RUNETERRA

The Freljord is a harsh and unforgiving land. Proud and fiercely independent, its people are born warriors, with a strong raiding culture. While there are many individual tribes within the Freljord, the battle lines are being drawn in a three-way civil war that will determine the future for them all. One tribe unflinchingly honors the traditions that have ensured its survival; another follows the dream of a united future, as foretold by a young idealist; while the third worships the power of an enigmatic sorceress.

Demacia is a strong, lawful society with a prestigious military history. It values the ideals of justice, honor and duty highly, and its people are fiercely proud. Demacia is a self-sufficient, agrarian society, with abundant, fertile farmland, dense forests that are logged for lumber, and mountains rich with mineral resources. It is inherently defensive and insular, partly in response to frequent attacks from barbarians, raiders and expansionist civilizations. Some suggest that the golden age of Demacia has passed and unless it is able to adapt to a changing world – something many believe it is simply incapable of doing – that its decline is inevitable. Nevertheless, Demacia remains one of the dominant powers in Valoran, and boasts the most elite, well-trained army in all of Runeterra.

Noxus is a powerful empire with a fearsome reputation. To those beyond its borders, Noxus is brutal, expansionist and threatening, yet those who look beyond its warlike exterior see an unusually inclusive society, where the strengths and talents of its people are respected and cultivated. Its people were once a fierce reaver culture until they stormed the ancient city that now lies at the heart of their empire. Under threat from all sides, they aggressively took the fight to their enemies, pushing their borders outward with every passing year. This struggle for survival has made the Noxians a deeply proud people who value strength above all, though that strength can manifest by many different means. Anyone can rise to a position of power and respect within Noxus if they display the necessary aptitude, regardless of social standing, background, homeland, or wealth.

Ionia is a land of unspoiled beauty and natural magic. Its inhabitants, living in scattered settlements across this massive island continent, are a spiritual people who seek to live in harmony and balance with the world. There are many orders and sects across Ionia, each following their own (often conflicting) paths and ideals. Self-sufficient and isolationist, Ionia has remained largely neutral in the wars that have ravaged Valoran over the centuries – until it was invaded by Noxus. This brutal conflict and occupation has forced Ionia to reassess its place in the world. How it reacts and the future path Ionia will follow is as yet undetermined, but will be of great importance to Runeterra.

Piltover is a thriving, progressive city whose power and influence is on the rise. It is Valoran’s cultural center, where art, craftsmanship, trade and innovation walk hand in hand. Its power comes not through military might, but the engines of commerce and forward thinking. Situated on the cliffs above the district of Zaun and overlooking the ocean, fleets of ships pass through its titanic sea-gates, bringing goods from all over the world. The wealth this generates has given rise to an unprecedented boom in the city’s growth. Piltover has - and still is - reinventing itself as a city where fortunes can be made and dreams can be lived . Burgeoning merchant clans fund development in the most incredible endeavors: grand artistic follies, esoteric hextech research, and architectural monuments to their power. With ever more inventors delving into the emergent lore of hextech, Piltover has become a lodestone for the most skilled craftsmen the world over.

Zaun is a large, undercity district, lying in the deep canyons and valleys threading Piltover. What light reaches below is filtered through fumes leaking from the tangles of corroded pipework and reflected from the stained glass of its industrial architecture. Zaun and Piltover were once united, but are now separate, yet symbiotic societies. Though it exists in perpetual smogged twilight, Zaun thrives, its people vibrant and its culture rich. Piltover’s wealth has allowed Zaun to develop in tandem; a dark mirror of the city above. Many of the goods coming to Piltover find their way into Zaun’s black markets, and hextech inventors who find the restrictions placed upon them in the city above too restrictive often find their dangerous researches welcomed in Zaun. Unfettered development of volatile technologies and reckless industry has rendered whole swathes of Zaun polluted and dangerous. Streams of toxic runoff stagnate in the city’s lower reaches, but even here people find a way to exist and prosper.

The empire of Shurima was once a thriving civilization that spanned a vast desert. After an era of growth and prosperity, the fall of its gleaming capital left the empire in ruins. Over millennia, tales of Shurima’s glorious city became myth and religion among the descendants of the scattered survivors. Most of the nomadic inhabitants of Shurima search for basic sustenance in an unforgiving land. Some defend small outposts built around a few oases. Others hunt buried riches among the ruins of the fallen empire, or obtain mercenary work, taking coin for their deeds before disappearing back into the sands. Now, the tribes are stirred by whispers from the heart of the desert: the city of Shurima has risen again.

Mount Targon is the mightiest peak in Runeterra, a towering peak of sun-baked rock amid a range of summits unmatched in scale anywhere else in the world. Located far from civilization, Mount Targon is utterly remote and all but impossible to reach save by the most determined seeker. Many legends cling to Mount Targon, and, like any place of myth, it is a beacon to dreamers, madmen and questors of adventure. Some of these brave souls attempt to scale the impossible mountain, perhaps seeking wisdom or enlightenment, perhaps chasing glory or some soul-deep yearning to witness its summit. The ascent is all but impossible, and those hardy few who somehow survive to reach the top almost never speak of what they have seen. Some return with a haunted, empty look in their eyes, others changed beyond all recognition, imbued by an Aspect of unearthly, inhuman power with a destiny few mortals can comprehend.

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.

Nestled away in the Blue Flame Isles archipelago, Bilgewater is a port city like no other—home to serpent-hunters, dock gangs, and smugglers from across the known world. Here, fortunes are made and ambitions shattered in the blink of an eye. For those fleeing justice, debt, or persecution, Bilgewater can be a place of new beginnings, for no one on these twisted streets cares about your past. Even so, with each new dawn, careless travellers can always be found floating in the harbour, their purses empty and their throats slit... While incredibly dangerous, Bilgewater is ripe with opportunity, free from the shackles of formal government and trade regulation. If you have the coin, almost anything can be purchased here, from outlawed hextech to the favour of local crime lords.

The lands now known as the Shadow Isles was once a beautiful realm, but it was shattered by a magical cataclysm. Black Mist permanently shrouds the isles and the land itself is tainted, corrupted by malevolent sorcery. Living beings that stand upon the Shadow Isles slowly have their life-force leeched from them, which, in turn, draws the insatiable, predatory spirits of the dead. Those who perish within the Black Mist are condemned to haunt this melancholy land for eternity. Worse, the power of the Shadow Isles is waxing stronger with every passing year, allowing the shades of undeath to extend their range and reap souls all across Runeterra.

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 taletellers appear to have aged tremendously or, in fact, never return at all.

Time is a strange structure that has always been, is and remains. We remember beautiful moments, of friendships, family, and moments in which we have shown greatness or faced our fears. Sometimes we just want to remember what it was like.

When your greatest enemy becomes your best friend. When you're suddenly the good and not the bad anymore. If you suddenly have children. If you just want to do nonsense without having to live with the consequences. Or just made another decision back then.