The City of Piltover
Piltover, also known as the City of Progress, is a thriving, progressive city whose power and influence is on the rise. It is Valoran's cultural center, where art, craftsmanship, trade and innovation walk hand in hand. Its power comes not through military might, but the engines of commerce and forward thinking. Situated on the cliffs above the district of Zaun and overlooking the ocean, fleets of ships pass through its titanic sea-gates, bringing goods from all over the world. The wealth this generates has given rise to an unprecedented boom in the city's growth. Piltover has - and still is - reinventing itself as a city where fortunes can be made and dreams can be lived. Burgeoning merchant clans fund development in the most incredible endeavors: grand artistic follies, esoteric hextech research, and architectural monuments to their power. With ever more inventors delving into the emergent lore of hextech, Piltover has become a lodestone for the most skilled craftsmen the world over.
Roughly 200 years ago, the city-state of Piltover was founded to be a bastion of enlightenment, with its people standing united against the deadly arcane threats that existed beyond the city's borders. As Runeterra had cannibalized itself over power and pride, An icon representing Heimerdinger Cecil B. Heimerdinger, one of Piltover's founders, helped to guide the City of Progress over the next two centuries, becoming both head of the Council of Piltover and dean of Piltover Academy.
Over time, the disparity in wealth between Piltover's topside and its undercity, located across the Bridge of Progress from its capital, culminated in an uprising led by the undercity revolutionaries An icon representing Vander Vander and An icon representing Silco Silco, who dreamed to establish their own independent nation of Zaun. The uprising soon turned into a massacre as the rioters fought the Piltover Enforcers at the bridge, leaving hundreds of Zaunites dead.
Having witnessed the civilian cost of war, Vander laid down his gauntlets and eventually struck a deal with the Enforcers, who were led by An icon representing Grayson Sheriff Grayson. In exchange for allowing the undercity their autonomy under Vander's de-facto rule, Vander would prevent his people from attacking topside.
Residents of Piltover
Jayce Talis
Jayce Talis is a brilliant inventor who, along with his friend Viktor, made the first great discoveries in the field of hextech. Celebrated across Piltover, he tries to live up to his reputation as "the Man of Progress," but often struggles with the expectations placed upon him. Because of this, Jayce has begun to see the ways in which his invention has furthered the division between Piltover and Zaun—and armed with his hextech hammer, he stands ready to defend tomorrow.
Mel Medarda
Mel Medarda is the presumed heir of the Medarda family, once one of the most powerful in Noxus. In appearance she is a graceful aristocrat, but beneath the surface lies a skilled politician who makes it her business to know everything about everyone she meets. After an encounter with the mysterious Black Rose, Mel discovered the depths of her mother's deception and, for once, faced a situation potentially beyond her control. With newly awakened magical abilities, she sailed home in search of answers—and though many still seek to temper the light within her, Mel's soul remains forever defiant.
Ambessa Medarda
All who know the name Medarda respect and fear the family’s leader, Ambessa. As a Noxian general, she embodies a deadly combination of ruthless strength and fearless resolve in battle. Her role as matriarch is no different, requiring great cunning to empower the Medardas while leaving no room for failure or compassion. Embracing the merciless ways of the Wolf, Ambessa will do whatever it takes to protect her family's legacy, even at the cost of her own children's love.
Caitlyn Kiramman
Renowned as its finest peacekeeper, Caitlyn Kiramman is also Piltover's best shot at ridding the city of its elusive criminal elements. She is often paired with Vi, acting as a cool counterpoint to her partner's more impetuous nature. Even though she carries a one-of-a-kind hextech rifle, Caitlyn's most powerful weapon is her superior intellect, allowing her to lay elaborate traps for any lawbreakers foolish enough to operate in the City of Progress.
Viktor
The fully biomechanical evolution of his former self, Viktor has embraced his Glorious Evolution and become something of a messiah to his followers. He sacrificed his own humanity under the logic that eliminating emotion would thereby eliminate suffering—and now seeks to bring the revelation of the hexcore to the rest of the world, even if they’re incapable of understanding the benefit. After all, to this master of the arcane, violence is merely a variable necessary to balance the ultimate equation.