DeadEye; Death or Emancipation?

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There has been so much speculation going around concerning the circulating teasers, so many interesting suppositions and ideas, from a new champion to a new line of skins. The most prevalent discussion surrounds what exactly is going on with four beloved champions of League: Zed, Sona, Garen, and Vi. The teasers for each character have left quite an impression on the community if the number of threads are any indication, and though we are already drowning in rampant speculation, I would like to offer my own interpretation.

Death has been the most popular assumption brought forth by fans, and in a game where killing is the primary means of achieving success it is logical to assume that is the subject of these teasers. However, as pointed out by counterarguments, it would be a shameful waste if Riot simply killed off four champions who have yet to progress beyond their introductory lore. So how could they possibly involved with this mysterious development?

Truth.

Odd, I know, but bear with me. Garen, Sona, Zed, and Vi all have "fissures", so to speak, in their lore, details that present serious internal conflict.

To begin with, Garen is obviously infatuated with Katarina, while simultaneously being thrilled at the prospect of fighting an enemy that can match him on and off the battlefield. He is a soldier of Demacia, its paragon of patriotic fervor and absolute conviction in its righteousness. Yet, he feels something besides contempt for an underhanded assassin of a nation that has stood in opposition of his own for countless years. From what we have gathered over the years, thanks to Lux's and more recently Fiora's lore, is that Demacia is a totalitarian state. The law is life, and to disobey warrants nothing short of death. The Measured Tread is a tool for indoctrination, the traditions of the aristocracy a means of keeping them in line, everything is built around empowering the state. If Demacia demands you give up your child to military service, it will be done, no questions asked.

Garen's feelings for Katarina are not only dangerous, but should be impossible, yet they remain; his interest is tearing him apart.

With Sona, things are not quite so complex, but no less significant. The Maven of Strings is an artist, a damn good one at that, so good, that Noxus, the antithesis of her adopted nation, appreciates her work, as exemplified by Swain's opinion on Sona's performance. She could very well be a celebrity of Valoran, if not Runeterra. Though there is little external conflict to trouble her, internal strife could very well exist. Sona is an orphan, a woman with no past beyond the instrument she carries and Ionia, where she was found. Perhaps most disturbing of all, with the Institute of War's removal and the summoner's that staffed it, there is absolutely no means for Sona to speak. At this point in time, Sona literally has no voice.

Sona cannot speak, she cannot sing, she can't even scream; maybe all she wants is for people to hear Sona, not her strings.

Zed is much easier to analyze. He is this twisted ball of volatile emotions that has everything wants, and nothing at all. From his earliest memories he wanted to prove his worth, to show everyone he was skilled and strong. Most of all, he wanted recognition from his master. Instead, he killed his master, destroyed his only home, and brought years, perhaps centuries, of tradition crashing down. Zed achieved power and recognition, just not the way he wanted.

Maybe some small part of Zed, some faded memory of the boy he was, regrets the choice he made.

Finally, we have Vi, a rambunctious, loose-cannon that prefers to think with her fists instead of her head. She is the Piltover Enforcer, a reformed vigilante who fights to keep her city clear of far more destructive trouble makers. Except, it's not her city, not according to Ekko. Vi was not born in Piltover, she just woke up there. Before she put on her gauntlets to rescue miners, she was a nobody who lived on the streets, and before that, she might as well not have existed. The marvel of engineering Vi uses to punch through her problems can't pummel what isn't there; everything that was before she started stealing to survive is nothing. Vi doesn't know her life before Piltover, not even her own name.

Vi is the Piltover Enforcer, a bully on the right side of the law with hands the size of her ego; maybe she's just tired of wearing a badge as the only thing that defines her.

Of course, all these problems are never mentioned, these champions hardly talk about their issues, or even acknowledge them. Perhaps this "DeadEye" isn't interested in death, or inflicting harm, at least not intentionally; it's not a matter of what they want, but showing the world who they really are inside.

What if DeadEye pulls the truth from those who would deny it? What if it's goal is not death, but emancipation, regardless of how much it hurts? After all, the truth will set you free.