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Reminder of all the lore bombs Swain dropped on us

DerMangoJoghurt·7/21/2018, 12:59:59 PM·33 votes·13,251 views

Most of you probably know that the demon Swain uses is able to reveal the secrets of other people to Swain. In-game Swain will comment on those secrets after receiving a soul fragment of the champion in question.

Here is a list of the most interesting quotes (and my guesses at what they hint at)

Edit: I've updated the list with info given from the comments.

Towards any Bilgewater champion:

They fight the mist above the seas, never looking beneath.

Is a great danger present below the sea? Maybe connected to the mist. Edit: Potentially referencing the swimming city from Pyke's lore or the darkness that changed Nautilus.

Towards any Freljordian:

They squabble as the winds howl, and the wards fade.

Further confirmation that the Watchers trapped in the Howling Abyss are coming back.

Towards any Ionian:

Magic spills from their land like blood from a wound.

Is Ionia losing it's magic? Edit: Maybe the 'wound' is meant to represent the weak separation of spirit and material world in Ionia. Perhaps a sign that the land itself is dying.

Towards any Shadow Isles inhabitant:

A king remains in the mist, and another marches.

The Ruined King is still present in the mist. The marching king could be referring to himself. Edit: I've been told the marching king is most likely Mordekaiser.

Towards

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

The origin of Ashe's bow is not what it seems. Edit: It's potentially of Targonian origin.

Towards

What is this about... siblings?

Aurelion has siblings? Edit: Perhaps just a reference to Aurelion's lore when he was still in production.

Towards

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

Is Camille 'C'?

Towards

The payment for her suffering in Shurima: a black rose.

Did Cassiopeia join the Black Rose?

Towards

She's spurned so many suitors. A wonder they did not see why.

Maybe there's a deeper reason as to why Fiora is still single. Edit: Potentially lesbian.

Towards

His secrets died with his sculptor.

Galio has secrets, but nobody knows them anymore.

Towards

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

Garen has magic? Maybe he's unaware of it since he's wearing his petricite armor a lot.

Towards

Faces fading in the flames. It was all her fault.

Jinx caused a traumatic event in her past? Perhaps the reason why she's so crazy.

Towards

The first oath. The one she made to him.

Kalista has a special relationship to Hecarim or the Ruined King?

Towards

He asked her to do what she could not. To kill me.

Katarina was tasked by Darkwill or her father to kill Swain.

Taunt towards

Do they know who killed your father, or do they still blame me?

Pretty self explanatory, Swain didn't kill General Du Couteau.

Towards

So many obsessed with the hero. Tell me of the hammer.

The origin of Poppy's hammer is might be interesting.

Towards

She was closer than he realized.

Perhaps a reference to the events that caused Warwick to leave his criminal life behind. Perhaps related to Jinx or Vi.

Those are the most interesting quotes I found. If you're interested in the quotes I left out, you can find all of them here.

68 Comments

Stars Shaper7/21/2018, 3:03:43 PM21 votes

What I can say about few of them:

The darkness below Bilgewater is connected to what happened with and is most likely not connected to the Mist.
Ionia isn't losing its magic but the comparison to a wound might mean that the reason magic is available through the land in general is a sign of the land slowly dieing.
The marching king is , he can control the Mist at will and he is coming to Noxus to conquer the Immortal Bastion back for himself.
bow is probably a Targonian weapon as much as the Chalicar, this might have been hinted by Taric line: "That bow is of the stars, as is its mistress.".
had sisters during its development, but Riot decided to scrap that idea. Swain line is a joke about it.
The secrets of are "merely" about how the sculptor could create a statue able not only to absorb magic but to feed on it to the point of becoming alive.
~~He talks about Garen not wanting to rationally confront that he knows that Lux is a mage.~~ Might be talking about Garen's ult as pointed out by Sovekz.

saltran7/21/2018, 2:10:53 PM6 votes

Towards

"She's spurned so many suitors. A wonder they did not see why."

Maybe there's a deeper reason as to why Fiora is still single.

Pool Party Fiora and Pool Party Caitlyn both kick a crab on their recalls, and maybe is coincidence but one of the PP Fiora chromas has the LGBT colours on his "blade".

Thinking.

Quepha7/21/2018, 2:56:07 PM5 votes

I remember when they blatantly ignored everything Swain players liked about Swain's appearance and functionally replaced him with a new character.

LordHippoman7/21/2018, 3:57:10 PM4 votes

Yeah, this was really cool. I made a topic similar to this back when the VO came out, so I'll link that if you want to see some of the discussion and theorizing that went on from back when they were released.

https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/1K2FTtLE-an-analysis-of-swains-soul-fragmenting-lines

Looking back...the Bilgewater line, I think, refers to Pyke's "swimming city". Serious eldritch vibes.

Kalista actually does have a very special relationship with the Ruined King and Hecarim, by the way. She was a niece of the King, and one of his generals, along with Hecarim. When the King was going mad after his wife's death, urged on by Hecarim's prodding, she found the mystical healers of the Blessed Isles. The King forced her to take him there, and when they refused to resurrect his wife, he ordered them killed.

Kalista refused. Hecarim shoved his lance through her back.

Thefrostyviking7/21/2018, 4:44:09 PM4 votes

Garen most likely actually has magic potential, after all his ulti is straight up a giant magic light sword and his W´s effects are rather magical too....add this with Lux being a light mage suggests they have the genes for it.

Swain probably thinks its amusing how Garen goes around condemning magic users while utilizing that ulti of his.

