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* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Want to be in charge? Outfight/outmaneuver the person above you!
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* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Noxus is described as a Meritocracy, so this is expected. Want to be in charge? Outfight/outmaneuver the person above you!
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* AuthorityGrantsAsskicking: Noxus is described as a Meritocracy, so this is expected.
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Asskicking Leads To Leadership is the new name of the trope.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Want to be in charge? Outfight/outmaneuver the person above you!
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Want to be in charge? Outfight/outmaneuver the person above you!
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* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Noxus is described as a Meritocracy, so this is expected.
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* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: AuthorityGrantsAsskicking: Noxus is described as a Meritocracy, so this is expected.
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No Pronunciation Guide is no longer a trope
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* NoPronunciationGuide: Despite Malzahar clearly pronouncing Icathia as "i-kath-ia," [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/827v2y/kaisa_champion_spotlight_gameplay_league_of/dv82a68/ Rioters have since confirmed]] the official pronunciation as of Kai'Sa's Champion Spotlight is "i-kayth-ia." They've noted that should Malzahar get a voiceover update, it'll be changed, [[WatsonianVersusDoylist but they've also]] {{Hand Wave}}d an idea that he just hasn't caught up with the centuries of linguistic evolution in the rest of Runeterra, or perhaps he has an accent.
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An Axe To Grind is no longer a trope
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* AnAxeToGrind: The prominent symbol of power in Noxus is an axe. Even their swords are large and axe-like, more adept at chopping than slicing. The symbol of their nation, seen on the right, is Sion's axe.
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Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
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* LandOfFaerie: Bandle City isn't a physical location, but rather its own separate realm which can be accessed through hidden pathways in Runeterra, described as a whimsical and timeless paradise. [[LayeredWorld Bandle City itself has an]] ''[[UpToEleven even more]]'' [[UpToEleven whimsical and topsy-turvy realm]] in it known as The Glade, a place of primordial magic perceived by Lulu to be Bandle City's origin.
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* LandOfFaerie: Bandle City isn't a physical location, but rather its own separate realm which can be accessed through hidden pathways in Runeterra, described as a whimsical and timeless paradise. [[LayeredWorld Bandle City itself has an]] ''[[UpToEleven even more]]'' [[UpToEleven ''even more'' whimsical and topsy-turvy realm]] realm in it known as The Glade, a place of primordial magic perceived by Lulu to be Bandle City's origin.
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* ALoadOfBull: Minotaurs are a sapient, likely non-magical race of beings from The Great Barrier south of Noxus, currently considered part of the empire. Most minotaurs accepted this merge as it allowed them to become a part of something greater, but those who didn't like Alistar were enslaved as [[GladiatorGames Reckoners]]. In ''Legends of Runeterra'', a "Minotaur Reckoner" appears to be participating voluntarily, and looks very well-off from it.
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* OurMinotaursAreDifferent: Minotaurs are a sapient, likely non-magical race of beings from The Great Barrier south of Noxus, currently considered part of the empire. Most minotaurs accepted this merge as it allowed them to become a part of something greater, but those who didn't like Alistar were enslaved as [[GladiatorGames Reckoners]]. In ''Legends of Runeterra'', a "Minotaur Reckoner" appears to be participating voluntarily, and looks very well-off from it.
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None
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''Videogame/LeagueOfLegends'' is set on the dynamic world of Runeterra, home to most of the playable characters and is the setting for the game's lore. To learn more about the various major and minor powers in Runeterra, read on. For additional lore, visit the game's ever-expanding lore site, [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/ Universe]], and its also ever-expanding [[https://map.leagueoflegends.com/en_US Runeterra map]].
Major powers are organized from north to south.
----
!!Major Powers
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Freljord]]
!!The Freljord -- Harsh Frozen Land
!!!'''Governance''': Tribal Matriarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Venerate
!!!'''General Environment''': Icy Tundra
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Anivia, Ashe, Braum, Gnar, Lissandra, Nunu (and Willump), Olaf, Ornn, Sejuani, Trundle, Tryndamere, Udyr, Volibear
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freljord_crest.png]]
-> ''"The Freljord; a home to some, a grave to countless more. Lesser clans have scrambled for the right to rule this frozen land for millennia - all have failed. Now, finally three great leaders have emerged to rally the smaller tribes beneath their banners. The storms of war will cloud when their paths cross, but once this battle is over, the people will find just one tribe left, to rule the land."''
-> -- Lissandra
The Freljord is a harsh and unforgiving land, where demi-gods walk the earth and the people are born warriors. While there are many individual tribes, the three greatest are the Avarosans, the Winter’s Claw, and the Frostguard, each uniquely shaped by their will to survive. It is also the only place on Runeterra where True Ice can be found.
----
* AnIcePerson:
** True Ice is a phenomenon that only occurs in The Freljord, being a magical super-cold substance that never melts, and is allotropic enough for master smiths to create into weapons, such as Ashe's bow, Braum's door shield, Sejuani's bola, Trundle's club, part of Olaf's axes, and Gragas' brew. There's also a variant called Dark Ice, [[PowerOfTheVoid tainted by the presence of The Void]].
*** Ornn, the Freljord demigod of fire and craftsmanship, is the only one capable of melting True Ice, but he makes it melt ''eternally''; the Ice itself never goes away, but it'll keep melting and make essentially infinite water. [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/tales-of-ornn/ In one of his old tales]], a crafty troll tried to prank Ornn with a drinking contest by putting True Ice in Ornn's mug. Ornn's heat melted the True Ice and his mug never emptied, so he could never finish his drink first.
** For a more literal take on the trope, The Iceborn are an immortal sub-race of beings (mostly human, but other races can also qualify like [[OurTrollsAreDifferent trolls]]) which came about in ancient times after Lissandra [[DealWithTheDevil made a deal with]] [[PowerOfTheVoid The Watchers]] to convert her, her sisters, and their followers into them (her logic was that such timeless immortality would allow them to survive the death of the universe once [[OmnicidalManiac the Watchers]] [[ApocalypseHow inevitably consume it]]). Most were wiped out when Lissandra turned on the Watchers, [[SadisticChoice resulting in the deaths of her rebelling two sisters and their Iceborn allies]], but not only have some remained, it turns out the Iceborn traits are hereditary, with Ashe and Sejuani being direct Iceborn descendants of Avarosa and Serylda. Other traits include immunity to the cold and [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield the exclusive ability to wield True Ice]].
* ApocalypseHow: DoubleSubverted in the ancient war against The Watchers, in the sense that they traded in a Class X (the Watchers ceasing all existence from The Void) for a relatively less severe but still devastating Class 0 (Lissandra forcing to imprison them in True Ice, wiping out her sisters and most of their Iceborn followers in the process).
* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: The Freljord is the home to yetis, a race of magic creatures that used to be more prevalent before the Iceborn apocalypse, but have since been drastically reduced in numbers and are held in a somewhat mythical sense even to the Freljordians. Many have descended into feral savagery, with Willump being [[LastOfHisKind the last magical one of his kind]].
* EldritchAbomination:
** The Freljord has ancient ties to The Watchers, effectively the rulers of [[EldritchLocation The Void]], and was home to the first Voidborn in Runeterra (among them in specific was Vel'Koz). The Watchers are currently frozen in True Ice, but their escape is seen as an inevitability.
** ''Legends of Runeterra'' showcases [[https://cdn1.sixmorevodka.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/08000321/FRE17.jpg?webp=0 a set of Kaiju-sized beings simply dubbed]] "[[https://cdn1.sixmorevodka.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/08000613/THEY-WHO-ENDURE.jpg?webp=0 They Who Endure]]" and "[[https://cdn1.sixmorevodka.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/08000615/SHE-WHO-WANDERS-1.jpg?webp=0 She Who Wanders]]", referred to in-universe as "Balestriders". While "[[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/legend-of-the-frozen-watchers/ The Legend of the Frozen Watchers]]" describes them as "twisted far beyond their original form" and having been used by the Three Sisters in ancient times, it's still unclear what they exactly ''are'' if they're not ancient Voidborn. Nowadays, they are seemingly mythological and [[PortentOfDoom are very bad omens.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Freljord at large is evocative of medieval Scandinavia, but [[GrimUpNorth even further up north]] and directly mashed with supernatural concepts evocative of Myth/NorseMythology.
* FireIceLightning: Ornn, Anivia, and Volibear, respectively -- the three primary demigods of the Freljord.
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: The three tribes and their leaders initially appear as Ashe[=/=]Avarosan (good), Sejuani[=/=]Winter's Claw (bad), Lissandra[=/=]Frostguard (evil), though their actual practicing morality is a little more complex than that.
* GrimUpNorth:
** The Freljord is a hard country even in the relatively mild south, and it only gets worse as you go north. The northernmost border of the Freljord (and indeed the Runeterra map as a whole) is the Gelid Vortex, an eternal winter storm.
** Amusingly, the Freljord was the origin of the now-unleashed Brand, [[PlayingWithFire a fire spirit.]] Naturally, he doesn't get along with anybody who originated from the same place.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Freljordians are known to use a variety of large animals as mounts, including [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/13/01FR037-full.png/revision/latest?cb=20200407020653 actual horses]], but others include the buffalo-like "elnüks" or the [[FullBoarAction boar]]-like "rüvask". The Winter's Claw have been known to ride whatever fantastical fauna roam the lands they can slap a harness on, and notably, they never feel the need to tame them, instead trusting in their wild and aggressive survival instincts that got them so far to begin with.
* {{Matriarchy}}: The Freljord's governance as a whole is listed as "tribal matriarchy", and the three most important tribes of the Avarosan, the Winter's Claw, and the Frostguard are led by women.
-->'''Ashe''': In the north, a great chieftain is called "[[AMotherToHerMen Warmother]]". Who but [[MamaBear a mother]] has the right to risk lives in war?
* NatureSpirit: According to the "Winter's Breath" card of ''Legends of Runeterra'', Freljordians consider the winter itself to be a protective spirit of the land, one who they even dub "Warmother Winter".
* OurTrollsAreDifferent: Frost trolls are a sapient race of humanoid beings native to the Freljord, represented mainly by their king, Trundle. These trolls are [[TheBrute giant, hulking brutes]] [[DumbMuscle not particularly known for their intelligence]], currently rallying for war in an alliance with Lissandra. Curiously, trolls are eligible for being [[AnIcePerson Iceborn]], as is the case with Trundle.
* PhysicalGod: The Freljord is the home to a legion of demigods -- beings who were originally "born from gods" manifesting as spirit animals -- who are so powerful that [[BeenThereShapedHistory their actions shaped the land we now know as The Freljord]], [[TimeAbyss and so ancient that]] [[{{Precursors}} they knew what it was like while it was still the "old Vorrijaard".]] Anivia, Volibear, and Ornn, are a trio of these demigods who share a connective bond like siblings, but [[TheGhost there are others mentioned but not seen]], including a Seal Sister, an Iron Boar, and a Clever Lynx.
* PowerOfTheVoid: The Freljord was once of the first gateways to The Void, specifically the home to [[GreaterScopeVillain The Watchers, ancient beings who would prototype and develop additional]] [[EldritchAbomination Voidborn]]. The transhuman Iceborn were a result of a deal Lissandra made with them, but following Lissandra's betrayal, they have since been [[SealedEvilInACan put on ice]] ([[{{Pun}} so to speak]]), though their dark presence is slowly corrupting their prison.
* ScavengerWorld: The Winter's Claw are exceptionally resourceful, recycling everything they can get their hands on to survive the harsh Freljordian tundras. Their weapons are made of steel looted from their enemies, every animal pelt and bone is reused for clothing and armor, and if the sea routes are too frozen for their ships to be usable, they'll disassemble them and make harnesses to ride large Freljordian beasts instead.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Freljord was once the home to ancient masters of [[EldritchLocation The Void]] now known as The (Frozen) Watchers, but after they began their conquest of [[OmnicidalManiac destroying everything]], Lissandra entombed them in True Ice ([[SadisticChoice having to sacrifice her sisters and their allies in the process]]). She's aware that they're only sleeping, and that even the unmeltable True Ice can only withstand [[PowerOfTheVoid their horrific dark energy]] for so long, and one day, their prison will break.
* ShroudedInMyth:
** The days of Avarosa and the Frozen Watchers are just stories and legends to most. Lissandra does her best to cloud public memory of the Frozen Watchers to cover up [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what she had done]].
** Additionally, Braum seems to be a FolkHero old enough that ''grandmothers'' heard stories of him when they were young.
* TheSocialDarwinist: The philosophy of Sejuani and her followers in the Winter's Claw is that the Freljord should make people strong, putting them in direct opposition to Ashe's Avarosan tribe, whose peace they believe is going to make them become "soft".
* TakeItToTheBridge: There's one thousands of feet above the Howling Abyss, which is where the All-Random-All-Mid mode typically takes place at.
* WarGod: Volibear. Similar to real life mythologies, peaceful Freljordian tribes have a negative opinion of Volibear, and warrior tribes have a positive outlook on him, although they still fear him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ionia]]
!!Ionia -- The First Lands
!!!'''Governance''': Regional Provinces
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Harmonize
!!!'''General Environment''': Magical (Varied)
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Ahri, Akali, Irelia, Jhin, Karma, Kayn[[note]]Born in Noxus, but identifies as Ionian[[/note]], Kennen, Lee Sin, Lillia, Master Yi, Rakan, Sett, Shen, Syndra, Varus, Wukong, Xayah, Yasuo, Yone, Zed
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ionia_crest.png]]
->''"Stories are not just history. They can be so much more. They nourish your mind and, if told well, can even fill your belly. Some tales are warnings, reaching across time. Others uplift our souls from the yoke of everyday burdens. We laugh at fools, cheer heroes, and curse villains until the fire burns down to embers. Our first rule: The facts may be important, but they aren't as vital as the telling, of speaking to who we are and why we live. Details might change and fade, but truth lives with us for all time. Stories are everywhere. We build them from what we see. Even the sky above whispers to us."''
Known as the First Lands, Ionia is an island continent of natural beauty and magic. Its inhabitants, living in loosely collected provinces, are a spiritual people, seeking harmony with the world. They remained largely neutral until their land was invaded by Noxus -- this brutal occupation forced Ionia to reassess its place in the world, and its future path remains undetermined.
----
* {{Arcadia}}: Ionia, at least visually is a ''beautiful'' [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/ionia-placidiumnavori.jpg unspoiled natural paradise]], [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/ionia-entrancehirana.jpg with light touches of]] AncientGrome. Unfortunately, a ''ton'' of factors including the invasion from Noxus seems to want to change its idyllic nature.
* BrotherhoodOfEvil: Following the end of the Noxian invasion, one of the various Ionian resistance groups that continues to persist is the Navori Brotherhood, an ultra-nationalist band of fighters known for its extreme aggression. It seeks to reunite all of Ionia once again, but doesn't care about preserving Ionia's magic and [[WithUsOrAgainstUs is openly willing to conflict with Ionians who don't share their hardcore ideologies or agree with their violent methods]], [[spoiler:and it was learned that they -- or more specifically, its master, Kusho -- were the ones to free Jhin to use as their PsychoForHire]].
* FantasticFlora: The land is naturally magical, so it should come as no surprise that its flora can get weird as well. Of note are the once-standing God-Willow (which has ties to all natural life in the area and merged with Ivern after he cut it down), The Garden of Forgetting (which Ahri travelled to due to its flowers and fruit [[LaserGuidedAmnesia being capable of removing her troubled memories]]), and literal "Rivers of Grass" that flow and move to the tides of magic.
* GeniusLoci: In part due to its magical nature, Ionia is perceived to be a land with its own spirit, with at least some degree of manipulating its landscape or unleashing spirit guardians to protect itself from ill-intentioned outsiders. This ends up being twisted against them during the Ruined King saga as [[BrainwashedAndCrazy the Black Mist overtook Karma]] -- [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the human embodiment of Ionia's spirit]] -- and thus influencing the land to a point where ''[[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou the surrounding seas]]'' [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou became actively hostile towards the Sentinels.]]
-->'''Yasuo''': Terrain here is... opinionated.
* LaResistance: While Ionia is not the only place in Runeterra that vastayan folk live, more vastaya live in Ionia than anywhere else because of their attraction to magic. Because of this, human encroachment on vastayan land is common, and Xayah leads a vastayan revolution to try to push humans away from their territory.
* MagicalLand: An [[{{Wutai}} Asian-inspired one]]. Ignoring Bandle City, Ionia is likely the most magical territory in Runeterra, featuring some of the world's wildest environments and creatures, with civilization existing in concert with its strange nature (consequently making it [[EverythingTryingToKillYou almost impassable for outsiders who have no idea how to deal with them]]).
* MartialPacifist: Many Ionians don't like to fight, and they certainly won't strike first, but they will defend themselves with force if necessary.
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The nation once at peace and balance with itself that Ionia was introduced as is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The biggest and most defining wound dealt was the Noxian invasion, but other rising threats include Zed's Order of Shadows gaining prominence over the original Kinkou Order, the current Kinkou Order's trio [[TheFellowshipHasEnded dissolving]] with Akali seeking a more aggressive path of fighting enemies, [[PsychoForHire Jhin]] being revealed to have ties to the Ionian council, Syndra's chaotic rise to power, the vastaya rebellion led by Xayah, the rising Darkin threat... the worst part is that it's increasingly clear that Swain isn't done with pursuing Ionia just yet.
* PatrioticFervor: A mix of good and bad patriotism currently pervades Ionia ever since it was scarred by Noxus' invasion. Many Ionians ultimately want to preserve their lands, but this also applies to a large amount of antagonistic forces on the islands, with some being ultra-nationalists willing to commit violence against those they consider opposition, which to groups like the Navori Brotherhood includes [[CategoryTraitor fellow Ionians who]] [[WithUsOrAgainstUs don't share their vision.]]
* TheShangriLa: Like Piltover, Ionia is very much an educational center for the rest of Valoran, though in martial arts rather than technology. A lot of Ionian champions have it in their biographies that they were [[MasterApprenticeChain someone's student, someone's mentor, or both]].
* SkeletonGovernment: The lore doesn't really delve into how government in Ionia works to the extent it does with other factions, only describing it being based around "regional provinces" and presumably various councils and administrations, but otherwise rarely elaborating. It's hinted that given their close ties to natural harmony, they didn't require much political structure, [[{{Deconstruction}} but it appears to have caught up with them]] following their battle against Noxus' invasion and the First Lands' subsequent reconstruction/philosophical splintering.
* SupernaturalMartialArts: Most Ionians have a touch of magic worked into their combat style, though it's generally not acknowledged as magic. For example, Irelia ''clearly'' uses telekinesis to control her blades, and Yasuo has some elemental control over air, but these are described as extensions of Ionian dance and swordplay, respectively.
* TownWithADarkSecret: There are hints that Ionia is internally not as idyllic as it seems. The Darkin weapon Varus was imprisoned there, and a secret faction of the ruling council was behind the release of the mad artist/assassin Jhin.
* WarIsHell: A subtler example than most, as while the Noxian invasion itself was a very dramatic event for Ionia, the "hell" came mostly in the form of the aftermath. Even though Ionia managed to drive Noxus off, the conflict irrevocably changed how its inhabitants viewed their relationship with nature, magic, and the world beyond, with some abandoning their peace for more militaristic ideals.
* WarriorPoet: Ionian champions tend to see fighting as part of a larger philosophy on life, and mastering a form of Ionian combat often involves becoming initiated into its corresponding line of thinking.
* WorldTree: Ionia used to be the home of the God-Willow, a giant tree shimmering in magical golden-green light and a landmark of the Omikayalan, a grove sacred to all Ionians. It was cut down by Freljordian warriors in ancient times, drastically affecting the surrounding flora and fauna, though in its place emerged Ivern, the Green Father, existing to protect and teach all others the value of life.
* {{Wutai}}: Ionia is a mashup of various Asian-inspired elements, and many of the more {{Animesque}} champions originate from here.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Noxus]]
!!Noxus -- Brutal Expansionist Empire
!!!'''Governance''': Expansionist Empire
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Medium
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Weaponize
!!!'''General Environment''': Inhospitable Steppes
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Cassiopeia, Darius, Draven, Katarina, Kled, [=LeBlanc=], Mordekaiser[[note]]Founder[[/note]], Rell, Riven[[note]]Former, now lives in Ionia[[/note]], Samira[[note]]Originally from Shurima[[/note]], Sion, Swain, Talon, Vladimir
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/noxus_crest.png]]
-> ''"A united Noxus could control the world - and would deserve to."''
-> - Darius
Noxus is a brutal, expansionist empire, yet those who look beyond its warlike exterior will find an unusually inclusive society. Anyone can rise to a position of power and respect if they display the necessary aptitude, regardless of social standing, background, or wealth. Noxians value strength above all, though that strength can manifest in many different ways.
----
* ALoadOfBull: Minotaurs are a sapient, likely non-magical race of beings from The Great Barrier south of Noxus, currently considered part of the empire. Most minotaurs accepted this merge as it allowed them to become a part of something greater, but those who didn't like Alistar were enslaved as [[GladiatorGames Reckoners]]. In ''Legends of Runeterra'', a "Minotaur Reckoner" appears to be participating voluntarily, and looks very well-off from it.
* AncientConspiracy: The Black Rose is a hidden, ever-expanding cabal of powerful nobles and mages, formally assembled by [=LeBlanc=] and Vladimir at the dawn of the empire (possibly existing even earlier, given how [[EvilOverlord Mordekaiser]] is familiar with them), who have been secretly guiding Noxus in a never-ending game of politics and war. Unfortunately for them, it's starting to become increasingly more publicized, with Swain beginning to catch onto Vladimir's mysterious tendency to disappear and reappear in public notice, as well as Rell's high-profile escape from [[AcademyOfEvil their "academy"]] and ongoing crusade against their former members.
* AnAxeToGrind: The prominent symbol of power in Noxus is an axe. Even their swords are large and axe-like, more adept at chopping than slicing. The symbol of their nation, seen on the right, is Sion's axe.
* ArchEnemy: Noxus and Demacia HATE each other. Their war has been going on for so long that the original motive has largely been forgotten, but their inhabitants nowadays continue to go at it out of spite. [[TheArtifact Indeed, the Noxus-Demacia rivalry actually comes from the pre-reboot lore]], being too deeply ingrained to remove entirely, even though the current setup of Demacia as an isolationist city-state and Noxus as an empire whose borders are half a continent away from Demacia means it really doesn't make as much sense as it used to since only pure philosophical-clash seems to be the reason.
