Wind Takers

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Wind Takers (领风者)
Alias(es)	Wind Taker Association; Jannaist organization
Affiliation	Goddess Janna; Janna's Ideology
Occupation/Role	International faith-based reform movement, civic organization, and military force
Leadership	Li Wei — President; Viktor — Vice President; Mel Medarda — Permanent Director 37 166
Base	Founded in Zaun; later established organizations across Runeterra and in the underworld 36 410 508
Status	Active; aligned with the Runeterra Jannaist Alliance 520 521
First Appearance	Chapter 36: Wind Takers

Documented Growth

Period	Membership / Scale	Notes
Founding	60 formal members; 36 reserve members	Li Wei and Viktor selected students as Janna's Chosen and organized the initial team. 36
First week of expansion	1,632 potential targets; 1,014 peripheral members; 521 official members	Official members included 218 Zaun professors/students, 300 apprentices and family members, and three Piltover residents: Erwin, Caitlyn, and Seraphine. 69
Zaun expansion	Over 10,000 devout Wind Takers; fewer than 100,000 believers even including Wind Chasers	Most Zaun residents could not fully understand the movement's theory despite its widespread circulation. 214
First year	Approximately 1 million members	The organization grew from nothing to this scale in less than a year, aided by rapid growth in Ionia. 391

Background and History

Origins and founding

Li Wei first presented Janna's Ideology to Zaun students, teaching that Janna should be regarded as a guide rather than an object of passive worship. Its ultimate goal was Great Harmony, an ideal society that could not be achieved by a single generation but had to be pursued continually. 32

Li Wei and Viktor selected Janna's Chosen from students whose ideals and selflessness met their standard. This differentiated the group from conventional faiths centered on unquestioning loyalty: Janna's followers were expected to pursue ideals, faith, and Great Harmony. 36

When the founders struggled to name the organization, Li Wei associated Janna with the wind that would clear Zaun's poisonous fog and eventually spread change across Runeterra. The students unanimously adopted Wind Takers; the formal organization became the Wind Taker Association, with Li Wei as president and Viktor as vice president. 36 37

Early growth and reorganization

The association expanded quickly through ideological education, grassroots work, and prison outreach. Its early gains also revealed weaknesses: propaganda often failed to resonate with ordinary people, relief funds attracted unscrupulous actors, and rapid growth produced leadership and decision-making chaos. Members further divided over nonviolent struggle versus armed resistance. 69 70

Li Wei answered these problems by separating the committed core from less resolute believers. He founded the Wind Chasers Association as a subordinate organization for progressive learners, assistants, and reserves. Those who maintained firm conviction under a test of resolve remained the true Wind Takers. 84

Rise in Zaun and Piltover

The Piltover Council initially viewed the association as a potentially dangerous Zaunite movement. Mel Medarda argued that it should be treated as an entity worthy of negotiation rather than dismissed as students and workers, particularly because Li Wei claimed to be Janna's Chosen. 67

The Council permitted the Wind Takers to contest the Iron Fist Gang's territory without direct Enforcer intervention. After defeating the gang, the association took its territory, rescued enslaved people and sex workers, and planned education, vocational training, and a transition away from underground industries toward manufacturing supported by Viktor's technology patents. 68 90

Mel eventually became a true Wind Taker and permanent director. Her public control of a destructive tornado against Camille demonstrated that devout members could receive Janna's divine power, greatly strengthening the association's political standing in Piltover. 146 166

Expansion beyond the Twin Cities

Sarah and her pirate crew trained with the Wind Takers before joining them. Sarah became an official member and chairman of a branch within the Coastal Patrol Company, bringing the movement's discipline and ideals toward Bilgewater. 154

The movement spread independently in Ionia after a massacre drove large numbers of Ionians to pray to Janna for salvation. Li Wei acknowledged that the Ionian Wind Takers were not controlled by Zaun, instead supporting them covertly while they developed their own organization. 271

