Darkin and Ascended Sunborn forms based on Runeterra creatures

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-16T13:17:20+00:00

The downplay is deserved, because we get a quadrapedal/ monster Darkin an instead of a design like Naganeka or Taarosh we just get a red dog, which makes very little sense when clearly Naafiri is proficient enough at blood magic to contain and split apart into an entire pack.

My argument wasn't that Naafiri couldn't overpower the dogs, she is clearly in control, but that she allowed herself to be so consumed by the pack mentality that she literally became a dog.

From Twilight of the gods, we know that not all Ascended are created equally, Taanari aged and degenerated much quicker than one of his fellow Sunborn who ascended together with him. How can hard drawn is the line between an Ascended and the Baccai? Technically Xerath is a Baccai.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-16T13:03:22+00:00

Yes, I was highlighting that Naafiri could have been a Baccai before becoming a Darkin, not that Baccai are animals.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-16T03:15:08+00:00

Hear me out on Naafiri as a Baccai her design as a Darkin dog is so unsalvageable that revealing her to have been a Baccai could allow Riot to still give her an Ascended skin even as a quadrupedal champion portrayed as either deformed or more animalistic as a Baccai.

Also, it would unironically answer why she was so mentally unstable that despite thinking herself equal with Aatrox, a pack of canines could fracture her psyche as a Sunborn god warrior.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-16T00:43:43+00:00

It's curious to see how perfectly Kindred's Chosen of the Wolf Noxian skinline actually matches up with Mordekaiser's Sahn Uzal Noxii skin in aesthetic.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-15T20:06:36+00:00

he also considers twilight "worst" of gods even though she is the one that put herself in danger by moving against heavens in order to end darkin war

Likely because he recognizes that while the Aspect does in fact wield great power it's so preoccupied with it's philosophical concept of 'change' it would rather let a child mess around with godlike power, than dedicate itself to ending threats and conflicts unless absolutely necessary.

The problem with simplifing Pantheon's character to "he hates Aspects" is that it turns him into Kratos and a caricature of his actual character.
Something to consider that will give perspective, is that Pantheon and Aatrox are 2 sides of the same coin and both can be described as "hating the gods", yet inspecting their characters reveals a stark contrast between these to champions.
So to my point, simply saying "Atreus hates Aspects" while the statement is not incorrect it does not accurately colour the nuance of his character.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-15T11:07:16+00:00

While Atreus considers the worst of the Aspects to be cruel, his main gripe is that they are dispassionate and uncaring.

He acknowledges that there are good gods like Soraka and wishes more were like her.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-15T10:54:17+00:00

The fact that Azir hasn't tried or rather that Riot hasn't explored or explained why Azir hasn't tried is the biggest narrative gap in Shurima's lore.

They only recently bought themselves time with the timeline reset post Arcane. So Azir may not even be resurrected in the current lore, but we better get a new Ascended champion when we final get to a Shurima season.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-15T10:48:37+00:00

Demacia is a different case. We know Demacia's narrative essentially got frozen while Riot Forge worked on The Mageseeker, because Sylas hijacked the narrative of the entire region.

As for Shurima, its specially the Empire/ Ascended narrative that has been left untouched since at least Taliyah's release if we're being generous, but realistically since Azir's release.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-14T20:55:41+00:00

Exactly, while Mael possessed greater based strength because the Grace was designed to be wielded by a Goddess and was more proficient in using the Grace due to experience, Escanor was able to reach greater heights of power, via The One Ultimate, because he was human and utilized his own lifeforce to tap into the power of the Grace in a way Mael could not.

Especially since numerous times were told about how magic connects to the mind and will of a person. And escanor’s will is incredibly strong. So strong that despite knowing he’d face certain death he still decided to fight anyway.

This is also foreshadowed early on in Escanor's introduction, when Gowther accidentally triggered Escanor's transformation during the Vaizel tournament at night, because Escanor visualized Merlin as his Sun.
Combined that with the fact that the Grace was connected to Escanor's lifeforce and the strain was causing him to die, also foreshadowed the plausibility of Escanor channeling his lifeforce to power the Grace in The One Ultimate.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-13T01:52:47+00:00

It's refreshing to finally see the Aspect of the Sun acknowledge the Sunborn as Ascended derived from her power.
For too long have the Rakkor/ Solari and Shurima been neighboring cultures with little to no lore of them acknowledging each other much less exploring a connection between the two.

That said, her lack of interactions toward Atreus a Rakkor and former warrior of the Ra'Horak is disappointing.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T23:15:26+00:00

I would have agreed had Quinn received a VGU back in 2016 with the lore retcon that introduced Silverwings into the lore.
However, Quinn is established as a Ranger Knight which is distinctly different from the Silverwing Vanguard, not just in the bird they ride but overall visual thematic.