* AristocratsAreEvil: As with Demacia, though in Noxus this means more like "born into leadership without having the strength to actually lead", and you can generally expect a worthy leader in a [[TheSocialDarwinist Darwinist]] place like Noxus to at least be said as being "potentially very un-nice".
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Want to be in charge? Outfight/outmaneuver the person above you!
* AttackAttackAttack: A recurring trend in Noxian Champions is their focus on aggression and closing with the enemy.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Noxus is described as a Meritocracy, so this is expected.
* BadassCreed: Vision, Might, and Guile are the key principles that are the foundation of Noxus. At the same time, this was subconsciously inspired by Mordekaiser's original quote.
---> '''Mordekaiser''': '''Destiny, Domination, Deceit.'''
* BeastOfBattle: The Noxian army regularly uses animals and monsters as warbeasts.
* BetterLivingThroughEvil: While conquest is Noxus' primary means of expansion, many towns and cities willingly joined the empire to enjoy its benefits (while Noxus does demand a certain amount of tribute in return, this is less than the cost of money and lives that would be spent fighting off Noxus or other attackers).
* BigDoor: Well, a Big Gate. Or Big Archway. Whatever. Noxus erects structures known as 'Nox-toraa' on the roads just outside of their villages and settlements. These archways serve as a display of power and a declaration that the area is Noxian land.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite the "dark" theme built around the nation, most Noxian champions aren't necessarily "evil" as much as "ruthless". Some champions such as Riven and Rell are heroic at heart, while others such as Darius can be [[AntiVillain ruthless, but have noble intentions such as eliminating the corrupt rulers and restoring Noxus's name]].
* TheEmpire: Yeeeeeepp. Regardless of whether you think they're "evil" or not, Noxus is still a [[TheSocialDarwinist heavily Darwinist]], brutal, and overall threatening society that continues to expand its borders every year.
* EnemyCivilWar: As an empire, Noxus is a heavily well-unified group of armies and war bands infamous for its ability to conquer foreign ground. Despite this, Noxian-related champions are among the most fractured in allegiances.
** Swain and his group (Darius, Draven, Sion) are currently at the top of the leadership, but are fighting the other groups for dominance, while not being entirely united themselves.
** The Black Rose ([=LeBlanc=] and Vladimir) are fighting Swain's group in the political game underground.
** Katarina's group (Talon, Cassiopeia) is seeking revenge for General [=DuCouteau=]'s disappearance.
** Urgot has been plotting his revenge with his Zaun affiliated ruffians.
** Karthus seeks to bring all living (even his former Noxian home) into a stage of undeath.
** Kayn seeks to bring down Noxus and establish Ionian supremacy with Zed's shadow order.
** Kled is just a wild card and is claiming large swaths of territory throughout the Empire. Riven similarly is just wandering throughout Ionia.
** Mordekaiser sees the current Noxus as an InadequateInheritor and wants to impose his own WarriorHeaven on the world.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Whether or not you think of them as "evil" is subjective, but Noxus prides itself on the fact that they give anyone, no matter your origin, race, personality, or strengths, a position of power. Once a land is conquered, everyone there is considered a Noxian citizen and free to join the army or pursue other careers within the empire. A very progressive practice, assuming anyone would want to join their conquerors, of course.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Rome, and in particular the Roman Empire. Noxus plays host to a vast multitude of peoples given equal opportunity to serve and rise in the ranks, Patrician Noble houses, a former emperor, great emphasis on military glory and strength, call their armies in the field Legions, levy troops from their subjects according to the culture's dominant tactics to make use of their specialities, GladiatorGames, and of course, it's an expansionist empire with the occasional mad emperor that has to be dethroned. The Noxians' highest form of official leadership is also three leaders called The Trifarix, which brings to mind [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Triumvirate the Second Triumvirate]] of Rome.
* FighterMageThief: A recurring theme. There's the three main power blocs in Noxus, consisting of Swain and the Military (Fighter), The Black Rose, led by Leblanc (Mage), and Katarina's rogue faction of Assassins (Thief), as well as the three seats of the Trifarix, comprising of Might, Vision, and Guile held by Darius, Swain, and an anonymous female figure that hides her identity behind a mask.
* FolkHero: Runs heavily on these, with heroes being a descriptor of a 'true Noxian.' Both Sion and Kled have served as a template for a 'true Noxian' throughout the entirety of the empire in the past for their heroic and brave deeds on the fields of war. Katarina and Darius are something of this, but only among the military. Draven seems to want to be one for the sake of being one.
* GladiatorGames: Noxus Prime is renowned for running one called "The Reckoning", which originally began as a means of punishing criminals and [[CombatByChampion settling disputes between nobility]], with Xin Zhao and Alistar being survivors of this phase. In more recent times, thanks to [[GloryHound Draven's]] intervention, these matches started to become more of a spectacle sport, complete with [[TheGimmick gimmick fighters]], [[CombatCommentator shoutcasters]], and gambling bookies. There's even a degree of {{kayfabe}} as Reckoners have become valued as personalities as much as fighters, so while fights are still bloody, they're far less lethal than before.
* HadToBeSharp: Noxus claims to make strong citizens by forcing them to survive on their own, no matter how weak or defenseless. The ones who deserve to live will manage, somehow, and be better for it.
* HegemonicEmpire: Despite being known for conquering lands by force, Noxus is surprisingly [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] in absorbing other nations, preferring to use diplomacy to make them honestly want to join before resorting to violence. One example is their occupation of several cities and ports in Shurima: the original inhabitants may sacrifice food and some trade favoritism, but they get the safety of Noxian soldiers to protect them from raiders and continue living in relative peace.
* TheHorde: The Noxian army tends to fight like this, though with more nuance than other fictional hordes - they form up in only rough squares, and their national emphasis on individualism and personal glory means that they tend to fight in a less organized and more one-on-one manner than their Demacian counterparts (who are glimpsed using Testudo-style formations in the lore and are explicitly the best professional army in the backstory), but it's noted that having such distinct military groups together requires a kind of discipline on its own.
* KlingonPromotion: An accepted (if somewhat discouraged) method of social advancement, a bit of a logical consequence of [[TheSocialDarwinist their philosophy]].
* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: Averted. Skilled assassins, mages, and even politicians, craftsmen and traders are held in as high regard as strong warriors.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Though it's been left ambiguous, Swain and the Noxian army, not to mention Katarina and her fellow Assassins are "bad guys" who are still sympathetic, while [=LeBlanc=] and her Black Rose could and would do terrible things for power.
* NonUniformUniform: Because Noxus places more emphasis upon the individual and their own fighting ability, the military does not have a singular uniform or dress code beyond the color of their armor. This allows its warriors to wear and wield whatever arms and armor they are most comfortable or effective with, and as a result, no two soldiers in a Noxian army are ever alike, with only their colors to unify them.
* [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver Red and Black and Ambiguously Evil All Over]]: Again, YMMV on whether Noxus can be counted as "evil," [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/highlights/noxus-noxtoraa.jpg but much of]] [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/highlights/noxus-bastion.jpg their architecture]] and even a few of their champions revolve around this color scheme.
* ResignationsNotAccepted: Desertion is perceived as a ''massive'' betrayal against the empire and is treated as a capital offense. The "Sisterhood of War" miniseries shows that even years after last contact, Noxus will send soldiers out to capture those identified as deserters (in their case, Riven), and consider outright slaughtering any other Noxian expatriates they happen to come across (though they largely decide against it [[PlausibleDeniability since the empire wouldn't know if they didn't]]).
* SkeletonMotif: Noxus is built on and around a large rocky prominence known as the Immortal Bastion that resembles a skull (the capital used to be a fortress that belonged to Mordekaiser, hence the death theme). The further from the Immortal Bastion you get, the less 'evil' it appears as the Noxian motif takes over Mordekaiser's motif.
* SlaveLiberation: One of the perks of Noxian invasion is that all enslaved people become citizens of Noxus, ergo free people.
* TheSocialDarwinist: The Noxian philosophy is that helping the weak only leads to more weak people. Leave society alone and the strong will eventually claw their way to the top.
* TheUnfettered: Willing to do whatever it takes to win.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Demacia]]
!!Demacia -- Proud Military Kingdom
!!!'''Governance''': Feudal Monarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Medium
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Deny
!!!'''General Environment''': Fertile Countryside
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Fiora, Galio, Garen, Jarvan IV, Kayle, Lucian, Lux, Morgana, Poppy, Quinn, Senna, Shyvana, Sona[[note]]Born in Ionia[[/note]], Sylas, Vayne, Xin Zhao[[note]]Born in Ionia[[/note]]
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demacia_crest.png]]
-> ''Scarlet vow one pledge to king and realm, When shadows are found, Arise gilded crown, True justice abound.''
-> -- "Demacia Rising" Slogan
Demacia is a proud, lawful kingdom with a prestigious military history. Founded as a refuge from magic after the Rune Wars, some might suggest that the golden age of Demacia has passed, unless it proves able to adapt to a changing world. Self-sufficient and agrarian, its society is inherently defensive and insular, valuing justice, honor, and duty above all else.
----
* AntiMagic: Demacia was founded by survivors of the Rune Wars who sought shelter in a forest of petrified trees which had magic-blocking properties. Later Demacians learned to expand this protection by mixing the wood from these trees with ash and lime to make a marble-like mineral called "petricite," now found all over Demacian architecture (it's what [[OurGargoylesRock Galio]] is made of). Ryze has also formed a chamber in the anti-magic forests in order to properly store the [[ArtifactOfDoom World Runes]]. However, as Sylas discovered, petricite doesn't so much nullify magic as absorb and ''contain'' it, [[AttackReflector something a canny mage]] [[PowerCopying can learn to exploit]].
* AntiMagicalFaction: Demacia's least savory trait is its FantasticRacism against mages. State officials routinely hunt down and eradicate ([[MutantDraftBoard or induct]]) anyone caught using magic within its borders.
* ArchEnemy: Noxus. Their emnity doesn't have a clear or compelling motive any more (in-universe or out), but it's always been the case and probably always will.
* AristocratsAreEvil: There's the expected petty squabbling between noble houses, with the unpleasant factor that if one noble family can provoke another into crossing a line, the penalty is almost always execution. There's also how despite their willingness [[FantasticRacism to oppress, exploit, and eliminate magic-users in the name of righteousness]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections the Demacian nobility]] [[{{Hypocrite}} has no shortage of]] [[BoomerangBigot hidden magic-users themselves]].
* [[AwesomeMcCoolname Awesome [=McCoolname=]]]: A common trend with the nobility who go by their house names, including Crownguard, Lightshield, Laurent, and Spiritmight. Ezreal literally made a name for himself snooping around Demacia under the alias "Jarro Lightfeather", presumably both to cover his real identity and blend in.
* BattleCry: A short, but sweet one shared Garen, Lux, Jarvan IV, and the kingdom's many soldiers at large: "[[PatrioticFervor DEMACIA!]]"
* BlingOfWar: The Demacian colors are blue, white, and gold, which makes for some really eye-catching armor.
* BoomerangBigot: According to Sylas, magic-users aren't absent in the upper echelons of Demacian nobility, making their [[AntiMagicalFaction ongoing punishment of lower-class mages]] who are unable to defend themselves [[{{Hypocrite}} especially heinous in his eyes]]. However, [[PoorCommunicationKills the truth based on what the audience can gather is complicated]] -- such nobility like Lux and Sona are just as outspoken against anti-magic oppression and the fear of getting caught as any other mage in Demacia.
* CapeBusters: Demacia has an order of mageseekers whose job is to capture and imprison people within Demacia's borders who have the ability to use magic, rising to a much higher public profile following Sylas' escape and rebellion.
* ChefOfIron: In ''Legends of Runeterra'', War Chefs are a low-level Follower card, with its accompanying art showing one fighting off armored enemy raiders with ''his fists''. The accompanying FlavorText reads:
-->''"[[BadassBoast No one in the Demacian army should be trifled with.]]"''
* CoolHelmet: ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' cards portray [[https://www.artstation.com/artwork/e068oD a helmet evoking the Italian Barbute-style]] to be the standard headgear of Demacians soldiers.
* CoolSword: As well, many ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' depict [[https://ww.artstation.com/artwork/489mDl Demacian soldiers wielding distinctive one-handed swords]] that are rather of a Spatha-like style, with a small handguard made out of the ending tapering from an empty diamond-shape space inside it.
* {{Conscription}}: All Demacian citizens are expected to serve a three-year tour of duty in the army, and GenderIsNoObject. Even after serving, most citizens are considered to be part of the reserves to be called up as necessary.
* CurbstompBattle: Their attempted invasion/exploration of the Shadow Isles was a complete disaster. Many ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' cards such as [[https://preview.redd.it/cnqfxvis07r41.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ee8ad2c97ff5b508ed6efd017de5aae5a16aa60 Rhasa The Sunderer]] and [[https://static.invenglobal.com/upload/image/2019/11/22/i1574431905153064.jpeg Soulgorger]] show Demacian soldiers being routed by the horrors of the Isles. To make it even worse this was the ''Dauntless Vanguard'' doing it, Demacia's most elite army.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Prior to the game's ContinuityReboot, Demacia was known as a mostly straightfoward [[TheGoodKingdom "good" kingdom]] whose most negative aspect was [[KnightTemplar its militarism]]. Its depiction since then has been significantly [[GreyAndGreyMorality greyed]], with its [[AntiMagicalFaction anti-magic background and rhetoric]] ([[ReimaginingTheArtifact originally just a background element for Garen's backstory]]) being put more to the forefront, culminating in the kingdom's ongoing conflict against Sylas' rebellion.
* TheDragonslayer: One elite branch of the Demacian military is the Dragonguard, [[RedIsHeroic red-armored]] soldiers stationed around the borders of Demacia to fight off dragons should they arrive to threaten the kingdom. Shyvana is a major contribution to the squad, using her [[DragonAncestry draconic nature]] [[HunterOfHisOwnKind to help fight them off.]] ''Legends of Runeterra'' shows they also have a scientific subdivision dedicated towards researching dragons through their eggs, presumably to find better ways to combat them.
* EliteArmy: The Dauntless Vanguard, led by Garen. While smaller than most, its the best equipped and trained in the world. Every soldier is trained to fill several roles and each of them boast the finest weapons and armor. According to Lux, all of them are Demacian heroes in their own right, with their deeds whispered next to fireplaces as legends and bedtime stories.
* EnergyAbsorption: Petricite, the nation's resident AntiMagic mineral.
* FantasticRacism: Against magic-users. Demacia has its roots in being an AntiMagic refugee settlement during the cataclysmic Rune Wars, and its anti-magic attitude has persisted to this day. Anyone found to have magic in Demacia is exiled or forced to undergo treatments to kill their magic.... or quietly taken into the secret Demacian mage corps.
* FiveTokenBand: For such an isolationist society Demacia has a really diverse band of heroes, including an Ionian ex-gladiator, a magic-absorbing statue (although that wasn't intentional), a bird, a yordle[[note]]She could be using glamour, Demacia isn't too fond of magic after all[[/note]], a demon-hunting vigilante, a half-dragon, and a gunslinging paladin. Extended lore (most prominently in ''Literature/GarenFirstShield'') also reveals they also have minotaurs on their side. It would seem that in spite of their isolationism, neither racism or speciesism are as significant flaws of Demacia as would be expected (though Shyvana is distrusted -- which by Demacian culture standards, is logical and consistent since she's secretly-but-pretty-obviously a magical creature).
* ForestRanger: The military has a branch of "ranger-knights" who are generally [[KnightInShiningArmor more armored]] than most examples, but otherwise evoke the traditional look and purpose, protecting Demacian wilderness and scouting in the regions beyond. Quinn and Valor are the representative champions, and all known rangers are accompanied with [[TheBeastmaster animal partners of their own to fight with]].
* GoodIsNotNice: AllCrimesAreEqual, conscription is mandatory, and the state can call you up for anything, at any time, if they need you -- but it's a safe and well-ordered city.
* TheGoodKingdom: What it fancies itself as, especially in contrast to [[TheEmpire Noxus.]] How much of this view is still intact to the present day [[GoodIsNotNice is a bit tricky.]]
* KnightTemplar: Demacia in the eyes of its critics -- obsessed with law and order at the expense of freedom, while claiming to be morally correct. One of its founders, [[BeenThereShapedHistory Kayle]], was born from the literal [[PhysicalGod Aspect of Justice]].
* LightIsGood: It values itself as TheGoodKingdom, and at least visually, Demacia has a very bright ColorMotif of white, blue and yellow which carries [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/demacia-silvermere.jpg into their]] [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/demacia-grandplaza.jpg stunning architecture.]] KnightTemplar tendencies aside, most of its champions are very dedicated in the protection and the welfare of those who can't defend themselves, as noted with one of Garen's quotes:
-->'''Garen''': We fight for those who cannot.
* MageKiller: [[ZigzaggingTrope Zigzagged]]; while they have an extreme case of being practically opposed to magic users, they won't hesitate to utilize magic for their own benefits, though for the most part it's used covertly or by noble families against one another. That being said, the order of mageseekers scour Demecia's kingdom for any mages and, if not drafted, will kill mages with no hesitation.
* MagicalLibrary: Demacia has an Arcane Registry, although it functions like a SecretGovernmentWarehouse, collecting all confiscated magic items and texts within their borders, and only a select few (primarily related to the crown) are allowed to enter.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: The Mageseekers are denoted by their ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''-style masks, which cover one side of their faces.
* MutantDraftBoard: While [[FantasticRacism Demacia's policy of]] [[AntiMagicalFaction magic is to deny it]], they're not above recruiting mages that they can control and are still of use to the kingdom's agenda. The story "Turmoil" also reveals that they have a longstanding alliance with a smaller neighboring nation of Arbormark -- despite it being a nation of mages, [[GodzillaThreshold Demacia requested for their help once Sylas' rebellion broke out to fight fire with fire.]] Sylas himself was originally recruited as a mageseeker, [[HunterOfHisOwnKind sent to hunt down and capture others like him]].
* NobleBirdOfPrey: Demacia is symbolized by avians, whether it is the predatorial azurite eagles or the ferocious silverwing raptors, which are ridden by Demacian knights.
* OnlyOneName: Demacian naming conventions entail that only those of noble houses have definitive surnames, with those lower in social status having just their given name. Some citizens work around this (and potential complications of [[OneSteveLimit sharing names with others]]) by being identified alongside their birthplace, i.e. "Cithria of Cloudfield" or "Sylas of Dregbourne".
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Demacian royal line is supposed to be in the thick of every fight. Crown Prince Jarvan IV is a universally-acclaimed badass. In spite of their [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]] use of their class [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections to avoid magical persecution]], it does seem that the nobility is liable to live up to their country's militaristic standards from what has been seen of them, with most mentioned nobility having been mentioned because a champion is among their lineage.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: It's implied that there are mages within the Demacian nobility, but are tautologically excused from each other due to them being people in power. Those of the lower-class who don't get this luxury receive the full brunt of their anti-magic persecution.
* TakeUpMySword: The Dauntless Vanguard has a tradition of passing down their swords and helmets to new recruits, to make them feel the weight and pride of the Vanguard before them. From retirement to death, it makes the Vanguard unanimous
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: The major political philosophy is that Demacia's vision of society is good and just, and worth whatever it takes to make it possible.
* TheWitchHunter: The Mageseekers are devoted in rooting out mages within their kingdom. Many are equipped with Graymarks, petricite emblems that serve as both the identity of the Mageseekers and detectors due to the petricite absorbing magic from mages.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Piltover]]
!!Piltover -- Thriving Coastal City
!!!'''Governance''': Aristocratic Oligarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': High
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Commodify
!!!'''General Environment''': Coastal Metropolis
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Caitlyn, Camille, Ezreal, Heimerdinger, Jayce, Orianna, Seraphine[[note]]Born to Zaunite parents[[/note]], Vi[[note]]Former Zaunite[[/note]]
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/piltover_crest.png]]
Piltover is a thriving, progressive city overlooking the ocean. Fleets of ships pass through its titanic sea-gates, bringing goods from all over the world. Merchant clans fund incredible endeavors, including artistic follies and architectural monuments to their individual power. With ever more inventors delving into hextech, Piltover has become the destination for the most skilled craftspeople from across Runeterra.
----
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: A labyrinth of tunnels runs under the city, which had never been fully mapped until then-eight-year-old Ezreal explored them all.
* BankRobbery: Sidereal Avenue is home to two banks, The Epliptic Vaults and the Clockwork Vault, [[TemptingFate both considered some of the most secure in the world]], but were respectively broken into by Jinx and the duo of Twisted Fate and Graves.
* TheClan: Piltover's government consists of the heads of various mercantile clans that rule over the city's various industries, with varying degrees of power and reputation. Due to the dynastic succession of these ruling clans, Piltover as a whole is considered an aristocratic oligarchy.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Piltover was formerly a ScienceHero city whose main distinction from Zaun was that it was TheFettered in terms of experimentation, which made it slightly less powerful but far better to live in. In the update, it is the home of the wealthy ruling class and is clean and beautiful because it can shunt all the dirty manufacturing down to Zaun.
* EscapedAnimalRampage: Piltover has a city zoo that houses a large assortment of flora and fauna from across Runeterra, though as seen in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nlJuwO0GDs Get Jinxed]]", Jinx gave it one hell of a vandalism spree.
* FictionalCurrency: Runeterra has a vast variety of currency, and Piltover produces its own, using coins called Golden Hexes, Silver Cogs (or Silver Gears), and Bronze Washers. Due to Piltover's global importance, these are especially valued.
* GadgeteerGenius: Nearly all of its champions use weapons they built or repurposed themselves, especially Heimerdinger, Jayce and Vi.
* LayeredMetropolis: [[http://i.imgur.com/9WuZSox.jpg Illustrations show that]] Piltover, or at least a section of it, is built atop giant cliffs. Zaun is both figuratively and literally its undercity.
* {{Magitek}}: ''The'' home of "hextech", a merger of magic and SteamPunk[=/=]ClockPunk machinery powered by [[PowerCrystal extremely rare crystals]] that allow anyone to wield magical power, depending on their design. Piltover is home to some of the most advanced technology in all of Runeterra, though due to the rarity of its power sources, no devices are mass-produced, instead being created individually by skilled craftsmen that take years or lifetimes to design.
