Viego (2024)

Once ruler of a long-lost kingdom, Viego perished over a thousand years ago when his attempt to bring his wife back from the dead triggered the magical catastrophe known as the Ruination. Transformed into a powerful, unliving wraith tortured by an obsessive longing for his centuries-dead queen, Viego now stands as the Ruined King, controlling the deadly Harrowings as he scours Runeterra for anything that might one day restore her, and destroying all in his path as the Black Mist pours endlessly from his cruel, broken heart.

	"No price is too great. No atrocity beyond my reach. For her… I will do anything." —Viego
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Background[]

Early life[]

Viego was born centuries ago to the royal family of Camavor, significantly later than his brother. Due to being the fourth born child of the king, he was largely neglected in favor of his brother and spent his childhood in his shadow. Viego was tutored by the greatest minds in the land and learned swordsmanship from his father's generals. Viego's best friend was his own niece, Kalista, and she would end up becoming his most trusted general.

When his father had passed, Viego was to be crowned the king, despite being unprepared. Kalista was tasked by Viego's father to monitor his rule and steer him in the right direction. Shortly into his reign, Viego had fallen in love with a peasant seamstress named Isolde. The two had a whirlwind romance and were quickly married. Viego had begun to neglect his kingdom in favor of his queen and his enemies began to conspire against him. They had sent an assassin to kill the wayward king, but they were intercepted by general Kalista. However, Isolde was poisoned in his place. The king ordered the nation's greatest healers and scholars to find a cure for the queen, but when they failed, he sent Kalista to search for one instead. While the king was preoccupied with keeping the queen alive, the kingdom continued to be neglected and uprisings plagued the country. He ordered commander Hecarim and his knights to quash these insurrections and hundreds were put to death. Eventually, the queen would pass and the king sank into a deep depression. Hecarim proposed invading foreign lands as retribution for the queen and Viego approved. As the armies of Camavor prepared to set sail, Kalista had returned with word of a cure.

Kalista had sailed to the Blessed Isles and learned of the Waters of Life, which could cure any disease. But by the time she had returned, the queen was dead. Kalista did not believe the cure was of any use after the queen had passed, but Viego refused to believe her and had her imprisoned for treason. Kalista was eventually convinced to show the king the location of the cure and he and his armies would sail to the Blessed Isles. The residents of the island refused to grant him access to the waters, so Viego ordered Kalista to slay them, but she refused. Hecarim and his knights would be more then happy to follow the king's orders and clashed with Kalista's forces, while Viego searched for the waters himself. The king fought his way to the waters, guided by the conniving warden who become Thresh. When he made it to the vault, Viego lowered Isolde into the waters' healing properties and watched with hope. The queen revived as a former shadow of herself and attacked the king with his own sword. The magic of Viego's blade and the blessed waters mixed, transforming it into the Black Mist and unleashing ruination. The Blessed Isles would transform into the Shadow Isles and Viego slumbered within his blade for centuries.

Resurrection[]

Main article: Ruined King

Viego would eventually be awakened by Gangplank and Thresh, who planned on using him to conquer Bilgewater. Still weak from his slumber, Viego gathered his strength, fueled by his desire to be reunited with his queen. Eventually Gangplank would try to subjugate Viego with a powerful amulet, but would fall to the king's power. He would possess the pirate and used him to hold off Ahri, Braum, Illaoi, Miss Fortune, Pyke, and Yasuo, while he flew to Bilgewater to search for his queen. The champions of Bilgewater would eventually defeat Viego, weakening him with his own memories and imprisoning him within the amulet. The amulet would be guarded by Illaoi.

Illaoi departs for the Shadow Isles in search of the Brethren of the Dusk, the original creators of the amulet, to find out if she can destroy it, with Viego trapped inside. She is escorted there by Ruven, a captain indebted to Miss Fortune. On Isles, Illaoi meets Yorick, the last member of the brotherhood, who reveals they can destroy the amulet, but requires a heart source hot enough. They decide on a nearby volcano, but as they set sail, Ruven betrays revealing he is the puppet of Bartek, an agent of Thresh. Bartek manages to wrest the amulet from them and retuns it to Thresh.

