Yun Tal

The Yun Tal are the ruling caste of Ixtal, a hidden nation deep in the eastern jungles of Runeterra, and an order of its most gifted elementalists. For generations they have guarded Ixtal's secrets, mastering the axiomata, the elemental magic that lets an adept command earth, fire, water, and wind. They govern from the cardinal arcology of Ixaocan, robed in the rich blacks and purples that command absolute deference from every Ixtali, and rule as a self-governed body of masters bound by tradition and its elders. The order was shaped at Ixtal's founding by the brackern Skarner, a founding member of the ruling caste who helped raise Ixaocan where the planet's lines of power converge. Combining Ixtal's scientific mindset with the collectivist culture of the brackern, the Yun Tal set out to lead their people into a bright future. In the chaos after the Final War, when monsters and death overran the world, the first of the Yun turned the Axiomata of Ixaocan into a weapon, quelling every foe and sealing the borders. Ixtal became the only land to survive that cataclysm, sheltered beneath its canopies from the poison that consumed all else. Later the Yun Tal accepted an alliance with the Shuriman Empire, a decision Skarner distrusted and one vindicated at great cost by the Icathian rebellion. When Shurima collapsed and the Rune Wars ravaged the world beyond, Skarner convinced the Yun Tal to withdraw entirely, shielding their lands with magic and lies to hide Ixtal away. He retreated to a chamber below Ixaocan, where the Yun Tal still travel to confer with him, while grand rituals keep the nation hidden. Among newer generations of elemental masters, discussions have begun about rejoining the world once more. Membership is earned, not inherited. Aspirants train for years under a mentor, then travel to Ixaocan to face the trials of the Vidalion and prove their command of the axioms. Milio's grandmother Lupe and her twin sister Lune won their places this way, before Lune was caught plotting against the Yun Tal and both were punished as twins, Lupe banished and Lune imprisoned beneath the city. Leadership centers on the high seat of the Yun Tal, held by a ruling family whose heirs are called the Yunalai. The current holders were blessed with ten daughters, and the youngest, Qiyana, surpassed all nine of her sisters in the elemental arts, yet the order's law held her tenth in line even after she crippled her eldest sister Inessa in ritual combat.