* PoliceAreUseless: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] with the case of combating [[TerroristWithoutACause Jinx,]] who is constantly being chased by Vi and Caitlyn, but mostly due to elusiveness than incompetence. There were also Sentry Bots made to patrol the streets to assist combating her, but as seen in the "Get Jinxed" music video, they don't really work out too well.
* PortTown: Piltover is one of these, being a major in-between hub for traders across Runeterra and the Shuriman continent, with knowledge and control over oceanic trade routes being jealously-guarded secrets passed down from generation to generation.
* PowerCrystal: Piltover's trademark [[{{Magitek}} hextech]] are powered by rare arcane "hex-crystals", with their exact development process being a top-guarded secret among hextech craftsmen. They're believed to originate from [[SiliconBasedLife the Bracken]] [[ScaryScorpions of Shurima]] (the race Skarner is a part of), which were stolen alongside other crystals during an expedition by Elicia Ferros (Camille's ancestor), though modern hex-crystals presumably developed separately from them, as the ultimate fate of the Brackern crystals remain unknown.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Once again, the [[PowerCrystal hex-crystals]] that build much of Piltover's [[{{Magitek}} unique technological foundation]] were extracted from the brackern, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman a sapient race of Shuriman scorpion-like creatures]] who physically and spiritually embed themselves in said crystals. Modern Pilties don't seem to acknowledge this, but Skarner and [[TheEmpath Seraphine's]] ability to still detect their disembodied "dreamsongs" within the crystals carry [[AndIMustScream troubling implications about their ultimate fate]].
* PunkPunk: Takes massive inspiration from SteamPunk, ClockPunk and ArtDeco styles.
* ScienceHero: Firmly committed to the philosophy that science and knowledge will make the world a better place.
* ShiningCity: Bright and beautiful.
* TrackingDevice: Piltover is home to [[https://am-a.akamaihd.net/image?f=https%3A%2F%2Funiverse-meeps.leagueoflegends.com%2Fv1%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Ffactions%2Fimage-gallery%2Fpiltover-zindeloruneterra.jpg&resize=:1200 Zindelo's Incognium Runeterra]], a mysterious device claimed to be able to locate ''any individual in the world''. Unfortunately, its creator died mysteriously before it could be activated, with many believing the alchemical formulae used to power it to have been stolen. As a result, the device sits in southern Piltover completely inoperable.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Zaun]]
!!Zaun -- Polluted Undercity
!!!'''Governance''': Industrial Oligarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': High
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Exploit
!!!'''General Environment''': Urbanized (Toxic)
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Blitzcrank, Ekko, Janna, Jinx, Dr. Mundo, Singed, Twitch, Urgot[[note]]Originally from Noxus[[/note]], Viktor, Warwick, Zac, Ziggs[[note]]Formerly Piltover[[/note]]
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zaun_crest.png]]
Zaun is a polluted undercity beneath Piltover -- once united, they are now separate, symbiotic cultures. Stifled inventors often find their unorthodox research welcomed in Zaun, but reckless industry has rendered whole swathes of the city highly toxic. Even so, thanks to a thriving black market, chemtech, and mechanical augmentation, the people still find ways to prosper.
----
* BeastMan: Zaun is home to a few odd critters existing parallel to humans on varying levels. [[https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Chirean_Sumpworker_(Legends_of_Runeterra) The Chireans]] are a race of humanoid bat people who predate the first modern Zaunite miners, have a native understanding of technology, and get along with humans in spite of [[TheUnintelligible only communicating through indistinct chittering]]. There's also the variously anthropomorphic rodents throughout Zaun, including the mutated plague rat Twitch (implied to be [[SingleSpecimenSpecies the only one of his kind]]), the [[NearlyNormalAnimal more mundane, raccoon-like]] [[https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Clump_of_Whumps_(Legends_of_Runeterra) "whumps"]], and whatever the [[https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Chump_Whump_(Legends_of_Runeterra) "Chump Whump"]] is supposed to be.
* BioPunk: In its current state, Zaun follows a much more gritty, industrial, and dangerous aesthetic than the slick and cleaner ArtDeco looks of Piltover, with a grander focus on BioAugmentation. Contrast to the much more rare and expensive [[{{Magitek}} hextech]], Zaun has developed its own equivalent called chemtech, which [[AwesomeButImpractical potentially exceeds the performance of hextech, but is also more potentially dangerous]].
* CityNoir: Dark, dirty, dangerous, yet allowing a lot of freedom for those too low to attract much attention.
* TheCityNarrows: Zaun is already a pretty cramped and seedy place to live, but the lowest Sump level is treated as the dingiest of the lot, being home to slums, prisons, abandoned chemtech, and incredibly potent pollution, described as "the most squalid, yet vibrant parts of the city."
* TheClan: Similar to Piltover, Zaun is ultimately ruled by the heads of a collection of dynastic industrial clans known as the "Chem-Barons". Many have been shown to not be the nicest people, [[NecessaryEvil but their ongoing alliances with each other and Piltover are considered the only things preventing Zaun from plunging into chaos]].
* DeadlyGas: Most of the atmosphere, including ''the clouds'', nicknamed "Zaun Gray," is incredibly hazardous to breathe in more concentrated doses. It's such a prevalent part of the culture that the wealthy families in Zaun keep large, glass greenhouses to lounge in; indoor plants represent their wealth and power because they provide clean, fresh air to breathe.
--> ''Most days, [the Gray]'s thin enough that you can breathe deep without coughing up something wet. Today, though, is what we call a Grayout. You choke with every breath. Your chest feels tight. Can't see much past your fingertips.''
--> -- The protagonist from [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/janna-color-story Deep Breath, Janna's short story]]
* FantasticDrug: "Shimmer" is a popular [[ToxicWasteCanDoAnything corrosive techmaturgical waste substance]] among Zaun's rebellious youth, which stimulates intense emotions and changes colors corresponding to them when slathered on skin. It's believed to cause skin and muscle tissue degeneration, but the rumor of it giving wearers supernatural abilities has only increased its demand. [[TerroristWithoutACause Jinx]] is implied to be a user of the stuff.
* ForScience: Practically the city motto.
* LayeredMetropolis: Not only is Zaun the literal undercity to Piltover, [[UrbanSegregation it's also sectioned into multiple layers of its own]]: the Promenade Level (existing on Piltover's lower districts where the two interact for trade and entertainment), the Entresol Level (the base cosmopolitan area of Zaun housing most of its industries and population), and the Sump Level ([[TheCityNarrows the deepest and darkest of the city, literally and figuratively]]).
* MadScientist: Just another career option.
* PollutedWasteland: The consequence of Zaun [[TheUnfettered allowing for unregulated industrial complexes tampering with volatile technology]] is that said industries have spiralled out of control, rendering the city exceedingly polluted, and in some places dangerously toxic. Camille's Clan is rumored to be a heavy contributor to the pollution through their production of synthetic hex-crystals.
* PortTown: Zaun is part of the collective city-state/trade hub with Piltover between the continents of Valoran and Shurima (hypothesized to have once been a Shuriman port city called Oshra Va'Zaun), [[LayeredMetropolis just layered underground]]. As you might expect, this proves to be extremely dangerous; one of Zaun's most defining historical points was the plan to sever the isthmus connecting the two continents to allow proper sea passage, [[GoneHorriblyWrong with the demolition going so catastrophically wrong]] that it completely sank several large districts of the city, killing thousands. When Zaun was eventually rebuilt, the "Sun Gates" were constructed to regulate the oceanic passage they were built on. The wealth it brought likely led to the creation of what we currently know as Piltover, but to this day, Zaun maintains monitoring power over all water transport in the area.
* PunkPunk: Just based on the design of its champions and [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/zaun-breatherstation.jpg various]] [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/zaun-bountymarkets.jpg architecture]], it's clear Zaun is heavily inspired by BioPunk, SteamPunk, and DieselPunk elements.
* RiteOfPassage: The children of Zaun crafted their own to see if they're "one of the big kids." Fittingly for [[WretchedHive the setting]], it involves extremely dangerous activity, including hitching a ride on ''the top of'' the Rising Howl elevator, reaching the top of the gear-exposed [[ClockTower Old Hungry]] with their limbs intact, [[BullyingADragon pickpocketing a chem-baron attendant, and/or ding-dong-ditching a sump-scrapper]].
* SkyscraperCity: Played with, in that while many of their buildings are extremely tall, [[http://i.imgur.com/9WuZSox.jpg they actually lead directly up]] [[LayeredMetropolis to Piltover's foundations.]]
* TheUnfettered: When it comes to science and experimentation, nothing's off limits.
* WretchedHive: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. When put next to [[ShiningCity Piltover,]] Zaun fits the bill of being a heavily-polluted, run-down over-industrialized hive of mad scientists, criminals and slums, but it's also a "City of Privileges" for where scientists and [[{{Magitek}} hextech]] developers can bloom uninterrupted, though the moral compass heavily differs between individual cases, from the ambiguous (Viktor) to downright rotten (Singed).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Bilgewater]]
!!Bilgewater -- Lawless Port City
!!!'''Governance''': Gang Syndicates
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Medium
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Employ
!!!'''General Environment''': Tropical Archipelago
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Gangplank, Graves, Illaoi, Miss Fortune, Nautilus, Pyke, Tahm Kench, Twisted Fate
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bilgewater_crest.png]]
Bilgewater is a port city like no other—home to monster hunters, dock-gangs, indigenous peoples, and traders from across the known world. Almost anything can be purchased here, from outlawed hextech to the favor of local crime lords. There is no better place to seek fame and fortune, though death lurks in every alleyway, and the law is almost non-existent.
----
* BoatsIntoBuildings: Officials artworks of Bilgewater show that a good part of the buildings really look like ships that were brought up the cliffs and turned into actual houses. Some even have cannons.
* TheButcher: One of the most notable parts of Bilgewater is the Slaughter Docks. After ships come into town with large corpses of sea monsters in tow, the monster's corpses are hauled into the docks to be butchered. The monster's meat, skin, and bones provide a very large portion of the city's resources and keep the economy flowing. Other nations, particularly the Freljord, frequently haul large monster carcasses to the Slaughter Docks to sell them off to the experienced butchers in Bilgewater.
* CerebusRollercoaster: Bilgewater has probably explored its tone the most out of all Runeterran factions. The city was originally played as [[WretchedHive a relatively dangerous place to be]], but overall pretty campy and [[ExcusePlot light on drama]], much like the rest of pre-ContinuityReboot lore. Following the reboot, things were taken [[DarkerAndEdgier much more seriously]], [[{{Deconstruction}} emphasizing its legitimate danger]], gang conspiracies, and the vicious supernatural occurrences treated as normal business for its denizens. From ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' onwards, however, it's [[DenserAndWackier also been given quite a silly side]], revealing it to be the home of some of the goofiest things in Runeterra, including a menagerie of amphibious {{Funny Animal}}s (most implied to be native creatures, ''not'' yordles).
* FictionalCurrency: Two known currencies used in Bilgewater are "golden krakens" and "silver serpents".
* FogOfDoom: They experienced being attacked by the Black Mist of the Shadow Isles during Harrowing night in ''Shadow and Fortune.'' This is apparently a recurring event every year, but before Miss Fortune's assassination attempt on Gangplank, the city always had time to prepare and assemble to combat it. ''Shadow and Fortune'' is a story about the Harrowing in the wake of the disjointed, civil war-torn Bilgewater.
* GargleBlaster: Rum is apparently a well-known export product from Bilgewater, with among the most infamous being "Gangplank's Black Pearl Rum," a ''chewy'' rum "aged in charred oak casks and infused with some of the richest spices that Valoran has to offer, [coming out] blacker than pitch and about as thick." Consume at your own peril.
* HunterOfMonsters: The dominant career for sea-farers in Bilgewater. While there are a lot of pirates, others take their naval combat skills to battle massive sea monsters. After they kill the beasts, they haul them back to the city where they can butcher them. See TheButcher above.
* NecessarilyEvil: Bilgewater is the home of some really unpleasant characters, so you'll have to be even more ruthless and unpleasant if you want to keep order.
* NobleSavage: The Buhru people of the Serpent/Blue Flame Isles, the indigenous folk who are native to the island chain that Bilgewater is built upon. Illaoi is a representative of these islanders. They're given a high level of reverence and respect by the people of Bilgewater, and most people in the city follow the native religion, even Gangplank. It revolves around their Sea God, Nagakabouros, also known as the Bearded Lady, and the fleets pay tithes to her by tossing offerings into the sea. Every ship worth its salt has a Buhru working upon it as a seer and adviser to the captain.
* {{Pirate}}: Home to a lot of these, the most dominant name being Gangplank.
* [[PortTown Port City]]: Dwellings and buildings in the city are even crafted from the ruined remains of longships and other boats. Many of Bilgewater's buildings are just ships turned upside down and secured to the ground and/or cliffs.
* SwampsAreEvil: The inland outskirts of Bilgewater is marshland threaded with rivers. The nomadic mystics who live there are often known as 'River Folk' and are considered a people apart from those who live in the city proper. Twisted Fate is one of the River Folk.
* TakeItToTheBridge: Butcher's Bridge exists as one connecting the [[NotSoSafeHarbour Slaughter Docks]] to one of the town's many slums. It served as the ARAM "Murder Bridge" during the Burning Tides event.
* ThreateningShark: Remember the Slaughter Docks mentioned above? Blood, guts, and abandoned chum from there constantly leaks into the harbor. Yes, this means the sea around Bilgewater is constantly inhabited by piranha, saltwater crocodiles, warfrats, and yes, sharks.
* TheWildWest: Carries elements of this, with characters like Graves, Tahm Kench, and Miss Fortune evoking obvious western imagery. The coast and harbor are more UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy, but as you travel though the city towards the land, the culture draws a lot from southern Cajun, and the swamps outside of inland Bilgewater (where Twisted Fate hails from) are not unlike wetlands in Louisiana or Florida.
* WretchedHive: Of the OutlawTown[=/=]NotSoSafeHarbour varieties. Gang violence is common, anyone would knife you for your shoes, and if you manage to survive the people, the local animals might get you -- but if you're quick on your feet and have some stolen tech to fence, you might just have a good time.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ixtal]]
!!Ixtal -- Perilous Eastern Jungles
!!!'''Governance''': Magical Autocracy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown (Alchemical)
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Control
!!!'''General Environment''': Tropical Rainforest
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Malphite, Neeko, Nidalee, Qiyana, Rengar, Zyra
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ixtal_crest_1.png]]
Secluded deep in the wilderness of eastern Shurima, the sophisticated arcology-city of Ixaocan remains mostly free of outside influence. Having witnessed from afar the ruination of the Blessed Isles, and the softening of Buhru culture, the Ixtali view the other factions of Runeterra as little more than upstarts and pretenders, and use their powerful elemental magic to keep any intruders at bay.
----
* {{Arcology}}: Ixaocan consists of many of these peppering the Ixtal jungles, each one housing up to tens of thousands of people, and each practicing a specific discipline/field of elemental magic. In practice, they're described as being neither purely habitats or [[WizardingSchool colleges of magic]], but somewhere in between. They also appear to be caste-based, as the ruling Yun Tal caste controls the Cardinal Arcology.
* ElementalPowers: The Ixtali greatly explore this concept through [[FunctionalMagic a system known as the Axiomata]], interpreting the universe as a series of elements governed by axioms that can be manipulated. Each {{arcology}} represents and is devoted to a specific axiom, such as the Magma Arcology in the mountains studying [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[MagmaMan ro]][[DishingOutDirt ck]], and [[MagnetismManipulation magnetism]], or the Water Arcology near the Serpentine River studying [[MakingASplash water]], [[AnIcePerson ice]], and [[BlowYouAway steam]]. [[ComboPlatterPowers Qiyana's mastery over several magics at once]] is enough for her to consider herself [[MightMakesRight fit to rule Ixaocan]].
* HiddenElfVillage: Ixtal has remained hidden in the jungles east of Shurima for centuries, developing its own isolationist society filled to the brim with elemental magics. Notably, most of its citizens believe that they are all that remains of the human world following the destruction of Icathia, and only those within the ruling Yun Tal are aware of the truth.
* HungryJungle: Ixtal rests its entirety in lush jungle recognized fully as the Ixtal Jungle, and if its isolationist inhabitants won't kill you for trespassing into their borders, [[ManEatingPlant the jungle itself]] [[GeniusLoci probably will]]. It should be noted that Ixaocan rule doesn't fully entail the entire thing; champions including Nidalee and Neeko roam in the jungle, but don't share allegiance with the city hidden deep within it.
* LandOfOneCity: A mixed case; aside from smaller surrounding villages, [[https://twitter.com/LaurieGoulding/status/1139792055855534080 the capital of Ixaocan is considered the last "city" in present-day Ixtal]], the rest having been ruined or abandoned as foreigners continue encroaching on their borders over time. Ixaocan itself, however, encompasses a large set of various [[{{Arcology}} arcologies]], including but not limited to a central Cardinal Arcology.
* {{Magitek}}: Their technology is a variant of this, but very unlike Piltovan hextech. Instead of using magic crystals to power machines, the Ixtali prefer to directly use their ElementalPowers [[MundaneUtility as a casual tool]] -- a quarryman would use [[DishingOutDirt stone magic]] to easily break apart and carry large rocks, while a fisher can use [[MakingASplash water magic]] to create favorable currents and [[BlowYouAway air magic]] to travel underwater using air bubbles. Within the Cardianal Arcology exists the Vidalion, a loom-like device that can channel and weave axiomatic energy into material form, which the [[TheMagocracy Yun Tal]] use to weave robes to mark their status.
* TheMagocracy: Ixtal is described specifically as a "magical autocracy", divided into [[FantasticCasteSystem individual, highly rigid castes]], each with their own social hierarchies based on time spent in study. Those with mastery in their respective elemental axioms can ascend the ranks, with the initiation ceremonies of the Yun Tal being the ultimate test of it.
* {{Mayincatec}}: Shows shades of this.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Ixtal is the native home to the various elemental dragons that you come across on Summoner's Rift, occupying various abandoned Ixtali ruins. Fearsome yet majestic, they once fought alongside humans during the Shuriman war against The Void, but have since remained content being left alone without any major interference.
* OutOfFocus: Ixtal was introduced as a major new region in 2019 with the release of Qiyana, but not much has been developed about it since aside from a few offhand mentions in short backstories. Even with other champions that were retroactively placed within Ixtal's domain, the hidden capitol of Ixaocan hasn't seen any further representation beyond Qiyana.
* {{Precursors}}: Ixtal is described to have an even older past than [[TheEmpire Shurima]], described as being part of a westward diaspora that also gave rise to the Buhru, magnificent Helia, and the ascetics of Targon, with ties to the very first [[PhysicalGod Ascension]]. To boot, one of Ezreal's map notes indicates he met a shaman in the jungle who -- despite not looking Targonian -- claimed she was [[PhysicalGod the Aspect of the Wanderer]].
* TheUnmasquedWorld: After centuries of seclusion, the Ixtali finally revealed themselves as more and more of their territory continues being encroached by Piltover and Noxus, with the major incident being Qiyana revealing a hidden path between villages which was discovered by Piltovan miners, resulting in a very messy bloodbath which still left some survivors to tell the tale.
* VestigialEmpire: While not as drastic as Shurima, Ixtal's legacy from its former glory leaves a lot to be desired. It once preceded Shurima, with its initial diaspora giving rise to the Targonians, the Buhru, and the Helia of the Blessed Isles, but following constant involvement in outsider disasters (including the Shuriman/Void war, the Darkin war, the Rune War, and the Ruination of the Blessed Isles), they decided they had enough and went into hiding. Even with that, they continue being encroached on by foreigners, reduced to being a LandOfOneCity.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shurima]]
!!Shurima -- Fallen Desert Empire
!!!'''Governance''': Divine Empire
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Covet
!!!'''General Environment''': Arid Desert
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Amumu, Azir, Nasus, Rammus, Renekton, Sivir, Skarner, Taliyah, Xerath
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shuriman_crest.png]]
-> ''"A cloud of smoldering destruction hangs in the night sky. This is the Fall of Shurima.''
->''The Ancients groped blindly in the darkness, threatening to unravel the very fabric of creation in their hubris. Noble Shurimans who Ascended found a loose thread in the universe’s tapestry, and pulled upon it. The vulgarity of their ambition consumed thousands of innocent lives and ended a golden age.''
-> ''Such was the fate of mighty Shurima and of men who would become gods."''
-> -- Ionian storyteller
Shurima was once a thriving civilization that spanned the southern continent, left in ruins by the fall of its god-emperor. Over millennia, tales of its former glory became myth and ritual. Now, its nomadic inhabitants eke out a life in the deserts, or turn to mercenary work. Still, some dare to dream of a return to the old ways.
----
* AnimalMotif: Shurima runs heavily on this theme. Most of the champions that represent Shurima are associated with a particular animal. In the case of the Ascended, the have a particular animal totem that is reflected in their physical form. Others have more subtle associations, but are still associated with them.
** Nasus ascended into the form of the Jackal, representing his intelligence and cunning.
** Renekton ascended into the form of the Crocodile, representing his strength and ferocity.
** Azir ascended into the form of the Hawk, representing his regality and royalty.
** Cassiopeia, while not among the ascended, has been cursed into the form of a Serpent. This reflects her insidious and venomous way of manipulating enemies.
** Taliyah, while not ascended or cursed, is heavily associated with the humble Sparrow.
** The Brackern, of whom Skarner is the main representative, are a race of crystalline Scorpions. Unlike most depictions of scorpions in media, the Brackern are very true to actual scorpions; they're mostly a shy, retiring race that sleeps below ground, but make tenacious and frightening enemies when provoked.
** Rengar, a Vastayan whose tribe hails from Shurima, is an anthropomorphic lion.
* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: Sun motifs, scarabs, and the famous floating pyramids.
* TheEmpire: During its heyday, it was an enormous one with reach across the entire southern continent of Runeterra, including Ixtal. After being resurrected, Azir seeks to return it to its former glory.
