City of Demacia

Lore

Along the western coast of Valoran, the human city-state of Demacia shines as the continent's paragon of virtue amongst all the other human settlements. The residents are always striving to sharpen their bodies and minds in the pursuit of absolute justice.

Culture

The people of Demacia are driven by their common cause to disseminate benevolence and order for the betterment of all beings throughout Valoran. They view malice and selfishness as a disease which should be expunged from the psyche of humankind. Those who come to Demacia and choose to settle within the borders of the city-state are expected to share the ideals and virtues of its citizenry. Those who seek personal gain at the expense of others quickly find themselves ostracized… or worse.
Life in Demacia is not one of placid utopian dreams. Since the Demacian people pride themselves as the moral vanguards of Valoran, they adopt seemingly draconian measures to ensure that their moral code remains the only code by which one may live within the city-state. Crime in any form is harshly punished: there are no misdemeanors within Demacia. Some detractors of Demacia (who criticize far from the reaches of the city-state) claim this as proof of its inherent hypocrisy. Demacians counter this argument by pointing out that their justice system incorporates benevolence and mitigation into its verdicts. No one is punished without fair and just consideration of the circumstances involved. While others may continue to criticize the harshness of Demacian law, the Demacians stand by their convictions.

Demacian crest

Government

Demacia is run by a constitutional monarchy, wherein the King of Demacia serves as the head of state and an elected council serves as the legislative body. While the king is a strong ruler, he is kept in check at least partially by the Demacian Council. The current King of Demacia, Jarvan III (a.k.a. Jarvan Lightshield the Third), works earnestly with the Demacian Council to ensure that the sanctity of the city-state remains pure and true. Since the rule of Jarvan I, there has never been an attempted coup or rebellion of any kind in Demacia. The king serves not only as the political leader of the city-state, but also as the commander-in-chief of its military.

Noble Houses

As a monarchy, Demacia is governed by various royal families, regulating the city-state primarily as members of the Demacian Council. While many of the Noble Houses have ruled for generations, they are treated as any other citizen under the nation’s strict laws and are not exempt from them. They may even be treated more harshly under the law as they are meant to serve as shining examples of how Demacian citizens should conduct themselves, publicly and privately.

House Lightshield

House of King Jarvan III and his son  Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV. They have been the royal family of Demacia for over a century.

House Spiritmight

One of the most influential political forces in Demacia. Notably the prince's mother Lady Lightshield, formerly Lady Catherine Spiritmight, belong to this family.^[1]

House Crownguard

A paragon family of Demacian service.  Garen Crownguard and  Lux Crownguard hail from here.

House Buvelle

Lestara Buvelle notably adopted famed musician  Sona Buvelle into the family.

House Vayne

The famously tragic murder of her family left the controversial figure  Shauna Vayne with the family fortune which she invests in her vengeful crusade against evil creatures and dark magic.

House Laurent

A family known for its long line of elite duelists. It is currently headed by  Fiora Laurent after she caught her father cheating for a duel.

Military

Garen, a soldier of the Demacian military

The Demacian military is one of the strongest in all of Valoran, and until recently it was the only force capable of holding back the hunger of the military machine that is Noxus. Noxus has been the sworn enemy of Demacia since both settlements were founded hundreds of years ago. Their conflict is, at its core, a moral one. With such a night-and-day division of moral philosophy between Demacia and Noxus, it is not hard to see why Demacia views its military requirements as a vital necessity for survival. Every Demacian citizen is required to serve in its military for no less than three years. Even after this time, most Demacians remain on active status in the city-state’s military reserve. The resolve of Demacia's military is alternately celebrated or despised, but always respected. Their "zero tolerance" moral code is strictly upheld by civilians and soldiers alike. In combat, this means Demacian troops may not make excuses, flee, or surrender by example. Thousands of great heroes have risen and fallen on the bloody battlefields between Demacia and its preeminent rival, Noxus.
As an indoctrination tool, the Demacian military utilizes The Measured Tread, a handbook which outlines the city-state's ideology. Quotes from the book include:

• "Death is inevitable; one can only avoid defeat."
• "To fight for justice in the name of Demacia."
• "Victory for our allies, defeat for our enemies, and justice for all."
• "When Demacians march forth, ridding Valoran of the evils of selfishness and greed under the pristine banner of justice, we know who we are and what we fight for, unapologetically."
• "In our eternal forward march, we must stomp out evil all across Valoran wherever it may grow. Leave no stone unturned: the roots of one ignored weed will inevitably corrupt the whole of the garden.”

Notable branches of the military include the Dauntless Vanguard and the Demacian Elite Guard.

