We all know League of Legends champions have dark and mysterious past, don't we? This is the reason why, over the years, our community came up with lots of (conspiracy) theories, some of which are incredibly interesting and amusing. So, let's check them out.

Is Nocturne Zed?

One of the theories I find really interesting is the one stating that Nocturne is actually Zed in the future. First of all, there was a reddit post that showed us how extremely similar Zed's and Nocturne's splash arts are. They are both faced in the exact same way and are both standing in the exact same position. The second thing that supports this theory is stated in both champions' lores. Although Zed's assembled ninjas heard Zed crying in pain when he followed his ex-master into the temple (so the master would somehow remove his shadow technique), Zed emerged from it without even a scratch. It is believed Zed cried in pain back there because the shadows have overtaken his mind and body and that he couldn't control them. On the other hand, Nocturne's lore is showing us how exactly he appeared with these exact words: "Witnesses said he cried out once and then stopped breathing. Immediately after, magical energy arced out from the nexus, and Nocturne appeared."

Both of these lores are connected with someone crying out in pain before they emerge. It's pretty obvious that both Zed and Nocturne are related to the shadows, and both of them are primary assassins. We can also find a lot of similarities in their quotes and skills. For example, one of the Zed's quotes says, "Cut the last breath of them“, while Nocturne says, "Cut them from this world“. There is also a quote where Zed mentions to not fear the shrouded path, which might be related to Nocturne's Q (Duskbringer) since it is a path of darkness, or to his W spell called Shroud of Darkness.

Credit: JeremyQ

Is Akali Zed's shadow?

I'm not really sure what is it about Zed, but people really like theorising around him. Not only we believe that Nocturne is future Zed, but we also seem to believe that Akali is one of the Zed's shadows. Some of the conclusions to this theory are that Akali also might be Zed's daughter. What is said to be a bug initiated this theory - sometimes, when an enemy is killed by Zed's ultimate, the death recap shows that Akali assisted in that kill, even if there is no Akali in the game at all. In the AMA about Zed, RiotRunaan stated two interesting things - that Riot has interesting ideas about Akali's connection to Zed and that Zed did once have a favourite student, but that he/she did not follow his order. This is why it's believed that Akali was that favourite student, since her title says she is The Fist of Shadow, while Zed is The Master of Shadows. Also, Akali's passive is called Twin Disciplines, which might be telling us that she uses two ninja disciplines - the Kinkou and Shadow.

Rek'Sai, I am your father.

This might not be as big of the theory as the rest of them, but it's still a theory. This is where we talk about Rek'Sai, possibly a daughter of our favourite void worm Baron. Since both Rek'Sai and Baron don't really talk much and we don't really know much about them, this theory is mostly based on their looks. They are both purple-ish and the two smaller heads seen on Baron are extremely similar to the Rek'Sai's, if not the same.

Death is like the wind, always by their side.

Yasuo bears the title of The Unforgiven, since he was falsely accused of killing an elder he was meant to protect with his wind techniques. The ones who read Yasuo's lore know that it wasn't Yasuo who did it, but since he's the only one who mastered wind technique, so who did? This is where Riven comes up in the theory. Noxians killing Ionians is something we've seen a lot, so why would this be an exception? Riven's second ultimate is called "Wind Slash“, and it seems that even Yasuo knows that she might be the killer, which is supported by Yasuo's taunts: "Which weighs more, Riven? Your blade or your past?" and "Everyone faces a reckoning, Riven“. Also, both of them have betrayed their own people in order to fight for a greater ideal and have similar ability kits.

Jarvan IV is actually LeBlanc.

You might ask yourselves where does this theory even come from, taking in mind that Jarvan IV and LeBlanc are not only different genders, but they also have different fighting techniques. It all started with the piece of artwork showing a huge fight between Demacia and Noxus, led by Swain and Jarvan IV. If you zoom in into the artwork, you will see that Jarvan IV's reflection in Swain's breastplate is not Jarvan, but LeBlanc. It is believed that Jarvan is actually LeBlanc in despise as a spy. LeBlanc is/was the leader of Black Rose, which was a huge power behind the Noxian throne, but it vanished overnight. It is believed that Jarvan's judgment was not done by a Summoner (like it usually was) because LeBlanc was supposedly already in the shape and form of Jarvan IV. Events happening in Journal of Justice seem to support this theory even more, starting with Swain accusing a man with the murder of the Noxian citizen, while saying that he was following the commands of Jarvan. It seems pretty obvious that everything that has been done is Swain's master scheme. After all, looks can be deceiving.

Image courtesy of Riot Games

Is Jhin Corin Reveck, Orianna's father?

Probably the newest conspiracy theory circling around our community is the one stating that Jhin is Orianna's father. We can learn from Orianna's lore that she had an incredible talent for dancing, but was also mad about League of Legends, which is why she eventually died. Her death made her father obsessed with techmaturgy and he created a clockwork killing machine named after his daughter. Doesn't someone obsessed with both beauty and death sound like Jhin to you?

So, what is the truth? If you ask me, the truth lies in darkness.

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