Ruination[]

Main article: Rise of the Sentinels

At some point Viego would escape the amulet and resume his search for Isolde. He would be made aware of a fragment of her soul within Senna and intercepted her and her husband Lucian. Viego would unleash Harrowings in Demacia, Ionia, and Noxus while he tried to separate the fragment from Senna. He would manage to pry a portion of the fragment within her before they escaped. Viego soon encountered a gloomy Yordle on the Shadow Isles named Vex. Vex was enamored by Viego's darkness and agreed to help spread the Black Mist across the world. With the help of his new companion, Viego would unleash a global Harrowing to scour the world for the soul fragments.

He would obtain the fragments and bend several champions to his will including Draven, Karma, Miss Fortune, Pantheon, and Shyvana. Along the way he and his forces would be confronted by the Sentinels of Light. After obtaining most of the fragments, the Sentinels launched a final assault on Viego on the Shadow Isles. There he would obtain the last three fragments within Senna, Gwen and the Maiden of the Mist. His forces held off the Sentinels while he took the fragments to Camavor to revive his queen. Viego resurrected Isolde, but she was horrified at what he had become. Isolde prompted Akshan to kill her, reviving Senna, Gwen and the Maiden, and the Sentinels would defeat the king, leaving him imprisoned in Hallowed Mist forever.

Appearance[]

As a wraith, Viego has a pale complexion, spectral green eyes and white hair. He is adorned by a green, spectral crown and a triangle shaped wound in his chest, where Black Mist pours out. Viego wears a black leather jacket and pants with light armorments and no shirt showing off her bare, sculpted chest. He wields Sanctity, the Blade of the King, a spectral Zweihänder with the crest of Camavor on its hilt. Viego can also manifest armor made from Black Mist, including a helmet and a chest plate.

In life, Viego's complexion was close to fair, and his skin was slightly tanned. His hair has a brown color. He wore a blue leather jacket and undershirt with black pauldrons and gauntlets with gold accents. He also wore brown pants with black boots. He wielded an uncorrupted version of Sanctity, adorned by gold and jewels.

Personality[]

Viego was an incredibly passionate, yet arrogant man. Due to being raised in nobility, Viego was given everything in life and believed all was his. He was deeply enamored with his wife Isolde, and would dote on her. His devotion to his wife lead him to be highly disinterested in ruling their kingdom and neglect his responsibilities. He has shown himself to be a perfectionist, having high expectations of his queen and would berate her when she couldn't live up to them. When Isolde was poisoned, Viego became obsessed with saving her, using all of the kingdom's resources to try and keep her alive. When the queen had passed, he was willing to slaughter thousands and defy death itself in order to bring her back. Centuries later, his obsession remains, willing to plunge the world into darkness in order to revive his queen.

Abilities[]

• Expert Swordsman: Viego is an adept swordsman, having had the best fighters of Camavor teach him.
• Black Mist Mastery: Having been the source of the Ruination, Viego has control of the Black Mist.
  • Flight: Viego was shown to be able to fly with the aid of the Black Mist in Ruined King.
  • Mind Control: Viego can use the Black Mist to possess and control his opponents. This power can also be used on flora. Notable victims include: Draven, Karma, and Shyvana.
  • Healing: Viego can restore himself with the Black Mist.
  • Shadow Travel: Viego can travel through the Black Mist at incredible speed. A limitation of this ability is that he cannot travel if the Black Mist is interrupted.
  • Black Mist Creation: Viego endlessly generates Black Mist from the triangle shaped wound in his chest.
  • Resurrection: Viego can use the Black Mist to revive the dead. Notable examples include: Pantheon and Isolde.
  • Mistwalker Control: Viego can create and control mistwalker ghouls.
• Magic: Viego was the first member of the royal family to display magical abilities, likely inherited from his mother.
• Enhanced Strength: Viego was shown to have strength to rival someone as powerful as Pantheon and could collapse buildings with a single strike.
• Undead Body: Viego does not appear to have the same physical limitations as someone who is alive, like the need for rest or nourishment. His body has been preserved to look as it did centuries ago.

