The Yánléi (“The Tears”), more widely known as The Shadow Order or The Order of Shadows, was founded by Zed and former disciples of the Kinkou Order. Founded at the height of the Noxian Invasion of Ionia their original goal was to protect and fight against Noxus and eventually all future threats to Ionia, particularly through violence and brutal resistance, and the rapid militarization of Ionia. Despite their claim to protecting Ionia, they have no quarrels suppressing and murdering their own countrymen if they view them as obstacles to their agendas.
Members of the Yánléi source their powers and abilities from an artifact known as "The Tears of the Shadow" allowing them to utilize the forbidden, otherworldly art of shadow magic.
The Master of Shadows
The founding of the Order of Shadows has its roots in the ancient Kinkou Order, an eventual schism as tensions within had increased during the Noxian invasion.
Many events such as the Golden Demon murders and the Noxian invasion were major factors for the disillusionment with the Kinkou. One Acolyte Zed refused to let lofty notions of balance stand in the way of punishing evil.
In the temple's hidden catacombs, he discovered an ornate, black box. Even though he knew it was forbidden to any but the masters of the order, he peered inside.
Shadows enveloped Zed's mind, feeding his bitterness with contempt.
When Zed demanded the Kinkou strike at the Noxian invaders with every means at their disposal, Kusho refused, and Zed turned his back on the order that had raised him.
Unbound by Kinkou doctrine, he raised a following of warriors to resist Noxus. Any soul who threatened his homeland, or stood idle in its defense, was marked for death without mercy - even native Vastaya.
Soon enough he realized his own abilities would never match his ambitions without the shadows he discovered. He returned to the Kinkou temple, where he was met by Kusho who laid his weapons at Zed's feet, imploring his former pupil to renounce the shadows in favor of a more balanced path.
Zed and Kusho walked together into the catacombs and only Zed emerged back onto the temple steps. In one hand, he grasped the artifact—and in the other, his freshly bloodied blade. The Kinkou fell in droves as Zed's warriors cut them down, claiming the temple for himself and establishing his Order of Shadow.
Though he did not reconcile with the Kinkou they reached an uneasy accord in the aftermath of the war.
Shadow Magic
Those that master the shadow arts have their bodies physically altered by the use of the magic, some more drastically than others. The Order of Shadows draws their power from the Tears of the Shadow, a magical ichor which grants them the ability to manipulate shadow magic when tattooed or ingested.
The ichor is generated by Quinlons, magical filters and dams scattered around Ionia that attempt to contain the amount of magic released into the region, or limit it to positive and helpful magic. The Ichor is a byproduct of filtering out the "negative magic."
So there is a limited supply of it, but that supply is very very slowly regenerated. The size of Zed's order is however limited by the supply of the Ichor.
Consuming the Tears is intense, but limited and short term. Tattoo's allow a much longer use with greater control, but have a less powerful effect.
The amount can vary, so one warrior might only have a single teardrop tattoo on his cheek, while another person might have their entire torso tattooed.
But the size of the tattoo is only one variable describing a person's strength with the technique. The person also needs to be able to harness the power they have. So they may limit the scale of the tattoo for that reason. They also might not emotionally resonate with magic very well.
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