Nilah's Story is Dark... (Lore Explained)

[@ruberose1825]

Nilah wants to slay all demons and monsters because she wants to be remembered. Ashlash basically deleted her entire existence in everyone's memories after all.

[@risky2166]

Yeah i tought the same thing. She probably now build new identity and because she remember as a child she inspired so much by epic tale, so she choose that as her new self (and probably because she now also has the power to do so)

[@dejakiller69]

Another egocistic mf

[@cartoonishidealism582]

A lot of her lines take on a different meaning when you keep in mind she’s forced to be happy. There’s one where she cries out something like “I am the Living Joy! Remember my name! Nilah!” in a joyful voice, but with the context of her story… it sounds more like she’s pleading for ANYONE to remember her.

[@rogueObscura]

Ashlesh is horrifyingly strong when you think deeper about it.

[@strongerthanever2039]

That's a good theory.

[@rogueObscura]

A bit of gushing here, but Ashlesh seems like a RIDICULOUSLY powerful demon, even though most of their power seems centered on whoever 'wields' the demon. Seriously, just think about it: Ashlash just casually * erased * Nilah's existence off Runettera, from books, writings and even trying to speak about her. And even after THAT, the demon completely locked off other emotions and memories from Nilah. And with how its also rumored to maybe be directly controlling her body, it's like a sick parasite. It destroys everything except your greatest hopes and dreams, so it can keep feeding off them. And no matter what you do, you will ONLY experience the joy that directly gives it strength. And the best part? You realize Joy is the opposite of Fear, and that Fiddlesticks is at the least equally worse.

[@HennryHammerhead]

Kinda makes me wonder how some of these other super powerful beings, like the darkin for instance, would fair against him. They were made to fight against the void after all and thats suppose to be the strongest thing in runterra full stop after all.

[@charmquark7514]

Don’t even mention that he attacked the whole freaking celestial realm??? I mean he failed, but still, that definitely puts him in the upper echelon of powerful entities.

[@lorenzoditerlizzi1643]

Sadness is the opposite of joy actually, courage may be the opposite of fear(?) Either way i'm 10000% sure that one of the 10 must be the primordial demon of love

[@rogueObscura]

@@lorenzoditerlizzi1643 Yeah, I forgot about Sadness, but this whole thing is really interesting because the primordial demons are probably equal parts 'benefitial emotions' as they are negative ones. I think they'll also all share the motif of being imprisoned/punished in some way, because the emotions they feed on are simply too common for them to be destroyed.

[@lorenzoditerlizzi1643]

@@rogueObscura my guess for the remaining 8 are : rage, love, hate, pain, sadness, envy, serenity and wonder

[@apophis456]

When surprise party fiddle kills Zoe, he says “I think it’s time to bring joy back into the world” The key she stole is most likely one keeping Ashlesh imprisoned. If so, that’s some insane foreshadowing

[@santiagothielen5256]

This is my headcanon now even if riot says otherwise

[@rick30521]

Riot: Eh... yeah, YES, that's definitely what we were teasing, impressive insight random summoner!

[@richardtheerune2891]

@@rick30521 intense staring

[@dragoncat5412]

So... Fiddlesticks and Ashlesh friendship confirmed.

[@lal6005]

@@dragoncat5412 thats my new friendship goals, locking my friends up and then losing the key

[@stormstrikerpro]

Btw Nilah has a voice line against fiddle where she tells him to “let the other 8 know…” So yea, fiddle is definitely related.

[@ericharrison4067]

Oh FUCK YEAH! More lore connections for my boy fiddlesticks

[@gazelle_diamond9768]

This genuinely terrifies me. The fact that we got the second of the ten primordial, world ending demons is an incredibly huge thing. I still remember when I first heard that Fiddle voice line.

[@tovi3280]

@@gazelle_diamond9768 what do you mean by “the second”?

[@gazelle_diamond9768]

@@tovi3280 Fiddlesticks is the first. He even said it himself. "Fiddlesticks. End of men. Fidlesticks. First of ten!"

[@tovi3280]

@@gazelle_diamond9768 yeah but why would Ashlesh be the second? He’s so close to the bottom, he’s like super far from fiddlesticks

[@dangergoose6644]

If you notice, her design has seven hands. The two that holds her hair together, the two holding the laughing jar, the one around her neck, and finally, her two own hands.

[@unknownbenefactor8029]

Claw of pain (Evelyn) Scream of fear (Fiddlestick) Mouth of greed (Tahm Kench) Hand of joy (Aarlash?) Wing of deceit (Ra'um) Trail of nightmare (Nocturne)

[@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062]

why would a hand be related to j-oh....

[@gazelle_diamond9768]

I like how they intentionally avoided the term "impostor" and instead used "pretender". But also, seeing another one of the ten revealed is actually terrifying, considering how powerful these demons are. I mean, Ashlesh managed to get to Targon Prime, for aspect's sake!

[@rogueObscura]

Not only that, but Ashlesh could also completely erase the identity of Nilah...WHILE IMPRISONED, JESUS. And it's actually trapped her in a state of eternal servitude, because she literally can't feel any emotion other than Joy. It's like a sick parasite.

[@gazelle_diamond9768]

@@rogueObscura Yeah, pretty much. It's interesting though. Fiddle is almost like an animal, simply going for what he needs to feed on, which is fear. He has a good knowledge of how to achieve that but he never tries to do anything overly complicated. He can scare people just by existing. Meanwhile Ashlesh seems to have made some kind of deal with Nilah, granting her power in return of endless joy to feed on. The fact that they are capable of such a thing might mean, that we have to change how we view the primordial demons.

[@ДюсековИльяс]

@@gazelle_diamond9768 well he really can't be mindless like Fiddlesticks and still generate joy. So the demon of joy needs to create joy in any way imaginable. And it is far harder then creating fear. To create fear you can just look weird, be in the dark with a scary figure or just try to kill them, but to generate joy you need to know the thing making someone happy and to do it repeatedly without making a person bored of it.

[@NMG.11]

@@gazelle_diamond9768 I still think Swain has another primordial demon "at hand", the one of secrets. And so Swain also should have a deal with a primordial demon just like Nilah. Fiddle being the first of 10 and because he feeds on fear is the nost powerful of them all because he can harvest fear in any way he sees fit. Fiddle being a fear demon is also chaotic so no complicated tactics are needed.

