What even is new Noxus?
And by new, I mean current.
Look, we all like to have our little debates about how Noxus started to fall from its true self the moment Boram decided going against natural law (hint: Sion resurrection) was a good idea. And we like to glorify that idea of old Noxus by saying how it had more "honor" and stuff and would never resort to the things that made Riven quit.
But let's be real here, old Noxus could actually have been a lot worse. Especially on social issues.
If Darius's old lore motivations are still part of his character, the aristocracy of Noxus prime are all a bunch of cowards who use other people and behind door deals (like actual nobles arguably) and tend to be incompetent when put into military situations (while this isn't always true, the only Noxian Nobles we saw lead an army was in Kled's origin lore and these are people with golden armor who hide behind others while asking for a retreat. Doesn't sound very Noxian to me). And that's why we like Darius right? Because he's a man willing to change Noxus with his own two hands and his axe.
But Darius isn't the problem with current Noxus. The problem is that we don't know what Swain wants for Noxus in the current lore. Hell, I don't know what he wanted in the old lore. I always felt like he just wanted to remove the aristocracy in favor of his own control, but beyond that I wasn't sure he wanted Noxus for the nations interest. All I really know now is that Swain no longer needs to be subtle (hence why he brought Sion out again).
Which brings me to the problem I'm having with Noxus past and present: what's the difference and why cheer for either?
Riven and Kled (Noxian Uncle Sam) both seem to represent ideals of what Noxus should be (or at least, Riven represents that Noxus has fallen from those ideals. Riven's character annoys me though). Kled is the most extreme version of it. He's the guy you don't want to be representing your nation to others.
Then we have Sion, our only real link to the old Noxus (I'd argue Elise and Karthas, but I don't know if they are older or as old as Sion). Sion however is one person, so his opinion can't be seen as the most popular opinion (the guy doesn't look like he gave a crap about who disagreed with him). From Sion's quotes we can tell he has no respect for magic and really follows "strength above all" philosophy in combat. He loves war, it's basically his religion (his quote, "This is what passes for war?!" Is meant to be insulting on modern combat. Modern Noxus for example is prone to using magic and even child soldiers, something Sion could see as cowardly and pathetic tactics. He's a brute force kind of guy). But Boram uses magic to prolong his life (maybe he started his dirty habit after Sion's death) so it's possible that magic wasn't viewed overly negative by Noxus back then, or it was and only the elite used it (which could paint Sion as not a natural born Noxian, similar to Darius who came from a conquered area).
I'm starting to think that all of the Noxians who glorified Noxus traditions and values are from the countryside/conquered peoples who were taught these values from the conquering force. While many of the more regal Noxians (Vladimir, Leblanc, Swain) have lived closer to the aristocracy and deal with the actual politics which only seem to accept Noxian traditions at face value.
So the glorified Noxus of the past? Maybe it was falling long before Sion's death, and only people like Sion and Darius can life as monuments for the people on what true Noxians are while the upper class abuses others to keep their power.
Basically Noxus is Rome/America.
"Make Noxus great again" is a phrase that needs an actual definition of when it was "great" which may not be what the commoners think it means.
still clings to the old concept of military might, but also understand that a true leader must see further than the next military campaign. If he still is the right hand of Swain, he sees him as a ruler who believes that Noxus can become an even greater empire.
we don't know much about him at this point, but we know he's focused both on military and pure political power. One could even say that he's actually concerned about the future of Noxus, and he's doing everything he can to make it his own version of a great empire, no matter the cost.
is more of a secret cabal. Almost none in Noxus actually knows of its existence. All we know right now is that they are far more concerned about their own power and well being than the future of the nation, but they can be bargained with and will help Noxus if called upon, as long as it suits them.
was merely a soldier before dieing, he may have showed what noxus was all about to the common soldier, but everyone with some intellect knew already that a nation is about more than just raw strength. But given his successes, he still became a revered figure, at least to the uncultured mass, hence why he was brought back. Now he's mostly mindless, so I wouldn't think too hard about what he thinks of current noxus.
I just can't like this character, neither gameplay wise nor lore wise. In the lore she was so happy to go war because she wanted to prove her strength, but oh no! War kills people! Agh, it can't be. Surely there must be some sort of war who doesn't harm anyone and doesn't strip the invaded cultures of their freedom and identity. Screw Noxus.
Sending children to war is horrible for today standards, but consider that in england, at least until the end of the 19th century, children were still hard working deep in coal mines. Maybe 12 year olds weren't sent to war, but just because 15-16 year olds were slightly more effective soldiers.
Really, up to the first world war, and probably during the second one as well, most western countries were just as bad as Noxus.
He's just receive the lore update, so it's pretty soon to say anything. What I can say is that he probably was/is an old conservative, and used to be a Headsman. I mean, you don't have to be erudite in order to chop people's heads off. He may have known something about the noxian aristocracy, but that doesn't mean he perfectly knew how the city worked. He probably believed he was untouchable, until he was betrayed by swain, who may have just seen him as a annoyance.
He believed he understood the politics of Noxus way more than he actually did, and payed for that mistake. Now he feels let down by the city, and vouches his own ideals of chaos and freedom of the individual. He's become a sort of aggressive, hextech augmented Russeau with shotgun knees.
Airhorns
: one of the deadliest Assassins in Valoran & he just so happen to be Noxian. Talon was originally a street urchin who just so happened to be gifted in swordfighting, until he was defeated by General Du Couteau (Who just so happens to be the Father of Katarina). From then on he served under him alone & now searches for the missing general. Hopefully they write a short story about how his travels are going as he searches for Du Couteau.
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were released, Swain was rumored to have Vastayan blood coursing through his veins as well, which would explain how he has access to such powerful magic. Perhaps when Riot takes a swing at him, maybe we'll get some insight on his past. Who knows, maybe the real reason why Noxus is attacking Ionia is because Swain & Leblanc are trying to extract the Magic of the Vastaya, the same magic Rakan & Xayah are trying to retrieve.
