Misconceptions

As with anything, and notably due to the loose nature of the Paladins lore, there are numerous Misconceptions and Unconfirmed Theories regarding various aspects of the lore. This page is meant to hopefully clear up some of the more common misconceptions regarding different parts of the lore, though there are many more misconceptions.

Misconceptions

The Magistrate is Evil / The Resistance is Good

One of the largest and most notable misconceptions of the entire lore, as well as the result of what seems to be a constant retcon war occurring internally. The developers have mentioned several times that the Magistrate aren't evil and that the whole conflict between them and the Resistance is intended to be gray, with neither side being the explicit good or bad group.

Despite this, it appears other developers within Evil Mojo either prefer the idea of the Magistrate being evil, or simply aren't aware of the intended portrayal of the conflict.

For instance, the A Realm Divided lore cinematic, shows the Resistance in a far better light than the Magistrate, with the only less than positive things they're shown doing in the cinematic being weaponizing crystals and having Terminus attack soldiers. The Magistrate meanwhile is painted far worse, with the obvious blood red coloring, Karne "snarling" that the crystals were not meant to be wielded by "commoners", Tyra and others being shown mistrusting the group for no apparent reason, with no one being shown opposing the Resistance, soldiers breaking into homes in order to retrieve crystals, Ash killing Terminus, and of course, the cinematic ending on a note portraying the Resistance as the only side fighting for piece while asking the viewer if they'll join them in their fight, ignoring the Magistrate's own fight for peace.

This all wasn't helped by the fact that many character bios also described the Magistrate in a villainous manner. While many of these would later be changed to either not be as negative about the Magistrate, or adding the Resistance to some of the descriptions, a few character bios remained with a negative description of the Magistrate, notably those of Inara, Sha Lin, and Ying.

On top of this, Merrymaker Maeve also contributed to this issue with one of her lines (▶️) reinforcing the idea the Magistrate was bad and that the Resistance was good, as well as Cosmic Titan Terminus being opposed to the group as well. There's also the incident in the End Times story where Imani was seemingly enraged at the thought the Magistrate could've been the ones to light the Warder's beacon, seemingly not minding anyone else, such as the Resistance, having done so. One of Io's teasers also doesn't help, with it mentioning the Magistrate coming after the pieces of Io in a villainous manner (and despite the fact the Resistance was doing the same thing in the End Times story). There's also the many unintentional failings of Corvus, whose actions end up representing the Magistrate as a whole; though Corvus himself, despite that, as mentioned here, is a good person with the best of intentions. Finally, there's the A Conflict Reignited lore cinematic, which once again focuses on the actions of the Magistrate, while the New Resistance are presented as heroes fighting against Ska'drin oppression. This is all on top of the fact the Resistance themselves rarely get much attention drawn to their actions.

All this has expectedly led to the widespread belief and slow exaggeration of the cruelty regarding some acts the Magistrate has committed, with some of their actions being claimed to be of more malicious intent, to sometimes individuals fabricating or claiming the Magistrate has done evil deeds that have never been mentioned. While the portrayal of the Magistrate has been notoriously poorly presented, most actions of the group are not inherently malicious in nature, while the Resistance is not a purely good group either.

As mentioned, developers throughout the years have mentioned that this whole idea is a misconception, with the more villainous descriptions of the Magistrate in some character bios merely being the champions' individual opinions. At the end of the day, it's meant to be a gray conflict players are supposed to decide for themselves who they believe is more in the right, if either side. Of course, this is rather difficult for many due to the incredibly poor portrayal of the conflict.

Though due to the massive influence this misconception has, several additional sub-misconceptions regarding this, as well as additional information regarding other supposed evil / good acts of the groups shall be covered here as well.

Magistrate Being Evil Misconceptions

• Banning Crystals - Some claim the banning of crystals is due to either Karne himself, or a majority of the Magistrate being corrupt or power-hungry. It was explained in the A Realm Divided lore cinematic that following the discovery of Crystals, there were various accidents and misuse of their power, with an exploding building being shown in the cinematic as well. Earlier in the same cinematic, crystals are stated to have power that rivals that of the Magistrate itself. As further mentioned later in the cinematic, as well as this dev statement and this stream, Karne fights for the peace of the Realm, and he himself has done a lot of good and worked incredibly hard in making a civil Realm, with the discovery of crystals causing him to fear their power could be used to destroy all that had been built and send the Realm back into chaos once more. While the actions of the Magistrate may not have been perfect, those of Karne are not laced with malicious intent.

• Mercilessly Collecting Crystals - This incident is often overexaggerated. With unstable crystals in the public and the risk they pose, the Magistrate can't afford to simply ask nicely for everyone to return the crystals, especially as those that would want to use the crystals for nefarious purposes most likely would not return them if asked. In the A Realm Divided lore cinematic, the soldiers collecting crystals are not shown being excessively cruel.

• Killing Terminus - While indeed harsh, this is also often overexaggerated, usually leaving out the detail that Terminus was attacking soldiers with his massive axe, no doubt severely injuring, possibly even killing some of them. Though his revival with Abyssal magic is indeed questionable, this is suspected to largely only be Corvus' doing, as he is the one controlling Terminus, as well as being the former leading Magistrate expert on the Abyss.

• Ash, Vivian, Skye, and others - Many often point to some of the shady champions within the Magistrate's ranks, such as Vivian, who's a cunning schemer, Skye, an assassin obsessed with killing, Lian, who was ultimately responsible for Siege of Ascension Peak (will be covered separately), Ash, who's known for being violent, and sometimes others. Even amongst only the champions, a few shady individuals does not make the entirety of the Magistrate bad. Ash specifically is not only about violence, and while Lian does questionable things, she's not inherently evil either.

