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Riven and Yasuo

l Helios l··1 votes·1,422 views

This is sort of a tag-along to the Story post that Ant in Oz posted a few months ago, but I wanted to create an individual thread so that it wouldn't get mired in the comments section and people wouldn't be able to see it in all the over 1k comments.

Now to the point: Riven and Yasuo. For those who do not know the lore behind these two: Yasuo is hunting the person who killed his master. Yasuo knows from his brother, who he killed in battle, that his master was killed using a wind technique, which is supposedly only known to a few people; one of the main people known to know this technique is obviously Yasuo, hence why he is being hunted for the murder. Now, Riven's ult has a ranged coned skill shot when her ult is active, called the Wind Slash. Whenever Yasuo was told how his master was killed, his lore states that he had an idea of who was responsible, and whenever Yasuo sees Riven use Wind Slash, he has a unique quote, which states "...That technique..." (I believe, I haven't seen the actual interaction in quite sometime, but it is something along those lines).

These two have a lot of interesting lore that I think a lot of people really want expounded upon. Now, I am perfectly aware of the fan fiction that follows these two, and I more than respect that Riot may want us to just speculate for a while until they are perfectly ready to know what is going on between the two of them; obviously there is something between them since one of Yasuo's quotes concerns Riven's ult when she uses the Wind Slash. I just wanted to hop on here in hopes that we could get some clarification in terms of the interaction between the these two.

Personally, I hope that Riven isn't involved in the death of Yasuo's master. To me, it doesn't fit her character in any way to kill someone without a legitimate reason for it. If there was some big situation where it was necessary, I would be willing to admit that maybe she would, but to me, Riven seems to be a much more restrained individual until action is necessary. That's mostly based on how she handled Singed killing all of her allies and enemies during that battle in her lore. She didn't go off on a revenge mission, but to restore the honor of Noxus. Yasuo however seems to remain quite at peace over what is going on, but he does seek revenge for the death of his master and the consequences that followed, namely his brother's unnecessary death.

Let me know what you guys think. Is Riven responsible? I hope we can get some answers soon because this question is one that I have dwelt on for quite some time. Thanks for reading guys! Good luck on the Rift!

26 Comments

GreenLore3 votes

You forget one major thing: Riven was a noxian soldier who fought in that war.

If she was ordered to kill that elder(or just found the hiding place by coincidence) she would have killed him.

Alternatively if the elder was killed after rivens unit was bombed,then it is possible that she met him by coincidence and the elder attacked her first(since she is a noxian soldier,they wouldn't think of just letting her go)

l Helios l1 votes

I thought I had mentioned that. My bad. Either way, she was very loyal to her nation and may well have killed him if ordered, but I don't think she did. From what I understand, Yasuo's master taught wind-based swordsmanship, and the master was killed with a wind technique. So either someone saw this happen or the technique's effect is just that noticable on someone who was killed by it. Now, if Riven did kill him, then a follow-up question would be "Where did she learn such a technique since she spent most of her life in Noxus?" From what I infer based on the lore, this was something most likely studied in Ionia only, and it is quite unlikely that positive communication occurred between Noxus and Ionia. This leaves an interesting implication if she is the killer and the technique has nothing to do with her runic blade.

Alternatively, if the master attacked her, all bets are off. She would've almost certainly gone ham and killed him in self defense.

Personally, I just don't see her as a cold blooded killer type, not like Katarina or Zed. That's just my interpretation of her character. I think she wanted honor in war, not senseless killing, and the stuff that happened burdens her now.

Thanks for your input man!

GreenLore3 votes

The elder wasn't Yasuos master,that is a common misconception.

Overall it doesn't really matter where Riven learned that wind cut or if it is a technique or a power of her sword,it doesn't change the fact that riven is able to use a wind cut.In the end there are several ways of how she could have achieved this,like: -Someone in noxus managed to invent such a technique too -It is a power of the sword that simply creates an identical effect. -Maybe the technique didn't even originate in ionia -Maybe there is an ionian traitor who knew that technique. Just to name a few possibilities.

