Universe:Elise
- The Spider Queen
- Lady Elise
- Berholdt Zaavan † (Spouse)
- (Distant relative)
Noxus. She was once the mistress of a powerful noble house, until the bite of a transformed her into something utterly inhuman, yet still beautiful—an arachnoid creature, drawing unsuspecting prey into her web. Elise now feeds upon the naive and the faithless, and there are few who can resist her seductions.
![]() | "Beauty is power too, and can strike swifter than any sword." — Elise |
![]() |
Background[edit | edit source]
Early Life[edit | edit source]
Centuries before the present day, Elise was born to House Kythera, which was one of the oldest bloodlines in Noxus. When she came of age, Elise was able to manipulate her way into a beneficial political marriage to Berholdt of the much more powerful House Zaavan, elevating her own status at Zaavan's expense. Elise's influence continued to grow with time, and it did not go unnoticed by the shadowy forces secretly controlling the empire, nor by her ever more resentful husband, Berholdt.
Jealous of his wife's influence, Berholdt poisoned Elise's wine at the dinner table before demanding she withdraw from society and relinquish her power back to him, the head of their house. Since Berholdt had the poison's antidote, Elise made a show of remorse and begged for his forgiveness, and when he let his guard down, she took a knife from the table and stabbed him through the heart. Elise took the antidote, but the poison's effect was potent, leaving her bedridden and near death for weeks.
During this time, the mysterious Pale Woman Black Rose. Berholdt, who had been a pawn in their ranks, was now dead, and since Elise was now leader of Houses Kythera and Zaavan, she would have to take his place as a member of the cabal or risk being removed. Elise saw the Pale Woman's offer as an opportunity to acquire ever more power, and over time, she rose through their ranks, using her cunning and wealth to trounce her rivals and persuade others to do her bidding.
Transformation[edit | edit source]
After some time serving as a member of the Black Rose, Elise heard rumors that the skull of an ancient warlord named Shadow Isles. To gain the matron's favor, Elise took a ship with several acolytes to the cursed city of Helia, venturing deep through the Black Mist and into the city's depths in search of the artifact.
Elise and her servants avoided the undead spirits, but as they navigated the depths, they were suddenly ambushed by an enormous creature from a long-forgotten past known as twisted treeline and sailed back to Noxus alone, returning to her human shape.
, the Spider God. Vilemaw devoured Elise's crew and sank his fangs into Elise's shoulder, using his venom to enact a violent transformation throughout her body. Several arachnoid legs ripped out from her spine, and when the pain of her transformation subsided, she saw her new master looming above her, and without a word, she understood what he wished from her. She left theAlthough Elise hadn't found what she had been looking for, the Pale Woman saw an opportunity in her new abilities, which had given the Black Rose a means to travel freely between Noxus and the Shadow Isles. They struck an accord so that Elise would bring as many unwitting sacrifices as Vilemaw desired, and in return, Elise would be free to recover any ancient artifacts from the ruins of Helia to bring back to Noxus.
Recent Events[edit | edit source]
Service to Vilemaw[edit | edit source]
Over the centuries since Elise's transformation, she would sustain her eternal beauty and youth by making continuous sacrifices to the Spider God.[1] Among these sacrifices were either Black Rose devotees or other hapless aristocrats she had seduced under her will, like 1 Lord Emet.[2]
Robbery at the Zaavan Manse[edit | edit source]
- Main article: The Shuttered Manse
One day, a Shuriman thief called No-Face Nyam was hired by a powerful man to steal an artifact Elise had collected for LeBlanc, and he broke into the empty, quiet manse of House Zaavan. Elise was waiting for him in the library, and during their altercation, Nyam accidentally broke the cursed hourglass, unleashing a
6 Soulgorger into the room. Elise and Nyam briefly joined forces so they could escape to safety, and she injected him with some of her venom so they could defeat the monster together. After Elise imprisoned the spirits once again, Nyam was relieved that they had both survived, feeling a newfound devotion to Lady Elise. However, Elise believed the hourglass was not a strong enough vessel, so she killed Nyam and sealed the spirits inside his bleached skull, which she then delivered to LeBlanc in exchange for more suitors to sacrifice.
The Silken Danse[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Masque of the Black Rose
With the rise of the new Grand General, Elise received instructions to invite a number of notable figures to her home, the manor of House Kythera. Among these were the heroic Zaunite entrepreneur , and the fearless Desert Rose . The matron also hoped that would attend the masquerade ball, as she had need of his boldness for her new plan.
