Who they are
Akali is an Ionian fighter.
Their story belongs to Ionia. Natural magic, spirits, and a peace that war broke.
Their story, step by step
- Step 1
Raised among the Kinkou
Akali grew up in the Kinkou Order's Temple of Thanjuul, the child of Mayym Jhomen Tethi, the Fist of Shadow, and Tahno. She was raised communally and learned shuriken work from Master Kennen. When she was nine, Zed and his followers staged a coup against the Order and killed her father and Master Kusho.
- Step 2
Rebuilding
The Kinkou moved to an abandoned temple east of Thanjuul. Akali felt tension with her mother, who seemed to favor her apprentice Faey. She trained under Shen's guidance and began formal Kinkou training at fourteen, mastering the kama and kunai despite having no magical ability of her own.
- Step 3
Fist of Shadow, then a break
After the Noxian invasion ended she took the title of Fist of Shadow, which let her mother step down. But she grew frustrated with the Order's patience and spiritual balance, which she felt had achieved little, and said so publicly. She gave up her position and became an independent assassin.
- Step 4
Vigilante work
Living in Ionia's urban underground, she hunted people who threatened her people, including a Puboe councilman who had betrayed his own to the Noxians. She still helped the Kinkou at times. In Navori she travelled with Shen and learned from him to bend the rules, planting a seed to calm a guardian spirit instead of killing a Noxian boy.
- Step 5
Chasing Jhin
When the killer Khada Jhin escaped prison, Akali tracked him, especially after he killed the Kinkou master Althon. She went after him alone against Shen's advice, and recklessly attacked Zed despite the peace Shen had declared. In Piltover-Zaun she was captured by Jhin in a theater, then freed by Zed, who took Jhin himself.
- Step 6
A second invasion
In the present she is an independent assassin with no fixed home. She has joined Irelia's resistance during a second Noxian invasion, fighting beside Kennen, Karma and Yasuo against the undead juggernaut Sion.
Turning points
- Losing her father in Zed's coup
- Taking the title of Fist of Shadow
- Denouncing the Order's restraint and leaving it
- Hunting Jhin and crossing Zed
Where their story stands now
Akali is about twenty and still works alone, though she has fought alongside the Ionian resistance against the second Noxian invasion. Her split with Shen over methods, her mixed feelings about her mother and the Kinkou, Zed's attempts to recruit her, and the question of who freed Jhin all remain open.
Who they are tied to
Where this fits in the story
- Ionia · step 1
The Vastaya
Ionian history says mortals merged with spirit-realm power to defeat invading Titans, and that this gave rise to the Vastayashai'rei, the Vastaya.
- Ionia · step 2
The Darkin war
Ancient god-warriors invaded Ionia in the Darkin war. The Kinkou Order sealed them inside weapons.
- Ionia · step 3
The Noxian invasion
Noxus occupied territory for about five years and took magical artifacts, then withdrew. Irelia led the resistance.
- Ionia · step 4
A divided peace
The war left Ionia split between those who want to stay peaceful and those who want to be ready to fight. Zed founded the Order of Shadow, a rival to the Kinkou that uses forbidden dark magic.