Kayle and Morgana - Thoughts, theories, and lore directions
”Today, it seems we must put our animosity aside.” “We’ve never been enemies sister.” “How beautiful your mind must be to think such things.” “How tragic yours to believe them.”
Hi everyone! Today I’d like to talk about two of my favourite characters, Kayle and Morgana! I love the winged sisters, and I think they hold quite a lot of potential, both character-wise and story-wise. I’ve seen a lot of people calling Kayle the “bad” sister, and Morgana the “good” sister. And while I understand where this feeling comes from… I disagree. So without further ado, let’s talk about them! Note – I’m often gonna quote the K&M AMA
##Kayle, Bringer of Justice
So let’s start with Kayle!
Kayle is the self-righteous sister who believes laws are above all else, and all those who sin must be punished.
Kayle's worst flaw - her self-righteousness and ability to blind herself to her own flaws and mistakes. Kayle's best quality - her idealistic desire to do good in the world and protect innocents.
So let’s talk about this. A lot of people assume Kayle is “bad” because of her actions, which is where I disagree. Her actions are definitely extreme, but I wouldn’t call them bad. Kayle truly believes what she does is just, and will help the world (which is what, in my opinion, makes her different than Zed, who hurts people more than he helps them despite his intentions… Kinda?).
Maybe this didn't come across enough, but I do think Kayle has done a ton of heroic things for Demacia and to help innocents (you can see some examples of this in the epic poem, and her color story). She has saved the city countless times, especially in its early days when it was more vulnerable to attacks. She truly cares about doing the right thing, and has given up everything to serve justice, even though she can be extreme in her methods.
I wouldn’t say Kayle is “bad,” or “evil,” or anything of the sort. She’s extreme and has flaws, yes, but she has a lot of room to grow.
######Morgana, Sword of Shadow
Let’s see Morgana now.
Morgana is the bitter sister who believes in personal redemption and rehabilitative justice.
Morgana's worst flaw - her inability to let go of past mistakes. Morgana's best quality - the empathy she feels for all sinners, regardless of their crime.
So, this first part isn’t quite obvious in her stories. But listening to her VO makes it clearer imo. She’s always going on about how her heart is broken, how she’s suffered, etc. But what I find most interesting is that she seems to put everything that’s happened to her on her sister’s back. She’s always talking about how she broke their family, how she broke her heart, etc.
I’d also add that despite being near Demacia for centuries, we have no evidence of her doing anything to actively help the outcast or the persecuted.
She seems “good” because of her empathy. And well, yeah, that’s good. She’s empathetic. Although you can see she’s a bit of an hypocrite because she tells people to forgive, but she herself cannot do that.
Note – I’m definitely not saying Morgana is bad. She’s one of my favourite champions and I love her, I’m just trying to point out that she’s not the “good sister” while Kayle is “the bad one.” There would be much more to say about them of course, I’ve just decided to point out these things. I might do something more complete another day! I think they have both good and bad sides that they need to work on, even though it seems less obvious at first.
#####Kayle’s return to Runeterra and Morgana’s reappearance
Kayle
Kayle currently is in the Celestial Realm, beyond Targon’s peak.
As she leapt back into the sky, soaring high above the clouds, she felt she could almost see Mount Targon beyond the horizon, its formidable peak bathed red by the setting sun.
So of course, the question would be, when is she coming back? Obviously, all clues lead to… Soon. With Sylas’s rebellion and the mage uprising, Kayle is set to return. It’s been hinted in Morgana’s bio –
Bitter, betrayed, she bides her time in the kingdom’s shadows, knowing with certainty that Kayle’s >light will someday return to Runeterra, and all will face her judgment. As magic begins to rise again, Morgana sees that dawn is nearly upon them.
But it has kind of also been teased in the Canticle of the Winged Sisters – The Canticle mentions “The Night” in part III once –
The world endured, and darkness lifted,
but mortal hearts are slow to mend.
And truths won in blood and grief,
were lost as bitterness and greed returned.
Law and Justice went unheeded.
For it is the doom of mortals to forget,
he wounds of war, the scars of hate.
An abyss of Night yawned anew.
Until the world was bathed in Light.
See how it is associated with war, hate, bitterness and greed? The second time “The Night” is mentioned, it is to prophesise Kayle’s return in the XIV part –
Yet the legacy of Kayle burns bright,
in all our hearts and minds.
The wind whispers of her return.
When Targon’s beacon shines anew,
and night falls on the world,
look to the south on that day.
Now I may just be looking too much into it, but Kayle is said to return when “The night falls on the world”. It may be something else entirely, but if the night here is to be associated with the same as before, that’s to say war, hate, bitterness and greed, it can be related to Sylas’s rebellion. Of course we didn’t need that to assume Kayle would return because of the uprising but eh, still think it’s a nice touch!
Kayle thinks Demacia has gone astray. So whenever she comes back, if it is during the rebellion, I would assume she won’t just come to punish Sylas. I’d assume she’d punish everyone who’s done wrong, regardless of their side in the war.
On a more personal touch, I believe Kayle won’t come back before Demacia is deep into its civil war. Why you ask? Because Kayle, as she is, could end this arc too easily imo. I think there needs to be things at stake and big conflicts before any divine intervention. I wouldn’t want her to just come in and end it all in a snap. Of course, there’s Morgana who could (and probably would) oppose her, but I’ll come back to it later.
