Targon
Like all places born of myth, Mount Targon calls to dreamers, madmen, and those who hunger for adventure. Rising in a remote, sparsely populated land west of Shurima, it bears the tallest peak in all of Runeterra. Far from the reach of civilization, the mountain resists all but the most resolute pilgrims, souls driven by an unspoken need to stand upon its summit.
Opening
Those few who endure the brutal ascent and reach the mountain's base are met by a sky unlike any other. Celestial bodies shimmer above them: sun and moons, constellations and wandering planets, blazing comets carving paths through the dark, and stars aligned in ominous patterns. When these travelers return, they are never the same, either hollowed by what they have seen or transformed beyond recognition.
At the foot of the mountain, the people believe these visions are echoes of ancient stellar beings, long vanished and immeasurably powerful. Yet Mount Targon is no god itself, only a passage into the celestial realm, and whatever exists beyond it cannot be measured by mortal thoughts, morals, or concerns.
Welcome, lore-lovers, to Liandrug. Tonight, we climb beyond the mortal world, into myths written in starlight, into gods, betrayals, and celestial wars that shaped Runeterra itself. Settle in, listen closely, and let the story unfold.
The Chronicle
The Star Forger
Aurelion Sol was born with the first breath of creation. As existence unfurled, he drifted through the physical realm, shaping the infinite canvas before him, forging stars and wonders meant to awe all who would one day behold them.
Long after his work had begun, he noticed something strange, a world circling one of his earliest stars, a world not of his making. The Aspects, deeply interested in this place, urged him to draw near. There was life upon it, and magic, and young civilizations reaching outward, seeking guidance. Pleased by their reverence, Aurelion Sol descended from the heavens in the form of a dragon. The people of Targon named him after the sun he had given them, and at the command of the Aspects, they prepared an offering.
Mortals climbed to the summit of their highest mountain and placed upon him a magnificent crown, wrought with careful sorcery and etched with patterns drawn from the celestial realm. Yet it was no gift. The crown locked itself tightly in place, draining his knowledge of the sun, stripping his power so it could be studied by mortal minds. Cast back into the heavens, Aurelion Sol was barred from ever approaching that world again. The Aspects of Targon then guided mortals to build a great Sun Disc. Through it, they channeled his stolen power, creating immortal god-warriors in preparation for wars yet to come.
Shurima and Targon
From its earliest days, the Shuriman Empire was bound to Mount Targon and the celestial powers beyond it. The secrets of Ascension, the designs of the Sun Disc, and even the means to undo Ascension were gifts from the Targonians. For a time, Targon itself became a nation within the greater empire. It is said the Aspects may have stood beside Shurima in its war against the Void after the fall of Icathia. When the empire eventually crumbled, Targon withdrew once more, fading back into isolation.
The Great Darkin War
During the chaos that followed, Myisha, host of the Aspect of Twilight, guided the panther Ascended Ta'anari to Nasus, who revealed the resting place of Setaka's Chalicar. With it, Ta'anari hoped to end the growing civil war among the Ascended. A gathering was called, drawing Enakai the Tiger, Syphax the Chameleon, Zigantus the Bull, Xuuyan the Turtle, the raven twins Shabaka and Shabake, Valeeva, Cebotaru the Wolf, and Naganeka the Snake.
Ta'anari proposed that the Chalicar pass to Sivunas Alahair, a surviving descendant of Azir. Xuuyan opposed him and tried to seize the relic by force. Ta'anari was forced to strike him down using Riftwalk. The remaining Ascended rejected unity, and with Myisha's aid, Ta'anari used the Chalicar to heal himself and unleash a devastating Moonfall. The power stripped the Ascended of their forms and might.
Shabaka and Shabake were annihilated instantly, followed shortly by Syphax, Zigantus, and Enakai. Ta'anari himself was reverted from Ascension, and Myisha later tore out his heart, ending his life. Only Naganeka, Valeeva, and Cebotaru escaped.
Ta'anari's three warrior queens, Teushpa, Sulpae, and Idri-Mi, were charged with forging weapons capable of sealing the Darkin, guided by Myisha's teachings. In time, mortals were given the knowledge to imprison the remaining Darkin, while the reborn Aspect of War rallied armies against them. At last, the Darkin threat was subdued, and the world was left scarred by the echo of celestial betrayal and divine war.
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The New Twilight
More than a millennium ago, a young Lunari girl named Zoe slipped away from her studies in search of something more entertaining. As she danced through the streets, mocking the priests sent to catch her, she drew the attention of the Aspect of Twilight. When her teachers finally cornered her, the Aspect intervened, summoning six objects before her: a pouch of gold, a sword, a finished study book, a devotion rug, a silk rope, and a simple toy ball. Any choice but one would have solved her predicament. Zoe chose the ball, kicking it playfully between her pursuers. Amused by her answer, the Aspect opened a portal to the summit of Mount Targon. Zoe leapt without hesitation, merging with the Aspect and vanishing into the celestial heights. From that moment on, she wandered realms at the edge of Targon's control, playing within realities far beyond mortal understanding.
