Silco.

General information:

Nicknames: Industrialist, Eye of Zaun. Age: 39-46 years. Height: 180 cm. Occupation: Drug Lord, Industrialist, Chemical Lord. Relatives: Jinx (adopted daughter), Vander (adopted brother in the past). Hometown: Zaun. A Zaunite politician, chembaron, and industrialist, as well as Jinx's adoptive father. A talented leader and an extraordinary man, he was a radical supporter of Zaun's independence from the Piltover dictatorship and was willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goal. However, his moral principles are revealed over the course of the story and ultimately lead to an unexpected choice in favor of loyalty to Jinx, which reveals him as a loving father capable of selfless deeds.

History:

Silko and Vander became close in their youth, once fighting together to free Zaun from the oppressive rule of Piltover. However, under circumstances that are never fully explained, Vander betrayed Silko, disfiguring him and attempting to drown his adopted brother in the polluted waters of Zaun. However, Silko managed to survive the incident thanks to Vander's dagger, as Silko, nearly unconscious, gathered all his strength and, drawing the knife, slashed his killer's hand, slightly wounding it. This allowed him to break Vander's stranglehold and escape, although Vander tried to catch him and submerge him again. But Silko was seriously injured, requiring him to regularly inject himself with Shimmer for years to come. The chemicals in the murky water seeped through his wounds and severely disfigured his face, possibly causing his left eye to turn black over time. Even though he was traumatized by what had happened, Silko always believed that he had been reborn and a stronger person that day. Over time, he was even able to forgive Wander for his monstrous actions, but despite this, the images of that terrible day haunted him, and he watched Wander, hoping that he would be able to wait for his apology. As time passed, the wounds on Silko's once beautiful face never fully healed, forcing him to periodically inject medication into his left eye to prevent the disease that had taken root within him from getting out of control.

Ascent:

Silko spent the next few years building up his powers, at one point recruiting rogue scientist Singed Singed to create the "Shimmer," a drug that could grant superhuman powers to those around him. Silko also kept a close eye on Vander's actions, patiently waiting for the right moment to strike back. To do so, he used homeless children he had taken under his wing, feeding them in exchange for information and loyalty. One day, Silko learned from Deckard, one of his street urchins, that Vander's foster children had blown up a robbery in Piltover, and that the Peacekeepers were hunting them down. As a result of Deckard's own careless actions, Vander began to suspect that Silko had survived. Realizing that if he did not strike first, he himself could be identified, Silko decided to take a risk and use the situation to turn the tide. The cure was not yet fully ready, but Silko offered Deckard the chance to be a test subject and test the drug on himself. In addition, he found a young Peacekeeper named Marcus in order to tell him the names of the culprits, hint at Vander's dark past, and thus involve him in a big game, the purpose of which was known only to Silko.

Ascent:

As Silko had planned, Marcus had managed to put enough pressure on Vander to surrender to Piltover in place of his children, though this was largely due to Vi's decision to surrender in his stead. But before Marcus and his superior, Sheriff Grayson, could take Vander back to Piltover, Silko and the Shimmer-enhanced Deckard struck first, killing both Grayson and Benzo, Vander's second-in-command who had attacked Silko with a peacekeeping baton. When Marcus insisted that this was not part of their deal, Silko threw a bag of coins in Marcus' direction and dragged Vander back to his secret hideout. There, Vander discovered that many of Vander's former Zaunites had defected to Silko's side, plotting a new uprising. Since Silko hoped to receive an apology and still retained some respect for Vander, he tried to convince his former friend to join him in the upcoming revolution against Piltover. But Vander rejected the offer, stating that he was no longer the man he once was and that he refused to fight. When Silko tried to appeal to Vander's conscience, demanding an apology, Vander only casually said that he would never forgive himself and did not even try to apologize to Silko, instead pressuring him to recant his plans to avoid unnecessary casualties. Silko saw through Vander's manipulations and promised to show him who he really was by turning him into a monster.

Ascent:

Finally, Violet, Milo, and Claggor arrived to rescue Wander, realizing too late that they had walked right into a trap set by Silko, who had set up a brutal test of Violet's strength, but ultimately allowed her to escape. The children all showed their wits and strengths, but while they nearly succeeded in summoning Wander, Vi's younger sister Powder showed up with a homemade monkey bomb. The explosion of the hex-crystal bomb destroyed most of the building and killed most of the people inside, including Milo and Claggor. Silko himself narrowly escaped the blast, and was only saved by his ally Seivika, who managed to push her superior out of the way in time, sacrificing her left arm and risking her life in the process. After the explosion, Silko came to in a state of panic and saw Seivika lying there, showing no signs of life. In a state of horror, Silko ordered the few survivors to find and kill everyone who caused the explosion, not yet knowing that the explosion was caused by a little girl. But Vander, who had crawled out from under the rubble, did not allow them to do this. He made improvised brass knuckles from fish hooks and beat to death everyone he met along the way. However, Deckard put up a worthy resistance. Silko watched the battle, trying to cope with his panic.

