An Analysis Of Swain's Soul Fragmenting Lines

Hey there. Swain's been a longtime favorite champion of mine, and his new voice lines upon pulling a Soul Fragment from an enemy champion seem...absolutely chock full of Lore and hinting. I've made a quick list here, along with my thoughts, and while this certainly doesn't cover everything, nor am I a Riot Employee, I hope I can shed some light on what some of these quotes might be alluding to.

The video I'm using for reference is SkinSpotlights "Swain Special Interactions", which you can watch for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaGaqTW6QPQ

I'm not going to talk about all of them, some seem self explanatory, and the VA is pretty great so I'd recommend checking it out.

"So he's heard the rumors. The girl who came back."

Wow we're IMMEDIATELY at the line that made me want to do this, huh? So, a long time ago, in the JoJ, Malzahar threw Kassadin's daughter into the Void. A popular fan-theory for an upcoming champion was Kassadin's daughter, somehow Void-touched.

I'm not saying this confirms we'll see her again, in champion or Lore form. I am saying that I really really hope it happens.

"She claimed it was the Frost Queen's Grave. They believed her."

Ashe's bow is that of Avarosa, one of the original queens of the Freljord, and Ashe is very much related to Avarosa, which is what gives her a lot of her political clout. Swain could be implying a lot here. Could Avarosa still be alive? Or maybe the bow wasn't hers at all, and Ashe is faking her relation to the Frost Queen? Lots of ambiguity.

EDIT: A lot of people think this quote has to do with Lissandra, another "Frost Queen" who faked her own death centuries ago, but continues operating in secret by killing the leaders of the Frostguard and taking their place. If that's what Ashe is lying about, she may know what Lissandra's up to. Why might she be concealing that information?

(And other Bilgewater Champs): "They fight the Mist above the seas. Never looking beneath."

The Harrowing invasions of the Shadow Isles carried by the Black Mist are a constant threat to Bilgewater. (See Shadow and Fortune) By "beneath", however, we can assume something might be going on under the island. Nagakaborous is the first thing that springs to mind, but I wouldn't be surprised if this went in an "undersea eldritch monsters" direction. Nautilus might know something about that.

: "My my, does your dear grandniece know what "C" has been up to?"

This seems pretty simple at first blush, "C" is an old rival of Caitlyn's, Camille's actions are often somewhat...legally questionable. ~~ Seems they're related.~~ However, there's nothing saying "C" isn't a somewhat infamous figure in Piltover, especially among the police. This could even refer to Vi.

Edit: This one's my bad, I forgot that Camille's grandniece is an identified character in her backstory. Whoops. No secret lineages here.

: "The payment for her suffering in Shurima. A black rose."

The Black Rose is LeBlanc's shady Noxian government manipulating cult. Cassiopeia was cursed in a Shuriman tomb (thus the snake form) back during Azir's release event. It's struck quite a few people as weird that the "punishment" of the curse is a snake form, when the Shurimans seemed to be rather fond of human/animal hybrid bodies with the Ascended. It's quite possible things were going to be much worse before the Black Rose intervened, which would involve Cass owing them a favor. Not a great place to be.

: "No daughters. Only soldiers."

(I already posted this in TheWhirligigSaw's thread, so I'm going to copy/paste here):

At the end of the comic, Quill's second-in-command, Invetia, stabs and kills her. This is probably noteworthy because Invetia and Quill's names are both listed on the Trade Map released with the Piltover Update, and they have the same last name.

So it's likely that Invetia is Quill's daughter, and given the fact that Quill was involved with Darius...he might be Invetia's father. He watched her stab her mother, valuing Noxus over any family ties. She's a soldier now, not a daughter, and he knows it.

"She spurned so many suitors...a wonder they did not see why."

Fiora is a woman of high standing in a traditionally very patriarchal society. It makes sense that she would want to avoid marriage, to keep her family power firmly in her own hands, and not those of a husband who might muck it up. This could also imply that Fiora simply isn't interested in men.

