The Spirit of Hearth-Home
The Spirit of Hearth-Home is the gentlest, warmest thing League of Legends has ever put in its client. Built to introduce Aurora, the Witch Between Worlds, it drops you into Ornn's soot-stained mountain forge — cluttered with errant ore, scattered books, and abandoned tools.
You play as Aurora, who has come seeking the reclusive demigod-blacksmith's help on behalf of her ailing spirit companion, Hestrelk. Ornn being Ornn, he isn't handing out favors for free — so you earn his goodwill the old-fashioned way, by cleaning up his home across five rooms that visibly flip from messy to tidy as you set them right.
Between the click-everything exploration sit a handful of satisfying puzzles, and the whole thing is bookended by two fully illustrated, voiced, and scored comics that carry the real emotional weight of Aurora and Ornn's meeting. It's short, hand-crafted, and unmistakably canon.
The Spirit of Hearth-Home At a Glance
| Event | Aurora Launch |
|---|---|
| Year | 2024 |
| Genre | Cozy Adventure |
| Controls | Mouse |
| Setting | Ornn's mountain forge (The Freljord) |
| Where to play | Free in your browser on RuneGrove — no League client needed |
Where The Spirit of Hearth-Home Is Set
Ornn's soot-stained mountain forge, five rooms deep — Courtyard, Library, Main Hall, Smelter and Workshop — with a Freljordian nyckelharpa standing in the library and books belonging to Ornn, Volibear and Lissandra waiting to be shelved.
How to Play The Spirit of Hearth-Home
The Spirit of Hearth-Home is played with the mouse in the browser — there is nothing to install and no League client to open. The full input map:
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Left-click | Move, examine, and collect objects |
| Drag | Shelve books and arrange tools |
| Esc | Menu / back |
Tidy the Forge
Five rooms — Courtyard, Library, Main Hall, Smelter, and Workshop — each visibly transform from messy to tidy as you set them right.
Gentle Puzzles
Shelve books by their owner (Ornn, Volibear, Lissandra), play a Freljordian nyckelharpa by numeric code, arrange tools, and order the smelter.
Two Motion Comics
A 10-page intro and a 9-page outro — both voiced and scored — bookend the adventure and carry Aurora and Ornn's meeting.
The Cast
- Aurora — Playable protagonist — the Witch Between Worlds
- Ornn — The reclusive demigod-blacksmith
- Hestrelk — Aurora's ailing spirit companion
Did You Know
- It launched Aurora — the game's whole purpose was to tell her canon first meeting with Ornn.
- It was called "Cornflakes" in development.
- The keyed-and-bowed instrument in Ornn's Library is a Freljordian nyckelharpa.
- Completion grants three profile icons and the "Note Taken" emote.
Lore of Hearth-Home
Every book, ore and tool Aurora can pick up, each with the note she writes about it in her notebook. Text is word for word from the game.
The Story of Ornn
The Fire Below the Mountain: A Life of Solitude — A volume documenting how Ramhuarg came to be the way he is in great detail. Some might say too great of detail (not me).
The Fire Below the Mountain: Volcano's Rest — An encyclopedic record of the formation of Ramhaurg's home. (I wonder if this volcano is dormant...)
The Fire Below the Mountain: The March of Time — The sparsest of the volumes on Ramhaurg. It speaks mostly to the loss of his history over the years. It's heartbreaking.
The Fire Below the Mountain: A Blacksmith's Legacy — A less upsetting volume than the last. This centers around all the incredible weapons and tools Ramhaurg has smithed.
The Fire Below the Mountain: The Hearthblood — My personal favorite of the eight Ramhaurg volumes: the story of the Hearthblood. I wish I could have met them.
The Fire Below the Mountain: A Battle Between Brothers — I've heard this story many times. Pages and pages about war between demigods—specifically, Valhir and Ramhaurg. Tragic.
The Fire Below the Mountain: Fight's Folly — A depiction of the fallout from Ramhaurg and Valhir's battle. It glosses over how sad Ramhaurg was... and still is.
The Fire Below the Mountain: A Great Change — Some speculative fiction about the future of the Freljord. The author's bias is pretty evident. I have more hope.
Lissandra
The Ice Witch: The Three Sisters — A book detailing the time before the mortal and spirit realm had boundaries—the world the way I see it.
The Ice Witch: As Above, So Below — This covers Lissandra's rise to power. Each of the Three Sisters sought it in their own way, and each paid the price.
The Ice Witch: Brought Low — The story of Lissandra's battle with Volibear. She tried to conquer the mortal world and was blinded for her defiance.