[@becauseidonthavenitrotoupl4259]

This is sus

[@digualin]

Pretty sure the celestial that locked up Ashlash is Zoe (or the other aspect of twilight before her) Party Fiddlesticks has this voice line of talking about her "keys" when first encountering Zoe and also has the line " I think it's time to bring JOY back." When fiddle kills Zoe.

[@Vongolasoul]

What if Fiddle being the first one means he has traits of all the other demons spread throughout his skins making surprise party "joyous fiddlesticks"

[@100organicfreshmemes5]

Zoe probably hasn't been around long enough considering Ashlash is a primordial demon. I'd guess it was a previous Aspect of Twilight.

[@JohnRengo-h4w]

Yeah, a skin which isn't canon at all states something, amazing proof 😆

[@JanKowalski-dl5uq]

Wait if Nilah is aware of the void and she's a great hero, then maybe she will be the great hero that Bel'Veth mentioned to kai'sa in her story, of course she is definitely not aware of her, but she came out pretty much right after Bel'Veth and it might just be some kind of poetic justice for bel'veth

[@walvens3080]

Eh, I'm still hoping it's Olaf

[@domiseara1010]

Oh yes, lets do to Jax the same thing we did to Yorick - Riot, probably

[@dracorpl392]

Please no, I want the Void event(whenever will it come) to be centered around Void, not new fortninte-looking champs

[@b4l4zsv1ncz3]

PLEASE RIOT DON'T DO THIS. KEEP HER RELATED ONLY TO DEMONS AND SEA CREATURES. She has nothing to do with the Void. The only two things that can stop the Void is The Last Light of Icathia wielded by the one and only Jax, and Aurelion Sol , who is so mighty , he can close the Void Rifts that humanity created by accident. (Btw Asol wont do it on his own so I think Pantheon went up there in The Call to "talk" some sense into him)

[@BEETSSOLO]

Send Olaf, they have to make the meme a reality.

[@micahjohn7411]

On the Demonic Compendium, it seems as though there are other branches coming into the tree we are seeing, from the right and left. Its very clear that the demons shown in the Compendium came somehow from the original Demon of Fear, Fiddlesticks. So it is very possible these other branches are coming from 2 of the other Great Kings. The left one could be Ashlash as Delirium and Bliss could be perceived as concepts combining the feelings of Fear and Joy.

[@thalmorjusticiar1]

it's like a primordial family tree, which suggests that Raum is the offspring of fiddlesticks and another of the ten, as a logical progression. Maybe he's the child of fear and knowledge. Obviously we don't know any of them except fear and joy, but we can assume at least 2 from the tree. It feels like riot is going in a Lovecraftian direction for the demons, with a sprawling ancestry in which the offspring become more and more specific in what they feed on as the core ideas of their parents merge into a new concept, and they sometimes seem to reproduce independently, like with nightmares. It seems like all the lower demons are descended from second and third generation demons, seen in the "azakana?" part of the tree.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

The story states that Ashlesh tried to consume the heavens themselves, only to be cast down into the underworld by the gods. I’m guessing the Aspects punished Ashlesh for trying to consume the celestial realm, by locking him away somewhere. The Aspect of Twilight might have something to do with it, considering Zoe’s key that she stole from Fiddlesticks. Speaking of which, one of Nilah’s lines states “Seven arms reach for seven locks” which seems to imply that there are seven locks keeping Ashlesh sealed away. I’m guessing those are the keys Fiddlesticks is collecting. Maybe Fiddle seeks to free its trapped sibling, and that’s why Zoe stole a key from it.

[@imfunkingivincible886]

Nice theory

[@ryan1000011]

or fiddle helped but it's siblings in the prisons in the 1st place

[@ericharrison4067]

Fiddlesticks only wishes to cause fear: I think normally his drive to collect keys would be weird, but what could cause great fear? Releasing another and on ent primordial demon

[@ericharrison4067]

Another ancient. Stupid auto correct

[@dylans9390]

@@ericharrison4067 I feel like this is a better reason as I feel fiddle soundly be like sad that his sibling is imprisoned

[@anactualanimal]

To be fair about nilah"s design, I think she needed to be human to help people really empathise on some level with the obliteration of emotions aspect of her

[@michaeltaylor788]

Yep.

[@iignorepoopieheads5170]

well the story writers made the character design makes sense doesnt mean the design is good lol

[@michaeltaylor788]

@@iignorepoopieheads5170 it’s a good design but a minority are tired of attractive people (which is dumb sense most popular games have attractive people like dead or alive tekken the king of fighters but a minority of some of the people who like scary and or ugly monsters are one of the few people that hate that stuff in this game and complain a great deal about it.)

[@juliomedina1667]

Part of the reason why people hate having so many attractive characters is because it lacks representation. there's so many people with different body types and looks, yet they still mostly stick with one design. Some people want a hero who doesn't have the perfect looks or bodies.

[@iignorepoopieheads5170]

Its not dumb im tired of these fucking uwu braindamaged characters

[@SeventeenGhost]

If Nilah DOES know about the threat of the void, she might be hunting monsters to prevent the void from consuming them and evolving on them. Also why she might be looking for Viego, Vel'Beth has a quote to Viego, she seems REALLY interested in allying herself with him. And of course she would, the Ruination, however "defeated" it might be, could help the void to expand and consume even faster. But also, I wonder what would happen if the Void consumed Ruination... Would it actually adapt to it? Or maybe, the unliving part of the ruination would destroy the Void? Now that we know that the Void didn't want to exist, but now hungers for existence, that would be a cool dichotomy.

[@TheThomas2730]

I am not the only one that mixes Bel Veth`s name up all the time. I finally feel not alone.

[@typervader]

I have a feeling ruinterra would end up with like: Ruination, Voidspawn invasion, and demons/gods and so on all doing battle

[@luckas221a]

@@typervader isn't that kinda already happening? lol

[@strategypoint8258]

@Poor Quality Gameplay shaco is now a void champion corrupted by the darkinn! Done, there you go rito have fun with that :)

[@chuyn7730]

I hope the rest of the demons if they get added as champs are not just all human or something that’s just a host. Give them a unique form like fiddlesticks that embodies what they feed.

