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Why do ascended transform into animals?

Alex Luu·8/9/2019, 7:33:57 PM·1 votes·3,076 views

My theory is that ascension would kill any pure-blood humans and the reason ascension is possible is because you need a magical body to reach ascension, since vastayans have magical bodies I believe that the ascended had a vastayan ancestor no matter how far back it was.

OR ascension is how vastayans came to be, vastayans were maybe come into existence BECAUSE of ascension and the Ascended had children which became the first of that particular vastayan species...but I'm pretty sure ascended cant have children right?

I know what you're thinking "but what about Xerath, did he have a rock as a vastayan ancestor?" I believe xerath was a special case, since he was a mage before ascension, that had something to do with it even though his body wasn't magic...which is probably why his body wasn't morphed but instead completely destroyed.. I believe since he was a mage but his body wasn't a magical body his body didn't ascend but his magic did and in some way he moved his conscience over from his body to his magic, not his soul but his actual magic maybe the rock and magic form he has now means he had some rune on him or something at the time and it was some sort of catalyst that made it possible for that to happen.

Azir is also another special case like xerath, If my theory is correct he either has a vastayan ancestor in him or something else happened, I don't believe he had a vastayan ancestor because he didn't take on any animalistic traits (his helmet that looks like a bird doesn't count, it's not a part of his physical body)... if my theory is correct what do you guys believe is going on with azir being able to ascend? why is it so closely related to sand?

6 Comments

Arakadia8/9/2019, 7:38:29 PM5 votes

They turn into animal people because Shurima as a culture has cultural ties between animals and concepts/ideas. Similar to how the Owl is frequently associated with Knowledge, the Ascended turn into something that represents a specific quality they embody. So no they weren't Vastayans, they were humans, but the ascension ritual remakes them in the divine image of their concept.

So just an example, it is possible that the jackle or whatever Runeterra calls it is associated with wisdom, knowledge, or nobility in Shurima as Nasus was a curator and after his ascension he turned into a jackle person.

I'm not sure if this is explained on universe but i know its been talked about by Rioers before.

Also we know Vastayans came about like this, from the Universe page on Vastayans:

The vastaya’s origins can be traced back to a hidden corner of Ionia where a group of humans fled in escape of the Great Void War. There, these refugees came into contact with a tribe of intelligent shapeshifting creatures who were greatly in tune with the world’s natural magicks. These spiritual creatures, known as the Vasthayshai’rei, welcomed the human refugees and eventually produced what Runeterrans now refer to as vastaya – a blanket classification for any number of species of chimeric creatures. Over time, the varied offshoots began to settle in different regions and naturally adopted different forms – simian, avine, even piscine – according to the creatures which most embodied their strongest characteristics.

Camille Ferrøs8/9/2019, 7:42:25 PM3 votes

Ascended and Vastaya do look similar but have nothing to do with each other. Ascendant get their form from the Sun disk which channels celestial power together with their beliefs and cultures they get to look like animals. I don't know exactly how. If I remember correctly Vastaya came to be from Vastayahshei'rei breeding with humans.

Tahminatrix 8/9/2019, 8:07:28 PM2 votes

The sun disk is a furry.

Ahri Body Pillow8/9/2019, 10:21:49 PM2 votes

furries in the league creative team

SSmotzer8/12/2019, 8:05:30 PM1 votes

Ascension turns Kayn into a master shadow assassin, because that is the symbol that he believes best represents him.

ChibiLordCthulhu8/14/2019, 3:56:10 AM1 votes

The ascended and the vastaya have nothing in common , like others said, a human who survives the ritual of ascencion takes on a apearance that represents their best qualities. Also Azir's "helmet" is an actual head not an helmet, his human form was warped into that metalic bird.