• Torvald and Runes - Torvald is another character that is often accused of questionable acts, notably stemming from Talus' kill taunts (▶️▶️) towards him. It was eventually stated that while Torvald didn't necessarily work with the Ska'drin themselves in regards to his runic research, Torvald is not intentionally a selfish or malicious individual.

• Golden Age Ignored - An often overlooked fact of the Magistrate, is that they were the ruling power throughout the near century long Golden Age of peace, as was mentioned in the A Realm Divided lore cinematic.

• Destroying Seris - Though there is some uncertainty as to the specifics, the village of Seris being destroyed was not the result of a malicious ploy by either the Magistrate or Corvus. For an unknown reason, they believed offering the Abyss a sacrifice would prevent something bad from occurring, which Corvus would carry out. Despite Sarah reacting with violence, she was not brutally injured as a result, and only seemed to have minor injuries, though the reason why Abby specifically was chosen remains unknown.

• Siege of Ascension Peak - This event was largely only the doing of House Aico, notably Lian. When Karne heard about this, he wasn't pleased.

• Releasing Darkness - In the Lost Future from which Atlas originates, Corvus would be the one responsible for unleashing the Darkness and dooming the world. Despite this, as mentioned in Atlas' teaser trailer, as well as the End Times story, Corvus did not understand what he was dealing with and simply wished to use it to end the Crystal War.

• Attacking Bazaar - Many often point to the battle portrayed in Io's teaser trailer as having been intentionally started by Corvus with malicious intent against the citizens of Bazaar, however, there's no indication that was the case, and when coupled with the official pages for the End Times event, the accompanying story, as well as Vora's equal hatred of both groups, all point to the scenario that both sides unintentionally killed the Followers of Io in the crossfire, or that it was something else entirely.

• Killing the Seal Guardians - A related point is that many believe Corvus and the Magistrate are the ones responsible for killing the Seal Guardians. However, this too, has never been confirmed, with the previously mentioned details in the Bazaar point once again painting the picture that it was either both sides as a result of the crossfire, or something unrelated. It's since been implied that Yagorath herself was responsible.

• Connection with the Abyss - As the Abyss is a dimension filled with monstrous creatures such as Raum, the Magistrate has been paired with the group as a result of Corvus' meddling, though there's little indication the Magistrate has any deep connection with the Abyss beyond this. Additionally, Corvus was exiled from the Magistrate as a result of him being tricked into allowing an Abyssal Lord to be unleashed into the Realm.

Resistance being Good Misconceptions

• Weaponizing Crystals - In response to the Magistrate banning crystals to ensure the peace of the Realm, the Resistance weaponized crystals and used them for combat, as can be seen in the A Realm Divided lore cinematic, one of the exact things the Magistrate feared would happen.

• Forcing the Stagalla to Fight - Inara's bio mentions that she was reluctant to join the Resistance, but was oath-bound to accept the request, though she continued to remain slow to act until Terminus was killed. Additionally, as mentioned previously, Terminus can be seen violently attacking various Magistrate soldiers in the A Realm Divided lore cinematic, likely severely injuring if not killing some of them.

• Shady Individuals - While many often point to shady individuals within the Magistrate's ranks in an effort to prove the group is villainous, there are equally shady individuals within the ranks of the Resistance as well. This notably includes:
  • Pip, who while not completely with the group, does partially work with them, with his bio stating his allies view him as helpful, but unpredictable and dangerous.
  • Evie is another individual, who's been mentioned to be a legitimately insane power-hungry witch, whose bio also mentions her allies question her loyalty.
  • Koga is yet another example, once being the finest ninja and assassin of the Thousand Hands, a massive criminal empire in the Realm.
  • Furia as well, despite her seemingly righteous attitude, is accused of being a murderer by Vora. (▶️)
  • Ying's connection with illusion and trickery, on top of having connections to Zhin and potentially another "Bandit King" brings her innocent demeanor into question.
  • Zhin as well, is another character, with him being the cruel and sadistic leader of the Thousand Hands, is shown taking a major role with the group in the A Conflict Reignited lore cinematic.
  • Vatu, similarly, despite his well-meaning intentions, has questionable methods and associations, with him too being shown in the cinematic alongside Zhin.

• Being Involved in the Destruction of Bazaar and Death of the Seal Guardians - As mentioned in the Magistrate section, what many often ignore or overlook, is the fact that the Resistance was also present in the Shattered Desert, and not necessarily with pure intentions. As shown in the official pages for the End Times event, the accompanying story, as well as Vora's equal hatred of both groups, either both the Magistrate and Resistance unintentionally killed the guardians in the crossfire, or something unrelated was responsible. It's since been implied that Yagorath herself was responsible.

• Treatment of the Ska'drin - Due to Khan making a joke at the ska'drin's expense, as well as some soldiers being seen harassing a few ska'drin after Lian took control of the Magistrate in the A Conflict Reignited lore cinematic, many automatically assume that the Resistance must be the exact opposite, especially when coupled with Talus being an open and proud ska'drin in the Resistance's ranks. While some non-ska'drins within the New Resistance seem to be fighting against their oppression, and the fact no notable actions were taken against Talus in the End Times story, this doesn't mean the original Resistance were pleased at having to work with a ska'drin; as poor treatment of them is incredibly common and not exclusive to a specific group of people, and as the original Resistance was focused around fighting for crystals rather than ska'drin rights, chances are incredibly high many within the group don't like Talus or the ska'drin. Infact, this may have been shown in Talus' own teaser trailer, as Barik is very quick to frustration towards Talus and refuses to speak a single word towards him; even after Talus deals with the various enemies Barik was under fire from, rather than lighten up or appreciate the help in some form, Barik becomes even angrier to the point he begins shaking.

• Connection with the Pyre - While the Pyre is often viewed as the opposite of the Abyss, being seen as good (which itself is not necessarily true), beyond Furia being part of the group in her quest for vengeance, the Pyre has not been implied to have a connection with the Resistance.

