Karma, The Enlightened One.
Hey, this was a long time coming, been busy but wanted to make this. Just a shoutout to the Karma community, you guys are one of the most dedicated champ communities I've seen. Even though Karma right now is seen as a more-or-less balanced champion, you've helped me learn something. It isn't always about balance. It's about finding and connecting to a champion whose thematic and kit you love. You've inspired me to keep my practice sharp on Azir, and we all know how he is right now lol.
So stay strong you loyal fans, and I hope that this tribute to Karma is a welcome addition to your fold. :)
The Twin Dragons fly in a circle eternal, apart yet one and the same. War and peace, death and life, revolution and tradition, ice and flame.
Once, in the province of Navori, a champion emerged, under her guidance, the Noxian scourge was swiftly purged. She was gifted the Mantle of Decourum, an honor most high, she was sent to the Council of Elders with a tearful goodbye.
"Remember above all, to protect your spirit." Her mother said, before they parted. "Remember who you are, and you will never grow fainthearted."
War flies down, its story complete, Peace rises up, just born and wanting to eat.
An Elder, Karma thought, as she learned her new duty, is a wonderful thing, I will restore this land's beauty! And so she did, for seven months Navori thrived. All of the people were cheerful and happy, not one was deprived. Despite this Karma ordered the armories stockpiled, a plan to keep Navori safe was elegantly compiled.
The people loved her; of her feats she had no denier. However each day when she entered the capital, to one question she had no answer. "Who am I? Am I a fighter or a dancer?"
Flame flies down, sated and ready to die. Ice flies up, all is good as they fly by.
Soon the monks cried out, "To tradition we must return!" "The fighting has stopped long ago; peace is what the children must learn!"
Karma hesitated, still believing her judgement was sound. "We must still teach them how to fight, or else the enemy will come back around!"
Karma's words fell on deaf ears; the monks were fuming, an angry word from each. "We find that very unlikely, forgive us if we don't believe your speech." "From the beginning you've been about nothing but violence, can you protect, heal?" Your ki seems to only have one use, and that is to break steel!
Karma's anger was aroused, to her mind rose an answer of spite. But deep down, she knew they were right. She had unlocked her gift through fighting a war. But now what was her ki truly useful for?
She vowed to change, to change her ki. Her province needed a peacetime leader, with that she could agree. So she learned to shield and to speed, at the monks' insistence, But little did she know that new problems came into existence.
Peace halts at the top, never quite moving down. War halts at the bottom, deep under and beginning to drown.
It was never meant to be used this way; fire was to forge and destroy, not shield and protect. But Karma's path seemed to have slipped too far to correct. Her spirit protested as it was twisted into a shield that could not explode. Across several allies, instead the excess ki flowed. She learned to speed multiple allies, and this helped to travel faster, However she soon learned that she was not a defensive caster.
She tried to raise her spirit flame one day, just a test against a rock. But the suppressed ki exploded outwards, filling her with shock. The rock exploded without mirth, Her weakest flames could damage buildings; she was given a wide berth.
Karma felt like she was pulled into different directions. And neither one seemed like attractive suggestions. On one side was the Vanguard, the other Defender. As to which one she was, poor Karma thought neither.
Lost, she fell into a daze. She often would not leave her chambers for days. She meditated, trying to find the reason she was so undecided. She wanted to know the reason why her spirit felt so divided.
She had done all in her power to both protect and smite. But the things she did no longer felt right.
In the depths of her despair she sank into a deeper mediation. Soon gone were the thoughts of her post, or even her nation. She gave to her spirit a single question. "Who am I, am I to represent peace or aggression?" "I cannot lead without this answer. Please. I need relief to this spiritual tension."
Death and Life, long stopped, are in a deep rest. Wait. They think. We have a guest.
In the deepest part of her spirit she could see, twin dragons floating in the black celestial sea.
One as blue as the Ionian Ocean, the other deep purple, like a corrupting potion. _They hung there, suspended in the inky ocean of the spirit. _ Karma hung back at the sight, not sure whether to go near it.
"You have come for one reason" One of the dragons said. "You came to ask a question, but let us ask one instead."
Karma knew of the twin dragons; their reputation preceded them. These dragons had the power to bless or condemn. Most said they did both, as the story goes. They were masters of duality, the path Karma once chose.
As if sensing her thoughts, one of them growled, Can a fire keep meat cold? Can water light your way through the deepest stronghold? You try to do something that you are not built for, and this is why you fail. It is as foolish as expecting a horse to be outrun by a snail.
Karma replied. "I don't know what I'm built for, or who I truly am, though I thought once it was duality." "I can protect and cause devastation equally well, but never at the same time, never with finality." "Whatever I do, I just never feel satisfied." "No matter what path I choose, my spirit just feels tied." "Please help me dear dragon, help me understand duality at its core." "Do I choose peace or do I prepare for war?"
The answer is in your question, you can learn this with ease. For you see, your problem is how you deal with these. You treat duality like two halves of a whole, and so think of them separately. The answer is to accept both simultaneously.
You say you don't know who you are, and yet the answer is clear. You are Duality Karma, embrace who you are, my dear. You have talent in multiple arts, but you will never find success, Not unless you mate them, a skill only you posses. Just like Death and I, we are separate on body but united in spirit. You are not your actions or your body, but how every aspect of you unites to create it.
Duality is defined by two parts at once, and never by the parts alone. The same with you Karma, embrace your extremes and forge a path beyond the well-known.
She awoke from her trance, freshly invigorated. She leaped to her feet and went to the door, to where the Elder Council waited.
Light dips below the surface, ready to die. Darkness rises up, ready to reach the sky.
Next time the elders gathered together, formal introductions were exchanged. Karma smiled, this time her answer had changed.
"Karma, the Enlightened One." Because for once, she was one with herself. She was a peaceful storm, a dancing fighter, the Moon shimmering with the light of the Sun.