The Solari Crusade
In time, tensions between the two great faiths of Targon erupted into open conflict. The Solari rose victorious, crushing the Lunari and declaring themselves the sole arbiters of truth. Those who resisted were branded heretics, hunted down, and erased from memory. The Lunari were driven into hiding, their existence reduced to whispers and shadows.
The Return of the Aspects
Among the Solari acolytes was Diana, an outcast who questioned the belief that the sun alone was worthy of worship. Drawn by doubt and curiosity, she climbed Mount Targon. Her lover, Leona, followed her to the summit. There, both were chosen as vessels, Leona for the Aspect of the Sun, Diana for the Aspect of the Moon. Their differing visions soon brought them into conflict, and Diana nearly killed Leona in the clash. Fearing the loss of herself to the power within, Diana fled down the mountain to confront the Solari priests. They condemned her as a heretic, igniting the wrath of both Diana and her Aspect. Many priests and their guardians fell before her, and she fled once more, searching for her purpose. Leona, bound by duty and devotion, swore to find Diana, to uphold Solari dominance and to help her control the power she carried.
Years later, the Rakkor warriors Atreus and his friend Pylas ascended Mount Targon after Leona refused their pleas for aid against invading barbarians. Only Atreus survived the climb, becoming host to the Aspect of War, Pantheon. Judging him unworthy, the Aspect seized control, burying Atreus within his own mind. Pantheon was later drawn into battle with the Darkin Aatrox. Against all expectation, Aatrox struck down the god, his blade extinguishing stars in the heavens. Atreus awoke impaled, defiant even in defeat, and spat in Aatrox's face. Left for dead, he was nursed back to health by Iula, Pylas' widow. Learning that Aatrox had orchestrated the barbarian invasion, Atreus came to see mortals as expendable pieces in the games of higher powers. He swore to defy them, rising as Pantheon reborn.
The Protector
Taric, a disgraced Demacian soldier, was condemned to bear the Crown of Stone, a ritual that sent the dishonored to climb Mount Targon, a journey few survived. Where others fled into exile, Taric chose atonement and faced the mountain. The ascent nearly broke him, body and spirit, as Targon tested his resolve with endless trials and fractured realities. He endured them all. At the summit, the being known as the Protector recognized his unwavering spirit and claimed him as its avatar. Taric was granted ethereal power and warned of the duty ahead: he would stand as the Shield of Valoran against a tide of madness born of the Void. Accepting his charge, Taric devoted himself to guarding the world.
Zoe's Return
After millennia beyond time, Zoe returned to Runeterra having aged scarcely a year. The world seemed much the same to her eyes, and she arrived filled with curiosity, for mortals, for Aspects, and for the games yet to be played.
The Return of the Lunari
As celestial cycles shifted, the ancient temple of Marus Omegnum phased back into the world for the first time in centuries. Lunari emerged from hiding to witness the change. The temple would accept only one occupant gifted in magic, and this time it was Alune. Her twin brother Aphelios, usually silent and asking for nothing, wished to accompany her.
Before the balance could settle, the Lunari were discovered. Solari armies descended upon them, purging the gathering with fire and steel. Aphelios was beaten, his moonstone blades shattered. As the battle raged, Alune reached the heart of the temple. From within, she projected her magic outward, finding a focus in the noctum poison flowing through Aphelios' veins. Her power merged with his skill, forming new moonstone weapons in his hands. The Solari fell, never to see the sun again.
Alune then forced the temple back into the spirit realm, sealing herself within it. Aphelios became a conduit of lunar power, enduring constant pain, while Alune guided him from afar. To protect the surviving Lunari, Aphelios' training as an assassin was amplified by her magic, his arsenal reshaped again and again through their shared purpose.
With the balance of Targon shifting and the Solari aware that the Lunari still endure, Aphelios and Alune became more vital than ever.
The Return of the Star Forger
As he watched the rise and fall of god-warriors, Aurelion Sol slowly came to accept his imprisonment. But when Runeterra was scarred by successive magical catastrophes, he sensed weakness. The bindings placed upon him were fading. Flecks of gold fell from his crown, blazing across the heavens like comets.
Drawn by the promise of freedom and vengeance, Aurelion Sol turned his gaze back to Runeterra with quiet, eternal fury. It was here, he knew, that the balance would shift again, and that the universe would witness the fate of those who dared steal the power of a star forger.
Closing Words
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