During the Ionian campaign, the Wind Takers established refugee settlements in the Wuji Mountains, fought Noxian forces, and used their fleet and aircraft to turn the tide against an undead army and the Noxian expeditionary force. 314 398 401

By the later stages of its expansion, the association had established or influenced branches in Noxus, Demacia, Shurima, Bilgewater, Ionia, and the underworld. Its activity in the underworld began when Montero organized enslaved souls against Mordekaiser's tyranny. 409 410 493 440 508

Ideology and Membership

Great Harmony

The Wind Takers seek Great Harmony as their ultimate objective. They regard Janna as a guide whose divine existence is sustained by people willing to believe in and act upon her story, rather than as a deity demanding blind obedience. 2 32

Li Wei describes true Wind Takers as internationalists who should place humanity's shared happiness above national identity. This principle later informed his proposal for a Jannaist alliance of states governed by a central council composed of the most faithful Wind Takers. 269

Faith and qualification

Membership is defined by conviction and conduct rather than paperwork. Lina explicitly states that a person who risks their life for others can already be a Wind Taker regardless of whether they hold an association membership card. 124

A true Wind Taker is expected to possess sincere faith, sympathy for the masses, familiarity with Janna's Ideology, and agreement with the movement's ideals. Faith can be manifested as visible Threads of Faith, which reveal its strength and purity. 125 456

Wind Chasers

Wind Chasers are progressive learners led by the Wind Taker Association. They study Janna's Ideology through practice and serve as the Wind Takers' assistants and reserves, rather than being discarded for shallow or wavering faith. 84

The term “Wind Lover” is used informally for people who speak passionately about the movement but lack the resolve to participate in struggle or construction. 514

Capabilities

Divine wind magic

Devout Wind Takers can receive divine power from Janna through Faith. The power enables mortals without prior magical training to sense and manipulate wind; later accounts state that all Wind Takers can fly, though their spellcasting strength varies. 121 246 442

• Janna can hear the prayers of sufficiently devout believers within range and answer them with divine power. 121
• Faith is converted into magic through Janna: a believer's soul produces mental energy, which becomes Faith and is then transformed into magical output. 409
• Wind magic has been used for combat, flight, transport, defense, construction, and disaster response. 214 443

Collective spellcasting

Because their wind magic originates from Janna, Wind Takers can willingly combine their power into a single spell. This allows many weak individual currents to become a high-pressure storm under a chosen wielder's control. 332

• Janna's Forgiveness — A collective storm technique that physically “cleanses” enemies with overwhelming wind. It was formally named by the Wind Takers Standing Committee and can be performed even by large groups of ordinary believers. 365 494
• Revival Zephyr — A life-filled storm used by Li Wei to rescue allies, repel enemies, and form an impassable defensive current. 212 214 398
• Wind Barrier — Li Wei's signature defensive technique; at full scale, it formed a wind wall hundreds of meters high and thousands of meters wide against Vladimir's Hemoplague. 214 398

Military and logistical strength

The organization developed from a student-and-worker association into a disciplined armed force with patrol units, specialized equipment, naval capacity, and air support. 150 173 398

• Patrol infantry use rifles, machine guns, grenades, individual rocket launchers, and urban camouflage uniforms. 173
• Individual thermobaric weapons, Jinx Rocket Artillery, drones, and Hextech Flight Armor expanded its range and firepower. 173
• Its navy fielded approximately 1,000 vessels and transported thousands of aircraft during the battle against Vladimir's forces. 398
• The association used Janna-powered Siren cannons and Zeri's Hextech Railgun during the operation against Takeda Saito. 158

Civic organization and reconstruction

The Wind Takers combine political education with social practice, labor organization, reconstruction, and scientific investigation.

