Ionia (I-oh-nee-ya)

The First Lands

Summary

Ionia is a land of unspoiled beauty and natural magic. Its inhabitants, living in scattered settlements across this massive archipelago, are a spiritual people who seek to live in harmony and balance with the world. There are many orders and sects across Ionia, each following their own (often conflicting) paths and ideals. Self-sufficient and isolationist, Ionia has remained largely neutral in the wars that have ravaged Valoran over the centuries - until it was invaded by Noxus. This brutal conflict and occupation has forced Ionia to reassess its place in the world. How it reacts and the future path Ionia will follow is as of yet undetermined, however, animosity against Noxus has led to militarization and vigilantism. Thirst for the dark arts is on the rise.
Surrounded by treacherous seas, Ionia is composed of a number of allied provinces scattered across a massive archipelago, known to many as the First Lands. Since Ionian culture has long been shaped by the pursuit of balance in all things, the border between the material and spirit realms tends to be more permeable here, especially in the wild forests and mountains. Although these lands’ enchantments can be fickle, its creatures dangerous and fae, for many centuries most Ionians led lives of plenty. The warrior monasteries, provincial militias—and even Ionia itself—had been enough to protect them.
But that ended twelve years ago, when Noxus attacked the First Lands. The empire’s seemingly endless warhosts savaged Ionia, and were only defeated after many years, and at great cost.
Now, Ionia exists in an uneasy peace. Different reactions to the war have divided the region—some groups, such as the Shojin monks or the Kinkou, seek a return to isolationist pacifism, and pastoral traditions. Other more radical factions, such as the Navori Brotherhood and the Order of Shadow, demand a militarization of the land’s magic, to create a single, unified nation that can take vengeance on Noxus.
The fate of Ionia hangs in a delicate balance that few are willing to overturn, but all can feel shifting uneasily beneath their feet.

Culture

The border that seperates the Spirit Realm from Runeterra is inherently thinner within Ionia. The magic and influence of spirits spill and merge with the land, flore and fauna itself. This close relationship between realms bred a spiritual and harmonic lifestyle among native peoples of the land. Ionian society encourages a life dedicated to finding balance, peace and enlightenment through several types of disciplines. Balance between the spirit and the physical is always on the forefront and arguably the most influential factor in Ionia's way of life. From martial arts to meditation to monastic order, Ionia offers knowledge in understanding self discipline and a peaceful communal identity.

The Vastaya

The Vastaya are a race of chimeric humanoids native to Ionia. They live in several scattered tribes across Runeterra, most of which are found in Ionia. While some have integrated into human societies, Vastaya tend to stick close to their tribes and tribes all have similar ancestry. The Vastaya are the offspring product of humans and powerful shapeshifters, kown as Vastayasha'rai, procreating. Vastayasha'rai were mortals that merged with the Spirit Realm and this inherent ancestry means that the Vastaya are born of both the Spirit Realm and the physical plane. Naturally atuned to spirit magic and the nature of Ionia that also shares in its relationship to the Spirit Realm, Vastaya are uniquely powerful in their connection to the arcane.

Monastic Tradition and Martial Discipline

Across Ionia there are several schools of thought that all work to achieve harmony and inner strength. While each and every one uses different methods or has differing agendas, they all strive to achieve balance in the world around them and strive for enlightenment. Monasteries study the affects and properties of the Spirit Realm and how it coexists with the land. Many adopt a strive for understanding how to manipulate and control the powers granted by the Spirit Realm with the end goal of practicing restraint, while others strive to simply serve the Spirit Realm by mending the bruises that come with two realms overlapping each other. It is not just the monasteries that are limited to this way of thinking, Ionia hosts a plethora of shools that teach the mastery of sword fighting, woodweaving, farming and even dancing that all involve an intimate relationship with nature and the Spirit Realm that influences it.
This way of thinking is not just reserved to just schools or temples, but in every aspect of Ionia. Village elders spout wisdom and teachings to the young as often as they can. Festivals celebrate the ancestors that came before in hopes that their teachings will enlighten generations to come.

Architecture

Ionian architecture is built in and around nature. Homes are built inside of tree structures and the land is shaped to accommodate Ionian buildings. Woodweavers are skilled in weaving trees to bend naturally to craft buildings without disturbing or even killing the land around them to accommodate Ionian living.

Religion

Ionians, like most other cultures, worship spirits and spirit gods. Ionia is unique in its practice of worship because within every aspect of Ionian culture is a form of worship to the many spirits that inhabit Ionia. The amount if spirits that exist are many and plentiful, seemingly neverending. However, there are notable spirits too, such as the Spirit of Ionia which is the land itself as one conscious being. While Ionia does recognize a pantheon of powerful spirits that represent whole concepts, such as the Spirit of War or the Spirit of Death, every spirit is sacred and is seen as guides to find true enlightenment.

Spirit Blossom

This close relationship with spirits could not be better exemplified by the annual Spirit Blossom Festival. Spirit Blossom is an ancient tradition that signifies when the doors to the Spirit Realm spill open, allowing for the spirits of loved ones who have passed to return to the living. The festival celebrates and honors the lives of those who have passed and allows for families to come together as one.

Akana and Kanmei

In Ionia, spirits are categorized into two types. Akana is the Ionian word for "demon" and Kanmei translates roughly to "benevolent." Akana are spirits that represent negative emotions and desires, such as the Spirit of War or the Spirit of Obsession. Kanmei are spirits that represent positive emotions or desires, such as the Spirit of Love or the Spirit of Fortune. Some spirits represent concepts that are niether or both positive and negative, such as the Spirit of Death. Understanding what Ionians consider to be Akana and Kanmei is integral to understanding Ionian values.

