Champion backstory

Orianna

the Lady of Clockwork

Read the backstory Abilities and gameplay guide

3Story chapters

1Story connections

2Named place connections

The person behind the champion

A story to start with

Once a curious girl of flesh and blood, Orianna is now a technological marvel comprised entirely of clockwork. She became gravely ill after an accident in the lower districts of Zaun, and her failing body had to be replaced with exquisite artifice, piece by piece. Accompanied by an extraordinary brass sphere she built for companionship and protection, Orianna is now free to explore the wonders of Piltover, and beyond.

Short biography by Riot Games · Data Dragon 16.20.1

What shapes their story?

Orianna's transformation grows from an impulse to care for others, not simply an inventor's wish for a better machine. The changes to her body make identity a continuing question about memory, relationships and the choices that survive those changes.

Reading note by VRC.LOL

Read Riot's full biography ↗

Follow the story

Story timeline

Follow the main developments in order, then explore their consequences. Use each chapter's links to explore the people, regions and places involved. Artwork shows the character or wider world, not an exact reconstruction of each event; calendar dates are not assigned here.

Riot Games · Regional world artwork
A curious human life and an illness
Orianna's curiosity first belonged to a human girl. Exposure to danger in Zaun set off an illness that forced her body to be replaced through painstaking mechanical work.
Piltover Zaun
Riot Games · Regional world artwork
A body replaced piece by piece
The change happened piece by piece, making identity a gradual question rather than one sudden transformation. The brass sphere she creates adds companionship and protection to her unfamiliar independence.
Piltover Zaun
Riot Games · World artwork
An independent life takes mechanical shape
Replacing her body changes Orianna's relationship with the father who tried to save her. The Ball becomes part of the life she makes beyond that care. Her identity develops through choices and attachments, rather than being settled by whether a particular part is human or mechanical.
City of Progress Piltover

Story guide by VRC.LOL, based on the linked Riot stories. Older biographies and newer stories can differ; no exact date or current whereabouts is implied unless stated.

Picture the setting

A world behind the story

Official Riot setting artwork, not illustrations of these exact events. Open an image to see the complete composition.

**The Sun Gates**Riot Games · World artwork

**Workshop of the Horological Institute**Riot Games · World artwork

Explore the wider region

People who shape the story

Relationships and allegiances

Discover the companions, communities and powers that matter to this champion. Each card explains the connection, rather than treating every nearby character as a friend.

Not everyone important to this story is a playable champion. The reading suggestions below are labelled separately from these story connections.

Follow the story

Known places and connections

Origins, journeys and documented events. A connection here does not mean this champion lives there now.

Regional connection

Piltover

Her father's workshop and her early life belong to Piltover. The city provides the family and craft behind her later transformation.

Explore the regional timeline

More about the region

A wealthy trading city whose inventors turn magic and engineering into new possibilities. Its prosperity and institutions are inseparable from its relationship with Zaun below.

Regional connection

Zaun

Orianna goes into Zaun after an industrial disaster to help its victims. This consequential act of care connects the undercity to the changes in her own life.

Explore the regional timeline

More about the region

A city of industry and invention beneath Piltover, where hazardous experimentation and pollution coexist with resilient communities. Its stories ask who benefits from progress and who pays for it.

Trade and invention

City of Progress

Piltover's workshops, institutions and wealthy houses give its champions different relationships with progress. Some seek to protect its people, others to control its future or challenge the inequality behind its prosperity.

Explore this place

Industrial cityscape

Zaun undercity

Connected levels of workshops, industry and densely inhabited streets form Piltover's counterpart. Champion stories show different lives here, from community protection to dangerous chemical experiments.

Explore this place

Another perspective

Stories to read next

Continue with related characters, regional stories and other perspectives on the same themes.

Caitlyn

the Sheriff of Piltover

Read backstory

Camille

the Steel Shadow

Read backstory

Ezreal

the Prodigal Explorer

Read backstory

The character, in detail

Champion artwork

Explore the wider settingPiltover

The story beneath the scenery

What makes this place matter?

Trade brings wealth and invention to Piltover, but access to opportunity is uneven. Its polished architecture makes more sense alongside Zaun's workshops and hazardous streets. Read both cities together to understand why progress can be a promise for one person and a burden for another.

Look closer

A window into this world

Official Riot artwork. The gallery includes the regional setting; not every image depicts this exact landmark. Open an image to see the full composition.

**Structures of Wonder**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

**Trade and Progress**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

**Workshops**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

Explore the wider settingZaun

The story beneath the scenery

What makes this place matter?

Zaun is a lived-in home as well as an industrial undercity. Its different levels separate workshops, markets and dangerous depths. Ekko and Zeri's community ties offer a different view from the chem-barons and experiments that dominate many outsiders' impressions.

Look closer

A window into this world

Official Riot artwork. The gallery includes the regional setting; not every image depicts this exact landmark. Open an image to see the full composition.

**Sump Level**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

**Promenade Level**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

**Life Survives in the Depth**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

**Lights and Shadows**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

**Public Hexdraulic Descender**Riot Games · Runeterra world map

Sources and story contextOfficial stories, artwork credits and reading notes

Where the stories come from

VRC.LOL writes the introductions, reading notes and connections using linked Riot Universe biographies and regional guides. Short champion summaries use Data Dragon version 16.20.1. Longer histories link to the official story used; some champions currently have a shorter official overview.

What the pictures show

Artwork belongs to Riot Games. Scenery comes from Riot's Runeterra world map; champion art depicts the character. A regional illustration sets the scene when a landmark has no dedicated image. It does not show a confirmed event at that exact place.

A world still being written

Older biographies and newer adaptations can differ. These guides introduce connections rather than declaring a final chronology or a character's current whereabouts. Translations help you explore and may keep original proper names. Follow the official sources for full context.

Orianna

A story to start with

What shapes their story?

Story timeline

A curious human life and an illness

A body replaced piece by piece

An independent life takes mechanical shape

Relationships and allegiances

Known places and connections

Piltover

Zaun

City of Progress

Zaun undercity

Stories to read next

Caitlyn

Camille

Ezreal

Champion artwork

What makes this place matter?

A window into this world

What makes this place matter?

A window into this world

Where the stories come from

What the pictures show

A world still being written