“The Colorful Mage” and her potential link to the Blessed Isles
https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Roadmap_1-min_y1hc9pggnkdowohy0l2p.jpg
The above image was used in Riot’s Champion Roadmap to tease their new, upcoming champion: A colorful (and potentially floral) mage of unknown origins.
Now, while the flowers depicted in the teaser image above may suggest an Ionian champion in nature due to their exotic and vibrant design, I’d actually be willing to bet she’ll be from the Blessed Isles instead, and here’s why.
-
Starting with Xayah and Rakan a year ago, Riot has had a pretty large influx of Ionian champion releases through both new champs and VGUs. Given this recent abundance, I’d say it’s more likely the upcoming mage will be from anywhere but Ionia, as Riot doesn’t like to put out champions of a similar theme or same faction back-to-back (Akali, League’s most recent release, is Ionian).
-
The fact this new champion is a mage already gives us some sort of insight as to what kind of character she might be lore-wise. The Blessed Isles were known to be a paradise of “natural magic”, filled to the brim with sorcerers, monks, priests, and scholars. As a result, it’s not out of the question for this champion to have been from there.
-
But then, how could she have survived the Ruination all those years ago? Well, maybe she wasn’t on the Isles when the cataclysm took place, or perhaps she took shelter in a secret “pocket” of the Isles where no harm was done due to protective magics (this could potentially tie into the Roadmap’s clues of her being “hidden”). What ever it may be, it’s been a long time since the Ruination, and Kalista’s bio seems to hold a clue as to how this champion might still be alive after all those years:
Kalista traveled the world, seeking a cure from learned scholars, hermits and mystics, but always without success. Finally, she learned of a legendary island beyond the ken of mortal eyes, a place said to hold the key to eternal life – the Blessed Isles - and set sail on a last voyage of hope.
-
Aside from lore considerations, the flower in the teaser image appears to be tropical, befitting a small group of southern islands like the Blessed Isles much more than a comparatively large, northward continent such as Ionia.
-
And finally, after playing Yorick a few hours ago I noticed a small detail in his recall that seems to be shared with the teaser image:
Look familiar? Yorick draws a crescent shape in the dirt with his monk spade, not unlike the symbol depicted beneath the flowers in the Roadmap teaser. And we all know where Yorick is from.
Now, this may all just be wild speculation on my part, but as a fan of the Blessed Isles and its impenetrable mysteries, I can’t help but hope this theory holds true.
