Lux, the Lady of Luminosity
Luxanna—or Lux, as she prefers to be called—grew up in the Demacian city of High Silvermere, along with her older brother Garen. They were born to the prestigious Crownguard family, which had served for generations as protectors of the kings of Demacia. Their grandfather saved the king’s life at the Battle of Storm’s Fang, and their aunt Tianna was named commander of the elite Dauntless Vanguard regiment before Lux was born.
Garen took to his family’s role with fervor, joining the military when he was still little more than a boy. Lux, in his absence, was expected to help run the family’s many estates—a task she resented, even as a young child. She wanted to explore the world, to see what lay beyond the walls and borders of Demacia. She idolized Garen, but railed against his insistence that she put her own ambitions aside. To the endless frustration of Lux’s tutors, who sought to prepare her for a life of dutiful service to the Crownguard family, she would question their every teaching, examine differing perspectives, and seek out knowledge far beyond what they were prepared for. Even so, few could find it in themselves to stay angry at Lux, with her zest for life and intoxicating optimism.
Little did any of them know a time of change was approaching. Magic had once brought Runeterra to the brink of annihilation, and Demacia had been founded as a place where such powers were forbidden. Many of the kingdom’s folktales told of pure hearts turned dark by the lure of magic. Indeed, Lux and Garen’s uncle had been slain by a rogue mage some years earlier. And there were fearful whispers, rumors from beyond the great mountains, that magic was rising once more in the world…
Riding home one fateful night, Lux and her horse were attacked by a ravenous sabrewulf pack. In a moment of fear and desperation, the young girl let loose a torrent of magical light from deep within her, routing the beasts but leaving her shivering in fear. Magic, the terror of Demacian myths, was as much a part of Lux as her Crownguard lineage. Fear and doubt gnawed at her. Would she become evil? Was she an abomination, to be imprisoned or exiled? At the very least, if her powers were discovered, it would see the Crownguard name disgraced forever.
With Garen spending more time away from High Silvermere, Lux found herself alone in the halls of their family home. Still, over time, she became more familiar with her magic, and her sleepless nights—fists clenched, willing her inner light to fade—became fewer and fewer. She began experimenting in secret, playing with sunbeams in the courtyards, bending them into solid form, and even creating tiny, glowing figures in her palm. She resolved to keep it a secret, as much as she could.
When she was sixteen, Lux traveled with her parents Pieter and Augatha to their formal residence in the Great City of Demacia, to witness Garen’s investiture into the honored ranks of the Dauntless Vanguard. The city dazzled Lux. It was a monument to the noble ideals of the kingdom, with every citizen protected and cared for; and it was there that Lux learned of the Illuminators, a charitable religious order working to help the sick and the poor. Between her family’s courtly engagements, she became close with a knight of the order named Kahina, who also taught Lux more martial skills, sparring and training with her in the gardens of the Crownguard manor.
Spending more time in the capital, Lux has finally begun to learn about the wider world—its diversity, and its history. She now understands that the Demacian way of life is not the only way, and with clear eyes she can see her love for her homeland standing alongside her desire to see it made more just… and perhaps a little more accepting of mages like her.
Lux Skins
Yuumi, the Magical Cat
In the outlands of Bandle City, there was once a wooded glen where the moon-moths glimmered and the riverbanks overflowed with rainbowfish. In a cottage nestled between the verdant trees lived a yordle enchantress named Norra, with her cat, Yuumi. Born with magical powers of protection, Yuumi enjoyed a life of leisure for many years, pouncing on sunbeams and napping beneath the mouse-trees. Whenever adventure sparked her interest, she joined Norra on explorations across the material and spirit realms. Norra spent her time collecting strange objects like broken cups, shards of colored glass, and fabric with funny stitching. She examined each artifact with deep reverence, though Yuumi never understood their purpose. Nevertheless, Yuumi would use her magic to protect Norra from harm, and would warm her feet when they returned home.
The doorways between realms are finicky and seldom open, even to creatures as dexterous as cats. Yuumi watched as other yordles waited for days for the eastern star to align with a particular stone archway, or waded impatiently between marsh-lilies, seeking a silver blossom blooming from the mud—only then would a pathway appear. But Yuumi’s yordle, Norra, possessed the powerful Book of Thresholds, which allowed her to instantly travel anywhere depicted in its pages. When Norra opened a portal, she and Yuumi would gleefully dive into its glowing paper and arrive at their destination, joined a moment later by the book.
Yuumi never paid the book much attention until one starless night, when she returned home from luring moon-moths with her shinylight to find Norra missing. She saw the book on her master’s desk and flipped through its pages in a panic, noticing that some were torn out entirely. Unable to read its title, Yuumi cried out to it in distress, calling it, simply, “Book”. In response, the book wiggled, and Yuumi was surprised to learn she could understand thoughts amidst the rustling paper. Despite not having a voice, Book made itself loud and clear. Yuumi learned that Norra had gone somewhere so perilous, she had destroyed the portal as she traveled.
Yuumi knew she had to rescue Norra, and turned to Book for help. Each of its thousand pages led to a different location along the lines of magic that crossed the material and spirit realms. The page Norra had used to travel was lost, but Book might be able to get them close. Yuumi and Book would have to explore every possible threshold. She became Book’s unlikely Keeper, vowing to protect it with the courage of a lion—if it fell into the wrong hands, the doorways to Bandle City could open to all kinds of unsavory and ravenous intruders.
Yuumi and Book began their arduous journey, visiting dangerous and unfamiliar lands. Yuumi sought Norra’s scent on the wind, to little avail. While Yuumi would sometimes break from their search to follow the scent of a mouse or restore her strength with a quick catnap, Book was frustratingly cautious, grumpy over lost time and nervous about threats they might encounter. Nevertheless, Yuumi and Book were both determined to find their master and bring her home.
When Yuumi especially missed Norra, she often sought out other companions. One of her favorites was a door-carrying shepherd with thick whiskers and a deep laugh like a babbling brook. Yuumi rested on his shoulders for a time, protecting him from angry snow-spirits stirring up flurries in a hailstorm, while he brought her wriggling fish. Eventually, Yuumi uncovered the scent of her master lingering in a vast Shuriman ruin. Digging deep into the sand, she unearthed a broken shard of blue pottery that looked like a piece from one of Norra’s teapots. Before she could burrow further, a ferocious beast surfaced from the sand, and Yuumi and Book barely escaped. She could only imagine the chaos if a creature like that ripped its claws into Book’s pages.
Though unlikely companions, Yuumi and Book have become fast friends, united by their love for Norra. Yuumi continues to search everywhere for signs of her master, so she can someday return to her life of napping in the sun by Norra’s side.
Yuumi Skins
