What Happened When the Kinkou Fell?
League of Legend's lore is a rather divisive subject, especially considering its current state of limbo where old lore may no longer apply and new lore has yet to be written. Despite its faults, I enjoy League's lore tremendously; from Aatrox to Zyra, I love the characters and world of Runeterra. With so much potential and so few concrete details, speculation is a natural response to fill in the gaps.
While many champions possess vague backgrounds, Zed is of particular interest due to having so little information revealed about him as an individual, the events that have transpired in his life, and his pivotal role in the story of an entire faction. What I aim to do is potentially answer a few questions surrounding the Master of Shadows by offering up my own speculations in conjunction with information pulled from League's official site and Zed's AMA.
Remember, this is all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt.
http://ddragon.leagueoflegends.com/cdn/img/champion/splash/Zed_0.jpg
As could be expected, the impact we have on life is the culmination of our actions and reactions, making it rather important that Zed be examined from the earliest point of his life.
Zed is an orphan. At the start of his life, the yet to be Master of Shadows already contends with an unfortunate beginning. Everyone has parents, after all, it would be supremely difficult to be born without any. While the exact details surrounding his mother and father's disappearance are unanswered, it can be assumed their absence left an impact on Zed's life. While it is not impossible for a child to be free of resentment or curiosity for their status as an orphan, many become quite contemplative of their fate. It comes as no surprise that when Zed was brought into the Kinkou Order and trained by its master, he imprinted on this figure of authority.
On the path of where things go wrong, this is the second step. Zed began to seek the approval of the master who trains him, the same man who happens to be Shen's father and The Eye of Twilight. The Eye of Twilight is a role within the Kinkou Order that demands whoever bears the title pass judgement to preserve balance, free of prejudice and emotion. This is an issue because Zed is seeking attention from someone who is in no position to grant it.
Only one other student appeared to be Zed's equal - the master's son, Shen. It seemed Zed could never win the favor of the master, as every match between the rivals ended in a draw. Frustrated and jealous, he sought an advantage.
Zed is desperate, he wants recognition, praise, perhaps something as simple as love, not just any love, but the affection of a parent, something he has never known.
The young ninja ventured into a sealed part of the clan's temple, where he found an ornate, foreboding box. Sensing the dark knowledge within, Zed knew he should not open it, but he peered inside nonetheless. In an instant, shadows touched his mind, revealing techniques that had long been hidden. Now armed with a secret edge, he challenged Shen, and this time he defeated the master's son. He expected praise and recognition in his moment of victory, but somehow the master knew Zed had used forbidden ways, and banished him.
It is clearly written in Zed's lore he expected to win his master's favor, despite employing forbidden methods to achieve it. He beat Shen, he won, and at the moment of his hopeful success, he was banished. Without a doubt, Zed was hurt. An orphan from birth, he was cast out by the one he wished to please more than any other. To say this was twisting the knife in an already painful wound would be an understatement.
Humiliated, the young ninja wandered for years. His bitterness turned to ambition, and he began to train others in the style of the shadows.
When Zed left the Kinkou Order, all he had left of it was the techniques he had learned. Rather than abandoning them, he trained himself and others in the art of shadows. This suggests that even in his banishment, Zed still held some attachment to the only home he had ever known.
One day, Zed looked at his followers and saw that his students were now an army. He led them back to the temple to claim his prize. At the gates, he was surprised to find the old master waiting, receiving Zed and his disciples as if they were welcome guests. The old man laid his sword at Zed's feet, declaring that he had failed Zed as his master. By banishing his former student, the master had doomed Zed to the shadows, instead of leading him to the balanced path. The old man implored Zed to enter the temple, destroy the box, and lead his followers to balance. The dark ninja followed the master inside. Moments later, the assembled ninjas heard Zed cry out in pain. Mysteriously, he emerged unscathed, and threw the severed head of the master at Shen's feet. Screaming in rage, Zed commanded his followers to slaughter the master's students and seize the box.
This is where everything, quite literally in some cases, falls apart. There are numerous theories as to what exactly happened when the Kinkou Order fell, this is mine.
Betrayal Cuts Both Ways As The Eye of Twilight, the master is obligated to pass judgement that ensures equilibrium is maintained on Ionia. It is obvious the shadow techniques Zed employs threaten that balance, otherwise the knowledge would not have been hidden away. The cat has been let out of the bag, as evident by Zed's army of followers, and chaos is at risk of erupting with so many willing to follow him. Shen's father makes a decision; cut off the head of the snake.
Zed was offered the box, to destroy the source of forbidden knowledge and end his suffering. I have no doubt that The Eye of Twilight is a crafty fellow, and one who prefers to avoid relying on chance. If Zed destroyed the box, all would be well. If not, Shen's father would take the moment to kill Zed as he embraced the shadows. Having been exposed once, and desiring to completely master his art, Zed likely chose to complete his knowledge of the forbidden techniques. With the decision made, The Eye of Twilight prepared to take his former student's life. Before he could execute his grim task, the shadows whispered to Zed, telling him to turn around and see the lies he had believed.
Intercepting The Eye of Twilight's attack, Zed confronted the one thing he had worked for all his life; the man whose attention Zed craved, whose approval he desired, the closest thing he had to a father, had tried to kill him. With so much happening all at once, the Master of Shadows was likely not in a very stable state of mind. All the rage, frustration, and disappointment that had been building in Zed for so long burst, and presented with someone who was clearly acting as an enemy, he lashed out.
We all make mistakes in the heat of the moment, and many come to regret their actions once the damage is done. For Zed though, what he had done could not be undone. In a single moment, he had denied himself any possibility of reconciliation; by cutting of his master's head, Zed had destroyed any hope of earning the affection he so desperately desired. Now there was no one to blame but him. Crying out in pain as so many emotions boiled over seems to be an appropriate response.
He had lost everything but the shadows. Facing two uncertain paths, people often choose the devil they know, and for Zed, that was the Order of Shadows.
In short, Zed is a big ball of parental issues given a knife and a handful of shadows. When things didn't go his way he started stabbing things, and as could be expected, it did not turn out well.
That could wrap everything up quite nicely, but there remains one important detail: what exactly are the shadows? Why are the techniques related to them forbidden? I have my own hypothesis, but will save that for another thread, as I have rambled for long enough already. Thank you for taking the time to read my speculations.
