The “Here, Tomorrow” cinematic is the latest canon cinematic published by Riot Games for League of Legends, so let’s break down exactly what’s going on in this newest glimpse into Runeterra.
The Season 2: Spirit Blossom Beyond cinematic isn’t quite as straightforwardly canon as Fortiche Studios’ “Bite Marks” that rang in the year. So, if you’re a less lore-aligned fan, or a newly indoctrinated Arcane superfan, we’ve got you covered.
Here, Tomorrow cinematic explained
The cinematic begins with a shot of a dark blue/purple-shaded river, followed by Spirit Blossoms, the blossoms coalesced from the memories of dead Ionians, blowing away off of a wall. The blossoms being blown away are noticed by a new figure, who we know to be the new champion, Yunara. Yunara appears to be sealed within this section of the Spirit Realm, in this grove of flower-shaped lanterns and Spirit Blossoms.
We then get a wider shot of this grove that Yunara lives in, which includes a small Ionian-style house. This area seems to be a portion of the Material world, real-world Ionia, that was somehow pulled into the Spirit Realm. With a house, a running stream, and the lantern-decorated tree, it seems like Yunara has enough here to eke out an existence in this liminal spirit dimension. She lays one of the blossoms down into the stream, where it submerges, flips and emerges into the Material Realm and Ionia proper.
If you want to know more, check our article breaking down the Yunara reveal and release date.
Throughout the cinematic, we get glimpses of characters that are definitely not from Ionia. These parts are the loosest ‘canon’, they’re meant to symbolize figures of mythology in Ionian lore, but have been restyled for this Spirit Blossom event to match up to non-Ionian champions. Ashe is the first of these we see, but they’ll pop up throughout. Long story short: don’t worry too much about the ‘canon’ nature of the other skins, its tangential and doesn’t have any wider implications.
The Seneschal of Demacia heads home
The next canon shot we get is a kite floating above a gorgeous Ionian valley, dotted with rivers, forests, and what appear to be rice fields. The camera follows the kite for a moment before panning down to show us Xin Zhao, with his signature spear, wearing an Ionian cloak and clasp over simple Demacian garb. Xin Zhao walks through the forest as run past, excited for this year’s Spirit Blossom festival.
He heads onwards, to a great stone bridge on which Ionians gather, releasing Spirit Blossoms into the water.
We get our next canon-esque retelling of Ionian folklore using Spirit Blossom skins from this in-game event. Again, we won’t delve into too much detail here, it doesn’t have any real consequence to the story. We get a glimpse of Shen watching over a village, and his head turns as Spirit Blossom petals wash by on the breeze, this is him likely detecting Yunara’s influence from the Spirit Realm, as Shen is tasked with maintaining balance between the Spirit and Material Realms.
Xin Zhao walks up the steps towards this great peek, and an upwards-panning camera shows him striding up a staircase, a statue of Yunara, overgrown with Spirit Blossom plants, and Yunara in her grove on ascending levels. This is a clear implication that the shrine/stairs Xin Zhao is walking up connect to a gateway to the Spirit Realm. When Xin reaches the top of the stairs, the path ends, the stairs suddenly cut off and drop into empty air. Spirit Blossoms are blown by an unseen wind from these stairs outwards, a sign of the overlap with the Spirit Realm.
A blossom drifts down the stairs in front of Xin Zhao, who kneels to touch it. As he does so, he and Yunara become aware of one another, and with that the cinematic ends. So what are the important takeaways from this cinematic:
- Xin Zhao has returned to Ionia for the first time since he was captured during the Ionian war. Jarvan IV has likely allowed his mourning friend and bodyguard to go home for the Spirit Blossom festival.
- Yunara, connected to the Spirit Blossoms, is inside the Spirit Realm releasing the petals into Ionia.
- Xin is drawn to a shrine to Yunara, where he and her become aware of one another, despite being in opposite realms.
This cinematic is really just setting up Xin being back in Ionia for Spirit Blossom, and his discovery of Yunara. Both stories will certainly be fleshed out with the Xin Zhao “Pilgrimage” motion comic and the release of Yunara as a champion in Act 2 of Season 2.
Why is Xin Zhao in Ionia?
When last fans got to check up on the Seneschal of Demacia, he was forlorn and lost after the death of King Jarvan III. Jarvan III rescued Xin Zhao from the Noxian fighting pits, where he had been taken as a prisoner of war and forced to fight under the taken name, “Viscero.” As thanks for freeing him, Xin Zhao swore an oath of fealty and protection to the Demacian king. Xin Zhao would guard Jarvan III with his life, as thanks for bringing him his freedom.
After Jarvan III’s assassination by Katarina, Xin Zhao becomes depressed, and offers the new King Jarvan IV his life as penance for his failure to protect Jarvan III. Jarvan IV denies Xin Zhao’s offer, saying he still needs the Seneschal more than ever. But, since this touching interaction with the new King J4, his lore has been pretty much in limbo. Until now!
It’s been confirmed that Xin Zhao will be the protagonist of Spirit Blossom Beyond’s motion comic, dubbed “Pilgrimage.” The comic is likely to focus on Xin Zhao’s emotional journey after the death of his king, and returning to Ionia for the first time since the Ionian-Noxian conflict.
But what about the Darkin Glaive?
Astute lore fans will know that Season 1 ended with Leblanc and Vladimir planning to head to Ionia to seek out a Darkin glaive. This hasn’t yet been addressed, but in their Developer Diary, Riot Games did confirm that that storyline was still in play. So, those hoping to see a new, blood magic-corrupted Shuriman Ascended stomp onto the rift like Runeterra’s angriest Kaijus will still probably have lots of fun come Act 3. Act 2 will likely focus on Yunara, and Act 3 on the Darkin Glaive, who would be introduced later on in Season 3 itself.
That’s everything you need to know about the implications of the “Here, Tomorrow” cinematic for Spirit Blossom Beyond. Stay tuned to HotSpawn for all the lore breakdowns and explanations of Season 2’s events.
