Piltover

Piltover is a city-state in the northern part of Valoran.

Lore
Piltover, also known as the City of Progress, is the leading center of ecologically-minded techmaturgical and magical research in Valoran. The city's great academies and their contributions to science are known across the land, rivaled only by the eccentric colleges found in Zaun. Strangely, the nation is situated atop a large hill in vast greenish marsh near the coastline. The denizens of Piltover appear to be utilizing the liquid and gases emitting from the marsh as viable source of energy in order to power the city.

Culture
The individuals who travel to and wish to reside in Piltover have a seemingly unquenchable thirst for knowledge. This pursuit can lead them across a variety of academic fields, be it techmaturgy, medical biology, archaeology, etc. The city's researchers clearly take great pleasure exploring and expanding their scientific interests. However, many have recently turned their attention to the current state of conflict on Valoran. Seeing what they consider an unacceptable situation, the scientists and denizens of the City of Progress have come together to work collectively in order to rectify the problems plaguing the continent. They firmly believe that science is the key to saving Runeterra.

Another reason why Piltover is referred to as the City of Progress is because of its extraordinarily low crime rate. This hasn't always been the case; brigands and thieves of all sorts used to find the city-state an ideal mark for plunder, primarily due to the valuable resources it imports to fuel its techmaturgical research. Some even theorize that it would have fallen long ago to the chaos of organized crime if not for. At a young age Caitlyn discovered that she possessed a natural gift for investigation. She was also one of the sharpest shots in the city. Caitlyn gained notoriety as she was singlehandedly defeating crime in Piltover, and is known for never backing down from a case or a challenge.

Though Piltover produces an abundant amount of techmaturgical marvels, the city's denizens strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible. They are constantly thinking up new and improved methods for recycling.

Yordle Academy of Science & Progress
There is a significant number of yordles that reside in Piltover. , had an allure to science that he could not resist, and wanted to make his mark on the City of Progress. Before leaving Bandle City he gathered like-minded yordles to join him in his quest to Piltover, thus forming the backbone of the now famous Yordle Academy of Science & Progress. Since then his academy has become one of the leading institutions in all of Valoran. It has pioneered many new scientific achievements, delving deeper and deeper into the field of techmaturgy. The more interesting contraptions Heimerdinger and his colleagues have put together are on permanent display at the academy, with tours being granted nearly every day of the week.

Examples of Heimerdinger and his academy's many inventions include:


 * Seven Lenses of Insight: one of a kind goggles given to, allowing him to see across a wider range of the spectrum than normal people see.
 * Ubiquitous Star Rods: hextech devices which emit light and is used to illuminate the streets of Piltover.
 * Reconnaissance Operations Front-Line Copter: an aerial assault vehicle which has become the backbone of the Bandle City Expeditionary Force (BCEF).
 * Patrol Rescue Bot: an automaton deployed by the Piltover Patrol in order to search for missing individuals.
 * D.O.O.M. Machine: the "Drain Out Of Mana Machine" was a experimental device that was capable of extracting magic from its surrounding area.
 * H-28G Evolution Turret: a stationary automaton gun which rapid shoots out bullets infused with magic.
 * Hextech Micro-Rockets: jet engine long-range projectiles which can strike multiple targets.
 * CH-1 Concussion Grenade: a small explosive bomb thrown at a targeted location which causes enemies within that area to be damaged, blinded, and stunned.
 * Techmaturgical Repair Bots: miniature automatons which self-repair other techmaturgical devices over time.

Piltover Customs
The city houses the most successful transportation customization and modification enterprise, Piltover Customs. The proprietor and chief mechanic,, enjoys tinkering with all the hextech gizmos that are regularly brought to him. He and his company provides a tour for his shop by special request only. Heimerdinger, when he isn't residing in his Academy, can also be found constructing new inventions at the workshop.

The Master Pathfinder
A large network of the tunnels can be found underneath the Piltover, which was later fully mapped out by. The quality of his work was so remarkable that the government of Piltover purchased his maps and commissioned his services as the city-state's Master Pathfinder in archaeology. Since then, Ezreal's countless adventures have been romanticized and published by the city. He occasionally brings back the ancient artifacts he finds to Piltover and to the League for further study.

The Piltover Patrol
Wishing to use their combined knowledge in order to give aid to others as quickly as possible, the city's officials have created multiple search and rescue teams that can be mobilized across all of Valoran at a moments notice. The teams, referred collectively as the Piltover Patrol, serve to assist anyone in dire need. Each member is highly trained to handle different levels of emergencies. When searching for missing individuals the rescuers deploy the Piltover Rescue Bot, a recent prototype created by the famed inventor Heimerdinger, to hover over and scan large areas of land. Should an individual be found severely sick or injured, the rescue teams are capable of swiftly transporting them back to Piltover. The individual is then treated as a patient by the city-state's top medical staff and is cared for around the clock.

The Patrol have recently found a young inventor from Piltover who was previously reported missing for the last three months. Piltover officials had mobilized all available rescue teams to recover the well-known 14-year-old prodigy of techmaturgy. He was discovered afflicted with a withering disease and close to death in the northern jungles of Kumungu. The rescue team quickly transported the boy back to the city-state, and he was quarantined to prevent spreading the disease. The medical staff race to save his life, though a source within the Patrol described the boy's status as worrisome. The source explained that the strange disease is ravaging the boy's body, and even with the advanced state of Piltover's medical care, the disease is spreading too quickly for his young body to cope with. His name is being withheld because he is a minor.

Relations with Zaun
As the two leading city-states in the development of hextech, Piltover and Zaun have a deep competitive rivalry, both vying to be the ones directing the future of techmaturgy on Runeterra. League matches between the two nations have a tendency to begin with their champions exchanging contemptuous banter and moody glares.

These tensions have been fully renewed as the 16th Festival of Flight race drew near, marking the beginning of the annual Techmaturgical Conference. The city of Zaun, having been named victor of the symbolic event for the last four years running, showed a great deal of trepidation towards the upcoming match after Piltover publicly unveiled their new state-of-the-art zeppelin. While it is difficult to classify any dirigible as small, the appropriately named “Tailwind” aircraft has a record-breaking length of 27 meters. Not only is Tailwind the first zeppelin to meet such small size constraints, but it also pioneers the utilization of Piltoverian Chrono-Technology. The new prototype “Chrono-propeller” engine, which has received tremendous design contributions from fellow League Champion, is rumored to manipulate time itself to reach speeds that would otherwise be impossible under Valoran’s constantly changing atmospheric conditions. The zeppelin will be piloted in the race by, who was once one of Zaun’s most promising mage talents before defecting from the city-state several years ago.

The starting point for this year’s race will be in Piltover. The course will direct the contestants to Zaun, where they will then circle the entire perimeter of the city before returning to the docking pier at the top of Piltover’s central spire.