* EgyptIsStillAncient: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]]; Shurima in general [[FantasyCounterpartCulture is aesthetically very much an analogue to Egypt]], with lots of references to ancient Egypt, but appropriately, this mostly has its ties to ancient Shurima. Contemporary Shurima is largely comprised of low-tech, but secular civilization, with more developed areas (mostly to the north that border with Noxus) consisting of modern cities and towns with only faint sentimentality for the nation's glory days. The aesthetic is actually {{invoked|Trope}} to a degree where Azir is concerned, as in his vision of rebuilding Shurima to its former glory, he idealizes it with the archaic depiction of the past, amassing modern followers that share the same nostalgia but alienating those who want to live on without it.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Shurima is clearly modeled on ancient Egypt.
* HegemonicEmpire: Shurima was reportedly based around massive expansion and assimilation during its heyday, with states like Kahleek, Kalduga, and even Ixtal becoming attached voluntarily, implied to be because of access to greater powers like the Sun Disc. Icathia was the most notable exception, and when it attempted to rebel, it struggled to find allies since nobody dared to oppose the grand empire that was seemingly a net benefit for themselves.
* LivingLegend: The Ascended were legendary in Shurima's day.
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: While Shuriman Ascension is relatively more manual than the Targonian equivalent, it appears that the powers that be still have a set of standards that influence whether certain people are worthy of it. Those considered unworthy become flawed, incomplete beings dubbed the Baccai, which look similar to Ascended and share their long lifespans, but are considerably weaker and closer to mortal.
* PhysicalGod: The rite of Ascension channels enormous power onto one person, granting them [[TheAgeless immortality]] among other things, and changing their appearance to reflect a particular animal. It's meant to be used only in times of desperate need, and [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield only those considered "worthy" were granted the full package]].
* ThePowerOfTheSun: Worshiped the sun, as befitting a desert empire, and constructed a giant gold Sun Disc to harness its power further.
* ResurgentEmpire: Shurima was a powerhouse milennia ago. This changed when Xerath disrupted the Ascension Ritual and killed Azir, it fell into a VestigialEmpire that no one thought much of.. until Azir was ressurected and ascended - with his powers as an Ascended, he is making great strides towards rebuilding, fully intending on continuing Shurima's HegemonicEmpire where he left off.
* SecretLegacy: The royal bloodline of Shurima persisted until the present day, with the roaming mercenary Sivir turning out to be Azir's last true descendant.
* SemiDivine: The Baccai are beings who attempted Ascension, but for [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield whatever reason]] never made it all the way, usually becoming similarly anthropomorphic and [[TheAgeless long-living]], but malformed, possessing weaker, flawed magic, and are vulnerable to mortality unlike proper God-Warriors. Many disappeared or [[MercyKill were put out of their misery]] following their failure, but it's strongly suggested several survived Shurima's fall and are hiding out in dark underground tombs.
* ShroudedInMyth: Very little is known about the empire in its heyday or about its collapse, but it seemed to have access to magic far beyond what is currently known.
* ThirstyDesert: Much of the Shuriman continent is this, primarily one called The Great Sai, with modern civilization existing much closer to the various coastlines. [[CrossingTheDesert Treks from coast to coast]] can be incredibly taxing, with a trek from northern Shurima to the capital by dormun said to take about 65 days.
* VestigialEmpire: Shurima has seen better days, to say the least. Once spanning an entire continent and absorbing many smaller factions, calamity has blasted its mainland into [[ThirstyDesert endless sand]] infested with [[EldritchAbomination Void monsters]], with what remains being smaller coastal cities and nomadic tribes. The newly-resurrected Azir is determined to restore its former glory.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Targon]]
!!Mount Targon -- Sprawling Western Mountains
!!!'''Governance''': Tribal Theocracy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Aspire
!!!'''General Environment''': Harsh Mountains
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Aphelios, Aurelion Sol, Diana, Leona, Pantheon, Taric[[note]]Formerly of Demacia[[/note]], Soraka, Zoe.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mount_targon_crest.png]]
-> ''"Some brave souls attempt to scale the impossible mountain, perhaps seeking wisdom or enlightenment, perhaps chasing glory or some soul-deep yearning to see its summit. The dwellers at the peak’s base cheer as these brave souls begin their ascent, knowing the mountain will find the vast majority of them unworthy. And to be judged unworthy by Mount Targon is to die."''
A mountainous and sparsely inhabited region to the west of Shurima, Targon boasts the tallest peak in Runeterra. Located far from civilization, Mount Targon is all but impossible to reach, save by the most determined pilgrims, chasing some soul-deep yearning to reach its summit. Those hardy few who survive the climb return haunted and empty, or changed beyond all recognition.
----
* CoolGate: Littered across Mount Targon are large and ornate metallic rings used by modern Targonians to denote the path splitting civilization from the mountain's peak, [[PointOfNoReturn used as a threshold to bid farewell to climbers hoping to achieve their destiny]]. Note that none of these rings were manmade -- described as having fallen from the sky during ancient times, nobody knows for sure who created them or what their intended purpose was.
* DeathMountain: The highest peak in not just the Shuriman continent, but all of Runeterra, mythologized as having been twisted, elongated, and drawn from the earth up to the heavens by some mysterious cosmic force. While civilization exists around the "ring of the mountain" at its base, it gets so perilous the further up you go that attempting to reach the peak will mean certain death unless [[BecauseDestinySaysSo destiny says so]] or because you are ''extremely'' lucky.
* ElementalPowers: The Targonian champions have this in general ([[ThePowerOfTheSun sunlight]], [[{{Lunacy}} moonlight]], [[StarPower starlight]]) thanks to their status as Aspects.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The first mention of Mount Targon and the people living on it were just in Leona and Pantheon's backgrounds where they were obviously just pop-culture Spartans as exemplified by ''Film/ThreeHundred'' (Pantheon's people were initally just unsubtly called [[SignificantAnagram the Stanpar]]). The people living on Targon are a tad more nuanced now, though they still are inspired by Greek history, such as a large number of tribes living at the base of Mount Targon calling to mind the many city-states of UsefulNotes/AncientGreece with Mount Targon itself being said to have gods living at its peak like [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Mount Olympus]].
%%* HateSink: Many view the Solari sect to be this due to their utterly brutal KnightTemplar mentalities in addition of [[NeverMyFault never owing up to their missteps or other nefarious way to assert dominance (such as the Lunari genocide)]]. Atreus (the current physical host of Pantheon) expressed dislike towards the sect, though mostly because they're too defensive to [[AttackAttackAttack his tastes]], and [[WarGod Pantheon himself]] only puts up to them just because how they're the only other manpower Targon has for war. Even Leona, [[TheParagon their paragon,]] when she ascended, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone became horrified about the cruelty she did under the Solari's name]] and currently seeks to make amends.
* LightIsGood: Zig-zagged. The named champions that holds the power of light, such as Leona and Taric, are undoubtedly good. However, the Solari is a sect whose moral compass is heavily ambiguous, given Leona's reverence of them but also their animosity and implied ancient genocide towards the Lunari.
* OddlyCommonRarity: Discussed: Aspects are incredibly rare, so having several active at once [[PortentOfDoom probably means a great battle or calamity is on the horizon]].
* ScalingTheSummit: ''The'' challenge of Targon. It is so hard to do that Demacia sets it as a punishment for those who have utterly disgraced themselves.
* SolarAndLunar: The status of the sun and the moon are major factors in Targonian conflict, primarily between the [[MeaningfulName concisely-named]] Solari and Lunari. In the present day, the Solari are the dominant faction, with the Lunari deemed heretics, cruelly snuffed out, and erased from history, leaving any remnants in hiding. Diana and Aphelios' lore directly implies that the sun and moon exist in "cycles", and that a drastic power shift in favor of the moon is well underway.
* StarPower: Stars in the cosmos beyond Runeterra appear to be supernatural (which would make sense, given how their creator, Aurelion Sol, is [[OurDragonsAreDifferent a giant space dragon]]), and it's all but directly stated that the Aspects in their celestial power descend from constellations. As a result, all Targonian champions have some influence in them to a degree -- Zoe and Taric use the power of stars in combat, Soraka descended from them, and Leona and Diana's respective [[ThePowerOfTheSun sunlight]] and [[{{Lunacy}} moonlight]] are influenced from them, and all but Aurelion Sol of them have their own representative constellation.
* TouchedByVorlons: Targonian Aspects are partly themselves, partly the Aspect they are now hosting. The spectrum ranges from "mostly still himself" (Taric) to "completely replaced" (Pantheon).
* WingedUnicorn: Mount Targon is home to stellacorns, magical creatures that fly like stars.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shadow Isles]]
!!The Shadow Isles -- Lands Shrouded by the Black Mist
!!!'''Governance''': None
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Suffer
!!!'''General Environment''': Cursed Archipelago
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Elise, Hecarim, Karthus, Kalista, Maokai, Thresh, Viego, Yorick.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_isles_crest.png]]
-> ''"Many are the grim tales told of the Shadow Isles, and the Black Mist that shrouds them... And while all good folk shun this cursed land, sometimes its darkness comes... FOR YOU. The Black Mist ebbs and flows like the tide, yet now and then, on a night much like tonight, it reaches far across the sea... Searching... Seeking... Killing... This time is known as... THE HARROWING. During the Harrowing, the spirits of the Shadow Isles go forth within the Black Mist. Preying on the living, feeding the darkness. There's no coming back once you're claimed by the Harrowing. You're cursed, condemned to haunt the Black Mist forevermore..."''
-> -- Anonymous Bilgewater puppetmaster
The Shadow Isles were once a beautiful realm, long since shattered by a magical cataclysm. Now, Black Mist permanently shrouds the land, tainting and corrupting with its malevolent sorcery. Those who perish within it are condemned to become part of it for all eternity… and worse still, each year the Mist extends its grasp to reap more souls across Runeterra.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: All Shadow Isles champions are chaotic, and most have nothing but bad intentions for the rest of the world. The exceptions are Maokai, Yorick (good), Kalista (formerly good, now operating as a gray arbiter of vengeance) and Karthus ([[BlueAndOrangeMorality who sees death as good]]).
* AndIMustScream: The Ruination has condemned all the souls of the isles to an eternity of torture, plunging most of its brightest lights into darkness.
* BigBad: Viego, the Ruined King, is one of the closest things ''League of Legends'' has to an overarching BigBad. The lord of the Shadow Isles and the Black Mist, some of its most infamous denizens are bound to his will, including Hecarim and Kalista, and several heroes from all over are searching for him, seeing his defeat as instrumental for undoing the isles' curse.
* TheCorruption: It was once a beautiful island kingdom called the Blessed Isles, but a forbidden spell that broke the barriers between life and death turned it into the spectral, undead-infested land it is today.
* CreepyGood: Champions who draw their power from the corrupted Isles, such as Yorick and Senna, ride the line between "noble" and "unnerving."
* DeathWorld: Barring [[EldritchLocation The Void]], the Shadow Isles is likely the most dangerous place in Runeterra, as [[FateWorseThanDeath even death won't save you]] [[AndIMustScream from the eternal torment it inflicts]]. ''Legends of Runeterra'' shows that [[EliteArmy the Dauntless Vanguard of Demacia]] tried to explore the land, and even they failed miserably.
* FauxFlame: The land is now littered with [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/shadow-isles-vaults.jpg an eerie, spectral blue-green-ish fire]] that carries into almost every champion associated with it.
* FogOfDoom: The Black Mist comes from here, and it spreads across Runeterra during every Harrowing in search of souls.
* GardenOfEvil: The Twisted Treeline map, which looks the ruins of a once-beautiful palace garden.
* GiantSpider: Among the various giant beasts of the Shadow Isles is Vilemaw, an undead spider god who Elise serves.
* HealItWithWater: One repellent to the curse of undeath are the Tears of Life, water originally from the springs of the Blessed Isles which managed to survive the ruination. While it's unable to undo TheCorruption in ruined beings, it's what allowed Yorick and Maokai to endure the incident, and both believe that what they have left will be instrumental in ending the isles' curse.
* MysteriousMist: The Black Mist is [[FogOfDoom an extremely dangerous variant]]. Back in the days of Helia and the Blessed Isles, the mist was much less scary, appearing as a normal pale mist used by the isles' denizens to shroud them from the rest of the world, but it too was [[TheCorruption corrupted]] by the Ruination.
* {{Revenge}}: Demacia mounted a spectacularly failed invasion/exploration of the Isles. What's the first major faction Viego targets when he finally fully invades Runeterra? You guessed it, Demacia.
[[/folder]]
!!Minor Powers and 'Outside' Factions
[[folder:Bandle City]]
!!Bandle City -- Mythical Land of Curious Enchantment
!!!'''Governance''': None
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Play
!!!'''General Environment''': Unknown
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Corki, Lulu, Rumble, Teemo, Tristana, Veigar, Yuumi.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bandle_city_crest.png]]
Opinions differ as to where exactly the land of the Yordles is to be found. Some maintain these fey creatures live far to the southeast, beyond a range of impassable mountains. Others claim the Yordles live under grassy green hills or deep in the hearts of impenetrable forests. Perhaps some of these tales are true or maybe none, for no expedition mounted to find the Yordle homeland has ever located it. Which is not to say that no one has visited the land of Yordles, for many claim to have travelled through unseen portals into a land of fey enchantment populated by diminutive creatures of mischief. In Bandle City every sensation is heightened for non-Yordles; colors are incredibly vivid, the food and drink intoxicates the senses for years and, once tasted, will never be forgotten. The sunlight is eternally golden, the waters crystal clear, and every harvest brings fruitful bounty. It is also a place of unfettered magic, where the incautious can be led astray by its myriad wonders and end up lost in a dream until they drop dead of hunger and thirst. Those who claim to have travelled to Bandle City speak of a timeless quality, which may explain why many such
----
* HiddenElfVillage: Bandle City is accessible through pathways only known by yordles throughout Runeterra called bandlewoods, with its "location" having multiple points across the official map.
* {{Hobbits}}: Back before the lore retcon, the ''original'' Yordles were less fairies or spirits and more Hobbits - they were a race of small humanoids that lived in a pacifistic agrarian idyll in little holes in the earth. The only real difference was that all of the Yordles were vaugely rodent-like beast-men. Teemo and Veigar - the original two Yordles and the only ones released before the mass retcon - were said to be unusually aggressive for the race. Veigar out of being tortured and Teemo from being [[ObliviouslyEvil too innocent]] to realize [[LethallyStupid how deadly]] his Boy Scout-esque survival games were for others.
* LandOfFaerie: Bandle City isn't a physical location, but rather its own separate realm which can be accessed through hidden pathways in Runeterra, described as a whimsical and timeless paradise. [[LayeredWorld Bandle City itself has an]] ''[[UpToEleven even more]]'' [[UpToEleven whimsical and topsy-turvy realm]] in it known as The Glade, a place of primordial magic perceived by Lulu to be Bandle City's origin.
* MagicalLand: See LandOfFaerie above.
* OutOfFocus: Following the game's ContinuityReboot, Bandle City has been conspicuously low on focus, with much more attention being placed on the rest of known Runeterra. Unlike the other major regions of the game (sans [[EldritchLocation the Void]]), Bandle City has yet to receive a dedicated lore expansion, with updates surrounding yordles in general trickling in irregular places, [[TheArtifact leaving some yordle champions lacking in lore altogether]]. It took until 2021 for several yordle champions and Bandle City itself to be canonically represented in "Don't Mess With Yordles"[[note]]Though Bandle City was shown in the noncanon music video for Pentakill's "Mortal Reminder"[[/note]].
* PerceptionFilter: How yordle {{glamour}} works. If people don't have any suspicion that the yordles are in fact yordles, [[HiddenInPlainSight they'll instead be perceived as ordinary people beneath notice]]. Only when people start paying close attention or fully expect their presence do they get perceived as what they truly are.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: If Poppy and Tristana are any indication, Yordles are stronger than their diminutive size suggests.
* PortalNetwork: Yordles travel between Bandle City and the physical realm of Runeterra through "Bandlewoods", normally-innocuous objects (usually natural terrain like trees or stone formations) that form portals to travel with. "Don't Mess With Yordles" depicts the Bandlewoods on Bandle City's end as [[WorldTree a giant tree]] with [[PortalCrossroadWorld many portals to go through]], and Yuumi's Book of Thresholds acts as an atlas to the whole network.
* {{Utopia}}: Bandle City has been described by outsiders who have claimed to visit it as a paradise of bright colors, beautiful sunlight and streams, delicious food, and unfettered magic.
* YearInsideHourOutside: Bandle City appears to cause this, as non-Yordle visitors tend to come back much older, if they return at all.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Void]]
!!The Void -- The Unknowable Nothingness
!!!'''Governance''': None
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Devour
!!!'''General Environment''': Unknown
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Cho'Gath, Kassadin, Kai’Sa, Kha'Zix, Kog'Maw, Malzahar, Rek'Sai, Vel'Koz.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/void_crest.png]]
Screaming into existence with the birth of the universe, the Void is a manifestation of the unknowable nothingness that lies beyond. It is a force of insatiable hunger, waiting through the eons until its masters, the mysterious Watchers, mark the final time of undoing.
To be a mortal touched by this power is to suffer an agonizing glimpse of eternal unreality, enough to shatter even the strongest mind. Denizens of the Void realm itself are construct-creatures, often of only limited sentience, but built for a single purpose — to usher in total oblivion across Runeterra.
Although it's technically everywhere and nowhere, as alternate dimensions tend to be, The Void is strongly tied to Icathia. This city-state on the eastern coast of Shurima, in a last ditch effort to free itself from said empire's control, opened a portal to the void that is now known as "The Rupture". Void-born plague the caverns below Shurima's deserts to this day and "The Lost City of Icathia" is only spoken about in hushed whispers.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Wants to consume the world. Doesn't really care why or how that gets done. Most of its champions are characterized by their hunger -- physical hunger or something metaphorical like a hunger for knowledge.
* BizarreAlienBiology: Bizarre in that as {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, they normally don't even have any sort of physicality and have to adjust to the material plane of Runeterra, which actually proves to be a significant and exploitable weakness of theirs.
* BodyHorror: The Void will not merely destroy you, it will ''consume'' you and warp your flesh into something more to its liking. And inversely, the longer a Voidspawn exists in Runeterra the more "mundane" and "normal" they become, to the point where they could be mistaken for a "normal" magical creature.
* TheDogBitesBack: Icathia was formerly a kingdom in the Shuriman continent that was brutally subjugated by the ever-expanding empire, with a humiliating conquest that began eradicating their culture, history, and present power for millenia. This prompted a violent and disastrous rebellion [[EvilIsNotAToy involving uncovering the Void's power]], [[ApocalypseHow and tragically]], [[PyrrhicVictory there were no winners]].
* EldritchAbomination: Everything that comes out of the Void, christened "void-born" or "void-spawn".
* EldritchLocation: Not only the Void itself but any place where the Void touches reality, such as the lost city of Icathia. To hammer the point home, the Void's general environment is listed as [[NothingIsScarier "Unknown"]] by the interactive map.
-->'''Kai'Sa''': The Void is not so much a place -- [[SentientCosmicForce it is a power]], [[HorrorHunger reaching out to consume all life]].
* EvilIsNotAToy: The Icathians called upon it in ancient times to help their rebellion against Shurima and the Ascended. They won a PyrrhicVictory that ruined the city and left even the survivors tainted.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation:
** Looking directly at the Void can kill your sanity.
** The Void itself was driven to madness by "normal" reality coming into existence. The Void was formerly a place of absolute silence, tranquility, and nothingness. When the physical plane and life were created, the Void gained awareness and absolute horror at the incomprehensibleness of linear spacetime.
* GreaterScopeVillain: The Watchers are ostensibly the leaders of the Void, creators of the first Voidborn in the Freljord, and they share the same {{omnicidal mania|c}} as the rest of them, making them one the biggest antagonistic forces in the game's universe. [[SealedEvilInACan While they're currently frozen in True Ice]], Lissandra is sure that they will return, and Runeterra needs to prepare for it.
* HorrorHunger: A reoccurring theme with its inhabitants. Kog'Maw and Cho'Gath are the most direct about this and will devour almost anything in their path, Vel'Koz is essentially driven by a hunger for knowledge, and Kha'Zix has a hunger for evolution, which involves constantly hunting prey.
* HumansAreCthulhu: Of a sort. The Watchers and the Voidborn in general have near-infinite power ''[[HomeFieldAdvantage on their own terms]]'', but due to the fact [[BizarreAlienPsychology they have no concept of space, time, or heat]], transitioning into the physical Runeterra leaves them especially confused and unformed, enough for mortals to retaliate. Voidspawn, especially ones that have just arrived on Runeterra, are stated to be just as horrified and terrified of humans as humans are of them.
* HumansThroughAlienEyes: Voidborn that enter into the world are immediately beset by a world that starts out just as incomprehensible to them as they are to the world. All of this "Laws of physics" stuff is as utterly alien to them as they are to it, and - unfortunately for the voidborn - the laws of physics are, well, ''laws that they have to abide by'', they don't allow them to be their natural {{Eldritch Abomination}} selves. The reason why Vel'Koz was sent through was exactly to figure out just ''what the hell'' this world was like.
* HumanityIsInfectious: "Newborn" Voidspawn that have just arrived from the Void are incomprehensible non-Euclidean monstrosities that look as much like a piece of optical illusion abstract art as they do a lifeform. But the more matter from Runeterra they consume, the more like a "normal" creature they begin to look and the more like a human or animal they begin to think. Some are even implied to start to desire to [[AntiAntiChrist abandon their fight against Runeterra]] so they can [[TheHedonist luxuriate in the newly-found hedonism of linear existence]]. Nearly all of the playable Voidspawn Champions are well past the tipping point, though art exists of "pure" Void-type monsters.
* LightIsNotGood: Void wells have a bright purple glow which can fascinate and lure in the unwary.
* NoPronunciationGuide: Despite Malzahar clearly pronouncing Icathia as "i-kath-ia," [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/827v2y/kaisa_champion_spotlight_gameplay_league_of/dv82a68/ Rioters have since confirmed]] the official pronunciation as of Kai'Sa's Champion Spotlight is "i-kayth-ia." They've noted that should Malzahar get a voiceover update, it'll be changed, [[WatsonianVersusDoylist but they've also]] {{Hand Wave}}d an idea that he just hasn't caught up with the centuries of linguistic evolution in the rest of Runeterra, or perhaps he has an accent.
* OutOfFocus: An odd, partial example in that The Void as a broad, antagonistic force has been greatly fleshed out following the game's ContinuityReboot, but many of the Void-associated champions have not. Early Voidborn champions like Cho'Gath and Kog'Maw that have received no lore connecting them to the present state of Runeterra, and even the latest Voidborn like Vel'Koz and Rek'Sai (both released in 2014) have tenuous individual impact toward the setting, and are more around to demonstrate [[GreaterScopeVillain the overarching danger]] the rest of the Void represents.
