A New Beginning Amid Chaos

What was the situation in Shurima like? That was a very interesting question.

Keep in mind, Shurima was an entire continent. Even if one used the narrower definition of Shurima, it still covered a vast region stretching from Mount Targon in the west to Ixtal in the east. Its area already exceeded the combined size of Demacia and Noxus.

On top of that, Shurima was not unified. Every city-state and port flew the banner of legitimacy, but in reality they all fought for themselves. In short, calling it a mess hardly did it justice.

However, if one took a broader view, this chaos actually followed a discernible pattern.

After the Magic Web Waterway, which had once sustained the prosperity of the Shuriman Empire, failed completely, geographical barriers meant that Shurima's cities could broadly be divided into three horizontal regions.

These three regions ran from north to south: Northern Shurima, the Shurima River basin, and Southern Shurima.

Looking at Shurima's overall situation through the lens of these three regions, one could find a few points worth discussing amid all the chaos.

First was the part of Northern Shurima bordering the Valoran Strait.

It was home to many familiar port cities: Zaun, Kumongra, Bel'Juin, Talishni, Nazumah, Uzeris, Kalamanda...

During the Shuriman Empire era, these regions had not been particularly central. At the same time, that meant they had relied less on the Sun Disc and the Magic Web Waterway. So after the empire collapsed, they quickly found new paths forward by leveraging their own strengths and advantageous locations.

However, because of their limited populations, their varying degrees of reliance on magic, and other such factors, these cities were actually the least "loyal" places in Shurima. Aside from Kumongra and Karduga, most Northern Shuriman cities paid lip service to upholding Shuriman orthodoxy, but