Ascent:

At that moment, something monstrous was awakening within him, he remembered how Vander had once disfigured and almost killed him, and he knew that if Deckard lost, he would have to face his old enemy one on one again. In order to turn the tide of the battle, Silko plunged the dagger into his back, but Vander spun around and grabbed his former comrade by the throat. Silko was not prepared for this turn of events, he once again experienced the same horror as the day of Vander's betrayal. Images of his youth flooded him. With tears in his eyes, he remembered how he had found the strength to fight back against a superior opponent. Even wounded Vander was incomparably more powerful than the weak Silko, but there was nowhere to retreat. Gathering his strength, he stabbed Vander in the stomach with the dagger, after which he threw his hapless brother into a pile of iridescent vials with "shimmer" inside. Then Silko wanted to pull Vi out from under the rubble to take her for himself and raise her, but Vander did not want to allow this, afraid that Silko would kill her. Barely alive, Vander drank from the first bottle he could get his hands on, which immediately led to the development of a mutation and the opportunity to finally deal with Deckard.

Ascent:

After the massacre, he also tried to finish off Silko, but through an overwhelming thirst for blood, emitting a piercing howl, his monstrous essence refrained from the need for black rage in order to save Vi. Together with Vi, Vander broke the wall and ran out into the rain, but after that his strength left him. It was next to his cooling body that the scene occurred that broke Powder and made Jinx out of her: Vi, having learned the truth, disowned her sister and abandoned her, hitting her in the face, after which she disappeared into an alley, where she was caught by Marcus, who later lied that he killed her. After a short time, Silko left the burning building with all of his remaining henchmen and the wounded Sevika. He approached Vander with a knife, intending to finish him off, but found him apparently dead. Vi was nowhere to be seen, and Powder was kneeling outside in the pouring rain, having an emotional breakdown. Hiding the knife behind his back so as not to scare the child, Silko approached the bitterly crying Powder and asked in a soft voice where her sister was hiding. However, to his great surprise, Powder jumped into his arms and confessed that Vi abandoned her and was no longer her sister. Realizing that she had been betrayed by Vi just as Vander had betrayed him, Silko felt compassion for Powder, hugged her, and eventually adopted her. Wanting to support her, he quietly whispered prophetic words: "It's okay, we'll show them. We'll show them all."

Coming to power:

After Vander's apparent death, Silko became the unofficial ruler of Zaun. At the same time, he built the largest illegal trading empire, selling "shimmer" as a medicine and a substance that alters the mind and nature of a person, united the chembarons, controlling their activities personally and punishing them for excesses and arbitrariness, he built underground factories, giving the Zaunites new jobs. He took full possession of the "Last Drop", Vander's former bar, which he turned into a nightclub and part-time his personal headquarters. And although some tried to prevent his dominance, none of them succeeded, since Silko's forces and means were excessively great for them, and only a few could overcome them, but those were in no hurry to expose themselves. Despite breaking his agreement with Marcus, they maintained a partnership, with Marcus eventually replacing Grayson as sheriff and acting as Silko's liaison in Piltover. As a result, any investigations into Silko were closed and failed to reveal any of his crimes, leading Piltoverians to believe that he was a legitimate industrialist, allowing him to routinely smuggle "shimmer" into cities around the world without worrying about being caught.

Coming to power:

Meanwhile, over time, Powder, now Jinx, grew into one of Silko's most talented subordinates. Under Silko's influence, she gained confidence in herself and developed her talents, so that her explosive devices finally began to work, as well as her many ingeniously designed weapons. Over the years, Silko came to value her abilities highly and loved her as his own daughter. Their emotional and mental closeness helped both become the best versions of themselves, but among Silko's subordinates, it created a source of jokes and discontent. Jinx disliked Sevik more than anyone else, but Silko always sided with Jinx. although he gave Sevik her due, grooming her as his successor. In the series, Silko does everything to protect Jinx from the influence of her sister, who has returned to Zaun. When Vi confronts Silko face to face, she says that she will destroy everything he has built and take Jinx away from him. These words finally make Silko an enemy of Vi. Jinx rushes between the two of them, as if between her old and new family. In the end, she gathers them all at one table, giving everyone a word, and realizes that Vi is not ready to accept her new personality, which she herself created, but Silko is ready to give everything for Jinx. But as a result of an unfortunate coincidence, Jinx accidentally fires a machine gun burst at the one who loves her more than anything in life. Silko dies in her arms, not before finding words of encouragement for her: "Don't cry! You are perfect."

