Nilah

Bilgewater is a haven for smugglers, marauders, and the unscrupulous, where fortunes are made and ambitions shattered in the blink of an eye. For those fleeing justice, debt, or persecution, it is a city of new beginnings; no one on the twisted streets of Bilgewater cares about your past. It's a melting pot of cultures, races, and creeds, alive with activity at all hours.

While incredibly dangerous, Bilgewater is also ripe with opportunity, free from the shackles of government, regulation, and moral constraints. If you have the coin, almost anything can be purchased in Bilgewater, from outlawed hextech to the favor of local crime lords. Nevertheless, come daybreak, the unwary are found floating in the harbor, their purses empty and their throats slit.

Ashlesh, Lord of Joy is one of the Ten Kings. It feeds on primal joy such as delirium or obsession. After being defeated by the gods, Ashlesh was imprisoned in the underworld where it was guarded by an order of heroes. It is currently under the control of Nilah, who tamed the demon's power to use for good at the expense of her old life. According to Kathkani mythology, there were ten ferocious demon siblings who today are known as the Ten, the first demonic entities. Fiddlesticks is the first of the Ten, existing since the first screams of creation. Hungering for primal joy, Ashlesh, one of the Ten, attempted to consume the realm of the gods—but the gods struck the monster down, trapping it deep below the earth in an endless, shimmering lake within the seventh layer of the underworld. There it would be guarded by a mythical order of heroes. Ashlesh has been described as having seven arms and a shimmering pale blue body, not much else is known.

Nilah is an ascetic warrior from a distant land, seeking the world’s deadliest, most titanic opponents so that she might challenge and destroy them. Having won her power through an encounter with the long-imprisoned demon of joy, she has no emotions other than unceasing jubilation—a small price to pay for the vast strength she now possesses. Channeling the demon’s liquid form into a blade of unparalleled might, she stands defiant against ancient threats long forgotten.

Though her original name is unknown, the girl who would become Nilah was born to a large family in Kathkan; a nation that saw relative peace and no need for warriors after the fall of their violent neighbor Camavor. Growing up as a bookworm, the girl became obsessed with reading about the many stories and legends of Kathkani mythology including the fall of Camavoran king Viego, the creation of the first dragons and the origin of the universe. She was particularly interested in a story called The Cycle of Ashlesh, which told of a primordial demon named Ashlesh that consumed the extreme forms of joy. According to the legends, the demon was struck down by the gods when it tried to consume their realm, being imprisoned in a lake within the seventh layer of the Kathkani underworld and guarded by a secret order of heroes. The girl obsessed with finding this mythical order to stand among them as an equal and learn the truths behind the myths. By deciphering the many riddles within the stories of Ashlesh, the girl discovered that the order was hidden right underneath the heart of the Kathkani capital and set out to find them.

When the girl delved into the heart of the Kathkani capital to search for the order, she went missing and completely disappeared form all public knowledge. Evidence of the girl's existence faded away as written records with her true name evaporated and she faded away from the memory of every single person that ever knew her. After ten years, the girl resurfaced and adopted a new name; Nilah, named after the legendary river of fate in Kathkani mythology. It's unknown what exactly transpired over those ten years, but some theorize that Nilah found and trained with the mythical order of heroes while others believe she battled the demon Ashlesh for ten years in the darkness. Some even believe that the girl never even reemerged at all and that Nilah is actually a demonic pretender wearing her flesh as a disguise. Nonetheless, Nilah reemerged with an imprisoned Ashlesh granting her both new abilities and a curse of perpetual joy suppressing all other emotions. With newfound supernatural strength and a liquid blade formed by the power of Ashlesh, Nilah set off on a legendary quest to slay the greatest threats of myths she read about as a child. On her conquest, Nilah faced many foes such as the progenitor dragon Grandmother Viper, the demon of change Imago and the mad demigod Nabavelicus. With the powers of Ashlesh, Nilah faced greater and greater evils that could threaten the safety of her homeland in a flurry of water and color. In doing so, Nilah slowly grew as a legendary hero and monster hunter, hoping to make her name remembered by all that witness her great deeds. After the Sentinels of Light defeated Viego, they imprisoned him within Camavor's capital city of Alovedra and bound him in Hallowed Mist placed by Gwen. Nilah noticed Viego's imprisonment from Kathkan and discovered that the magic binding Viego to his prison had begun to fade. Viego's Ruination magic had adverse side effects that induces a frenzy-like state in all demons, potentially waking up Ashlesh's primordial demon siblings. Discovering this, Nilah sailed westward to find the Sentinels of Light, hoping they can help her find a way to keep Viego imprisoned. Traveling across the Guardian's Sea, Nilah arrived in Bilgewater seemingly overnight and instantly began slaying giant sea serpents around the port city. Word quickly spread about her strange arrival and amazing feats as she became a celebrity monster hunter. Asking around Bilgewater for information about the Sentinels, she eventually rented out a room above Oyster Bill's Oyster Shack. While living at the shack, she would often get into dazzling fights with troublesome monsters or locals, such as a rowdy band of Noxians that knocked over her bowl of oysters.