The Pyre is Evil / The Abyss is Good

Similarly to the previous misconception, some are also under the assumption that the Pyre is evil, while the Abyss may be secretly good. This is extremely easily disproven however.

In regards to the Pyre, many often point to the actions of Azaan, as well as the general lack of help the Pyre has been in protecting the Realm from threats, as despite Azaan and others of the Pyre being tasked with keeping the Realm free from the influence of the Abyss, it took Azaan over a year to even show up to fight Dredge and Raum, not caring about any collateral damage his fights may cause, as well as the fact that in the Lost Future, the Pyre never appeared at all to stop Yagorath due to Corvus having not been tricked into summoning Raum, keeping the Realm free of a notable enough Abyssal threat. Additionally is the fact that after seeing how incapable the Realm was of fighting off Yagorath, Azaan decided the best course of action to prevent the Abyss from corrupting the Realm would be to destroy it, leaving nothing left to corrupt.

However, the Pyre isn't evil, however, it's not good either, but more of a lawful neutral, with most entities of the Pyre clearly just viewing keeping the Realm free from the Abyss as more of a job than a goal they actually care about.

Despite this, some people oddly assume that because of these actions, the Pyre is evil anyway, despite it being explicitly deconfirmed, with some going so far as to assume the Abyss is secretly good. This is incredibly easy to disprove, as simply reading Raum's in-game bio, looking at his cards, and listening to his and Dredge's voice packs very clearly show the two as being monstrous evil sadists who desire little more than death and chaos, and Dredge isn't the result of Judd Roberts, as the kraken itself is the one controlling him.

Seris is no different, as despite not making herself as obvious as Raum and Dredge, is still very clearly evil. To begin with, Yagorath implies Seris wants to rule the Realm, and on top of Seris herself, it's been extremely heavily implied that the Abyssal dragon from Rise of Furia is meant to be Seris as well, who destroyed the village of Seris and killed almost everyone there, took control of Abby, and in general, has been shown to be just as much of a violent sadistic monster as Raum.

Misplaced Group Characters

Some champions are often believed to be in some groups, despite them either no longer being part of the group, or having not been in the group in the first place. For a full list of characters in a group, be sure to check the individual champion page, or the various group pages. Notable misplaced characters include:

Raum being placed in the Magistrate. This is a result of an episode of Drunk Lore which stated that Raum worked for them in exchange for souls; however, this was confirmed non canon here.

An occasionally overlooked detail is that Corvus is no longer part of the Magistrate following the release of Raum.

Moji was seen with the Resistance in the Dark Tides lore cinematic (albeit as her Dragonborn skin), though it was later confirmed Moji is more of a neutral character.

While Atlas, Jenos, Io, and Imani have all fought alongside the Resistance in scenarios such as Io's teaser trailer, none of these characters have ever been mentioned to have officially joined the group, with the additional fact that these characters do not seem to care for the Crystal War either.

Similarly to Raum, Bomb King's episode of Drunk Lore similarly claimed he joined a side, in his case, the Resistance, but due to Bomb King having no apparent connection with the group whatsoever prior or after this in any capacity, on top of Drunk Lore not being the most reliable source of information, this is most likely inaccurate.

Strix and the Magistrate

A particularly notable example of a misplaced character, Strix was seen fighting against Corvus alongside Tyra in Corvus' teaser trailer, some assume Strix has left the Magistrate and possibly joined the Resistance, however, this was deconfirmed here, with it being explained Strix is still part of the Magistrate, but he had grown suspicious of Corvus and decided to investigate, encountering Tyra while doing so, who was also curious of the same thing, and due to the two having worked together in the past, they decided to temporarily team up again.

Nature Group

Another group related misconception is that the various characters fighting to protect nature or their people who reside in it (such as Grover, Moji, Grohk, Willo, and Makoa), are all part of a larger nature group and work together to save nature, however this has never been confirmed or implied; some characters are friends with others, and while they do have similar goals, the idea of a nature faction has never been officially implied or confirmed.

The Origin of Corvus' Abyssal Knife

Due to Corvus' connection with the events of the Destruction of Seris, some assume Seris is the one that gave Corvus his knife and abyssal powers, however this has been deconfirmed here and here, and instead mentioned here that Corvus obtained his powers by constantly encountering and researching the Abyss, with it additionally being mentioned that Corvus already had some of his powers before Seris first appeared as a force in the Realm.

Seris and Time Travel

Though Seris' bio is worded in such a way to seemingly imply Seris can travel through both time and space, it's been explicitly stated that Seris is incapable of time travel.

Seris (the champion) being the Entire Town of Seris

Another misconception involving Seris is the idea that the character Seris, is every individual that was killed in the destruction of Seris all in a single body. This likely stems from Seris sharing her name with the town itself. Despite this, the idea hasn't been implied anywhere, and it's been stated Seris is really an Abyssal entity inhabiting Abby's body.

Who is Furia, Seris, and Dredge

The topic regarding who or what is in control of these three characters is a rather complicated one. Let's go over each character one by one.

- In regards to Dredge, the Dark Tides lore cinematic implies Judd himself was resurrected as an agent of the Abyss, which was further supported by his voice pack, with the general pirate demeanor, way of speaking, and several voice lines, such as mentioning the pirate legend of Judd Roberts (▶️) and another line implying Judd and the Kraken are two separate entities (▶️). There is also the matter of the Kraken being present on Dredge's weapon, as well as in Marauder's Port.

However despite all this, it was eventually said that Judd more or less isn't actually a part of Dredge. Naturally, this has led to much confusion regarding the previously mentioned points, most notably why an Abyssal Lord would act like a pirate and talk as though it were Judd himself. As it currently stands, Dredge is just the Kraken... who's the actual one named Dredge.

