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Is the Immortal Bastion an anchor that creates Mitna Rachnun's permanence?

World King·2/20/2020, 2:21:30 PM·1 votes·7,886 views

As we learned in Morde's bio, all things fade in the afterlife unless you are Mordekaiser and have unbridled rage and an iron will. Yet Morde has somehow managed to bind countless souls to create his afterworld and army. A feat like that would be impossible without some sort of "anchor" or "seal" that can keep it in place. My theory is that "anchor" is the Immortal Bastion.

So here is my hypothesis (which I can't test): The Immortal Bastion is some sort of enormous, magical piton that keeps Mitna Rachnun and it's inhabitants from fading into the ether. I doubt Mordekaiser has the willpower or spiritual strength alone to keep all those souls bound to his will. He will need some sort of external help to keep them all nailed down.

Now, how does an enormous structure in the physical, material world able to hold all of those ethereal and spiritual souls into place? You'd need some sort of extra magical or spiritual "thing" to do that. If Morde was able to bind a demon to the heart of the Immortal Bastion, that may be the key ingredient to making afterworld soup...

6 Comments

TacoBrain2/20/2020, 4:09:26 PM3 votes

Wouldn't that mean that Sahn-Uzal would've found the afterlife he was expecting, since it was a fundamental part of his culture?

In theory, yes. But there is something more at work, which we are not entirely sure about. Something may have destroyed it, the original state of Mitna served some other purpose, his soul may have been compromised in some way during his life or he simply wasn't worthy. Perhaps, for all his posturing, he never was quite ready to let his days of conquering go.

Also, we don't even know if the death realm is part of the spirit realm.

We do, from outside sources to the written lore, I know some people aren't big fans of more obscure comments by those involved, here and here for example. Or, loosely related, from Morde's writer:

As for Morde and Kindred - Different cultures of Runeterra have different understandings and relationships to death. Kindred is interesting as the myth of Kindred takes many forms across many of Runeterra's cultures. Given Sahn-Uzal (Mordekaiser when he was human)'s faith in the Hall of Bones, I think it's safe to say his culture did not have a Kindred myth. As for what he would make of Kindred were he to meet him now? That would indeed be an interesting story that I hope we get to tell some day...

Or this one:

As for Illaoi - it would indeed be interesting to see what would happen if she and Mordekaiser met / clashed. ;) The afterlife that Mordekaiser saw (and then the one he built) are what he experienced. Other cultures and other peoples on Runeterra may have very different relationships to death.

Or this one:

Different Runeterran cultures have very different relationships to Death. Seeing them clash would be pretty sweet!

(...)

Personally as a storyteller, I like having a Runeterra that still has a mysterious relationship with death, even as magic and powers allow some individuals to transcend or cross over. Did Mordekaiser end up in an empty place because that is where all souls go? Or was he deemed unworthy to access the true Hall of Bones? Death is frightening to us in real life because it is unknown. Honoring that in world seems resonant, thematically interesting, and poetically powerful. :-)

The Spirit Realm is the realm of thoughts and tales, and emotions and sensations, but it is also the realm of life and souls.

RyzeTheSmurfMage2/20/2020, 3:01:38 PM2 votes

One thing to correct. Not all souls do that. It depends on the culture since the spirit realm is shaped by thoughts and actions, but conscious and unconscious. So for example someone from other parts of Runeterra may have an actual afterlife, while in others reincarnation happens, and in others the soul just fades

mrmeddyman2/20/2020, 9:33:16 PM2 votes

It's like you read my mind that was my exact theory.

Furthermore I think it has to do with his motivations between his separate conquests leaving him unsatisfied

When he ruled as Sahn-Uzal he ruled over many, but his reign was tenuous because mortality is frail. At any moment he could be killed and lose all that he had.

Then he became Mordekaiser and took the souls of those he vanquished over the course of his second reign with him to Mitna Rachnun and created a realm he could rule over, but he quickly became dissatisfied. Nothing was real. He smashed his throne to bits was an indication that to Mordekaiser the realm he created was little more than illusion in his own eyes. He reaped no satisfaction in ruling over Mitna Rachnun and its' broken subjects

Where I believe you're wrong is this. The Spirit Book he stole in his color story was the anchor to Mitna Rachnun, but I believe that The Immortal Bastion could be converted to do the same thing on a grander scale. Mordekaiser wants a rule that isn't temporary and is also meaningful because his subjects are unwilling, but bow all the same. He wants to bind ALL of Runeterra to his spirit realm and making the Immortal Bastion do what the Spirit Book does on a smaller scale is a part of that. This brings the core story of League of Legends, a story about realms to the forefront, which I believe aligns with Riots' desire to separate Mordekaiser from the Shadow Isles and make him his own thing. To feed into the core narrative instead of the Shadow Isles which is a side threat at this stage.

Swains' demon who I believe is actually LeBlanc is a smaller part of this theory that I'm not so certain on, but everything else fits so well together that I'm certain Riot won't do it in the end just to "subvert expectations".