Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Am I missing something in Zyra's lore update?

Vekkna·12/10/2018, 4:55:55 PM·27 votes·15,251 views

As far as I can tell, Zyra's lore update is just a more detailed explanation for how a plague became a sexy plague. It's sort of like telling a story about Pam Anderson where hepatitis is the main "character," but the author forgot to tell us Pam Anderson's name or anything else about her.

I mean, isn't the new lore is basically the old lore that adds these details:

  • Explains why a sorceress was in the jungle
  • Adds an explosion because why not
  • Regional context suggests that Zyra is an impending threat to certain factions

I guess I'm just disappointed because Zyra is still not really a character in her own right, and it seems like her update just re-deployed her as a plot device for (possible) future use. What am I missing here?

Is Zyra supposed to be an actual character, because I'm left wondering about a lot of very basic things:

  • Who is the sorceress?
  • Is the sorceress conscious at all?
  • Does Zyra not understand that a world full of carnivorous plants will starve? Is she stupid or suicidal?
  • is Zyra sentient? Does she have any thoughts, feelings, emotions, motivations, or desires? Is she aware that she's ancient or have any self-concept at all? Does she have knowledge of the world or its beings and creatures, or is she a brainless, witless, mass of instinct and hunger?
  • Does she have any purpose other than to threaten actual characters in neighboring regions?
  • Supposedly Zyra is eating her way to Shurima. Because void-tainted sand dunes are such an attractive habitat for plants. Makes sense.
  • Is Zyra intentionally devoid of character because she's an allegory for, like, climate change or super-bacteria or something?

Again....am I missing something or is this a correct assessment?

EDIT:

Take a look at this map: https://map.leagueoflegends.com/en_US

If Zyra is spreading her way down the river to Shurima, she's still closer to Piltover/Zaun and one contaminated cargo load away from Bilgewater. If she's far enough down the river to have reached the Shuriman capital, that means she's also halfway to Mt. Targon.

Do any of these regions know that she exists? Are they taking precautions at all? Where the heck are these farms that she's blighting, and who are the people she is attacking? Sounds like it should be a big deal.

26 Comments

Spideraxe12/10/2018, 5:49:21 PM21 votes

Personally Zyra's lore update didn't read that way to me, I definitely agree that she's still pretty ambiguous and she needs to be developed further in order to actually be a champion with motivations and purpose. I think Zyra is sentient and she knows that but was "born" recently so she's still figuring all that out, all she really knows is her family (the plants), i don't think Zyra is intentionally expanding her forest towards void infested Shurima as again she was "born" relatively recently and doesn't really know Shurima is towards the west, much less the existence of the void, and does so because of the geography of where Kumungu is. I don't think its a huge worry if Zyra's end game is fulfilled and the world is filled with carnivorous plants because they still have photosynthesis for food.

YDy2ZkRq0212/10/2018, 6:35:24 PM10 votes

Who is the sorceress?

Riot didnt give much information about her and I dont think she was the focus of the story at all. All we know is that she was a sorucerous with runic magic who commanded an small company of soldiers from a far away land and they sought some prize in the Jungle which is now forgotten.

Is the sorceress conscious at all?

I'm not sure what you mean here? Are you asking if the sorcerer's conscience is part of Zyra? Its obvious that she was concious before the explosion so I will assume thats not what you're asking.

Does Zyra not understand that a world full of carnivorous plants will starve? Is she stupid or suicidal?

Zyra wants to create an enviroment in which mortals or "more etheral" creatures cant destroy nature. Whats the best solution for this? an enviroment that kills anyone who reachs close to it. It isnt really about the future of the world as much as it is about Zyra's rage against other creatures destroying nature(well, according her they're destroying it).

is Zyra sentient? Does she have any thoughts, feelings, emotions, motivations, or desires? Is she aware that she's ancient or have any self-concept at all? Does she have knowledge of the world or its beings and creatures, or is she a brainless, witless, mass of instinct and hunger?