[@Utopin1]

Ngl dont think the host idea would be bad for 1 of them

[@pebblebrowser]

Ashlesh: drugs

[@chuyn7730]

@@Utopin1 oh yeah if they can make it work then It would be cool. Just a nice balance yeah know.

[@Utopin1]

@@chuyn7730 just dont make the host sexy and it will be good to go

[@Helcati]

We already have the other demons?

[@burritocakes254]

Now that she's in bilgewater I wonder if Swain's in game line when he rips a soul fragment of a bilgewater champion is referencing Nilah instead "They fight the mist above the seas, never looking beneath."

[@amarco1248]

The Insight confirms: "Ashlesh is a member of The Ten, the oldest and most powerful demons in existence. It pushes joy to its hideous extremes, feeding on the dark, inverted aspects of the emotion, like delirium and obsession." So is the compendium wrong about them?

[@seito2000]

he stated that it was created by noxians, so in a way it is wrong and right

[@cartoonishidealism582]

Could be, but then again, I also think delirium, bliss and obsession can all count under the “Joy” umbrella. In the same way that nightmares could count under fear.

[@freshlymemed5680]

@@seito2000 Bliss is essentially the highest form of joy. Its the complete absence of any negative emotion but joy. Nilah probably just calls it the demon of joy because thats how she understands it but the Noxian's probably gave it the most accurate term, Bliss. It makes Nilah not feel anything other than joy, the absence of all negative emotion but joy.

[@jaotrx7163]

I would prefer they bring a new demon or Ashley’s him instead of a Indian girl

[@hadrianhexe9603]

@@jaotrx7163 instead of an 'indian girl'.......i see where your mind is at.

[@yauma1098]

I always have mixed feelings when i see the concept art for champions, because they always show alternative versions the designers made before they chose the one we got and each and every time i find most of those design to be actually better and more fascinating than the plain and boring humans we get. Evn when the champion was ment to be a human from the beginning the clothes and weapons tend to be better too in those scrapped designs. Really god examples where the Mundo rework and Sett

[@dejakiller69]

Broo the lizard version of Sett looks soo fcking good literally rock hard erection

[@takenfool1614]

Mundo hand go brrrr

[@sunscreen7205]

hand mundo is peak mundo

[@gunlyte4661]

Never forget hand mundo.

[@photonfrost]

Bro i agree wholeheartedly. For the image they gave us of 4 of her concepts, the second and fourth ones looked so much more unique and interesting than what we got.

[@NateRavenno]

Nilah is they key to stop Bel'veth. It would explain why Bel'veth mentioned that Viego can still save Isolde. I think that while she is going to where Viego is imprisoned, something or someone will change her mind about killing him and ask her help to defeat Bel'veth reign.

[@typervader]

Its intresting how they are still keeping Veigo revleant though 2 champions now. Makes me wonder if hes going to be reawkwened.

[@harakoni2135]

​@@typervader they keeping him relevent because come on. its the ruined king, he by himself is a huge part of Leauges lore core story as a whole. plus is connected to a lot of other stories n shit so im pretty excited

[@mypersonalaccount4934]

Nah, it's the reworked Udyr who will stop Bel'veth

[@TomateGamer-gl3ln]

about the keys Fiddle and Zoe have,what if the reason Fiddle is so animalistic is because when the other kings were sealed, so was his rationality? since fear is the stongest Emotion, it would make sense that Fiddle couldn't be fully sealed, just weakened to a point where he can only follow his insticts and nothing else, otherwise there would be no true reason for him to be out and about and still be one of the ten Kings and didn't Lissandra open the portal for the watchers out of fear? And what about the void,what does it bring with it? I know this is basically a conspiracy theory saying that Fiddle is basically ploting his rebirth.

[@itjustworks2993]

Wasn't it said demons try to somehow mimmick humans to be more convincing or something? Like Evelynn, at first she didn't look like a human and primordial demons are so old they had nothing to mimmick only their instincts

[@TomateGamer-gl3ln]

@@itjustworks2993 what if they never tried to mimick anything, but humans started to mimick them as a way too survive, which led to lesser demons to start copying humans, since isn't the order : Human,Azakana,lesser demon, Demon, Primordial demon?

[@itjustworks2993]

@@TomateGamer-gl3ln wasn't humanity on runeterra guided by celestials?

[@TomateGamer-gl3ln]

@@itjustworks2993 maybe, I am not a lore specialist, I only know about the demons and shit

[@Zeliek]

The one thing i need from Camavor when it's added to take ownership of poor Shaco! From the first moment i heard there is a place from where Vlad and (living) Viego originate, their attires screamed Shaco to me!! So please Necrit plant that idea seed to more people!

[@mazorizk]

They should have shaco become the assassin hired to kill veigo. Or have him come into contact with another demon.

[@earllorenzviray6734]

I think the design of the Nilah was, as mentioned in the post, "based on South and Southeast Asia." It basically is somewhat their card towards having a more inclusive set of champions. It's breaking off of Western knowledge and acquiring other sources of knowledge from other cultures (but I don't think they stepped up that much in this direction). Though it is good to have more monster champions, there isn't any harm in adding more accurate representations of the people around the world (as League is based on our world, and that applies to political and cultural environments).

[@cartoonishidealism582]

Yeah I really get annoyed when people say “It’s a fantasy world! It shouldn’t have anything to do with real world cultures!” As if Shurima isn’t obviously based on Egypt and North Africa, Ionia on East Asia, Demacia on European medieval fantasy, Freljord on vikings and Norse legends, etc. Nilah specifically is said to draw her inspiration from South Asian heroic fantasy. I don’t know enough about that subject to really say how accurate it is, but it’s pretty cool I think.

[@alecboco8809]

​@@cartoonishidealism582 yeah but clarity is important in this game to easily determine which champ is which. their characters have become samey in shape and no unique silhouettes and features that makes them stand out ( aside from their comically massive weapons that is becoming riot's trend) and when this characters receive skins especially legendaries where they become far unrecognizable with new animation, that's where the clarity issue takes place just like what happened with storm dragon lee controversy.

