Secrets Beneath the Snow: The Magical Land of Freljord

Freljord is a frozen region in the north of Valoran, known for brutal winters and scarce resources. The people here grow up as warriors because survival demands strength, courage and loyalty.

The area is split between three major powers with clashing visions. One group follows ancient customs and secret magic, another dreams of a united future, and a third raids across the snow in search of strength and glory. At the heart of many conflicts lies True Ice, a rare magical substance found only in Freljord.

War hangs over the region. Old promises, new oaths and buried gods all pull the people toward another large conflict.

Origins of Freljord and the Demi-Gods

Creation of the Frozen Land

Long before humans settled the north, powerful demi-gods shaped the land that would become Freljord. They called it Vorrijaard. Wild magic flowed everywhere, and the first people saw these beings as living gods.

Ornn, the forge demi-god, gathered students known as the Hearthblood at Hearth-Home. They learned to build sturdy homes, craft strong tools and brew famous ales. Ornn rarely praised them, yet they believed he quietly approved of their hard work.

Volibear, demi-god of storms and destruction, fought beside his followers in runic armor forged by Ornn. His power grew with every blood offering. Even then, Ornn preferred craft to war, while Volibear savored battle.

Over time, the brothers drifted apart. Their final clash destroyed Hearth-Home in fire and lightning, killed the Hearthblood, and left Ornn alone with his guilt. He buried himself in his work, while Volibear embraced his raw power, casting off all crafted armor.

The Three Sisters

In a distant age, Lissandra, Serylda and Avarosa rose as three powerful sisters in Freljord. They sought to control the north during a time when old magic walked freely, and even the demi-gods could not agree on how to respond.

Some, like Anivia, leaned toward cooperation with the sisters. Others, like Volibear and the Iron Boar, preferred to crush them and their new ideas. The conflict between new order and old power set the tone for Freljord’s long history.

Each sister chased greater power and paid a high price. Serylda tried to command the skies and lost her voice. Avarosa faced the darkness beneath the world and lost her hearing. Lissandra met the fury of Volibear and lost her sight.

The sisters became Iceborn, along with their strongest followers, able to resist the killing cold. Secretly, Lissandra bargained with ancient entities called the Watchers, trading service and the promise to prepare Runeterra for the Void in exchange for near-immortality.

Battle of the Howling Abyss and Frostguard’s Vigil

The deal with the Watchers tore the sisters apart. Avarosa refused a future of servitude, and even Serylda resisted the terms. Lissandra stood between her sisters and the void-born powers she had invited.

At the Howling Abyss, the Iceborn forces of Avarosa and Serylda marched to confront Lissandra. When the Watchers finally entered Runeterra, Lissandra faced a choice: let the world fall or sacrifice those she loved. She chose sacrifice and sealed the Watchers under a mass of True Ice.

The prison did not fully silence them. The Watchers twisted the True Ice into something darker and haunted Lissandra’s dreams. To control the story, she and her followers, now called the Frostguard, erased records of the truth, spread new myths and hunted anyone believed to be a reincarnation of Avarosa or Serylda.

The Frostguard built their stronghold near the Howling Abyss and took on a holy duty. They watch the glacial prison, search for Iceborn bloodlines and hoard True Ice, all while hiding Lissandra’s role in the catastrophe.

Key Leaders and People of Freljord

Ashe and the Avarosan People

The Avarosan are one of the oldest Freljordian peoples. Guided first by Grena and later by Ashe, they look for unity through alliances instead of constant raids.

Ashe’s journey began with a hunt for Avarosa’s Throne. She followed Grena into the territory of the Ice Children, survived ambushes, and finally reached Ghulfrost. There she discovered a legendary bow of pure True Ice instead of a golden hall.

When Grena and many warriors fell, Ashe inherited not just a weapon but a burden. She later refused to join Sejuani in the slaughter of a weak community called the Ebrataal. Instead, she protected them, carried them across the Ice Sea and renamed them Avarosan in honor of her mother’s people.

To secure her position, Ashe entered a political marriage with Tryndamere, whose people had been destroyed by Aatrox. Over time, respect turned into real affection, even as war still looms over their future.

Sejuani and Winter’s Wrath

Sejuani leads Winter’s Claw, a harsh northern people known for fast raids and ruthless tactics. She grew up among moving camps that rebuilt each winter from ships and scrap on new shores.

