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@Riot: Which Jarvan? Is Xin keeping his bodyguard role?

CupcakeTrap··8 votes·10,493 views

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130428144532/leagueoflegends/images/9/90/Demacian_crest_small.png

If possible, I'd like to get a simple factual confirmation about which Jarvan it is that Sion just killed. There's some time-sensitive Factions lore that needs doing, and "which Jarvan" does bear on the story. Xin Zhao's role as bodyguard is currently more central still. I'll probably just write it fast and then do a retcon as necessary, but i'd like to at least write it with the most likely outcome in mind, to reduce the amount of rewriting that's necessary.

I'd hope that it's Jarvan I. Sion's body could have been preserved somehow (maybe in that giant mausoleum) until Swain and company raised him up. The problem with it being Jarvan II is the potential clash with Xin Zhao's lore. I suppose Xin's lore could be updated to have him being saved by Jarvan III when he was younger, though Xin being oddly long-lived, and having seen multiple generations of Jarvans, was a nice touch IMO.

I'd also hope that Xin Zhao would keep his role as royal bodyguard, but I have kind of a bad feeling that they'll rework it to him just busting out of the arena himself (there's a tendency to make characters very self-reliant, and I can imagine them bristling at the idea of him being rescued, though I think it adds a good dimension to the story) and then going off to have some kind of magical adventure that has nothing to do with Demacia.

Current assumption: Here's what I'm currently going with while I write the epilogue to Hextech Revolution — Jarvan II rescued Xin Zhao from the arena. Sion killed Jarvan II. Xin Zhao pledged to protect Jarvan III out of contrition for his failure.

Either way, though, I'd welcome either Rioter Word of God or some reasoned predictions about what's actually going to happen.

EDIT: Summoner Entropy of the Riotous Fists Clan has confirmed that it was Jarvan I after all!

25 Comments

RiotRiot Entropy12 votes

Okay, the reveal is official, I can answer you now.

The Jarvan in Reborn is Jarvan the First, so Xin isn't dead or dishonored or otherwise altered by the events you've been seeing.

WickedKing1 votes

Okay, the reveal is official, I can answer you now.

The Jarvan in Reborn is Jarvan the First, so Xin isn't dead or dishonored or otherwise altered by the events you've been seeing.

Good to know. Now it seems like Leblanc lived a very long life as well.

Btw, Does Draythe Darkwlll still exist (brother of Keiran and eldest son of Boram)? yes or no.

RiotRiot Entropy8 votes

If it's the same LeBlanc. She'll never tell.

Yes, but I wouldn't expect him to be making any public appearances under Swain's regime. Seems like he's got a lot of plotting to get to.

WickedKing2 votes

OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!

Can't wait for that. Glad that he still exist since he's... well, he's the last of the Darkwill line, if Both Boram and Keiran is dead.

Garlyle Wilds2 votes

This honestly opens up so many interesting theories about Leblanc.

Is she immortal/otherwise unaging? Is she not a human, just appearing as one? Are there multiple people taking up the title Leblanc throughout history?

Zeralyos1 votes

My belief is that she uses illusions to maintain her appearance. She is a master of deceit, after all.

Gixia2 votes

It depends on how much of the old lore still applies. In the initial lore, the reveal was that when the leader of the Black Rose becomes too old to carry on, they choose a successor who then takes on the name LeBlanc and the illusion of her appearance, making it seem like it's the same person leading the organization forever when it's actually not.

That's assuming that part hasn't been retconned out mind you. At this point, it's not yet possible to know if it has or not.

Chromatic Eagle2 votes

Darkwill champion confirmed.

Chromatic Eagle1 votes

Here's my issue with your response. Until you retell the events and memories of the judgments and JoJ, we don't know what's canon. The context in which they're told aren't canon anymore.

You tell us that character identity is canon, but have shown or give the impression that Riot sees their champions differently than we do.

LeBlanc can easily be retconned into being an aging immortal who uses illusions to stay beautiful. She can be retconned into being an ageless woman who only uses illusions for deceit, like with Jarvan.

