When it comes to MOBAs, there’s none quite as popular as League of Legends. With over 160 champions to play as, over 200 items to buy in-game, and over a decade of history, its world is huge and overwhelming.

While it can be difficulty to consider this lore in the middle of a heated game of League, there’s extensive world-building you can discern from its characters and items. Here is some of the wildest lore in the League of Legends universe.

The state of Demacia

League of Legends has several main regions in its universe, and one of these is a realm called Demacia. Demacia is your typical fantasy kingdom that’s full of strong, loyal knights that uphold peace and justice, as well as prideful citizens who love their kingdom.

However, not everything is eternally peaceful in Demacia. After the death of King Jarvan III, the main city is thrown into chaos. The next in line to the throne is Jarvan IV—a champion in League—but something stops him from immediately ascending his throne. That's the ongoing conflict between the kingdom and its mages, which threatens to tear it apart.

Magic is considered evil in Demacia, to the point that the kingdom's knights lead mage hunts to round up all the magic-users they can find. This effort is led by noble knights like Garen. However, because Garen's sister Lux has secret mage powers, she has empathy for those who are captured, and she befriends one named Sylas in a Demacian prison.

Sylas wants revenge on the Demacians for locking him up, so he tricks Lux, steals her power through a handshake, and frees himself. This starts a massive battle throughout the city, and soon Demacia is forced to rethink its attitude towards magic when Lux reveals that she is herself a mage. This whole story plays out in Lux’s comic from Riot Games.

Jarvan IV, Lux, Garen, and Sylas are all playable champions in League of Legends, and they’re iconic ones, too. Lux is known for her infectious laugh and her popularity as a support, and Garen is a common beginner’s choice for top lane.

This is just one story from the region. Champions like Fiora and Shyvana feature heavily in Demacia's lore, so if you're interested, check them out.

Yasuo vs. Yone

League of Legends has its very own brotherly dispute: the conflict between Yasuo and Yone. Raised together as half-brothers, each serves as a foil for the other: their village views Yone as a good, respectable kid, whereas they consider Yasuo a problematic mistake who shouldn’t exist. Despite this, the two remain close, eventually becoming soldiers together.

After a misunderstanding that causes Yone to think Yasuo killed their Elder, Yasuo becomes a fugitive. In reality, he's searching for the real killer himself. Yone blames himself for the Elder's death; when the two finally meet up, they fight, and Yasuo kills Yone. Regretting his choice, Yasuo roams around drunk and alone until he meets a young girl named Taliyah, who he begins to teach.

However, that’s not where the story ends. In death, Yone fights a spirit, and he’s eventually reborn with the spirit’s mask. The brothers meet again briefly, and they part ways without any bloodshed. This plays out in a cinematic from Riot Games.

Yasuo, Taliyah, and Yone are all playable Champions in League of Legends. Ironically enough, they generally share the same role of middle lane.
 
The Ruined King

In 2021, League of Legends fans couldn’t escape the legend of the Ruined King. The Ruined King tells the story of a young king, Viego, who is madly in love with his queen. When the queen is assassinated with a poisoned dagger, Viego refuses to let her go. Instead, he embarks on a mad hunt for a possible cure.

The search leads him to the Blessed Isles, which has water that heals any mortal problem. Though this antidote saves the queen, she's left in a state in-between life and death, which angers her. She takes Viego’s sword and stabs him with it, causing the ancient magic of the sword and the healing powers of the Blessed Isles to entwine and combust.

This rips up the islands and everything nearby, which causes everyone caught in the fireworks to be trapped in that in-between state. This impacts a plethora of characters: Thresh, Hecarim, Kalista, Yorick, and Gwen.

This whole disaster touches many regions around the League of Legends universe. Senna and Lucian, two characters that play well together in the bottom lane, are heavily impacted by Thresh’s character after the accident. In fact, every named character here is playable in League. Even Viego’s sword appears in the game; it's called the Blade of the Ruined King. Riot Games has also introduced it to Valorant, an FPS game that exists outside of the League of Legends universe. There’s even a standalone game called Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, which you can find here on the Epic Games Store.

The story of Viego and the subsequent tales that ensued afterward have cinematics and extensive lore pages. They're explored further in Ruination: A League of Legends Novel by Anthony Reynolds.

Azir and Shurima’s downfall

A lesser-known story in the League of Legends universe follows Azir, a once-mortal ruler of the region Shurima. As a young boy, Azir is the youngest and weakest in his family. However, after an assassination takes all of his siblings’ lives, he becomes the sole heir. After this event, the emperor (Azir’s father) goes on a rampage and plunges the empire into chaos and bloodlust.

When Azir takes over, he continues the strict rule of his father, but in a more just manner. Xerath—a slave that Azir grew up with—becomes his bodyguard in order to protect his life. Early in his reign, Azir decides to take a dangerous rite of passage. With thousands watching him, Azir gives a small speech before starting the journey—which is called Ascension—and frees all the slaves of Shurima. He also calls Xerath his brother, which unknowingly causes Xerath to feel deep anger towards his emperor.

As a child, Xerath studied dark magic and held it within him. Combined with his deep yearning and hatred for those who kept him in bondage, his emotions overwhelm him, which causes the dark magic to explode outward. Azir instantly dies in the blast, and Xerath accidentally undergoes the Ascension. However, because the wrong person has "ascended," the energy from the rite of passage levels the region of Shurima.

Thousands of years later, Azir is resurrected, and he leaves on a journey to reclaim Shurima from Xerath’s oppressive reign.

Azir and Xerath are playable champions in League of Legends, other champions also figure into the story, such as Nasus and Renekton.

Teemo’s not-so-surprising dark side

Teemo is an icon in League of Legends. His playstyle can be extremely frustrating to play against thanks to his poisoned (and invisible) mushrooms, his ability to stop basic attacks, and his own personal penchant for invisibility. As much as some hate him, others love him because of how he frustrates their opponents. In fact, he’s so divisive that there’s the question of whether or not you love or hate Teemo has become a meme in the game's community. Well, that’s not the split aspect of Teemo's life.

The yordle himself has a split personality, and he actually tends to go on missions solo because of it. While everyone knows him as a friendly scout, his evil side pops up while he’s alone. This gives a whole new meaning to the Little Devil Teemo skin available in the League shop.

These are just a taste of the deep and varied lore that spans the League of Legends universe. You can download League of Legends and play it yourself here on the Epic Games Store.