The history of Noxus, one of League of Legends’ most complex regions

The lore of League of Legends is like a massive painting in progress. Some parts of the world are broad brushstrokes, enough to give you a general idea without greater detail. Others have been revisited again and again in different mediums, like comics, animation, and cinematics, expanding the lore through the various lenses and perspectives.

One of the regions that has gotten the most attention from Riot is Noxus, a brutal and meritocratic expansionist empire. And in the next content update, fans expect Noxus to be at the fore, with new lore told through shopkeepers, skins, and biographies. In the earliest days of League of Legends, Noxus was basically Evil Skull Town, and half of the champions’ backstories began with their loved ones being ruthlessly slaughtered by Noxians. 

Riot has retconned, rewritten, and revisited this region over the years, and I’m here to guide you through the current lore and conflicts that could pay off in the future. Welcome to Noxus, a land with a massive military, hidden magical Illuminati, undead shock troops, high-society hemomancy, and lots of inner conflict.

Sahn-Uzal and the sorceress

Before Noxus was Noxus, there were the Noxii, a warband led by Sahn-Uzal. Sahn-Uzal called himself a ruler, but he was more of a butcher slaughtering all in front of him. He expected this to result in a conqueror’s afterlife known as the Hall of Bones. Instead, he found himself in an empty limbo.

Sahn-Uzal refused to fade away. Instead, he clung to existence, whispering to the mortal realms until a cabal of sorcerers rallied to bring him back to life as a weapon. He was reforged as Mordekaiser, an iron revenant, and immediately rewarded the sorcerers by slaughtering them all and beginning his second brutal reign. This time, he built a capital: the Immortal Bastion, a mysterious fortress with connections to spirits, demons, and death.

Mordekaiser was ultimately betrayed by the Noxii tribes who were sick of living in a world of constant murder, and a sorceress from his inner circle: LeBlanc. This betrayal was part of his plan all along, and now he waits in the realms of the dead, building an unstoppable ghost army. LeBlanc went on to found the Black Rose, an Illuminati-esque secret society, to guide Noxus’ path as she planned for the inevitable return of Mordekaiser.

Recommended reading: The Final Reign by Michael Yichao

The early empire

Noxus grew into a Rome-style expansionist empire, with the Noxian vanguard building structures known as Noxtoraa to mark their territory. The fledgling empire got into scraps with Demacia, a monarchy with very limited class mobility. By contrast, Noxus became a meritocracy: A slave or orphan can rise to the top of the ranks, should they prove useful enough. 

A big part of Noxus’ success is that, as it expands, its leaders integrate the culture of new territories into the greater zeitgeist of Noxus. Someone in the Shuriman desert, for instance, will be able to continue their life as they have come to know it after the Noxtoraa are erected. As long as the new citizens subscribe to core Noxian ideals like “strength above all,” they can keep the trappings of their previous life. In the modern era of League of Legends lore, Noxus has made gains in Shurima, the icy Freljord, and the first lands of Ionia.

For a while, this led to a relatively peaceful and prosperous period… but the Black Rose was always behind the scenes, and its plans would eventually lead to massive change. We’re not sure of the exact timeline, but the Black Rose used this time to found several schools to raise war-criminal children, foster secret orders like the Crimson Circle, and investigate other wildly unethical plans that could pay off in stopping Mordekaiser upon his return.

Recommended reading: The Eyes and the Embers by Conor Sheehy

The Swain train comes to town

The last emperor of Noxus was a guy called Boram Darkwill, who was a hard-line traditionalist with major connections to the noble houses, but a growing sense of paranoia that led him to spiral. LeBlanc — the sorceress who betrayed Mordekaiser during Sahn-Uzul’s reign — staged her own “discovery,” allowing an up-and-coming officer named Jericho Swain to expose the Black Rose to the masses and execute key members, including LeBlanc herself.

(Of course, this was just a ruse — there are many LeBlancs, and killing them doesn’t seem to have a noticeable effect on her schemes.)

Darkwill was pleased with Swain’s efforts to fight the Black Rose, and neither man knew that it was all a ruse set up by LeBlanc to dig the Black Rose even deeper into Noxian leadership. Over time, Darkwill became more unhinged, fearful of his own death and only interested in extending his life.

Swain was sent off to Ionia to find some magical artifacts to assist in this — at least, that is what he was told. In reality, he was sent there to die, and the plan very nearly worked. Swain lost an arm and a lot of his political prestige in Ionia. But he was also visited by a mysterious raven on the battlefield that told him about the secrets at the heart of the Immortal Bastion, and the true depth of the Black Rose’s machinations.

Swain eventually returned to Noxus, called in all of his favors, and usurped Darkwill’s position. He then abolished the position of emperor and replaced it with the Trifarix, a ruling council that exemplifies the core Noxian values: Swain represents Vision; his right hand, Darius, is Strength; and an unknown figure that most fans suspect to be LeBlanc takes the role of Guile.

Recommended reading: The Black Powder Plot by David Slagle, The Principles of Strength by Anthony Reynolds, Thorns of the Black Rose by LJ Goulding.

The current state of Noxus

This brings us to essentially the current state of Noxus lore, post-Arcane and as represented in the current Noxus season of League of Legends. The modern nation has loosely assembled itself into three broad factions. There are those who work willingly with the Black Rose, which includes power players like the vampiric Vladimir and the spider queen Elise, who both appear in the “Welcome to Noxus” cinematic.

Then there are those who are loyal to Swain. This includes Katarina, the redheaded assassin who fought Elise; Darius, who is a general fresh off an expedition into the Freljord; and Draven, who is one of the most famous Reckoners in the empire’s competitive death arena circuit.

Finally, there’s a third faction of militant Noxians who despise both Swain and LeBlanc, and long for a return to the days of emperors. Ambessa in Arcane is the perfect example of this, and she ends up manipulating both Piltover and Zaun in the search for weapons she can use to prevent Mordekaiser’s next reign. 

There are also a few scattered rebels, like Rell, a young woman raised in one of the previously mentioned academies. Riven is a warrior who was sickened by Noxian tactics on the Ionian front and defected to live among those people. Briar is a failed Black Rose experiment, a living weapon learning how to make friends instead of devour them.

Mel has also returned to Noxus and is attempting to establish herself as a political power.

Recommended reading: The Second Grave by Jared Rosen, Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf by C.L. Clark, The Fourth Principle motion comic

Riot has set up many plot threads within Noxus, and we’ll likely see these explored in detail if the rumors of a Netflix show set in the region come true. As a longtime player, it’s been fascinating to see the lore change from a two-dimensional, comically evil land into a nuanced and detailed nation where you can imagine actual people living their lives. Considering a certain raven appears at the end of Arcane, it seems like we’ll just have to wait and see how this story evolves.