And I don't see why riven has to be a "cold killer"-type to kill the elder. Yes she wanted honor in war,but that wasn't something that she got,she was very often send in to kill the wounded and she did exactly that,so I dunno why she'd hesitate to kill the elder...

l Helios l1 votes

Yeah that is true. When I said "master" I was using it in a different context. In most ancient cultures, someone referred to someone in that manner if they had authority over them. My language was confusing there, so my bad.

To the point of the technique: the issue there is that it was something that Yasuo recognizes. When Riven uses Wind Slash he says "Who taught you that?" This implies that he knows at least sort of where it comes from, which kind of debunks the "Noxians made the same technique" theory, imo.

In addition, he says something similar to her using her Q "That technique...huh." This skill most likely isn't the power of the sword since it's essential two slashes and a flip vertical slice. The ult on the other hand may very well be. So the theory of it being the sword is more plausable, but why is is Yasuo fascinated by the Broken Wings combo?

To the aspect of the origin of the Wind technique: my only concern would be why does no one else use something similar, as far as we know now? Out of like a dozen or so Noxians, only one knows this art of fighting. Not even just concerning Noxus, but the idea that no one else, minus Yasuo and Riven, use anything like this from any faction. It just also seems to fit into the context of Ionia, since apprently others in Ionia know it as well, according to Yasuo's lore. Obviously if I'm wrong let me know, I'm mostly going off memory atm.

To the traitor aspect: most plausible of the 4 you mentioned. That may very well be true and it is in lore we don't know of yet. Only time will tell for that. Only thing I would say is that Noxus may be too proud to accept something like that from another nation. Spies and traitors aren't usually recieved well out of suspicion, and most Noxians seem to be very proud based on their own merits. Still, highly possible.

When I say an "Elder," my mind is in the idea of someone who is likely feeble and old and unable to defend themselves. Now, her lore does state that she killed wounded and demoralized Ionians at the behest of her superiors, but do you think she would've found her way (along with her unit most likely) into what was probably a temple complex and killed an elderly old man who was, from Yasuo's lore, unguarded? Maybe, but from what I gather, Riven was distraught by the carnage that she saw even before she was killing wounded people.

I guess one final possibility would be that the Riven who marched into Ionia and the one that left as "The Exile" aren't the same person. By that I mean her psyche was shattered, or broken (lol), by the war, just like her sword was. I think a lot of Riven's personality is mirrored in her sword: "A sword mirrors its owner" (as a side note, her dialogue changes when in her ult stage when the sword is complete. She is much more assertive, confident, and passionate) She feels broken by the war, and she wants to be complete again by finding the honor that she believes she lost in the war. She may well be trying to atone for the things she did or maybe she is just running away from her past as Yasuo believes. "You can't run from your past Riven...I tried."

I don't know entirely. I think that if she is responsible, which may very well be true (you have made me think it is more possible than I did before now), she left Ionia a different person. I just hope she's not, and that's just my bias. Forgive me xD

I'm enjoying this discussion man! Let me know what you think.

GreenLore3 votes

What if Rivens wind cut is a power of her sword The existence of the wind technique can be handwaved in several different ways,even if the wind cut is tied to the power of rivens sword,it would still be a technique that you can use with that sword(alternatively yasuo might mistake this ability for a technique and fail to see that it is magical)

What if it is a regular technique If it is truly just a technique that riven could do with any intact sword,then it is possible that noxus did learn about the wind techniques in the past.There are many ways how this could have been done(noxians who analyzed the enemys techniques and copied them,ionians who went to noxus and teached others the wind techniques,or simply by coincidence,its not like its impossible for something to get invented at 2 different places at the same time). The wind technique is difficult to learn and the noxian equivalent would probably be no different,which would explain why riven is the only one who is able to use it.

Why a traitor could be accepted A traitor would probably be accepted by noxus if he manages to proof himself,not to mention that noxus doesn't always stay true to their ideals anyway(which is a major point why riven left noxus). The black rose for example has most likely spies in pretty much every nation.

Why Riven would do that If Riven was ordered to kill the elder(or simply ordered to kill the ionians that they come across) she would have done it. Keep in mind that the elder was probably an important political target,so noxus probably wanted to see him dead. And we don't know if the elder himself had fighting abilities or not,its not uncommon to make badass-grandpas.