- Moving on to Furia, it was originally assumed Sarah was the one entirely in control, with her bio mentioning her being "saved", the locket on her weapon which she looks at sadly during a weapon inspect, and finally, her voicelines towards Seris (▶️▶️) which are expectedly depressing. Though an early teaser did point to the idea that Furia wasn't Sarah, but instead a Pyre Entity of that name; despite this, it was still commonly assumed Furia was Sarah due to the previously mentioned details.

Years later, the Sands of Myth Battle Pass released, and with it, the new Tiberius skin had some rather notable lines (▶️▶️) that pointed to the idea that Furia, was in fact, a Pyre Entity in control; though being a non-canon skin, this wasn't taken as anything more but a possible hint to future lore. Eventually though, that lore came, with it being said that Sarah technically doesn't exist anymore, and that the Pyre generally takes a particular aspect of a person and cranks it up to 11, with Furia herself being described as a "Sarah-flavored embodiment of fury", with the Sarah bits obviously seeming to be her memories of Abby. As it currently stands, Furia is mostly the Pyre Entity, but bits of Sarah are blended in.

While this would seem to indicate that the Pyre Entity is the one in control, it was later mentioned that Furia and Seris are more of completely new entities and aren't just Sarah and Abby being possessed by a Pyre / Abyssal entity. This would instead seem to suggest that Sarah and Furia merged, resulting in both of them technically no longer existing, as they merged into a singular entity.

- Finally, onto Seris, who's been fairly consistent for the most part (aside from one small detail). Seris' bio implies she's the Abyssal Entity within, saying she's "a being from beyond the void". The Rise of Furia lore cinematic would also point to this idea, with the next line of Seris' bio "Seris has taken the name of the city she completely destroyed upon first setting foot in the world of the living" matching up with the cinematic, with this line, as well as one of Furia's teasers pointing to the idea that the Abyssal dragon from the cinematic is the one called Seris. This is further backed up by dev statements, as well as supported by Tomb Keeper Tiberius (▶️) unlike Furia.

However, with Rise of Furia, came the event and alongside it, the Abyssal Lord Drogoz skin, which was destroyed by Furia in the event's ending cutscene. While it hasn't been outright stated, the description for the event from the update's patch notes reads "Relive the day the city of Seris was destroyed and thousands of souls were cast into the Abyss.", with another dev statement implying the event is canon, which when coupled with the skin's strong resemblance to the Abyssal dragon from the cinematic, plus all the other previously mentioned information, points to the idea that Abyssal Lord Drogoz is meant to be a stand-in for Seris' original dragon form. This is where the minor inconsistency comes in; Abyssal Lord Drogoz is portrayed as a typical demonic monster, while Seris is far more calm and collected, and with the implication they're intended to be the same individual, naturally this leads to an obvious problem. As it currently stands, Seris seems to almost entirely be the Abyssal Entity, though the difference in personality between the skin and champion leaves some confusion remaining.

However, it was later mentioned that Seris and Furia are more of completely new entities and aren't just Abby and Sarah being possessed by an Abyssal / Pyre entity. This would seem to suggest that Abby and Seris merged, resulting in both of them technically no longer existing, as they merged into a singular entity with a new personality.

Seris' Name

Some may be confused as to why the name of Seris' human host is known as "Abby", when Furia had an unused kill taunt for Seris that referred to her as "Anna". (▶️) It was explained that Abby is her actual name, while Anna was an unused name that ended up making it into recordings.

The Paladins and the Dragons

While the A Realm Divided lore cinematic is vague and makes it appear as though the original Paladins were the ones to defeat the dragons ravaging the Realm, it was later specified in Imani's bio that this was the doing of the Warders, and later further specified that the Paladins only formed around the time of the following threat of the Goblin Scourges.

What Khan is Dedicated To

Often said as a joke that Khan is extremely dedicated to Lian in particular, Khan's bio and various voice lines instead point to the scenario of Khan more so being extremely dedicated to House Aico itself, rather than specifically Lian. This is also coupled with the fact Khan is obsessed with honor (a bit too much), something that doesn't mesh with Lian having been implied in her bio to become the Scion of House Aico through potentially less than honest means.

Treatment of Races

The Realm is home to various different species beyond just humans, which naturally leads some to wonder how exactly they all get along with each other. For the most part, this isn't commented on... aside from the ska'drin that is, who are hated and discriminated against.

However, this has led to some misconceptions; the most notable may be the idea that only the Magistrate discriminates against ska'drin, largely stemming from the other misconception that the group is evil, which itself is untrue; on top of the fact that the few instances this discrimination has been shown, it's largely related to the Magistrate. Nearly every other race in the Realm hates them, it's not limited to only humans or certain groups.

Due to Khan being the only character to discriminate the ska'drin in-game, some have oddly assumed that he must be racist towards every other species as well. While this by itself is rather ridiculous, some have pointed to the fact that Rei transformed herself to fit in with House Aico, which is argued to be unnecessary if other members truly didn't care. Though this too, is rather ridiculous, as one doesn't need to be discriminated against for a desire to fit in; additionally for Rei, her ears and tail make it obvious she's a leipori regardless, and having a human form makes functioning in a part of the Realm made for humans far easier than being a short rabbit. Everyone hates the ska'drin, but no mention of discrimination towards other races has been mentioned; assuming Khan or other individuals hate all species aside from their own is largely completely baseless.

The Abyss and Darkness

Due to their similar names, many assume the two groups are the same, however it's been stated several times that the two are indeed completely different groups. The Darkness was seemingly given the additional name of "The Maw" as a result of this.

The Timeline Vora is From

Due to Atlas arriving from a future overrun by the Darkness, some have been slightly confused as to whether the playable Vora and Yagorath are from the future as well, having somehow followed Atlas back in time. However, little indicates the two are from the future, and it has been mentioned and implied several times that the two playable champs are from the present. It's also been mentioned that the Vora of the future is not the same person as the one of the present, and is a different individual altogether.

