The Bear and the Boar: Boris Bokha vs Sejuani

Boris Bokha: The Tzar of Kislev, who triumphantly modernized his people and led them against the Forces of Chaos.

Sejuani: The fearsome raider who leads the Winter's Claw in a bid to unify the Freljord underneath the old ways.

Boris Bokha, Tzar of Kislev

“

My father was fond of saying that he would never trust a man who was afraid to lose his temper. As a result, his boyarin were an insufferable band of brutes, always brawling, always arguing and always fighting. But they were loyal, honest and true, and never did a greater band of warriors ever fight shoulder to shoulder. — Tsarina Katarin, Boris' daughter

”

Boris Bokha is the current Tzar of Kislev, reigning from 2492 IC until his apparent death in 2516 IC. Boris was a fierce warrior and was born with the sound of the Bloodheart howling on the wind above him which was said to be a favorable omen for the people of Kislev. It meant that he would fight hard and die well, a prophecy that ultimately came true. His father did in battle against the orcish and goblin hordes that were invading Kislev, leaving Boris on the throne at a very young age. Boris knew that his people needed to modernize if they were to stand against the Chaos invasions that were soon to assault Kislev once more, Boris emptied the treasury to hire foreign mercenaries to retrain the Kislev army with the use of gunpowder and advanced engineering. He also rebuilt the bridges, roads, and towns that had fallen into disarray underneath his predecessors.

He was also instrumental in the revitalization of the Cult of Ursun, the traditional Bear God of Kislev. In order to prove his devotion to his new fate, Boris set out into the icy tundra alone to find and tame a bear with his own bare hands. When Boris went missing for several weeks, most of the court presumed that their ruler had been mauled by the bear. Search parties were dispatched to find their beloved ruler and he was eventually found, bloodied, unconscious, and surrounded by the corpses of over twenty slain wolves while being guarded by the largest bear that had ever been spotted in that area. After another day had passed, Boris finally awoke and the searchers were allowed to approach. From that day on, Boris took on the name Boris Ursus and became the High Priest of the Cult of Ursun. Boris would also form a life-long bond with Urskin, the bear which had saved his life.

Boris would eventually meet his apparent end in 2516 IC, facing a Chaos army at an unnamed river crossing. The Red Tzar charged into battle mounted atop Urskin yet found himself cut off and isolated from the rest of his army. Urskin and Boris fought with ferocity, yet even they could not prevail against such odds. Boris was struck down and mortally wounded, even as Urskin bore him from the fighting. Boris' strength eventually wore out and he slid from the back of his mount and into the icy water, never to be seen again.

It is said that even to this very day that Urskin wanders the Chaos Wastes in the far north, taking vengeance upon all followers of Chaos. But it is also said by some that Boris is not dead, that he had been frozen in ice and awaits a true son or daughter of Kislev to thaw him from the ice and allow him to continue his rampage.

Whatever the truth of these rumors, his young daughter Katarin succeeded him as Tzarina of Kislev.

Weapons and Armor:

• Shard Blade
  • Boris carries a mighty pole-arm with a blade crafted from ice hewn from the glaciers of Norsca, and magically bound by the ice wizards of Kislev to remain forever frozen. When Boris strikes a foe, shards of ice water enter their veins and freeze their blood.
• Armor of Ursun
  • Forged on the Spring Equinox, one of the holiest days of the cult of Ursun, the powdered bones of a score of the mightiest bears were mixed with the steel of the armour before it was quenched in the finest mead. This suit of armour is imbued with the power and might of Ursun himself and those who wear it feel his power coursing through their veins.

Mount:

• Urskin:
  • Weight: ~1,500lbs
  • Species: Polar Bear
  • Armor: Urskin is often portrayed as being clad in steel plates around his head and chest.
    • Boris' beloved mount and close friend. Boris found Urskin when he set out into the forest to become a priest of Ursun, with the task of taming a bear with nothing but his bare hands. Boris and Urskin fought each other for hours, with neither having an advantage. The two were eventually ambushed by a pack of wolves who targeted Urskin. Boris dashed to defend the bear, winning the mighty beast's respect. Boris was injured in the fighting, yet Urskin continued to watch over him until a search party from Kislev came seeking their beloved ruler.