Government

Ionian governance can seem nonexistent to an outsider due to its indirect nature. To put it simply, Ionia is comprised of several independent pronvinces that are all allied and work closely with one another. Each province has its own unique identity which is distinguishable by other Ionians but may also seem minimal by outsders. Each province utilizes a Council of Elders that gather to make deicisions. Each village, town and city within Ionia always has an Elder representing in this council.
Ionia has no organized military or a centralized government. For over a millenia, Ionia has lived in perpetual peace and harmony with itself and it kept its ventures isolated from the rest of the world. The practice and encouragement of self discipline has allowed instances of criminality to be few and far between. Even so, the role of policing is usually done so by monks of one of the many orders at the request of village elders.

Geography

Ionia is a giant archipelago hosting several islands large and small. The land itself almost coexists with the Spirit Realm due to the natural border between planes being thinner within Ionia. This close relationship with the spiritual plane creates fantastical landscapes and growth that is accompanied by even more fantastical fauna. From the mountainous province of Shon Xan to the deserts of Galrin island, Ionia has a wide variety of features that all connect harmoniously with each other. 

The Nine Islands

Ionia has nine main islands that all have distinct flavors of Ionian culture. 
Ionia Island is the largest and arguably the cultural center of all of Ionia. The large island reaches the most nortern part of Ionia and it's snowy shores. The island contains dense green forests with some areas sprouting beautiful groves. The longest and largests moutain range in Ionia runs along the east side of the island. 
Fae'lor is a relatively insignificant island that was once apart of the province of Navori but in recent years has been occupied by Noxus. The smallest island of the nine, Fae'lor host magical healing waters known as the Dreaming Pool as well as a dense forest along most of the island. 
Ralin, Oulin and Qaelin are sister islands, all with similar highlands and forest biomes with Ralin having the unique property of being northern, thus the only one of the three islands with frequent snowfall. 
Bahrl is a small cental island that is mostly mountainous. Most settlements have to lay on along the coasts due to the mountainous terrain.
Zhyun is the second largest island in Ionia and has a small highlands mountain range stretching along its center. Zhyun has Ionia's only semblance of jungle trees and desert terrain begins to show along its southern coasts. 
Galrin and Sudaro are brother islands. Galrin consists of a danse green forest on the eastern end of the island and a vast desert along the western end. Sudaro shares it big brother's desert landscape.

Maps

• 

  Ionia Borders

Language of Discipline

Ionia is home to many human languages & dialects, though the Zhyun dialect is the most-spoken of the Ionian dialect chain, possibly descending from the ancient Ionian language still used by Karma to chant her mantras. It's unknown if Yasuo and Irelia speaks another dialect from the same dialect chain or a completely different language.

• Anar - "Brother" (ɐnḗr "man")
• Dyeda - "Daughter" (dʰugɐtḗr "suckling")
• Erzai - "Son" (wérsēn ~ *r̩sḗn "man")
• Emai - "Mother" (baby word)
• Faʔir - "Father" (pɐtḗr "protector ~ provider")
• Svasa - "Sister" (swésōr "same-blooded")
• O-fa - "Grandfather" (also to address an elderly man)
• O-ma - "Grandmother" (also to address an elderly woman)
• Gaen Na Kyri Vi - Reap the winds of
• Jya - Pain
• Lath Rian Oune Vi - Weave the threads of.
• Phaela - Tranquility
• Sae Eleisa Tera Vi - Discover the meaning of
• Saeri - Magic

• Khada Jhin - Golden Excellence
• Khumaia - Gatekeeper
• Kobayashi (小林) - Small Forest (possibly from Yasuo's language)
• Nargui - No One
• Rakhsasum - Collector
• Syndra - Destruction

Language of the Ancients

Apart from the human languages on Ionia, there is also the Vastayan language, one of whose various dialects is Baraashi, as spoken by Lhotlan's tribe-members Rakan and Xayah

• Vastaya Baraashi dialect (Lhotlan Tribe)
• Baasi - I (future tense).
• Eli, Ella - Love (masculine, feminine).
• Faash - They (present tense).
• Ighilya - Great Grandmother.
• Iminha - Little One.
• Mi - My.
• Mieli, Miella - My Love (masculine, feminine).
• Mu'takl - A slang for "Blood traitor".
• Na - To not be.
• Om - Magic.
• Ouulavaash - Farewell.
• Soura - To Gather.
• Taitah be tervaash - Rest in peace/well.
• Tann - Here.
• Va'h - To be (present tense).
• Vastaya - Vastaya (the people).
• Vi - Wild.
• Vi-om - Wild-magic.

Alternative Name(s)

The First Lands

Type

Archipelago

Included Locations

• Bahrl
• Fae'lor
• Galrin
• Ionia Island
• Qaelin
• Ralin
• Sudaro
• Zhyun

Contested By

• Noxus
• The Navori Brotherhood
• The Order of Shadows

Characters in Location

• Akali
• Ivern
• Karma
• Kayn
• Kennen
• Lee Sin
• Lillia
• Master Yi
• Rakan
• Sett
• Shen
• Wukong
• Xan Irelia
• Xayah
• Zed

Inhabiting Species

• Cloud Drinkers
• Vastaya
• Windfarer
• Yordle

Related Myths

• The Mourned

Official Currency

Ionians do not accept Noxian Valors, or most Valors for that fact [due to the difficulty of separating the materials]. Ionia has an abundant supply of gold mines, the most rare material on the island [and the world] is platinum, an exquisite metal. When forged into coinage, it is stamped with the seal of the Placidium becoming Placids. Placids are made with square openings to create opportunities for easier storage and carry compared to the solid Valors which must be stacked vertically for efficient containment.