[@alecboco8809]

​@@cartoonishidealism582 to be honest most players don't mind representations in game, it's actually nice thou 🥰. The only problem is the way riot teases the champ vs the actual product because thats where the complains came from. when Nilah was teased, everyone thought that she/he was a vastaya/beast ,ascended or a demon because of the multiple hands in the teaser and claw marks on oyster bill's shack. And the fact that Nilah is always referred to as this mysterious stranger and comes from the land of many colors made the players believe that the champion is not human, and when she was revealed she got mixed opinions but it's mostly "ehh", "wow", " ughh another generic girl with many dashes" , "I like the representation riot is doing", " so they are only making girls now?" something like that.

[@cartoonishidealism582]

@@alecboco8809 Yeah I think that’s a fair criticism. I also think Nilah’s design is a bit understated, and the way they teased it certainly implied something more monstrous. But I have also seen people get mad just because she’s Indian and because Zeri is Filipina.

[@redgraves4030]

I hate that he said at the beginning he doesn't like her just because she's an attractive woman.

[@alexanderyap8831]

I could totally envision a "Demonic Event", like the "void event" that's about to happen, In the next 5 to 10 years time. Where all the 10 primodial demons have been unleased upon the world, and consuming the Realm of the Aspects. OHHH I can see it now, the first story quest to League's new MMORPG. OR better, Arcane Season 4 (if they decide to do an animated show, hence they wouldn't call it arcane but who knows) about said narrative. The Clash between Gods and Monsters/Demons. When this time the aspects must seek help from the humans, Pantheon shield snapped in two. His own spear pieced into his chest as he falls from heaven. Reunited with Lucian, Senna, Gwen, Akshan, Diana and the rest of the gang. He seeks help once again from those he was saved by and trust like no other towards the vanguard of hording demons, led by the "First of Ten" "Fiddlesticks"... :Somebody pls write a fanfic holy!

[@jamiesadf5829]

there is no void event.

[@breadkin6534]

@@jamiesadf5829 not for this year no, but a massive void event inevitable. Probably for the MMO tho

[@aatroxtheworldender933]

Bro chill. There is 5 darkins and 3 are known. It has been 5 years since Rhaast joined the game. And there is 10 of demons lmao.

[@alexanderyap8831]

@@aatroxtheworldender933 The 10 demons from the demonic compendium I mean

[@bellatrix7564]

Ashlash: i love it when you're happy Fiddlesticks: i love it when you're scared Evelynn: i love it when you're in pain Nocturne: i love it when you're paranoid Raum: i know you're secrets my guy Tahm kench: i love it when you're tasty Shaco (probably not even a demon) : i don't exist ☹️

[@mypersonalaccount4934]

Now you see me, now you don't

[@ender4101]

"I'm the Joka baby"

[@dex3625]

one of the cringiest youtube comments I've ever read

[@Igot4balls]

Seraphine: hey Skarner wanna hear your dead family screams

[@cantsoar9918]

​@@dex3625 Yeah your existence is cringe as well

[@overcharge6835]

Honestly, I like Nila's design. It's much more simplified than Bel'veth. Busy and overly detailed designs really don't look all that appealing. Besides her movements give her a lot of character, without the design being too overdone. Nila, Ornn, Rek'sai, Zoe, Vex, and Qiyana look great because they have simpler designs with amazing animations.

[@lechazeur]

ikr! I don’t get the hate

[@Hoshinokuro]

Thank you at least some people get it

[@tristancarter4324]

yeah, but her design is good but for the start of concept this is tame execution take out the demon and make her a water mage and design still work versus her having many limbs or hands coming out of jar heck wish when she emote laugh their was two laughs and the jar had a deep monstrous one details like that are no where present or when she R it was a watery hand that pulled people back in

[@Ebiko]

Oh boy. , That knuddely teddy ORNN is amazing. Especially in his elder wood skin. This purple beard.

[@Greatot]

There are literally infinite better potential versions of Nilah if Riot just had some talent. She could have been a water elemental, she could have water arms, she could have been a watery whirlwind, but no she is just a person in a bright orange dress. It's awful, it's depressing

[@abrahamleo5243]

If Nilah really had a deal with a demon, it’ll be interesting to see reactions from fiddlesticks

[@raulbrenes778]

Doubt that they are giving him new voicelines, they almost never do. But yeah, would be very interesting

[@GamingWO-]

@@raulbrenes778 Gwen. Important characters for lore events may have lines changed or removed. Considering she seems to be important (to lore, period), I think it’s possible, just depends if we get an event.

[@FreeTheRats_]

@@GamingWO- they only did it with Gwen because she was newly released and had the actress on set still. They haven't done that to anyone else.

[@badwithnames5180]

Or yknow, swain.

[@darklordstan6154]

Something along the lines of "BlIiIiSSs" or "AsHhLeEsH".

[@MrLittleman606]

Nilah being a human is actually pretty important for her representation. I also don't really think she's a sexualize champion as some of our previous female champs have been. Although she doesn't stray from the skinny girl build, she does provide something new and I think her design is pretty cool. I do hope however we do get some other fantasy race champions. I think a sea troll would be really cool to finally see or maybe even another marai.

[@ohbabybaby4087]

Renata, zeri, gwen, vex, rell, Seraphine, none of then are sexualized, the older female Champions are

[@JohnZ-]

@@ohbabybaby4087 Sill waiting for a miss fortune ASU

[@JohnRengo-h4w]

Her visuals are pretty interesting, but honestly its lackluster they still can't introduce either Camavor or Kathkan already on the webpage. With this design she could have easily been an Ixtaly elementalist who mastered the water axiom, would have been a lot more coherent with the story than this whole demon stuff.

[@icedtea3347]

it's actually really cool how they've started adding more and more lore to a hidden eastern nation apart from Runeterra. Kinda interesting how they'll add this mysterious new nation to the world because so far, 3 champs are from this neighboring continent and 2 new locations: Camavor and Kathkan

[@alliekingsley7919]

I actually really like Nilah's design, it's nice to see someone who looks like some of my family in the game!

[@lizabetta1704]

I don't know why people dislike her so much( I love her design and effects.