Fernando's Sexuality

While Fernando's sexuality has become somewhat common knowledge (with Fernando being gay), some are still confused on how Fernando could possibly be gay when he flirts exclusively with female characters in his voice pack. It's been explained here and here that Fernando is pretending to be the knight he originally served, which includes having to mimic his sexuality, resulting in Fernando's entire personality being a front.

General Character Sexuality

Some are also curious as to the sexual orientations of other champions. Currently, only Fernando and Saati's sexualities are explicitly known (both being gay). Caspian was later said to be pansexual, though not every developer thinks he's explicitly pan, but they do seem to all agree he's not straight, yet either way, Caspian's sexuality isn't completely clear. Atlas, Barik, and Lex also have all been confirmed to have wives (Atlas here, Barik in this voice line (▶️), and Lex in Atlas' card Distant Memory). Beyond this, the orientations of champions has not been discussed or referenced much.

Character Personalities

While the Paladins champions are generally fairly simple, many often have their personalities mistakenly presented incorrectly. While some are intentionally done for reasons such as preferring a different headcanon personality, just as many are done out of stereotypes and misconceptions, which even the developers have fallen victim to at some points based on certain comments and voice lines. Some notable characters in relation to this topic include:

Ash: - Ash is often believed to be a sadistically cruel individual who cares for nothing but violently causing chaos, with even the developers falling victim to this with skins such as Pyre-Lord Magnus and Stellar Mender Seris referring to her along these lines (▶️▶️). However, listening to Ash's voice pack shows a character who, while clearly has a passion for fighting, isn't a cruel and sadistic individual, with Ash clearly caring for allies and improving herself, despite her slightly rough exterior and habit of being a bit overkill at times.

Corvus: - With Corvus being known for making some rather huge mistakes, many often assume Corvus is a legitimate idiot. However, this is quite the opposite, as Corvus' bio describes him as a "charismatic leader and brilliant tactician" who climbed the ranks of the Magistrate by his own merit. Many of his mistakes are easily explainable as him either not fully understanding what he was dealing with, or being incredibly stressed and desperate.

Evie: - Evie's in a bit of a middleground in regards to this. Her in-game voice pack largely portrays her as a laid back mischievous individual with bouts of insanity, though she has been mentioned as being a legitimately insane or at least mentally strained power hungry witch. Many in the community though, often portray Evie as only being slightly mischievous, or just as a friendly normal girl with no ulterior motives despite this.

Khan: - As mentioned earlier, many individuals often refer to Khan as a less than intelligent "simp" for Lian specifically with little else going on in his head. However, as mentioned before and by reading Khan's bio and listening to his voice pack, House Aico and honor are what Khan is obsessed with (a bit too much perhaps), and while he may not be a tactical genius, isn't a completely blind idiot.

Vora: - While Vora's voice pack portrays her as one of, if not the most vile and obnoxious character in the entire roster, many in the community often extremely tone down this side of her to the point Vora's just a bit annoyed at everyone and Io, despite her very clearly wishing to murder everyone in the most painful methods possible in-game.

Yagorath: - Due to Yagorath's role in the story, many often assume she's a rather typical evil monster if she even has a personality, however it's been mentioned that Yagorath doesn't view herself as evil, and listening to her voice pack, clearly shows that while she can be cruel at times, she legitimately believes the other characters to be like ants, with Yagorath not just being a generically evil villain with a huge ego.

Maeve and Tiberius / Talus and Vatu

Due to Maeve and Tiberius being the only currently playable Tigron, some have suspected the two are related in some form. However, it's been mentioned that the two have no connection whatsoever, aside from the two being part of the same species and one attempt from Maeve at robbing Tiberius.

Similarly, some also suspect Talus and Vatu to be related due to similar reasons (though they're not the only playable Ska'drin), as well as due to the fact Vatu refers to Talus as "little brother" in one of his lines (▶️). However, due to Vatu's legendary status, as well as the fact the semi-canon skin, Ska'drin Ash similarly refers to Talus as "brother", as well as additionally referring to other members of her team as "brothers and sisters", would seem to suggest it is simply a cultural difference of the Ska'drin and the term does not imply blood relation.

Mal'Damba and the Ska'drin

While there has been some confusion and opposition as to Mal'Damba's race, it's been explicitly confirmed he's a Ska'drin. While many find this to have come out of nowhere, this has actually been hinted at for a long time, even in Mal'Damba's own voice pack, with notable hints including Ska'drin Ash's lines towards him, as well as Serpent Beach being connected with the ska'drin, as well as obviously serpents, something Mal'Damba has a notable connection with. Even Mal'Damba's own voice pack hints at this, with many of his lines that originally seemed strange instead being hints towards his identity as a ska'drin, a notable example being his lines regarding suffering, among others. Much additional opposition to this comes from the fact that ska'drin are known to have horns and tails, something Mal'Damba doesn't visibly have, however it's been explicitly mentioned multiple times that due to the discrimination they receive, they hide these features by shaving their horns and tucking their tails, with Talus being a rarity in this regard, as nearly every other ska'drin hides away.

However, when Talus was first introduced, the ska'drin were described as a "new race we're introducing to the Realm", with no mention or reference to hidden ska'drin on the roster or Mal'Damba, which would indicate this was in fact a retcon. Though this doesn't necessarily mean the idea of Ska'drins hadn't been conceived yet, as for one, development on different champions can take varying amounts of time, with a notable example being Saati, who was conceived in late 2018 / early 2019, possibly even earlier, but only appeared in game at the end of 2021, nearly 3 years later, while additionally, figures somewhat resembling Ska'drins can be seen in some of Maeve's cards (notably Cut and Run).

Regardless, while this does appear to be a case of a retcon, though many in the community may attempt to claim it makes no sense, this specific case had been hinted at prior and fits with preestablished information regarding Mal'Damba and the ska'drin.

