LORE READING CLUB: Flesh and Stone – Discussion & Analysis Megathread #2

Welcome back! We will do our first short story discussion and analysis. Now this wasn’t Lux’s first short story but, this is the one where we see her as young as 13-years old in lore so I think it’s best to follow Lux’s stories based on the order of her age. This is a story about Lux meeting Galio.

So let’s get reading! Click here:

Flesh and Stone

Written by: John O’Bryan

Key Characters Featured:

  • Luxanna “Lux” Crownguard, our beloved light mage

  • Galio, a Petricite Golem built to fight enemy mages

  • Augatha Crownguard, Lux’s mother

  • The annuller, friend of Augatha and hired to cure Lux’s “affliction” (name unknown)

  • Lux’s instructor, minor appearance teaching field tactics to Lux and her classmates (name unknown)

  • Three men, attempted to capture Lux to send her to the annulment slums (names and status unknown)

  • Garen Crownguard, Lux’s older brother (briefly mentioned)

Summary of Events:

  • A 13-year old Lux runs away from the city repeating her mantra “a shadow fades before the light” to control her magic.

  • Once alone by a quiet nook in a wooded hillside she cries to herself and slowly lets her mind settle as she recalls how she ran out of class during field tactics lesson because light started leak from her fingertips.

  • Hopelessness and fear claws her of what will happen to her and her family if she were to be caught by the annullers until she realizes she is standing within view of the gargantuan statue, Galio.

  • Lux approaches the statue remembering passing by it as a child imagining it telling her she doesn’t belong here. She notices Galio’s eyes move and look down, getting scared she runs away.

  • Lux returns home past midnight, her mother, Augatha, scolds her for staying out so late and for running away during class.

  • Augatha figures Lux’s powers are getting worse and informs her that she has enlisted a professional friend of hers to cure Lux of her “affliction”. Augatha ensures that this will be their secret and no one will know.

  • Lux knowing the rumours of the method of curing her affliction—by drinking ground up petricite potions—is excruciatingly painful decides to find another way of getting rid of her affliction. She returns to where Galio is.

  • Lux asks Galio to fix her magic and to make her Demacian. She touches Galio and he comes to life. When he speaks to her, she runs away shrieking.

  • Galio watches Lux run away recalling all those years, observing her grow up ever since she was a toddler. Her family would stop by where he stood on their yearly visits and each visit he could sense her powers grow.

  • Lux’s powers had awakened him, not wanting to become dormant again, he goes after her. With one step he catches up to her, Lux lets out a blast of light which is absorbed by him making him feel more alive.

  • Picking Lux up, Galio asks her not to leave and says he only wakes up to smash things, insisting Lux join him.

  • Lux tells him she has to go now and find some place she belongs. Galio tells her she is Demacian therefore belongs in Demacia. Learning she is a mage Galio tells her he kills mages but he won’t kill her because he likes her.

  • Galio insists on seeing Lux do her magic, she does so after he accepts her proposal that he will go away. Unfortunately, no major spark of light happens and Lux assumes it is due to her exhaustion and lack of sleep that she can’t do magic at the moment.

  • She convinces Galio she needs to sleep and tells him he has to turn around because she can’t sleep with him staring at her. Galio abides, when Lux is certain he won’t turn around back to her she sneaks away.

  • Lux’s aching legs take her to the Cloudwoods where she plans to hide from any search party looking for her, forage for her breakfast, and in two days reach the Vaskasian timber villages. She takes a moment and thinks about how she will miss Garen, her horse Starfire, and even her mom.

  • After plowing through the woods for an hour in the dark night, she attempts to summon her light but fails to, she assumes it is Galio’s doing. She is then caught by three men who tell her they are taking her back to the annulment slums.

  • Galio storms in and snatches the men bringing them high up in the air ready to kill them. Lux convinces him to stop and he lets them go as Lux frees herself from her binds.

  • Galio and Lux watch the stars, bonding with their newly formed friendship. Galio is sad that Lux no longer shone like the stars, while Lux tries to brighten him up by telling him she is cured and as long as he is around she can be normal. Galio realizes that giving him life at the cost of having Lux’s powers being taken from her is not worth it.

  • As the sun rises, Lux returns home and Galio returns back to his stillness. She is greeted by Augatha, who is clearly frustrated over her disappearance, and the annuller she hired who will “cure her”.

  • Lux rejects being “cured” and rejects that she is “afflicted”. Lux tells the two that she is beautiful and valuable and that one day she will prove it to the kingdom. And if anyone has a problem with her she has a large friend they can talk to.

  • Lux goes up to her room where she finally goes to sleep. She is calm now. She creates a new mantra: a shadow thrives beside the light.

Discussion & Analysis Icebreakers:

  • Overall thoughts on the story? Any confusions?

  • This is the first time we see her mom, what do you think of her and her family so far?

  • What are your opinions on Lux’s new giant petricite friend, Galio, and their friendship?

  • The annullers were only really mentioned in this story. Do you think Riot decided to retcon them into Mageseekers seeing this is an older story?

  • Petricite acts almost like kryptonite to mages. But instead of nullifying, it absorbs the magic. What do you think happens when it is swallowed by a mage?

  • How do you think Lux will fair after 24 hours of just running around with no sleep? Do you think she will still be exhausted after she wakes up?

  • LC Special Question: What do you think Jinx’s opinions on Lux’s childhood would be? What would her opinions on her mother and Galio be?

  • LC Special Question: What are your opinions on 13-year old Lux? How does she differ from young Powder? Are there any similarities you see?

That is all for now folks, happy discussing! I’ll see you all in the next couple of days.

