The Machine Herald and The Lady of Clockwork
Art by Suqling
I know this is fan art, and I know that headcanon has absolutely no bearing on lore, but when lore is left with gaping holes it is inevitable we attempt to fill in those gaps. With the recent Great Retcon, many champions who were intimately connected with the Institute of War are now in a state of limbo so to speak, such as 
. Their backstories are effectively null without the League's existence, leaving them effectively blank slates in terms of history with only their personality and concept establishing their character. Inevitably, these champions will be worked into the new lore, hopefully without adjusting their core thematics.
That being said, I would like to get an idea, specifically, on what players might expect to see for Orianna.
The Lady of Clockwork is a tragic example of a champion tightly interwoven with the lore of the Institute of War, as her entire reason for existence stems from the innocent desire to become a champion. However, without the Institute as a catalyst for her creation, there is lore surrounding Orianna that does not need to be created anew. For example, the original girl whose likeness she was created to represent was a dancer, a ballerina, to be precise. She has a father by the name of Corin Reveck, a brilliant inventor and one of the first to experiment with electricity. She was from Piltover, the City of Progress. All of these details are not impacted by the removal of the Institute. What will be changed however is how Orianna the dancer became Orianna the machine.
We can assume the change will come about as a result of tragedy, stealing her away at the height of her life, which will inevitably result in the creation of the Lady of Clockwork. Out of grief, Corin Reveck creates an imitation of his daughter, not out of some misplaced hope to fill the void Orianna left behind, but to honor her memory with the creation of something beautiful.
Warning: The following is complete speculation and wishful thinking on my part.
#Change
The new Orianna effectively has no purpose, as the original was created to serve in the League of Legends as the first had dreamed. Considering that the creation of this artificial construct is clearly intended to carry on the memory of a beloved daughter, I presume The Lady of Clockwork continues the work of her predecessor. Whatever that may be, Corin wanted his creation to last and ensured her safety through a mechanical companion: the Ball. The stage is set, all we need are details to flesh out the story.
Currently, Orianna has two connections within the League, 
and 
, ally and rival, respectively. In addition, she also has a connection to a character outside the game, that being her creator/adoptive father, Corin Reveck.
Now this is an obvious bias on my part, but I find the connection between her and Viktor to be incredibly compelling, but I feel it can be so much more than a one note rivalry. These two characters are connected in a way unlike any other champions among League's roster, and not through physical interaction; they are both involved in a journey that defines their characters, a journey of identity. Orianna is a replica, an imitation, a hollow doll filled with memories of a dead mind, memories she readily believes are her own. Despite her conviction, and consequently a lack of self-awareness, she is very aware of how others perceive her; Orianna knows she is different. While her reaction to this treatment is not addressed in her Judgement, it is a key aspect of her character, her uncanny resemblance to something living, but clearly not, and something I believe will be inevitably confronted when her lore is updated.
Likewise, Viktor is a man, one who plumbed the depths of his expansive mind for answers and found it in steel and circuitry. He was human, perhaps still is human, but he is actively seeking to improve himself in a way that pushes him farther from the general definition of humanity. He may not voice it, or even be consciously aware of it, but Viktor wants to be something, something that is distinctly not human. However, he is caught in a state between man and machine, a constant state of change as he continually improves his form. What the Machine Herald is confronted with is a question we are tackling in the real world today: at what point is someone changed so much that they are no longer themselves? Brain-uploading is an obvious example. Is the copy exact? Is the original destroyed? If there is no difference between them, can either claim to be genuine? Are they the same person, or does the state of existence - flesh or digital information - affect their character? To tie this back into The Machine Herald, can Viktor ever become more than he is without losing what makes him Viktor?
Fancy speculation, but there is a thread connecting all of this aimless rambling.
I find it interesting to note that nowhere is it stated in Orianna's lore she wishes to be human. Act as a loving daughter, yes, serve in the League of Legends, of course, but nothing explicitly states Orianna wishes to be anything but Orianna. And yet, we all assume the logical end to her pursuits is guided by a desire to be human. Conversely, Viktor is described as removing his emotions and replacing parts of himself to improve their efficiency, and without outright stating it anywhere that he wishes to become a machine, everyone believes that is his end goal. Yes, it is clearly written he believes the future of Valoran involves renouncing flesh in favor of techmaturgical augmentations, but nothing indicates he intends to replace flesh entirely. Augment, adjust, improve, not replace or remove.
Through the hints in their lore, we are led to believe each desires an existence they currently do not represent, and acknowledging this pursuit is an admission that both know they are not what they wish to be. Without any form of interaction, any connection, past or present, these two champions are more interwoven than most rivals in the League of Legends, all without a single word shared between them.
What I would like to see is a direct connection between the two, and that is where the comic comes into play. What if Orianna knew Viktor before her death? Something so simple could have such a profound impact on their stories that does not change them in any way, but provides a new layer.
They knew one another when they were both flesh and blood, they began at the same point: human. Now, one is wires and steel while the other is electricity and clockwork. They knew each other at the start, and meet once more in the middle. Orianna knows she is not the girl her memories claim she must be, and seeks to reconcile the echoes of her past with the truths of her present, to make sense of her existence. Viktor works to abandon his fleshy prison, but faces the possibility of annihilation in successfully reaching his goal, emancipation at the expense of his soul. Perhaps they can learn from one another, not what it means to reach a dream they thought was desired, but to discover an acceptance for who they are despite their limitations.
I believe the connection between Orianna and Viktor can be so much more than one of antagonism or camaraderie like most champions, but an introspective search for answers through a familiar association. They remember what the other was, and see what they have become, which in turn prompts them to ask where they might be going and why.
That was a lot of rambling over a simple comic. Sorry.
Still, it is a really awesome comic.