Appearance

Demacia is a shining beacon of hope for humanity, and as such the city is the visual representation of this concept. There is a clean and pristine feel and look to the city. Towering spires litter the skyline of Demacia. White stone and marble are the materials of choice in the construction of Demacian buildings. Majestic flags fly high along the parapets of the city. The city walls virtually gleam with power and nobility. The capital itself sits next to a natural port, with the majority of the other towns resting on a plateau.

History

Death of the King

Demacian army led by their King, Jarvan I, had pushed Noxian army to their city walls.  Sion ordered one of his men to bar the gates while the rest forced the enemy soldiers to fight them for every bit of Noxian soil. He demanded that they pushed forwards striding as a giant through the Demacian rabble with one clear purpose: to cut their army's head from its body.
Jarvan's royal guardsmen believed they could halt his charge. They were wrong. He cut them down, one by one, until only  he and the king remained. Battered and fatigued, Sion continued the fight the king. He battled Jarvan beyond the point of breaking and was finally bested… but not beaten. With his dying breath, he locked his fingers around the king's throat and broke the will of a nation. The Demacian King, Jarvan I, was dead.

Captain Lionel Brickhouse accepting command of the DSS Excursion

Piracy Strikes Demacian Navy

The DSS Excursion - a cargo sloop of the Demacian Navy - was reported lost at sea, an apparent victim of piracy. All hands aboard are currently missing, and no demands were made of the Demacian government for their return.
The Excursion was bound from Freljord to Demacia laden with unspecified trade goods, according to a spokesperson for the Demacian Navy, when audiopathic contact with the sloop was ultimately lost. After twenty-four hours of communications silence, rescue vessels were dispatched to the Excursion's last reported location.
The Demacian investigation of the ship's disappearance - led by Demacian Captain of the Guard and Champion of the League,  Garen - reported that some of the logged cargo of the Excursion had been jettisoned into the Conqueror's Sea approximately twenty kilometers from the vessel's last reported position. Other debris located near the jettisoned cargo was divined for analysis, revealing that the Excursion had been attacked and boarded while en route to Demacia.
Further divination did not reveal the identity of the perpetrators of the attack, though it was gleaned that the attack occurred at night when most of the Excursion's crew was in their quarters. The investigation has further revealed that magic above maximum potency as dictated by the League was used in the attack, and necromancy is believed to have been used based on the evidence divined. As a result, the League dispatched a team of investigators led by League Champion  Kayle, the Judicator.
The whereabouts of the DSS Excursion remains a mystery to this day.

Sivir's Vacation

Sure she's deadly. She wouldn't still have the title “the Battle Mistress” if she wasn't. Sure she's survived multiple attempts on her life at the behest of the Noxian High Command. Sure she's hotter than a summer day – that red and gold outfit certainly provides her with plenty of space to move. Nevertheless, our lady Sivir may have come up against a force she won't be able to overcome!
For those whose memory is less than stellar,  Sivir was arrested last October after going for an alcohol-induced joyride in a hex-tech conveyance, terrorizing her two passengers and a host of pedestrians. She was arrested by Demacian authorities shortly afterwards, if you remember the hype, and she stood trial just the other day.
Judge Haley Suede took pity on Sivir's "I'm just a lonely girl with personal problems" defense and sentenced the Champion to 90 days in a Demacian penitentiary, with time spent in the Fields of Justice not counting towards her sentence.
Listen, I love our Champions – they pay my bills – but one thing I can't stand is the way they're given special dispensation by the courts. If I'd done the same thing, I would be in jail for the next 18 months, and not in a cushy part of the prison.
Oh well. Position has its privilege, but we'll have to see how a jail term interferes with her duties to the League of Legends. More on this as it develops.

Demacian Miners, Trapped in Kalamanda

Rescue parties rush to save the trapped Demacian miners in Kalamanda.

