Name: Garen Crownguard
Canon: League of Legends
Age: ~27
History:
Garen was born in the ending years of the Rune Wars to the soldier lineage known as the Crownguards. In many ways he was born in war, and the image of the endless destruction wrought as Demacia and Noxus grew increasingly desperate to put an end to each other is as vivid in his memories as his own mother's touch. It is no surprise then that he always knew he was not just going to be a warrior, he was going to be the greatest warrior in the history of Demacia and put a decisive end to the conflict that had raged on for as long as the two nations existed.
That was exactly what he did, learning how to use a sword as soon as he could use one, and joining the Demacian Army the moment he was old enough. As the Crownguard heir it was expected of him, but he knew it was his calling even without the pressure known as family. He blazed a trail through everything his drill sergeants could think to throw at him without breaking so much as a sweat, standing heads and shoulders over his peers, and from then on the eyes of the entire country were upon this young talent. Brilliant, handsome, a fine name, and a dynamic duo with the crown prince, he was slated to be Demacia's next hero.
Garen lived up to all those expectations and more, graduating from officer's school with the highest grades in Demacia's history and heading off to the battlefield as part of her vanguard. As a lieutenant, he cut his way through Noxus' forces with almost contemptuous ease, wielding his platoon as easily as he did his signature great sword, battering down even entire companies with what seemed like little more than sheer force of will. However, with just that, he would merely be an exceptional soldier, not one of the most celebrated heroes to ever step upon a battlefield.
If there was one battle where he ensured his name would be whispered in alternatively reverence and fear, it would be when Demacia's crown prince, Jarvan Lightshield IV was captured by enemy forces. It is a moment Garen will remember forever, when it was decided the prince would be left for dead. The crown prince, and his best friend! It was a decision that would not stand. So Garen commandeered the Dauntless Vanguard from behind his captain's back, successfully persuading them to march with him to glory or death, for if they failed, they would either be slain by the Noxian forces or executed by their own allies for mutiny.
They got glory. The prince was saved, a Noxian hero was slain, a famed commander was embarrassed, and an assault by one of its up-and-coming assassins was successfully repelled. Garen Crownguard had displayed courage and strength beyond what could be expected even from a Demacian soldier, and had put those who were supposed to be his superiors to shame. From then on, he took formal command of the Dauntless Vanguard, men already famous for being the first into any battle and the last out, and led them from strength to strength. It was around then that the moniker “Might of Demacia” began to stick.
The Might of Demacia's battles continue to this day, with no end to hostilities in sight. He grows increasingly frustrated with the crown's reliance on the Vanguard for what seems to be every minor crisis, but he continues to fight, trying to find something in this seemingly endless war.
Personality:
“Throughout Valoran, the resolve of Demacia's military is alternately celebrated or despised, but always respected. Their 'zero tolerance' moral code is strictly upheld by civilians and soldiers alike. In combat, this means Demacian troops may not make excuses, flee, or surrender by example. Garen, the valiant warrior who bears the title 'the Might of Demacia,' is the paradigm to which these leaders are compared.” This is the blurb which opens his official lore, and sums up much of Garen's personality. He is Demacia's favourite son, someone larger than life who is, in so many words, everything a Demacian should be.
In spite of that, or rather, because of that, he is not High Command's drone. While he may respect authority, Garen represents Demacia not as she is, but as she should be. Brave, kind, and uncompromising. Someone who puts justice first and orders a distant second. It is something which puts him constantly at odds with High Command behind closed doors, but at the same time he knows it would be terrible for morale for one of Demacia's greatest icons to publicly oppose the government, and is frequently forced to bite his tongue. It is a relationship that goes both ways however, and High Command often has to pretend to endorse Garen's occasional unsanctioned adventures to keep the people's favour, knowing how easily someone like him could sway elections.
If he has any fatal flaws, it would be his over-protectiveness. He is someone who knows the bitterness that comes with failing to protect someone you love, having had his sister taken from him by the army when he was busy training, the little girl sent screaming and crying off to be raised by the state's magical academy when she needed her parents most. She has since returned to his side, and he now refuses to give her up to anyone. Wannabe boyfriends have it extremely tough. Lux was also in many ways the catalyst that led to the realisation that neither his parents nor High Command were perfect, and the important of forging his own path independent of the Crownguard name and the orders of his superiors.
If he has a second fatal flaw, it would be that he constantly straddles the line between relentless and obsessive, with only a handful of people capable of keeping him in check. His is a ceaseless pursuit – of justice, of strength, and even of love. He not only won't stop, in many ways he can't, and while he has turned that into one of his greatest strengths, he must always remember to fight his darkest tendencies lest he become little more than a hypocrite who hurts the weak to get to evil, who loses sight of why exactly he wants to become stronger, or who harms those he loves while chasing after them.
He is someone who seeks conflict, partly because he wishes to end it swiftly, but also to test himself. There is always something bigger for him, for his dream is to put an end to the war between Demacia and Noxus, but not while Noxus continues its amoral path to power. He knows that the only way that can happen is if he proves beyond a doubt that it is those who fight for a reason greater than power for its own sake who can truly become strong, and it is partly for that reason that he is always chasing after his greatest rivals. To prove his strength.
While his public image is of a stern and uncompromising stalwart of justice, that is not all that Garen Crownguard is. He is an army man through and through, and is hardly above the sillier traits common to them. Finding some levity in war is important for keeping your sanity, and it is no different for Garen, who when left alone knows some dances and jokes that would seem utterly out of character for a hero like him. Imitating old boy bands is just the beginning for the Might of Demacia, and he enjoys some truly terrible wordplay.
Garen Crownguard leads his men by example, and that means always dedicating himself to be someone that can inspire them to greatness. To his men, he is invincible, someone who represents all of Demacia's strengths. He has yet to disappoint them, and he certainly has no intention of ever doing so.
Powers and Abilities:
Garen is an expert commander, and an even better fighter. He is far stronger, faster, and more skillful than any ordinary man, but is not the greatest by any of those metrics in terms of the champions across Runeterra. Where he stands heads and shoulders even amongst demigods and kings however, is his iron will. Giving up is an interesting concept for Garen, but not something that has any relevance on his life. There is no enemy too great to beat, no wall too high to scale, and no march too long to finish.
He steadfastly refuses to let himself be slowed, stopped, or even look hurt, and so he isn't. He easily breaks free of the deepest mud with a charge, the mightiest of magic are thrown off with a shout, and when he says he will walk it off, he means it. He has completed the longest of campaigns with nary a pant, and faced down opponents who should have utterly outmatched him with little more than sheer grit.
His force of will is so great that while he is completely incapable of magic, lacking even the most basic of mana pools, he is still capable of projecting devastating strikes over distances long beyond the reach of his blade. Those struck by Demacian Justice say they see a sword crashing down upon them from the sky, or they would, if they survived. Garen himself barely understands how it works, but he just rolls with it.
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