After Ashe left her, Sejuani swore a sacred raid on a Noxian warship. On that raid she saved a young drüvask boar, Bristle, who became her massive battle mount. With Bristle and her own strength, she challenged the old order of her people.

Sejuani’s rise cost blood. Her mother, Kalkia, died in the struggle with the Frost Priests, and Sejuani claimed the role of Warmother. She drew in shamans, spirit walkers, Iceborn, Stormborn and those devoted to the old gods. Winter’s Claw gained a brutal reputation as they attacked southern communities, Noxian forces and even Demacia’s borderlands.

Lissandra and the Frostguard

Lissandra, once one of the Three Sisters, now rules from the Frostguard Citadel as the Ice Witch. Her people guard the Howling Abyss and treat True Ice as sacred.

In public, they present themselves as holy watchers. In secret, they rewrite Freljord’s history and act as the Watchers’ distant servants. Frost Priests travel across Freljord as healers and spies, loyal only to Lissandra and the faith of endless cold. They can smell lies and keep watch over many communities for hints of forbidden truths.

To Freljord’s common people, the Frostguard hold knowledge, power and religious authority. Behind that image lies fear of the day the Watchers wake.

Heroes and Allies

Freljord’s story includes many champions who shape daily life and legend:

• Braum, an Iceborn protector whose great heart and shield make him a symbol of hope.

• Tryndamere, the barbarian king, who fights as Ashe’s champion but still burns for revenge against Aatrox.

• Ornn, Volibear and Anivia, demi-gods whose actions forged the land and still influence events.

• Other champions, like Nunu, Gragas, Olaf, Trundle, Udyr and the yeti Willump, each reflect a different side of Freljord’s wild culture.

Outside powers also touch Freljord. Brand began as a Freljordian mage named Kegan Rodhe. Darius fought here and barely escaped Winter’s Claw. Sylas seeks support in the north for his Demacian revolution. Ezreal, Taliyah, Vayne and Yuumi have all crossed this frozen land in their own stories.

Regions and Landmarks of Freljord

North Freljord

The north holds the Ridgeback Mountains, where Frost Trolls live in their own village under Trundle. Ghulfrost, high on the cliffs, is the lonely cairn where Ashe found her True Ice bow.

Other northern locations include the Fortress of the Iceborn with its ancient vault, the Ice Children’s village, Avarosan settlements such as Vathcaer, and moving Winter’s Claw harbors like Yadulsk. The ruins of Yeti’s Vigil show the remains of a lost yeti civilization.

Farther still lies the Ursine Lands, across the Ice Sea, where Volibear and his Ursine followers rule near the world’s pole.

East Freljord

Eastern Freljord includes Hearth-Home, rebuilt by Ornn after his disastrous battle with Volibear. The region of Winterspike stretches south of the Broken Mountain.

The Howling Abyss dominates the east. It is a massive chasm that serves as the Watchers’ prison. Bridges with names like the Bridge of Sorrows and the Bridge of Shadow cross the void, and at the lower levels, Dark Ice forms as the Watchers corrupt True Ice.

Spiked barricades line the walls, built long ago by the Frostguard to slow any escape. Deep below stands the Hall of the Nine, constructed by yeti and inspected every year to check the prison’s strength. Above all of this rises the Frostguard Citadel, Lissandra’s seat and a holy destination for many northern pilgrims.

South Freljord

The south features the Ironspike Mountains, where Noxus controls the stronghold of Delverhold. Small communities, like Naljaäg, cling to frozen rivers and waterfalls. Naljaäg suffered under a curse until Nunu and Willump cleared it.

Rakelstake is a key sacred site. Once home to the Ice Dervish, it now serves as an Avarosan pilgrimage location. A statue of Avarosa stands here, and it is the place where Ashe and Tryndamere became oathbound.

West Freljord

The west stretches toward the sea. Lokfar, home of Olaf, juts out as a rough peninsula. Harbors like Glaserport hold chained wolfships through the winter, many belonging to Winter’s Claw raiders.

Other western locations include Da’arvong, where Braum once protected an infant from Lissandra’s forces, the trading post of Valar’s Hollow, and cursed ruins such as Rygann’s Reach. These scattered settlements show how Freljordians rely on ships, trade and seasonal movement to survive.

Wildlife and Creatures of the Freljord

Freljord’s wildlife mixes harsh realism with powerful magic:

• Balestriders: towering beings with True Ice-like horns and a single glowing eye, linked to dark magic and feared as omens.