[@mosaddagh]

From the teasing pic people expect to be diff i mean even the demon don't show up in recall or in her abilities

[@sapk3532]

her gameplay. Her design got saved by the lore so it's ok. People hating her for her dashes and mini sharable Jax's E

[@AppleBaron]

It's League community. When was the last time they liked something?

[@mosaddagh]

@@AppleBaron Camile

[@random_hime]

i really like nilah. she's super cute and i love the colors of her outfit and twintails are always a great thing to me.

[@ryanroswellcacho]

The 10 Primordial Demons lore is expanding and I am Hyped. Also when Necrit read about why Nilah is always smiling it is because her emotions are gone besides joy. It reminds me of the Jimmy Neutron episode where all of Jimmy's friends where removed by there emotions and only Happiness is left by an alien.

[@raistlinmajere1000]

In the visual aspect, they could have added the ghostly additional arms, however you nailed what happens with Riot in your last video.

[@pokimane4389]

Nope it doesn't need it

[@thetillter2228]

@@pokimane4389 agreed

[@oui7171]

I mean, it's still the only thing they teased uf with for such a long time, they once again baited us by showing a teaser that had nothing to do with the end result and I'm getting so tired of this tbh

[@pokimane4389]

@@thetillter2228 I mean those ghostly hands

[@pokimane4389]

@@oui7171 oi Nickybois cheap audience shut up

[@TurokRevolution]

I hope this won't turn out the same way the Sentinels of Light Event did, otherwise Riot's storytelling has become way to predictable. A new evil rises that threatens all of Runeterra (Viego/Bel'Veth). An already existing character or characters want to stop it (Lucian&Senna/Kai'Sa). A stranger appears out of nowhere with overpowers abilities (Akshan/Nilah). They team up and win, the end.

[@Xul-Xata]

And Rito forget the champion who with sole purpose is to defeat the apocalypse (Yorick for Ruination/Jax for The Void).

[@TurokRevolution]

@@Xul-Xata That too.

[@3823100]

Im loving the fact that we are getting more and more champions and lore from the hidden continent on the east, I hope one day we can have a full map of it and how many countries/kingdoms are there and their backstory all of this with more and more champions that come from there

[@1Rhaast]

I really want more lore on the ten demons, they sound so cool :)

[@Invoker-10000]

Ashlesha is the Sanskrit name of the 9th constellation among 28 lunar constellations used in jyotish (Jyoti=light) that which brings light and awareness . another name for jyotish is hora shastra ( hora = time and shastra = science ). The science of time that grants knowledge of the cyclical nature of time , the never-ending loop of the past present and future . The name nilah means blue in Sanskrit . The root word Neel is the base sound of the 17th constellation called Anuradha which is compared to a lotus flower as it blooms beautifully pristine and aromatic on muddy water through digging deep roots . Its important to note that in the 5 element scheme or pancha bhuta system in the Vedas (Sanskrit based ancient texts from which nilah is heavily based on) water is akin to emotion and when fully purified is akin to joy or bliss or ecstasy and the sound Neel heavily describes both pure water and space /ether .

[@drguthrie7621]

I kinda wish Nilah was from Ixaocan, we need more rep there AND she is a waterbender, a new region is cool and all but I want some developments on the nation's we have first and Ixaocan is so cool but also lacking.

[@miah3170]

“She once had a different life - One fall, that’s what destroyed my credit. Surprise medical bills can stick with you for decades, Maggie Hassan passed a law to help it from happening to anyone else” Cool backstory.

[@notchristian6.2]

lore says that only Nilah is aware of who she was in her past, everyone else doesn’t know she existed before becoming who she is now. and ashlesh destroyed her emotional spectrum but not her mind and her ability to rationalize her emotions or just think in any way at all. really interesting. she has a voice line with swain that leads me to believe she chose to take on the demons power- knowing what the sacrifice was. indicating that the power to protect others and create her very own legend was worth the sacrifice. i really hope we get more insight on that part. really loving this champion.

[@FlutterSwag]

Unbound nilah skin: with full glowing blue demon markings on her body like the avatar state

[@akrottis9222]

Can we get a video on all the demon lore. I think it be really cool to have all of it just layed out cause i feel as though it will be important soon enough

[@garyyym4699]

but if the order of the seventh layer keeps ashlesh from escaping, then why the hell is nilah's title "the joy unbound" ?

[@PNNH696]

I really like Nilah's design. And I wonder if the 10 Great Kings will be these emotions: fear, anger, shame, contempt, disgust, guilt, distress, interest, surprise, and joy. Now we have Fiddlesticks (Fear) and Ashlash (Joy).

[@claribelmartinez6750]

Wouldn't desire be a primal emotion?

[@lmao5215]

Surprise? Ah shaco

[@doomkingraye7692]

Evelynn is pleasure and Tahm is opulence/desire

[@PNNH696]

@@claribelmartinez6750 Maybe "interest" is "desire", I don't know.

[@PNNH696]

@@doomkingraye7692 Evelynn is agony and Tahm is addiction, according to Fiddle.

[@HORDEFTW141]

If she had all her emotions taken and replaced with nothing but joy i wished they emphasized that up up 100% in the design shes just smirking in half the art/model they could've given her an unnaturally big smile that looks like its hurting her to keep up, something like the people that suffer from Joker toxin in the batman comics.

[@tiptoplolepop416]

To be fair, I think it’s unfair to call Nilah “another sexy female”. Perhaps I’m missing something but nothing about her design really screams sex appeal (as by its stereotypical form); her design is neither revealing nor curvy.

[@Hoshinokuro]

Thank you finally someone gets it

[@Yukkutastic]

Yeah, she even have a unique face structure.

[@ejmakibelo3224]

Ur speaking to the same people that sexualised bel veth. At this point as long as riot releases anything similar to a humanoid it automatically "sexy"

[@tristancarter4324]

@@Hoshinokuro yet you won't call her unattractive or unappealing at all, if ur not racist want about her isn't mass appeal this what he mean by sexy, Renata is fully covered up yet still "sexy", lux isn't curvy or seductive at all yet "sexy" to many

[@cayoticsgaming2328]

I have been saying for a while now that not every female with a face is sexy, I don't find bel'veth sexy and idk how people say she has sex appeal, zeri isn't sexy she is a young teenager, nilah isn't sexy she is a female person with a face, renata isn't sexy either she is just a strong old woman, like i think the another sexy female arguement has gone out of style for a long time now

[@just_dont_do_it2883]

"she cant feel anything but joy" SHE ATE THE SMILE FRUIT and it failed

[@stormsurge2103]

Ashlash = lol Doflamingo?

