Syndra's timeline and her cursed name
Hi everyone! So today I’d like to ramble a bit about Syndra’s timeline. We don’t have any concrete info on the matter, but you know who I am, and that ain’t gonna stop me.
######Syndra’s timeline
We know Syndra was imprisoned at some point in the past in Ionia. But we don’t know exactly when.
The only indication we’ve got is from The Dreaming Pool, in which we learn this -
“How long?” Syndra demanded, her voice cracked and unsteady from lack of use. “How long have I > been imprisoned here?” “Years,” spat Sirik. “Decades. We should have killed you long ago.”
Now this… Is vague. Decades can go from… 20 years minimum, to anything beyond that. However, Syndra’s bio tells us this –
Syndra dreamed for what seemed an eternity. Most of the world forgot she had ever existed.
20 years is a bit short for most of the world (which would include her family, the people who used to live in Fae’lor, and her village. It’s not “most of the world”, but arguably the only persons who knew about her, so they were the only ones susceptible to forget about her) to forget she had ever existed. So it must have been at least a few decades.
I assume a century at least. And even then, it feels a bit short. I assume several generations would pass in order for them to completely forget about Syndra, apart from her jailors of course, but they probably wouldn’t want to tell everyone about the immense powerhouse locked beneath their fortress. My personal guess is at least 2 centuries. But then why does Sirik say “Decades!” instead of “Centuries!”?
Here are some random thoughts – • The “Decades!” Sirik spat is in reference to her time guarding over The Dreaming Pool. However, she’s described as young, so I doubt she’d been guarding the place for at least 20 years. • Sirik doesn’t know exactly how much time Syndra has spent in The Dreaming Pool. She wasn’t alive when Syndra was imprisoned, so it’s possible she doesn’t know exactly.
All that had ended years before Sirik had been born, and the island that had once been teeming with life, study and peace, became little more than a barren prison.
• The fact that Sirik says “Decades!” doesn’t mean it hasn’t been several centuries. It’s entirely possible, although it seems a bit odd to me.
Random note that I think is still to be taken into account but with the huge lack of info, isn’t that useful – A fortress was built on top of the temple. She destroyed the temple, but something was built on top of it, ramparts and all. I do not know how big it is, so I can’t exactly tell how much time it took to be built, but I assume it wasn’t done overnight.
######Syndra’s cursed name
But then you have this bit in The Dreaming Pool which says –
Syndra. That was her name; a byword for destruction, for giving in to your darkest fears and anger. A name still cursed throughout the provinces.
So, if she’s been forgotten, why is her name still cursed throughout the provinces? Well, here’s my not-so-big theory.
Syndra’s story has birthed a myth
It’s not outside the realms of possibilities. Let’s think of it for a second – When Syndra threw her (wild) tantrum on Fae’lor, she destroyed the temple, and we also learn that she completely fucked up the island’s ecosystem (nothing grows apart from grey lichen, and animals shun the island apart from some ravens that came with Noxus).
So apart from the people who stood guard over her jail, the others probably fled Fae’lor, going to the mainland. There, they most likely told the story of the girl who let her emotions take control, and ruined the very life of the island. Assuming Syndra has been imprisoned for a very long time, people would forget the origin of the story, but would still tell it.
So it would make sense that the name was still cursed, as some sort of superstition, maybe not a boogeyman-like figure, but not too far from it. People would forget the real Syndra, but maybe her story could be told to children who misbehave/are too emotional.
That way, “most of the world” could have forgotten her existence, while her name did stay in some form.
As usual, let me know what you think! It’s mostly me just rambling as I had these thoughts yesterday, but I genuinely think this is a fascinating topic! I really wish Riot would expand a bit on Syndra’s lore, as she could really use some characterization and a place in whatever’s happening in Ionia. Fingers crossed for a color story!
I'll leave a completely random poll below on something we've discussed yesterday on the Lore of League server... After all, what is Realms of Runeterra...?
