Zaun

Zaun is a city-state on the north eastern part of Valoran.

Lore
Zaun is a city both ruined and supported by rampant magic and unchecked industry. The urban heart of the city-state is often choked by pollution that blocks the morning sun and drains the sky of its pastels. Visitors have coined the name for the shaded sky, the Zaun Gray, and describe looking at it akin to seeing the beginnings of a cosmic disturbance. The nation is famous for its Alchemists, who often alight the city with their magical concoctions. The technologically advanced College of Techmaturgy also resides there, a forefront in the study of hextech and automation. There are few household pets left in the city due to, and his appetite for live experimentation.

Culture
While known to be a notoriously self-centered people to other nations, the Zaunites collectively take great pride in themselves and their city. To them, their right to do as they please is what makes the Zaun the best city-state on Valoran. As a result, the streets of Zaun are a constant hive of activity. Shopkeepers with a variety of eccentric items can be found at every corner, with the dark and seedy alleys overflowing with proud individuals willing to give their all for a profit.

One example of the denizens' love for freedom of expression is the unlawful synthesizes of "Shimmer", a corrosive techmaturgical waste substance that has become popular among Zaun's rebellious youth. When slathered onto the skin the Shimmer stimulates intense emotions in its subject. The Shimmer then creates an assortment of shining colors that corresponds to the emotion the subject is feeling. Though frequent application of the caustic glop can result in progressive degeneration of the skin and muscle tissue, a rumor that Shimmer can grant its wearer unnatural abilities has simply increased its demand.

To cheer for their favorite League champions, many Zaunite fans go to the Vaskervon Coliseum. There the League of Legends Visiopathic Service display key battles featuring their city-state representatives, such as the matches between Zaun and their rival Ionia (or "those peaceniks"). Afterwards the fans would gather together for their post-game celebratory feast, a newly adopted tradition in Zaun.

Government
The city's governing body, the liberal Council of Zaun, are extremely lenient with their restrictions. This has allowed their researchers and inventors the leeway to push the bounds of their experiments at an accelerated rate, for better or worse. Some would say the city-state is run more like a corporate business with no restraints rather than a society of law and order. Zaun’s Chief Executive, Chairman Magnus Dunderson, is said to have had a relatively long reign.

Ties to Noxus
The city shares a friendly relationship with the city-state of Noxus. The Noxian High Command often summon Zaunite champions to fight in the League on their nation's behalf. In addition, Noxus assists Dr. Mundo, the Madman of Zaun, in his ambition to create the perfect science-enhanced killer. They have provided the doctor a laboratory within their city and have given him free reign to pursue his life's work in his spare time. Mercenaries from the city were also recruited by Noxus during their invasion of Ionia, the two most heinous of them being, and. The brand of mass death and destruction these two madmen unleashed remains a festering scar on Ionian history. When the necromantic reanimation of, proved problematic for Noxus due to his lifetime of injuries, a prevailing scholar of Zaun named Professor Stanwick Pididly provided the solution by forging a new body for the headman.

At the base of the Ironspine Mountains, along the main trade route between Zaun and Noxus, there lies two smaller villages: Askay and Meland. For generations the people of those villages had been embroiled in a bloody feud. The lawlessness of the region had complicated the development of trade agreements between the two city-states, limiting their interaction to wartime pacts serviced by mercenary contracts and alchemical weapons. However, after some Noxian intervention, both Askay and Meland have put aside their differences and declared their allegiance to Noxus. With the conflict resolved, Zaun and Noxus are now free to pursue more thriving peacetime trade relations.