Religious Order
Preserving a balance between the physical world and the Spirit Realm
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Keeper of MasksThe Kinkou Order is an ancient organization of Ionia which is dedicated in preserving a balance between the physical world and the spirit realm, without showing a preference to either.
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Champions of The Kinkou Order
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The Order
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“ "Good and evil are not truths. They are born from men and each sees the shades differently." — Master KushoThe Kinkou Order is an ancient clan originating in the Ionian Isles and are the self-appointed keepers of Ionia's sacred balance. The order's loyal acolytes walk the spirit and material realms, mediating conflicts between them and, when necessary, intervening by force.
The Order employs a triumvirate of shadow warriors to uphold its causes in the world. The three warriors are each entrusted with one of three sacred duties: the pure impartiality of Watching the Stars, the passage of judgment in Coursing the Sun, and the elimination of imbalance by Pruning the Tree.
The Golden Demon
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For years, the province of Zhyun was plagued by the infamous “Golden Demon.” A monster slaughtered scores of travelers and sometimes whole farmsteads, leaving behind twisted displays of corpses. Armed militias searched the forests, towns hired demon hunters - but nothing slowed the beast's grisly work.
In desperation, the Council of Zhyun sent an envoy to beg Great Master Kusho for help. Kusho feigned an excuse for why he couldn't help, but a week later, the master, his son Shen, and star apprentice Usan, disguised themselves merchants and moved to the province. In secret, they visited the countless families emotionally shattered by the killings, dissected the horrific crime scenes, and looked for possible connections or patterns to the murders.
Their investigation took four long years, and left the three men changed. Shen, known for his wit and humor, became somber; and Zed, the brightest star of Kusho's temple, began to struggle with his studies.
Depicted in a variety of plays and epic poems, the capture of the “Golden Demon” would be the seventh and final great feat in the illustrious career of Lord Kusho. On the eve of the Blossom Festival in Jyom Pass, Kusho disguised himself as a renowned calligrapher to blend in with the other guest artists. Then he waited. The famed “Golden Demon” was actually a mere stagehand in Zhyun's traveling theaters and opera houses working under the name Khada Jhin.
Instead of execution, Great Master Kusho ordered the criminal imprisoned. Though he and Usan both thought the killer deserved heavier punishment, Shen accepted his father's decision. He strived to emulate the Eye of Twilight's dispassion, and so found himself failing to console a bitter and resentful Usan.
The Order of Shadows
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Usan's heart bloomed with resentment as he was haunted by the memories of Jhin's grisly murders, and rising tensions between Ionia and the imperialistic forces of Noxus only worsened his disillusionment. Usan refused to let lofty notions of balance stand in the way of punishing evil.
Into the temple's hidden catacombs, he discovered an ornate, black box. When he peered inside shadows enveloped his mind, feeding his bitterness with contempt for the weak, and hinting at an ancient, dark magic.
Usan demanded the Kinkou strike at the Noxian invaders with every means at their disposal. When Kusho refused, Usan turned his back on the order that had raised him, changing his name to Zed.
Unbound by Kinkou doctrine, he raised a following of warriors to resist Noxus but soon enough he realized his own abilities would never match his ambitions without the black box. Amassing his new acolytes, he returned to the Kinkou temple, where he was met by Kusho. The elderly man laid his weapons at Zed's feet, imploring his former pupil to renounce the shadows in favor of a more balanced path.
Moments later, Zed emerged back onto the temple steps. In one hand, he grasped the box—and in the other, his freshly bloodied blade.
The Kinkou, frozen with shock, fell in droves as Zed's warriors cut them down. He then claimed the temple for himself, establishing his Order of Shadow, and began training his acolytes in the ways of darkness.
That happened as Shen was far from home, he felt a jolting imbalance within the Kinkou Order—rushing back, he came upon the survivors of the bloody coup. Repressing his anguish, he led the remnants of the Kinkou to safety in the eastern mountains.
Zed's transformation of the Kinkou into the merciless Order of Shadow was almost complete. But taking up his father's spirit blade, as well as the title of Eye of Twilight. Shen intended to rebuild what had been lost, his role was not to seek vengeance, but to rebuild the order. Even though they were now few, they would train neophytes to restore and grow their numbers once more.