Previous Megathread:

NEXT UP: Last Light

Welcome back! We will do our first short story discussion and analysis. Now this wasn’t Lux’s first short story but, this is the one where we see her as young as 13-years old in lore so I think it’s best to follow Lux’s stories based on the order of her age. This is a story about Lux meeting Galio.

So let’s get reading! Click here:

Flesh and Stone

Written by: John O’Bryan

Key Characters Featured:

  • Luxanna “Lux” Crownguard, our beloved light mage

  • Galio, a Petricite Golem built to fight enemy mages

  • Augatha Crownguard, Lux’s mother

  • The annuller, friend of Augatha and hired to cure Lux’s “affliction” (name unknown)

  • Lux’s instructor, minor appearance teaching field tactics to Lux and her classmates (name unknown)

  • Three men, attempted to capture Lux to send her to the annulment slums (names and status unknown)

  • Garen Crownguard, Lux’s older brother (briefly mentioned)

Summary of Events:

  • A 13-year old Lux runs away from the city repeating her mantra “a shadow fades before the light” to control her magic.

  • Once alone by a quiet nook in a wooded hillside she cries to herself and slowly lets her mind settle as she recalls how she ran out of class during field tactics lesson because light started leak from her fingertips.

  • Hopelessness and fear claws her of what will happen to her and her family if she were to be caught by the annullers until she realizes she is standing within view of the gargantuan statue, Galio.

  • Lux approaches the statue remembering passing by it as a child imagining it telling her she doesn’t belong here. She notices Galio’s eyes move and look down, getting scared she runs away.

  • Lux returns home past midnight, her mother, Augatha, scolds her for staying out so late and for running away during class.

  • Augatha figures Lux’s powers are getting worse and informs her that she has enlisted a professional friend of hers to cure Lux of her “affliction”. Augatha ensures that this will be their secret and no one will know.

  • Lux knowing the rumours of the method of curing her affliction—by drinking ground up petricite potions—is excruciatingly painful decides to find another way of getting rid of her affliction. She returns to where Galio is.

  • Lux asks Galio to fix her magic and to make her Demacian. She touches Galio and he comes to life. When he speaks to her, she runs away shrieking.

  • Galio watches Lux run away recalling all those years, observing her grow up ever since she was a toddler. Her family would stop by where he stood on their yearly visits and each visit he could sense her powers grow.

  • Lux’s powers had awakened him, not wanting to become dormant again, he goes after her. With one step he catches up to her, Lux lets out a blast of light which is absorbed by him making him feel more alive.

  • Picking Lux up, Galio asks her not to leave and says he only wakes up to smash things, insisting Lux join him.

  • Lux tells him she has to go now and find some place she belongs. Galio tells her she is Demacian therefore belongs in Demacia. Learning she is a mage Galio tells her he kills mages but he won’t kill her because he likes her.

  • Galio insists on seeing Lux do her magic, she does so after he accepts her proposal that he will go away. Unfortunately, no major spark of light happens and Lux assumes it is due to her exhaustion and lack of sleep that she can’t do magic at the moment.

  • She convinces Galio she needs to sleep and tells him he has to turn around because she can’t sleep with him staring at her. Galio abides, when Lux is certain he won’t turn around back to her she sneaks away.

  • Lux’s aching legs take her to the Cloudwoods where she plans to hide from any search party looking for her, forage for her breakfast, and in two days reach the Vaskasian timber villages. She takes a moment and thinks about how she will miss Garen, her horse Starfire, and even her mom.

  • After plowing through the woods for an hour in the dark night, she attempts to summon her light but fails to, she assumes it is Galio’s doing. She is then caught by three men who tell her they are taking her back to the annulment slums.

  • Galio storms in and snatches the men bringing them high up in the air ready to kill them. Lux convinces him to stop and he lets them go as Lux frees herself from her binds.

  • Galio and Lux watch the stars, bonding with their newly formed friendship. Galio is sad that Lux no longer shone like the stars, while Lux tries to brighten him up by telling him she is cured and as long as he is around she can be normal. Galio realizes that giving him life at the cost of having Lux’s powers being taken from her is not worth it.

  • As the sun rises, Lux returns home and Galio returns back to his stillness. She is greeted by Augatha, who is clearly frustrated over her disappearance, and the annuller she hired who will “cure her”.

  • Lux rejects being “cured” and rejects that she is “afflicted”. Lux tells the two that she is beautiful and valuable and that one day she will prove it to the kingdom. And if anyone has a problem with her she has a large friend they can talk to.

  • Lux goes up to her room where she finally goes to sleep. She is calm now. She creates a new mantra: a shadow thrives beside the light.

Discussion & Analysis Icebreakers:

  • Overall thoughts on the story? Any confusions?

  • This is the first time we see her mom, what do you think of her and her family so far?

  • What are your opinions on Lux’s new giant petricite friend, Galio, and their friendship?

  • The annullers were only really mentioned in this story. Do you think Riot decided to retcon them into Mageseekers seeing this is an older story?

  • Petricite acts almost like kryptonite to mages. But instead of nullifying, it absorbs the magic. What do you think happens when it is swallowed by a mage?

  • How do you think Lux will fair after 24 hours of just running around with no sleep? Do you think she will still be exhausted after she wakes up?

  • LC Special Question: What do you think Jinx’s opinions on Lux’s childhood would be? What would her opinions on her mother and Galio be?

  • LC Special Question: What are your opinions on 13-year old Lux? How does she differ from young Powder? Are there any similarities you see?

That is all for now folks, happy discussing! I’ll see you all in the next couple of days.

Previous Megathread:

NEXT UP: Last Light