Author C.L. Clark is releasing an Arcane tie-in novel: Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf

Later this week, Netflix will premiere the first three episodes of Arcane season 2, and we'll finally get some answers about the fate of Vi, Jinx, and the cities of Piltover and Zaun. The show's first season ended on an explosive cliffhanger, but it was the detailed character work that really hooked us. Yes, this series is based on the League of Legends video game, but whether you played the game or not, it was easy to get invested when the characters and their stories were so compelling — not to mention beautifully rendered in Arcane's signature art style.

Vi and Jinx are far from the only compelling characters on Arcane. Take Ambessa Merdada. The ruthless warrior queen was introduced late in the show's first season, as the leader of the Merdada clan and mother of Mel Medarda, an exiled aristocrat from the nation of Noxus who was working to bring peace to Piltover. Mel and Ambessa have an extremely complicated relationship, which the show worked wonders with despite them only appearing onscreen together for two episodes.

But come Arcane season 2, we'll be seeing plenty more of Ambessa. She came to Piltover to try and encourage the aristocrats there to crush any opposition to their rule; her daughter Mel argued against this course, but considering that we have no idea whether Mel survived the season 1 finale, it seems very likely we'll get to see Ambessa push once more for an aggressive agenda.

Ambessa is a character who's primed to get a lot of love in the coming months. Beyond her appearance in Arcane season 2, she's also being added into League of Legends as a champion on November 6, just days before the show's premiere. And next year, we'll be getting an even more exciting treat: C.L. Clark, the author of The Magic of the Lost fantasy series, is releasing a new tie-in novel all about Ambessa, titled Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf. Publisher Orbit announced the exciting news last week on Twitter/X:

What is Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf about?

Ambessa was a stand-out character in Arcane season 1, so it's great to see her getting this kind of treatment. Details are still pretty slim about Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, but it sounds like a prequel novel which explores Ambessa's rise to power — and how that may have driven a wedge between her and Mel. Here's the official description from Amazon:

"Medarda over all.

Ambessa Medarda: Warrior, general, mother. She is a woman to be feared, and the Medardas are unrivaled in their pursuit of glory. She has led conquests and armies. She has slain legendary beasts. She has made grave sacrifices in her ascent up the ranks. And for this she was rewarded: She entered the realm of death and was granted a vision of herself upon the throne of the vast Noxian empire.

But before she can lead her empire, she must become head of her own clan. Yet the title is contested by her cousin and former confidante, Ta’Fik. He knows the bloody sins of Ambessa’s past. And he knows he cannot allow her to rise.

They will fight a war for the very soul of the Medardas.

But the war won’t be fought on battlefields alone. Ambessa’s daughter, Mel, can deftly break through the walls around anyone’s heart, and she’ll put her talents to use for her mother. Yet despite Mel’s strength, Ambessa sees only a child who lacks her killer instincts. Mel knows she can be the leader Ambessa wants her to be, if only she gives her time.

With her family betraying her, enemies closing in on all sides, and unseen forces moving in the shadows, every day proves more dangerous than the last. But Ambessa will not bow. She will burn the world down to claim her place in it."

Tie-in novels can be a bit of a mixed bag; sometimes they're incredible experiences which deepen the overall lore of a popular franchise, and other times they can feel like a bit of a cash grab. Chosen of the Wolf seems very firmly like the former. Clark's Magic of the Lost trilogy, which began with The Unbroken, continued with The Faithless, and will wrap up next year with The Sovereign, features two doomed lover main characters who each have their own sorts of fractured families, which they must navigate amidst rising political upheaval and revolution. Ambessa has always reminded me a bit of Jagohtai, a cunning older woman warrior and the mother of The Unbroken's lead character, Touraine. There is no doubt in my mind that Clark will absolutely kill it writing a character like Ambessa Merdada.

And all that's aside from the fact that Clark is a huge fan of Arcane. I remember seeing plenty of tweets from them during the show's first season raving about how good it was, so to watch this tie-in partnership emerge a few years later really does feel like a perfect match. I can't wait to see what they do with Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf.

"Looks like the wolf is out of the bag!!" Clark wrote on Twitter/X following the book announcement. "Can’t tell you how awesome it’s been to bring to life the coolest character from [Arcane]. If that amazing music video with [Sheryl Lee Ralph] had you asking questions…come get answers."

The music video Clark mentioned is this one, "Blood, Sweat & Tears" by Sheryl Lee Ralph, which also released least week and seems to depict some of the backstory for Ambessa:

All told, this is good news all around for fans of Arcane, League of Legends, and C.L. Clark's books. Arcane may be finishing its run this month with its second and final season, but Ambessa will live on in this new novel and in the video game. And who knows? Maybe we'll see more of her in a future League of Legends animated series, if she survives the climactic events of this season.

Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf is available for preorder now, and releases on February 18, 2025. Arcane season 2 drops its first three episodes this Saturday, November 9, with more episodes following on November 16 and 23.

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