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Katarina OriginalCentered
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Noxus Crest icon

Biography

The Sinister Blade

By Anthony Burch

Biography[]

Born to one of the most respected noble families of Noxus Crest icon Noxus, Katarina Du Couteau Katarina Du Couteau found herself elevated above others from an early age. While her younger sister Cassiopeia Cassiopeia took after their politically brilliant mother mother, Katarina was very much her father’s daughter, and the wily General Du Couteau General Du Couteau pushed her to learn the way of the blade; to cut away the empire’s enemies not with reckless brutality, but deadly precision. He was a harsh teacher with many pupils, and notoriously difficult to impress.

So it was that Katarina’s childhood—if it can be called such—had little room for kindness or rest. She spent every waking moment honing herself into the ultimate weapon, testing her endurance, her dexterity, her tolerance for pain. She stole poisons from the city’s least reputable apothecaries, testing their efficacy in tiny increments upon herself, gradually building her resistance even as she catalogued their effects. She scaled the tallest towers in the dead of night, unseen by anyone.

She yearned to do her part for Noxus. She yearned for the opportunity to demonstrate her hidden strengths in service of the empire, and the throne.

Her first mark came straight from her father, camped with his warbands on the eve of one of the military’s innumerable westward invasions… She was to assassinate a line officer of the opposing army, a low-born wretch by the name of Demetrius.

Katarina was livid. She hadn’t trained her entire life to have her talents wasted on some dungheel barely skilled enough to swing a sword! He simply wouldn’t do. Instead of her assigned target, Katarina stole into the enemy camp and slit the enemy commander’s throat as he slept. It was a flawless execution. It would bring a swift victory, and glory to Noxus. It would make her father proud.

At dawn, his face daubed with ashes, the vengeful hero Demetrius led a berzerk charge into her father’s encampment. Dozens of Noxian soldiers were slaughtered, along with the general’s personal retinue. Katarina’s father himself barely escaped with his life.

He was furious beyond words, refusing even to look his daughter in the eye. She had shamed him, and their family name. The greatest assassins do not seek recognition or glory, he reminded her. They do not expect to occupy a place of honor at their master’s right hand.

Overwhelmed, Katarina struck out into the wilderness, alone. She would complete her original mission. Demetrius would pay with his life. Even so, her mind swam. Could she ever forgive herself? How had she been so foolish?

She was so distracted, she didn’t see her attacker her attacker until he had nearly taken her eye out.

For Katarina’s failure, General Du Couteau General Du Couteau had sent another of his protégés after her; a nameless whelp dragged up from one of the lesser assassins’ guilds. But even with blood streaming down her face, the years of rigorous training kicked in, and her blades were in her hands in an instant.

Six hours later, she tossed Demetrius’s severed head at her father’s feet.

She told the general she had considered taking his head instead, but eventually decided—as much as she hated to admit it—that he had done the right thing in ordering her death. She had failed. Not just as an assassin, or as a daughter, but as a Noxian.

And failure must have its consequences. She ran her fingers along the raw, deep gash over her left eye, and thought of the price others had paid for her arrogance.

She knew she had lost her father’s favor, and could never regain it. He would raise others in her place, simply to spite her. Still, she vowed to redeem herself, no matter the cost—to rededicate her talents to the empire, and to become the sinister weapon she always intended to be.

Change log[]

The Sinister Blade
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Katarina Render
"Never question my loyalty. You will never know what I endure for it." - Katarina Katarina

Driven by an intense killer instinct killer instinct, Katarina uses her talents as an assassin for the glory of Noxus, and the continued elevation of her family. While her fervor drives her to ever-greater feats, it can sometimes lead her astray.

From childhood, Katarina displayed a natural gift for combat. As the daughter of a prominent Noxian general many paths were open to her, but she rejected them all for the path of the blade. Rigorously trained by the finest assassins in Noxus, her father the best among them, it was not long before Katarina demanded her first assignment. The task they gave her was aggravatingly simple: assassinate a low-ranking Demacian officer. As she set to her work infiltrating the enemy camp, Katarina discovered an opportunity too tantalizing to pass by - the arrival of a Demacian General. Stalking him to his tent, she quietly dispatched his guards and slit his throat. Pleased with her impressive kill, she disappeared into the night. Katarina's elation faded the next day when her original objective, the Demacian officer, led his forces to ambush unprepared Noxian soldiers. Though the Noxians fought valiantly, they suffered heavy casualties.

