THRESH

The Chain Warden

Thresh is a cruel, sadistic, and cunning spectre who plays dirty to get what he wants. Thats what I think, anyway.
Ever since I laid eyes on him however many years ago, I knew this guy was for me. My bff told me to scroll through the store and see if there were any champions I liked, either based on gameplay or just character-wise. I found a funny little green dude and said "oh, this guy looks cool!" Little did I know, that purchase would change the course of my life. Only slightly exaggerating.
I spent a pretty long time trying to get better at Thresh. Lots of awful games, flaming, etc etc, you know how the League community is. But I got better. And better. And suddenly, I was being called Madlife every other game. People called me 'best Thresh NA,' people I knew irl would write 'best hooks' on my schoolwork, and I got a really big head about it. Can I still play that well? No, not at all. Wish I would've recorded more gameplay back then, because my plays were actually a little insane.
Then, a fateful day arrived.
A single typo would change it all.

'tesh, where are your wards'

or something like that. I don't even remember what they said to me, because Tesh was just the greatest typo anyone had ever made out of my name. Er, his name. But I mean, you know where this is going already.
Yoink.
And so, my sona's name became Tesh. And every passing year, I kind of liked being called by my sona's name more and more. Oops, transed my gender. Oops, my name is Tesh now. Short for some collection of letters I made up- Tesran.
I don't play League much anymore, but Thresh was my everything for a while, and sometimes he still is. Love this guy, no matter how shitty he is.

LORE

What delightful agony we shall inflict...

In the beginning, Erlok Grael was but a (not-so) humble student, waiting to be recognized by the great guardians of Helia. He had poured his entire life into studying hard to get what he wanted, trying to surpass his family's reputation of being illiterate pig farmers. However, Thresh's hubris and inflated ego would only lead him to be looked down upon by the magisters, and he was cast down to the catacombs beneath Helia to guard ancient artifacts that were hidden away. A position most equated to being a lowly custodian, with a demeaning name to go with- a Thresher.
After years of toiling with the artifacts in the deep dark, Thresh began to grow resentful of the higher-ups of Helia. Of course, the initial rejection was a massive blow to his ego, which had already soured his view of them. However, surrounded by nothing and no one for so many years began to eat at his mind- especially when coupled with the dark magic artifacts, whispering his deepest fantasies into reality. He began to go mad, and his bloodthirst grew evident. Especially to the people he was, you know, torturing.
When the Camavorans came to the isle, he hatched a devious plan. Manipulating his long-time enemy's student, Ryze, he figured out the location of the Waters of Life and planned to take what he was owed. When faced with the horrific conquest of Helia, led by none other than Hecarim and company, he relished in the screams of the guardians. With a final warning that the waters were unstable due to rune magic, they were slaughtered. Erlok Grael paid no attention to their last words, ready to usurp the waters for his own.
This would cause the Ruination.
The Guardians dying words had been no trick- the unstable rune magic, coupled with the corpse of the long-rotted Isolde and the anguish of the young king Viego, would combust into an all-powerful explosion of magic, shattering everything in its path and vaporising any poor soul it touched. Grael was among one of the first to be claimed by the power, screaming as he was ripped apart.
Then he awoke.
In a body now made of dark magic and bone, he laughed. Claws, fangs, and his favorite scythe hanging by his side, he took the name he had been called so many times before by the sneering majority who worked above him. He would take this name and wear it with pride, with power and with a renewed hunger for blood.
He would become Thresh.

Post-Ruination

Thresh now roams the Shadow Isles, claiming every lost soul for himself. He believes he owns them, and has an ever-growing collection of souls he has stolen from plenty- innocents, enemies, people who wander onto the Isles, etc.
He has since run into other inhabitants of the Isles, and it seems he's not very well liked. As Kalista states, the dead curse his name above all others. Hecarim thinks his hobby is petty and low- just as he was in life. Ledros, a dear friend of Kalista's in life, was swayed from his millenia-long goal by Thresh's twisted tongue, and now he roams the Isles in a perpetual misery, much to Thresh's delight.
Occasionally, when the mist grows strong, it will breach the island of Bilgewater, where the Harrowing will take place. The inhabitants board their buildings and pray as the islands are ravaged by damned souls, including the powerful spectres that are now free from the confines of the isles. Notably, Hecarim and Thresh have been depicted battling with their quite-literally mortal enemies. They've been defeated for now, but there's no telling how long Bilgewater can keep the demons at bay...
Now, Thresh has become unbound. Resurrecting Viego and manipulating him for his own gain, Thresh harnessed enough power to finally free himself from the mist. He now freely roams Runeterra for... whatever evil purposes. He's currently in Noxus, doing what he does best- adding to his beloved collection.

What is the worth of a soul?

So, why do I like him so much?
Well, he embodies a bunch of feelings nobody likes to admit having. Jealousy, bitterness, holding a grudge for way longer than you should, etc etc. He's just way, wayworse about it. It's the, uh, cartoonishly evil charm I think. Sure, I get jealous when other people get what I want. Unlike Thresh, I won't be sticking them in atorture dungeon.
There's also just the gameplay aspect. Admittedly, I like being really good at a character that can control everything if played right. The feeling of turning anentire teamfight- for better or worse- is nice. He's a solid support. I build him as best as I can to coincide with my ADCs- usually my lovely best friend- and hoverover them like a mama bear. Just click the lantern please.
Thresh is also responsible for the creation of one of my OCs / occasional sona, Quancher. He stemmed from an oldfanfic that I had to scrap when Riot completely changed Thresh's lore from being a jailer, but that's from forever ago.
Anyway, yeah. I'd recommend at least watching the shorts linked on this page- they're a blast.

anyway, i have more things i wanna do with this shrine in the future. TO DO:

• splash arts + skins
• model / animation viewer somehow?

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