New Viktor and Old Viktor Connection

When Viktor's old design was brought back into the lore as a seperate individual from his modern design, Paladins artist ThunderBrush claimed that Old Viktor was the father of New Viktor.

Despite this, it was mentioned after that this claim wasn't discussed with the lore team and shouldn't be taken as hard truth at this point.

Atlas' Mother

Initially, some theorized Atlas' mother to be Kinessa, based on the woman in his card Distant Memory being believed to resemble a potential future version of her, as well as Atlas having a line directed towards Kinessa (▶️). It was later theorized Octavia could possibly be Atlas mother instead, however it's been confirmed that neither of them are Atlas' mother, and that she was a normal citizen of the Realm.

Tiberius' Sword

In a loading screen tip, it's mentioned that Tiberius' sword called out for a hero when the village of Seris was destroyed, which some have either assumed or misremembered as this meaning the sword was located in the village, though this was not mentioned in the loading screen tip, and based on one of Tiberius' teasers, the blade was instead seemingly located in a temple elsewhere.

Bomb King's Origin

It was theorized that Bomb King was created by individuals related to House Aico due to supposed claims that such a fact was officially mentioned at some point in the past, but as this supposed statement has never been found, it is thought to not exist. Regardless, this theory was largely debunked with the introduction of Betty La Bomba.

Caspian's Weapons

Due to Caspian's weapons being a bright glowing pink, many may assume them to be Abyssal weaponry, due to the Abyss generally being associated with pink and purple. However, Caspian's weapons have never been referred to as Abyssal at all, while his Change of Heart skin specifying its weapons are Abyssal further points to Caspian's weapons not being Abyssal by default.

Valera in the Lost Future

Likely due to Atlas' comment in the End Times story regarding how Valera lasted much longer others, to the point there was no more Magistrate or Resistance, many are under the assumption Valera was in fact the last person alive in the Lost Future. However, this is clearly incorrect, as the existence of Atlas clearly conflicts with that, as does the various other members of the Anti-Darkness Resistance seen in Atlas' various cards. Additionally, Atlas only claims to recognize Valera from ancient books and stories Lex told, implying Atlas didn't interact with her much in the Lost Future, possibly not even meeting her at all.

Canon Skins

Many have wondered what lore connection skins have, if any. Several skins have been shown as canon or semi-canon (of which can be seen on the Canon Skins page), however there are several skins that contain some confusion about them.

Most notably are "Echo Skins". As explained here, Echoes are alternate versions of a champion from another dimension. On top of this, one of the Echoes, Pyre-Lord Magnus, has been mentioned as not really being canon, showing that Echo Skins are not inherently canon, with Remix Pepper and Salt being unique cases.

Additional skins with confusion regarding their canonicity includes Abyssal Lord Drogoz, the Abyssal Echoes, and the Dragon's Call skins.

Based on several dev statements, this teaser, as well as Abyssal Lord Drogoz's strong resemblance to the Abyssal dragon that destroyed the village of Seris in the Rise of Furia lore cinematic, Abyssal Lord Drogoz appears to be a semi-canon skin that's meant to be a stand-in for Abyssal Lord Seris. However, this has not been explicitly confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Abyssal Echo skins have been stated as not technically being canon, though the canonicity of Abyssal Echoes in general remains unclear.

Finally, during the Paladins 1.4 Update Show, as well as during the Dark Tides lore cinematic, the Dragon's Call skins (Aurora Furia, Outlaw Sha Lin, Dragonborn Moji, and Overlord Khan) were all implied and mentioned to show canonical future / past versions of the characters. Though based on this dev statement, as well as the fact all the characters have since appeared in their default appearances, the skins are questionably canon, though they haven't been explicitly stated to be one way or the other.

Unconfirmed Theories

Zhin kidnapped Ying, and was rescued by Sha Lin

A popular theory. Ying's bio mentions she was once imprisoned by a "bandit king", with the title, as well as Zhin's kill taunt towards Ying (▶️), leading many to believe Zhin himself is the bandit king.

Additionally, Sha Lin is noted to be extremely close with Ying, (almost starting to cry when he believed Ying had died), and is also mentioned to have betrayed the Thousand Hands, leading many to suspect he betrayed the group to rescue Ying.

However, there is also some counter evidence, notably the fact that Zhin has never once been referred to as a "bandit king" or anything similar to such a title, as well as Ying's bio implying she potentially escaped imprisonment by herself rather than requiring help, on top of Vora's kill taunt towards Sha Lin (▶️) implying he may have only joined and left the guild in order to get stronger, though the taunt doesn't specify if Vora's referring to the Thousand Hands. Despite this, these pieces of counter evidence can still be explained.

Though as with all theories, this too has not been explicitly confirmed. At one point, this theory was brought up with a developer, but the answer kept things vague.

Lian Stole the Ruby Throne from Zhin

Zhin's bio mentions how he was "robbed of his noble linage", while Lian's bio implies she's not intended to be the legitimate heiress of the Ruby Throne, based on it mentioning she had to ploy her way into the position. This has led many to assume that Zhin is the real legitimate heir, but ended up a victim of Lian's ploy. On top of this, Lian also has several (▶️▶️▶️▶️) rather harsh lines directed towards Zhin.

However, Lian's card, Bloodline, calls the entire theory into doubt, as while the smaller names at the top are difficult to make out, it appears Lian is the name at the top center, while the other names don't appear to list Zhin's name, nor does Lian have any listed siblings. However, due to Lian's ploy, it could be the chart was modified and isn't accurate, however, there's absolutely no way of knowing whether this is the case or not. Additionally, Lian's lines towards Zhin aren't unique, as her lines towards everyone are harsh, especially Viktor.

Overall, while this is a very popular theory, it has never been confirmed or hinted at beyond fan speculation.

