| “ | By my will, this shall be finished. | „ |
| ~ Jarvan IV's quote when selected. |
| “ | Words may make a ruler, but only actions make history. | „ |
| ~ Jarvan IV |
Jarvan Lightshield the Fourth, also known as Jarvan IV or The Exemplar of Demacia, is a heroic playable character in the MOBA game League of Legends. He was the crown prince of Demacia and the heir to his father, Jarvan III, and also served as a general to the Demacian army. After nearly getting himself killed in a reckless attack, he was saved by a benelovent dragon named Shyvana, and she and the army showed Jarvan the true meaning of being a Demacian. When his father was killed in a mage rebellion led by Sylas, Jarvan IV was forced to take the throne. While he distrusts mages as a result of the incident, he is still a noble ruler who is a leader and inspiration towards his subjects.
The 71st champion added to the game, Jarvan IV was released on March 1, 2011. He is commonly played as a jungler.
He is voiced by Kyle Hebert, who also voices Graves and Ezreal from the same game, as well as Gohan from Dragon Ball Z, Kazuichi Soda and Kaito Momota from the Dangaronpa series and the current voice of Ryu from Street Fighter.
Biography[]
Jarvan IV is the fourth heir to the Lightshield House, the royal family of Demacia since Jarvan I's rule. His mother Catherine had died in childbirth after giving birth to him, causing his father Jarvan III to swear never to take another wife and ensure that the kingdom's future would live on with his son. As a child, Jarvan IV was groomed with the values of Demacia and guarded throughout his life. One day he met Xin Zhao, a prisoner whom Jarvan III spared from execution and later befriended, whom taught the young prince the spiritual values of Ionia and the arts of war. In his military training, he met Garen of the Crownguard House and the two became lifelong friends.
When he came of age, Jarvan IV was promoted to becoming the general by his father, where he would fight enemy nations such as Noxus. He led his troops to victory after victory, until he had met his match and was defeated by a Noxian warband. Jarvan refused to surrender and ran alongside the survivors of the battle into a forest, only to be attacked by enemy scouts. He was nearly killed by an arrow fired by one of the scouts until a dragon named Shyvana found him and took him back to Demacia to get him healed.
After being fully healed, Jarvan learned that Shyvana was being pursued by her biological mother, a dragon named Yvva. He saw this as an opportunity to redeem himself, and guided his army to slay Yvva in order to bring her head to the Great City. When his men were too fearful, Jarvan would rally them, and when they were wounded, Jarvan guided the healers to their aid. Shyvana eventually killed Yvva, but Jarvan's leadership was what held the line. He realized the true meaning of being a Demacian: standing together despite differences and misgivings. To repay his debt to Shyvana, Jarvan let her join him and she accepted.
On a day that would change Demacia for the worse, Sylas broke his fellow mages out of prison and organized a revolution, and stormed to the castle to humiliate Jarvan III, while Jarvan IV entered to stop Sylas himself. To their shock, the king had already been killed. In grief over the death of his father, Jarvan IV called Sylas a monster and says that his father was wrong to try and make peace with mages when they just murdered him. Sylas claimed that the king had only stood back and let them suffer, and he and his mages tied Jarvan up and feed him a rat to publicly humiliate the Demacian royalty as revenge for their unfair imprisonment. Before his plan would be complete, Lux stopped him and confronted her supposed friend, while Garen and the Dauntless Vanguard engaged the mages. Lux freed Jarvan from his bindings, and he attacked Sylas as retribution for his father's death. Sylas and the mages retreated, and the aftershock of the incident had forced Jarvan IV to take up the crown with a distrust for mages to boot, and he publicly announced that from now on, mages in Demacia should be shown no mercy.
Due to being forced to be the king early, Jarvan IV was left with no idea what to do and how to rule like his family did, so he asked prominent nobles like Garen's aunt, High Commander Tianna Crownguard, for wisdom. Now the king which Demacia is relying on, Jarvan swore to uphold his responsibilities for his nation.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Jarvan IV was first mentioned in Urgot's lore.
- A tab for Jarvan IV can be faintly seen at the top during Maokai's Art Spotlight.
- In-universe Demacian naming convention does not mirror real-life's European royalty and nobility's naming convention; as the current Jarvan should not have gotten the regnal number IV before his coronation.
- To make sure that no one can squeeze through the wall, the terrain created by Cataclysm is made of 24 minions.
- The old visual effects of Golden Aegis was once made up of little ghosts due being a recolored copy of Death's Caress.
- Jarvan IV is around 26 years old, or a similar age as Garen.
- He was 26 years old when he became the King of Demacia during the events of the Lux Comics.
- He obtained Drakebane from his father when he turned 16 years of age.
- He was 6 years old during the events of What Once Sailed Free.
- Jarvan IV's spear, Drakebane, was crafted by a Demacian weaponsmith named Orlon, the same one who crafted Poppy's Hammer.
 Heroes
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Kingdom of Demacia House Crownguard House Laurent Dauntless Vanguard Deities Others Piltover and Zaun Enforcers Firelights Zaun Others Ionia Shadow Order Navori Vastaya Others The Freljord Winter's Claw Others Noxus Mages Others Others Bilgewater Mount Targon Solari Lunari Celestials Shadow Isles Others Icathia The Void Ixtal Bandle City | ||