The Ice Witch: The Power of Three — Lissandra may have lost her sight, but with her sisters at her side, they were unstoppable. Though only for a time...
The Ice Witch: Sacrifice of the Iceborn — Lissandra began to walk in dreams. This volume records her discovery of the Void, and the deal she struck for safety.
The Ice Witch: The War of the Three Sisters — Her sisters disagreed with Lissandra's controlling approach. She secretly begged the Watchers for more time...
The Ice Witch: Into the Abyss — As the Void erupted in the north, Lissandra sacrificed her sisters—and all the Iceborn—by burying them in True Ice.
The Ice Witch: The Frostguard — Lissandra and her Frostguard are working to stop the melting True Ice... and rewriting the history of the Freljord.
Volibear
The Relentless Storm: For Vorrijaard — The epic saga of Valhir (the Volibear) and the formation of Vorrijaard, back when the Freljord was wild. Thrilling.
The Relentless Storm: The Five Fjords — Vivid descriptions of Valhir's early exploits, from the formation of the Five Fjords to his battle with Rhond.
The Relentless Storm: Wild Magic — A history of the first tribes of the Freljord. It seems the demigods were more active back then—I wish I'd seen it.
The Relentless Storm: Offerings in Blood — Pages of detailed descriptions of Valhir's worship. Blood offerings were (and still are) the most common.
The Relentless Storm: Brothers-in-Arms — A bittersweet story of Valhir and Ramhaurg's relationship. Valhir once waged war clad in armor crafted by his brother.
The Relentless Storm: The Rains of War — When the Three Sisters rose to power, they tried to take control of the Freljord. The demigods were changed forever.
The Relentless Storm: With Tooth and Claw — A book about the Ursine, Valhir's bloodthirsty followers. They are the only ones Valhir trusts now. I feel for him...
The Relentless Storm: Return to the Old Ways — The pain and fury of Valhir is now his reckoning in blood. He will return Vorrijaard to the Old Ways.
Ores
Molten Copper — A type of copper mined deep below the dormant volcano of Hearth-Home. The vein flows through the rock as if alive.
Star-Metal — A beautiful blue ore that shimmers like a distant star. I see where it gets its name.
Shuriman Gold — Gold mined from Shurima, apparently. The light of the hearth makes the gold vein look aqueous.
Silversteel — The vein in this ore is iridescent like mother-of-pearl. Perhaps it's a composite of organic and inorganic materials...
Dread Iron — This metal glows a beautiful, ethereal blue. It doesn't make me feel any dread though...
Freljordian Frost Ore — A common ore found throughout the Freljord. I want to take a bite...
Tools
Mallet — A bronze mallet with a satisfying weight distribution. Makes a satisfying "BONG" when swung... hypothetically.
Needle Nose Pliers — Simple pliers. Not much to say on the subject, but Ramhaurg keeps "subtly" peeking at my notebook, so I'll keep writing.
Blade Tongs — Long tongs, ideal for thrusting a weapon in the hot fires of a forge. Thankfully, it's currently cool to the touch.
Knife — A specialized and sacred knife used by the Buhru in the preparation and consumption of deep sea beasts.
Flat Tongs — Tongs with a handle in the shape of a ram's head. Did Ramhaurg make these or were they a gift? That gives me an idea...
Saw — This saw appears to be made from thick, dense bone. Perhaps it is called a... bonesaw. Will report back.
Box Tongs — These tongs look Winter's Claw in origin. The design is simple but effective, almost as if a Hearthblood made it.
Caliper — A measuring instrument. Looks like the last thing Ramhaurg sized up was about 4.6 Poros, side to side.
Hammer — Some type of hammer, likely made for the upper crust. Doubtful that Ramhaurg would have forged this—too ostentatious.
More Mini Games
The Spirit of Hearth-Home is one of six minigames Riot built into the League of Legends client, all of them preserved and free to play here. The other five:
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The Demon's Hand
A poker-hand roguelike where 73 Sigils let you bend the rules in your own favour.
-
Demacia Rising
A two-act turn-based campaign that raises Demacia from refugee camp to kingdom.
-
The Battle of Koeshin
A 2.5D tag-team brawler whose Devil-May-Cry-style flair meter pays out at S+.
-
Jinx Fixes Everything
A first-person Zaun workshop crawl of cogs, claw machines and hidden Arcane lore.
-
Tournament of Souls
A ten-fight 1v1 gauntlet where swapping guns and sword powers Samira's ultimate.
Or start from the full mini games hub, and read the world these games are set in over in the Archive of Runeterra and on the The Freljord region page.