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League of Legend’s Varus is a spirit possessing the combined bodies of two lovers

league of legends varus backstory lore

Varus has served as marksman in League of Legends for years, but like many of the early champions he never really got a fleshed out backstory providing all that lore we so desperately crave. Now he’s got a history, and it’s a doozy of a tale told through multiple comic books and a CG music video, pulling together an epic story of relationships, loss, and an evil spirit possessing the corporeal form of a pair of lovers.

Varus just happens to be one of this week’s LoL free champions!

Yes, Varus is League’s first LGBT character, and perhaps gaming’s first threesome made flesh. Varus himself, it turns out, is an ancient spirit known for tormenting victims to the brink of insanity before killing them with arrows. Escaping imprisonment at the end of the Darkin War, Varus found new life in the now-conjoined bodies of two Ionian hunters – young men who had been lovers in life. Varus is still looking for vengeance, but the souls of the couple are looking to fight his brutality every chance they get.

It’s a pretty intricate backstory, and one that spans three chapters. The first and third are comics available on the official site, with the middle chapter being told through an incredibly well-produced CG music video titled As We Fall that recalls the AMVs you used to make about all your favorite ships – except on a much grander scale. Check that out above, it’s well worth your time.

New out-of-game backstory for Varus mirrors how Blizzard introduced Tracer’s girlfriend into Overwatch lore with a holiday comic, and for games where all the character development happens off-screen it’s a nice way to add a little bit of representation. Of course, Tracer’s in a loving relationship while Varus murdered, merged, and possessed a pair of lovers, so the good vibes might not feel quite so nice in this case.