The Revenant's court; An exploration of Mordekaiser's various relationships

Nowadays every VGU seems to introduce a plethora of new character relations to the champions, be it Taric's history with Garen, Warwicks's rebirth at the hands of singed or just recently; Aatrox's various interactions with the different Targonian Aspects.

Mordekaiser will be no different once he gets to be brought up to date with League's current standards, but unlike Aatrox, the Revenant already carved out a place for himself in Runeterra's history. His reign is mentioned in several other lore pieces and the machinations behind his Fall and the rise of what is modern day Noxus is one of the more interesting tales of Runeterra.

But even someone like Mordekaiser, an entity that transcends death and life itself, is bound to have had his fair share of allies, foes, betrayers and any other kind of creature that he interacted with in his unnaturally long unlife. A character is nothing without context, without other individuals to interact with and really flesh out his relations and personality, meaning Mordekaiser, a major player in League's lore SHOULD have a multitude of champions to interact with.

This thread aims to explore the various relations of the Revenant and tries to make him a character instead of just a cheap token Dark lord.

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So, before we start, we need to get something out of the way first, which is Mordekaiser's Motivations and Themes. Mordekaiser, in essence, is a Conqueror who sought to dominate the entire known world, why? This is where opinions clash and everyone else seems to have their own little headcanon as of why Mordekaiser tried to bring everyone to their knees.

So, to understand my personal reasoning for a lot of the things you'll encounter in this thread I need to present to you the Mordekaiser I think works best as a character.

Mordekaiser sought to conquer everything, even death itself due to him having been born into a world where only the strongest survive

A very important fact that a lot of people seem to disregard when talking about Morde, is that he was indeed human, meaning that everything that leads up to him choosing to embrace undeath was crucial to that decision and is ultimately what influenced his current motivations and view of things.

Mordekaiser rose to power during an era of war, of eternal conflict and clashing barbarian tribes. Your life was decided based on whether you managed to overpower all your foes or if you were simply a follower under a stronger Warlord.

In my personal headcanon, Mordekaiser was born one of the many half-siblings of such a Warlord, each of them struggling to be the one to finally overcome their father, and their own sisters and brothers, to be the ones standing on top of the pile.

Mordekaiser would have needed more than just physical strength to do so. He would've needed tempered resolve, an indomitable will, cunning and of course also some sorcerous potential to truly overwhelm the opposition.

But in his whole life he would come to realize that no matter how much they all struggled, they would all soon fall to the one true foe, the one constant in their world of falling Lords and ambitious Usurpers;

Death was the enemy; the first, the last, the ever present

Mordekaiser would be a very prideful individual, seeing the inevitable coming of even his death as something to surpass, to conquer even death itself.

Someone in his world would be constantly surrounded by the Lamb and the Wolf and Mordekaiser would be known to them, and the Kindred were known to him, almost as if they followed his every move

So, here we stand, with what Mordekaiser's motivation for his conquest truly is:

An attempt at surpassing even the natural order of Life and Death so he may reign eternal, being the one entity to conquer even something as inescapable and certain as death

Anyways, I'm digressing, the meat of this thread is not Morde's goals and reasons for his conquest, but his relationships!

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#The Revenant's Court https://pre00.deviantart.net/6579/th/pre/i/2017/170/6/2/the_throne_of_morgoth_by_danielpillaart-d8y1v63.jpg

Mordekaiser reigned long, and he reigned with an Iron fist. But it did not mean that he had no need for advisers and other subjects that were crucial for governing his ever-growing empire of the damned.

Mordekaiser is a very prideful, and frankly somewhat arrogant, individual, as seen in him harboring a lingering contempt for what he sees as "lesser undead". He despises those with no ambition of their own and those who became undead not by choice, but by circumstance. This evident disdain for lesser creatures would carry onto how the interacts with other people, meaning there would be a very few people he'd consider worthy of his time, respect, or even seen as equals, though in his mind there would be none to even dare stand up to him.

Enter the very first champion Mordekaiser SHOULD have a very strong connection to, one that is already present in the current lore: Evaine Leblance, the Patron of the Black Rose, was one of Mordekaiser's most trusted advisers, of what? We may not know yet, but I suspect it was something along the lines of the dark sorceries applied by not only Mordekaiser himself but a lot of the Noxian champions, they are in fact sitting on one of the many wells of the Revenant's power anyways!

LeBlanc would be the One "Mortal" Mordekaiser trust(ed)(s), having the wits and cunning to stand up to him and offer him valuable counsel and providing him not only with an equal being that could match his own ambition, but also someone he could potentially be very close to. She would know of his ambition, and he would share in her own, two timeless beings that seemed to have a common goal in the past, but one of their dreams would have to die for the other's to survive.

As is what happened when LeBlanc stole Mordekaiser's skull and aided the Barbarian Warbands to take down their oppressor. This betrayal would still sting Mordekaiser and it would leave lasting scars on him, making him more paranoid about who he can trust, while also harboring more than just resentment for LeBlanc, but also some lingering affection that was what lead him to trust the one woman nobody should ever deem loyal to their cause.

