Regions and Realms

The realms of Runeterra refer to the many people groups, kingdoms, empires, regions or even differing dimentions which can often be confusing from one realm to the next. From an empire that spans multiple continents to a single city of progress. Realms can and do often intersect, especially in the case of Noxus which has a presence in Ionia, Shurima and the Freljord. Generally speaking, a realm is talking about a single culture of peoples/creatures sharing related geography but keep in mind that sometimes a realm can share the same name as a specific geography as is the case with Mt. Targon, Ionia or the region of the Freljord.   Realms are distinctly different to geography. For example, the Kingdom of Demacia and the Empire of Noxus are realms that both exist on the continent of Valoran which is not itself a realm, while the realm of Ionia is referring to the Ionian archipelago. This also occurs with the continent of Shurima - which is often referred to as "The Shuriman Continent" - where the realms of Targon, Shurima and Ixtal reside. Shurima can refer to the landmass or the fractured nations state of peoples that exist within the vast desert within the continent of Shurima.