Shurima: Descent into the Tomb
An expedition into Shurima’s buried past; pairs with the present-day return to ancient ruins.

Regional history
A desert empire of ascension, fallen glory and ancient power returning.
Shurima · official regional illustration · Riot Games
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An expedition into Shurima’s buried past; pairs with the present-day return to ancient ruins.
The return of Azir and Shurima’s capital. Place after the ancient collapse, not beside the original founding.
Taliyah’s return home connects living Shurimans to the restored empire.
Riot Games · complete regional overview
The empire of Shurima was once a thriving civilization that spanned an entire continent. Forged in a bygone age by the mighty god-warriors of the Ascended Host, it united all the disparate peoples of the south, and enforced a lasting peace between them.
Few dared to rebel. Those that did, like the accursed nation of Icathia, were crushed without mercy.
However, after several thousand years of growth and prosperity, the failed Ascension of Shurima’s last emperor left the capital in ruins, and tales of the empire’s former glory became little more than myth. Now, most of the nomadic inhabitants of Shurima’s deserts eke out a meager existence from the unforgiving land. Some have built small outposts to defend the few oases, while others delve into long lost catacombs in search of the untold riches that must surely lay buried there. There are also those who live as mercenaries, taking coin for their service before disappearing back into the lawless wastelands.
Still, a handful dare to dream of a return to the old ways. Indeed, more recently the tribes have been stirred by whispers from the heart of the desert—that their emperor Azir has returned, to lead them into a new, wondrous age.
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A lived-in world
The history of the region

How Shurima became a desert empire of divine ambition and monumental power.
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The disaster that turns imperial glory into ruins, myths and unfinished claims.
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A guide to Shurima's transformed champions and the danger of sacred power.
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The core character quartet behind Shurima's rise, betrayal and return.
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How Shurima's ruins keep shaping modern Runeterra.
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A curated path through Shurima's rise, fall, Ascended and modern legacy.
Read the story →Personal stories
Associated through the archive’s characters; some journeys continue beyond this region.

Michael Luo
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Dana Luery Shaw
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John O’Bryan
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Graham McNeill
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Graham McNeill
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Riot Games
Read the complete story →The source archive
Riot’s regional overview and place descriptions are preserved with attribution. Regional accounts describe their publication period; later stories can change the situation.