A Detailed Look at Veigar's Story in the Lore of League of Legends

Within the League of Legends lore community, the lore and story of Veigar are one of the best ones. In just a simple bio and a tiny little short story, Riot Games tell the fantastic tale of the Master of Evil – well, the Tiny Master of Evil.

If you don’t know anything about Veigar, this fact may not be important to you at all. But as you dive deep into Veigar’s story, you may find it to be the very crux.

Even Riot themselves like to joke about Veigar’s height with in-game voice lines like this one:

“It’s only a short way? Is that a short joke?!”

So what’s all the fuss about Veigar being short, and how does that fit into his lore? Let’s jump to explanations!

Table of Contents

The Entire Lore of Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil

Veigar’s lore is a story of many elements. It’s not only a narrative of an ambitious yordle that turns dark.

Instead, it’s a tale of a character that undergoes unimaginable horrors but survives and becomes stronger. And despite Veigar’s obsession with being evil in his lore, his actions often make him good instead.

So how does one who aspires to wreak havoc in the lands around him actually ends up helping and improving the people’s lives?

But more importantly, how does one come to the point of wishing ill fortune on everything around him?

Veigar’s Full Story

The Beginning

Veigar was once a good yordle, positive and enthusiastic. He lived in Bandle City, together with the other yordles.

But while the others were learning to shoot guns (like Tristana) or scout around (like Teemo), Veigar was only interested in magic. Celestial magic in particular.

The Bandle City lore states that it’s a hidden mystical place with many different entry points (portals) around the world of Runeterra.

It also says that yordles almost always return to their home after adventuring, at least to tell their tales. But that’s not what happened to Veigar!

Veigar left Bandle City and joined a group of mages somewhere in Noxus. Yes, he studied celestial magic with them.

But because he’s a magical creature and not a human, he also taught them things like drawing hope from the pattern in the stars.

Mordekaiser’s Reign

So Veigar was doing well until Mordekaiser’s crusade reached him. Morderkaiser was a war tyrant whose only goal was to conquer the world.

He captured Noxus and slew everyone who opposed him. However, he recognized the potential in the yordle, so Morde captured Veigar instead.

Modekaiser locked Veigar in a dark tower for centuries. He tormented the little yordle and used him to achieve his dark goals.

One day it was an enchantment and another casting fear in Morde’s opponents – all against Veigar’s will. And Veigar could not escape!

In this imprisonment, Veigar will eventually be transformed. Over the years, the torments would leave him without memories of who he was in the past.

All the pain could tell him was how to spread evil – something that was forced on him by Mordekaiser. But Veigar could not tell the difference anymore…

Veigar’s Freedom

When Mordekaiser was brought down and banished from the mortal realm in his lore, Veigar was finally free.

But because of the psychological trauma that he had endured for hundreds of years, he wasn’t the happy little yordle anymore.

In fact, Veigar could only remember evil. He found himself an evil-looking hat and armor, and proclaimed himself the Master of Evil!

But as hard as he tried, Veigar couldn’t really spread evil as effectively as he wished. And that’s a key fact in the lore of Veigar!

For example, he would often beat up bandits and defeat other dark warlocks to prove how evil he is. But the results of these actions would also help the people who were troubled by the bandits and the warlocks.

So despite his unending hunger to bring the world to his knees, the people around Veigar thought him more good than evil.

And that’s perfectly illustrated in his short story – The True and Ghastly Tale of the Beast of Boleham Tower by Amanda Jeffrey!

Old Bio vs. New Bio

Veigar is one of the oldest champions in League of Legends. Over the years, Riot Games have rewritten his biography a couple of times, but each time giving us information about the idea behind Veigar’s story.

For example, the older lore states that Veigar did some business deals with the people of Noxus and that’s how he got himself imprisoned.

Mordekaiser is never mentioned here; only that Veigar escaped Noxus as a dark version of his former self.

Another fundamental difference between the character of Veigar in the old and the new bio is his success as the Master of Evil.

In the past, Riot never mentions that Veigar fails in causing evil. Only that he is a dark sorcerer that wields powerful black magic and is capable of slaying everyone (as seen in the actual game). And that he is really really evil!

And even though the general idea has stayed the same, Riot also made Veigar incapable of doing such evil things in the new lore. He always tries his best to establish himself as the ultimate dark overlord, but his actions often give him the opposite results.

Veigar’s Short Story Breakdown

In The True and Ghastly Tale of the Beast of Boleham Tower short story, we get a closer look at how Veigar operates after his freedom. He lives in the Boleham Tower, a small place in the Argent Mountains, and “rules” over the neighboring lands.

One day a group of villagers come and break down Veigar’s gate with the intention to assault him.

Veigar, already having a counter plan, hides behind a door on top of the stairs and laughs maliciously. He then uses his E – Event Horizon to trap the villagers and strike fear in them.

Unfortunately, the villagers aren’t really bothered by this. In fact, their leader – Margaux, a sympathetic woman, yells at Veigar for destroying their corps and messing with their farms!

Veigar receives this as a slap on the face since he wants to be known as an absolute Master of Evil, and not someone who meddles with mundane things like farms…

This goes on for a while, with the villagers accusing Veigar of silly things and Veigar shrinking with shame, inch by inch with every accusation.

Suddenly Veigar roars and states that he is so evil that he even defeated and banished the previous owner of his tower – Vixis the Cruel.

When the villagers realize this, they start to praise and thank Veigar. It’s clear to them that Veigar only thinks of himself as the Master of Evil.

They play the roles of peasants but they aren’t really afraid of his actions. They even fail to pronounce Veigar’s name correctly and tell him to keep what he’s already doing.

In the end, the villagers suggest Veigar defeat another dark warlock that’s bothering them, just to prove that he is evil, of course. Veigar dismisses them angrily, but still agrees to defeat the warlock!

The Meaning Behind The Lore of Veigar

The story of Veigar is interesting, witty, and funny. The community generally loves the direction Riot has taken with his character, especially considering his beginnings in League of Legends.

Riot Games originally created Veigar as a joke to the fantasy trope of “evil dark overlord” we see in literature, TV, and other video games. He has a staff, he’s completely covered in shadows, and he wants to subjugate the world. You get the idea…

But the meaning behind the lore of Veigar might be something more.

If you follow the lore of Veigar closely, you realize that it’s actually a sad story. One minute we have this innocent yordle that only wants to learn magic and help others.

And the next he’s imprisoned, tortured, and turned into a dark version of his former self, ready to get take over the world.

But Veigar doesn’t do that. He truly wishes to do that, but he simply can’t. Veigar tries time and time again, defeating enemies left and right, only to realize that his actions actually help people.

So why is this the case?

Well, Veigar is a yordle and not a human. And despite his descent into darkness, he is still a little magical fellow. And although it’s not confirmed, we can safely assume that being good is in the nature of all yordles.

They’ve been described in the past as jolly, playful, and childish, so it’s not far from the truth.

So the meaning of the Veigar’s lore may be that people never truly change, no matter what happens to them.

Veigar’s short story perfectly captures the feeling that Veigar only thinks himself to be evil. And while no one can question his powers, no one really thinks that Veigar is evil. At least not the way he does.

A Detailed Look at Veigar’s Story in the Lore of League of Legends