* PowerOfTheVoid: Dark and sinister magic touches all of its champions.
* PunctuationShaker: Void names have two syllables divided by an apostrophe. Kaisa changed her name to Kai'Sa to show her status as a Void creature, even though she was born human.
* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Void creatures and Void magic are generally purple, probably because PurpleIsPowerful.
* ReimaginingTheArtifact: Before the game's ContinuityReboot, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Voidborn were depicted more as]] a horde of vaguely [[InsectoidAliens insectoid alien]] beings, a far cry from the modern depiction of complex [[EldritchAbomination monsters forged from a nothing-based corruption]], visually resembling [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/7/70/Void_The_Fall_Of_Icathia.jpg far more abstract monstrosities]]. However, because the designs of several early Voidborn champions were already codified (Rek'Sai is the only true Void monster champion released following the reboot), Riot specified that based on the nature of how Voidborns obtain their physical forms, it's possible for them to consume enough to "evolve" into looking like a more "normal" monster, retroactively justifying the appearances of some like Kha'Zix and Vel'Koz. This quality is also what allowed them to comfortably recycle [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/9/9e/Bard_lore_1.jpg the suggested pre-reboot design of The Watchers]] to [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/e/e0/04FR005T4-full.png what they would eventually be seen as years later in proper action.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate: Kai'Sa is a human who uses Void powers and wants to stand between humanity and the Void. Unfortunately, humans see her as a monster and Void creatures -- including the one she wears -- see her as food.
[[/folder]]
Major powers are organized from north to south.
----
!!Major Powers
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Freljord]]
!!The Freljord -- Harsh Frozen Land
!!!'''Governance''': Tribal Matriarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Venerate
!!!'''General Environment''': Icy Tundra
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Anivia, Ashe, Braum, Gnar, Lissandra, Nunu (and Willump), Olaf, Ornn, Sejuani, Trundle, Tryndamere, Udyr, Volibear
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freljord_crest.png]]
-> ''"The Freljord; a home to some, a grave to countless more. Lesser clans have scrambled for the right to rule this frozen land for millennia - all have failed. Now, finally three great leaders have emerged to rally the smaller tribes beneath their banners. The storms of war will cloud when their paths cross, but once this battle is over, the people will find just one tribe left, to rule the land."''
-> -- Lissandra
The Freljord is a harsh and unforgiving land, where demi-gods walk the earth and the people are born warriors. While there are many individual tribes, the three greatest are the Avarosans, the Winter’s Claw, and the Frostguard, each uniquely shaped by their will to survive. It is also the only place on Runeterra where True Ice can be found.
----
* AnIcePerson:
** True Ice is a phenomenon that only occurs in The Freljord, being a magical super-cold substance that never melts, and is allotropic enough for master smiths to create into weapons, such as Ashe's bow, Braum's door shield, Sejuani's bola, Trundle's club, part of Olaf's axes, and Gragas' brew. There's also a variant called Dark Ice, [[PowerOfTheVoid tainted by the presence of The Void]].
*** Ornn, the Freljord demigod of fire and craftsmanship, is the only one capable of melting True Ice, but he makes it melt ''eternally''; the Ice itself never goes away, but it'll keep melting and make essentially infinite water. [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/tales-of-ornn/ In one of his old tales]], a crafty troll tried to prank Ornn with a drinking contest by putting True Ice in Ornn's mug. Ornn's heat melted the True Ice and his mug never emptied, so he could never finish his drink first.
** For a more literal take on the trope, The Iceborn are an immortal sub-race of beings (mostly human, but other races can also qualify like [[OurTrollsAreDifferent trolls]]) which came about in ancient times after Lissandra [[DealWithTheDevil made a deal with]] [[PowerOfTheVoid The Watchers]] to convert her, her sisters, and their followers into them (her logic was that such timeless immortality would allow them to survive the death of the universe once [[OmnicidalManiac the Watchers]] [[ApocalypseHow inevitably consume it]]). Most were wiped out when Lissandra turned on the Watchers, [[SadisticChoice resulting in the deaths of her rebelling two sisters and their Iceborn allies]], but not only have some remained, it turns out the Iceborn traits are hereditary, with Ashe and Sejuani being direct Iceborn descendants of Avarosa and Serylda. Other traits include immunity to the cold and [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield the exclusive ability to wield True Ice]].
* ApocalypseHow: DoubleSubverted in the ancient war against The Watchers, in the sense that they traded in a Class X (the Watchers ceasing all existence from The Void) for a relatively less severe but still devastating Class 0 (Lissandra forcing to imprison them in True Ice, wiping out her sisters and most of their Iceborn followers in the process).
* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: The Freljord is the home to yetis, a race of magic creatures that used to be more prevalent before the Iceborn apocalypse, but have since been drastically reduced in numbers and are held in a somewhat mythical sense even to the Freljordians. Many have descended into feral savagery, with Willump being [[LastOfHisKind the last magical one of his kind]].
* EldritchAbomination:
** The Freljord has ancient ties to The Watchers, effectively the rulers of [[EldritchLocation The Void]], and was home to the first Voidborn in Runeterra (among them in specific was Vel'Koz). The Watchers are currently frozen in True Ice, but their escape is seen as an inevitability.
** ''Legends of Runeterra'' showcases [[https://cdn1.sixmorevodka.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/08000321/FRE17.jpg?webp=0 a set of Kaiju-sized beings simply dubbed]] "[[https://cdn1.sixmorevodka.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/08000613/THEY-WHO-ENDURE.jpg?webp=0 They Who Endure]]" and "[[https://cdn1.sixmorevodka.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/08000615/SHE-WHO-WANDERS-1.jpg?webp=0 She Who Wanders]]", referred to in-universe as "Balestriders". While "[[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/legend-of-the-frozen-watchers/ The Legend of the Frozen Watchers]]" describes them as "twisted far beyond their original form" and having been used by the Three Sisters in ancient times, it's still unclear what they exactly ''are'' if they're not ancient Voidborn. Nowadays, they are seemingly mythological and [[PortentOfDoom are very bad omens.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Freljord at large is evocative of medieval Scandinavia, but [[GrimUpNorth even further up north]] and directly mashed with supernatural concepts evocative of Myth/NorseMythology.
* FireIceLightning: Ornn, Anivia, and Volibear, respectively -- the three primary demigods of the Freljord.
* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: The three tribes and their leaders initially appear as Ashe[=/=]Avarosan (good), Sejuani[=/=]Winter's Claw (bad), Lissandra[=/=]Frostguard (evil), though their actual practicing morality is a little more complex than that.
* GrimUpNorth:
** The Freljord is a hard country even in the relatively mild south, and it only gets worse as you go north. The northernmost border of the Freljord (and indeed the Runeterra map as a whole) is the Gelid Vortex, an eternal winter storm.
** Amusingly, the Freljord was the origin of the now-unleashed Brand, [[PlayingWithFire a fire spirit.]] Naturally, he doesn't get along with anybody who originated from the same place.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Freljordians are known to use a variety of large animals as mounts, including [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/13/01FR037-full.png/revision/latest?cb=20200407020653 actual horses]], but others include the buffalo-like "elnüks" or the [[FullBoarAction boar]]-like "rüvask". The Winter's Claw have been known to ride whatever fantastical fauna roam the lands they can slap a harness on, and notably, they never feel the need to tame them, instead trusting in their wild and aggressive survival instincts that got them so far to begin with.
* {{Matriarchy}}: The Freljord's governance as a whole is listed as "tribal matriarchy", and the three most important tribes of the Avarosan, the Winter's Claw, and the Frostguard are led by women.
-->'''Ashe''': In the north, a great chieftain is called "[[AMotherToHerMen Warmother]]". Who but [[MamaBear a mother]] has the right to risk lives in war?
* NatureSpirit: According to the "Winter's Breath" card of ''Legends of Runeterra'', Freljordians consider the winter itself to be a protective spirit of the land, one who they even dub "Warmother Winter".
* OurTrollsAreDifferent: Frost trolls are a sapient race of humanoid beings native to the Freljord, represented mainly by their king, Trundle. These trolls are [[TheBrute giant, hulking brutes]] [[DumbMuscle not particularly known for their intelligence]], currently rallying for war in an alliance with Lissandra. Curiously, trolls are eligible for being [[AnIcePerson Iceborn]], as is the case with Trundle.
* PhysicalGod: The Freljord is the home to a legion of demigods -- beings who were originally "born from gods" manifesting as spirit animals -- who are so powerful that [[BeenThereShapedHistory their actions shaped the land we now know as The Freljord]], [[TimeAbyss and so ancient that]] [[{{Precursors}} they knew what it was like while it was still the "old Vorrijaard".]] Anivia, Volibear, and Ornn, are a trio of these demigods who share a connective bond like siblings, but [[TheGhost there are others mentioned but not seen]], including a Seal Sister, an Iron Boar, and a Clever Lynx.
* PowerOfTheVoid: The Freljord was once of the first gateways to The Void, specifically the home to [[GreaterScopeVillain The Watchers, ancient beings who would prototype and develop additional]] [[EldritchAbomination Voidborn]]. The transhuman Iceborn were a result of a deal Lissandra made with them, but following Lissandra's betrayal, they have since been [[SealedEvilInACan put on ice]] ([[{{Pun}} so to speak]]), though their dark presence is slowly corrupting their prison.
* ScavengerWorld: The Winter's Claw are exceptionally resourceful, recycling everything they can get their hands on to survive the harsh Freljordian tundras. Their weapons are made of steel looted from their enemies, every animal pelt and bone is reused for clothing and armor, and if the sea routes are too frozen for their ships to be usable, they'll disassemble them and make harnesses to ride large Freljordian beasts instead.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Freljord was once the home to ancient masters of [[EldritchLocation The Void]] now known as The (Frozen) Watchers, but after they began their conquest of [[OmnicidalManiac destroying everything]], Lissandra entombed them in True Ice ([[SadisticChoice having to sacrifice her sisters and their allies in the process]]). She's aware that they're only sleeping, and that even the unmeltable True Ice can only withstand [[PowerOfTheVoid their horrific dark energy]] for so long, and one day, their prison will break.
* ShroudedInMyth:
** The days of Avarosa and the Frozen Watchers are just stories and legends to most. Lissandra does her best to cloud public memory of the Frozen Watchers to cover up [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what she had done]].
** Additionally, Braum seems to be a FolkHero old enough that ''grandmothers'' heard stories of him when they were young.
* TheSocialDarwinist: The philosophy of Sejuani and her followers in the Winter's Claw is that the Freljord should make people strong, putting them in direct opposition to Ashe's Avarosan tribe, whose peace they believe is going to make them become "soft".
* TakeItToTheBridge: There's one thousands of feet above the Howling Abyss, which is where the All-Random-All-Mid mode typically takes place at.
* WarGod: Volibear. Similar to real life mythologies, peaceful Freljordian tribes have a negative opinion of Volibear, and warrior tribes have a positive outlook on him, although they still fear him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ionia]]
!!Ionia -- The First Lands
!!!'''Governance''': Regional Provinces
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Harmonize
!!!'''General Environment''': Magical (Varied)
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Ahri, Akali, Irelia, Jhin, Karma, Kayn[[note]]Born in Noxus, but identifies as Ionian[[/note]], Kennen, Lee Sin, Lillia, Master Yi, Rakan, Sett, Shen, Syndra, Varus, Wukong, Xayah, Yasuo, Yone, Zed
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ionia_crest.png]]
->''"Stories are not just history. They can be so much more. They nourish your mind and, if told well, can even fill your belly. Some tales are warnings, reaching across time. Others uplift our souls from the yoke of everyday burdens. We laugh at fools, cheer heroes, and curse villains until the fire burns down to embers. Our first rule: The facts may be important, but they aren't as vital as the telling, of speaking to who we are and why we live. Details might change and fade, but truth lives with us for all time. Stories are everywhere. We build them from what we see. Even the sky above whispers to us."''
Known as the First Lands, Ionia is an island continent of natural beauty and magic. Its inhabitants, living in loosely collected provinces, are a spiritual people, seeking harmony with the world. They remained largely neutral until their land was invaded by Noxus -- this brutal occupation forced Ionia to reassess its place in the world, and its future path remains undetermined.
----
* {{Arcadia}}: Ionia, at least visually is a ''beautiful'' [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/ionia-placidiumnavori.jpg unspoiled natural paradise]], [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/ionia-entrancehirana.jpg with light touches of]] AncientGrome. Unfortunately, a ''ton'' of factors including the invasion from Noxus seems to want to change its idyllic nature.
* BrotherhoodOfEvil: Following the end of the Noxian invasion, one of the various Ionian resistance groups that continues to persist is the Navori Brotherhood, an ultra-nationalist band of fighters known for its extreme aggression. It seeks to reunite all of Ionia once again, but doesn't care about preserving Ionia's magic and [[WithUsOrAgainstUs is openly willing to conflict with Ionians who don't share their hardcore ideologies or agree with their violent methods]], [[spoiler:and it was learned that they -- or more specifically, its master, Kusho -- were the ones to free Jhin to use as their PsychoForHire]].
* FantasticFlora: The land is naturally magical, so it should come as no surprise that its flora can get weird as well. Of note are the once-standing God-Willow (which has ties to all natural life in the area and merged with Ivern after he cut it down), The Garden of Forgetting (which Ahri travelled to due to its flowers and fruit [[LaserGuidedAmnesia being capable of removing her troubled memories]]), and literal "Rivers of Grass" that flow and move to the tides of magic.
* GeniusLoci: In part due to its magical nature, Ionia is perceived to be a land with its own spirit, with at least some degree of manipulating its landscape or unleashing spirit guardians to protect itself from ill-intentioned outsiders. This ends up being twisted against them during the Ruined King saga as [[BrainwashedAndCrazy the Black Mist overtook Karma]] -- [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the human embodiment of Ionia's spirit]] -- and thus influencing the land to a point where ''[[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou the surrounding seas]]'' [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou became actively hostile towards the Sentinels.]]
-->'''Yasuo''': Terrain here is... opinionated.
* LaResistance: While Ionia is not the only place in Runeterra that vastayan folk live, more vastaya live in Ionia than anywhere else because of their attraction to magic. Because of this, human encroachment on vastayan land is common, and Xayah leads a vastayan revolution to try to push humans away from their territory.
* MagicalLand: An [[{{Wutai}} Asian-inspired one]]. Ignoring Bandle City, Ionia is likely the most magical territory in Runeterra, featuring some of the world's wildest environments and creatures, with civilization existing in concert with its strange nature (consequently making it [[EverythingTryingToKillYou almost impassable for outsiders who have no idea how to deal with them]]).
* MartialPacifist: Many Ionians don't like to fight, and they certainly won't strike first, but they will defend themselves with force if necessary.
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The nation once at peace and balance with itself that Ionia was introduced as is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The biggest and most defining wound dealt was the Noxian invasion, but other rising threats include Zed's Order of Shadows gaining prominence over the original Kinkou Order, the current Kinkou Order's trio [[TheFellowshipHasEnded dissolving]] with Akali seeking a more aggressive path of fighting enemies, [[PsychoForHire Jhin]] being revealed to have ties to the Ionian council, Syndra's chaotic rise to power, the vastaya rebellion led by Xayah, the rising Darkin threat... the worst part is that it's increasingly clear that Swain isn't done with pursuing Ionia just yet.
* PatrioticFervor: A mix of good and bad patriotism currently pervades Ionia ever since it was scarred by Noxus' invasion. Many Ionians ultimately want to preserve their lands, but this also applies to a large amount of antagonistic forces on the islands, with some being ultra-nationalists willing to commit violence against those they consider opposition, which to groups like the Navori Brotherhood includes [[CategoryTraitor fellow Ionians who]] [[WithUsOrAgainstUs don't share their vision.]]
* TheShangriLa: Like Piltover, Ionia is very much an educational center for the rest of Valoran, though in martial arts rather than technology. A lot of Ionian champions have it in their biographies that they were [[MasterApprenticeChain someone's student, someone's mentor, or both]].
* SkeletonGovernment: The lore doesn't really delve into how government in Ionia works to the extent it does with other factions, only describing it being based around "regional provinces" and presumably various councils and administrations, but otherwise rarely elaborating. It's hinted that given their close ties to natural harmony, they didn't require much political structure, [[{{Deconstruction}} but it appears to have caught up with them]] following their battle against Noxus' invasion and the First Lands' subsequent reconstruction/philosophical splintering.
* SupernaturalMartialArts: Most Ionians have a touch of magic worked into their combat style, though it's generally not acknowledged as magic. For example, Irelia ''clearly'' uses telekinesis to control her blades, and Yasuo has some elemental control over air, but these are described as extensions of Ionian dance and swordplay, respectively.
* TownWithADarkSecret: There are hints that Ionia is internally not as idyllic as it seems. The Darkin weapon Varus was imprisoned there, and a secret faction of the ruling council was behind the release of the mad artist/assassin Jhin.
* WarIsHell: A subtler example than most, as while the Noxian invasion itself was a very dramatic event for Ionia, the "hell" came mostly in the form of the aftermath. Even though Ionia managed to drive Noxus off, the conflict irrevocably changed how its inhabitants viewed their relationship with nature, magic, and the world beyond, with some abandoning their peace for more militaristic ideals.
* WarriorPoet: Ionian champions tend to see fighting as part of a larger philosophy on life, and mastering a form of Ionian combat often involves becoming initiated into its corresponding line of thinking.
* WorldTree: Ionia used to be the home of the God-Willow, a giant tree shimmering in magical golden-green light and a landmark of the Omikayalan, a grove sacred to all Ionians. It was cut down by Freljordian warriors in ancient times, drastically affecting the surrounding flora and fauna, though in its place emerged Ivern, the Green Father, existing to protect and teach all others the value of life.
* {{Wutai}}: Ionia is a mashup of various Asian-inspired elements, and many of the more {{Animesque}} champions originate from here.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Noxus]]
!!Noxus -- Brutal Expansionist Empire
!!!'''Governance''': Expansionist Empire
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Medium
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Weaponize
!!!'''General Environment''': Inhospitable Steppes
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Cassiopeia, Darius, Draven, Katarina, Kled, [=LeBlanc=], Mordekaiser[[note]]Founder[[/note]], Rell, Riven[[note]]Former, now lives in Ionia[[/note]], Samira[[note]]Originally from Shurima[[/note]], Sion, Swain, Talon, Vladimir
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/noxus_crest.png]]
-> ''"A united Noxus could control the world - and would deserve to."''
-> - Darius
Noxus is a brutal, expansionist empire, yet those who look beyond its warlike exterior will find an unusually inclusive society. Anyone can rise to a position of power and respect if they display the necessary aptitude, regardless of social standing, background, or wealth. Noxians value strength above all, though that strength can manifest in many different ways.
----
* ALoadOfBull: Minotaurs are a sapient, likely non-magical race of beings from The Great Barrier south of Noxus, currently considered part of the empire. Most minotaurs accepted this merge as it allowed them to become a part of something greater, but those who didn't like Alistar were enslaved as [[GladiatorGames Reckoners]]. In ''Legends of Runeterra'', a "Minotaur Reckoner" appears to be participating voluntarily, and looks very well-off from it.
* AncientConspiracy: The Black Rose is a hidden, ever-expanding cabal of powerful nobles and mages, formally assembled by [=LeBlanc=] and Vladimir at the dawn of the empire (possibly existing even earlier, given how [[EvilOverlord Mordekaiser]] is familiar with them), who have been secretly guiding Noxus in a never-ending game of politics and war. Unfortunately for them, it's starting to become increasingly more publicized, with Swain beginning to catch onto Vladimir's mysterious tendency to disappear and reappear in public notice, as well as Rell's high-profile escape from [[AcademyOfEvil their "academy"]] and ongoing crusade against their former members.
* AnAxeToGrind: The prominent symbol of power in Noxus is an axe. Even their swords are large and axe-like, more adept at chopping than slicing. The symbol of their nation, seen on the right, is Sion's axe.
* ArchEnemy: Noxus and Demacia HATE each other. Their war has been going on for so long that the original motive has largely been forgotten, but their inhabitants nowadays continue to go at it out of spite. [[TheArtifact Indeed, the Noxus-Demacia rivalry actually comes from the pre-reboot lore]], being too deeply ingrained to remove entirely, even though the current setup of Demacia as an isolationist city-state and Noxus as an empire whose borders are half a continent away from Demacia means it really doesn't make as much sense as it used to since only pure philosophical-clash seems to be the reason.
* AristocratsAreEvil: As with Demacia, though in Noxus this means more like "born into leadership without having the strength to actually lead", and you can generally expect a worthy leader in a [[TheSocialDarwinist Darwinist]] place like Noxus to at least be said as being "potentially very un-nice".
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Want to be in charge? Outfight/outmaneuver the person above you!
* AttackAttackAttack: A recurring trend in Noxian Champions is their focus on aggression and closing with the enemy.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Noxus is described as a Meritocracy, so this is expected.
* BadassCreed: Vision, Might, and Guile are the key principles that are the foundation of Noxus. At the same time, this was subconsciously inspired by Mordekaiser's original quote.
---> '''Mordekaiser''': '''Destiny, Domination, Deceit.'''
* BeastOfBattle: The Noxian army regularly uses animals and monsters as warbeasts.
* BetterLivingThroughEvil: While conquest is Noxus' primary means of expansion, many towns and cities willingly joined the empire to enjoy its benefits (while Noxus does demand a certain amount of tribute in return, this is less than the cost of money and lives that would be spent fighting off Noxus or other attackers).
* BigDoor: Well, a Big Gate. Or Big Archway. Whatever. Noxus erects structures known as 'Nox-toraa' on the roads just outside of their villages and settlements. These archways serve as a display of power and a declaration that the area is Noxian land.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite the "dark" theme built around the nation, most Noxian champions aren't necessarily "evil" as much as "ruthless". Some champions such as Riven and Rell are heroic at heart, while others such as Darius can be [[AntiVillain ruthless, but have noble intentions such as eliminating the corrupt rulers and restoring Noxus's name]].
* TheEmpire: Yeeeeeepp. Regardless of whether you think they're "evil" or not, Noxus is still a [[TheSocialDarwinist heavily Darwinist]], brutal, and overall threatening society that continues to expand its borders every year.