This should be reflected in his updated VO, with him seeing in LeBlanc an equal with an ambition to rival his own, but their past had lead them to oppose each other. He would never trust her again, but their history is something he just cannot deny. It is important for this relationship to be explored, though I doubt it would be anywhere near romantic, for Mordekaiser loves nobody else other than himself

Next up, Mordekaiser's new ally, the one Wraith of the Isles that earned his respect: Mordekaiser should consider Karthus not an equal like he did with LeBlanc, seeing that he learnt from his mistake centuries ago, but he should respect the Lich. For he is not only what he'd call a "Child of mine", as he would with all those that descended from his bloodline: NOXUS, but Karthus willingly chose undeath.

This would elevate him beyond those thralls of the Isles that were turned against their will, and Mordekaiser would respect Karthus' conviction. Seeing in him an important ally to his cause...

But their "friendship" would end there, as Mordekaiser would not share the same idealistic view of undeath, but rather see it as a tool to his ends. He does not revere death, nor does he belief in Karthus' creed of the unliving. He'd see it as a way to bolster the numbers in his ever-growing army of the damned, but nothing more. Karthus is an invaluable ally but they have clashing ideals and views of their current state of undeath.

Lastly, there are a few Noxian champions Mordekaiser would see as potential Allies as they are still a nation that values some of his former principles of strength and somewhat "selfish" gain: Comes to mind, for Mordekaiser does not necessarily think undeath is the only way to conquer death, but it was the path he chose in the past. His current form lacks any means of enjoying the fruits of his conquest if he were to succeed, and I think Graham McNeil stated in a Podcast that Mordekaiser actually seeks to regain a physical form, an inhumanly strong one that would last against time, disease and death.

And Vladimir could be a very important player in Mordekaiser's long-term plans for acquiring just what he desires; immortality that does not trap him in a limbo between living and dying and does not allow for him to maintain a physical form. The Revenant might even have known the Haemomancer, seeing that Vladimir is centuries old himself, maybe even having thrived under the Revenant's reign.

But now, with him having found a taste for Noxian aristocracy and valuing his position in the Black Rose, Vladimir might not even be someone that would help Mordekaiser, especially if he had to choose between Noxus and him... Though maybe that'd depend on the price.

Would be what Mordekaiser would call a Usurper. He already brought down Boram Darkwill and while Mordekaiser would respect the General's achievements, he would still be the one person to oppose his rightful return. Him having delved deep into the Immortal Bastion to find something as ancient as the Demon he now controls would somewhat amuse Mordekaiser, seeing that he might have known of the Demon, or maybe even be the one who allowed it to make its home in the many vaults beneath the monolithic fortress.

A shell of a man who clings to a wasteful existence. Morde would see the value in turning Sion to his cause, offering release from pain and suffering, and a place among the ones who'd once again reign over most of Valoran.

By now you might have already noticed that Mordekaiser would be tied heavily to Noxian champions, seeing that they are still what he'd consider distant descendants of his former Empire. He knows some of them already, and their affinity for the darker sorceries and their history with him should be featured heavily in an extended VO.

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#What stands against Him https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/lotr/images/b/b0/Melkor3.pjpg.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100106165045

Mordekaiser has many foes, but none will ever surpass the one that lead him on this path of prideful ambition, undeath and conquest:

The Kindred Would be extremely important to Mordekaiser's new narrative, being the ONE foe he considers worthy of his undivided attention. Even in life, from a very young age, Mordekaiser would be able to see the Lamb and the Wolf, seeing them reap his siblings, his family, his loved ones, but also his rivals, his foes, his own enemies...and potentially even him.

They are what spurred him to strive for even greater might, to not settle on being the greatest warlord, but to inspire him to be the one to conquer death itself, for they reap everything, they render anyone's achievements null and void as Mordekaiser saw death destroy what others had built. After the death of a Warlord, their armies scattered, their castles crumbled, their names were wiped from existence...

And Mordekaiser would have none of that. His bitter Rivalry with the Kindred would earn him not only their attention, but their contempt, and he would be amused by the futility of their task of trying to reap HIM. He would laugh at their faces trying to ferry his blackened soul into oblivion, as he would always be anchored to the fate of Runeterra and outright refuse to cease to exist.

He would not be reaped, and they would follow his every step, hoping that one day they would reap even him, and Mordekaiser would consider them nothing less than an "old Friend", seeing them would forever remind him of his task, to conquer them and be the one who would stand above all creation. Truly the Lord of Death, the Immortal Conqueror who dominated even Death itself and carved out an eternal kingdom that would fulfill his ambition of being the one on the top of the pile that even the Kindred could not erase from history.

Everyone else, Mordekaiser would consider insignificant compared to his true foe, seeing that they all would succumb to death eventually, while HE would not share such a fate.

Mordekaiser's defiance, him being too stubborn, too ambitious, nay, too prideful to die, would be the cornerstone of his motivation, the driving force that made him choose this path that lead him to become who he is now.

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I hope you found my take on Mordekaiser's relations at least somewhat interesting, I'm more than happy to see what you guys think the Iron Revenant should be like, who he should be connected to, and just what Metal songs he should reference!

Toodles, Malicious Metal -Mordekaiser Enthusiast

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/242332223317999618/458976690924683264/mordep2.JPG