• Drüvask: huge war-hogs used as mounts, strong enough to carry grown Iceborn, like Sejuani’s mount Bristle.

• Elnüks: shaggy, herd-based animals used for meat, clothing, mounts and even as a form of currency.

• Mammoths: giant tusked beasts that pull cargo and ships and serve as mounts for elite fighters.

• Poros: magical, round creatures of the Howling Abyss with light-blue fur and heart-shaped bellies, led by the Poro King.

• Krugs: living stone creatures powered by nature magic, found across Valoran.

• Wolves, raptors and wildclaws: common predators, ranging from grey wolves to icy Rimefang wolves and four-legged wildclaw felines used as mounts.

• Yeti: once a wise, magical people whose civilization fell to Lissandra’s icy cataclysm. Most became feral, but Willump still guards the last fragment of their ancient magic.

These creatures are not just background. They define hunting patterns, war tactics and even trade routes for Freljord’s people.

Culture, Government and Oaths

Matriarchal Leadership and Warmothers

Freljord is mostly matriarchal and non-hereditary. Most communities follow a Warmother, a leading woman who commands warriors, manages alliances and protects children.

Under the Warmother stand bloodkin, steelskins, claw leaders, champions, shamans and related families. If a group loses its Warmother, another woman usually steps forward. Sometimes this shift is peaceful, sometimes decided with ritual combat, and sometimes it ends with people leaving to join a different banner.

Men can lead if no strong magical women exist, but this leadership is often seen as temporary. A male leader is expected to seek a powerful Warmother or skarthane and tie his people under a larger banner.

Oathbound Relationships and Family

Relationships in Freljord revolve around oaths, not land ownership. To marry or swear an oath is to promise protection for someone’s children and kin.

One person can be oathbound to several others. A respected warrior might swear to a Warmother, while his partner and mother swear to her as sisters. Their children then fall under the Warmother’s direct protection.

Large, interlinked families spread risk in a land full of famine, war and monsters. Having more children, especially those with magic such as Iceborn or skinwalkers, strengthens the entire network. Men gain honor by protecting families; women focus on ensuring the survival of children and gifted bloodlines.

Sex itself is less important than the safety of those bonds. A high-ranking woman having intimacy outside her oathbound circle is seen as scandalous. The real value lies in shared duty and the survival of the next generation.

Important Roles and Titles

Several roles support this structure:

• A skarthane is a high-ranking retainer, trusted to lead fighters and often heading a sub-group under a Warmother.

• A vedmah is both warrior and seer, using magic to guide decisions and point out hidden dangers.

• A Frost Priest serves Lissandra’s faith, watching over communities, healing, and quietly reporting back to the Frostguard.

• A battlemaiden serves an older warrior until she proves herself, then may become a battlesister, tied by blood oath and status to a powerful woman.

These titles reflect a culture where scars, loyalty and proven courage matter more than birth alone.

Freljord and Other Nations

Demacia and Noxus

Demacia shares a tense border with Freljord. Northern Demacian lands once formed part of the frozen region, and raiders often strike their homesteads. The Dauntless Vanguard once burned the Avarosan capital of Frostheld to push the Freljordians back.

Noxus has fought long campaigns in Freljord. Darius led one of these efforts, but Winter’s Claw under Sejuani resisted fiercely. The struggle turned into a grinding stalemate. Now, after political change in Noxus, Darius marches again to reclaim the Winterspike road.

Ionia and Bilgewater

Freljord also connects to distant lands. Ivern the Cruel once sailed from the north to Ionia in search of power. During the Noxian invasion of Ionia, Udyr supported Ionian defenders at places like Hirana and Shojin.

Bilgewater hosts ships and harbors with Freljordian roots. Some residents there share northern bloodlines, and Freljordian fishers trade along its coasts, tying sea routes to the frozen north.

Why Freljord Matters in League of Legends

Freljord is more than a snowy backdrop. It holds shattered alliances, buried godlike beings and people shaped by a constant fight against hunger, cold and war.

Many LoL champions carry this weight into their stories and into the game itself. Ashe’s dream of unity, Sejuani’s rage, Lissandra’s secret pact, Braum’s kindness, Ornn’s isolation and Volibear’s fury all come from the same frozen ground.

For anyone interested in Runeterra, Freljord offers a clear look at how magic, memory and harsh weather can shape people, power structures and destiny. As new stories unfold, the frozen north remains a place where old promises still matter and the ice can crack at any moment.

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