It would be really cool if we learn if "Boram's" LeBlanc is either our LeBlanc, the last one, or a different one.

CupcakeTrap2 votes

Okay, the reveal is official, I can answer you now.

The Jarvan in Reborn is Jarvan the First, so Xin isn't dead or dishonored or otherwise altered by the events you've been seeing.

Thank you! I really like the idea of Sion as an "ancient" Noxian. The "Xin's disgrace" angle (if it had been Jarvan II) would have been spicy and interesting, but probably would have demanded more screen time, and would have clashed more with existing lore. The Jarvan I version does also enrich Xin's story somewhat, IMO: surely the murder of Jarvan I was a traumatic event for Demacia, adding weight to Xin's pledge to defend the crown with his life.

Anyway, great job! I'll never stop ranting about the Summoners retcon, but this new Sion lore is fantastic — and as a bonus, nothing in it conflicts with League headcanon.

Gixia1 votes

I don't feel this is something you should have had to wait until the full reveal to answer. That feels like intentionally trying to mislead the audience. =/ Especially since it was pretty obvious by the 3rd update anyways.

RiotRiot Entropy5 votes

As obvious as it might have been that it was Sion, we wanted the experience to be much more engaging than just telling you all the details. Being knowledgeable in the previously released content gave people the tools to bridge a lot of the gaps, but ultimately if you didn't know all the backstory you could get the gist of what happened to the fallen hero. I had faith people would draw the right conclusions even if it couldn't be said with certainty.

Gixia2 votes

I didn't mean it was obvious that it was Sion, I mean once it hit the 3rd part and Swain was talking about two different Darkwills with the elder one being the one that had attempted necromancy, that was when it became clear that the first two parts had been dealing with Darkwill and Jarvan of decades prior.

I don't know, while the whole Reborn thing was DEFINITELY the best lore event in years, as a whole it struck me as being unnecessarily confusing. Especially at a time when the removal of the IoW makes it very difficult to determine which events are still canon and which aren't (is the Noxian mission to rescue Sion's body that Katarina partook in still canon? It's not affected by the removal of the IoW, but Reborn placing Sion's initial revival so much further in the past would imply that it's not, but then his lore on the PBE would imply that it is, so who knows? I sure don't. >.<). Add onto that that all the old stories are pretty much hidden away where new players can't find them to look up old details that nobody knows if are canon or anyways...

I understand trying to be mysterious at times, but it's also possible to be too obtuse at the same time.

Lumus Avatar4 votes

Isn't it possible that was Jarvan II, after he rescued Xin Zhao? Maybe Xin wasn't on the clock when Sion struck, or maybe he was incapacitated by Sion.

CupcakeTrap4 votes

Isn't it possible that was Jarvan II, after he rescued Xin Zhao? Maybe Xin wasn't on the clock when Sion struck, or maybe he was incapacitated by Sion.

That could certainly work. Maybe Xin was rescued by Jarvan II, who was then killed by Sion, leading Xin Zhao to pledge to protect Jarvan III out of contrition for his failure.

Lumus Avatar3 votes

Isn't it possible that was Jarvan II, after he rescued Xin Zhao? Maybe Xin wasn't on the clock when Sion struck, or maybe he was incapacitated by Sion.

That could certainly work. Maybe Xin was rescued by Jarvan II, who was then killed by Sion, leading Xin Zhao to pledge to protect Jarvan III out of contrition for his failure.

Ooh, lore fun! Yes!

AmbushIntheDark1 votes

Isn't it possible that was Jarvan II, after he rescued Xin Zhao? Maybe Xin wasn't on the clock when Sion struck, or maybe he was incapacitated by Sion.

That could certainly work. Maybe Xin was rescued by Jarvan II, who was then killed by Sion, leading Xin Zhao to pledge to protect Jarvan III out of contrition for his failure.

Ooh, lore fun! Yes!

It also opens up more possible character development for Xin. Having to balance protecting his king vs following orders. Weighing his oath against the possibility of revenge on Sion, ect.