[@trickle1386]

I just imagine the champ design team watching your videos thinking “we put a lot of work into this champ, Jared didn’t have to bail us out” 😂

[@Mangyeol.__.]

imagine this, she was possessed by the demon of joy and now she finds joy when she kills innocent people, sheesh

[@gamey__4642]

the fact that nilah can only laugh at everything in her life reminds me of the failed "smiles" from one piece that make it so who ever has eaten one is unable to stop laughing

[@ingshiroe]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@LoneEditor]

all this talk of demons, I can’t wait for Shaco to come in and destroy everyone

[@maximiliamgruca4463]

So Nilah has the power to defeat unslayable creatures first thing that came to mind was her facing off against Olaf, whose future is to die peacefully Boy wouldnt that be a good fight?

[@monalisamartian5472]

She looks like an overwatch charecter like Hanson I defo didn't see her as a leauge champ when I saw her

[@CherryBlush313]

I love her design and her character so much. NOW! I'm waiting for the next Ruination to be with these demons and everyone might just need Viego's help to stop them.

[@premiumheadpats4150]

I don't necessarily think that she was boring before her lore. Her physical design is kind of basic, but I think basic is a lot better than crappy. That said, her lore definitely makes everything better. That conflict with her being forced to be happy all the time while she carries out her uncertain partnership with one of the ten primordial demons. That's pretty cool. Honestly, I find anything involving the ten primordial demons to be really really creepy and really cool at the same time.

[@kogu9676]

I actually love that her design is kinda "unremarkable", after the high noon skins I was loosing faith on Riot's design team capability of making actual normal and not edgelord over the top designs. And on a lore perspective, as said, she needs to be nimble and travel light and she doesn't need many earthly possessions since all she feels is joy, she's always contempt with what she got. And, to finish, she is one, if not the prettiest champs ever released and also the first south/southeast asia looking one, so it's good that she's not ridiculously stereotipey. Don't like that she's another super mega warrior capable of defeating god in another hot lady body, but you know, that's not the point I'm bringing here

[@nicolailaude1891]

I love how they don't utilize Ixtal and just choose to introduce new places here and there.

[@sonnysahatoo5027]

The emotional state that shes in (constant joy) Reminds me of the smile fruit in one piece

[@renooblivion9526]

You read the latest chapter? So hyped lol

[@fin-as-drago9479]

That's only the defected smile fruit, orochi fed his people defected smile fruits that force them to smile constantly.

[@years-ti7xl]

Ngl, I wanna see Ashlesh as a champion along with Raum. They would be terrific new demon champions and the fact her story describes what his appearance is even if it's not that much aside from being a "many-limbed beast", I think we could count that as a monster champion probably with an evil laughing demonic face.

[@Xddnapkin]

Her bio gives me hope. It says she likes to fight anything over the size of a house. PLEASE. GIVE Cho’Gath LORE WITH NILAH!!!

[@datonebri5361]

OMG YES PLEASE

[@ThatGuy-uy4sb]

Yessss

[@benjaminkpope]

The whole 'protects those who cannot protect themselves' bit could be a reference to the Stormlight Archive. It's one of the ideals the Knight's Radiant swear to bond with a spiritual being called a Spren. This bond gives them access to magical powers and weapons. They also fight a few giant crab monsters in the books lol. I dunno, but there's certainly some similarities there and the books are getting pretty popular

[@straightyaket6270]

Something I just noticed, some demons induce fear. Fiddlesticks raw fear and Nocturne for examle nightmares, which give people a feeling of fear. Yet, joy is not connected to fear besides beeing quiet the opposite. So may it is possible that everyone of the ten kings hungers for a different emotion? And can these produce ofspring that hunt for this emotion, but in more crystalized form?

[@Abyss-Watcher]

i would say its more of fearing someone who kills with a smile on their face if you fought a person who never stopped smiling that would disturb people

[@2pa42_ersennicholaas]

fear, anger, shame, contempt, disgust, guilt, distress, interest, surprise, and joy

[@tristancarter4324]

@@Abyss-Watcher nah it's joy at core so if killing brings joy do it if R brings joy do it if binge eating does it do it ect. that the danger of joy being only thing sought after

[@straightyaket6270]

@@Abyss-Watcher In that sense anything is worth fearing, but if we look at how the other demons feast it is not clear (at least to me) how joy will cause you to fear, at least if it isn't a person with a knife and smile. Also, is Tahm Kench a demon who hungers for a sort of fear or something else?

[@claraclenky9843]

@@tristancarter4324 yes this is more like gluttony where live life to the fullest and indulge in excess without care of the consequences

[@lolosh99]

Would feeling nothing but joy be hell? I’m not sure honestly.

[@kozonlee2385]

“Why so serious?”-Nilah, probably

[@JustaSymmetra]

I really am happy that demon lore is getting some love Jared really created a great story... Now I hope he can keep the momentum and go way further and is able to let us explore more about them. I'm still confused about Fiddle being the first (so technicly the strongest) while being the one without a crown and left on his mound ??? If we take words for words the poem telling us that they were 10 "kings" but one without a crown (i suppose fiddle). Does that mean he was not "smart enough" and too "savage/brut" to "rules" over a kingdom ?? Since it seems that Ashlesh is able to communicate and make deals (so it must be "smart enough") meaning that one time the "10" (mostly 9 from the poem) ruled the world. That could explain why Fiddle's form is just a mess of items , unlike Ashlesh who is shown to have 7 hands (so a more humanoid form), which could explain why he tried to overtake Targon Prime ? (just like a "bad king" in any fantasy world would do). But by going this way that means even if Fiddle is the first of ten (and the only one "free"), it isn't the strongest since it lacks "intelligence" (idk how to phrase it better) unless because Zoe took one key from Fiddlesticks that would mean it is weaker than usual and that could have resulted in it being less "smart" and more "savage" making it unable to be a king and rule a kingdom, leaving it without a crown. Anyway my ADHD mind is speeding through all of the theories it can create ^^', so I hope I could make my point clear enough to be understood :C !