The Silken Danse, however, would be infiltrated by [3]
, who, on orders from an unknown individual, attended the ball in disguise to assassinate an unknown target. Elise attempted to defend the man and fought Katarina, but Katarina successfully slit her target's throat.Appearance[edit | edit source]
Elise is described as a woman of striking beauty. Her human appearance is charming and seductive, designed to attract her victims. She has sharp, defined facial features, dark eyes, and short, dark, slicked-back hair with a distinctive scarlet red sweep along the middle. She usually wears a black cape with scarlet red details, cinched with a cross-like brooch that resembles fangs. Beneath this facade however, she is a monstrous spider-hybrid.
In her spider form, Elise turns to crawl and develops multiple limbs that emerge from her back, maintaining her size but discarding all human proportions. Her skin transforms into a dark, furry, bloated mass with vivid patterns as predator coloration. Although she can fully transform into a spider, she also has an intermediate state in which she maintains a human face, torso and posture, but she assumes quasi-arachnoid characteristics, such as her extremities terminating in pointed edges and additional segmented limbs.
Personality[edit | edit source]
Elise is manipulative, cunning and cruel; from a young age, she discovered how to use her beauty to influence others. After her transformation, her abilities to seduce and deceive improved drastically. She often uses charm and the promise of power or ecstasy to lure her victims into her deadly web, enjoying the control she exercises over them. Although she is completely devoted to Black Rose to ensure a constant supply of victims. Despite her monstrous coldness, her human desires—a need for power and eternal youth—motivate her actions.
Abilities[edit | edit source]
- Magically Altered Physiology: After Elise was bitten by Vilemaw, she was turned into a terrible spider hybrid with several strange, mystical powers.
- Immortality: By taking the Vilemaw's venom from time to time, Elise managed to live for centuries, without any major aging. Despite this, she is still susceptible to death.
- Multiple Limbs: Elise has multiple extra limbs coming from her back. Those spider legs can be used as an extra arms or weapon against foes.
- Wall Crawling: With her spider limbs, Elise can crawl on vertical surfaces.
- Elise can naturally create a powerful neurotoxin that can be used to kill her foes in battle.
- Elise can produce webs to ensnare her foes.
- Elise has several spiderlings that she can produce and will, without the help of other being.
Elise can shift from a human form to that of a monstrous giant spider form. She also can stay in a in between form.
Relations[edit | edit source]
Black Rose[edit | edit source]
Elise is a loyal member of the Black Rose who primarily resides in
Noxus. She was first recruited by , who approached Elise when she was in a bedridden state after killing her husband, after which Elise became an influential aristocrat in the cabal's ranks. Elise's work for the Black Rose led her to the
Shadow Isles, which culminated in her transformation at the hands of . She decided to use her newfound powers to the Rose's advantage, providing acolytes to sacrifice to Vilemaw in exchange for free passage to the Shadow Isles and access to its powerful magical artifacts.
Elise is known to host high-society parties on behalf of the Black Rose, but they are known to be much less extravagant than the ones hosted by
. In support of the matron's plans, Elise sent a formal invitation to Vladimir in hopes he would attend the Silken Danse, but it is unknown if he accepted the invitation.[edit | edit source]
She worships
and its venom provides her with eternal youth in exchange for the acolytes as prey.[edit | edit source]
She has multiple spiderlings living with her in the ruin of House Zaavan's halls.
[edit | edit source]
For her daring feats across the empire, Samira is held in high regard by members of the Black Rose, including Samira's handler, Captain . Samira's fearlessness led Elise to view her as a kindred spirit, and because of this, Elise sent a letter to Samira inviting her to the Silken Danse in the Kythera manor. It is unknown if Samira accepted the invitation.
[edit | edit source]
As an assassin loyal to the Grand General Black Rose and frequently assassinates members in their ranks. Elise and Katarina had a direct confrontation at the Silken Danse, where she disguised herself as an attendee and infiltrated the Kythera manor to assassinate an unknown target. Elise tried to defend the man, but Katarina successfully slit his throat during their battle.
[edit | edit source]
The Black Rose has taken interest in Ezreal's feats of heroism across Runeterra, which he performs under the alias "Jarro Lightfeather." The cabal became interested in him, and because of this, Elise sent Ezreal an invitation to attend the Silken Danse. It is unknown if Ezreal accepted the invitation.
[edit | edit source]
As an influential businesswoman in Piltover and
Zaun, Renata Glasc caught the attention of the
Black Rose, with Elise hoping to establish a working business relationship with her. Renata Glasc was sent a personal invitation by Elise to the Silken Danse, but it is unknown if she accepted the invitation.
Read More
Biography
Starring Champion
Mentioned Champion
Alternate Universes
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Twisted Treeline altars, which can be found here. , , , , and would trigger dedicated lines about themselves when capturing the
Change log[edit | edit source]
The following change log is for the Character blurb found at the top of the article:
Character blurb | |
---|---|
21 Sep 2020 (During V10.19) | Added. |
For historical versions of other stories, please see each story's respective change log.