Relations[]

Kalista[]

Kalista is Viego's niece and was his most trusted general in life. Despite being her uncle, Kalista was like an older sister to Viego, the two were friends for a long time since he was largely ignored in favor of Kalista's father. When her grandfather died and Viego became king, his negative traits were worsened and they began to drift apart, however she was still loyal to him.

Kalista managed to protect Viego from an assassin, but resulted in Isolde getting poisoned instead. She would set sail in order to find a cure, but found it too late and was imprisoned as a traitor for her failure. She was eventually convinced by Hecarim to lead Viego and their army to the Blessed Isles for the Waters of Life. When the masters of the island refused to let them use the water, Viego ordered her to kill anyone who opposed them. Kalista refused and was stabbed by Hecarim before her forces clashed with the Iron Order.

Hecarim[]

Hecarim was the leader of the Iron Order, a brotherhood of knights which vowed to protect the king's lands. Under Viego, Hecarim and the Iron Order acted as the king's enforcers and quelled growing dissent after Viego began neglecting his duties. Hecarim and his knights accompanied Viego to the Blessed Isles. They held off Kalista's forces and pillaged the city while Viego attempted to heal Isolde.

In The Despoiler of Havenfall, it is revealed that Hecarim does not think highly of Viego and only continues to follow him because he can spread the Black Mist across Runeterra and allows him to pillage the land.

Vladimir[]

Although Viego calls Vladimir his uncle in game, they are only distantly related due to both descending from the royalty of Camavor.^[2] At some point after being taken by his Darkin master, Vladimir started sending customary, yearly letters to his original kingdom. After Isolde was poisoned, a grief stricken Viego refused to respond, not knowing Vladimir had the power that could have saved her.^[3]

Isolde[]

Viego's wife is a seamstress named Isolde. Viego was selfish, self-centered, young, immature, and had a lot of power. So when he saw someone as beautiful as Isolde, he had to have her. She accepted because she was a commoner from a conquered country.^[4] Viego was a perfectionist in his relationship with Isolde, so when she couldn't live up to his expectations, he would berate her. However, the thought of not being the perfect husband for her disturbed him and he would abandon the memories of the times they fought.^[5] It is uncertain if Viego truly loved Isolde or loved that she was his because he was raised to take anything he desired. Regardless, he doted and focused on her and ignored his duties as king. Viego’s love for Isolde is characterized by utter obsession to the exclusion of everything else, and driven by a lack of understanding of any motivations other than his own.^[6]

Isolde stabbed Viego with his own blade after he resurrected her. The magic of the waters and the ancient sword caused Ruination which turned the Blessed Isles into the Shadow Isles. When Viego resurrected Isolde a second time, she was disgusted at what he had become and the atrocities he had committed to bring her back. She would allow Akshan to kill her again with his Absolver to revive Gwen and Senna and weaken Viego.

Gwen[]

Gwen was created by Isolde and she associates him with the pain of Isolde being taken away from her. She opposes Viego and sided with the Sentinels of Light to stop the pain he has caused in his search for Isolde's soul fragments. Gwen contained a fragment of Isolde's soul.

Thresh[]

Thresh led Viego to the Waters of Life where he resurrected Isolde. Thresh and Gangplank woke Viego up from his slumber in order to use him to conquer Bilgewater. Thresh plotted against Viego during Rise of the Sentinels and secretly siphoned the excess Black Mist he was producing in order the unbind himself from the Shadow Isles.

Senna Abaru[]

Senna was cursed to have a fragment of Isolde's soul within her, leading to her being relentlessly hunted by the mist. Later, she learned the truth about the mist during her time inside Thresh's latern. After being freed from it, Senna and her husband Lucian were determined to defeat Viego. Upon finding out about Senna's relation to Isolde, Viego confronted her and Lucian and partially separated Isolde from her body. She, Akshan, Gwen and a Sentinel Rookie would eventually defeat him in Camavor and leave him restrained in Hallowed Mist.

Vex[]

Viego unleashed a global ruination with the aid of Vex during Rise of the Sentinels. Vex was enamored by Viego's desire to plunge the world into darkness and aided him in causing a global ruination, but would later abandon him when she discovered that he was doing it for love

Ruination[]

Maokai and Yorick were hunting for Viego in hope of restoring the Blessed Isles. The Maiden of the Mist was one of the fetters of Isolde's soul.

