Demacia Timeline (Garen and Lux)
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Intro
I researched this yesterday, hoping there is more Demacia lore dropping today. Looks like today there will be no new stories, but at least there was a comic confirmed for them. My original goal was to make a timeline sorting out the events we can actually place in a certain point in time. This means I am going to include most of the Lux and Garen stories as well as their bios (which got updated with minor edits yesterday), but we can not place the Jarvan IV, Shyvanna, Quinn stories. Sorry.
All stories that I included:
Also, I just noticed how difficult this was because we have no universal frame of time - I can say it was 2 or 3 years before or after something or say "She must have been X years old" but a unified calendar would be nice. Think of something like "First - Fourth Age" in Middle-Earth or "Years after Aegon" in A Song of Ice and Fire. This would allow us to better specify dates. Something like "Years after the Ionian Invasion" would be cool.
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Timeline
#####Childhood
Garen and Lux are born into the wealthy Crownguard family in High Silvermere. Notable family members include their mother Augatha, their father Pieter (a decorated military officer) as well as an aunt and several uncles. I could not find evidence for that, but her name is Crownguard too, so at least the aunt should be the father's sister if the name comes from the man. Furthermore, one uncle is specifically mentioned throughout the biographies, but without a name. This lets me assume he is the fathers' brother, while there are one or more uncles on the mother's side. (All of this is speculation and honestly not that important.) The aunt, Tianna Crownguard, is appointed Sword-Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard before the birth of Lux, but after Garen's. The one uncle which is mentioned specifically is a ranger in the Demacian military, traveling outside of the realm and protecting it from the many dangers that lie beyond the walls.
Both receive basic education by tutors in their mansion, but Garen is expected to serve the king - just like everyone in their honorable family - while Lux is supposed to be a housewife and care for the families many estates. The unnamed uncle is slain by a rogue mage, Garen is 10 at this point. He vows to defend Demacia from magic.
When Lux is around 9 years old, she is riding on her way home, but her horse trips and breaks a leg. They are attacked by sabrewulfs. In her desperation, Lux uses her powers to defend herself from the beasts. (Her shortened bio does not mention the part where the Horse breaks a leg anymore, but this is later referenced in For Demacia and it was part of her old bio.)
Garen leaves to join the military at age 12.
Now that Lux is alone for the longest time of the day, she can reflect on her powers and experiment with them, eventually learning to control them - for now.
#####Training
Garen is now a trained soldier who already built his reputation on the battlefield. He serves in campaigns along the Freljordian border, purges fetid cultists from the Silent Forest and fights to defend Whiterock. (These are the events that his bio specifically mentions.) The events of The Soldier and the Hag happen around this time; he is 18 or 19 at this point. His battalion is summoned back to the capital by King Jarvan III, honoring them in the Hall of Valor. Aunt Tianna Crownguard, just recently elevated to the role of High Marshal, suggests Garen as a candidate for the Dauntless Vanguard. He fights through, and most importantly, survives the trials necessary to become a Vanguard and joins their ranks at age 19.
Lux and her mother begin to spend time in the capital, continuing her education. At age 13, she fears that she can not control her powers anymore and runs out of the classroom. (The events of Flesh and Stone unfold.) They travel between their residence in Demacia and their mansion in High Silvermere, until at age 16, they finally move into their formal residence in the Great City of Demacia, and she watches Garen's investiture into the honored ranks of the Dauntless Vanguard.
#####Adulthood
Garen fights in the Dauntless Vanguard, with ever-growing respect. When the new Sword-Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard (the one after his aunt) fell in battle, he was nominated by his fellow warriors and has been leading them since. Some time later, For Demacia happens. (It is unclear whether he already leads all of them or just the small group of 5 we see in the story. My guess is that he is the Sword-Captain, commanding them all.)
In the capital, Lux meets Kahina, a knight of the order of the Illuminators, who teaches her martial skills. She also learns about the wider world, not just Demacia. It's unclear why, but she is sent to Fossbarrow and meets Garen there. Lux is 22 here, Garen 25. Finally, the events of Last Light happen. There is no estimation for her age here, but we assume it's the most recent story where she is involved. Later, she is used by Sylas to escape, which brings us to the most recent events and his revolution.
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Explanations
####Ages
I am going to assume that Garen is 3 years older than Lux. A difference is 4 years is also possible, but less likely in my opinion. While it is well-known that he is older, I had to look deeper for the actual age difference.
Garen's bio says:
In the years that followed, Garen earned his place in the shieldwall as a warrior of Demacia, and quickly gained a fearsome reputation on the battlefield. By the time he was eighteen, he had served with honor in campaigns along the Freljordian borders, played a key role in purging fetid cultists from the Silent Forest, and fought alongside the valiant defenders of Whiterock.