Lian's Parents Were Related

A common belief is that Lian's parents were related to each other, largely based off the artwork for her card Bloodline. However, while this theory may be plausible, the artwork for the card is too low resolution to tell for absolute certainty if Lian is indeed part of the shown family tree. Additionally, as mentioned in the previous misconception, it could have been modified due to Lian's ploy, potentially making it inaccurate if that was the case.

Skye Framed Koga

Based on several of Koga's voice lines towards Skye (▶️▶️▶️), as well as Skye defending Zhin from Koga when he returned for revenge, some suspect Skye is the one responsible for spreading the lies about Koga and getting him exiled from the Thousand Hands. Though this remains an unconfirmed theory for now.

The Offering at Seris was Annual

Some have assumed the offering in Seris was an annual tradition to keep the Abyss appeased, though this has not been explicitly confirmed, however seems unlikely due to prior sacrifices not being implied.

Seris is the Oracle that freed Cassie

Cassie's bio mentions that a "mysterious oracle" offered her a chance to escape her obligations and leave her homeland, which some have assumed to be Seris, as she too is an oracle, however this has not been confirmed.

Seris is the False Goddess who cursed Androxus

Seris has several lines (▶️▶️▶️▶️) where she expresses familiarity with Androxus, implying the two have potentially met in the past. As Androxus was cursed by an Abyssal entity claiming to be a goddess, with Seris being an Abyssal entity, as well as currently inhabiting the female Abby, has spawned the theory that Seris could potentially have been the one to curse Androxus, possibly in a different body prior to Abby. However, while this theory does seem plausible at first, Seris' bio potentially deconfirms it, as it mentions that the first time she appeared in the Realm as a force was with the Destruction of Seris, and although when Androxus ended up cursed was never explicitly stated, based on his appearance in trailers such as the No One Escapes the Law cinematic, seems to suggest Androxus was cursed prior to the event. Regardless, this theory was never explicitly confirmed or debunked.

Tiberius' Sword is Related to the Pyre

Due to Tiberius' sword being described as "a sword, forged from the heavens themselves — an ancient artifact capable of banishing unspeakable evils from this world", with the blade seemingly being effective against the abyssal Raum, some believe that the "heavens" described in Tiberius' bio actually refers to the The Eternal Pyre, though this remains unconfirmed. Additionally, the lack of connections implied between the sword and the Pyre, both in terms of descriptions and in terms of design, could indicate the two are unrelated.

Character Power Levels

Because of the often impressive sounding titles and limited displays of power, many characters are often assumed to be far more powerful than the feats they've displayed. The most notable of these is the characters known as gods, goddesses, or most Abyssal and Pyre characters. While it's certainly possible these characters may be more powerful than they've shown, it's unreasonable to automatically assume it as factual due to their impressive titles. This is especially notable with most characters being unable to defeat Yagorath (which most of them were indeed trying to), as well as Jenos, who was seemingly unable to defeat Corvus and his troops in Io's trailer.

Io and Jenos Relationship

While some suspect Io and Jenos to potentially have some form of deeper relationship, Io's bio simply refers to Jenos as Io's "celestial contemporary", leaving a deeper relationship vague.

Bolt is a Stagalla

Ruckus' bio describes Bolt as a "long-lost mind-stone of a fallen war-golem", which somewhat matches a description of the Stagalla, ancient stone people that assisted the original Paladins in the Goblin Scourges. Bolt's distaste of Ruckus has also been theorized to be a result of the Stagalla and goblins naturally being at odds because of the scourges, rather than purely due to Bolt finding Ruckus annoying. When asked, a developer stated that while the current answer will have to canonically remain unconfirmed, if the opprotunity arose to make this theory canon, they would want to do so.

Azaan was a Warder

A somewhat popular theory. Due to Azaan being an old being, as well as some early concepts envisioning him as a dragon, has led some to theorize Azaan was once a Warder.

Though an entertaining theory, this seems to be unlikely, as Azaan's bio mentions the kingdom Azaan ruled as being "long-forgotten", while the Warders are not forgotten. Azaan is additionally implied to have not step foot into the Realm for at least a few centuries, with the unofficially named Dragon Scourge that was stopped by the Warders, was only around a century or so ago. Additionally, Azaan makes absolutely zero references to Warders or dragons.

Warders connected to Abyss / Pyre

On the topic of Azaan, there is also the theory the Warders in general may have some connection with the Abyss and / or Pyre for various reasons.

To begin with, the various Warder maps feature a lot of mechanics that are otherwise exclusive to Abyss and Pyre maps. This includes jump pads found on Dragon Arena, which outside special LTM maps, can only be found on Abyss TDM and Dawnforge.

Another shared map element is the ultimate power-up found on Dragon Arena, with the only other non-tutorial maps the power-up can be found on being Abyss TDM and the Rise of Furia map. There is also the fact that the variant of these pickups found on Rise of Furia have been referred to as "Pyre Blessings", and additionally feature one of the symbols of the Pyre. While it could potentially be explained that these blessings were placed in the Abyss by the Pyre in order to help fight them, there's no apparent reason why these blessings would be present on Dragon Arena.

Finally, comes the giant floating crystal from the old version of Warder's Gate. Though the canonicity of map reworks is generally unclear, the point is worth bringing attention to, as Abyssal crystals themselves are known to generally float, as has been mentioned and even seen on maps such as Abyss TDM. Additionally, while many crystals related to the Abyss tend to be purple, it doesn't seem that every Abyssal crystal is purple, leaving room open for a connection.

Other similarities between the Warders and Abyss / Pyre can be found in the visual designs of the maps as well. The Abyss notably has a focus on dragons as well, with various statues and murals around Abyss TDM portraying dragons, as well as Abyssal Lord Drogoz's numerous appearances in splash and card art, and of course, the entity the skin represents, Seris, also being a dragon. Meanwhile, the architecture and visual design of Dawnforge bears a close resemblance to those found on the various Warder maps.