Rivens change in personality Yes,Riven was definetly broken by the war,there isn't really much doubt about that. She charged into the war hoping to prove herself in glorious battles and pretty much just butchered people there until she was bombed by her own country. That did leave some scars on her psyche.

l Helios l1 votes

Badass grandpas are a thing haha!

All your points make sense. Noxus has never been the most true nation on Runeterra, and it is possible Yasuo is mistaken about what the Wind Slash actually is. They may well have learned it from somewhere else, either through Konquest (see what I did there?) or traitorous influence. Half of my reasoning is just based on a lack of solid evidence concerning the damning of Riven for this crime. I do think suspicion is appropriate, all things considering, but I'm just not convinced that it is enough to say that it was her.

I simply want to hope that it wasn't her, or that if it was her that she is trying to atone for the unintended consequences that followed, which she may not even be aware of. I mean, Yasuo has basically been sent on a vendetta against whoever did this, even going as far to kill his own brother (in self defense, but still, it happened and he probably isn't happy about that).

Either way, I think that the difference in her personality after the war encourages me that she wants to restore her honor and the honor of Noxus.

All valid points regardless, and they are very thought-provoking. Thanks for that.

Ralanr1 votes

Are we all in agreement that if she was ordered to kill the Elder, she would have done it? I believe that is a uniting point.

l Helios l1 votes

If ordered? Probably yes, but I think there is a reasonable doubt that she was involved in his death at all. By that I mean I don't think that she can be fully convicted of it. Yet. Future evidence may show me to be wrong.

GreenLore2 votes

Honestly I think that they'll eventually release another champion who would be a possible suspect. I mean the main appeal of Yasuos story is that mystery about the killer and such a mystery is pointless if there is only one noteworthy suspect.

l Helios l1 votes

^ eventually man. Eventually

Ralanr1 votes

So the possibilities are either Riven did it, a traitor did it to gain an alliance or shelter with Noxus, or Noxus has other people capable of manipulating the wind?

What if it had nothing to do with Noxus? Yasuo was considered an arrogant swordsman due to his mastery of the wind technique. Surely he made a few enemies, including a few of his fellow students of said style. What if one student, who was skilled but never acknowledged, killed the Elder when no one else was looking and found a way to pin the death on Yasuo. Yasuo may be too arrogant to consider it was someone he already knew. The very home he was exiled from is the very haven of the true killer.

It's a possibility.

l Helios l1 votes

That's completely possible. Again a lot of this is just speculation based on what we know so far. I'm not willing to completely omit any option to what may have occurred during the death of the Elder; all I try to do is defend my perspective on the scenario (Riven is innocent). I think this would offer a lot of interesting character development and plot thickening.

Ralanr2 votes

Nothing wrong with that. Everyone is innocent until proven otherwise.

l Helios l1 votes

Thanks! I just wanted to throw this out there to see what people thought

Ralanr2 votes

I don't see a problem with Riven being responsible with the death of Yasuo's master. If she came to combat with the master (Yasuo did leave his post, thus failing to be where he needed to be to protect his master) then she would kill him. This would fit with her philosophy as, "The strong are the victorious.".

Riven is not someone to regret killing someone. She was stronger, therefore she was in the right. That's her basic view on the thing. Her view is becoming more expanded as she travels, but that was her view and I doubt she has regrets over killing certain people. She more likely has regrets about following the Noxian philosophy so heavily when even Noxus didn't do so.

TheLegendaryZero2 votes

It's been a bit since I've read all of Riven's lore material, but didn't she leave Noxus because she felt bad about the senseless slaughter that was the Noxian invasion of Ionia? I thought regret was once of her primary motivators as a character. Which in my opinion makes her an interesting match for Yasuo, who is just as much an outcast of his original nation due to things he likely regrets at this point.

l Helios l1 votes

I do think it is phesable in some aspects, but to me her personality seems to differ on that aspect. A lot of her in game quotes seem to reflect restraint and some form of regret. What does she regret? The butchery of Ionia during the war. She wanted glorious combat and honor but she got nothing of the sort. She is wandering now to seek atonement for Noxus and herself. It's possible that she did kill Yasuo's master during her invasion, but I feel it was more likely someone else.

Ralanr1 votes

Personally I do not like how her in game quotes reflect her character. They don't imply any of the "strong will be victorious" mindset.

l Helios l1 votes

Well this kind of stems from the "broken" aspect that GreenLore and I were discussing above. Her mindset was based on strength and winning but after the war her psyche broke, and I think she is trying to find herself and her honor now.

