Heartbreak and grief can lead people to do incredible things, and in League of Legends, the creation of the Shadow Isles is one of those things. With the release of Viego, Riot opened up a heap of backstories and character connections in League of Legends we never knew about.

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There isn't always time to dive into lore while playing a match, so we're going to go through some of the details about this mysterious land that you might have missed. Prepare to have tissues on hand.

9 It Wasn't Always This Way

League of Legends Thresh Facing Blessed Isles Cliff Sea

Before the arrival of Kalista, and subsequently Viego, the Shadow Isles were known as the Blessed Isles. This was a place of study and life and magical healing waters. It was hidden from fiendish, greedy eyes by the Mist that encapsulated the islands, protecting the sacred lands and all who dwelt in peace there. When the peasant seamstress, now queen, Isolde was accidentally poisoned, her king sent out his niece Kalista in search of a cure.

Laying his dead wife into the Blessed Waters of Life did in fact bring Isolde back to life, but it was a half life of torment and suffering. She stabbed her own husband in the heart, causing a surge of undead magic to taint everything around them. The Blessed Mists turned black, and every living thing was swallowed into the darkness of undeath.

8 Someone Still Lives Among The Shadows

League of Legends Yorick Skin

Elsewhere in this peaceful land lives Yorick, a talented monk envied by all his pious peers for his innate talent of speaking to the dead. The Brethren of the Dusk held symbolic shovels, and helped those who had passed away find solace and calm in the afterlife. Each monk was given a vial of the Waters of Life, able to cure any ailment or injury if it wasn't time for someone to die.

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But when the Blackmist arrived at the small village the monks flung the vials from their necks, screaming as though it burned, and each one succumbed to their new half-life. Yorick resisted the urge, and the Mist avoided him entirely. Now he lives alone, wandering through the gathering souls, still trying to help them move on to an afterlife they'll never see.

7 Karthus Was Spared

League of Legends Karthus Skin Grim Reaper

On the other side of the Isles, Karthus stepped off of a boat and onto the haunted beaches. He'd heard rumors of such a place where death never claimed the dead and much could be gleaned about the powers beyond.

He'd always been a bit creepy, even as a child. When his sisters were dying in their beds, Karthus had gleefully watched over them. A fascination with death isn't good for a growing boy, so everyone was pretty relieved when he announced he was going to visit the Shadow Isles. Karthus felt so at home the Mist decided he would fit right in, and spared him his life. There he rules over the ghouls forgotten and left behind in the mists.

6 Residing Spirits Come In Many Forms

League of Legends Shadow Isles Monster Hydra

Most of the individuals who have fallen prey to the damned are weak, and lose themselves to the listlessness of undeath. They can only wander beyond the borders of the Shadow Isles during the Harrowing, when the Blackmist unfurls across the water to reach other lands. But there are those whose personality and will are retained even after death, and are able to manifest far beyond the usual boundaries.

A Soul Shepherd is a strong-willed benevolent being who seeks to protect weaker spirits from the specters who may hunt them for sport. Among those that lived quietly on the Blessed Isles prior to the Ruination are the scribes and archivists. They exist now in torment as Eternal Scriveners, scrawling screams onto reams of parchment that fall to tatters immediately after. There is no rest in the Shadow Isles.

5 Thresh Played A Key Role In The Ruination

League of Legends Human Thresh Shadow Isles

One such scribe was Brother Grael, another monk of the Brethren of the Dusk. Living and working in Helia, Grael was methodical and persistent, serving the monastery for decades. However, his brothers quickly noted he could be quite cruel and even seemed to delight in the misfortunes of the dead. But he was well regarded despite this, and promoted to the Vault Keeper where he documented and maintained ancient artifacts stored underneath Helia.

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This kept him busy enough that he could hide his sadism, until King Viego turned up carrying his dead Isolde. Upon seeing the madness and grief in his eyes, the masters of the Blessed Isles forbade Viego's entrance to the Waters of Life. They were subsequently cut down by his armies who went searching for this magical spring. Brother Grael was happy to lead them there, and to watch the ensuing chaos. The Blackmist took Grael and transformed him into the tortuous warden of souls he is today. It was his next logical step, really.

4 The Blackmist Isn't All Powerful

League of Legends Vex Shadow Isles Roses

The Blackmist of the Shadows Isles has ravaged great warriors such as Hecarim and Kalista, it's adapted Karthus and Thresh to suit its whims. But this dark magic isn't omnipotent, there are those that can come and go among the wraiths as they wish.

Yordles are beings of immense magic, with no natural lifespan and an innate aura of giddy glee. Then there's Vex. She seems to have been born to be a moody teenager, and when the Blackmist reached Bandle City she followed it back to the source. When her own magic and the mists combined it brought her shadow to life, which suits her just fine. However, the darkness had no effect on her, or the yordle family members that periodically visit in hopes of taking her back home.

There is hope yet in defeating the Blackmist, and it comes in the form of sparkly fluff-balls.

3 The Shadow Isles House A God

League of Legends Vilemaw And Yordle

As a newly fledged member of the Black Rose cabal, Elise was desperate to prove her fidelity to the likes of Leblanc and her compatriots. So the aristocrat set off in search of powerful antiques to present them with, anything that may help the cause. However, deep in the dank tombs she found herself in lives a corrupt aberration, Vilemaw the spider god. Feeding on sacrifices brought by willing servants, Vilemaw has lived beneath the Shadow Isles for who knows how long.

The god's venom mutated Elise, sprouting legs from her back and crippling her spine. Since then, she and Leblanc have come up with an arrangement; Leblanc provides Elise with living sacrifices for Vilemaw, and Elise safely travels around the Shadow Isles collecting powerful artifacts for the Black Rose. Win-win.

2 Maokai Was The First Resident

League of Legends Maokai Spirits Souls Shadow Isles

When the islands first erupted from the ocean they were desolate and gray. With their arrival came the first tree spirit, Maokai. The life giving waters welled within the Blessed Isles and Maokai sank his roots into the spring. From there he traveled across the isles, spreading life and creating new species to live with him there in paradise. It soon became lush and verdant there, and humans arrived to settle. They respected Maokai as the local god, and agreed to live peacefully on the outskirts of forests.

When the Ruination began, Maokai sensed evil rolling in on clouds of dark mist. He lumbered toward the Waters of Life and drank deeply before they were evaporated by Viego's grief. Now he exists among the dead, all his friends have wilted, and only he survives with the Blessed Waters in his bark.

1 Two Potential Saviors Trudge Onwards

League of Legends Gwen Skin Cafe Cuties

The treeant is intent on bringing life back to the Shadow Isles, spending his days protecting small groves of trees, keeping the dead at bay. He and Yorick hold the only Water of Life still in existence.

But there is another who also seeks to remove the curse that Viego and Isolde put upon the Blessed Isles. Gwen is a sentient doll created by Isolde in her seamstress days, before she was poisoned. Wielding the tools used to create her, Gwen is propelled by the love Isolde held in her heart for Viego before madness overtook him, and she is marching her way to right the wrongs the couple wrought.

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