[@tombomb8435]

Well yeah fiddle can’t rule because he doesn’t even know anything about the new world he’s roaming in, I don’t think fiddlesticks is even aware of his power, I’d like to think he’s a robot of some sort(not literally). Where he’s programmed to do one thing, consume and inflict fear around him, he could give a rats ass about anything else as long as he’s consuming the fear he inflicts on others.

[@thehades8818]

Story is alright nothing unexpected but alright but it can't carry how bland and uniterasting she is Like dude look how amazing fiddlesticks looks and there is another one of the demons like him just being a snow globe

[@ShockArcl1te]

"Ten great kings took ten great thrones, Nine crowns adorned nine heads. One left to scratch upon their mounds, The crow, alive and dead." No one knows about the nine, but everyone knows about Fiddlesticks. He's peppered throughout history and there's tons of stories about him. But nothing about the others. ...and in Nilah's lore all record and memory of the girl vanished. How do you defeat a memetic entity? You wipe it from the minds of everyone. The mind is what these things haunt and feed off of. It's where they live, so you have to "forget" them in order to limit their power. I think the crowns in the old rhyme are prisons which erase all knowledge of the primordial entity from existence. Some ancient civilization put these prisons together and managed to trap all of the primordials except for fiddle, which is why we still have so many stories about him, but know next to nothing about the others. The girl wandered down to this thing's cell and somehow traded places by mistake. As a result, all memory of the girl was erased, and the creature was freed. Maybe it hijacked her body and her mind is what's trapped in the cage now. Possession would certainly line up with what we know. Fiddlesticks had to cobble together a body for himself. Maybe this thing is doing something similar, just taking up residence in the most convenient body available, which happened to be the girl who discovered it. They're formless without a body, the way fiddle is a black and red orb without the scarecrow, but you can't tell stories about a formless evil. Human minds need a face and a name to attach to the legend. Fiddlesticks has that down easily. Whatever Nilah is, she's having to rebuild from scratch. Now it's running around killing monsters because monsters bring misery into the world, and a world without monsters is a world of bliss/limitless food for the primordial. Fiddlesticks, if it has motivations at all, might only want joy released because fear hits that much harder when you were blissful the moment before, like the calm before a jump scare in a movie. As for how records of the ten survived the wipe at all, I dunno. Maybe certain texts are "immune" to the rewrite, creating tomes of things that were forgotten everywhere else, or maybe the magic is imperfect and bits of lore survive in old books no one knows about. That's my theory anyway.

[@criisjooy7805]

8:57 omg, this could be a decent setup for annie rework(or character/lore development) imagine if they also use the demons race to improve syndra's lore.

[@jorgeperez2872]

Ok, Ashlash level of reality and conceptual manipulation looks as something from Shin Megami Tensei holy moly.

[@GoldLight73]

Now we wait for the crackpot ships of Nilah and Fiddlesticks, where Shaco is their son

[@karishadkit27]

Wat? Link plz

[@leonardocassin2593]

???

[@rivy-lurk-869]

Never underestimate the shippers, people. They know no boundaries and I can totally see this happening xD

[@GoldLight73]

Alright so I realize in hindsight that not a lot of people would actually get this, so allow me to elaborate: On the demon "family tree" released with Fiddle's rework, Delirium is the "offspring" of Fear and another demon that's not named. A recent tweet confirmed Ashlesh is connected to Delirium, so it seems that the unnamed branch is likely Joy. There's a common fan theory that Shaco is the demon of Delirium (or will be when he finally gets his update, since Shaco's current lore is clearly just a placeholder), so if that theory winds up being true... Shaco would be the "child" of Fiddlesticks and Nilah/Ashlesh.

[@nonamesorry7135]

They could have at least made her body transparent? Like the water? Literally ANYTHING, even Swain has his demon arm. At least this much would be alright

[@belle4857]

After seeing some of the initial concepts for Nilah I have no idea why Riot decided to go with this design. It feels like when we see the concept arts for new champions, for some reason, Riot always choses the worst ones. Some of her concepts are very cool, it's quite disappointing what we got in the end.

[@aquadactyl136]

Belveth's final design > Belveth's consept deseign

[@peacepham7838]

The design is intended to stay more close to South and Southeast Asia. The problem is it need preoccupied knowledge to understand.

[@yellowtrickster69]

In the insights they say Ashlesh twists joy to its extremes of Delirium and Obsession. Obsession, Delirium, AND bliss are all on the demonic compendium page. So while Ashlesh could be denoted by any of those three, it's most likely delirum, as Tahm kench feeds off of addiction (which is close to obsession, both needing/craving something badly) and Evelynn makes people feel extreme bliss (only to feed off of their agony when she starts murdering).

[@seith949]

this reminds me so much of the elements minisieries of adventure time, where everyone that was transformed into candy was mindlessly happy and there was even the dilemma if it was right or not to return them to normal

[@adiz1406]

This reminds me of the SMILE Fruit in One Piece, Basically would cause you to permanently Smile and Laugh even when you are feeling other emotions such as Sadness, Anger or something else.

[@AbysKnight]

If nilah can slay the killable does that that mean she could and possibly will encounter at least one of the 5 remaining darkin and then kill it/them? Being able to kill the unkillable would mean that she wouldn't need to trap it inside its weapon and could just take it out for good

[@SpiritoftheSands]

Aatrox: "Yo sign me the fuck up!"

[@aradshekarian2096]

If anything can kill Aatrox it has to be some primordial force that doesn’t abide by the rules of reality.

[@zoltanhenrikhalas7618]

In the future she might be one of Jax's chosens to fight the void, maybe when Bel'veth widers her webs

[@whatisthis7208]

Jax will most likely get the Yorick treatment. Have its whole lore centered around the void, just so Riot barely mentions him.

[@fadyfekry8726]

wait hold on a second, Nilah has the power to kill unslayable creatures.. So Aatrox and the Darkin would finally die if they fought??

[@mazorizk]

Probs was consumed by the Joy demon????

[@estebanthaddeus8170]

I was hoping she would be able summon a sea monster. Like a distant land of sea summoners with ulti like Fizz but they all do something little different and creature forms but still a big impact and cc.