Similarities can be found elsewhere in the lore. For example, the unexplained disappearance of the Warders bears resemblance to the equally unexplained disappearance of Abyssal cultists from Marauder's Port, which is also notable due to the fact that Warder's Watch is very close to Marauder's, as can be seen on the Realm map, as well as the fact Marauder's is included as part of Warder's Watch in Trials of the Realm.

Warders also share a connection to the Abyss and Pyre via runes, as Imani is shown using rune-like magic in cards such as Cooling Runes and Arcane Flame, while the Pyre has very apparent connections with runes, from their own alphabet, to unique runes, as well as what seems to be runes also used by the Ska'drin. The Abyss has less of an obvious connection with runes, but the various markings found on Seris' orb, coupled with Corvus' Projection using the same symbol Talus uses for Rune of Travel could imply a runic connection, though Corvus could very well just be due to working in the Magistrate's Archives where some of the creations of Deepwerks are kept, with Torvald obviously being a rather notable member of Deepwerks and user of runes. A few other small connection briefly worth mentioning is Imani's "Pyre Ball" ability obviously having Pyre in the name, something no other non-Pyre based character has, as well as Raum, who expectedly has lines towards the various Abyssal and Pyre characters of the time, strangely has two lines directed towards Imani, with these being the only lines directed towards an explicitly non-Abyssal / Pyre character.

However, while this all may hint at some form of connection, it's been implied that Warder magic originates from nature, which seems to debunk this theory, though the same statement does also mention "more or less", which could also imply Warder magic isn't entirely based on nature magic. It's been additionally stated that nature magic may also be related to other stuff, which does leave things open for a potential connection to the Abyss / Pyre.

While this theory has a lot to it that may seem to solidify it as being plausible, it's equally as possible these are all coincidences with no deeper meaning, as there have been no notable hints pointing towards this possibility from developers, nor have there been any comments related to it at all.

House Aico is the Group That Betrayed Kasumi

When Kasumi was first revealed, many instantly assumed the house that betrayed her must've been House Aico, largely due to it being the most notable house of the lore, and pretty much the only one that's received focus. Despite this, there is actually some more evidence that could potentially point to this. For instance, the architecture seen in some of Kasumi's cards, notably Sudden Death, do bear resemblance to that of House Aico's, such as during its appearance in the Siege of Ascension Peak lore cinematic. Additionally, Kasumi attacks a Magistrate soldier in her teaser trailer, which at the time, would've been under House Aico's control. Finally, one of Kasumi's earlier concepts initially envisioned her as being from the Aico Tundra area. This connection later received some more evidence as well in the form of this tweet, presenting a Japanese Oujia board that Kasumi supposedly used to share a message, with the letters hovered over spelling out "アイコ のい え", which seems to translate to "Aiko's House".

Despite this, while the last piece of evidence does point to House Aico potentially being connected to Kasumi, there's little that outright confirms the two groups are the same, with much other information pointing to the group not being House Aico. To begin with, one of Kasumi's teasers implies she was killed eons ago, with all her cards additionally showing the moon being in one piece, putting her death at the least a few centuries in the past; this is important, as House Aico is implied to have been founded only around a century ago following or around the time of the Goblin Scourges, with areas in the Aico Tundra being mentioned as not originally belonging to them, as Glacier Keep is said to have belonged to another royal house, while Ice Mines was only pledged to them following the Goblin Scourges. Additionally, the people Kasumi is shown attacking throughout her cards don't bear any resemblance to House Aico troops, with some even seeming as though they're purely by themselves. Additionally, Kasumi has no lines directed towards any of the House Aico characters and makes absolutely zero reference to them at all, though she does mention Sha Lin reminds her of someone. (▶️) Furthermore, the fact Kasumi attacked a Magistrate soldier while Lian was ruling means little, as Kasumi herself admits she has no idea who she's supposed to be taking vengeance on. (▶️) Additionally, every instance of the developers being asked about Kasumi, the group she was betrayed by is always kept vague, with no hints being given that it was House Aico.

Finally, while the Ouija board tweet does seem convincing at first, it also doesn't line up for all the previously mentioned reasons; most notably in the fact that Kasumi claims she doesn't know who she wants vengeance on, making it extremely odd for her to suddenly remember out of nowhere. While this teaser does imply some form of connection between House Aico and Kasumi, based on previously mentioned information, it seems highly unlikely that House Aico is the group that killed her.

In summary, while it's entirely possible that House Aico is the group that betrayed Kasumi, it's far more likely Kasumi was either betrayed by the royal family that originally inhabited the Aico Tundra area prior to House Aico, or an entirely different group from a completely different area.

Caspian and the Followers of Io

Some have speculated that the tattoos featured on Caspian could indicate a connection to the Followers of Io, though it's been mentioned that no champion aside from Vora has any past or current affiliation with the followers. In response, someone claimed that during a conversation they had with Paladins Artist ThunderBrush, he confirmed that Caspian does have a connection with the Followers. The original developer admitted they have a bit of a blind spot for lore following Vatu, so while Caspian may have a connection to the group, until explicit confirmation is given, it will remain here as an unconfirmed theory.

Vivian is the Corrupt Commander that's after Barik

While it's been extremely heavily implied that Vivian is the corrupt Magistrate commander mentioned in Barik's bio, based on Vivian's own bio, several voice lines towards Barik (▶️▶️) and this dev statement, it hasn't been explicitly outright confirmed as of yet.

Crystals are Moon Shards

Some suspect crystals could potentially be shards from the moon that landed in the Realm following the shattering of the moon, largely due to crystals generally being shown with a blue color, similarly to moon shards, however this seems unlikely due to the presence of orange, purple, red, and pink crystals (as can be seen in the A Realm Divided lore cinematic, on some maps such as Splitstone Quarry, and in the weapons of some champions), though may still potentially be possible. This theory too, remains unconfirmed.