Tristana

While many other yordles channel their energy into discovery, invention, or just plain mischief-making, Tristana was always inspired by the adventures of great warriors. She had heard much about Runeterra, its factions, and its wars, and believed her kind could become worthy of legend too. Setting foot in the world for the first time, she took up her trusty cannon Boomer, and now leaps into battle with steadfast courage and optimism.

Real name: Tristana Alias(es): The Yordle Gunner Species: Yordle Age: Unknown (Young Adult) Place of origin: Bandle City Current residence: Bandle City

Like most yordles, Tristana has always been captivated by the world beyond Bandle City. Using hidden pathways known only to yordles, she traveled unseen across the material realm, driven by wonder and curiosity. She witnessed ice trolls migrating beneath auroras, warships shattering each other in roaring sea battles, and massive armies marching in lockstep across the deserts of the south—an astonishing concept to any yordle.

Everything changed the day she witnessed the destruction of a bandlewood—mystical groves that grow around portal gateways and serve as havens for yordles. While resting in the sun-dappled forest, Tristana was jolted awake as trees burned and toppled. A warband of armored marauders stormed through the woodlands, led by a sorcerer cloaked in dark energy. Hidden in horror, Tristana watched helplessly as he unleashed a final spell, collapsing the portal at the grove’s heart. Its destruction sent magical shockwaves as far as Bandle City, filling the yordles with grief.

Haunted by guilt and the pain of that loss, Tristana vowed never to let it happen again. From that moment, she dedicated her life to guarding the bandlewoods and protecting her people.

She had always admired how mortals guarded what they valued, even if she didn’t quite understand their obsession with shiny metals or stone walls. Still, she respected their resolve—and decided to emulate it. Yordles soon took notice as Tristana began patrolling Bandle City’s borders with a soldier’s discipline, calling her meals “rations” and keeping strict rest schedules.

Yet something was missing. On her travels, she had seen the black powder cannons of Bilgewater, and they sparked an idea. Gathering enough precious coins, she commissioned a custom weapon fit for her size. With a smirk, she named it Boomer.

Armed and determined, Tristana has since defended bandlewoods across Runeterra. In the Serpent Isles, she broke up a clash between Buhru tribes and Valoran treasure hunters that threatened a hidden portal—sending both sides fleeing after leaping into the fray, Boomer blazing. In the Shuriman deserts, she took down a Void-horror devouring a secret oasis, blasting it apart with a bomb hurled straight down its gullet.

Over time, Tristana has become a legend in Bandle City. A growing number of yordles now try—mostly unsuccessfully—to mimic her ways. Some even wield knockoff versions of Boomer, crafted by the ever-eager inventor Rumble, who hopes to win her approval. Though Tristana finds the attention a bit embarrassing, she recognizes the need for proper defense. Taking it seriously, she begins training these recruits, who have now dubbed themselves the Bandle Gunners.

Even so, Tristana prefers solitude. She is often found far from home, patrolling the wilds—defending bandlewoods with unshakable resolve, and perhaps also enjoying a little peace away from her overenthusiastic trainees.

Appearance: As a Yordle she is much shorter than humans. She has purple skin, short white hair, brownish orange eyes, four fingered hands and feet (normal for Yordles), and large fox-like ears. She wears a short, sleeveless green shirt that exposes her midriff, green pants that leave her feet partially exposed, and goggles on her head.

Personality: Tristana has a very rowdy and impulsive personality. She's very excitable (especially when it comes to fighting) and more often than not tends to act without much forethought, in spite of how much she truly means well. One of Tristana's most defining traits is her ambition towards becoming a hero and creating her own adventure, being the reason why she became the feisty and strong-willed powerhouse she is today in the first place. Tristana is also incredibly selfless in spite of how scatterbrained and wacky she is otherwise, as she has protected Bandle City's gateways from mortals of Runeterra to the point of inspiring other yordles to protect the city as well.

Cannon Proficiency: There's a reason why she carries a cannon around. Yordle Physiology: Tristana is a Yordle, a being coming from the Spirit Realm and possesses several abilities natural of her species. Immortality: Being spiritual beings, Yordles don't age the same way as normal humans, and they can't normally die. Yordle Magic: Just like any Yordle, Tristana is capable of performing yordle magic, which she utilizes in tandem with her skills as a gunner.

Passive: Draw a Bead - The longer she fights, the better she can launch her cannon shots farther.

