Tree Spirit

Tree Spirits are ancient magical beings tied to the primordial forests and natural magic of Runeterra. They arise from concentrations of natural magic in the oldest and most magically dense woodlands, embodying the life force of the natural world and serving as guardians of ancient groves. Their strongest presences are found in Ionia, where nature spirits are revered as essential parts of the ecosystem, and in the Shadow Isles, whose forests were among the most abundant in life before the Ruination. Maokai was once a treant of the Blessed Isles, a living embodiment of the islands' abundant life force. He absorbed so much magical energy from the Waters of Life that he became sentient and developed a deep love for the natural world. When the Ruination struck, he was one of the few beings to survive with his consciousness intact, though his body was twisted by dark magic. He now carries the last drops of uncorrupted life water within his heartwood and fights to cleanse the blighted islands of undeath. Ivern, the Green Father, followed the opposite path. He was once a cruel Freljordian warrior known as Ivern the Cruel who tried to cut down the God-Willow, the most ancient tree in Ionia. The act transformed him into a gentle, tree-like spirit bound to protect the natural world he had set out to destroy, a rare story of a destroyer remade into a guardian. Not every tree spirit remains benevolent. In an Ionian valley, a colossal forest spirit was corrupted and driven mad, tearing the ground apart and snatching young neophytes into its hollow, jagged mouth. The young Akali risked herself to draw the monster's attention and drag her friends clear as animated vines and falling boughs came down around her. Faey struck it with arrows that burst into golden fire, and when the giant closed in for the kill, Akali's mother Mayym rained kunai upon its limbs while Kennen assaulted it with rushing bolts of lightning until the corrupted spirit was torn apart. Tree Spirits give voice to the idea that the natural world has its own consciousness, will, and right to exist. In Ionia, the destruction of sacred groves is treated as one of the gravest offenses against the natural order, and Maokai's struggle to restore the Blessed Isles stands as one of the few hopeful threads in that region's bleak history.