[Spoilers] Lux: Issue Nr. 2 - Feedback, Discussion and Questions
Hey everyone, Issue 2 of the Lux comic has been released on Universe, and I'm back with a discussion thread. Find the last one here. So, let's just get into it!
#As always: Spoilers below!
Summary
https://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/comic-series/luxcomic/Luxcomic-issue-2-link.jpg This time, we start with Lux introspecting what Sylas' revelation means. After all, how could a criminal see that she is a mage? She walks back to the Crownguard Manor and runs straight into Garen, who confronts her. She uses the flimsy excuse that she works with "afflicted" kids for the Illuminators, and Garen leaves unconvinced.
Lux then returns to the mageseeker headquarters to visit Sylas again. He figures she is looking for something, and they have a pretty fierce argument. Sylas threatens he is going to tell the mageseekers about her "affliction", and she accuses him of murder. He then narrates the events of Demacian Heart and how he went into hiding. Lux shows empathy, she had not heard the story before, and Sylas agrees to teach her.
In the royal palace, Garen meets with Prince Jarvan. They have a swordfight, and talk about his marriage. When asked about potential brides, he mentions that one special woman (which is implied to be Shyvana) and Garen suggests Lux. We later see that they already arrange the marriage here.
Back in the prison, Lux and Sylas develop a relationship. He teaches her to control the magic, and even manages to stop her hand from glowing, and she brings a history book describing the last eleven years. (I'll come back to this later.) Another argument ensues, and this time Lux is on the side of the law, not against it. Sylas plays nice in the end, and Lux promises to regularly visit him. A montage of her visits follows. She's learning in exchange for food and books. But then Garen notices something in the Crownguard Library...
He confronts her when she gets home late in the night, and reveals she is to be married to Jarvan IV. The engagement ceremony is tomorrow. Of course, she runs to her new best friend to tell him about her life problems, and she lets slip that she is from the Crownguard family, a powerful name. Sylas then answers that her family is responsible for his imprisonment. Lux then tries to get the original texts of Durand, which he requested earlier, and breaks into the mageseeker library with her now controlled powers. Just before Lux goes away, he takes her hand. She blushes, and he inspects his hand with the newly found powers before he blasts the wall with them. All he needs is one more touch.
People & Places
Lux
https://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/demacia-sketches/lux-demacia-sketch.jpg
This issue paints Lux as pretty naive, to be honest. She's blindly trusting Sylas because he told her he's imprisoned because of an accident and understands her powers. What he didn't say was that he murdered the mageseekers coming for him, and I guess there were more than just a few coming for him, given his current reputation of a mass murderer. She should be more careful around a prisoner, but it seems like it's already too late, and he has become her friend. (I don't want to talk about their relationship for long, leave that to the shippers.)
What's also notable is the control of her powers. In just a few weeks (I assume) Sylas brought her from "literally radiating magical light" to "able to control spheres and focused beams of light", and she seems very skilled when breaking into the library. But in return, she has given him a much greater gift...
Sylas
https://universe-meeps.leagueoflegends.com/v1/assets/images/sylas-splash.jpg
Sylas finally found what he needs: A way out of his prison. That's his only goal, and he's manipulating Lux as good as he can to finally get out. I don't think you can say he does not care about her at all, she's the first one that's nice to him in over a decade of being imprisoned, but the little light might be a casualty on his way to freedom.
Sylas also gained control of his powers. With the scroll by Durand, he is able to understand the properties of Petricite - and how he can use it.
In this Issue, we got the first glimpse on the handsome prince. While his biography suggests his abilities are more on the strategic side, this proves he can also wield a sword well enough to hold his ground against Garen. He actually boasts that he could beat him, and the duel ends indecisive, but I seriously doubt that. In an actual one-on-one duel, Garen should still have the upper hand. Nonetheless, an impressive feat.
Jarvan also reveals his thoughts on the marriage: He does not necessarily want it, but he sees that he must. His father wants an heir to the bloodline and potentially the kingdom, and he wants to shut him up, but also sees the truth in his words. The problem is, that, with his own words, "they all want to marry the prince. Not one of them cares who I really am." There is just one person that cared for the human Jarvan instead of the prince Jarvan, and that is our favorite half-dragon. However, he still agreed to marry Lux. I wonder why? Did Garen tell him the real reason why he needs Jarvan to marry Lux? Or did he simply figure out she is the least of the evils he has to choose from - after all, they knew each other since childhood, their families are close. I don't think he really loves her, but it would still be better to marry Lux instead of a random woman he never saw before.
