Abyssal Empress Bel'Vet

Today, Riot Games writer Landess Cole, aka Small Baby Panda, posted a lengthy article detailing how Bel'Vet 's new gaming legend, Empress of the Abyss, was created . It was exclusively about the concept and lore of a character from League of Legends.

On the one hand we have the black fog and the Shadow Isleswith the fallen king Viego, who wants to destroy all life in Runeterra. On the other hand, a separate dimension of the Abyss with its insatiable desire to devour all that exists. And if the first was originally part of the human world and became a kind of haven for the vengeful dead, embittered ghosts and other evil spirits, after a tragic incident. That Abyss is already a cliché of fantasy universes, a classic “oopsie” with the opening of a portal from which hordes of demons began to emerge.

And now we have a whole faction of monsters, insectoids and other bony, spiked and unnatural creatures that spit poison and have all the characteristics of the canonical "aliens". All this can be safely attributed to all the previous heroes of the Abyss, but not to the newly minted empress. The character design and development studio wanted to increase interest in the Abyss and create a character with great storytelling potential.

“We needed a clear leader with their own voice and role. Someone who looks and acts differently than previous characters from the Abyss,” explains Carnival Knights lead writer Jared Rosen.

Along with Bel'Vet, the very concept of the Abyss as we knew it before has changed in many ways. Elder creatures of the Abyss, like Vel'Koz and other observers, seek to put an end to all things in order to return to calm nothingness. However, something completely new has appeared, which is contrary to the design of the old Abyss.

“The Empress absorbs information to develop the mind. She is not satisfied with the material world and the world of the Abyss, so she wants to build her own kingdom, says Carnival Knights. “But perfect knowledge is required for perfect results. To do this, you need to destroy the other two worlds and absorb everything that is in them.

In short, Bel'Vet is a new child that appeared after the invasion of the Abyss on the lands of Runeterra. A new key place appears - the Purple Sea, the very one where Malzahar opened a breach that swallowed up a whole living city and became a distorted version of it. The new goal of the Purple Sea is to destroy both worlds and all observers, for the rebirth of the Abyss.

“Metastatic Tumor wanted the new Abyss to be like the world above. She needed a leader, so she gave birth to Bel'Vet. Though Bel'Vet is essentially a child, her mind contains knowledge accumulated over millions of years (that's clearly more than 200),” says Carnival Knights.

But what's really interesting is that many insiders and fans to delve into the game files were partially right. Even 10 years ago, our favorite "little indie company" came up with the concept of a giant flying stingray for a new legend, and since then it has been frozen.

But from an ordinary stingray, we got some kind of humanization of it. Bel'Vet is the first Abyssal champion to look similar to the races that inhabit Runeterra, more like a cryptid than a monster. The reason for this was precisely the fact that it arose already here, in these lands. And although her face resembles a human woman, this is only a disguise to hide a terrible mouth, and an attempt to imitate her victims.

Even so, Bel'Vet is not the ultimate antagonist. Rather, this is a neutral evil character who only follows his goal, using the most effective methods in the process. Just a tool in the hands of the New Abyss.

It's no secret that the Empress will have two forms: a more human form and a stingray form, that is, the true one. The developers also noted that Bel'Vet's height from head to toe should be around 3 meters, while in the form of a stingray it is likened to the size of Galio (by the way, one of the largest, according to the lore of legends).

“Bel'Vet will bring logic, feeling, and identity to the Abyss, no matter how her story ends. Previously, the Abyss was too primitive, it deserves more, says TheBravoRay. “I hope the players enjoy that the Abyss is evolving. And enjoy our giant stingray.”