* EnemyCivilWar: As an empire, Noxus is a heavily well-unified group of armies and war bands infamous for its ability to conquer foreign ground. Despite this, Noxian-related champions are among the most fractured in allegiances.
** Swain and his group (Darius, Draven, Sion) are currently at the top of the leadership, but are fighting the other groups for dominance, while not being entirely united themselves.
** The Black Rose ([=LeBlanc=] and Vladimir) are fighting Swain's group in the political game underground.
** Katarina's group (Talon, Cassiopeia) is seeking revenge for General [=DuCouteau=]'s disappearance.
** Urgot has been plotting his revenge with his Zaun affiliated ruffians.
** Karthus seeks to bring all living (even his former Noxian home) into a stage of undeath.
** Kayn seeks to bring down Noxus and establish Ionian supremacy with Zed's shadow order.
** Kled is just a wild card and is claiming large swaths of territory throughout the Empire. Riven similarly is just wandering throughout Ionia.
** Mordekaiser sees the current Noxus as an InadequateInheritor and wants to impose his own WarriorHeaven on the world.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Whether or not you think of them as "evil" is subjective, but Noxus prides itself on the fact that they give anyone, no matter your origin, race, personality, or strengths, a position of power. Once a land is conquered, everyone there is considered a Noxian citizen and free to join the army or pursue other careers within the empire. A very progressive practice, assuming anyone would want to join their conquerors, of course.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Rome, and in particular the Roman Empire. Noxus plays host to a vast multitude of peoples given equal opportunity to serve and rise in the ranks, Patrician Noble houses, a former emperor, great emphasis on military glory and strength, call their armies in the field Legions, levy troops from their subjects according to the culture's dominant tactics to make use of their specialities, GladiatorGames, and of course, it's an expansionist empire with the occasional mad emperor that has to be dethroned. The Noxians' highest form of official leadership is also three leaders called The Trifarix, which brings to mind [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Triumvirate the Second Triumvirate]] of Rome.
* FighterMageThief: A recurring theme. There's the three main power blocs in Noxus, consisting of Swain and the Military (Fighter), The Black Rose, led by Leblanc (Mage), and Katarina's rogue faction of Assassins (Thief), as well as the three seats of the Trifarix, comprising of Might, Vision, and Guile held by Darius, Swain, and an anonymous female figure that hides her identity behind a mask.
* FolkHero: Runs heavily on these, with heroes being a descriptor of a 'true Noxian.' Both Sion and Kled have served as a template for a 'true Noxian' throughout the entirety of the empire in the past for their heroic and brave deeds on the fields of war. Katarina and Darius are something of this, but only among the military. Draven seems to want to be one for the sake of being one.
* GladiatorGames: Noxus Prime is renowned for running one called "The Reckoning", which originally began as a means of punishing criminals and [[CombatByChampion settling disputes between nobility]], with Xin Zhao and Alistar being survivors of this phase. In more recent times, thanks to [[GloryHound Draven's]] intervention, these matches started to become more of a spectacle sport, complete with [[TheGimmick gimmick fighters]], [[CombatCommentator shoutcasters]], and gambling bookies. There's even a degree of {{kayfabe}} as Reckoners have become valued as personalities as much as fighters, so while fights are still bloody, they're far less lethal than before.
* HadToBeSharp: Noxus claims to make strong citizens by forcing them to survive on their own, no matter how weak or defenseless. The ones who deserve to live will manage, somehow, and be better for it.
* HegemonicEmpire: Despite being known for conquering lands by force, Noxus is surprisingly [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] in absorbing other nations, preferring to use diplomacy to make them honestly want to join before resorting to violence. One example is their occupation of several cities and ports in Shurima: the original inhabitants may sacrifice food and some trade favoritism, but they get the safety of Noxian soldiers to protect them from raiders and continue living in relative peace.
* TheHorde: The Noxian army tends to fight like this, though with more nuance than other fictional hordes - they form up in only rough squares, and their national emphasis on individualism and personal glory means that they tend to fight in a less organized and more one-on-one manner than their Demacian counterparts (who are glimpsed using Testudo-style formations in the lore and are explicitly the best professional army in the backstory), but it's noted that having such distinct military groups together requires a kind of discipline on its own.
* KlingonPromotion: An accepted (if somewhat discouraged) method of social advancement, a bit of a logical consequence of [[TheSocialDarwinist their philosophy]].
* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: Averted. Skilled assassins, mages, and even politicians, craftsmen and traders are held in as high regard as strong warriors.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Though it's been left ambiguous, Swain and the Noxian army, not to mention Katarina and her fellow Assassins are "bad guys" who are still sympathetic, while [=LeBlanc=] and her Black Rose could and would do terrible things for power.
* NonUniformUniform: Because Noxus places more emphasis upon the individual and their own fighting ability, the military does not have a singular uniform or dress code beyond the color of their armor. This allows its warriors to wear and wield whatever arms and armor they are most comfortable or effective with, and as a result, no two soldiers in a Noxian army are ever alike, with only their colors to unify them.
* [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver Red and Black and Ambiguously Evil All Over]]: Again, YMMV on whether Noxus can be counted as "evil," [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/highlights/noxus-noxtoraa.jpg but much of]] [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/highlights/noxus-bastion.jpg their architecture]] and even a few of their champions revolve around this color scheme.
* ResignationsNotAccepted: Desertion is perceived as a ''massive'' betrayal against the empire and is treated as a capital offense. The "Sisterhood of War" miniseries shows that even years after last contact, Noxus will send soldiers out to capture those identified as deserters (in their case, Riven), and consider outright slaughtering any other Noxian expatriates they happen to come across (though they largely decide against it [[PlausibleDeniability since the empire wouldn't know if they didn't]]).
* SkeletonMotif: Noxus is built on and around a large rocky prominence known as the Immortal Bastion that resembles a skull (the capital used to be a fortress that belonged to Mordekaiser, hence the death theme). The further from the Immortal Bastion you get, the less 'evil' it appears as the Noxian motif takes over Mordekaiser's motif.
* SlaveLiberation: One of the perks of Noxian invasion is that all enslaved people become citizens of Noxus, ergo free people.
* TheSocialDarwinist: The Noxian philosophy is that helping the weak only leads to more weak people. Leave society alone and the strong will eventually claw their way to the top.
* TheUnfettered: Willing to do whatever it takes to win.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Demacia]]
!!Demacia -- Proud Military Kingdom
!!!'''Governance''': Feudal Monarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Medium
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Deny
!!!'''General Environment''': Fertile Countryside
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Fiora, Galio, Garen, Jarvan IV, Kayle, Lucian, Lux, Morgana, Poppy, Quinn, Senna, Shyvana, Sona[[note]]Born in Ionia[[/note]], Sylas, Vayne, Xin Zhao[[note]]Born in Ionia[[/note]]
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demacia_crest.png]]
-> ''Scarlet vow one pledge to king and realm, When shadows are found, Arise gilded crown, True justice abound.''
-> -- "Demacia Rising" Slogan
Demacia is a proud, lawful kingdom with a prestigious military history. Founded as a refuge from magic after the Rune Wars, some might suggest that the golden age of Demacia has passed, unless it proves able to adapt to a changing world. Self-sufficient and agrarian, its society is inherently defensive and insular, valuing justice, honor, and duty above all else.
----
* AntiMagic: Demacia was founded by survivors of the Rune Wars who sought shelter in a forest of petrified trees which had magic-blocking properties. Later Demacians learned to expand this protection by mixing the wood from these trees with ash and lime to make a marble-like mineral called "petricite," now found all over Demacian architecture (it's what [[OurGargoylesRock Galio]] is made of). Ryze has also formed a chamber in the anti-magic forests in order to properly store the [[ArtifactOfDoom World Runes]]. However, as Sylas discovered, petricite doesn't so much nullify magic as absorb and ''contain'' it, [[AttackReflector something a canny mage]] [[PowerCopying can learn to exploit]].
* AntiMagicalFaction: Demacia's least savory trait is its FantasticRacism against mages. State officials routinely hunt down and eradicate ([[MutantDraftBoard or induct]]) anyone caught using magic within its borders.
* ArchEnemy: Noxus. Their emnity doesn't have a clear or compelling motive any more (in-universe or out), but it's always been the case and probably always will.
* AristocratsAreEvil: There's the expected petty squabbling between noble houses, with the unpleasant factor that if one noble family can provoke another into crossing a line, the penalty is almost always execution. There's also how despite their willingness [[FantasticRacism to oppress, exploit, and eliminate magic-users in the name of righteousness]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections the Demacian nobility]] [[{{Hypocrite}} has no shortage of]] [[BoomerangBigot hidden magic-users themselves]].
* [[AwesomeMcCoolname Awesome [=McCoolname=]]]: A common trend with the nobility who go by their house names, including Crownguard, Lightshield, Laurent, and Spiritmight. Ezreal literally made a name for himself snooping around Demacia under the alias "Jarro Lightfeather", presumably both to cover his real identity and blend in.
* BattleCry: A short, but sweet one shared Garen, Lux, Jarvan IV, and the kingdom's many soldiers at large: "[[PatrioticFervor DEMACIA!]]"
* BlingOfWar: The Demacian colors are blue, white, and gold, which makes for some really eye-catching armor.
* BoomerangBigot: According to Sylas, magic-users aren't absent in the upper echelons of Demacian nobility, making their [[AntiMagicalFaction ongoing punishment of lower-class mages]] who are unable to defend themselves [[{{Hypocrite}} especially heinous in his eyes]]. However, [[PoorCommunicationKills the truth based on what the audience can gather is complicated]] -- such nobility like Lux and Sona are just as outspoken against anti-magic oppression and the fear of getting caught as any other mage in Demacia.
* CapeBusters: Demacia has an order of mageseekers whose job is to capture and imprison people within Demacia's borders who have the ability to use magic, rising to a much higher public profile following Sylas' escape and rebellion.
* ChefOfIron: In ''Legends of Runeterra'', War Chefs are a low-level Follower card, with its accompanying art showing one fighting off armored enemy raiders with ''his fists''. The accompanying FlavorText reads:
-->''"[[BadassBoast No one in the Demacian army should be trifled with.]]"''
* CoolHelmet: ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' cards portray [[https://www.artstation.com/artwork/e068oD a helmet evoking the Italian Barbute-style]] to be the standard headgear of Demacians soldiers.
* CoolSword: As well, many ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' depict [[https://ww.artstation.com/artwork/489mDl Demacian soldiers wielding distinctive one-handed swords]] that are rather of a Spatha-like style, with a small handguard made out of the ending tapering from an empty diamond-shape space inside it.
* {{Conscription}}: All Demacian citizens are expected to serve a three-year tour of duty in the army, and GenderIsNoObject. Even after serving, most citizens are considered to be part of the reserves to be called up as necessary.
* CurbstompBattle: Their attempted invasion/exploration of the Shadow Isles was a complete disaster. Many ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' cards such as [[https://preview.redd.it/cnqfxvis07r41.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ee8ad2c97ff5b508ed6efd017de5aae5a16aa60 Rhasa The Sunderer]] and [[https://static.invenglobal.com/upload/image/2019/11/22/i1574431905153064.jpeg Soulgorger]] show Demacian soldiers being routed by the horrors of the Isles. To make it even worse this was the ''Dauntless Vanguard'' doing it, Demacia's most elite army.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Prior to the game's ContinuityReboot, Demacia was known as a mostly straightfoward [[TheGoodKingdom "good" kingdom]] whose most negative aspect was [[KnightTemplar its militarism]]. Its depiction since then has been significantly [[GreyAndGreyMorality greyed]], with its [[AntiMagicalFaction anti-magic background and rhetoric]] ([[ReimaginingTheArtifact originally just a background element for Garen's backstory]]) being put more to the forefront, culminating in the kingdom's ongoing conflict against Sylas' rebellion.
* TheDragonslayer: One elite branch of the Demacian military is the Dragonguard, [[RedIsHeroic red-armored]] soldiers stationed around the borders of Demacia to fight off dragons should they arrive to threaten the kingdom. Shyvana is a major contribution to the squad, using her [[DragonAncestry draconic nature]] [[HunterOfHisOwnKind to help fight them off.]] ''Legends of Runeterra'' shows they also have a scientific subdivision dedicated towards researching dragons through their eggs, presumably to find better ways to combat them.
* EliteArmy: The Dauntless Vanguard, led by Garen. While smaller than most, its the best equipped and trained in the world. Every soldier is trained to fill several roles and each of them boast the finest weapons and armor. According to Lux, all of them are Demacian heroes in their own right, with their deeds whispered next to fireplaces as legends and bedtime stories.
* EnergyAbsorption: Petricite, the nation's resident AntiMagic mineral.
* FantasticRacism: Against magic-users. Demacia has its roots in being an AntiMagic refugee settlement during the cataclysmic Rune Wars, and its anti-magic attitude has persisted to this day. Anyone found to have magic in Demacia is exiled or forced to undergo treatments to kill their magic.... or quietly taken into the secret Demacian mage corps.
* FiveTokenBand: For such an isolationist society Demacia has a really diverse band of heroes, including an Ionian ex-gladiator, a magic-absorbing statue (although that wasn't intentional), a bird, a yordle[[note]]She could be using glamour, Demacia isn't too fond of magic after all[[/note]], a demon-hunting vigilante, a half-dragon, and a gunslinging paladin. Extended lore (most prominently in ''Literature/GarenFirstShield'') also reveals they also have minotaurs on their side. It would seem that in spite of their isolationism, neither racism or speciesism are as significant flaws of Demacia as would be expected (though Shyvana is distrusted -- which by Demacian culture standards, is logical and consistent since she's secretly-but-pretty-obviously a magical creature).
* ForestRanger: The military has a branch of "ranger-knights" who are generally [[KnightInShiningArmor more armored]] than most examples, but otherwise evoke the traditional look and purpose, protecting Demacian wilderness and scouting in the regions beyond. Quinn and Valor are the representative champions, and all known rangers are accompanied with [[TheBeastmaster animal partners of their own to fight with]].
* GoodIsNotNice: AllCrimesAreEqual, conscription is mandatory, and the state can call you up for anything, at any time, if they need you -- but it's a safe and well-ordered city.
* TheGoodKingdom: What it fancies itself as, especially in contrast to [[TheEmpire Noxus.]] How much of this view is still intact to the present day [[GoodIsNotNice is a bit tricky.]]
* KnightTemplar: Demacia in the eyes of its critics -- obsessed with law and order at the expense of freedom, while claiming to be morally correct. One of its founders, [[BeenThereShapedHistory Kayle]], was born from the literal [[PhysicalGod Aspect of Justice]].
* LightIsGood: It values itself as TheGoodKingdom, and at least visually, Demacia has a very bright ColorMotif of white, blue and yellow which carries [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/demacia-silvermere.jpg into their]] [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/demacia-grandplaza.jpg stunning architecture.]] KnightTemplar tendencies aside, most of its champions are very dedicated in the protection and the welfare of those who can't defend themselves, as noted with one of Garen's quotes:
-->'''Garen''': We fight for those who cannot.
* MageKiller: [[ZigzaggingTrope Zigzagged]]; while they have an extreme case of being practically opposed to magic users, they won't hesitate to utilize magic for their own benefits, though for the most part it's used covertly or by noble families against one another. That being said, the order of mageseekers scour Demecia's kingdom for any mages and, if not drafted, will kill mages with no hesitation.
* MagicalLibrary: Demacia has an Arcane Registry, although it functions like a SecretGovernmentWarehouse, collecting all confiscated magic items and texts within their borders, and only a select few (primarily related to the crown) are allowed to enter.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: The Mageseekers are denoted by their ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''-style masks, which cover one side of their faces.
* MutantDraftBoard: While [[FantasticRacism Demacia's policy of]] [[AntiMagicalFaction magic is to deny it]], they're not above recruiting mages that they can control and are still of use to the kingdom's agenda. The story "Turmoil" also reveals that they have a longstanding alliance with a smaller neighboring nation of Arbormark -- despite it being a nation of mages, [[GodzillaThreshold Demacia requested for their help once Sylas' rebellion broke out to fight fire with fire.]] Sylas himself was originally recruited as a mageseeker, [[HunterOfHisOwnKind sent to hunt down and capture others like him]].
* NobleBirdOfPrey: Demacia is symbolized by avians, whether it is the predatorial azurite eagles or the ferocious silverwing raptors, which are ridden by Demacian knights.
* OnlyOneName: Demacian naming conventions entail that only those of noble houses have definitive surnames, with those lower in social status having just their given name. Some citizens work around this (and potential complications of [[OneSteveLimit sharing names with others]]) by being identified alongside their birthplace, i.e. "Cithria of Cloudfield" or "Sylas of Dregbourne".
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Demacian royal line is supposed to be in the thick of every fight. Crown Prince Jarvan IV is a universally-acclaimed badass. In spite of their [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]] use of their class [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections to avoid magical persecution]], it does seem that the nobility is liable to live up to their country's militaristic standards from what has been seen of them, with most mentioned nobility having been mentioned because a champion is among their lineage.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: It's implied that there are mages within the Demacian nobility, but are tautologically excused from each other due to them being people in power. Those of the lower-class who don't get this luxury receive the full brunt of their anti-magic persecution.
* TakeUpMySword: The Dauntless Vanguard has a tradition of passing down their swords and helmets to new recruits, to make them feel the weight and pride of the Vanguard before them. From retirement to death, it makes the Vanguard unanimous
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: The major political philosophy is that Demacia's vision of society is good and just, and worth whatever it takes to make it possible.
* TheWitchHunter: The Mageseekers are devoted in rooting out mages within their kingdom. Many are equipped with Graymarks, petricite emblems that serve as both the identity of the Mageseekers and detectors due to the petricite absorbing magic from mages.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Piltover]]
!!Piltover -- Thriving Coastal City
!!!'''Governance''': Aristocratic Oligarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': High
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Commodify
!!!'''General Environment''': Coastal Metropolis
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Caitlyn, Camille, Ezreal, Heimerdinger, Jayce, Orianna, Seraphine[[note]]Born to Zaunite parents[[/note]], Vi[[note]]Former Zaunite[[/note]]
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/piltover_crest.png]]
Piltover is a thriving, progressive city overlooking the ocean. Fleets of ships pass through its titanic sea-gates, bringing goods from all over the world. Merchant clans fund incredible endeavors, including artistic follies and architectural monuments to their individual power. With ever more inventors delving into hextech, Piltover has become the destination for the most skilled craftspeople from across Runeterra.
----
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: A labyrinth of tunnels runs under the city, which had never been fully mapped until then-eight-year-old Ezreal explored them all.
* BankRobbery: Sidereal Avenue is home to two banks, The Epliptic Vaults and the Clockwork Vault, [[TemptingFate both considered some of the most secure in the world]], but were respectively broken into by Jinx and the duo of Twisted Fate and Graves.
* TheClan: Piltover's government consists of the heads of various mercantile clans that rule over the city's various industries, with varying degrees of power and reputation. Due to the dynastic succession of these ruling clans, Piltover as a whole is considered an aristocratic oligarchy.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Piltover was formerly a ScienceHero city whose main distinction from Zaun was that it was TheFettered in terms of experimentation, which made it slightly less powerful but far better to live in. In the update, it is the home of the wealthy ruling class and is clean and beautiful because it can shunt all the dirty manufacturing down to Zaun.
* EscapedAnimalRampage: Piltover has a city zoo that houses a large assortment of flora and fauna from across Runeterra, though as seen in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nlJuwO0GDs Get Jinxed]]", Jinx gave it one hell of a vandalism spree.
* FictionalCurrency: Runeterra has a vast variety of currency, and Piltover produces its own, using coins called Golden Hexes, Silver Cogs (or Silver Gears), and Bronze Washers. Due to Piltover's global importance, these are especially valued.
* GadgeteerGenius: Nearly all of its champions use weapons they built or repurposed themselves, especially Heimerdinger, Jayce and Vi.
* LayeredMetropolis: [[http://i.imgur.com/9WuZSox.jpg Illustrations show that]] Piltover, or at least a section of it, is built atop giant cliffs. Zaun is both figuratively and literally its undercity.
* {{Magitek}}: ''The'' home of "hextech", a merger of magic and SteamPunk[=/=]ClockPunk machinery powered by [[PowerCrystal extremely rare crystals]] that allow anyone to wield magical power, depending on their design. Piltover is home to some of the most advanced technology in all of Runeterra, though due to the rarity of its power sources, no devices are mass-produced, instead being created individually by skilled craftsmen that take years or lifetimes to design.
* PoliceAreUseless: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] with the case of combating [[TerroristWithoutACause Jinx,]] who is constantly being chased by Vi and Caitlyn, but mostly due to elusiveness than incompetence. There were also Sentry Bots made to patrol the streets to assist combating her, but as seen in the "Get Jinxed" music video, they don't really work out too well.
* PortTown: Piltover is one of these, being a major in-between hub for traders across Runeterra and the Shuriman continent, with knowledge and control over oceanic trade routes being jealously-guarded secrets passed down from generation to generation.
* PowerCrystal: Piltover's trademark [[{{Magitek}} hextech]] are powered by rare arcane "hex-crystals", with their exact development process being a top-guarded secret among hextech craftsmen. They're believed to originate from [[SiliconBasedLife the Bracken]] [[ScaryScorpions of Shurima]] (the race Skarner is a part of), which were stolen alongside other crystals during an expedition by Elicia Ferros (Camille's ancestor), though modern hex-crystals presumably developed separately from them, as the ultimate fate of the Brackern crystals remain unknown.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Once again, the [[PowerCrystal hex-crystals]] that build much of Piltover's [[{{Magitek}} unique technological foundation]] were extracted from the brackern, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman a sapient race of Shuriman scorpion-like creatures]] who physically and spiritually embed themselves in said crystals. Modern Pilties don't seem to acknowledge this, but Skarner and [[TheEmpath Seraphine's]] ability to still detect their disembodied "dreamsongs" within the crystals carry [[AndIMustScream troubling implications about their ultimate fate]].
* PunkPunk: Takes massive inspiration from SteamPunk, ClockPunk and ArtDeco styles.
* ScienceHero: Firmly committed to the philosophy that science and knowledge will make the world a better place.
* ShiningCity: Bright and beautiful.