Zair Umbras2 votes

I was just on the boards... looking at all the threads... and didn't notice this was Story and Art. I thought I was going to get a bunch of QQ. What I found, while not as hilarious as those delicious tears, was much, much better.

As for the death of Yasuo's master, Riven could have done it during the Noxus vs. Ionia battle, the one where she ended up breaking her blade and leaving Noxus over. Killing Yasuo's master could have easily been one of the tasks she was assigned, as killing high priority targets is sort of a Noxus thing. Noxus like the strong, especially to kill. Strength is what matters in Noxus, which is why Riven liked Noxus until the incident with Singed and the other Zaunites. They were rather vague about the details of the early part of the war, especially when it came to Riven. The only part that involved Riven that was described was when Singed murdered Noxian and Ionians alike, hence why she exiled herself.

Wouldn't be a surprise if she murdered Yasuo's master before she was even deployed though. They did say she proved herself, but never described hooooooow she proved herself.

l Helios l1 votes

Truth. It is very possible she did it to prove her worth of during the battle in her lore. A lot of my argument just follows the unlikely nature of the Elder's death and how Riven could know such a technique that I believe originated in Ionia. All of that just makes me doubt her full guilt. I don't dismiss the possibility, I just believe that all the evidence isn't sufficient. Yet.

Thanks for weighing in!

Zair Umbras1 votes

The Wind Slash likely stems from the same origins of her 'Ki' Burst. As you also notice her sword has four runes on it and she's got 4 abilities. Summoning of the blade, her 'Broken Wings', her 'Ki Burst', and her 'Wind Slash'. All of it is green, matching the runes. She also has a rune on her glove, the glove that holds the blade. The rune on the glove likely is what allows her to wield the blade at full size, the first rune could possibly control the blade's power and allow for it to be reforged temporarily while the other three enhance her Ki Burst and Broken Wings and allow her to use the Wind Slash. Pressing her R does increase the width of everything after all, even her Ki Burst, not just her Q's width and obviously AA range, which shows that her power stems from those runes and it's incomplete without them.

l Helios l1 votes

A fair assessment. I've never regarded her sword as being a source of her power simply because it never occurred to me how all those pieces line up. It is possible that her Ki manipulation and such stems from her sword and the runes that it has. If that is true though, then that calls into question why Yasuo recognizes her techniques and seems so fascinated by them.

Zair Umbras1 votes

It is possible the runes could be mimics. It's not uncommon amongst most game logic for runes to be based off of something already made. Of course runes always take a level of power to activate and such. They don't exactly describe how Yasuo has his power, they simply call it a 'Legendary wind technique'. If it's Legendary, it would be no surprise that some, especially Swain, to orchestrate such a devious plan. To use the style against its own students. While Swain was not the leader back then, he was definitely a distinguished leader. He isn't called the Master Tactician for nothing.

l Helios l1 votes

I could see that happening, especially considering someone like Swain. It is very possible that he somehow managed to gain access to these concepts of the art and taught it to Noxians, it's just odd that only Riven, as far as we know, knows how to use it, or that these runes don't exist in any other Noxian lore and such. Maybe Darius's axe has runes in it that make people bleed a lot :P idk but that plot seems believable.

Zair Umbras1 votes

Well, Riven was part of the Crimson Elite. As of now, there's only been two Crimson Elites revealed, Riven and Talon. Katarina obviously has some sort of magical enchantment on her own weapons with how they always return to her, plus the fact she's capable of multiplying the two in her hands. Noxus is the least touched on when it comes to their Elites. Thus far, we know of the existence of a lot of them, but no real information unlike Demacia where they have noble houses like Garen and Lux's family, House Laurent (Fiora's), House Vayne (Her last name is Vayne, her first is actually Shauna), and the royal family (J4 with his partners Xin and Shyv). It wouldn't be a surprise if we saw some more Noxians pop their heads up since we haven't seen many respectable Noxians outside of Darius, Talon, and Riven really. Riven and Darius fought to uphold the true Noxus way with Riven eventually leaving and Talon was a child of fate who had to learn the Assassin's trade to survive.

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