MY NOTEBOOK
Xayah
A Lhotlan rebel fighting to restore the magic and territory her people have lost. Her partnership with Rakan joins a political cause to a deeply personal bond.
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Runeterra / Between two legacies
Between two legacies
Vastaya
These peoples of varied forms combine human and spiritual ancestry. Their bond with magic lies at the heart of their identity.
Inside the story · 2 MIN
Many tribes · Spiritual inheritance · Living magic
A family of peoples, not one silhouette
Vastaya combine mortal and spiritual inheritance in many different forms. Their ancestry is connected to the Vastayashai’rei, but present-day tribes have their own histories and abilities. Neeko’s Oovi-Kat, Xayah’s Lhotlan and Nami’s Marai demonstrate why an animal-like appearance is not a complete taxonomy. They belong to related traditions of being without sharing one body, society or political cause.
Magic as an environment
For Xayah’s people, the flow of natural magic is essential to vitality and continuity. Human settlement and structures that restrict that flow become threats to a way of life, not merely disputes about land ownership. Neeko’s sho’ma describes another relationship with spiritual essence, allowing perception and imitation of other beings. These specific abilities should not be assigned automatically to every vastaya.
Displacement, resistance and new belonging
Xayah’s rebellion responds to the loss of Lhotlan lands and broken agreements. Neeko, having lost her original home, imagines a new community open to people of different kinds. Rengar pursues a very different life centred on the hunt. Reading these stories together reveals choices made under particular circumstances, rather than one collective vastayan attitude toward humanity.
Beyond the forests of Ionia
Vastayan stories reach into Ixtal’s jungles and the seas near Targon. The Marai depend on a moonstone that protects them from a threat beneath the ocean; Nami’s search takes her onto land. This connection makes vastaya part of Runeterra’s wider spiritual and geographic network. Their diversity is a reason to follow named tribes and individuals rather than rely on a single regional label.
RUNETERRA
People who shape the story
Neeko
An Oovi-Kat survivor able to perceive and imitate spiritual essence. Her search for belonging grows into the idea of a chosen community across peoples.
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Rengar
A vastayan hunter driven by the pursuit of dangerous prey. His rivalry with Kha’Zix links a personal hunting obsession to a creature of the Void.
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RIOT MMO
From Runeterra to the MMO
These histories explain the world in which Riot is developing its MMORPG. They do not establish a playable people, a class, a starting zone or a confirmed quest. Follow the journal for the distinction between Riot’s announcements and community analysis.
Follow the MMO journalSources & further reading
Original editorial summaries based on Riot’s published atlas and biographies. Older sources may describe earlier stages of an evolving story.