Art really is something else on Runeterra.
LoL Hwei Lore: Connection to Jhin
With the release of the new champion, we have a new storyline driving the worldbuilding of Runeterra forward.
One of the greatest events in the modern history of Ionia was the massacres enacted by the Golden Demon in pursuit of his grisly art. It scarred Zed and Shen for life, and changed the political landscape of Ionia for years to come.
Now, with the release of the newest LoL mid-lane champion, Hwei, further details of Jhin's atrocities are unveiled along with his connection to Hwei. It's evident that he is the most dangerous criminal of all, the one who truly believes his delusions.
How is Hwei Connected to Jhin?
Hwei was born as the heir to the Koyehn Temple, situated on the island of the same name in the northwest part of the Ionian archipelago. The temple was known for its paint magic, something Hwei was incredibly gifted at.
However, if there is one thing Ionians love to do, is to advocate, practice, and enforce restraint and control in excess. So, Hwei was forced to restrain his own emotions and present an artistic facade to the world. Lest he be berated by his elders for unleashing his powerful emotions onto canvas and in the world.
Misunderstood among his own people, he practiced his art at night and found kinship with a wandering artist who came to visit the temple. There, in his isolation, he vented his emotions to Khada Jhin, the Golden Demon, and was inspired by Jhin to pursue his art.
He found the dead bodies of the four elders of his temple in the morning, the same four who berated him all those years ago, alongside four destroyed masterpiece works.
It was only when he found a lotus-shaped trap amid the rubble of the burning temple, that he understood Jhin's parting words in hindsight, where he promised to go on "to watch the lotuses bloom".
Now, Hwei has left his village on a journey of self-discovery and redemption, seeking the full depth of his art, and finding scoundrels in the deepest corner of Runeterra.
- Speaking of betrayal, get yourself the Jinx and Vi Mug, to never forget Vi abandoning Powder
While his overall motivations are as ambiguous as his roiling emotions, we know what he intends to do to Jhin once he finds him, due to the in-game quest and the voice line Hwei says after first encountering Jhin in-game.
"Jhin, you opened my eyes to so much. I won't spare you from any of it".
Luckily for Ionia, Hwei did not go the Syndra route, after suffering a similar fate, sequestering himself from society, and instead seeks to help it. However, the fact that the influence of Jhin on Hwei's psyche is depicted in teasers as, what everyone assumed, were demonic manifestations, is telling.