Sejuani, Warmother of the Winter's Claw:

“

I was cut from the ice, shaped in the storms, hardened in the cold. — Sejuani

”

Sejuani was the child of a loveless political marriage, which saw her mother, a young and fearsome Iceborn warrior by the name of Kalkia, leave her family at an early age. The Freljord is traditionally reliant on women to lead their tribe and without a strong warrior Sejuani's grandmother, Heijan, was forced to take the role. Heijan effectively raised Sejuani, yet she found herself unable to meet the elderly woman's high expectations. As the tribe's troubles continue to grow, her grandmother had even less time to dedicate to Sejuani.

Wealth, love, and safety were qualities that Sejuani only experienced second-hand when she spent her summers with the Avarosan, a sister tribe in the region. Sejuani grew close to the Warmother of that tribe, a woman named Grena. Upon learning that Grena had defeated her mother in a duel years ago, Sejuani became closer and closer to the older woman, befriending Grena's daughter Ashe. The Winter's Claw would later begin a series of skirmishes and battles with their neighboring tribe in a desperate attempt to scrape back their former power, yet despite Sejuani's grandmothers' best efforts the Winter's Claw faced defeat after defeat.

This eventually brought the attention of Kalkia back to her old tribe. Hearing of her old tribe's misfortunes Kalkia returned to take the mantle of Warmother. Yet Kalkia's leadership left the Winter's Claw weaker than ever before, as she led them into frigid lands which relied on the protection of the Frostguard. Sejuani, now a woman-grown, swore that she would see her tribe rise to prominence once more. She took her finest warriors and led them on a dangerous raid against a Noxian ship, during which she saved the giant boar Bristle, an animal that would later grow to become her trusted mount.

Her raid was a success, and Sejuani returned to challenge her mother for leadership of the tribe. Sejuani mortally wounded Kalkia and became the new Warmother of the Winter's Claw, promising a return to the old ways of the Freljord. Her promises brought exiled and banished shamans, spirit walkers, and other Iceborn who still followed the old gods of the Freljord. Where once the Winter's Claw was disgraced and weakened, they were now strong and could lead campaigns to reclaim their old lands.

Underneath Sejuani's leadership, the Winter's Claw has grown to become one of the largest tribes in the Freljord, absorbing more and more tribes every day and waging war against all who would oppose Sejuani's ambition to unite the entirety of the Freljord.

Weapons:

• True Ice Flail:
  • True ice is a magical material found in the Freljord. It is exceptionally rare and is so cold that it can never be melted. Only the Iceborn are capable of wielding or manipulating the material, allowing them to craft it into weaponry. Sejuani's flail is crafted from this material, allowing it to freeze opponents with successive strikes.
• True Ice Bolas:
  • Sejuani also wields a set of bolas crafted from the same shard of true ice as her flail. These bolas allow Sejuani to freeze and immobilize opponents at a range.

Armor:

• Steel Plate
  • Sejuani wears a set of plate armor that covers her chest, arms, head, and thighs.
    • Sejuani's armguard is known as the Seeker's Armguard and has a piece of true ice stuck within. This allows it to be used as a shield, using the unbreakable true ice to ward away blows.

Mount:

• Bristle
  • Weight: ~3000lbs
  • Species: Druvask, a form of giant boar. They resemble a warthog mixed with a wooly rhino.
  • Armor: Bristle is unarmored. However, Bristle does have several pieces of true ice placed on his shoulders that could potentially ward away blows. These pieces of true ice primarily serve to enhance Bristle's charge with ice magic.
    • Bristle was found by Sejuani during her daring raid on a Noxian cargo ship, allowing her to free the juvenile Druvask. Bristle would later grow into one of the largest of such beings and now bears her faithfully on his back.

X-Factors:

Experience:

Boris Bokha is an experienced warrior who has faced fighters ranging from the Warriors and Daemons of Chaos to the rampaging hordes of goblins and orcs. In addition, the people of Kislev are a warrior culture who pride themselves on being capable of fending and holding against the Forces of Chaos for generations. They serve as the shield of the Old World, fending off most Chaos attacks before they can even reach the Southern Empires.

Sejuani is the Warmother of the Winter's Claw, a fierce band of raiders. Those born in the Freljord are expected to fight from an early age and Sejuani is no exception. She has fought against the invading forces of Noxus and other Freljord raiders. Most recently, Sejuani has skirmished against the followers of the Volibear, men who turn themselves into bears during combat.