The Kinkou and the Order of Shadow came to an uneasy accord in the wake of the Noxian invasion of Ionia.
The Rogue Assassin
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Five years ago a fourteen years old Akali, daughter of Mayym Jhomen Tethi, formally entered her Kinkou training, determined to succeed her mother as the new Fist of Shadow.
Though she did not possess the magical abilities of many of her fellow acolytes, she proved to all she was worthy of the title, in time allowing her mother to step down and help mentor the younger neophytes.
But Akali's soul was restless. She saw that her homeland continued to suffer. She questioned whether the Kinkou were truly fulfilling their purpose. Pruning the Tree was meant to eliminate those who threatened the sacred balance... yet Shen would always urge restraint. Her youthful precociousness turned to outright disobedience. She argued with Shen, she defied him, and she took down Ionia's enemies her way.
In front of the whole order, she declared the impotence of the Kinkou, all its talk of spiritual balance and patience accomplishing little. Ionians were dying in the material realm, and that was the realm Akali would defend. She did not need the order anymore.
Shen let her go without a fight, knowing this was a path that Akali must walk alone. Perhaps that path would bring her back one day, but that would be for her to decide.
Locations
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The Kinkou Order controls, or previously controlled, several temples and/or monasteries around Ionia, primarily on the Ionian Mainland of the Navori and Shon-Xan regions.
Leadership
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Keepers of the Sacred Balance
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The Kinkou are the self-appointed keepers of Ionia's sacred balance. Their acolytes walk both Runeterra and the spirit realm, mediating conflicts between them and, when necessary, intervening by force. During the war with Noxus, the Kinkou Order was ousted from its ancient temple by the followers of Zed, himself a former acolyte.
Roles
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The Kinkou Order is led by a triumvirate, each representing one of the three fundamental philosophies of the Kinkou: the pure impartiality of Watching the Stars, the passage of judgment in Coursing the Sun, and the elimination of imbalance by Pruning the Tree.
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Religious Order/Militant Extremist Group
Protect Ionia and crush any enemy that threatens their rule
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The Yánléi (“The Tears” as in the Shadow's Tears, also known as "The Tears of the Shadow" in Ionian)[1], more widely known as Shadow Order or The Order of Shadows, was founded by Zed and the former disciples of the Kinkou Order. Their task is to protect Ionia and crush any enemy that threatens their rule. Most of the orders members are shadow magic users, sourcing their powers from the Tears of The Shadow artifact from which the order got its name.
Lore
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Champions of the Shadow Order
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History
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Master of Shadows
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Zed's story began as a boy on the home of the Kinkou Order. Taken in by Great Master Kusho himself, Zed found his place within the temple's ancient walls. He dedicated himself to understanding the Kinkou's spiritual tenets, quickly outpacing his peers both in combat and study. Even so, he felt overshadowed by another—his master's son, Shen. Though Zed's passion shone through in every technique he perfected, he lacked Shen's emotional balance. In spite of this, the two pupils became like brothers.
In time, they journeyed together with their master to track down the infamous Golden Demon. When they finally succeeded, the "demon" was revealed to be a mere man named Khada Jhin. The young Zed marched forward with his blades held high, but Kusho stopped him, ordering that Jhin be imprisoned instead.
Returning to their temple, Zed's heart bloomed with resentment, and he began to struggle in his studies. He was haunted by the memories of Jhin's grisly murders, and rising tensions between Ionia and the imperialistic forces of Noxus only worsened his disillusionment. Zed refused to let lofty notions of balance stand in the way of punishing evil.
In the temple's hidden catacombs, he discovered an ornate, black box. Even though he knew it was forbidden to any but the masters of the order, he peered inside.
Shadows enveloped Zed's mind, feeding his bitterness with contempt for the weak, and hinting at an ancient, dark magic.
He came face to face with Great Master Kusho. Zed demanded the Kinkou strike at the Noxian invaders with every means at their disposal. When Kusho refused, Zed turned his back on the order that had raised him.
