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“ | Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in? Air so thick it clogged your throat, stuck in your eyes. But I pulled you all up from the depths. Offered you a taste of topside and fresh air...I gave you life. Purpose. But you've grown fat and complacent. Too much time in the sun. We came from a world where there was never enough to go around, Finn. That is why we fight. Do you remember? Don't forget again. | „ |
~ Silco's speech to the Chem-Barons. |
The Chem-Barons are a group of crime lords who appear in both the animated series Arcane and in the lore of the multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends. A loose criminal alliance of landlords, factory owners, gang bosses, and business tycoons, the chem-barons are the undisputed rulers of Zaun, keeping the citizens of the undercity in line with their deep pockets and hired muscle.
Biography[]
Lore[]
Once a single beacon of science and progress, a series of natural disasters and industrial development led to a split between the utopian city of Piltover and its polluted underbelly of Zaun. Although the two still function as symbiotic societies, their cultures and power structures became vastly different over the decades, as unchecked black markets and illegal experimentation quickly took hold across the seedy streets of Zaun.
In this wild, lawless place of chemtech and illegal innovation, the most greedy and opportunistic of Zaun's people began vying for power, maneuvering their way through the dark underbelly to become the most powerful and affluent crime lords in the city. Although they were initially at each other's throats, these crime lords were eventually brought together under the leadership and vision of Silco, a tyrannical drug lord who ruled the undercity with a drug called shimmer and aspired to free Zaun from Piltover's repressive control. Under Silco's influence, these crime lords became the first generation of chem-barons and through their intellect, influence, and chemical technology, they agreed to serve him as his underlings and divided the undercity amongst themselves.
After Jayce Talis ordered a blockade between Zaun and Piltover in order to prevent another attack on the city, trade between the two cities came to a sudden halt. This caused two chem-barons, Finn and Renni, to lose faith in Silco, believing that he was no longer fit to lead, and attempt to overthrow him. Their coup attempt ultimately failed due to Silco's right-hand Sevika, who killed Finn by slitting his throat.
After Jinx accidentally killed Silco, this created a power vacuum and plunged the undercity into anarchy, with the chem-barons fighting each other over control of the Lanes. While this was happening, Renni attempted to seek revenge for the death of her son by attacking the Topsiders during a funeral service dedicated to the nobles who died in the Piltovan council bombing. Although Renni was able to overpower Jayce, she was knocked out by Vi before she could land the killing blow and subsequently had her throat slit by Ambessa.
With only three chembarons left, Sevika demanded that they put an end to their turf wars and join forces so that they would able to defend themselves once the Topsiders invaded the underground. Although they all reluctantly agreed to put aside their differences for the time being, Smeech wasn't on board with the idea of preparing for war and suggested handing Jinx over to the Topsiders, as she was the only one they truly wanted dead. When Sevika refused, Smeech went after Jinx on his own anyway and successfully cornered her in an alleyway. However, before he could bring her in, Sevika appeared and mangled him to death using a brand-new mechanical arm given to her by Jinx, leaving only two of the six original chem-barons alive.
Due to the extreme economic inequality that exists between the two cities, the chem-barons live like royalty and regularly abuse their power to keep the poorer Zaunites in line, which has convinced Piltover's ruling houses to allow them to remain in control of the undercity regardless of how unethical and cruel their methods are. To some, the actions of the chem-barons has prompted extreme and radical action against them, with gangsters such as Urgot calling for their removal in favor of pure anarchy. Others, such as Viktor, see the existence of the chem-barons as proof that the citizens of Zaun must shed their humanity in favor of augmentations, as they will only be able to defeat the chem-barons once human fear and arrogance has been completely eliminated.
While the chem-barons maintain their power over the undercity with an iron fist, many Zaunites, such as Ekko, remain hopeful that the future of Zaun is bright and the barons' influence will someday be defeated by Zaunite invention and ingenuity.