I understand that the reference to the ruler of the Shadow Isles said by the Altars on TT but who is the Ruined King?
Karthus would would the most sense first but he's a mage which doesn't make sense regarding the item and he isn't really a king, he just likes death (what a fucked up guy)
So what are your theory's Who is the Ruined King of the Shadow Isles?
Best Darius KR5 votesYep, totally 
Sharjo5 votesI recon the Ruined King is a man who was tempted by Mordekaiser down the path he chose. Due to grief over something; likely the death of a lover or family member, Morde offered him the chance to bring them back, leading to the Shadow Isles.
I'm also of the opinion he's a different person to everyone else that we've seen come from the Shadow Isles.
kitcat3003 votes
buying the 
"Once, he was a noble king, until grief overcame his reason."
Sharjo3 votesSee? This guy/gal understands me!
Ironclad Dragon1 votesYou and I are on the same wavelength. Have we talked about this before?
I thought the king's daughter died, and Mordekaiser tempted him to crack the veil between life and death.
Dezudekiddo3 votesIsn't the Ruined King thought to be Hecarim? 
The Left Altar does say "Remember who you once were Hecarim" And there are a bunch of Reddit posts about it.
GreenLore2 votesThat is just a theory,but overall I don't think that Hecarim is the ruined king.The quote most likely just refers to Hecarims life in the past.
I mean 
tells hecarim to remember who he truly serves,implying that hecarim is not the one at the top(fitting for a herald)
What Is Smite2 votesWell Karthus is the master of Death so usually it means that rules over all souls currently as the head of the Shadow Isles, this would mean that could very well be a reincarnation of the Ruined Kings Soul. In most Hierarchies, the King usually has the most battle prowess of any soldier or subject in his kingdom, bar the ones who taught him.
GreenLore1 votesKarthus isn't the master of death,he just worships death,if anything he is more like the high priest of death. He surely has some higher standing place in the SI-hierarchy,but there is nothing that indicates that he stands at the top,especially when you consider that he is an outsider,he isn't even from the shadow isles and one of the altars talks about karthus "joining them",which sounds odd if he talked to his leader.
And as for the strenght arguement: The same could be said about the generals of an army.In most stories the generals are among the strongest individuals of an army,very often they rival the king,or even surpass him in terms of fighting ability(there are after all also stories where the king isn't able to fight at all)
Gorgannan2 votesKarthus is not from the Shadow Isles, he just grew to have a fascination with it and death.
As for the other candidates, I believe Hecarim was his body guard, many people think it was Mordekaiser, with others thinking Mordekaiser was the usurper who took advantage of the ruined king. I think those are the only Shadow Isle related characters that are actually relevant.
Wolf with laces1 votesKarthus as we know him, comes from shadow isles, but the human one doesn't, same goes with thresh, kalista, elise..... fuck i just relized alot of shadow isles champs don't even come from there, originally, they were "corrupted" by it O_O i feel stupid and slowpoke....ish.
Destínum1 votesKarthus is very obviously not originally from the Shadow Isles, as stated by his lore. Kalista is pretty much confirmed to be though, and there's nothing suggesting that Thresh wouldn't be as well.
Sky of Smiles1 votes
GenoXx1 votesI wonder What he's doing now as an undead king. I wonder what kind of Activity goes on in the Shadow Isles currently.
Storm4801 votesHe sure has left you all RUINED HA HAHAH
I think im a go back and fix that
Snolen1 votesFrom my remembrance Hecarim and Morde were generals of the Shadow Isles or something among those lines, not the actual king.
Some people argue the blade actually has nothing to do with the Shadow isles and is actually a reference to Tryndamere, although its a good theory, it doesn't really fit since Trynd has no relations with the blade in-game while shadow isle champions like Kal seem to know about the history.
Kalista knows of the ruined king, however has no relation with morde or Hecarim, which gives me further reason to believe it isn't them.
In short, I don't think we are given a name yet.
RiverReign1 votesIt is most likely riot just fucking with us :(