(And other Freljordians): "They squabble as the winds howl and the wards fade."

Long ago, the Watchers, a group of Very Evil Eyeball Monsters, were defeated and sealed in the Howling Abyss. While the Freljordian Civil War between Ashe and Sejuani rages, Lissandra has been working behind the scenes to free her ancient masters. According to Swain, it sounds like she's making progress.

: "Ignorant of the very magic you carry into battle. How Demacian."

Garen's armor is likely made of Petricite, the anti-magic ore that Demacia uses because man, they hate wizards. It could be referring to Petricite as a form of magic of its own. However, it's worth noting that Garen's sister had a natural aptitude for magic, and if that's a family trait...maybe there's something more to that Giant Sword From The Sky he seems to keep dropping.

: "His blood is the only useful thing about him."

Not only is this a sick burn, to be frank, the revival of Sion required some of a Jarvan's blood. I guess we know who they got it from.

: "Faces...fading in the flames...it was all her fault."

We know Jinx is an orphan, or at least that her family isn't in the picture. We also know that she's a bit of a pyromaniac, and that something drove her to insanity. She might be a monster of her own creation.

: "He asked her to do what she could not. Kill me."

Katarina's father, Marcus Du Couteau, was a big deal in the old lore. He had gone missing, following a meeting with Swain, and Kat was very suspicious of him. Some of that might be carrying through, and perhaps Marcus managed to get a message to his daughter before his disappearance. Or death. Still unclear.

"A child who had known only hate confuses it for love."

We know Kayn has an...odd relationship with his mentor, Zed. He seems to look up to him as family, but also harbors an urge to kill him and become the Master of Shadows. This isn't really new information, I just like the way Swain phrases it.

"Which is the greater tragedy, that she fell in battle, or that she fell in line?"

This one...confuses me a little. I assume this quote is referring to Lux herself, with the "falling in line" bit being her agreeing to hide her magic powers and serve Demacia, despite their hatred of her kind. It also echoes back to the old Lore version of Lux, where it's implied she (and other Demacians in training) were beaten and abused until they swore complete loyalty. "Falling in battle", however, isn't something Lux has done yet. Perhaps this quote refers to Mama Crownguard? Maybe she was a mage as well.

Edit: As Interlocutioner mentions below, these quotes are meant to play when collecting the Soul Fragments of dead champions, not grabbing CC'd ones. So she has fallen in battle, just then. Swain's team killed her.

"She held their hands as they died, hoping they would drag her with them."

Riven is a veteran of the Ionian Wars, and the only survivor of her group of soldiers. If old Lore still holds up here, they were killed by friendly fire, a chemical bomb launched by Singed, leaving Riven despondent and questioning her purpose. She wishes she was dead. Again, not super new, but some great phrasing.

"A King remains in the Mist. And another marches."

The Ruined King still sits in the center of the Blessed Shadow Isles. Who exactly is this second one Swain refers to? Could a foreign king be planning to invade the Isles, like Demacia? Or maybe one of the Isles champs has some conquering aspirations of their own. If so, I think we might be seeing a lot more Morde in the future, coming to reclaim his homeland from the Noxians.

"I already knew that."

this one is just really good okay don't judge me

(and other Voidborn): "A pattern. Spreading. It has learned to be alive."

Void Invasions aren't a new concept, but I'm interested in what this implies for the Void as a whole. Could it be a hive mind?

"She was closer than he realized."

Someone, a "she", was important to Warwick, and perhaps still is. It's really anyone's guess as to who that could be, but Jinx and Vi seem likely candidates.

There is a LOT more to unravel here, especially in some of his taunts, but this post is dragging on long enough. If you've got any other thoughts you'd like to share or that you think I missed, feel free to comment.

also holy shit Riot thanks for the lore-bomb here, I'm very pleased with this VO.