King Jarvan III himself summoned Garen’s battalion back to the Great City of Demacia, honoring them before the royal court in the Hall of Valor. Tianna Crownguard, recently elevated to the role of High Marshal, singled out her nephew in particular, and recommended him for the trials necessary to join the ranks of the Dauntless Vanguard.
This means Garen starts the trials when he is at least 18 years old, maybe he already turned 19. Now, we don't know how long it takes to join the Dauntless Vanguard, but Bioluminescence said it's not more than a year, so he is certainly 19, maybe 20 when he completes them.
Lux' bio states the following:
When she was sixteen, Lux traveled with her parents Pieter and Augatha to their formal residence in the Great City of Demacia, to witness Garen’s investiture into the honored ranks of the Dauntless Vanguard.
So Lux is 16 while Garen is 19-20, giving us the age difference of 3 to 4 years.
####Timeline for Garen
The ranger uncle died "before Garen turned eleven", so he must have been ten or even younger.
He is 18 just before his battalion is called back by Jarvan III. However, The Soldier and the Hag must happen after Whiterock (because he has memories of Whiterock in that story) but before his trials for the Vanguard. (Because he says that the soldier recently joined his battalion, which would be too large for the DV.) It is also possible that this happens later in Garen's timeline, but then the soldier he rescues must also be from the Dauntless Vanguard and I doubt one of them would get captured this easily. Also, it seems like the battle of Whiterock is a recent memory.
He then joins the Vanguard at age 19 (see above) and is made their leader sometime later, I'm assuming not less than 3 years.
Finally, Lux is aged 22 in For Demacia, so he must be 25 (or possibly 26).
####Timeline for Lux
In her old bio, Garen was still at home when she first discovered her power. (He went looking for her with their father.) This is "several" years after their uncle died. With Garen being 10 at that point, it can only be two years later, just before he leaves for the military training. It's possible that the death happens earlier, but I doubt that she discovered her powers aged 8 or younger - this is still a young girl riding home late in the evening.
It is mentioned in Flesh and Stone that Lux is 13 and that she lives in the capital of Demacia. However, her bio suggests that they have not fully moved there yet and that they are at home in High Silvermere when Garen returns (in his bio, he's aged 18 then, Lux must be 15).
With 16 years, they finally move to the capital. Here she is introduced to the order of the Illuminators and Kahina. (Her old Bio went much further and explained that she is basically a secret agent, but according to this comment that has not happened yet, maybe we will see something of this in the future - possibly even today!)
In For Demacia, she states it has been 7 years since Garen began training with the Vanguard, and she was 15 at the time, making her 22 by the time of the story.
It's not really clear when Last Light happens, but she has definitely met the Illuminators and Kahina. It also could be related to Sylas, that's why we think it should be in the end.
##~~ Problems ~~
These are some minor problems I had while putting this together. Some of them could be confirmed or clarified by Riot, others are just inconsistencies in a story.
##~~ The Illuminators ~~
The Illuminators, the Lightbringers, the secret order. What is the relationship between these groups? For this timeline, I assumed that the Illuminators and the Lightbringers are different names for the same order, because none of them appear together. Lux' bio and Last Light use the term "Illuminators", but For Demacia describes a "Lightbringer temple". (Flesh and Stone mentions none of them.) Finally, from the comment linked above, we can assume that there is a secret organization of mages, but she is not yet part of it. Maybe this happens in the future with Sylas.
##~~ The Mantra ~~
A minor inconsistency. Who taught Lux the mantra "A shadow fades before the light"? In the beginning of Flesh and Stone, it is implied that she found it herself - which would make sense, since she has not yet met the Illuminators at age 13. However, the end of Last Light tells us that
Lux felt the magic stir within her, but whispered the mantra taught to her by the Illuminators to keep it from rising too close to the surface.
That's just a small problem, but still throws me off. There are two possible solutions:
- It's not the same mantra. The Illuminators later taught her a different one. Would just be strange to specify it was specifically the one that they taught her.
- Editorial mistake in Last Light. The writer was not aware that she thought of the mantra herself.
##~~ The Leader ~~
Finally, I am not entirely sure how many soldiers Garen leads at any given moment. Confirming when "The Soldier and the Hag" happens or if he already is the Sword-Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard by the time "For Demacia" comes around would help a great deal.
##~~ The Past & the Future~~
How long ago has that happened? We know the most recent even in Demacian History is Sylas breaking out (one month ago) and he's starting his revolution. I would like to know how this relates to the events of For Demacia or Last Light, as these seem to be the latest stories until then.
Thanks for reading! If there is anything you want to add or correct, feel free to comment.
