Before this seminar, I thought of mountains in video games as mere obstacles or backdrops, as challenging areas that might introduce new mechanics to the gaming experience or as stunning landscapes where one can get lost for a while and forget about the real world. The ideas I have read in others’ blog posts, as well as what I have overheard, have challenged this idea. Nonetheless, since I want to talk about League of Legends, I somewhat have to abandon the game itself and focus primarily on its lore. While it might not seem like it, this thirteen-year-old MOBA has rich lore expanding multiple regions and over a hundred characters. For the purposes of this seminar, I have chosen to focus on the region of Targon.

Targon, in my opinion, is truly the embodiment of our perception of mountains, starting from its design. I would argue that the League of Legends Realms of Runeterra Offical Companion describes this mountain the best: “A towering pinnacle of twisted, sun-baked rock that seems to reach ever upward toward the stars.” Along with its landscape, the inhabitants of Targon the sun or moon worshipping Rakkor people provide another exciting aspect to the region. Yet the most intriguing part of Targon is the ascension of it. As the Offical Companion puts it, those who choose to try and ascend the mountain are not expected to return. Either they perish in their pursuit of the summit, or once they reach the top, they ascend to the heavens.

I believe that one thing has to be cleared first, and that is the fact that the mountain does not exist in the game itself. That being said, there is a great deal of literature provided by the Riot Games Narrative team, from stories about the region itself to illustrations. However, what I am going to rely on mostly (probably) are the descriptions and short stories tied to characters from Targon. The fact is that it is releases of new characters that drive the narrative of Runettara and its regions forward, expanding the universe bit by bit.

As the story of Targon stands right now, it is not especially concrete, being told from various points of view and by a diverse set of media. The intent of my research is to try and create a more precise and more complete image of this region, as well as to dive deeper into it and analyse it.

Sources:

Wieske, Michael Haugen. League of Legends Realms of Runeterra Official Companion, Malcher Media, 2019.

Riot narrative team. Targon, Riot Games, 2016.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/region/mount-targon/

Slagle, David. You Are the Weapon, Riot Games, 2019. https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/aphelios-color-story/

Riot narrative team. Twin Dawns, Riot Games, 2016. https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/aurelionsol-color-story/

Riot narrative team. Night’s Work, Riot Games, 2016. https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/diana-color-story/

Riot narrative team. The Light Bringer, Riot Games, 2016.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/leona-color-story/

Riot narrative team. For Those Who Have Fallen, Riot Games, 2016.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/leona-color-story/

Chironis, Katie. Halfway Between the Stars and Earth, Riot Games, 2016.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/soraka-color-story/

Riot narrative team. The Uninvited Guest, Riot Games, 2016.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/taric-color-story/

Riot narrative team. Meet Zoe, Riot Games, 2017.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/zoe-color-story/