CupcakeTrap1 votes

Isn't it possible that was Jarvan II, after he rescued Xin Zhao? Maybe Xin wasn't on the clock when Sion struck, or maybe he was incapacitated by Sion.

That could certainly work. Maybe Xin was rescued by Jarvan II, who was then killed by Sion, leading Xin Zhao to pledge to protect Jarvan III out of contrition for his failure.

Ooh, lore fun! Yes!

It also opens up more possible character development for Xin. Having to balance protecting his king vs following orders. Weighing his oath against the possibility of revenge on Sion, ect.

It sounds like you're somehow reading the next Factions update. ... and on that note, I'm going to finish that rather than spending more time on GD.

Lumus Avatar4 votes

I finally got to see part three. It seem quite clear to me now that Sion "murderized" Jarvan the first. The old Noxian Leader was friends with Sion and used the Black Rose to raise him. After a few battles it was clear he could not be controlled and he was sealed within his own memorial.

Decades pass. The governing body of Noxus changes, the Black Rose goes underground. Old Noxus (an original portion of the city) is abandoned and left to decay, Sion in his tomb long forgotten.

Swain takes control of Noxus and, on going through the old leader's stuff, realizes the old leader had been attempting to bring back someone of great import. He summons LeBlanc and again tasks the Black Rose with resurrecting Sion.

Damn cool stuff, mates.

PenguinSebs3 votes

SInce the grand general was once stated to have been reigning since the original Jarvan's time, and in general the first name in a line of royalty is referred to just by name, I'd say that it was Jarvan I.

Dan Squared3 votes

I think its almost certainly Jarvan the first....Darkwill was stated by Swain to be an expert on necromancy, and he mentioned that the attempted resurrection was one of his EARLY efforts. And indeed the fact that Darkwill didn't seem to know much about it and required the aid of the Black Rose seems to reinforce that this was likely one of his first forays into the craft

CupcakeTrap1 votes

I think its almost certainly Jarvan the first....Darkwill was stated by Swain to be an expert on necromancy, and he mentioned that the attempted resurrection was one of his EARLY efforts. And indeed the fact that Darkwill didn't seem to know much about it and required the aid of the Black Rose seems to reinforce that this was likely one of his first forays into the craft

I would be very happy if this turned out to be Jarvan I. That causes the fewest headaches for me.

WickedKing1 votes

I think its almost certainly Jarvan the first....Darkwill was stated by Swain to be an expert on necromancy, and he mentioned that the attempted resurrection was one of his EARLY efforts. And indeed the fact that Darkwill didn't seem to know much about it and required the aid of the Black Rose seems to reinforce that this was likely one of his first forays into the craft

I would be very happy if this turned out to be Jarvan I. That causes the fewest headaches for me.

I think its almost certainly Jarvan the first....Darkwill was stated by Swain to be an expert on necromancy, and he mentioned that the attempted resurrection was one of his EARLY efforts. And indeed the fact that Darkwill didn't seem to know much about it and required the aid of the Black Rose seems to reinforce that this was likely one of his first forays into the craft

I would be very happy if this turned out to be Jarvan I. That causes the fewest headaches for me.

It might be Jarvan I since Leblanc lived quite long as well. (similar method as Lissandra, but Leblanc case, she takes a new host if I'm correct).

Renekton Bot2 votes

From the preview, I got the impression that Sion is actually quite old. He murderized a much earlier Jarvan (Jarvan I? Jarvan III B.C.?), and was slain. When he was brought back, it didn't go quite the way Boram was hoping, and so he had Sion's corpse locked away forever and ever... until Swain came along and decided to try again. It could be that Xin wasn't even a factor at that point, but this is all just speculation and I haven't slept in a really long time so maybe I should just go do that then

WickedKing1 votes

I hope that Xin Zhao gets a rival, the 300th match was interrupted by Jarvan II, and hoping that rival ("who was on that match") lost his opportunity to fight against Xin Zhao who escaped with the Demacian forces.

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