broke his oath within the year. Because his father had sons and heirs aplenty, the death of Vladimir would mean nothing to the king.

Surprisingly, instead of getting killed as he expected, his Darkin master had something altogether more amusing in mind. The Darkin offered Vladimir the chance to lead his armies against his father's kingdom, an offer he gladly accepted. He destroyed his father's kingdom and he presented his father's head to his master as a way to prove his loyalty. Believing himself above other mortal vassals, his devotion earned him a place of favor in his patron's warhost and learned hemomancy. Despite that darkins teaching their secrets to mortals was forbidden under pain of death, his master delighted in flaunting the mores of his kind. Over time, the god-warrior watched with amusem*nt as Vladimir came to govern his subjects with as little mercy as the darkins themselves. His Darkin master would later teach other mortal blood magic, but none were capable to be near as talented as Vladimir.

Eventually, near the end of the Great Darkin War, the enemies of the darkins united. The Darkin master instructed Vladimir to lead his armies in his defense against his unified enemies. Unknown to all but Vladimir himself, he had already found a method to kill a god-warrior. Vladimir killed him instead and absorbed his power. Scarred, blinded, driven mad by the radiance of a darkin’s undoing, he absorbed enough power to renew flesh that was never meant to last beyond a mortal lifespan. Few surviving mortals fled, taking what knowledge they had of blood magic with them.

At some point of time after the war ended Vladimir moved to Blessed Isles, expanding his knowledge on magic and began collecting various magical artifacts.

Establishing Noxus[]

At the height of the Reign Of The Iron Revenant, it was said that a mythic and bloodthirsty fiend haunted the coastal cliffs of eastern Valoran, demanding young lives and savage worship from the several local barbaric Noxii tribes. Few were welcome in his lair, until the day a pale sorceress approached this barbarian god with an offer. The two feasted together as equals, weaving magic so dark that the wine at their table soured, and the roses withered, vibrant red turning to black. This encounter would result as the formation of the Black Rose, and so began the pact between Vladimir and LeBlanc. Vladimir then rallied all the Noxii tribes and lead the siege. The Iron Revenant was ultimately defeated by them. This alliance neutralized the source of his power, The Immortal Bastion. They managed to sever the anchors of his soul from his armor as well as sealed the empty iron shell away in a secret place, thus Mordekaiser's reign was ended and he was cast out of the material realm.

Upon the visit of General Kalista on the Blessed Isles, Vladimir received the news of the current king of Camavor and his wife. He attempted to contact the king and wrote a letter to him, but the grief-stricken Viego refused to respond, not knowing Vladimir have the power and knowledge that could have saved her. When Viego sailed for the Blessed Isles with his armies, Vladimir foresaw a big disaster is approaching and left the region soon after, narrowly avoided The Ruination of Helia.

After Helia fell to the ruination, the remnants of an ancient order from the Blessed Isles whose mission had been to gather and protect the most dangerous artifacts in Runeterra struggle to keep knowledge of the World Runes hidden. Political tension follows as nations are unwilling to trust one another for fear of being unwittingly destroyed by these runes. The leaders of two rival Noxii tribes plead with Tyrus of Helia, in parley at the village of Khom. The encounter ended in the complete destruction of Khom and the surrounding territories by the power of two World Runes. During The Rune Wars, Vladimir and the last of the Noxii were forced to retreat inside The Immortal Bastion for shelter from the magical fallout resulted from the almost apocalyptic battle. When they finally emerged, the land beyond had been ravaged but they survived. From that day onward, they were alloyed as a single people, no longer as Noxii but Noxus. The Noxian capital: Noxus Prime, was built center at the still unbreachable Immortal Bastion. This event marks The Resurgence of Civilizations and the beginning of the Noxian Calendar, and have marked their calendar from this date ever since.

Over the centuries, others joined them—powerful nobles, exalted masters of magic, and beings darker still. Rife with disputes, and games of politics and war, Black Rose grew into the hidden power that would guide the throne of Noxus for more than a thousand years, orchestrating many of the empire’s most ambitious campaigns. Noxus starts to forcefully annex numerous territories alongside its eastern borders. After a series of forced annexations and the fall of The Drakkengate, the strength of Noxus grew to match its ambitions.

During the Battle of the Greenfangs, a skilled order of Noxian warmages led by Vladimir, known as the Arcane Fist, bombarded the Demacian troops for thirteen days. Afterwards the colossus with wings mirroring the image of the Winged Sisters known as Galio awakened for the first time. Galio would later protect the Demacian soldiers during their hold against the invading warmages and single-handedly defeated the entire mage army. After all the invading mages were defeated and withdrew, Galio returned to his pedestal and ceased to move. This bizarre tale was told in hushed tones by the few who had survived the battle, and was usually received with silent incredulity. As the years would go by, the story of Galio and Battle of the Greenfangs would eventually be seen as nothing more than a mere legend. At some point afterward Vladimir resorted to seclusion, and he was absence in The First Demacian-Noxian War. Over the next half a century after the war, Demacia would end up freeing the countries of Central Valoran from Noxian dominance, pushing the Noxian back towards their capital.

