Ionia
Champion Lore

Yasuo

the Unforgiven

An Ionian of deep resolve, Yasuo is an agile swordsman who wields the air itself against his enemies. As a proud young man, he was falsely accused of murdering his master—unable to prove his innocence, he was forced to slay his own brother in self defense. Even after his master's true killer was revealed, Yasuo still could not forgive himself for all he had done, and now wanders his homeland with only the wind to guide his blade.

Yasuo splash art
Yasuo splash art
Origin & Background

The Story of Yasuo

Yasuo is accused of killing Elder Souma — one of Ionia's most respected masters — during the Noxian invasion. He didn't. The actual killer was his brother Yone. Yasuo knows this and cannot prove it; by the time he understood what had happened, Yone had disappeared and the evidence pointed only to Yasuo, who was fleeing the accusation rather than standing to contest it — which looked, to every observer, exactly like guilt.

He has spent years as a fugitive, pursued by Ionian warriors who believe he is a murderer, fighting to survive long enough to clear his name in a situation where clearing his name requires finding his brother who may be dead. He carries a wind technique that makes him one of the most formidable swordsmen in Ionia, and he carries the steel that killed a man whose murder he didn't commit, and these two facts together have made him someone who is both exactly as dangerous as he looks and exactly as unfortunate.

His reunion with Yone, who returned from death changed by the demon he hunted, is the most important relationship in his life and one of the most painful. They are both different from who they were before the accusation. They are both carrying things the other doesn't entirely know how to bear. The investigation into Elder Souma's killer continues, with both brothers working at it from positions of impossibility. Yasuo is, against his own preferences, still alive and still trying.

Key Connections

Relationships

Yone
Brother — the Actual Killer
Yasuo's brother, whose action created Yasuo's exile and who has since returned changed by his own experience with death and demons.