Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m talking to Anthony Reynolds about his new book Garen: First Shield, the first ever League of Legends novella from Riot Games. Whether you’re an existing fan of this exciting IP and you’re looking for more detail on the world and its characters, or you’re a fan of fantasy in general and you’re wondering what League of Legends is all about (and where to start getting to grips with it), this novella is well worth checking out – and I asked Anthony to give us the lowdown on everything from the basics of League of Legends fiction to the specifics of the new book. Garen: First Shield is available to buy right now, so check out the interview and then go grab yourself a copy!
Without further ado, let’s get on with the interview.
Track of Words: For anyone who’s unfamiliar, could you give us a bit of background about League of Legends, the world of Runeterra, and the various ways in which this setting is brought to life through fiction and other media?
Anthony Reynolds: That’s quite a large question! Ok, deep breath…
League of Legends is an online, team-based strategy game where two teams compete to destroy each other’s base. There’s over 150 different champions to play, each with their own unique skills and strengths – as well as their own backstories, personality, drives, and ambitions.
Runeterra is the fantastical world where all the champions from League come from. Its cultures are many and varied: from the aggressive, expansionist empire of Noxus, where strength rules, but anyone can rise to top, to Piltover, City of Progress, where magic and technology are blended into Hextech, and its edgier undercity, Zaun, where innovation is unfettered and wild, if often uncontrolled and dangerous.
It is a world where ancient, Ascended demigods walk the deserts of lost Shurima, where a terrifying, unknowable, and all-consuming force known as the Void dwells just beyond the fringes, and where ridiculously cute (and sometimes incredibly dangerous) tiny furred creatures of magic called Yordles slip in and out of reality. And that’s really only just scratching the surface – there’s a lot going on in Runeterra!
The world of Runeterra was first introduced through League of Legends, but there’s now lots of different ways to explore it. The forthcoming League of Legends: Wildrift brings League to mobile devices, and if online card games are your thing, then there’s Legends of Runeterra, which gives an amazing insight into the many varied inhabitants of the Runeterra beyond the champions. There are also other games in development, such as the story-driven Ruined King, which takes place in the dangerous port city of Bilgewater.
There’s also plenty of stories to delve into outside of the games. On the Universe site there are absolutely loads of short stories, as well as heaps of art, details of the various regions and cultures of Runeterra, and overviews of all the champions. There’s also things like comics, music videos, audio dramas, and heaps of amazing animations to explore. [ToW – seriously, check out the Universe site! It’s genuinely impressive, and all this content is available for free.]
And yet, for all this, it still feels like we are only just starting to scratch the surface of the stories that we can tell in the world of Runeterra…
Check out the awesome full cover art for Garen: First Shield, from Will Gist
ToW: Bearing all of that in mind, tell us a bit about your new novella Garen: First Shield.
Ant: Garen: First Shield is Riot Games’ first foray into long form prose, and all going well, it is the first of many books to come!
It’s a book about an elite formation of Demacian soldiers heading beyond their own borders on a peace-time expedition to a nearby allied nation to check in on their ambassador. Things start to go downhill when they realize their longtime ally has fallen under the thrall of a deadly enemy – and violence ensues. The routine mission quickly becomes a desperate last stand, where their small force must hold against a much larger army…at least long enough for word to get back to Demacia.
ToW: What can you tell us about Demacia – what would you say are the key things to understand about this region, its characteristics and history?
Ant: Demacia is a proud, defensive-minded realm that has recently suffered great tragedy – the murder of its king. It is a land of honor and justice, and its armies – while relatively small – are among the most highly trained, elite, and well-disciplined in all of Runeterra. Demacia was settled long ago by refugees fleeing the terrible destruction of the Rune Wars, where magic almost tore the world apart, and as such, it is a kingdom where magic is often regarded with suspicion and fear. The fact the king was recently killed by a mage has inflamed tensions, and now Mage Seekers roam the lands, rooting out all who display magical aptitude.