This issue only takes place inside Crownguard Manor and the mageseeker compound. There is nothing new to find out about Demacia or anything else, really. Today they focused on the characters instead.
General thoughts
This is exactly the development I want to see. There is a lot of progress in this issue, we got introduced to Prince Jarvan, got more insights on Lux and Sylas' relationship, got hit by the marriage bomb (tomorrow???) just like Lux, and got a glimpse of Sylas' evil side.
Some more interesting details: Morgana and Shyvana are other champions that are mentioned. Morgana is degraded to some "spooky old witch who haunts Demacia", but what's really interesting is that we may have read the book Lux gave to Sylas. The Canticle of the Winged Sisters could be part of a collection of stories about Morgana (the veiled lady specifically). Of course, the canticle is said to be from the library in High Silvermere and Lux and Sylas are in Demacia, but it's not impossible she went to the family mansion in High Silvermere during the time of this comic. It might not be true, but it's an interesting thought nonetheless.
Is it really Shyvana that Jarvan means? We don't know. She saved his life, and that he brings her to the capital might imply a deep bond, but he could mean an NPC woman too.
The 11 Years. That's obviously a huge contradiction to Sylas' biography where it's clearly noted Lux started to visit him after 15 years of imprisonment. I hope the 11 years refer to the book specifically, not his time of imprisonment in general.
Sylas of Dregbourne, the "mass murderer". I noticed that even after over ten years, Garen knows his full name, and uses him to generalize all mages as absolutely evil in the first issue. I was wondering why he still knew it - Sylas was imprisoned long ago. In this issue we find out that the mageseekers branded him as a mass murderer. Don't get me wrong, he is a mass murderer, but I think the mageseekers spread some propaganda to make sure all mages are painted as evil, and maybe slightly exaggerated the story. They didn't tell how he was a former mageseeker turned criminal (as evidenced by Lux not knowing the story), but made sure he is known as a criminal.
Side note: We know Lux and Garen have an uncle that was killed by a dangerous mage, could that have been Sylas? It would have been around the time Garen was 11 (thanks to the age confirmation in the last issue, love you Mary), and he joined the military at age 12. Now if you check his biography: As if to confirm those fears, their uncle was killed in the line of duty by a mage, before Garen turned eleven. Hmm...
Physical Edition Feedback
Slightly off-topic, but I got asked what I would like to see in the physical release. My copy of Warmother arrived recently, so I can answer that now. I'm also not sure what the digital Marvel releases include, could anyone fill me in on that?
- Glossary: Was really helpful to have it, but I think there is none for this comic nor is it needed. Warmother used a lot of terms from the Freljord, but I have not noticed anything that would need an explanation in Demacia.
- Character Designs: Great! They give more insights into the characters and why they were drawn this way. We already talked about the boobplate and costumes, but I'd still love to see them.
- Freljord Art: Always. Preferably something that was not released on Universe ;)
- Behind the pages: Good, but I didn't really feel like I need them. They were nice to have, but that's about it.
- Bonus Story: Yes please! I always love more content, especially Silence for the Damned which is a great story. For this comic, how about "For Demacia" or "Demacian Heart", which was essentially narrated by Sylas here. (Or maybe both? please?)
Questions
Some more questions for Mary or John, it would be great if you could take the time to clarify some of them. No spoilers, of course!
The books
- Where did Sylas learn to read? When he was young, before he got taken by the mageseekers? (How old is he now?)
- Did the history book by the mageseekers only contain the last 11 years, or was he indeed imprisoned for 11 years only? His biography still says 15 years...
- Did the book about the veiled lady maybe include the Canticle of the Winged Sisters or do you think that's impossible?
The marriage
- Are arranged marriages common between the highborn families of Demacia?
- What would happen if Lux refused?
- Was it really Shyvana that Jarvan was thinking of, or did he want to marry someone else?
Thanks for reading this far! Let me know what you think of this issue in the poll below, feel free to discuss and ask questions!
