League of Legends: Is Garen secretly a mage?

The most recent League of Legends comic has raised an awful lot of questions about the status of one particular Demacian warrior. Is Garen secretly a mage, or is there another explanation for his encounter with Sylas?

The newest Lux comic released on the League of Legends client is great for a variety of reasons, but has put the lore community in an uproar over one specific page. During the course of the comic, Sylas breaks free from his imprisonment by the Demacian government and starts wreaking havoc. When confronted by Garen, Sylas tries to blast his opponent with magic – only to find that he’s run out. That leads us to this setup:

Sylas is on the ropes and out of magic, but somehow finds the power to do this:

So where did the magic come from for Sylas’s sucker punch? It’s clear that it’s not his – Lux confirms that Sylas can only absorb the abilities from others, and not manifest powers like this on his own. There are a couple explanations for this:

1) Garen is a Mage

This is the spicier of the two theories, for obvious reasons. As a die-hard Demacian, Garen hates mages, even though he turns a blind eye towards his sister. For him to be a mage – and even worse, to not know about it – would be a massive revelation that would certainly cause Garen to doubt himself. Since his sister is a mage, and since Sylas mentioned that magic is inheritable, it’s plausible that Garen has magical abilities himself.

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We even have a possible in-game hint about Garen being a mage – after all, where does that giant blast of energy that he uses for his ultimate come from? Obviously game abilities aren’t always necessarily canon, but it is a pretty good indication that not all is what it seems with the Might of Demacia.

2) Garen’s Sword Possesses Magic

This is a bit more of a stretch, but there’s always the possibility that the Demacian’s sword is what contains the magical energy. We know from the short story “For Demacia” that Garen’s equipment is made of Demacian sunsteel – metal that possesses anti-magical properties. If sunsteel absorbs magic in the same way that petricite does, we have our explanation right there.

However, the nature of the firey punch that Sylas threw at Garen has several theorists considering the possibility that sunsteel is connected to Kayle and her holy magic – after all, she played a key part in shaping Demacia’s history, and might have blessed the nation with sunsteel. If the metal is connected with Kayle and her magic, Sylas could very easily steal some from Garen’s sword – and since the spell he used on Garen looked similar to Kayle’s holy fire, there’s some weight behind the theory.

At the end of the day, we won’t know which theory is true until the Lux comic completes its run – even Swain’s interaction with Garen could be viewed as supporting either theory. However, the comic has certainly brought out a lot of questions surrounding Demacia and the nature of magic, especially as it pertains to Garen. We certainly can’t wait for more!

Let us know your theories about the Demacian’s magic down in the comments!