During the events of Ruined King, Ahri, Braum, Illaoi, Miss Fortune, Pyke and Yasuo set sail to the Shadow Isles to confront Viego in order to protect Bilgewater. Viego tried to tempt Miss Fortune into joining with him, promising her the power to rule Bilgewater and even bring back her mother, but her will proved stronger and she would imprison him in a Buhru artifact. Miss Fortune would eventually join Viego during Rise of the Sentinels, after months of fighting over Bilgewater with Gangplank.

Viego would eventually escape the Buhru artifact and unleash harrowings across multiple regions to begin his search for the fragments of Isolde's soul. These harrowings were repelled by multiple champions including: Darius, Karma, Poppy, Samira, and Vayne.

He corrupted multiple champions, such as Draven, Karma, Pantheon, Miss Fortune and Shyvana, to aid in his search.^[7] Multiple champions were recruited by the Sentinels of Light to stop him such as Diana, Graves, Irelia, Olaf, Pyke, Rengar, Riven and Vayne.

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Biography

Starring Champion

Trivia[]

• Viego was in his early 20s during the first Ruination.^[8]
• One of the "cures" Viego purchased was a spell that prevented Isolde's corpse from decaying.^[9]
• Camavor is based on a combination of early modern period Spain and Camelot, Viego's name was chosen to reflect this origin.^[10]
  • The country was originally hinted in Viego's voice lines to be called "Camaveia", however that name was cut because it sounded similar to the Brazilian Portuguese words "cama véia" meaning "old bed".^[11] The new official name of the kingdom was later revealed in his champion insight.
• Viego is the "Ruined King" because he was emotionally ruined when Isolde was killed, which caused him to trigger the Ruination.^[12]
• The black mist corrupts people and makes them look altered and monstrous. Viego controls the black mist and not vice versa, so he hasn't been corrupted by it at all and become monstrous like other Shadow Isles beings.^[13]
• As mentioned in the Riot Report of February 2021:
  • After being stabbed by Isolde, Viego actually died and fell into the same state as a normal person would, not knowing all the details that happened shortly before. During that state, he still grasped the general ideas (though not in details) of the events that happened.
  • Viego's form is distorted by his delusion and personality.
  • Viego's magic is something he doesn't even fully understand, it is deeply tied to Helia and the Black Mist. The Black Mist is parasitic in nature and rips life, bringing souls to an undead state.
  • Sanctity is a royal weapon passed down among kings. When a new king incarnated, it would absorb part of their soul in order to revive them should they get fatal injuries in battles. When Isolde stabbed Viego in the heart, the magic of the blade tried to revive him at the same time with the magic of the blessed water, but due to the soul part inside the blade itself, it could not do it. The cycle of the healing magic caused a feedback loop that became overloaded and finally caused the Ruination.
    • The version of the blade that appears in Ruined King and League of Legends is its physical form after being affected by the Ruination, while the blade Viego uses is more of a soul-life version as he remembers it.
      • Viego uses the physical blade in Ruined King. After he was sealed by the Buhru, the whereabouts of the physical blade became unknown.
• Once he was awakened, Viego set out to revive Isolde by gathering the fragments of her soul, which were stored in fetters scattered across Runeterra.
  • The fetters include: Senna, Gwen, The Maiden of the Mist, a hand mirror, an ivory comb, a wine flagon, a silver flower, a copper sundial, a parasol, a jade mask, a brass bell, and a reed basket.

Change log[]

References[]

See also[]

Universe Wiki | Ruined King

Characters	Ahri Ashe Braum Elder Dragon Elise Fizz Gangplank Gwen Hecarim Illaoi Isolde Janna Jarvan IV Ledros Lucian Maokai Miss Fortune Nagakabouros Nautilus Necrit Olaf Pyke Rafen Riven Senna Swain Tahm Kench Thresh Twisted Fate Viego Volibear Yasuo Yone
Places	Bilgewater Camavor Demacia Freljord Ionia Shadow Isles Runeterra
Other Lore and Media	Journals Ruined King (Soundtrack) The Ruined King Saga (Universe)

Universe Wiki | Characters with lore

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