Recent events[]

The ruling Grand General of the empire, Boram Darkwill was willing to pay almost any price to restore Noxus' lost glory and made an alliance with The Black Rose. With the help from Vladimir, LeBlanc spearheaded the resurrection ritual to reanimate the long-dead hero Sion, and presented him to the Grand General. Sion, driven mad by unnatural bloodlust and utterly inured to pain, he hurled himself like a living battering ram against allies and foes alike, destroying all he faced. The victories Sion brought were costly. After several battles, Sion's bloodlust was deemed uncontrollable and Boram Darkwill ordered for his imprisonment.

With the unexpected death of Boram Darkwill and the rise of Jericho Swain as the new Grand General, the political landscape of the empire changed dramatically, and Vladimir has been forced to rouse himself once more. Wearing the guise of a benevolent socialite, he has returned to the public eye as a vocal opponent to the ruling Trifarix council, much to the concern of more cautious members of the Black Rose. His reappearance may have come too soon, as time has not yet washed away all the stains of his previous lifetime, and it seems likely that Swain himself has begun to grasp Vladimir’s true nature.

Vladimir has been passive for too long, but now he is ready to take what is his, that which was for so long denied him—a kingdom of his own. Under Vladimir’s tutelage, the art of hemomancy has found a place in the military of Noxus, and among scions of the old aristocracy. Among these diverse practitioners is the Crimson Circle, a youthful cult dedicated to Vladimir as much as to blood magic itself.

Appearance[]

Vladimir is a tall man with an eternally youthful face. He has medium-length white hair and blue eyes that will glow red when he utilizes his magic. He generally wears lavish, aristocratic clothing, always red with a silver or gold trim. His signature outfit consists of knee-high boots, vertically striped pants, and a slim overcoat with a massive, regal collar and metal spikes dangling from the sleeves. Notably, he wears long metal claws on each finger.

Personality[]

Vladimir is an ambitious being that desires to fulfill his immortal life with the pleasures of the world. His flamboyant behavior hides his cruelty and sadism, that indulges when using his powers on others.

Vladimir made himself a home in Mortoraa, a big castle in a small district within the Immortal Bastion, known for being one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Noxus Prime. Unlike many other districts which are typically cramped, the streets in Mortoraa are luxurious and comfortably spacious. However, at night it has a reputation as the most ominous district for the streets are never illuminated with torch-light or lanterns.

Uniquely among all other members of the Black Rose, Vladimir has rarely limited himself to scheming from the shadows. He is very sociable. He prefers to hanging around between the public eye and the secret societies that he built. In the past, he deigned to join the Noxian noble courts during the most interesting of times, only to fade into seclusion decades later. History has lost track of Vladimir on many occasions, though its pages are littered with figures suspected to have been him.

He is aware that his memory would not be able to keep up with his extremely old age. Most of his unnaturally extended life endures not in his memory, but in his chronicles. There were a select few memories that Vladimir refused to forget, and so he labored to do what his mind could not. He wrote books about himself. To remember them, he draws and paints portraits that tell the story that is mostly the turning point of event in the world. Portraits of himself were hung at the circular walls in his castle. His portraits shows him at a very different times in his life, and all portraits have different framing or style. Those brief moments their lives touched, what felt like an eternity ago. More melancholy, but fitting perhaps. To Vladimir, there was nothing in the world as beautiful as sadness.

Abilities[]

• Leadership: Vladimir has numerous experiences commanding an army into battle. While still a young boy, he commanded his Darkin master army to lay waste to the old Camavor kingdom that was under the rule of his father. Centuries later, Vladimir rallied all the Noxii barbarian tribes to siege Mordekaiser's lair and ended his reign. He also lead the Noxian warmages in the war against Demacia several hundred years later in which he also directly fought Galio.
• Master Sorcerer: Vladimir is a very powerful mage, worshiped as a god by the old barbarian Noxii tribes. He is able to cast spells, use magical artifacts and conduct rituals. He is also very knowledgeable of the arcane, possessing vast magical possessions, like an enchanted flower from the Blessed Isles, an amulet that can control and manipulate other person to do his bidding, and a magical bell that can ward off spiritual entities in which protected him from Harrowing and banished Kalista away from hunting him.
  • Hemomancy: Vladimir was taught by a Darkin master in the arts of blood magic. Blood magic is the magic of the flesh, controlling blood, bones and flesh for several purposes. It also include capability of conducting blood ritual that can be used for resurrection and creating a living weapon.
    • Body Manipulation: Vladimir can manipulate his own flesh and blood and that of others to his desire. He is able to transform himself into a red mist or a pool of blood to avoid getting hit and reappear later, emerging dry, as though he had never touched the liquid. In The Crimson Threat, he can also cause others to drown in blood beneath them that is made out of their own blood and will eventually drowning them, leaving no trace behind as their body was consumed entirely.
    • Life Draining: Vladimir can drain the life of other living beings by the way of their blood, and he is able to do so from several distance away. He can also inflict hemoplague on a fleeing victim, which will kill them no matter how far they managed to ran away. He can use this to restore his vitality and strengthen his magic, empowering his physical and magical capability to continuously growing in power over time, but not as strong as Darkins could.
    • Immortality: Vladimir is essentially immortal against the test of time as long as he sustain himself with blood magic by draining blood from others and absorbs the lifeforce within it. His memory however, was not able to be fully restored and he remembers little of his old days.