Morgana
Morgana is currently living her life in Demacia’s outskirts, doing who knows what. There is no prophecy or anything to indicate Morgana’s reappearance at any point, but still I’m gonna try and see what we can say about it.
First of all, I doubt Morgana’s gonna decide to come back randomly. She’s been doing her stuff so far, so odds are she’s gonna keep doing her stuff. I doubt she’d want to play any part in Sylas’s rebellion, or against it. So what could motivate her to return?
As I sent above, Morgana knows (or at least, assumes) Kayle will return because of the civil war. My guess is that Morgana won’t come out until Kayle returns.
There’s nothing that can really support such a claim, but again, I believe the humans should have their conflict without any divine intervention. And when Kayle comes to smite everyone’s arse, Morgana would probably meet her in the sky to oppose her. Well, to be fair, I imagine she’d meet her in the sky even before she could do anything, as Morgana’s bitterness towards her sister has turned to obsession.
#####Kayle and Morgana’s relationship
A Clash of Light and Dark (that could make a good Novella/Novel title, don’t ya think?)
Obviously, I think Kayle and Morgana will fight when Kayle returns. Morgana’s bitter obsession will most likely lead her to attack her sister first, and Kayle will retaliate.
While Kayle has both halves of the Sword, I’d imagine Morgana to be more with magic. Again, nothing to support that claim, but we’d need something to even the odds to make such a fight an interesting one obviously.
One sister’s love, one sister’s hope
And here we come to my favourite part! Kayle and Morgana, deep down, still love each other. It breaks my heart to hear Kayle say “If I… Could see my sister…” when she dies (Jellbug I hold you responsible for my broken heart D:).
I think Kayle and Morgana need to put their differences aside and make up. There’s so much they could accomplish together, side by side. I hope it’ll happen someday (even though a certain editor hates love and hope… :p), as I really want to see Kayle and Morgana fight together, side by side against a common enemy.
Light and Dark here are not the polar opposite that are Dawnbringer Riven and Nightbringer Yasuo for instance. I believe they are complementary, they harmonize and balance each other, which is why I need to see them work together! There’ll be a “how” later in the thread!
#####Kayle and Morgana’s future stories
Okay so, barring all that Demacia civil war stuff, there are some things in particular that I’d love to see for Kayle and Morgana.
The Sword of Light and the Sword of Shadow
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/582849325760118784/590896752970825760/KM_teaser_2.jpg
Easy one. Morgana, in the Canticle of the Winged Sisters, is called “The Sword of Shadow,” most likely because she used to wield half of Mihira’s Sword. I’m gonna be honest, I’d love to see Morgana pick her half of the sword back.
When Kayle asks Morgana “Your sword is with me. Do you want it back?” Morgana answers “I need no blade.” While I’m not an expert on English language and all its intricacies, I like to think that Morgana just avoided the question. Kayle asks if Morgana wants the sword. Morgana answers she doesn’t need it. She may not need it, but does she want it?
Another note is that a startled Morgana tells Kayle “What have you done with mother’s sword?!” Again, I may be looking too much into it, but I feel like Morgana, given the chance, would take back her half of the sword. Although I imagine her pride would prevent her from telling Kayle.
Basically, I just need (and want) to see Morgana use her sword. It would be so, so cool to see Kayle and Morgana fighting alongside, sword in hand…
What are Targon’s plans for Kayle and Morgana?
And that’s also my big question. We’ve learnt from Jellbug that Mihira was chosen partially because she had the twins inside her womb. The Aspect of Justice knew Kayle and Morgana would represent two different sides of justice. But now you have to wonder why? What’s their part to play in all this? Is there even one? Jellbug seems to think so.
Also, their mother was chosen as the Aspect of Justice in part because she was pregnant with Kayle and Morgana, who the Aspect knew would exemplify two different sides of justice. So yes, I do think they would have a part to play in Runeterra's salvation and in anything that happens in Targon prime.
While I can’t take this answer as a certainty, I believe Targon would know better than to pick a pregnant woman as a vessel, not to have plans for her twins who will wield some of its power.
I’d love to know more about what are Justice (and, by extension, Targon)’s plans regarding Kayle and Morgana. I doubt we’ll get more on that with Pantheon, but maybe we’ll get a glimpse of what Targon wants…?
Also you have to wonder, will they live up to Targon’s expectations? We know mortals are wildcards and don’t always follow the celestial pattern drawn for them… And Kayle are half mortal. I like to think Targon took a risk with them!
What sort of threat could force Kayle and Morgana to fight together?
And last but not least, what could force K&M to fight together, united against a common enemy? Of course I want to see them become sister again, but there’s currently nothing in Demacia that could force them to work together imo (well, you may have read my theory regarding Sylas and Galio but let’s disregard that for this thread).
I’m not sure. Who knows, maybe there’s a Darkin imprisoned somewhere in Demacia’s petricite forest? A magic dampening vault would be a good place to hide a Darkin weapon if you ask me. Maybe that’s even part of Targon’s design, maybe they hid a Darkin in Demacia and knew K&M would be taken there at some point, and things leading to another…? I don’t know, but I could see it!
Anyway, that was it for my Kayle and Morgana thread! I hope you liked it (or even read it, it’s quite long D:)! Tell me what you think, if I missed anything or if you’d like me to talk about something else about them!
