Riot Games kicked off the 2020 ranked season with an epic cinematic short.
For the first time ever, Riot chose to use their annual animation to continue one of the major League of Legends lore threads.
Demacia and mage rebellions have been a recurring focus of media surrounding the game. That arc began with the release of the champion Sylas, whose backstory revolves around sparking a mage revolution against the kingdom. Later, Riot developed a comic series starring Lux where she grappled with her loyalty to her homeland and pity towards persecuted mages.
That story continued with their latest animated short Warriors: Season 2020. The cinematic features Lux and Garen defending a fortress against an assault led by Sylas and a band of freljordian highlanders, but many fans are likely unaware of how things got to this point.
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During the Lux comic series, Sylas was imprisoned for using his magical abilities to kill several Demacians. Eventually Lux finds her way to the revolutionary.
The pair form an unlikely bond which Sylas uses to steal magical energy from Lux in order to escape his cell. After escaping, he incites a mage rebellion which concludes with the death of King Jarven III. The rebellion is quelled and Sylas is chased out of the city by Prince Jarven IV and Garen.
Lux also reluctantly leaves Demacia along with a group of peaceful mages to find sanctuary. Lux later gives life to the monolithic statue Galio as described in the short story Flesh and Stone, and the pair return to Demacia.
On the other hand, Sylas travels in exile. In the short story The Shackles of Belief he eventually finds his way into the outskirts of the Freljord where he encounters a small tribe of highlander warriors. After proving his ability in combat he convinces the tribe to join him in his war against Demacia. He even gets some winter garb which he sports in the upcoming Frejordian Sylas skin. At the end of the story, the group begin traveling to a nearby Demacian outpost.
These are the events that led up to the encounter during Warriors: Season 2020.
During the cinematic, Lux and Garen have traveled to the outskirts to defend a fortress against Sylas and his army’s onslaught. The group is outnumbered, but Lux summons her new giant friend Galio and uses her magic to push back the enemy alongside her newly accepting Demacian allies.
It’s awesome to see Riot continue this narrative with this new cinematic trailer, and fans can only wonder what the next step in this journey will be.