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
Ant: As the title suggests, the main character is Garen Crownguard, Sword-Captain of Demacia’s military elite – the Dauntless Vanguard. He’s a stoic, disciplined soldier who lives his life by Demacia’s ideals, yet he is haunted by the recent death of the king, believing he should have done more to prevent it. He’s someone who has always seen the world in very black and white terms – right and wrong, good and evil – but is just starting to see that is a rather simplified, and convenient, view of the world…and he’s not altogether comfortable with that realization.
The ranger-knight Quinn, who is acting as scout for Garen and his soldiers, is just as fiercely loyal to Demacia, but has a far more pragmatic and realistic outlook on things, having spent much of her life beyond the kingdom’s borders. Accompanied by her Azurite eagle Valor, she’s resourceful and quick-thinking, a serious force to be reckoned with.
Garen is also accompanied by First Shield – a tight-knit band of veteran soldiers, including its latest addition, Cithria of Cloudfield. Cithria is a gifted young soldier, whose insight, clarity of thinking, and empathy – as well as her skill in battle – quickly prove invaluable both to First Shield and to Garen himself.
ToW: What is it that appeals to you particularly about Garen, First Shield and the Dauntless Vanguard as characters to write about?
Ant: Garen is a very genuine character – he’s upfront, honest, honorable, and dutiful. At the time of this novella, he is also someone who is heavily burdened. He blames himself for the king’s death far more than he ought to – but then his surname IS Crownguard, so that’s probably understandable – and perhaps even more than that [Spoiler alert!] he’s also recently lied and covered up for his sister Lux, who has been revealed as a mage (in the Lux comic). Through all of this, some cracks are starting to appear in his previously-infallible view of Demacia – and thus that also starts to bring up doubts about himself, since so much of his identity has been formed around trying to be the perfect Demacian. I think that’s one of things I find interesting about Garen, and something I wanted to explore – the self-doubt and vulnerability of a genuinely honorable, good character starting to realize the thing he’s idolized for so many years may not be quite what he believed it to be.
With First Shield, I wanted to create a cadre of named characters who the reader could quickly get to know – mostly through the eyes of its newest recruit, Cithria. I wanted to use them to show how the soldiers were individuals with their own personalities, foibles, fears, and wants. And when things started to go bad, I wanted it to feel meaningful – these weren’t things happening to generic redshirts, but to named characters who’ve already started to get to know and (hopefully) like.
ToW: As I understand it, some of these characters are already established in League of Legends, while others are new names you’ve introduced for this story. Do you have a favourite character from among the cast?
Ant: Yeah, of First Shield, only Cithria is pre-existing, having first appeared in the digital card game, Legends of Runeterra. I had the chance to write a short story central featuring her – Turmoil – which kinda acts as a prequel to this novella (as does the Quinn story Shield of Remembrance), but otherwise all of First Shield are new. Actually, First Sergeant Merrek makes an appearance in another story as well – The Weight of Expectation by Amanda Jeffrey, which is in the Realms of Runeterra book – but funnily enough that was written after the first draft of this novella was already drafted.
As for favorites? Hmmm. Quinn is a definite favorite, as is Cithria, but of the original First Shield crew, it might be Alys Morn, the ruthlessly effective veteran ex-Illuminator. Or maybe Kriel, ‘cos who doesn’t love minotaurs? Actually, one of the most fun to write was Eben Hess, who is kind of the black sheep of First Shield. He’s a proper bastard, and runs against the grain of the idealized Demacian, but he’s definitely someone I’d like to see more of.
ToW: Of all the stories you could have told about Demacia, Garen and his warriors, what made you choose this one?
