TALES OF RUNETERRA: IONIAN
THE IRELIA THE BLADE DANCER
Even as a child, Xan Irelia was fascinated by the elegance and beauty of human movements. With her grandmother's guidance, she learned the traditional dances typical of her province—though she felt doubtful about their mystical relationship with the Spirit of Ionia, Irelia's love of dance was real. Wanting to master the art, he left his home to study with some of the most revered Ionian dancers in the Placidium of Navori.
The Irelians were peace-loving and wanted harmony among their neighbors, but rumors of an alien invasion visible from the waterfront disturbed many in the Placidium. Irelia returns to her village, which has been captured, by Noxus soldiers wearing steel helmets pushing unarmed residents down the street with the back of her spear. Admiral Noxus, Duqal, had surrounded Xan village to gather the higher-ups of his army.
Irelia's brother and father have protested; now her entire family is lying in an unmarked grave in the park.
Devastated by grief, the young girl sees Duqal's men plundering valuables from her home.Among the loot is a large metal emblem, symbolizing the Xan family. Irelia rushed to him, then took him from the hands of the Noxus army. The admiral himself dropped it to the ground, and ordered his troops to break the symbol with a large hammer, then ordered him to dig a new tomb for the boy.
As they surrounded her, Irelia turned her eyes, looking towards the broken Xan family symbol strewn across the ground. From within his soul, he felt a strange rhythm begin to sound. The metal shards began to tremble, spin, and move on their own, and Irelia felt the joy of the ancient dance once again...
With a sweep of his hand, he flew the metal shards like a thrown knife, until it pierced through the two Noxus people. When Duqal and her petty officer were shocked, Irelia snatched the shards of her symbol and fled to the village.
in a deserted forest, Irelia mourns for her family, and recalls her grandmother's teachings. He realized the technique he learned was not an ordinary dance—it was an expression of something greater.
The colonization of Noxus begins to test the fragile peace of the First Lands. It is said that the religious leader Karma himself was forced to counterattack the invaders with deadly magic, but his followers have now retreated to the Lasting Altar and will not commit violence again.in Navori, voices of discord began to unite. A rebel army was formed, one that would not stop until Ionia became independent again. Irelia joins them, she performs her beloved dance on them in a camp in the middle of the forest, to preserve their lost culture.
But Noxus was well versed in the symbolization of those places. A cunning general named Jericho Swain besieged the Placidium and took its guards hostage, with the aim of trapping the incoming reinforcements.
It was at this moment that Irelia welcomed her destiny. Freed from her bonds, she unleashed the full potential of the ancient blade-knife dance, unleashing an incredible amount of elegance. Dozens of Swain veterans fell, while separating their troops from the hostages who later joined him, before attacking the general himself—the sight of the girl raising the general's hand above her head was the turning point of that war.
The victory, the great victory at Navori, ensured that everyone in Ionia knew the name Xan Irelia, and considered her the leader. With little doubt, he led a rebellion for nearly three years of grueling fighting before winning the victory at Dalu Bay. There, he finally managed to corner and defeat Admiral Duqal, and avenge the one he had been looking for a long time ago.
Although the war was long over, Ionia had changed because of it. The First Lands were now divided, with different factions fighting each other almost as fierce as when fighting Noxus. Many went back to look for Irelia to get answers, although many received such great strength, Irelia still felt uneasy.
In his heart, he still missed dancing alone.
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