Unbound by Kinkou doctrine, he raised a following of warriors to resist Noxus. Any soul who threatened his homeland, or stood idle in its defense, was marked for death without mercy—including native vastaya who wavered in their allegiance. Zed urged his followers to embrace the fervor of war, but soon enough he realized his own abilities would never match his ambitions without the black box.
Amassing his new acolytes, he returned to the Kinkou temple, where he was met by Kusho. The elderly man laid his weapons at Zed's feet, imploring his former pupil to renounce the shadows in favor of a more balanced path.
Moments later, Zed emerged back onto the temple steps. In one hand, he grasped the box—and in the other, his freshly bloodied blade.
The Kinkou, frozen with shock, fell in droves as Zed's warriors cut them down. He then claimed the temple for himself, establishing his Order of Shadow, and began training his acolytes in the ways of darkness. They etched their flesh with shadowy tattoos, learning to fight alongside shrouded reflections of themselves.
Though he did not reconcile with Shen and the remaining Kinkou, now scattered throughout the provinces, they reached an uneasy accord in the aftermath of the war. Zed knew what he had done could not be undone.
Locations
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The Shadow Order controls, several temples and/or monasteries around Ionia, primarily on the Ionian Mainland of the Navori and Shon-Xan regions.
Culture
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Shadow Magic
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Those that master the shadow arts have their bodies physically altered by the use of the magic, some more drastically than others. The Order of Shadows draws their power from shadow tears, a magical ichor which grants them the ability to manipulate shadow magic when tattooed or ingested.[2]
The ichor is generated by some of the Quinlons. Quinlon's are the magical filters and damns scattered around Ionia that attempt to contain the amount of magic released into the region, or limit it to positive and helpful magic. The Ichor is a byproduct of filtering out the "negative magic."
So there is a limited supply of it, but that supply is very very slowly regenerated. The size of Zed's order is however limited by the supply of the Ichor.
Consumed Yanlei's is intense, but limited and short term. Tattoo's allow a much longer use with greater control, but has a less powerful effect.
The amount can vary, so one warrior might only have a single teardrop tattoo on his cheek, or a murdered parents name tattooed over her heart, while another person might have their entire torso tattooed.
But the size of the tattoo is only one variable describing a person's strength with the technique. The person also needs to be able to harness the power they have. So they may limit the scale of the tattoo for that reason. They also might not emotionally resonate with magic very well.
For instance, for a character like Braum, the magical ichor would flee from his skin. He's too healthy, too happy, too well-adjusted. It would leech from his body probably within a few seconds or hours.
Similarly a character like Tryndamere would lack the emotional control to the harness the magic of the ichor. So giving him more than a tiny tattoo would have rapidly diminishing results.
Kayn and Zed are special because they can resonate with magic AND can control large amounts of it.[3]
Their shadow clones are potentially shaped by their guilt and hatred. Members that use shadow magic are in constant threat of being consumed by the shadows, becoming demonic monsters or being consumed by demons from the spirit realm. Shadow magic can be burnt from their bodies with the help of chains and null-scrolls. Mages or Quinlons could probably speed up the process of ridding the body of the ichor.
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The Order of Shadow
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These assassins have taken it upon themselves to defend Ionia from all outsiders, and to move aggressively toward the total militarization of their homeland. Members of the Order traditionally spend several years learning the forbidden arts of shadow magic.
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Relations
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After the slaughter the Shadow Order members committed to the Kinkou members, the two Orders were at war until the code of Tuonn and Vettan were established. They spent the next few years in a temporary armistice with each Order having their own allowed zone. When Zed sought out Shen to warn the Eye of Twilight about the Golden Demon's return, the armistice between the two Orders ended.
The Shadow Order was allied to the Navori Brotherhood during the first Noxian invasion of Ionia. Later, when Kusho became the leader of the Brotherhood and the patron of the Order, the two organizations worked together in some missions. After Zed realized about Kusho's betrayal and killed him while Kayn and those loyal to the Order killed the rest of Kusho's followers in their Zhyun base, the two organizations are now enemies.
The Order has been consolidating Ionian magical power, which is essential for the Vastaya, for their own purposes while also killing and capturing a number of the Vastaya. There have been a lot of struggles between the two groups.
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