Swains´s line towards Ashe is interesting though, for unless otherwise stated we know that Ashe found it while being chased by traitors from her clan when she just became the leader.

But, it would be a interesting thing if someone like say Anivia was the one to give it to her, or if the bow is something she actually made herself by accidentally awakening her iceborn inheritance.

It being a bow of true ice just made it ridiculously similar to the legendary one used by Avarossa to the point where no one questioned it, which she then used to found her faction and solidify her rule.

That would suggest that she has both ambition and some brains to back it up along with some at least partially awakened iceborn potential as a powersource as well.

That sorta character deal ,i would not mind at all^^

XIII Vanitas7/22/2018, 3:30:05 PM4 votes

It's implied that Ashe lied about how she got her bow, probably to present herself as "the chosen one" in order to convince her tribe and other Freljordians to join her cause. What's the real origin for her bow? My speculation is that Lissandra gave it to her/made her find it so that she would become a threat to Sejuani's Winter's Claw: if the Freljord is divided in two warring factions who are too busy fighting each other to notice the signs of the Watchers' return, nobody would be able to oppose them.

AurelionSol and Zoe 's lores and VOs inform us that Aurelion Sol's isn't the only cosmic dragon.

Camille is most likely known as "C" in the criminal underground of Zaun and Piltover.

Petricite, being able to absorb magic and somehow give life to statues of inert materials like Galio , has most likely properties. Garen not only has petricite armor, but he's also able to conjure a giant sword of light in game, so...

Kalista 's oath was to the Ruined King, since she was one of his generals.

It's also possible that Swain is the murderer her own father. Why? Because when a coup takes place, the people loyal to the old regime have to be eliminated.

Camille Ferrøs7/21/2018, 3:16:22 PM3 votes

Yes Camille is C All of the first celestial beings might be related in a family way. The Black Rose offered Cass a place in the group since they saw what she really is. About Ashes bow which is said to be the bow of Averosa.. Since Lissandra killed Averosa there is a big chance that Lissandra took the magical bow so no one else could use it and made an fake one and an fake grave (so everyone would guess that she died on natural causes )in the cave where Ashe was trapped.

KestrelGirl7/21/2018, 5:43:23 PM3 votes

"They fight the mist..." is a teaser for Pyke.

Yes, Camille's C...

Fiora is super super lesbian. I am pleased by this development.

Kalista's quote has to do with Hecarim betraying her.

AugustHeatHaze7/21/2018, 6:53:50 PM3 votes

Maybe there's a deeper reason as to why Fiora is still single.

yea fiora is a huge GAY

do it riot make fiora a lesbian already

Nylisa7/21/2018, 7:09:44 PM2 votes

some people might argue that he is just a demon and his words arent reliable or good source of information, but take a look at these lines, how can someone possibly say these are just all lies and not source of information!!!!

i'm glad to see people still remember what Swain update meant for the lore! he is a very important character in league of legends and information is part of his power! it just makes sense for him to know all of this!

I like this topic! i like it A lot!

Messenger Valon7/21/2018, 9:46:06 PM2 votes

Personally, I think that the "A wonder she did not see why" line is falling in character with Fiora's whole "you not worthy" shtick. Swain didn't really say that line with a light-hearted inflection in his tone, as if to mock the guys who thought they had a chance with someone who was not attracted to their sex. It was more serious, more mysterious.

But I could be wrong.

OniSeiji7/22/2018, 9:27:11 AM2 votes

Garen probably has the ability to use magic but doesn't use likely due to him not knowing that he can. This opens up the idea that someone in the Crownsguard bloodline has the ability to use magic.

The quote for Ionia might be part of the reason why Noxus is so interested in Ionia. The power they could tap into by conquering Ionia would ensure their victory/expansion for years or even centuries to come.

Fiora's reason may be tied closer to her relationship with her father and the honor of her family. Her being gay kinda just dries up any more development on her lore, imo.

JhonTeemon7/22/2018, 12:11:08 AM1 votes

I am so glad that Akali is a straight champion. With all the lesbian champions, like Fiora, Leona, Diana, Cait, Camille, Ezrael, Vi, Zyra, Lux, etc etc I was so tired of seeing lgbtq being pandered to over and over again. Being straight is normal but in today's world, lgbtq needs to be associated to every female champ.

Lordk0z7/23/2018, 1:15:38 PM1 votes

On the Void

_ "A pattern, spreading... It has learnt to be alive."_

In other words, the Void wasn't alive. All these new creatures coming out of it, they are something the void learned somehow.

Now, I what could have taught it. That's the question that needs answering. And I think we've got our prime suspect. Jax

Icathia opening the portal. Gazing into the abyss. And it gazed right back at them. At first, mere shadows, surface-level replicas of the shapes before it. Then, some Malzahar idiot gave it a nice long look at it's mind, and another poor soul Kaisa was assimilated partially....and with her, all they needed to create fully functioning creatures....ones not merely shapes in energy, but living things.

Gregorovic087/21/2018, 11:06:19 PM1 votes

I'm wondering if maybe Caitlyn is Camille's great grandniece? It seems like it would make sense, Camille is sort of assassinating people while Caitlyn is more lawful, or just doesn't go around murdering people who become troublesome.

Ravenborn7/21/2018, 11:15:40 PM1 votes

I have no idea about others but Camille is not "C". We know that Caitlyn and Vi are on the hunt for "C" and this person is a thief and in general a crminial. Camille has literally no motives to actually be a robber, and why would she actually sign with her name? However, the Ferros clan might have some ties and connections with "C".