The birth of Noxus—and even that of its predecessor, the Noxian Empire—had much to do with Mordekaiser, who was now hiding in the Land of the Undead.
The founding of the Noxian Empire had also been closely connected to Mordekaiser.
Although this history had been well hidden, Karya happened to be one of the people in the know. When Aatrox had recounted his own experiences, he had openly mocked Mordekaiser's fate, and Karya had learned quite a bit about the history of the Noxian Empire before its founding as well.
Karya used to think Noxus's expansionism stemmed mainly from the barrenness of much of its homeland.
But after Aatrox told him about Mordekaiser's influence on the Noxian Empire, Karya had been surprised to realize that the Noxian leadership had always been plagued by a sense of insecurity.
I'm a warmonger. I expand because I'm afraid.
After this trip to the Immortal Bastion, Karya had gained a deeper understanding of this contradiction.
Mordekaiser's armor was still here. It was his anchor to the living world and the Land of the Undead. The Noxians had tried all sorts of things, but still hadn't been able to destroy it completely.
There should also have been plenty of demonic contracts and artifacts left behind in the Well of Darkness, along with many by-products of Black Rose experiments. Karya hadn't seen these things with his own eyes, but the Noxians' guarded attitude spoke volumes.
On the one hand, the Noxians yearned to make use of them. On the other, they were full of apprehension.
Caught in this contradiction, the Noxians had ultimately floored the accelerator on expansion.
Karya had thought this chain of contradictions would run through Noxus's entire history, leaving it trapped until the age had passed it by. But to his surprise, Rell,