* TrackingDevice: Piltover is home to [[https://am-a.akamaihd.net/image?f=https%3A%2F%2Funiverse-meeps.leagueoflegends.com%2Fv1%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Ffactions%2Fimage-gallery%2Fpiltover-zindeloruneterra.jpg&resize=:1200 Zindelo's Incognium Runeterra]], a mysterious device claimed to be able to locate ''any individual in the world''. Unfortunately, its creator died mysteriously before it could be activated, with many believing the alchemical formulae used to power it to have been stolen. As a result, the device sits in southern Piltover completely inoperable.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Zaun]]
!!Zaun -- Polluted Undercity
!!!'''Governance''': Industrial Oligarchy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': High
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Exploit
!!!'''General Environment''': Urbanized (Toxic)
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Blitzcrank, Ekko, Janna, Jinx, Dr. Mundo, Singed, Twitch, Urgot[[note]]Originally from Noxus[[/note]], Viktor, Warwick, Zac, Ziggs[[note]]Formerly Piltover[[/note]]
[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zaun_crest.png]]
Zaun is a polluted undercity beneath Piltover -- once united, they are now separate, symbiotic cultures. Stifled inventors often find their unorthodox research welcomed in Zaun, but reckless industry has rendered whole swathes of the city highly toxic. Even so, thanks to a thriving black market, chemtech, and mechanical augmentation, the people still find ways to prosper.
----
* BeastMan: Zaun is home to a few odd critters existing parallel to humans on varying levels. [[https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Chirean_Sumpworker_(Legends_of_Runeterra) The Chireans]] are a race of humanoid bat people who predate the first modern Zaunite miners, have a native understanding of technology, and get along with humans in spite of [[TheUnintelligible only communicating through indistinct chittering]]. There's also the variously anthropomorphic rodents throughout Zaun, including the mutated plague rat Twitch (implied to be [[SingleSpecimenSpecies the only one of his kind]]), the [[NearlyNormalAnimal more mundane, raccoon-like]] [[https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Clump_of_Whumps_(Legends_of_Runeterra) "whumps"]], and whatever the [[https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Chump_Whump_(Legends_of_Runeterra) "Chump Whump"]] is supposed to be.
* BioPunk: In its current state, Zaun follows a much more gritty, industrial, and dangerous aesthetic than the slick and cleaner ArtDeco looks of Piltover, with a grander focus on BioAugmentation. Contrast to the much more rare and expensive [[{{Magitek}} hextech]], Zaun has developed its own equivalent called chemtech, which [[AwesomeButImpractical potentially exceeds the performance of hextech, but is also more potentially dangerous]].
* CityNoir: Dark, dirty, dangerous, yet allowing a lot of freedom for those too low to attract much attention.
* TheCityNarrows: Zaun is already a pretty cramped and seedy place to live, but the lowest Sump level is treated as the dingiest of the lot, being home to slums, prisons, abandoned chemtech, and incredibly potent pollution, described as "the most squalid, yet vibrant parts of the city."
* TheClan: Similar to Piltover, Zaun is ultimately ruled by the heads of a collection of dynastic industrial clans known as the "Chem-Barons". Many have been shown to not be the nicest people, [[NecessaryEvil but their ongoing alliances with each other and Piltover are considered the only things preventing Zaun from plunging into chaos]].
* DeadlyGas: Most of the atmosphere, including ''the clouds'', nicknamed "Zaun Gray," is incredibly hazardous to breathe in more concentrated doses. It's such a prevalent part of the culture that the wealthy families in Zaun keep large, glass greenhouses to lounge in; indoor plants represent their wealth and power because they provide clean, fresh air to breathe.
--> ''Most days, [the Gray]'s thin enough that you can breathe deep without coughing up something wet. Today, though, is what we call a Grayout. You choke with every breath. Your chest feels tight. Can't see much past your fingertips.''
--> -- The protagonist from [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/janna-color-story Deep Breath, Janna's short story]]
* FantasticDrug: "Shimmer" is a popular [[ToxicWasteCanDoAnything corrosive techmaturgical waste substance]] among Zaun's rebellious youth, which stimulates intense emotions and changes colors corresponding to them when slathered on skin. It's believed to cause skin and muscle tissue degeneration, but the rumor of it giving wearers supernatural abilities has only increased its demand. [[TerroristWithoutACause Jinx]] is implied to be a user of the stuff.
* ForScience: Practically the city motto.
* LayeredMetropolis: Not only is Zaun the literal undercity to Piltover, [[UrbanSegregation it's also sectioned into multiple layers of its own]]: the Promenade Level (existing on Piltover's lower districts where the two interact for trade and entertainment), the Entresol Level (the base cosmopolitan area of Zaun housing most of its industries and population), and the Sump Level ([[TheCityNarrows the deepest and darkest of the city, literally and figuratively]]).
* MadScientist: Just another career option.
* PollutedWasteland: The consequence of Zaun [[TheUnfettered allowing for unregulated industrial complexes tampering with volatile technology]] is that said industries have spiralled out of control, rendering the city exceedingly polluted, and in some places dangerously toxic. Camille's Clan is rumored to be a heavy contributor to the pollution through their production of synthetic hex-crystals.
* PortTown: Zaun is part of the collective city-state/trade hub with Piltover between the continents of Valoran and Shurima (hypothesized to have once been a Shuriman port city called Oshra Va'Zaun), [[LayeredMetropolis just layered underground]]. As you might expect, this proves to be extremely dangerous; one of Zaun's most defining historical points was the plan to sever the isthmus connecting the two continents to allow proper sea passage, [[GoneHorriblyWrong with the demolition going so catastrophically wrong]] that it completely sank several large districts of the city, killing thousands. When Zaun was eventually rebuilt, the "Sun Gates" were constructed to regulate the oceanic passage they were built on. The wealth it brought likely led to the creation of what we currently know as Piltover, but to this day, Zaun maintains monitoring power over all water transport in the area.
* PunkPunk: Just based on the design of its champions and [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/zaun-breatherstation.jpg various]] [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/zaun-bountymarkets.jpg architecture]], it's clear Zaun is heavily inspired by BioPunk, SteamPunk, and DieselPunk elements.
* RiteOfPassage: The children of Zaun crafted their own to see if they're "one of the big kids." Fittingly for [[WretchedHive the setting]], it involves extremely dangerous activity, including hitching a ride on ''the top of'' the Rising Howl elevator, reaching the top of the gear-exposed [[ClockTower Old Hungry]] with their limbs intact, [[BullyingADragon pickpocketing a chem-baron attendant, and/or ding-dong-ditching a sump-scrapper]].
* SkyscraperCity: Played with, in that while many of their buildings are extremely tall, [[http://i.imgur.com/9WuZSox.jpg they actually lead directly up]] [[LayeredMetropolis to Piltover's foundations.]]
* TheUnfettered: When it comes to science and experimentation, nothing's off limits.
* WretchedHive: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. When put next to [[ShiningCity Piltover,]] Zaun fits the bill of being a heavily-polluted, run-down over-industrialized hive of mad scientists, criminals and slums, but it's also a "City of Privileges" for where scientists and [[{{Magitek}} hextech]] developers can bloom uninterrupted, though the moral compass heavily differs between individual cases, from the ambiguous (Viktor) to downright rotten (Singed).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Bilgewater]]
!!Bilgewater -- Lawless Port City
!!!'''Governance''': Gang Syndicates
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Medium
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Employ
!!!'''General Environment''': Tropical Archipelago
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Gangplank, Graves, Illaoi, Miss Fortune, Nautilus, Pyke, Tahm Kench, Twisted Fate
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bilgewater_crest.png]]
Bilgewater is a port city like no other—home to monster hunters, dock-gangs, indigenous peoples, and traders from across the known world. Almost anything can be purchased here, from outlawed hextech to the favor of local crime lords. There is no better place to seek fame and fortune, though death lurks in every alleyway, and the law is almost non-existent.
----
* BoatsIntoBuildings: Officials artworks of Bilgewater show that a good part of the buildings really look like ships that were brought up the cliffs and turned into actual houses. Some even have cannons.
* TheButcher: One of the most notable parts of Bilgewater is the Slaughter Docks. After ships come into town with large corpses of sea monsters in tow, the monster's corpses are hauled into the docks to be butchered. The monster's meat, skin, and bones provide a very large portion of the city's resources and keep the economy flowing. Other nations, particularly the Freljord, frequently haul large monster carcasses to the Slaughter Docks to sell them off to the experienced butchers in Bilgewater.
* CerebusRollercoaster: Bilgewater has probably explored its tone the most out of all Runeterran factions. The city was originally played as [[WretchedHive a relatively dangerous place to be]], but overall pretty campy and [[ExcusePlot light on drama]], much like the rest of pre-ContinuityReboot lore. Following the reboot, things were taken [[DarkerAndEdgier much more seriously]], [[{{Deconstruction}} emphasizing its legitimate danger]], gang conspiracies, and the vicious supernatural occurrences treated as normal business for its denizens. From ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' onwards, however, it's [[DenserAndWackier also been given quite a silly side]], revealing it to be the home of some of the goofiest things in Runeterra, including a menagerie of amphibious {{Funny Animal}}s (most implied to be native creatures, ''not'' yordles).
* FictionalCurrency: Two known currencies used in Bilgewater are "golden krakens" and "silver serpents".
* FogOfDoom: They experienced being attacked by the Black Mist of the Shadow Isles during Harrowing night in ''Shadow and Fortune.'' This is apparently a recurring event every year, but before Miss Fortune's assassination attempt on Gangplank, the city always had time to prepare and assemble to combat it. ''Shadow and Fortune'' is a story about the Harrowing in the wake of the disjointed, civil war-torn Bilgewater.
* GargleBlaster: Rum is apparently a well-known export product from Bilgewater, with among the most infamous being "Gangplank's Black Pearl Rum," a ''chewy'' rum "aged in charred oak casks and infused with some of the richest spices that Valoran has to offer, [coming out] blacker than pitch and about as thick." Consume at your own peril.
* HunterOfMonsters: The dominant career for sea-farers in Bilgewater. While there are a lot of pirates, others take their naval combat skills to battle massive sea monsters. After they kill the beasts, they haul them back to the city where they can butcher them. See TheButcher above.
* NecessarilyEvil: Bilgewater is the home of some really unpleasant characters, so you'll have to be even more ruthless and unpleasant if you want to keep order.
* NobleSavage: The Buhru people of the Serpent/Blue Flame Isles, the indigenous folk who are native to the island chain that Bilgewater is built upon. Illaoi is a representative of these islanders. They're given a high level of reverence and respect by the people of Bilgewater, and most people in the city follow the native religion, even Gangplank. It revolves around their Sea God, Nagakabouros, also known as the Bearded Lady, and the fleets pay tithes to her by tossing offerings into the sea. Every ship worth its salt has a Buhru working upon it as a seer and adviser to the captain.
* {{Pirate}}: Home to a lot of these, the most dominant name being Gangplank.
* [[PortTown Port City]]: Dwellings and buildings in the city are even crafted from the ruined remains of longships and other boats. Many of Bilgewater's buildings are just ships turned upside down and secured to the ground and/or cliffs.
* SwampsAreEvil: The inland outskirts of Bilgewater is marshland threaded with rivers. The nomadic mystics who live there are often known as 'River Folk' and are considered a people apart from those who live in the city proper. Twisted Fate is one of the River Folk.
* TakeItToTheBridge: Butcher's Bridge exists as one connecting the [[NotSoSafeHarbour Slaughter Docks]] to one of the town's many slums. It served as the ARAM "Murder Bridge" during the Burning Tides event.
* ThreateningShark: Remember the Slaughter Docks mentioned above? Blood, guts, and abandoned chum from there constantly leaks into the harbor. Yes, this means the sea around Bilgewater is constantly inhabited by piranha, saltwater crocodiles, warfrats, and yes, sharks.
* TheWildWest: Carries elements of this, with characters like Graves, Tahm Kench, and Miss Fortune evoking obvious western imagery. The coast and harbor are more UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy, but as you travel though the city towards the land, the culture draws a lot from southern Cajun, and the swamps outside of inland Bilgewater (where Twisted Fate hails from) are not unlike wetlands in Louisiana or Florida.
* WretchedHive: Of the OutlawTown[=/=]NotSoSafeHarbour varieties. Gang violence is common, anyone would knife you for your shoes, and if you manage to survive the people, the local animals might get you -- but if you're quick on your feet and have some stolen tech to fence, you might just have a good time.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ixtal]]
!!Ixtal -- Perilous Eastern Jungles
!!!'''Governance''': Magical Autocracy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown (Alchemical)
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Control
!!!'''General Environment''': Tropical Rainforest
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Malphite, Neeko, Nidalee, Qiyana, Rengar, Zyra
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ixtal_crest_1.png]]
Secluded deep in the wilderness of eastern Shurima, the sophisticated arcology-city of Ixaocan remains mostly free of outside influence. Having witnessed from afar the ruination of the Blessed Isles, and the softening of Buhru culture, the Ixtali view the other factions of Runeterra as little more than upstarts and pretenders, and use their powerful elemental magic to keep any intruders at bay.
----
* {{Arcology}}: Ixaocan consists of many of these peppering the Ixtal jungles, each one housing up to tens of thousands of people, and each practicing a specific discipline/field of elemental magic. In practice, they're described as being neither purely habitats or [[WizardingSchool colleges of magic]], but somewhere in between. They also appear to be caste-based, as the ruling Yun Tal caste controls the Cardinal Arcology.
* ElementalPowers: The Ixtali greatly explore this concept through [[FunctionalMagic a system known as the Axiomata]], interpreting the universe as a series of elements governed by axioms that can be manipulated. Each {{arcology}} represents and is devoted to a specific axiom, such as the Magma Arcology in the mountains studying [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[MagmaMan ro]][[DishingOutDirt ck]], and [[MagnetismManipulation magnetism]], or the Water Arcology near the Serpentine River studying [[MakingASplash water]], [[AnIcePerson ice]], and [[BlowYouAway steam]]. [[ComboPlatterPowers Qiyana's mastery over several magics at once]] is enough for her to consider herself [[MightMakesRight fit to rule Ixaocan]].
* HiddenElfVillage: Ixtal has remained hidden in the jungles east of Shurima for centuries, developing its own isolationist society filled to the brim with elemental magics. Notably, most of its citizens believe that they are all that remains of the human world following the destruction of Icathia, and only those within the ruling Yun Tal are aware of the truth.
* HungryJungle: Ixtal rests its entirety in lush jungle recognized fully as the Ixtal Jungle, and if its isolationist inhabitants won't kill you for trespassing into their borders, [[ManEatingPlant the jungle itself]] [[GeniusLoci probably will]]. It should be noted that Ixaocan rule doesn't fully entail the entire thing; champions including Nidalee and Neeko roam in the jungle, but don't share allegiance with the city hidden deep within it.
* LandOfOneCity: A mixed case; aside from smaller surrounding villages, [[https://twitter.com/LaurieGoulding/status/1139792055855534080 the capital of Ixaocan is considered the last "city" in present-day Ixtal]], the rest having been ruined or abandoned as foreigners continue encroaching on their borders over time. Ixaocan itself, however, encompasses a large set of various [[{{Arcology}} arcologies]], including but not limited to a central Cardinal Arcology.
* {{Magitek}}: Their technology is a variant of this, but very unlike Piltovan hextech. Instead of using magic crystals to power machines, the Ixtali prefer to directly use their ElementalPowers [[MundaneUtility as a casual tool]] -- a quarryman would use [[DishingOutDirt stone magic]] to easily break apart and carry large rocks, while a fisher can use [[MakingASplash water magic]] to create favorable currents and [[BlowYouAway air magic]] to travel underwater using air bubbles. Within the Cardianal Arcology exists the Vidalion, a loom-like device that can channel and weave axiomatic energy into material form, which the [[TheMagocracy Yun Tal]] use to weave robes to mark their status.
* TheMagocracy: Ixtal is described specifically as a "magical autocracy", divided into [[FantasticCasteSystem individual, highly rigid castes]], each with their own social hierarchies based on time spent in study. Those with mastery in their respective elemental axioms can ascend the ranks, with the initiation ceremonies of the Yun Tal being the ultimate test of it.
* {{Mayincatec}}: Shows shades of this.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Ixtal is the native home to the various elemental dragons that you come across on Summoner's Rift, occupying various abandoned Ixtali ruins. Fearsome yet majestic, they once fought alongside humans during the Shuriman war against The Void, but have since remained content being left alone without any major interference.
* OutOfFocus: Ixtal was introduced as a major new region in 2019 with the release of Qiyana, but not much has been developed about it since aside from a few offhand mentions in short backstories. Even with other champions that were retroactively placed within Ixtal's domain, the hidden capitol of Ixaocan hasn't seen any further representation beyond Qiyana.
* {{Precursors}}: Ixtal is described to have an even older past than [[TheEmpire Shurima]], described as being part of a westward diaspora that also gave rise to the Buhru, magnificent Helia, and the ascetics of Targon, with ties to the very first [[PhysicalGod Ascension]]. To boot, one of Ezreal's map notes indicates he met a shaman in the jungle who -- despite not looking Targonian -- claimed she was [[PhysicalGod the Aspect of the Wanderer]].
* TheUnmasquedWorld: After centuries of seclusion, the Ixtali finally revealed themselves as more and more of their territory continues being encroached by Piltover and Noxus, with the major incident being Qiyana revealing a hidden path between villages which was discovered by Piltovan miners, resulting in a very messy bloodbath which still left some survivors to tell the tale.
* VestigialEmpire: While not as drastic as Shurima, Ixtal's legacy from its former glory leaves a lot to be desired. It once preceded Shurima, with its initial diaspora giving rise to the Targonians, the Buhru, and the Helia of the Blessed Isles, but following constant involvement in outsider disasters (including the Shuriman/Void war, the Darkin war, the Rune War, and the Ruination of the Blessed Isles), they decided they had enough and went into hiding. Even with that, they continue being encroached on by foreigners, reduced to being a LandOfOneCity.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shurima]]
!!Shurima -- Fallen Desert Empire
!!!'''Governance''': Divine Empire
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Covet
!!!'''General Environment''': Arid Desert
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Amumu, Azir, Nasus, Rammus, Renekton, Sivir, Skarner, Taliyah, Xerath
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shuriman_crest.png]]
-> ''"A cloud of smoldering destruction hangs in the night sky. This is the Fall of Shurima.''
->''The Ancients groped blindly in the darkness, threatening to unravel the very fabric of creation in their hubris. Noble Shurimans who Ascended found a loose thread in the universe’s tapestry, and pulled upon it. The vulgarity of their ambition consumed thousands of innocent lives and ended a golden age.''
-> ''Such was the fate of mighty Shurima and of men who would become gods."''
-> -- Ionian storyteller
Shurima was once a thriving civilization that spanned the southern continent, left in ruins by the fall of its god-emperor. Over millennia, tales of its former glory became myth and ritual. Now, its nomadic inhabitants eke out a life in the deserts, or turn to mercenary work. Still, some dare to dream of a return to the old ways.
----
* AnimalMotif: Shurima runs heavily on this theme. Most of the champions that represent Shurima are associated with a particular animal. In the case of the Ascended, the have a particular animal totem that is reflected in their physical form. Others have more subtle associations, but are still associated with them.
** Nasus ascended into the form of the Jackal, representing his intelligence and cunning.
** Renekton ascended into the form of the Crocodile, representing his strength and ferocity.
** Azir ascended into the form of the Hawk, representing his regality and royalty.
** Cassiopeia, while not among the ascended, has been cursed into the form of a Serpent. This reflects her insidious and venomous way of manipulating enemies.
** Taliyah, while not ascended or cursed, is heavily associated with the humble Sparrow.
** The Brackern, of whom Skarner is the main representative, are a race of crystalline Scorpions. Unlike most depictions of scorpions in media, the Brackern are very true to actual scorpions; they're mostly a shy, retiring race that sleeps below ground, but make tenacious and frightening enemies when provoked.
** Rengar, a Vastayan whose tribe hails from Shurima, is an anthropomorphic lion.
* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: Sun motifs, scarabs, and the famous floating pyramids.
* TheEmpire: During its heyday, it was an enormous one with reach across the entire southern continent of Runeterra, including Ixtal. After being resurrected, Azir seeks to return it to its former glory.
* EgyptIsStillAncient: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]]; Shurima in general [[FantasyCounterpartCulture is aesthetically very much an analogue to Egypt]], with lots of references to ancient Egypt, but appropriately, this mostly has its ties to ancient Shurima. Contemporary Shurima is largely comprised of low-tech, but secular civilization, with more developed areas (mostly to the north that border with Noxus) consisting of modern cities and towns with only faint sentimentality for the nation's glory days. The aesthetic is actually {{invoked|Trope}} to a degree where Azir is concerned, as in his vision of rebuilding Shurima to its former glory, he idealizes it with the archaic depiction of the past, amassing modern followers that share the same nostalgia but alienating those who want to live on without it.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Shurima is clearly modeled on ancient Egypt.
* HegemonicEmpire: Shurima was reportedly based around massive expansion and assimilation during its heyday, with states like Kahleek, Kalduga, and even Ixtal becoming attached voluntarily, implied to be because of access to greater powers like the Sun Disc. Icathia was the most notable exception, and when it attempted to rebel, it struggled to find allies since nobody dared to oppose the grand empire that was seemingly a net benefit for themselves.
* LivingLegend: The Ascended were legendary in Shurima's day.
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: While Shuriman Ascension is relatively more manual than the Targonian equivalent, it appears that the powers that be still have a set of standards that influence whether certain people are worthy of it. Those considered unworthy become flawed, incomplete beings dubbed the Baccai, which look similar to Ascended and share their long lifespans, but are considerably weaker and closer to mortal.
* PhysicalGod: The rite of Ascension channels enormous power onto one person, granting them [[TheAgeless immortality]] among other things, and changing their appearance to reflect a particular animal. It's meant to be used only in times of desperate need, and [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield only those considered "worthy" were granted the full package]].
* ThePowerOfTheSun: Worshiped the sun, as befitting a desert empire, and constructed a giant gold Sun Disc to harness its power further.
* ResurgentEmpire: Shurima was a powerhouse milennia ago. This changed when Xerath disrupted the Ascension Ritual and killed Azir, it fell into a VestigialEmpire that no one thought much of.. until Azir was ressurected and ascended - with his powers as an Ascended, he is making great strides towards rebuilding, fully intending on continuing Shurima's HegemonicEmpire where he left off.
