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Sylas the Short-Sighted

NotaRobot1006·1/25/2019, 6:33:15 PM·5 votes·5,186 views

Sylas' color story is out, and it looks like a key part of the Glorious Mages' Revolution is...the indiscriminate murder of the upper class. And the poor schmucks who work for them.

Now I want to make it clear I'm not claiming this is an oversight on Riot's part, since I don't know their motives when creating Sylas beyond "Demacian Villain." I'm saying that Sylas as a character is kind of an idiot.

Revolutions go a lot smoother when you have sympathizers. If he got a few of the rich upper-class snobs on his side instead of killing them all, Sylas could get them to fund him. If he got nonmagical common folk on his side, he'd have more cannon fodder. But he can't do either of those things. Because he kills them all instead. Lacking any clear necromantic abilities, Sylas doesn't have the option to recruit dead people. So he's really shooting himself in the foot here by taking out his own potential allies.

As it stands, Sylas' revolution isn't inclusive enough to make a long-term impact beyond a lot of dead people.

17 Comments

ModKnightsKemplar1/25/2019, 6:57:34 PM7 votes

The new story addresses this, to a certain degree.

Because the aristocracy has been taking children from non-magical folk, there are a lot of non-magical folk on his side. Also, I think he's counting on upper-class mages like Lux being an advocate for him in the long run.

If you haven't read the new story, Turmoil, it's right there!

ModJikker1/25/2019, 7:22:16 PM6 votes

To be honest, I don't think Sylas is able to think clearly anymore. He's driven by revenge for everything that was done to him and how he was treated. People like that aren't looking long term; they are absolutely stuck in the short term.

Stars Shaper1/25/2019, 7:19:34 PM5 votes

Sylas isn't a revolutionarist, he is a terrorist. He doesn't want betterment for his ppl, he wants ruin for his enemies.

SEKAI1/26/2019, 1:05:49 AM4 votes

Who've thought, that someone locked up in solitary confinement for half of his life is not particularly educated nor empathetic, and is stuck with tunnel vision and extremism.

DarkSoul19941/26/2019, 1:05:35 AM3 votes

I mean, just break down the situation:

  1. The whole of Demacian society is built upon a hatred of mages.
  2. Demacia actively silences and kills mages (good and bad) because they can't just have a) mages upsetting the balance of power and b) good mages making Demacian citizens question Demacian anti-mage law.
  3. Sylas is a good mage for the most part. Riot can't have that. Sure he's doing the right thing, but the populace doesn't know that - they just think he's a mage and mage = bad.

TL;DR - Propaganda undermines justice so while Sylas is doing the right thing, it would take several generations for a revolution like this to be successful.

Chromatic Eagle1/26/2019, 2:52:23 PM2 votes

I don't think there's a right way for him to revolt. The man escaped because he was condemned to death. He was captured for accidentally killing people, but more so as a mage. Kinda hard for an escaped convict to be an activist.

Camille Ferrøs1/25/2019, 7:16:32 PM2 votes

I think the whole point of the whole rebelion thing is to maybe as the rioter said shake things up. Maybe after this whole thing Demacia will be changed for the better. Since as far as we have seen Sylas has no plans or intentions to make something better then what Demacia is except killing nobles and the royal family.

Criomhthann1/26/2019, 12:44:06 AM1 votes

Revolutions go a lot smoother when you have sympathizers.

Conversely, you can't have a Revolution without Revolution.

There is no such thing as a "Bloodless Revolution" because Revolutions are not a political exchange of hats (sorry Bernibros); Revolution is the total Annihilation and Replacement of an existing Social Order with a newer one.

In other words, in a Revolution in an Aristocratic Nation, the Aristocracy would have to go, and you can be sure that not many of them would be too happy about that. Consequently they generally will always react accordingly.

You do bring up a valid point however, though I don't think you realize that you are doing it:

If he got a few of the rich upper-class snobs on his side instead of killing them all, Sylas could get them to fund him.

Revolutions happen on conditions, not ideas. The Communists never would have taken Russia, had the Tsars not allowed conditions to deteriorate such that people had to burn the walls of their own homes for warmth, or kill and eat their neighbors in Metropolitan areas. People seriously have no idea how bad Russia, Cuba, France, etc got in order for Revolution to be viable in the first place.

In order for Sylas' "Revolution" to succeed, his position has to have the potential to make all involved more wealthy than the current system. Aristocrats will commit class suicide if they perceive the risk to be worth worth the reward; more importantly portions of the Military will defect if they perceive the risk to be worth the reword. So the real question is whether or not this is the case.

Tesla Effect1/26/2019, 12:27:18 AM1 votes

Sylas cant recruit dead people...but Shadow Isles can (and Mordekaisers rework is next after Kayle and Morgana so here is hoping the Harrowing comes to Demacia soon).

Velzard of Koz1/25/2019, 10:47:27 PM1 votes

He's typical anarchist mad-driven by revenge. His revolution making sense wasn't the plan from the start I'd say in terms of narrative. He's insane.

Moody P1/25/2019, 7:07:08 PM1 votes

Mages aren't smart who knew