And their names are so feared in today's world.

Darkspawn.

They fight among themselves and destroy anyone who dares to oppose them. The Crystal Longbow in Varus's hand is designed to assassinate enemy commanders and heroes, making it easier for the Darkspawn to wipe out mortal legions.

In the end, a gold-armoured Valoran-clad Varolean Moon Chaser and a group of human mages cornered Varus. They sealed him in the longbow and let him weep like a trapped beast. At that time, the corrupting power of the Darkspawn was already known, but the queen decided to use this deadly weapon herself in the final stages of the war, and she resolutely sacrificed herself for the sake of great victory.

A few months later, Empress Wu took Varus to the Land of the First Born, which was later known as Ionia. By this time, the power of the bow had made her terrifying, and her last order was for her entourage to bury her alive at the bottom of a dull well, deep in the mountain temple overlooking Pallas.

Varus was imprisoned by the natural magic of Ionia and the rituals of the temple guards.

The longbow has been hidden for hundreds of years, unaware, untouched, forgotten. Until the Noxians invaded the Newborn Lands. Two monster hunters, Valmao and Kaye the Rhino Couple, battle the first invaders to land at the Temple of Pallas. Although they were brave enough to repel the invading enemy, Kaye was mortally wounded. Grief-stricken, Valmao carried him into the temple, hoping that the forbidden magic of the well would save Kaye's life.

But this temple only brings a curse. Both were eroded by the unleashed power of the Darkspawn. Their bodies fell apart, then tangled into a new shell. This body was just right to free Varus from his confinement. Crawling out of the well was a gestalt creature, pale rather than human-like, partly human, partly Darkborn. After thousands of years of waiting, Varus was reborn.

Even so, in this imperfect shell, the spirits of humans and the Darkspawn rise and fall, each able to briefly gain the upper hand and then be overpowered by the other. Varus only wanted to silence the souls of two mortals forever and avenge his fellow citizens. Meanwhile, Kaye and Valmao struggle to resist Varus's malice, hoping that their affection for each other will eventually conquer the hatred of the Darkspawn.

How long they will be able to compete with Varus, no one can say for sure. But if this cruel and arrogant killer takes full control of the body, he will find a way to reunite with his people and turn the Runeterras into a wasteland of ashes.

Siddha Cain is a master of shadow magic, and the purpose of his battle is to achieve his true destiny - to one day lead the Shadowstream Sect and usher in a new generation of Ionian supremacy. Cain wields the Living Darkborn weapon, Raast, unconcerned about the corruption it inflicts on his body and mind. There are only two possible consequences: either Cain tames the weapon and submits to his will; Or, the vicious blade will devour him completely, paving the way for the destruction of Runeterra.

Siddha Kay was born in Noxus and was drafted into the army as a child soldier at an early age. Leading this brutal force was the most insidious officer under Bron-Darkwell. After the fiasco of Presidon in Navoli, the aggression turned into a protracted war of attrition. The mercy of the Ionians became a weakness that could be exploited - their warriors would hesitate in front of seemingly innocent people. Therefore, Kai Yin, who could barely carry a sword, participated in the battle on his first day, which was basically equivalent to his death.

In order to raid the province of Barouo, Noxus' troops chose to land at the mouth of the Yipo River. Cain and the other children were reluctantly organized into the vanguard, facing local forces that had been hastily organized to resist the returning invaders. His young comrades were either killed in battle or deserted, but Cain had no fear. He threw down his heavy sword and grabbed a scythe, facing the shocked Ionians. At this time, the regular troops of Noxus were outflanked from the flank.

What followed was a massacre that was unbearable to witness. Farmers, hunters—and even some Vastayas—were all slaughtered with a clean hand.

Two days later, the war spread throughout the southern provinces, and the Shadow Sect followed the wind. The Lord of the Shadow Stream knows that this area has no strategic value. The massacre was just a statement: Noxus showed no mercy.

A flash of metal caught his attention. A boy as old as ten years old lay in the mud, raising a broken scythe against Master Assassin Ping, his blood-stained knuckles turning white with exertion. The boy's eyes contained pain that was far from his age, but they burned with the anger of a strong warrior. This kind of tenacity is not something that can be taught. He looked at the boy. This Noxian outcast has the right to be a weapon that in turn will take on the enemies who have sent him to his death. He stretched out his hand and welcomed Cain to the Shadow Stream.

Shadowstream followers often spend years honing a weapon of their choice, but Kai Cain is proficient in all weapons—to him, these things are just tools, and he is a weapon in his own right. He felt that the armor was just a bulky burden, so he wrapped himself in a dark shadow and stabbed his enemies by surprise and lightning speed. Those who escaped by chance were rumored of an unpreventable assassination, and fear spread.

Kai Cain's fame grew, and so did his conceit. He truly believed that one day, his power would even surpass the Tribulation.

This conceit led Cain to his final test: to find a Darkspawn weapon recently unearthed in Noxus to protect the weakened Ionian defenders from being killed. He accepted it without hesitation, without thinking at all why he was chosen for the task. In fact, someone else would have wanted to destroy the living scythe called Rayast, but Cain kept it for himself.

As soon as his fingers touched the scythe, the Corruption began to bind the two together, destined to wrestle with each other. Raast waited a long time for a perfect host, just to reunite with his Darkspawn and wipe out the creatures of the world in one fell swoop, but Cain would not be easily occupied. He returned to Ionia with great ambition, believing that Doom would sponsor him as the new leader of the Shadowstream Sect.

Beneath the veil of Ionian harmony lies those who have been left behind. For Zai, his story begins with the little boy who sits on the cold stone steps of his house, whose home is a Balanced Sect.

The Sect of Equilibrium's Grandmaster Kushu personally took him in, and he found his place within the ancient temple walls. He tried his best to comprehend the spiritual teachings of Balance, and soon surpassed his peers in both fighting and studying.