[@RodrigoLeaf15]

If she arrived earlier, maybe yes, she could have stopped Viego single-handedly because she strong and..... wait... If she only feels joy, she only CAN feel joy.... does that make her inmune to the "ruin champions" shenanigans? Is Nilah inmune to Viego's silly mind control?! :O

[@wee3ist]

Counterpoint: she has a joy from killing. Might be possible

[@wankawanka3053]

Her splash art makes her look ten times better

[@klavicus2276]

Really nice and mysterious story. Still would have liked more to see a mobile female darkin with a whip instead

[@joekerr5418]

We have mommy xolaani now. Do not fret

[@reisgrimery3372]

Remember when RIot released the demon roadmap or something? THe Azkana.was the only branch where demons from all side connect to. So my theory is they all started as azkana (small demons) then begin to feed on people negative emotions. THen they will have their favorite emotion to feed on and basically became the symbol of the demon that feed on that emotion.

[@jayjs4267]

Nilahs lore : a tragic yet optimistic demon hunter possesed by the demon of joy and bliss Nilahs design : Lady with cool pants and whip Am Disappointed

[@BEETSSOLO]

I feel like Nilah is the beginner of dark souls. reveling in defeating that which is bigger and stronger but realizing what truly is a challenge is what is punching in her own weight class.

[@KINGJOSHmobilegaming]

Video title : nilah story is dark 1 mins in : nilah story is awesome Yea it sounds lame leave a thumbs up thanks 🤗

[@bensonqiu4642]

7:19 i think Ashlesh is demon of delirium as its stated that he pushes peoples joy into delirium and obsession

[@nahrikkon]

ngl i want her demon to try take over fiddle and actually get scared and then consumed

[@hoh3336]

one of Nilah's lor lvl voicelines is "what terrifies you, take me to it" i think she slays to feel different emotions

[@ilucasz]

I like how the dude simply says: "Since all current Runeterra lore is a total clusterfuck of a mess, I'll just put those new champs somewhere away from this so I can make something more interesting."

[@mazorizk]

once again this dude saved riot new champ design. Wish they have more competent ppl like him

[@ilucasz]

@@mazorizk He's basically creating his own canon of Runeterra little by little and is making sure to make them as distant as possible from the main continents.

[@GooseEnjoyer]

I was really hoping for a fish/shark-person using claws as a weapon after the first teaser of that tavern art, but it is what it is.

[@Clunkers707]

i would have enjoyed that

[@Geheimnis-c2e]

Nilah is basically Cap Marvel, with the whole "Because now you have me." thing. Also, she's able to slay unkillable beings? Could someone holla Aatrox?

[@GamingWO-]

I’m not sure if they mean unkillable, as in actually unkillable, but ‘unkillable’ to normal humans

[@ericharrison4067]

Gaming WO like I HIGHLY doubt she would actually be able to kill fiddlesticks

[@sapk3532]

nah she's not that bad as CM is to the whole picture. she's not that strong tbf, she only borrows power from Joy. We knew Fiddlestick is strong and the first of the first 10 that doesn't mean the other from the 10 are as strong as fiddle. She still borrows the power from Ashlesh, like Illaoi borrows power from her god, it's the user that amplify the power. So far she's a normal human with a demon like Swain but stronger. imo she wont be able to take down demigods or ascended. Aatrox is still a very strong fighter

[@Greenscyth22]

Her lore only makes me want to play Fiddlesticks more often. Her joy beckons to be snuffed out by demonic terror.

[@darklight371]

Ashlash might help her become a “hero” not for her own joy, but everyone else joy What happens when a monster is slayed People cheer, they get a lot of joy and feel at an ease Also, they might get a bit too much joy and make more of themselves, that will in turn, bring more joy

[@atterlot]

11:02 or maybe she knows about the lavender sea and she doesn't want those monsters to be slain and integrated in Bel'Veth's army

[@joaofelipesiqueira21]

As far as I understand, Nilah has already been possessed by the demon she used to fight to keep in prison. The irony is in the fact that he is a "joy" demon, that makes her a hero, but that is probably plotting some fucked up shit that will definitely make her a villain (most likely some sort of act against the gods).

[@joaofelipesiqueira21]

Also really like that an enemy of the targonian gods, is using a hostess and possessing someone, the same way that Pantheon does

[@Amanda-jp3vi]

something to note, what would be happy for the demon? maybe the monster or creatures that Nilah are hunting, are the demon's who enjoy by creating chaos. But she counters his joy or happiness with her own. Think about it, if bringing chaos with monsters makes him happy, then all she would have to do would slay monsters or beings that aid him, which in turn makes her happy. Because she doing what she loves and could be the reason she is so powerful. Can't happiness also counter each other or steal from one another?

[@AllYourPals]

you know after seeing her kit and design i was ready to chalk this up to another case of a pretty character with half hearted story but honestly i was pleasantly surprised by her lore, enough so that it actually made me exited to try her out. really a good example of how a great story can flip your whole opinion of a champ

[@soroushkowsarian3364]

i really dislike the fact that riot is making champions that are meant to be more powerful than the very very strong ones , like how rell was made to defeat mordekaiser while mord is literally supposed to be an unstoppable force of evil , or how nilah is supposed to be able to fight viego just cuz ... like she comes out of no where and is now stronger than the ruined king who was stronger than pantheon ... some of these champions like mord or viego or fiddle are made to be the finality of themselves , fiddle was made to be such a strong and terrifying beast that was basically a myth cuz no one lived to tell their tale but now nilah can kill him... i guess ?

[@MechanicMikan]

No PvE HA! Now you get the shot, Necrit

[@pmathewizard]

We get Ultimate spell book take it or leave it

[@katmankatje6534]

@@pmathewizard I would rather leave it than take it

[@dankmagician9311]

@@katmankatje6534 same

[@itskeeler21]

I think Nilah is basically an emissary that was forged by Ashlash because the 10 Primordial Demons likely know the threat of the Void, and through Nilah, they may be able to return. It would make sense for the 10 to want to fight beings like Bel'Veth for dominance over the world/universe, and perhaps Nilah building her "epic" is part of some insane summoning ritual to bring the 10 back from their alleged imprisonment.