Physicality:

Boris is a strong and well-built man who was capable of fighting against a polar bear in extended hand to hand combat. While Boris was incapable of overpowering Urskin, holding his own against a large polar bear is still an impressive feat. In addition, his armor is enchanted to boost his strength even further.

Sejuani is an iceborn, who are completely immune to the cold and are capable of handling true ice without freezing over. This could provide her with protection from Boris' spear's enchanted frost. The iceborn are also known for being very formidable physically.

Armor:

Boris is clad in armor that completely covers everything from the neck-down. It's worth noting that Boris lacks a helmet.

Sejuani is clad in plates of steel and a helmet. However, relatively large gaps are visible in several areas including parts of her thighs, arms, and even a small amount of her upper-chest which is covered in what appears to be quilted cloth.

• Prologue: Sejuani
• Prologue: Boris

Sejuani, the Warmother of the Winter’s Claw brings down her flail on the last of the invaders; shattering him into pieces where once he stood like an icicle.

The men she faced on this day were not like any other she had fought in the past. They were well-armored, like the Noxian invaders from years ago. Yet they fought with a savagery ordinarily reserved for the Frejlord, braving the freezing cold with the resilience that made her people famous. Yet for all of their bravery, they were not iceborn. Strikes from Sejuani's flail caused them to freeze, leaving them easy pickings for the rest of her warriors.

In a better time, they would have made a fitting contribution to the Winter’s Claw. Yet these men sought to do the impossible: they planned to kill the Volibear’s mortal avatar while it lay in hibernation. Such an event cannot be allowed to pass if Sejuani’s ambitions of ruling the Frejlord are to be fulfilled.

Bristle, her boar, shakes the discarded corpse of one of the foreigner’s bears from his tusks. Sending the carcass of the great beast tumbling off to the side, allowing it to crash down against the rocks below. While the men of Kislev may have proved resistant to the blizzard, they had not proved immune to the difficulty of navigating through the storm.

The Tsar’s Guards were isolated and scattered, hunted down in groups by the Winter’s Claw and the rampaging beasts that inhabited the Volibear’s den.

Her fingers grasp her flail, gritting her teeth at the feeling of stinging of the true ice making contact with her gauntlet. Even for an ice borne, clutching a weapon of true ice is painful. She adjusts her helmet, before turning Bristle to face the lonely trail that would lead up to where the Thousand Pierced Bear currently hibernates.

Bristle sets out along the trail, his hooves cracking the icy ground and almost shaking the earth with his footsteps.

Boris Ursus, the Tsar of Kislev and victor of a thousand battles pulls on the reigns of his bear, gazing up at the mountain that rises before him.

The tsar is nearing the end of his journey, reaching a land foreign even to the voice of Ursus that instructed him to undertake this mission. Where once Boris was accompanied by a hundred of his finest men, now only he remains.

He seeks his destiny: pursuing the words of his deity into the Chaos Wastes and beyond, seeking the false god that claims followers. Where Ursun’s roar promises the end of winter and the preservation of Kislev, this other bear, this storm-touched beast promises the destruction of the new ways and the return of the old.

The old ways would not fend off Chaos.

First Boris’ men had faced the men, savage warriors claiming to wield the claws of Winter itself. These men were brave, they were strong, and they were valorous: yet they fought as warriors and not as soldiers. Boris’ men had made quick work of them as they marched further into the blizzard.

Then came the bears. An army of creatures of all different colors and species. Some crackled with lightning, and some walked on hind legs like men. Yet each of them was dispatched by the men of Kislev.

And finally came the monsters. Mishappen combinations of man and beast: Boris had seen many things in his wars against Chaos, yet these were uniquely unsettling. He had seen an elk with the skull of a human child where its head should be, lumbering towards them while shouting in the voice of a man. He had seen bears crowned with antlers and boars with the claws and teeth of lions.

Yet he continued on until he finally stood at the base of the mountain. Alone, yet undaunted. It is here where he will achieve the goal of his god: where he would slay the Thousand Pierced Bear while it lay in hibernation. A thousand men had braved the task in the past, their weapons now piercing its hide yet never striking a fatal blow. Boris, however, was not a thousand other men. He carried the blessing of Ursun, and the strength of Kislev coursed through his veins.

Pressing his heels into the flank of his bear, he motions for it to begin the climb upward: towards his final challenge and to the den of the Thousand Pierced Bear.