* SecretLegacy: The royal bloodline of Shurima persisted until the present day, with the roaming mercenary Sivir turning out to be Azir's last true descendant.
* SemiDivine: The Baccai are beings who attempted Ascension, but for [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield whatever reason]] never made it all the way, usually becoming similarly anthropomorphic and [[TheAgeless long-living]], but malformed, possessing weaker, flawed magic, and are vulnerable to mortality unlike proper God-Warriors. Many disappeared or [[MercyKill were put out of their misery]] following their failure, but it's strongly suggested several survived Shurima's fall and are hiding out in dark underground tombs.
* ShroudedInMyth: Very little is known about the empire in its heyday or about its collapse, but it seemed to have access to magic far beyond what is currently known.
* ThirstyDesert: Much of the Shuriman continent is this, primarily one called The Great Sai, with modern civilization existing much closer to the various coastlines. [[CrossingTheDesert Treks from coast to coast]] can be incredibly taxing, with a trek from northern Shurima to the capital by dormun said to take about 65 days.
* VestigialEmpire: Shurima has seen better days, to say the least. Once spanning an entire continent and absorbing many smaller factions, calamity has blasted its mainland into [[ThirstyDesert endless sand]] infested with [[EldritchAbomination Void monsters]], with what remains being smaller coastal cities and nomadic tribes. The newly-resurrected Azir is determined to restore its former glory.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Targon]]
!!Mount Targon -- Sprawling Western Mountains
!!!'''Governance''': Tribal Theocracy
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Aspire
!!!'''General Environment''': Harsh Mountains
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Aphelios, Aurelion Sol, Diana, Leona, Pantheon, Taric[[note]]Formerly of Demacia[[/note]], Soraka, Zoe.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mount_targon_crest.png]]
-> ''"Some brave souls attempt to scale the impossible mountain, perhaps seeking wisdom or enlightenment, perhaps chasing glory or some soul-deep yearning to see its summit. The dwellers at the peak’s base cheer as these brave souls begin their ascent, knowing the mountain will find the vast majority of them unworthy. And to be judged unworthy by Mount Targon is to die."''
A mountainous and sparsely inhabited region to the west of Shurima, Targon boasts the tallest peak in Runeterra. Located far from civilization, Mount Targon is all but impossible to reach, save by the most determined pilgrims, chasing some soul-deep yearning to reach its summit. Those hardy few who survive the climb return haunted and empty, or changed beyond all recognition.
----
* CoolGate: Littered across Mount Targon are large and ornate metallic rings used by modern Targonians to denote the path splitting civilization from the mountain's peak, [[PointOfNoReturn used as a threshold to bid farewell to climbers hoping to achieve their destiny]]. Note that none of these rings were manmade -- described as having fallen from the sky during ancient times, nobody knows for sure who created them or what their intended purpose was.
* DeathMountain: The highest peak in not just the Shuriman continent, but all of Runeterra, mythologized as having been twisted, elongated, and drawn from the earth up to the heavens by some mysterious cosmic force. While civilization exists around the "ring of the mountain" at its base, it gets so perilous the further up you go that attempting to reach the peak will mean certain death unless [[BecauseDestinySaysSo destiny says so]] or because you are ''extremely'' lucky.
* ElementalPowers: The Targonian champions have this in general ([[ThePowerOfTheSun sunlight]], [[{{Lunacy}} moonlight]], [[StarPower starlight]]) thanks to their status as Aspects.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The first mention of Mount Targon and the people living on it were just in Leona and Pantheon's backgrounds where they were obviously just pop-culture Spartans as exemplified by ''Film/ThreeHundred'' (Pantheon's people were initally just unsubtly called [[SignificantAnagram the Stanpar]]). The people living on Targon are a tad more nuanced now, though they still are inspired by Greek history, such as a large number of tribes living at the base of Mount Targon calling to mind the many city-states of UsefulNotes/AncientGreece with Mount Targon itself being said to have gods living at its peak like [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Mount Olympus]].
%%* HateSink: Many view the Solari sect to be this due to their utterly brutal KnightTemplar mentalities in addition of [[NeverMyFault never owing up to their missteps or other nefarious way to assert dominance (such as the Lunari genocide)]]. Atreus (the current physical host of Pantheon) expressed dislike towards the sect, though mostly because they're too defensive to [[AttackAttackAttack his tastes]], and [[WarGod Pantheon himself]] only puts up to them just because how they're the only other manpower Targon has for war. Even Leona, [[TheParagon their paragon,]] when she ascended, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone became horrified about the cruelty she did under the Solari's name]] and currently seeks to make amends.
* LightIsGood: Zig-zagged. The named champions that holds the power of light, such as Leona and Taric, are undoubtedly good. However, the Solari is a sect whose moral compass is heavily ambiguous, given Leona's reverence of them but also their animosity and implied ancient genocide towards the Lunari.
* OddlyCommonRarity: Discussed: Aspects are incredibly rare, so having several active at once [[PortentOfDoom probably means a great battle or calamity is on the horizon]].
* ScalingTheSummit: ''The'' challenge of Targon. It is so hard to do that Demacia sets it as a punishment for those who have utterly disgraced themselves.
* SolarAndLunar: The status of the sun and the moon are major factors in Targonian conflict, primarily between the [[MeaningfulName concisely-named]] Solari and Lunari. In the present day, the Solari are the dominant faction, with the Lunari deemed heretics, cruelly snuffed out, and erased from history, leaving any remnants in hiding. Diana and Aphelios' lore directly implies that the sun and moon exist in "cycles", and that a drastic power shift in favor of the moon is well underway.
* StarPower: Stars in the cosmos beyond Runeterra appear to be supernatural (which would make sense, given how their creator, Aurelion Sol, is [[OurDragonsAreDifferent a giant space dragon]]), and it's all but directly stated that the Aspects in their celestial power descend from constellations. As a result, all Targonian champions have some influence in them to a degree -- Zoe and Taric use the power of stars in combat, Soraka descended from them, and Leona and Diana's respective [[ThePowerOfTheSun sunlight]] and [[{{Lunacy}} moonlight]] are influenced from them, and all but Aurelion Sol of them have their own representative constellation.
* TouchedByVorlons: Targonian Aspects are partly themselves, partly the Aspect they are now hosting. The spectrum ranges from "mostly still himself" (Taric) to "completely replaced" (Pantheon).
* WingedUnicorn: Mount Targon is home to stellacorns, magical creatures that fly like stars.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shadow Isles]]
!!The Shadow Isles -- Lands Shrouded by the Black Mist
!!!'''Governance''': None
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Low
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Suffer
!!!'''General Environment''': Cursed Archipelago
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Elise, Hecarim, Karthus, Kalista, Maokai, Thresh, Viego, Yorick.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_isles_crest.png]]
-> ''"Many are the grim tales told of the Shadow Isles, and the Black Mist that shrouds them... And while all good folk shun this cursed land, sometimes its darkness comes... FOR YOU. The Black Mist ebbs and flows like the tide, yet now and then, on a night much like tonight, it reaches far across the sea... Searching... Seeking... Killing... This time is known as... THE HARROWING. During the Harrowing, the spirits of the Shadow Isles go forth within the Black Mist. Preying on the living, feeding the darkness. There's no coming back once you're claimed by the Harrowing. You're cursed, condemned to haunt the Black Mist forevermore..."''
-> -- Anonymous Bilgewater puppetmaster
The Shadow Isles were once a beautiful realm, long since shattered by a magical cataclysm. Now, Black Mist permanently shrouds the land, tainting and corrupting with its malevolent sorcery. Those who perish within it are condemned to become part of it for all eternity… and worse still, each year the Mist extends its grasp to reap more souls across Runeterra.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: All Shadow Isles champions are chaotic, and most have nothing but bad intentions for the rest of the world. The exceptions are Maokai, Yorick (good), Kalista (formerly good, now operating as a gray arbiter of vengeance) and Karthus ([[BlueAndOrangeMorality who sees death as good]]).
* AndIMustScream: The Ruination has condemned all the souls of the isles to an eternity of torture, plunging most of its brightest lights into darkness.
* BigBad: Viego, the Ruined King, is one of the closest things ''League of Legends'' has to an overarching BigBad. The lord of the Shadow Isles and the Black Mist, some of its most infamous denizens are bound to his will, including Hecarim and Kalista, and several heroes from all over are searching for him, seeing his defeat as instrumental for undoing the isles' curse.
* TheCorruption: It was once a beautiful island kingdom called the Blessed Isles, but a forbidden spell that broke the barriers between life and death turned it into the spectral, undead-infested land it is today.
* CreepyGood: Champions who draw their power from the corrupted Isles, such as Yorick and Senna, ride the line between "noble" and "unnerving."
* DeathWorld: Barring [[EldritchLocation The Void]], the Shadow Isles is likely the most dangerous place in Runeterra, as [[FateWorseThanDeath even death won't save you]] [[AndIMustScream from the eternal torment it inflicts]]. ''Legends of Runeterra'' shows that [[EliteArmy the Dauntless Vanguard of Demacia]] tried to explore the land, and even they failed miserably.
* FauxFlame: The land is now littered with [[http://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/factions/image-gallery/shadow-isles-vaults.jpg an eerie, spectral blue-green-ish fire]] that carries into almost every champion associated with it.
* FogOfDoom: The Black Mist comes from here, and it spreads across Runeterra during every Harrowing in search of souls.
* GardenOfEvil: The Twisted Treeline map, which looks the ruins of a once-beautiful palace garden.
* GiantSpider: Among the various giant beasts of the Shadow Isles is Vilemaw, an undead spider god who Elise serves.
* HealItWithWater: One repellent to the curse of undeath are the Tears of Life, water originally from the springs of the Blessed Isles which managed to survive the ruination. While it's unable to undo TheCorruption in ruined beings, it's what allowed Yorick and Maokai to endure the incident, and both believe that what they have left will be instrumental in ending the isles' curse.
* MysteriousMist: The Black Mist is [[FogOfDoom an extremely dangerous variant]]. Back in the days of Helia and the Blessed Isles, the mist was much less scary, appearing as a normal pale mist used by the isles' denizens to shroud them from the rest of the world, but it too was [[TheCorruption corrupted]] by the Ruination.
* {{Revenge}}: Demacia mounted a spectacularly failed invasion/exploration of the Isles. What's the first major faction Viego targets when he finally fully invades Runeterra? You guessed it, Demacia.
[[/folder]]
!!Minor Powers and 'Outside' Factions
[[folder:Bandle City]]
!!Bandle City -- Mythical Land of Curious Enchantment
!!!'''Governance''': None
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Play
!!!'''General Environment''': Unknown
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Corki, Lulu, Rumble, Teemo, Tristana, Veigar, Yuumi.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bandle_city_crest.png]]
Opinions differ as to where exactly the land of the Yordles is to be found. Some maintain these fey creatures live far to the southeast, beyond a range of impassable mountains. Others claim the Yordles live under grassy green hills or deep in the hearts of impenetrable forests. Perhaps some of these tales are true or maybe none, for no expedition mounted to find the Yordle homeland has ever located it. Which is not to say that no one has visited the land of Yordles, for many claim to have travelled through unseen portals into a land of fey enchantment populated by diminutive creatures of mischief. In Bandle City every sensation is heightened for non-Yordles; colors are incredibly vivid, the food and drink intoxicates the senses for years and, once tasted, will never be forgotten. The sunlight is eternally golden, the waters crystal clear, and every harvest brings fruitful bounty. It is also a place of unfettered magic, where the incautious can be led astray by its myriad wonders and end up lost in a dream until they drop dead of hunger and thirst. Those who claim to have travelled to Bandle City speak of a timeless quality, which may explain why many such
----
* HiddenElfVillage: Bandle City is accessible through pathways only known by yordles throughout Runeterra called bandlewoods, with its "location" having multiple points across the official map.
* {{Hobbits}}: Back before the lore retcon, the ''original'' Yordles were less fairies or spirits and more Hobbits - they were a race of small humanoids that lived in a pacifistic agrarian idyll in little holes in the earth. The only real difference was that all of the Yordles were vaugely rodent-like beast-men. Teemo and Veigar - the original two Yordles and the only ones released before the mass retcon - were said to be unusually aggressive for the race. Veigar out of being tortured and Teemo from being [[ObliviouslyEvil too innocent]] to realize [[LethallyStupid how deadly]] his Boy Scout-esque survival games were for others.
* LandOfFaerie: Bandle City isn't a physical location, but rather its own separate realm which can be accessed through hidden pathways in Runeterra, described as a whimsical and timeless paradise. [[LayeredWorld Bandle City itself has an]] ''[[UpToEleven even more]]'' [[UpToEleven whimsical and topsy-turvy realm]] in it known as The Glade, a place of primordial magic perceived by Lulu to be Bandle City's origin.
* MagicalLand: See LandOfFaerie above.
* OutOfFocus: Following the game's ContinuityReboot, Bandle City has been conspicuously low on focus, with much more attention being placed on the rest of known Runeterra. Unlike the other major regions of the game (sans [[EldritchLocation the Void]]), Bandle City has yet to receive a dedicated lore expansion, with updates surrounding yordles in general trickling in irregular places, [[TheArtifact leaving some yordle champions lacking in lore altogether]]. It took until 2021 for several yordle champions and Bandle City itself to be canonically represented in "Don't Mess With Yordles"[[note]]Though Bandle City was shown in the noncanon music video for Pentakill's "Mortal Reminder"[[/note]].
* PerceptionFilter: How yordle {{glamour}} works. If people don't have any suspicion that the yordles are in fact yordles, [[HiddenInPlainSight they'll instead be perceived as ordinary people beneath notice]]. Only when people start paying close attention or fully expect their presence do they get perceived as what they truly are.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: If Poppy and Tristana are any indication, Yordles are stronger than their diminutive size suggests.
* PortalNetwork: Yordles travel between Bandle City and the physical realm of Runeterra through "Bandlewoods", normally-innocuous objects (usually natural terrain like trees or stone formations) that form portals to travel with. "Don't Mess With Yordles" depicts the Bandlewoods on Bandle City's end as [[WorldTree a giant tree]] with [[PortalCrossroadWorld many portals to go through]], and Yuumi's Book of Thresholds acts as an atlas to the whole network.
* {{Utopia}}: Bandle City has been described by outsiders who have claimed to visit it as a paradise of bright colors, beautiful sunlight and streams, delicious food, and unfettered magic.
* YearInsideHourOutside: Bandle City appears to cause this, as non-Yordle visitors tend to come back much older, if they return at all.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Void]]
!!The Void -- The Unknowable Nothingness
!!!'''Governance''': None
!!!'''Level of Technology''': Unknown
!!!'''Attitude Towards Magic''': Devour
!!!'''General Environment''': Unknown
!!!'''Affiliated Champions''': Cho'Gath, Kassadin, Kai’Sa, Kha'Zix, Kog'Maw, Malzahar, Rek'Sai, Vel'Koz.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/void_crest.png]]
Screaming into existence with the birth of the universe, the Void is a manifestation of the unknowable nothingness that lies beyond. It is a force of insatiable hunger, waiting through the eons until its masters, the mysterious Watchers, mark the final time of undoing.
To be a mortal touched by this power is to suffer an agonizing glimpse of eternal unreality, enough to shatter even the strongest mind. Denizens of the Void realm itself are construct-creatures, often of only limited sentience, but built for a single purpose — to usher in total oblivion across Runeterra.
Although it's technically everywhere and nowhere, as alternate dimensions tend to be, The Void is strongly tied to Icathia. This city-state on the eastern coast of Shurima, in a last ditch effort to free itself from said empire's control, opened a portal to the void that is now known as "The Rupture". Void-born plague the caverns below Shurima's deserts to this day and "The Lost City of Icathia" is only spoken about in hushed whispers.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Wants to consume the world. Doesn't really care why or how that gets done. Most of its champions are characterized by their hunger -- physical hunger or something metaphorical like a hunger for knowledge.
* BizarreAlienBiology: Bizarre in that as {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, they normally don't even have any sort of physicality and have to adjust to the material plane of Runeterra, which actually proves to be a significant and exploitable weakness of theirs.
* BodyHorror: The Void will not merely destroy you, it will ''consume'' you and warp your flesh into something more to its liking. And inversely, the longer a Voidspawn exists in Runeterra the more "mundane" and "normal" they become, to the point where they could be mistaken for a "normal" magical creature.
* TheDogBitesBack: Icathia was formerly a kingdom in the Shuriman continent that was brutally subjugated by the ever-expanding empire, with a humiliating conquest that began eradicating their culture, history, and present power for millenia. This prompted a violent and disastrous rebellion [[EvilIsNotAToy involving uncovering the Void's power]], [[ApocalypseHow and tragically]], [[PyrrhicVictory there were no winners]].
* EldritchAbomination: Everything that comes out of the Void, christened "void-born" or "void-spawn".
* EldritchLocation: Not only the Void itself but any place where the Void touches reality, such as the lost city of Icathia. To hammer the point home, the Void's general environment is listed as [[NothingIsScarier "Unknown"]] by the interactive map.
-->'''Kai'Sa''': The Void is not so much a place -- [[SentientCosmicForce it is a power]], [[HorrorHunger reaching out to consume all life]].
* EvilIsNotAToy: The Icathians called upon it in ancient times to help their rebellion against Shurima and the Ascended. They won a PyrrhicVictory that ruined the city and left even the survivors tainted.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation:
** Looking directly at the Void can kill your sanity.
** The Void itself was driven to madness by "normal" reality coming into existence. The Void was formerly a place of absolute silence, tranquility, and nothingness. When the physical plane and life were created, the Void gained awareness and absolute horror at the incomprehensibleness of linear spacetime.
* GreaterScopeVillain: The Watchers are ostensibly the leaders of the Void, creators of the first Voidborn in the Freljord, and they share the same {{omnicidal mania|c}} as the rest of them, making them one the biggest antagonistic forces in the game's universe. [[SealedEvilInACan While they're currently frozen in True Ice]], Lissandra is sure that they will return, and Runeterra needs to prepare for it.
* HorrorHunger: A reoccurring theme with its inhabitants. Kog'Maw and Cho'Gath are the most direct about this and will devour almost anything in their path, Vel'Koz is essentially driven by a hunger for knowledge, and Kha'Zix has a hunger for evolution, which involves constantly hunting prey.
* HumansAreCthulhu: Of a sort. The Watchers and the Voidborn in general have near-infinite power ''[[HomeFieldAdvantage on their own terms]]'', but due to the fact [[BizarreAlienPsychology they have no concept of space, time, or heat]], transitioning into the physical Runeterra leaves them especially confused and unformed, enough for mortals to retaliate. Voidspawn, especially ones that have just arrived on Runeterra, are stated to be just as horrified and terrified of humans as humans are of them.
* HumansThroughAlienEyes: Voidborn that enter into the world are immediately beset by a world that starts out just as incomprehensible to them as they are to the world. All of this "Laws of physics" stuff is as utterly alien to them as they are to it, and - unfortunately for the voidborn - the laws of physics are, well, ''laws that they have to abide by'', they don't allow them to be their natural {{Eldritch Abomination}} selves. The reason why Vel'Koz was sent through was exactly to figure out just ''what the hell'' this world was like.
* HumanityIsInfectious: "Newborn" Voidspawn that have just arrived from the Void are incomprehensible non-Euclidean monstrosities that look as much like a piece of optical illusion abstract art as they do a lifeform. But the more matter from Runeterra they consume, the more like a "normal" creature they begin to look and the more like a human or animal they begin to think. Some are even implied to start to desire to [[AntiAntiChrist abandon their fight against Runeterra]] so they can [[TheHedonist luxuriate in the newly-found hedonism of linear existence]]. Nearly all of the playable Voidspawn Champions are well past the tipping point, though art exists of "pure" Void-type monsters.
* LightIsNotGood: Void wells have a bright purple glow which can fascinate and lure in the unwary.
* NoPronunciationGuide: Despite Malzahar clearly pronouncing Icathia as "i-kath-ia," [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/827v2y/kaisa_champion_spotlight_gameplay_league_of/dv82a68/ Rioters have since confirmed]] the official pronunciation as of Kai'Sa's Champion Spotlight is "i-kayth-ia." They've noted that should Malzahar get a voiceover update, it'll be changed, [[WatsonianVersusDoylist but they've also]] {{Hand Wave}}d an idea that he just hasn't caught up with the centuries of linguistic evolution in the rest of Runeterra, or perhaps he has an accent.
* OutOfFocus: An odd, partial example in that The Void as a broad, antagonistic force has been greatly fleshed out following the game's ContinuityReboot, but many of the Void-associated champions have not. Early Voidborn champions like Cho'Gath and Kog'Maw that have received no lore connecting them to the present state of Runeterra, and even the latest Voidborn like Vel'Koz and Rek'Sai (both released in 2014) have tenuous individual impact toward the setting, and are more around to demonstrate [[GreaterScopeVillain the overarching danger]] the rest of the Void represents.
* PowerOfTheVoid: Dark and sinister magic touches all of its champions.
* PunctuationShaker: Void names have two syllables divided by an apostrophe. Kaisa changed her name to Kai'Sa to show her status as a Void creature, even though she was born human.
* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Void creatures and Void magic are generally purple, probably because PurpleIsPowerful.
* ReimaginingTheArtifact: Before the game's ContinuityReboot, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Voidborn were depicted more as]] a horde of vaguely [[InsectoidAliens insectoid alien]] beings, a far cry from the modern depiction of complex [[EldritchAbomination monsters forged from a nothing-based corruption]], visually resembling [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/7/70/Void_The_Fall_Of_Icathia.jpg far more abstract monstrosities]]. However, because the designs of several early Voidborn champions were already codified (Rek'Sai is the only true Void monster champion released following the reboot), Riot specified that based on the nature of how Voidborns obtain their physical forms, it's possible for them to consume enough to "evolve" into looking like a more "normal" monster, retroactively justifying the appearances of some like Kha'Zix and Vel'Koz. This quality is also what allowed them to comfortably recycle [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/9/9e/Bard_lore_1.jpg the suggested pre-reboot design of The Watchers]] to [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/e/e0/04FR005T4-full.png what they would eventually be seen as years later in proper action.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate: Kai'Sa is a human who uses Void powers and wants to stand between humanity and the Void. Unfortunately, humans see her as a monster and Void creatures -- including the one she wears -- see her as food.
[[/folder]]