She does, those quotes leave it pretty clear:

Its mind was a puzzle of conflicting memories, drawn from the loamy earth and forced into its fledgling consciousness. It could recall the warmth of the sun, the taste of rain, words of power, and the agony of a hundred mortal deaths.

It—she—called herself Zyra, without quite understanding why.

As she ventured out into the wildlands beyond her birthplace, Zyra knew she was different from other creatures she encountered. Mortals were fearful and unpleasant things, while more ethereal entities tended to be capricious, or arrogant. None of them seemed to respect the realms they inhabited, despoiling everything with their mere presence, and that filled Zyra with rage and contempt.

She has a concious and a mind filled with memories. Feel/recall emotions such as agony and rage. She has self-concept since she gave a name to herself and tries to understand other creatures(eve though those trials only result in her being trigerred). She isnt mindless nor pure instinct.

Does she have any purpose other than to threaten actual characters in neighboring regions?

As I said, she want to exterminate any creatures who disrespect nature(AKA everyone) and creates more life while she does that. Though her short bio says that:

Though her true purpose has not been revealed...

So perphaps we will know her true reasons SoonTM.

Supposedly Zyra is eating her way to Shurima. Because void-tainted sand dunes are such an attractive habitat for plants. Makes sense.

Not all of Shurima was tainted by the Void. And she isnt going to the desert, she is going to the big ass river azir created when the capital rose:

As the rivers of Shurima begin to run anew, strange flora has been sighted on their banks, spreading slowly westward with each passing season.

Is Zyra intentionally devoid of character because she's an allegory for, like, climate change or super-bacteria or something?

Wut.

GreenLore12/10/2018, 6:33:05 PM5 votes

Yeah the Zyra lore is pretty much just a more detailed version of the previous one.

However I don't think that the identity of the sorceress is really that important,because Zyra merely adopted her looks and magic,she is NOT the actual sorceress.(so if I'll take your example,then the sorceress would be the hepatitis,while Zyra would be Pam Anderson)

Mael Jade12/10/2018, 7:30:16 PM3 votes

Find out in the next game released by Riot Games! That will be your chance to travel into the jungle, complete half a billion daily missions to get reputation and unlock pieces of lore as dense and explaining as the Dark Souls lore! Soon! (TM)

Zyranium12/10/2018, 7:53:28 PM2 votes

Am I the only one disturbed by her new bio assuming that Zyra can control poison ? I mean, how in hell is this part of her gameplay...

ModCaptainMårvelous12/10/2018, 9:46:11 PM2 votes

I liken Zyra more to something like Godzilla: She's not so much a character as she is a force of nature. You don't go out and punch a Hurricane (Unless you're in Florida). When Zyra is coming, you either do your best to contain her or get the hell out of the way. However, to the same extent, Zyra is a force of nature: I don't think she fully understands what would happen if she took over the entire world.

In much the same way a dog will eat until it gets sick, then go back and keep eating, Zyra doesn't really grasp "oh right, ecological systems and the food chain". She sees food, she expands. She sees more food, she expands again. I'd also assume she'd hate the void but on a more primal level, as this thing is either a natural predator or an equal threat to her.

TL;DR Zyra makes more sense as an animal/creature acting on instinct rather than a living "person".

Frontline Fury12/10/2018, 9:59:19 PM2 votes

"You" aren't missing anything. The lore update is.

meteorbreaker12/11/2018, 2:39:18 PM1 votes

What do you want? The champion himself does not have a clear role and even a position in the game, I do not think that the lore can clarify anything. This is just to mention a small fish in the vast ocean. I don’t think they’ll find her a good place in the history of Runterra.

Feär Itself12/10/2018, 7:43:18 PM1 votes

Imagine being a nerd and actually reading into the Lores instead of trying to make it out of Iron.

Phhase12/11/2018, 6:05:21 AM1 votes

I think this difference is that Old Zyra was more or less an innocent homeless plant (albeit a carnivorous one with no social mores). New Zyra is a malevolent Gaia's Vengeance sort of deal.