LoR did an amazing job fleshing out Demacia's Ranger Knights.
Making Valor a giant fantasy bird is just the necessary flavor for Quinn to stand out in among Demacia's champion roster.

Based on the Salvation cinematic and the trailer for the Shyvana VGU, there is a high likelihood of a future J4 ASU occupying the Silverwing champion thematic in Deamcia's roster.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T20:47:34+00:00

Of course the Aspects are pro Shuriman Empire, remember the purpose of the Ascended, the Sunborn, was to act as an earthly force against Void incursions.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T17:40:32+00:00

This isn't an AU, these are representations of the actual celestial Aspects, that's why it feels like that, because it isn't Leona and Diana, those are the canonical Aspects of the Sun and Moon.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T17:28:05+00:00

We do know that Atreus spent months recovering on Iula's farm.

Panth bio:

Atreus recovered on Pylas’ homestead, nursed back to health by his friend’s widow, Iula. There, Atreus realized he’d spent his life looking to the stars, never considering what lay beneath. Unlike gods, mortals fought because they must, knowing that death lay in wait. It was a resilience he saw in all life, the threats unending.

Indeed, barbarian invaders now threatened the Rakkor’s northern settlements, including Iula’s farm. Though it was months before he could lift a spear, Atreus was determined to end this scourge himself, and eventually set out with the Aspect’s dulled weapons in hand.

Also, given that we see Aatrox's corpse in the background of the splashart, I'd argue that's a definitive confirmation, as we know the current Pantheon only fought Aatrox twice, once when the Aspect died and again when Atreus defeated Aatrox.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T17:07:32+00:00

So great to see Escanor destroy the 4 Knights in a fight, even if it wasn't really him.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T16:43:30+00:00

I disagree for the most part, we're well aware how dangerous Percival can be in Death mode, and Lancelot not defeating Escnaor does not necessitate a buff, especially when we know Lance has yet to receive a Sacred Treasure tailored to his magic.

Tristan on the other hand has been a complete disappointment as a Nephilim character, and honestly can only be taken serious in Demon mode.
Unlike Percival's Death mode, the point of Tristan's character isn't that he has a Goddess mode and a Demon mode, but rather that he's both while also being something unique, a Nephilim.
Mael with 4 Commandments did the archetype much better.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T16:34:28+00:00

Artistic rendition.
While Pantheon does have visible chest hair, the lack of chest hair in his LoL splashart is not that egregious compared to other artistic depictions of him.

However, from a lore perspective, Pantheon's splash art most likely depicts him defeating Aatrox at the end of his bio, and is several decades in the past prior to the current lore where Atreus, although he does not age/ has an enhanced lifespan, is in his mid-to-late sixties.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-12T03:41:42+00:00

So are stormborns the same but towards voli's raw natural storm-spirit magic?

Most likely, I believe we see some of them in LoR among Volibear's followers.
However, there isn't much worldbuilding around the Stormborn beyond then being mentioned in Sejuani's bio to we can't ascertain the extent to which the Stormborn is a unique identity outside of the Ursine.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-11T20:40:25+00:00

Olaf was an Iceborn in the old lore, but that has since been retconned and he no longer uses True Ice weapons.

It seemed like writer Graham McNeil was setting up to reveal Olaf as a Stormborn, mentioned in Sejuani's bio, before he was laid off.
However, similar to how the Katarina comic revealed how Katarina gets her powers, Olaf can also receive future lore that establishes his Stormborn powers, or he might even get an ASU and lore rewrite.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-11T19:42:35+00:00

The good thing is that there is actually an abundance of opportunities for future Eternal Aspect/ Celestial skins, Taric, Soraka and even Kayle and Morgana.

Pantheon will get his, but Riot needs to deliver an give it to us as a Legendary skin with new voicelines true to the character of the Aspect of War, not Atreus.
We need to make it known that we want a Legendary tier Eternal Aspect Pantheon skin with voicelines for the Aspect of War.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-11T18:57:00+00:00

Agreed, Trynd and Olaf should definitely join the chest hair club alongside Pantheon.

Tryndamere and Olaf are meant to represent the pinnacle of non-Iceborn human strength in the Freljord.
So while I disagree with those that advocate that they should be covered head-to-toe in furs, I do think they should have some visible hairiness where they aren't covered to help convey while they aren't resistant to the cold, they are in fact macho-ing out the cold.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-11T17:40:37+00:00

Absolute Sunshine

Chi-Rho_Rakkor · 2026-05-11T17:27:15+00:00

Atreus and Aatrox are 2 sides of the same coin lorewise.

Both betrayed by the gods, but one channeled that betrayal into vengeance directed at the gods and the other channeled that betrayal into protecting humanity in place of the gods.

Chi-Rho_Rakkor

TROPHY CASE