Ant: A lot of the storytelling around Demacia in the last few years has been around the internal conflicts in Demacia, particularly around mages, so I wanted to show something different. I also wanted to show how elite Demacian soldiers really are – how well-trained, well-equipped, and well-disciplined they are, and get to see them in action from a grunt’s point of view. I was also keen to get a chance to dive a little deeper into the character of Garen, to show that there is more to him than just being ‘Captain Demacia’, and also to flesh out characters like Quinn and Cithria, who I think have so much potential for future storytelling.
ToW: If someone is new to League of Legends, would you say this makes a good introduction? Are there any other stories or resources that might help someone get a handle on the setting?
Ant: I hope so! I think this book would give someone a good understanding of what Demacia is all about, and champions such as Garen and Quinn. I was trying to write something that would appeal to existing players who are already familiar with the characters and setting, but also to people who are new to it. I’d hope this story would appeal and be understandable to readers who are fans of the fantasy genre more generally – it’s the tale of a heroic last stand, at the end of the day, which I think is pretty accessible.
Of course, Runeterra and League are BIG – there’s a lot of places and a lot of characters/champions involved, and this story focuses on just a tiny fraction of what’s there, but hopefully it would spark enough interest to dive deeper, and seek out what else is there.
In terms of other stories and resources, the Universe site is behemoth, overflowing with stories, biographies, and overviews of champions and regions of Runeterra. There’s also the Realms of Runeterra book, which provides a great overview of the world, along with a ton of great stories and art.
ToW: How much plot-wrangling went on during the writing process to make sure you delivered a story that was both an action-packed adventure and a source of broader context and insight?
Ant: There was a fair amount of plot-wrangling, and many chats with my amazing editor (Michael Wieske) as we went back and forth on plot points. A novella is a tricky beast in some ways – they are not as long as a full novel, so you have to be quite concise and focused; there’s not much room for deviating down side-plots and detours.
ToW: You’ve written lots of League of Legends fiction already, but this is your first novella in the setting – how did you find the experience of writing this, compared to your previous League stories?
Ant: There was a lot more connective tissue between this story and other things going on around the company than is usual for shorter fiction. We wanted to make sure this story didn’t contradict or step on the toes of anything being done elsewhere, and also wanted to make sure it felt like it gelled neatly with other stories that were being told (such as the Lux comic). That adds a little more complexity to the mix, particularly when everyone’s working on very different timelines, but really worth the effort.
ToW: What do you hope readers will get out of this by the time they’ve finished it, whether they’re existing League of Legends fans or new to the setting?
Ant: I’m hoping players who already love Garen and Quinn love the way they are depicted in the story, and I’m hoping it might convert a few of those who didn’t really feel anything much for them before reading this. Above all else, my hope is that this story draws people in – whether they are familiar with League or not – and makes them want to know more about this incredibly rich world and its characters. There are so many stories to be told – hopefully this novella whets the appetite for them. And hopefully this is the first of many books to come!
ToW: Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on next? Are you planning more Garen stories?
Ant: I could tell you, but I think I’d get myself in some trouble 😉
I’d love to write more Garen stories; I feel like he is just at the very start of his story arc, and I’d love to see how that all works out. I’m also keen to write more First Shield stories – I’d love to see what they get up to next, how Cithria starts to integrate fully into their number, see who might come into the elite unit in the future, etc. Oh, and see what trouble Eben Hess causes moving forward, and how the others respond…
***
Massive, massive thanks to Ant for taking the time to answer these questions so thoroughly, and give such a great sense of both what this new novella is all about, and just how much scope there is for storytelling in the world of League of Legends. If you’d like to know more about Garen: First Shield you can check out my review here.
See also: all of my reviews for Ant’s writing, including a couple of his earlier League of Legends stories.
Buy Garen: First Shield on Amazon*
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Great interview, sad Anthony is no longer working for BL. I might give the book a shot. I find LoL universe generic and boring at best, much like the game itself.
I have to say the cover is terrible. Looks like it was generated back in 90s to promote a new RPG game, advertising revolutionary graphics.