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So... What exactly is Taliyah's beef with Azir again?

Narcissa Black·5/9/2016, 4:48:25 PM·8 votes·5,561 views

Like, legitimately? Why does she hate him so much? I mean, I get it from the stories standpoint but things aren't adding up to me. It just feels like a contrived character flaw to push for unnecessary conflict for the Shurima storyline.

From what I'm understanding her people, her family, are from Shurima and she's been traveling the world trying to learn to use her powers, hence her history with Ionia and Noxas. But, I'm also sensing a bit of actual historical disconnect, like she doesn't actually know her people's history. The Shurima empire has been gone for a while and Azir just raised it again. She's never met Azir a day in her life and it doesn't seem like she even knows stories of him either. Add to the fact that she just jumps on this bandwagon of hating him because he's so obviously returned with the express purpose of enslaving (or from Taliyah's perspective reenslaving) her people on the word of a few merchants who all but freely admit that they themselves don't know what's going on in Shurima.

I just... I'm confused and disappointed.

36 Comments

Sharjo5/9/2016, 4:53:46 PM14 votes

The world knows fuck all about Azir actually abolishing slavery, and the jist of what is remembered about the fall of Shurima is "Cocky emperor decides to Ascend, Shurima is ruined by his traitorous advisor, Nasus and Renekton try to stop Xerath and Renekton has to sacrifice himself."

History was not kind to Azir and right now, very few people know or understand his perspective. Taliyah's PoV is very understandable considering how long it's been since Shurima's fall and how much the history of Shurima has become legend.

KotetsuTatsumaki5/9/2016, 11:15:00 PM3 votes

Azir revealed that he was freeing Shumian slaves moments before the entire city was obliterated. No one had any time to make historical record of that to be found by those exploring ancient tombs.

Thus there just... isn't enough evidence out there for her that Azir is even a benevolent leader.

OurLestrade5/9/2016, 4:59:25 PM3 votes

How would you feel if some ancient emperor rose from the sand and told you to stop your way of life and serve him?

Brutusness5/9/2016, 7:35:50 PM3 votes

Unrelated, but are you a Worm fan?

Eclipse Leona5/10/2016, 9:47:07 AM2 votes

I'm just gonna laugh at people who assume that Azir is just entirely bad/evil.. he may have enslaved some people but he wasn't the worst person, "he was a dictator but a kind one." he wants the best for Shurima and other then Xerath backstabbing him for power (Ascension) Shurima wouldn't have fallen, Renekton wouldn't go Koo-Koo and Taliyah might've had a different PoV on Azir. If anything I blame Xerath for this.

(also he did save Sivir from being stabbed by Cass. and the Idea of a "soldier peasant girl is gonna walk up to the Emperor Ascended god to talk." isn't Impossible.)

Lauchmelder5/9/2016, 5:20:47 PM1 votes

I'm gonna call a completely different thought out here.

If all of Shurima basically got obliterated by the "explosion" (if you can call it that) INCLUDING it's citizens and Sivir is Azirs descendent wouldn't that kind of make Taliyah a descendent too? Wouldn't that make any champion that wasn't there when the Shuriman Empire vanished from the face of the lands a son /daughter of Azir?

Lovely Pants5/9/2016, 5:15:59 PM1 votes

There might be a little more to this than simply not knowing history. Consider the last line from Azir's long background.

"I will reclaim my lands and take back what was mine!"

It seems like modern day Shurima would be some kind of loose association of villages, tribes, nomads, etc. Azir may not be acquiescent to the thought that a good number of these people may not want to come back into the fold of his empire, full-fledged citizen or no.

Imagine trying to convince the modern day territories that previously formed the Roman empire that they ought to be reclaimed, for example. The people that live in those places kind of have their own ideas about how they want to be these days. Azir may have been foreword thinking for his time, but it seems he may become a conqueror from the old age.