When Nilah was a young girl she was a shy bookworm constantly daydreaming about the many stories and myths she would read. She took a particular interest in the Cycle of Ashlesh and obsessed over finding the mystical order of heroes that the story spoke of. Having immense knowledge on the many myths of Kathkani culture, she was capable of discovering Ashlesh's prison the Kathkani capital and delved into it in search of knowledge and to become a hero alongside them. Nilah was very different after her ten year absence; now cursed by Ashlesh with a permanent feeling of intense joy and the suppression of any other emotion. Nilah is actually aware of the emotions that are being suppressed but she cannot outwardly express them, such as how she laments the sorrow of having her very existence erased from her homeland. Despite this, she is a fearless heroine always aiming to save the helpless, especially her homeland. She is incredibly confident and obsessed with slaying giant foes both to reenact the many myths she read as a child as well as to test her own strength.

Nilah is a tall and slender woman with dark skin and an athletic, lanky physique. Her hair is dark brown in color, very long, and braided into two pigtails that meet at the bottom of her back in the shape of a circle. Her eyes are a bright violet color that changes to a pale blue when she uses her powers. Due to her curse, she has an almost permanent smile on her face that is seen as somewhat unsettling and even intimidating.

Nilah wears a yellow tunic with dark blue, baggy purple pants and a brown glove on her right hand. She has two earrings in the shape of large blue orbs on her ears and her left earring connects to a nose ring by a silver chain. Her outfit has many intricate details made of a dark silvery metal and styled with lots of hand imagery, something that ties her back to her home culture of Kathkan. On her hip she has a metal trinket shaped like two hands holding a bright blue orb made of glass and filled with prismatic water; the prison for the demon Ashlesh. Nilah speaks with a consistently upbeat tone and happily recites many mantras and prayers from Kathkani culture even in the middle of combat. She has a signature laugh that is known to echo throughout the battlefield whenever she fights a foe.

Demonic Bonding: Nilah is in command of the many abilities of Ashlesh, one of the ten primordial demons and the Lord of Joy in Kathkani mythology. She utilizes many abilities granted by Ashlesh, but is cursed with an eternal feeling of joy suppressing all other emotions. Emotional Feeding: Like other Demons, Ashlesh feeds itself with emotion, specifically joy. By absorbing the joy of others, Ashlesh, and by extension Nilah, can sustain themselves for prolonged periods of time. To keep from being completely consumed by Ashlesh, Nilah must recite mantras and prayers to keep the demon's influence at bay. Water Manipulation: By drawing on the waters of Ashlesh's prison, Nilah can magically manipulate water in a variety of ways. She has shown abilities ranging from summoning currents to crash into enemies, creating a liquid blade out of Ashlesh's magical waters or even shrouding herself in a mist to make her immune to harm. Waterwalking: Nilah is capable of easily treading across bodies of water as if they were solid ground, capable of sliding, running and jumping when on water. Urumi Proficiency: Nilah is able to create a formless blade, also known as an Urumi, out of Ashlesh's waters. As her primary weapon in battle, she shows great skill in utilizing it to strike giant foes with immense strength and power. Mythology Mastery: Since she was a child, Nilah had an immense knowledge on the many myths, legends and stories of Kathkani culture and possibly many other parts of Runeterra. Her knowledge of these many legends has given her a good basis on where to find great mythological foes she wishes to battle.