Zaun Gray

The Zaun Gray is the permanent toxic smog that hangs over the lower levels and deep canyons of Zaun, the undercity beneath Piltover. It is the byproduct of decades of unregulated industry and reckless chemtech experimentation, and it blankets entire districts so completely that little natural light reaches the streets. What light does filter down passes through fumes leaking from tangles of corroded pipework, leaving residents dependent on artificial lighting, while streams of toxic runoff stagnate in the city's lower reaches. The Gray is fed by the mad science that defines Zaun, where inventors who find Piltover's ethical restrictions too confining produce volatile chemtech without oversight. Much of the pollution is tied to specific industry. The synthetic hex-crystal manufacturing run by Clan Ferros in Zaun has long been rumored to contribute heavily to the Gray, and that production is protected through espionage, intimidation, and murder so the factories never stop. For Zaunites the Gray is inescapable. Prolonged exposure causes respiratory illness, and many residents fight simply for breath amid the toxic clouds. To survive, some turn to mechanical augments that let them breathe the poisoned air. The Gray is more than pollution; it is a constant, oppressive presence that shapes the lives and bodies of everyone born beneath it. The smog runs through the region's stories. In the depths, augmented predators hunt pneuma-tube couriers through its smoke and chemtech puddles. The faithful of Janna, the wind goddess, wear bluebird medallions and pray for her winds to cut the suffocating smoke, trusting she will not abandon those choking in the Gray. Above it all, the richest streets of Piltover install lights bright enough to pierce the rising Gray, a reminder that the City of Progress is paid for in the air its sister city breathes.