Furious at her mistake, Katarina set off to complete her original task. Returning to the camp, she spied her now heavily guarded target and realized a stealthy kill was no longer possible. Drawing her blades blades, Katarina swore the officer would die, no matter the cost. She leapt leapt into battle, unleashing a whirlwind whirlwind of steel. One by one blades flashed and guards fell, each strike bringing her one step closer to the officer. A final thrown dagger restored her honor. Bloody and bruised, Katarina barely escaped the Demacian forces, and returned to Noxus a changed woman. The scar she earned that night now serves as a constant reminder that she must never let passion interfere with duty.
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Katarina Render
"Never question my loyalty. You will never know what I endure for it." - Katarina Katarina

Born to Noxian privilege, Katarina trained in the ways of the knife from the time she was a child. Now that fiery, willful child has grown into a beautiful and deadly woman. Katarina's intense passion for life is tempered by a sense of duty and loyalty to her family. That same passion proves a double-edged sword when her heart and her responsibilities are at odds.

As the free-spirited daughter of a prominent Noxian general, the young Katarina was given the best of everything. Naturally gifted in combat, she found herself drawn to blades. Much to her family's pride, she trained under the deadliest assassins in the Noxian military. It wasn't long before Katarina's instructors deemed her worthy of a trial by fire - to kill a prominent Demacian soldier.

Creeping through the darkened military camp, Katarina was overwhelmed by her passion to prove herself. When the army's General strayed across her path, unguarded, she quietly slit his throat. Katarina disappeared into the night, pleased with her impressive kill.

Her elation was soon crushed, as the next day her original target - the prominent soldier who was the true military genius - led his forces to ambush unprepared Noxian soldiers. Katarina flung flung herself into the fray to correct her mistake, earning a scar over her left eye as a permanent reminder.

Even though she finally completed her task, her family's reputation was damaged. Since that day, Katarina vowed to never let passion prevent her from bringing glory to both Noxus and her family. Reconciling her desires with her duty proves to be a constant challenge.

To the world, Katarina is a symbol of Noxian patriotism, though there is more to the red-haired assassin than meets the eye.
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Katarina Render old2
"The Sinister Blade of Noxus is like a black widow - beautiful, but deadly." - Garen Garen, the Might of Demacia, following a skirmish in the field

As a militaristic state, it would perhaps come as no surprise that the primary responsibilities of Noxian women are raising strong children and providing succor for husbands who walk the path of soldiery. There are some, however, for whom nurture is not nature, and Katarina Katarina is just such a creature.

Born the daughter of the feared Noxian General Du Couteau, the girl was always more interested in her father's knives than in the dresses, jewelry, and other trifles that her sister sister spent so much time fussing over. A childhood dispute soon unveiled her uncanny knack for bloodshed bloodshed, and her father, ever the opportunist, happily fostered her Killer Instincts Killer Instincts.

After training under the tutelage of the finest assassins the mighty city-state had to offer, Katarina first cut her teeth performing assassinations in the Ionian War. There, her ruthless mastery of the knife and dagger combined with her sadistic temperament to earn her the title Sinister Blade, a moniker that would follow her for the remainder of her career. She is most famous, however, for her exploits in the campaigns against Demacia, especially those surrounding her engagements with the nation's champion, Garen Garen; a rivalry which began when she recovered the remains of Sion Sion from a vanguard under his protection.

With the demand for warfare somewhat arrested by the tenuous peace settling over Valoran, Katarina sought the allure of violence in its last remaining haven: the League of Legends. Some might say it was an inevitability that Katarina's chosen path would draw her to become a champion of the League, continuing to enforce the will of Noxus and bring prestige of war to her noble family. There, she continues to perform her bloody work - esteemed and reviled, feared and adored.
V1.0.0.32 (October 23rd, 2009) Original version.
Katarina Render old
"The blade-mistress of Noxus is like a black widow - beautiful, but deadly." Many of the noble daughters of Noxus are content to live their decadent lives of privilege. Not so with Katarina. Daughter of the feared Noxian General Du Couteau, the girl was always more interested in her father's blades than in the dresses her sisters spent so much time fussing over. Her father, ever the opportunist, happily fostered her bloodlust. Katarina was trained by the finest warriors under her father's command and, once she bested them, by Noxus's most lethal assassins. The ruthless woman first cut her teeth performing covert missions in the Ionian War, but the challenge of such engagements was simply not enough to sate her ambitions. Katarina wanted not only to be deadly, she wanted to be feared and adored. The League of Legends called and Katarina eagerly answered.

References

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