Abilities: Rapid Fire - Tristana fires her cannon rapidly. Rocket Jump - Tristana fires at the ground to propel her to a distant location. Explosive Charge - When Tristana kills something, her cannonballs burst into shrapnel, dealing damage to the surroundings. Can be used to shoot a bomb on a target that explodes after a short duration.

Ultimate Ability: Buster Shot - Tristana loads a massive cannonball into her weapon and fires it at an enemy unit. This deals magical damage and sends the target flying back.

Runeterra (meaning magic earth) is a plane of existence composed of the physical realm: an oblate spheroid planet and the Spirit Realm. The currently known continents the planet comprises are Valoran, Shurima and the Camavoran Continent. It also boasts several large bodies of water, such as the currently known 18 Seas (like the Conqueror's Sea and the Guardian's Sea), and 2 Oceans with several archipelagos and islands around them (like Ionia, the Serpent Isles, and the Shadow Isles). The planet orbits around a G-type star while a natural satellite moon orbits around the planet. Runeterra's sun and moon also even mirrored equivalents in the spirit realm. Composed of both the material and spirit realms, Runeterra is all that separates the celestial powers of creation from the abyssal threat of all undoing. This is a magical world unlike any other--inhabited by peoples both fierce and wondrous.

Centuries ago, magical artifacts called the 'World Runes' were rediscovered. Over the following decades, knowledge of the Runes began to spread as more were unearthed. The world's brightest minds studied the ancient glyphs, attempting to determine the powers they possessed. Few could even begin to understand the importance of their origins, or the sheer power held within them. Some surmised that the Runes were integral to the creation of Runeterra itself. The first use of these mysterious artifacts proved catastrophic, as they reshaped the landscape of entire nations. Mistrust quickly grew as those who knew of the Runes imagined such “Makers' Might” being used as a weapon. Conflicts related to these magical artifacts began to occur, known as the Rune Wars.

Open warfare raged across Runeterra. The first horrors of the Rune Wars sparked fear and aggression among those who now realized the power at their command. Ryze and his master, Tyrus, had sought out to lock away every World Rune beyond the reach of man for the protection of Runeterra. Some complied with their pleas, others dismissed them due to their new found powers and influence. After an incident with Tyrus, Ryze later on continued his journey alone in gathering all Runic artifacts so as to prevent another Rune War from starting and possibly destroying the world.

Runeterra has a large number of sapient species. These sapient species can range from being able to use primitive tools to one's advantage to god-like feats like forging literal stars. Some sentient species are monster-like and aggressive while others less aggressive or tame. While most sentient species are animals, there are instances of plant based sentient species. Most known instances of non-sentient species are found with plants. As rich and diverse as Runeterra is, not all species are well documented. From the Shuriman Jungles to the magic wilds of the Ionian Archipelago, known only by names or by visuals, these numerous species are an enigma.

The true location of the yordles’ homeland remains a subject of debate. A rare few mortals claim to have stumbled upon hidden pathways that lead to a realm beyond the material world—a land suffused with enchantment and illusion. These accounts describe a place of unbound magic, where reality bends and the unwary may wander endlessly, lost in a dream spun of wonder and whim.

This realm is known as Bandle City.

To those not of yordle-kind, every sensation within Bandle City is said to be magnified. Colors shimmer with impossible brilliance. A single bite of food or sip of drink can dazzle the senses for years, embedding itself in memory with surreal clarity. The golden sunlight never dims, waters run impossibly clear, and every harvest is abundant beyond measure. Whether any of these stories are true—or just the embellishments of wide-eyed travelers—is impossible to say. No two mortals ever recount the same details, and some even contradict themselves in the telling.

Yet one truth remains consistent across all accounts: time flows differently in Bandle City. Those few mortals who manage to return to the material world often emerge aged beyond recognition, while many more vanish entirely, never to be seen again. For the yordles, however, time is less a constraint and more a suggestion, which may explain their seemingly ageless nature and boundless vitality.

The yordles themselves are a race of magical spirits, most often appearing as small, mammalian bipeds with bright eyes and irrepressible curiosity. While their hearts lie with Bandle City, not all choose to remain there. Many yordles venture across Runeterra, drawn by a love of discovery, mischief, or purpose. Wherever they go, they carry a spark of the magic that defines their home—bringing with them a piece of the wonder that mortals can barely begin to comprehend.

In the end, Bandle City remains more myth than map. A place of joy, magic, and danger in equal measure. Whether it exists in some hidden fold of reality or only in the memories of those who dreamt it... that, too, is part of its charm.