Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Dear Riot, I don't buy the Faceless character

XIII Vanitas·2/5/2018, 10:41:42 PM·7 votes·12,394 views

So you're and you've just overthrown the previous Grand General of Noxus. What do you do? Well, of course, you dispose of all his allies so that your rule doesn't get disputed.

You also know that there's the Black Rose, a deep state organization that wants you dead, so you decide to institute the Trifarix in order to prevent future tyrants from taking the throne for themselves and act upon their own personal interests instead of Noxus prosperity.

Great. Now you need two more trusted buddies to rule Noxus with. So you choose , the Hand of Noxus, an extraordinary warrior and highly respected general, but most importantly a personal friend of yours, and an unknown person that keeps their identity concealed.

... ... Why?? Why would you ever want to do that?! I can't believe you've never thought for a moment that they might be or someone connected to the aforementioned organization that wants you dead. If you didn't you're an idiot, but if you did WHY THE HELL DID YOU GIVE THEM A SEAT IN THE TRIFARIX!?

58 Comments

ModKnightsKemplar2/5/2018, 10:44:29 PM21 votes

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"

RiotReav32/5/2018, 11:30:36 PM18 votes

Unless you are 100% confident in your ability to keep said organization in check and under your control. They are a powerful organization and can be very useful if you are able to keep 5 steps ahead of them.

RiotAnt in Oz2/6/2018, 12:10:41 AM8 votes

Well, just because the general populace of Noxus doesn't know who the Faceless is, doesn't mean that the other other members of the Trifarix (Swain and Darius) don't. Swain's a clever guy, at the end of the day. He's knows what he's doing.

And keeping the member of Guile a secret - well, I could imagine that creating a certain level of paranoia among those outside the Trifarix (particularly those that oppose/have opposed Swain), which could also play in Swain's favor.

Cheers!

GreenLore2/5/2018, 10:50:53 PM4 votes

Well Swain has the ability to look into the souls of others,so it is likely that he knows about the identity of the faceless person.

And if it is indeed Leblanc,then it might be actually an advantage for him to have her in this position. That way he can likely keep a better eye on her,get to know her a bit more and make use her abilities for his own goals.

Overall it really depends on how Swains insights work in the lore.

Jolg2/5/2018, 11:35:15 PM3 votes

Why would you think Swain doesn't know who the faceless one is?

Infernape2/5/2018, 11:28:00 PM3 votes

Aren't Swain and LeBlanc literally enemies with benefits?

HonestJohnTheCon2/5/2018, 11:04:55 PM2 votes

Assuming the Faceless is LeBlanc, Swain and LeBlanc both think they are playing the other in this scenario.

Swain, because he has a better eye on LeBlanc and at least can rule alongside her, balancing any otherwise powerful actions she might take. LeBlanc, because she is gaining more power, and the ability to destroy Swain's reputation entirely if he makes a choice that she and Darius don't agree with.

They're in a high-stakes chess game, and the prize is Noxus.

Craxsian2/6/2018, 3:26:01 PM1 votes

The real question is... How can you earn the confindence of your citiziens when one of the leaders has a hidden identity? It is a kind of official requiriment that Noxians accepted? I don't care about if she is LeBlanc or another random guy, I only want to know why people put their trust in someone whose name they don't know.

APsychicRefugee2/8/2018, 10:05:20 AM1 votes

Honestly, I still theorize that KIndred/Lamb & Wolf Kindred is the true identity of the Faceless. Since they represent death, perhaps they are Swain's patron and his bird form represents the carrion bird that grows fat and healthy off the corpses they leave behind. Maybe a deal he made in order to save his nation?

This, in the Principles of Strength short story, felt like a tip-off especially since the Faceless apparently "visited this shrine at the fourth hour of every fifth day, always guarded and under the cover of darkness." The shrine is one to Wolf, half of the Kindred duo. "She gazed up. In ancient Valoran custom, death was often represented as a dualistic in nature, taking the form of the Lamb of peaceful death, and the Wolf of violent ends. In Noxus, the latter was honored with rather more rigor and panoply. Dying peacefully in one’s bed was not the way to secure honor in an empire that venerated strength."

It is mentioned that the mask the Faceless wears is black (Wolf's), however, the character in the story says it has "a vaguely feminine aspect to the mask" which alludes to maybe it being Lamb.

This is just a theory so I'm probably just being dumb but the story felt like it was teasing this.