• After taking Iron Fist territory, they rescued victims of exploitation and planned vocational education and industrial employment. 90
• In Demacia, they organized tenant farmers through Farmers' Associations to demand rent and interest reductions while avoiding a premature collapse of the existing order. 493
• In Shurima, Wind Taker teams conducted social surveys and river-flow measurements to understand local conditions before pursuing broader change. 440
• The movement uses cultural works, including the musical Zaunite Slave Laborers and the film Arcane, to spread Janna's Ideology. 292
• Wind Taker mages apply magic to prospecting, mining, construction, disaster relief, and other productive work rather than warfare alone. 443

Equipment

• Azure Finch insignia — The association's recognizable emblem, associated with Janna's blue-bird form. 142 166
• Wind orbs — Divine implements through which members such as Sarah can channel wind power. 154
• Hextech weapons and flight armor — Used by patrols, special forces, and Wind Taker mages. 150 173
• Jinx Rocket Artillery — Long-range artillery noted for firepower, speed, and range. 173
• Siren cannons — Artillery powered by Janna's magic during the assault on Takeda Saito's forces. 158

Relationships

• Janna — Patron deity and source of the association's Faith-based divine power; her recovered strength rises with the number and sincerity of believers. 37 121 271
• Li Wei — Founder and president; created the organization’s name, structure, ideological direction, and international strategy. 36 37 269
• Viktor — Co-founder and vice president; helped select the first members and establish the organization. 36 37
• Mel Medarda — Permanent director who publicly represented the association in Piltover and demonstrated Janna's power against Camille. 165 166
• Wind Chasers Association — Subordinate organization serving as the Wind Takers' reserve and assistant force. 84
• Buhru and Nagakabouros — Allied faith; Nagakabouros approved expanded cooperation after Illaoi recognized the Wind Takers' understanding of motion. 197 267
• Noxus Wind Taker Association — Regional branch whose future vice-chairman is Darius. 409
• Underworld Branch — Resistance organization founded by Montero among souls enslaved by Mordekaiser. 410

Major Arcs

Iron Fist Gang conflict

The Piltover Council tested the Wind Takers by allowing them to seize the Iron Fist Gang's territory. The group endured an attack by Chemtech-enhanced forces, defeated the gang, and used the captured territory to begin rehabilitation and industrial reform. 68 86 89 90

Twin Cities crisis

Camille's faction persecuted progressives and attempted to force conflict between the Wind Takers and Noxus. When Janna borrowed the power of a once-in-a-century hurricane, she restored demigod-like strength, opened a path to Stillwater Prison, liberated imprisoned supporters, and compelled Camille's surrender. 215 230

Ionian expansion and war

Independent Wind Takers emerged across Ionia amid Noxian violence. They organized refugees, built a Wuji Mountains base with local spiritual assistance, and resisted the Noxian expeditionary force despite being heavily outnumbered. 271 314 369

The campaign culminated in the Wind Takers' victory over the Noxian main force in Ionia after their air and naval forces entered the battle against Vladimir, Sion, Elise, and an undead army. 398 401

Globalization of Jannaism

Li Wei proposed replacing territorial expansion with global propagation of Janna's faith and the formation of an alliance of Jannaist states. The Wind Takers subsequently established broad influence in Noxus, Demacia, Shurima, and other regions. 269 409 440 493

War against Mordekaiser

Mordekaiser's invasion targeted densely populated Wind Taker strongholds to sever Janna from her believers. The association refused to retreat, defended the Twin Cities against the undead, and gained support even from formerly shallow believers who became true Wind Takers on the front line. 508 512 514

The underworld branch ultimately enabled enslaved dead to contribute Threads of Faith alongside the living. Their combined Faith raised Janna's power beyond Mordekaiser's. 517

Trivia

• The name “Wind Takers” was chosen after Li Wei watched a gust of wind clear a classroom's stale air and envisioned the movement clearing Zaun's poisonous fog. 36
• Janna initially suggested “Storm Church” as a name, but Li Wei rejected it. 36
• The movement's central principle is that Janna's Faith cannot be destroyed by eliminating a single branch, because suffering people elsewhere can take up its cause. 271