Relations[]

LeBlanc[]

LeBlanc was forced to serve Mordekaiser, whose downfall she would later plan. To do so, she approached Vladimir and the two formed a pact and founded the Black Rose. Vladimir rallied all the Noxii barbarian tribes to siege Mordekasier's domain while LeBlanc severed the ties of Mordekaiser's magic to The Immortal Bastion, allowing them to be able to kill The Iron Revenant and ended his reign.

LeBlanc considered Vladimir as her only equal because she has never met any mage that can be considered very powerful to her before. LeBlanc is also quite aware of Vladimir's power that he absorbed from his darkin master, and she had hoped that she could outlive Vladimir and take away his power for her own since she has been waiting centuries for him to grow old and die. She may not realize that Vladimir is capable of revitalize himself to stay young and powerful.

Black Rose[]

Vladimir is one of the founders of the organization alongside LeBlanc. He aided the Black Rose for centuries, such as conducting Sion's resurrection, created Briar, and lead a war against Demacia in the past. Vladimir however, is not interested in the political machination of the Black Rose, and only assisting them when needed. Unlike all members of the Black Rose, he often stood out among others and prefers to show up in public from time to time.

Nowadays, their grow difference of ideology led Vladimir to create his own cult - the Crimson Circle, and under his tutelage it was able to found a place publicly in the military of Noxus. The quick growth of the Crimson Circle eventually caused LeBlanc to be frequently in conflict with Vladimir and his inner circle. Vladimir had already alerted his Crimson Circle members from his letters with the first line says "Beware the rose", which also corresponds to Vladimir's ambition to cut ties of his connection to the Black Rose.

Swain[]

Vladimir has recently brought himself back into the public eye, becoming a vocal opponent against the Trifarix Council, and this has caught Swain's attention. However, Vladimir's previous public identity has not been completely forgotten, and it is hinted that Swain may know of Vladimir's true nature.

One day, a troop of Trifarix soldiers attempted to intercept the old aging Vladimir on his way home, and they were all ended up killed and absorbed by Vladimir as a part of his plan to revitalize himself. The incident was witnessed by one of Swain's raven, in which Vladimir was aware that Swain was watching him.

Galio[]

Vladimir fought Galio in the Battle of the Greenfangs against Demacia. So far, Galio is also the only opponent that Vladimir had lost to in battle due to Galio was made from Petricite, a magical material that can absorb magic.

Maokai[]

The nightblooms grown in his mansion were taken from a grove once tendered by Maokai. Vladimir also dwelled in the Blessed Isles after Great Darkin War until Ruination of Helia happened.

Viego[]

Although Viego call Vladimir his uncle in game, their age gap between one another are more than 1500 years and thus they are only distantly related due to descending from the royalty of Camavor.^[2] After Isolde was poisoned, the grief-stricken Viego refused to respond to Vladimir's letter, not knowing Vladimir had the power that could have saved her.^[3]

Kalista[]

In The Daring Darling, Vladimir was soul-marked by Kalista but he was able to banish her with the help of a magical artifact. Kalista is related to Vladimir as well since she is Viego's niece.

Briar[]

Briar was created with hemomancy, a magical art strongly tied to Vladimir, a founding member of the Black Rose. Though his exact relationship with Briar is unclear, it's heavily implied that he was mainly responsible for her creation. As her creator, Briar somewhat considers Vladimir her 'dad'. though she questions whether or not to actually call him that.

The annotated sketch used for Briar's splash art states that she is at Vladimir's castle, acting as a guard dog.^[4] Whether this is true for the characters is unclear, however it does imply a possible relationship between the two after Briar's escape.

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Biography

Starring Champion

Trivia[]

• Vladimir doesn't actually drink the blood of his victims but rather absorbs the lifeforce within it.
• It is quite possible that the man that Vladimir draws in the story "Alone" is Viego before the Ruination, but after the death of his wife. His description is consistent with the image given in the Champion Insights: Viego.
• Vladimir is alive since Great Darkin War began, his possible age in current Noxian year calendar would at least be more than 2500 years old. This made him one of the oldest human alive thanks to his hemomancy ability to revitalize his health condition and extending his lifespan beyond normal human capable of.

Change log[]

References[]

See also[]

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References[]