An earthquake rocked the village of Kalamanda yesterday evening, causing the collapse of a mithril mine and trapping twelve Demacian miners underground. Rescue efforts began shortly after the mine caved in, though no announcement of progress has been made by the village. No other damage in Kalamanda was reported. The collapse occurred during the early morning work shift at the #1 Loadstone Mining Consortium (LMC) mine, which is the site of Demacia’s primary mineral extraction operation in Kalamanda. Reports from miners who narrowly avoided the accident indicate that there was initially a low rumble that rapidly grew louder emanating from deep within the mine. Shortly after the rumbling started, the main mine shaft began to shake, and it eventually collapsed. The fates of the twelve miners still trapped underground remain unknown. The tremor also released huge pockets of magical energy into the atmosphere, prompting immediate concern that the area is rapidly becoming unstable. League officials descended upon Kalamanda en masse, studying the causes and effects of the catastrophe. Finger pointing began immediately across Valoran; rumors that the quake was caused by the rampant influx of unregulated mining operations and environmentally unsafe mining practices by Zaun have been raised, along with wilder accusations that the quake was deliberately triggered. The Loadstone Mining Consortium is a mining company owned in part by the Demacian royal family. It had just conducted safety inspections of all its facilities in Kalamanda before yesterday’s events. “There is no reason whatsoever that the #1 mine should have collapsed at all,” commented Winston Garnersham, chief overseer of the LMC’s Kalamanda operations. “Although the earthquake was unpredictable, the magnitude of the shock was not great enough to cause a collapse. That mine checked out across the board; were it even remotely unsafe, we would have shut it down. We are not in the business of risking the lives of our employees for profit.”
The League has offered assistance to Demacia in its rescue efforts, as have the small contingencies of Piltover and Ionia. Help has even been offered by the Noxian delegation in Kalamanda – a surprising move considering the animosity between Demacia and Noxus in recent years.
 Katarina, champion of the League and the Noxian High Command’s representative in Kalamanda, issued the following statement in light of the accident: “Our well-wishes go out to the miners who are currently fighting for their lives in the collapsed Loadstone mine. Such business is dangerous, especially when companies may be tempted to risk the lives of others in unsafe working environments. In the future, Noxus would be willing to share the expert safety practices of Noxian mining operations with the other city-states working in Kalamanda.”
The vast mineral wealth uncovered last year in Kalamanda has been steadily exploited by city-states and independent miners alike. Demacia and Noxus are the two city-states with the largest presence in Kalamanda, with both setting up military outposts near the village. The village’s elders have stated in no uncertain terms that they are looking to establish an exclusive contract with a single city-state for future mineral exploitation, though no final decision has been made in that regard. Both Demacia and Noxus are thought to be the leading contenders for securing exclusive mining rights in Kalamanda.

Trivia

• The city-state motto for Demacians is, "Demacia: now and forever."
• A common battle cry among Demacian champions is, "Demacia!"
• The pronunciation of Demacia seems to have some ambiguity.   Garen, Lux,  Galio and  Quinn pronounce Demacia as "De-mah-SEE-a" whereas  Jarvan IV pronounces it as "Deh-MAH-Si-Ah"
• The current sate of  Prince Jarvan IV Lightshield are unknown, though there are indication that his blood was used to resurrect  Sion for the second time.

City-State Champions

Champion	Ties
Fiora, the Grand Duelist	Birthplace; House Laurent; elite swordswoman and professional duelist
Galio, the Sentinel's Sorrow	"Birthplace"; former guardian of Durand
Garen, the Might of Demacia	Birthplace; House Crownguard; Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard
Jarvan IV, the Exemplar of Demacia	Birthplace; House Lightshield; Demacian Crown Prince
Lucian, the Purifier	Birthplace; seeks to purge the undead spirits within the Shadow Isles
Lux, the Lady of Luminosity	Birthplace; House Crownguard; prodigy of the School of Magic
Poppy, the Iron Ambassador	Residence; yordle emissary from Bandle City
Quinn and  Valor, Demacia's Wings	Birthplace; Demacian common-born citizen; Demacian elite ranger team
Shyvana, the Half-Dragon	Residence; member of the Demacian Elite Guard
Sona, the Maven of the Strings	Residence; adopted into House Buvelle; famed Demacian musician
Vayne, the Night Hunter	Birthplace; House Vayne; renowned Demacian vigilante
Xin Zhao, the Seneschal of Demacia	Residence; steward of the Lightshield Dynasty
Taric, the Gem Knight	Residence

Associated Champions

Champion	Ties
Brand, the Burning Vengeance	Captured by Demacian forces
Hecarim, the Shadow of War	Terrorized Demacian villages
Sion, the Undead Juggernaut	Killed and was slain by King Jarvan I
Sivir, the Battle Mistress	Spent time in the Demacian penitentiary
Swain, the Master Tactician	Seeks to kill  Jarvan Lightshield the Fourth
Twisted Fate, the Card Master	Former card shark
Urgot, the Headsman's Pride	Desires revenge on  Garen Crownguard

References

1. ↑ JoJ Mailbag Volume 1 Issue 7

Places in Runeterra [edit]
Valoran	City-States	Bandle City Bilgewater Demacia Freljord Ionia Noxus Piltover Zaun
	Other Areas	Blue Flame Island Howling Marsh Icathia Ironspike Mountains Kalamanda Kumungu Lokfar Marshes of Kaladoun Mogron Pass Mount Targon Plague Jungles Serpentine River Shadow Isles Shurima The Great Barrier The Institute of War Urtistan Voodoo Lands
	Field of Justice	Crystal Scar Howling Abyss Magma Chamber Proving Grounds Summoner's Rift Twisted Treeline
Continents and Dimensions		The Glade Valoran The Void
Seas		Conqueror's Sea Guardian's Sea