What is Kindred supposed to be?

dome025·4/2/2018, 7:57:28 PM·6 votes·7,016 views
Forest for the Trees - Universe of League of Legends

The title might sound a bit like click bait or like a noob question but I´m quite serious about it. I thought that Kindred is a version of the grim reaper for Runeterra. But it seems like there are conflicts between her short stories and what the grim reaper does.

For me the grim reaper comes only when for someone it´s time to die. And does not actively kill or protect someone. He just comes and takes the person (or animal) with him when it´s time.

And for me Kindred worked the same way, a bit different but still the same. Only that the person dying could choose if he wants to face the lamb or the wolf.

Now in the short stories Kindred is actively hunting people down or protect them from death by not hunting them.

In the story which came out together with her release (https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_GB/story/kindred-good-death-story/), Kindred protects the actress from death by choosing to not hunt her down (they wanted to do so first but were then distracted by the bandits who killed the other actors and actresses).

In FOREST FOR THE TREES (https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_GB/story/kindred-color-story/) the wolf is hunting down the squire and kills him, even if he wasn´t injured or close to death for a different reason (disease/hunger).

So I´m asking what Kindred supposed to be? The classic version of the grim reaper but something which also kills people on its own? Because this makes huge differences. If Kindred kills people she is for me personally more like a demon than a powerful being.

15 Comments

GreenLore4/2/2018, 11:36:00 PM6 votes

In the story a good death Magga doesn't get killed by Kindred,because she chose to accept Lambs arrow instead of trying to run away,which ironically saves her from death,because if she had ran away,she would have ran into the bandits and would have gotten killed by them,by not running away immediatly she arrived after the bandits already left. So unknowingly she actually faced a near-death situation and thus encountered Kindred.

And I think the squire in the color story was actually fatally wounded as it does say that "the battle turned its steel toward the squire",which sounds like he was stabbed by a metal weapon,him actually running away from kindred and getting eaten by wolf was likely something that didn't happen in the real world but just in his head.

Tattersall4/3/2018, 2:56:38 AM5 votes

First and foremost, I agree with GreenLore, but it's possible that she met the Kindred due to being near one of their "sacred" sites, or maybe they were actually just interested in her. I agree with GreenLore completely on his take on Forest for the Trees. Remember,

Lamb danced lithely from sword edge to spear tip, the red-blooded butchery never staining her pale coat.

.

The last breath of a soldier came with a ragged consent as his shield gave way to a heavy axe. Stuck in his heart was a single white arrow, shimmering with ethereal brilliance.

These are probably the best examples of what you're talking about. The Kindred don't kill people, yet in the moment of a person's death, the Kindred are what ends them. Lamb is the spear tip, she is the sword edge, and her arrow is the axe. It's the same with the boy, even if we can't tell exactly why. Maybe he was mortally wounded and died from heavy bleeding. Maybe a stray arrow took him as he ran from the battlefield. Maybe he only ran at the end of the battle and was hunted down by the enemy. Maybe he ran for days and died of starvation. Maybe he ran into the woods and literally got hunted down by a pack of wolves. Whatever the case, it was his time to die. The Kindred didn't choose that time, but they were there for it.

Bunnymap4/2/2018, 11:46:45 PM3 votes

Technically, Kindred may not actually exist, or could just be a spirit only the victim can see. Kind of like the "light" that people see when they're about to die. It's not physically there, but to the person experiencing it, it seems real (Essentially a hallucination). The dying person would see Lamb and Wolf and either accept their death and go peacefully, or attempt to escape it. If they escape, it just means it wasn't their time to die yet (Ex: Gangplank). This would also explain the weird ending of the short story with the audience being full of Kindred masks.

Trolosaurus4/3/2018, 12:25:51 AM2 votes

Kindred is perhaps the most metaphorical champion in the game, alongside Tahm Kench First off, Kindred may not even exist, and may instead be an expression for death manifested in folklore and tales. This is supported by the unusual narrative and structure of her bio and stories compared to other champions. Secondly, if Kindred does exist, they exist as a force of nature that represents the beliefs of death, given form by thought (presumably). This is up for debate, as much of Kindred is left open for elaboration.

Kindred was also one of the first champions to have their lore be "current" so to speak, and came out around the time League was suffering from it's 3rd (and current) overhaul. As a result her bio and stories, like that of other champs changed around this time, are somewhat short. Thus, there's not a lot to go on beyond guessing.

Here is what we know. Lamb and Wolf are not two separate beings. Think one brain, two bodies. Even if they represent two halves of a whole, Kindred is essentially talking to itself. Should the masks of Kindred ever be removed for whatever reason, something bad on a level that nobody can possibly comprehend will happen. Lamb and Wolf are not immortal, and they seem to be linked to the belief of death via lifespan. Thus presumably, when all else is gone, Kindred will "hunt" itself. There seems to be some limitation on Kindred's actual powers and abilities, which seem to be linked to what folk believe it can actually do. The act of hunting seems to be mostly metaphorical, and it isn't known if Kindred actually plays a role in the death of the person, as seen in one of her stories. Everyone will meet Kindred at some point in their lives, which points to the fact that they are not attuned by time or logic, but rather that individual's "time". It also may point to the fact that Kindred is only visible to the victim at their "time" so to speak. This also hints more to the story of Magga being a folk tale and gives evidence that Kindred may not actually exist, or exist on a structural, narrative level where it is confined by general belief on its roles as to what it can do. It is not known if Kindred has any actual power, though they are stated to dislike Karthus greatly due to his twisting of their nature. Despite this, it has not acted against Karthus or any members of the Shadow Isles, further lending credence that it either does not exist, or cannot act in such a manner beyond what it is allowed.

If the idea of Kindred being just a metaphor is true, then Kindred does not exist. If Kindred does exist, then it seems to be restricted to the beliefs of Runeterra, and was seemingly born of these beliefs.

The final piece is the mystery of the lonely man, who supposedly split himself in two with an axe and became Kindred. It is my interpretation that this individual was the original Death of Runeterra, who fulfilled much the same function but desired a companion to speak to, even if that was itself. Or, it may simply be part of the story.

This is all that I have gathered about Kindred, who is most certainly one of the more enigmatic characters. The other one, Tahm Kench, is even more of a guesswork.

Camille Ferrøs4/2/2018, 8:55:48 PM1 votes

A mystery tbh.I know people want to know this and that and that aka everything but personally I want Kindred to remain a mystery.Like death no know knows what is it or what comes after it etc ¿

Keshaun4/4/2018, 1:17:54 AM1 votes

She's a legend who you encounter when you're near death or death is near. She gives you a choice to choose the arrow or the wolf which decides your fate. If you choose the arrow, you will live long and die peacefully, but if you choose the wolf, you will die painfully and slowly.