Appearance:

Silko is a tall (180 cm) and thin middle-aged man with combed black hair streaked with gray, a right gray-green eye, a left red eye with a blackened sclera, and the left side of his face heavily scarred. His gauntness and unhealthy complexion suggest that he is gravely ill. His most notable feature was his diseased left eye, which was unable to close and appeared heavily discolored, with an orange iris and black sclera. He typically wore a red and black suit consisting of trousers, a shirt, and a vest, as well as a turtleneck coat. All of his clothing was made from patchwork fabrics of varying shades, marking him as a Zaunite despite the cut typical of Piltover's elite. In his earlier years, Silko wore simpler work clothes in earthy and greenish tones. Over the years, his clothes became increasingly worn out, but he did not find the time or energy to restore them, nor did he spend money to buy new clothes, which eventually led to scenes where he had to cover a hole in his knee with his hand during a pompous conversation with Marcus. In his later years, Silko often resorted to heavy makeup and layers of foundation to try to hide the fact that the scars on his face were gradually getting worse. He also increasingly turned to cigar smoking and alcohol to cope with the pain.

Nature:

Silko is one of the most amazing and multifaceted characters in the history of culture, at first it seems that he is ready to do anything to achieve his goals, but then his image is revealed from an unexpected side, and we learn about his soft and subtle nature, his ability to love and forgive despite everything. He lived in harsh conditions from an early age, which convinced him of the need for violence as the only way to resist Piltover and unite the Lower City. However, as the writers have repeatedly confirmed, Silko cannot step over his own morality, and this feature of his is most fully revealed closer to the finale of the first season of the series. His highest goal is to free the Lower City from the domination of the "upper classes", giving it the status of a self-sufficient nation of Zaun. In the past, Silko was betrayed by Vander, with whom he once shared a common goal and dream of improving the quality of life for the citizens of Lowertown, but later fell out over differences in views and approaches. Despite all the pain he has accumulated, Silko still has respect for the man who nearly killed him, remembering the fighter he once was and despising the man he has become - a passive leader who allows the Piltoshki to humiliate the Zaunites and maintains the status quo. Nevertheless, Silko honors Vander's memory in front of the statue erected in his honor.

Nature:

Nevertheless, Silko is forced to wear the mask of a brutal leader and make harsh decisions in order to maintain power over Zaun, jealously protecting it from the treacherous Che-Barons. But despite this, he has shown mercy and compassion on numerous occasions, including embracing and sheltering the distraught and psychologically damaged Powder, forgiving his abusers many times, and sparing those who should have been killed or punished, and in the end, he does not hold a grudge against Jinx for shooting him, finding words of encouragement for her. Having lived under his tutelage and mentorship for many years, Powder, now known as Jinx, has developed a close familial bond with Silko, ironically echoing the bond that formed between Violet and Vander. Over time, Silko has grown to love and care for Jinx as if she were his own daughter, shielding her from criticism from his subordinates, while being well aware that she has a tendency towards freethinking. He condemns her excessive cruelty, but takes the blame for her in order to protect her from punishment, and at one point even expresses his willingness to go to prison in her place.

Nature:

As a result, Silko was willing to discipline her if he felt she was overreacting, but would also relent if her unpredictable actions served his interests. Although their relationship soured immediately after Jinx discovered the truth about Vi being alive, and Silko had not thought to tell her anything about it, he was able to regain his trust by convincing her that he was simply trying to protect her (since his informant in the Peacekeepers had informed him of Vi's death). Ultimately, for the sake of Jinx's safety, Silko was willing to trade his lifelong dream of Zaun's independence from Piltover for Jinx's safety after Jace offered him everything he wanted for the Lower City in exchange for Jinx's arrest. After Silko was unintentionally shot by Jinx, who was heartbroken by the incident, he did not blame her, instead telling her that she was perfect the way she was and comforting her in his final dying moments.

Abilities:

Leader: Silko was a competent leader. He was feared and respected by the Zaunites because he did what was necessary to make his visions a reality. And with the same drive, he remained the unofficial leader of the Lower City until his death. He is a master of intrigue to achieve his goals. Mentor: As Jinx's adoptive father, Silko served as the girl's primary mentor in life, teaching her the ropes of survival in Zaun and also encouraging her to excel in creative endeavors such as art, invention, and weapon making. Dagger: Silko was skilled with a knife, though he usually left the fighting to his henchmen, only taking up arms in extreme cases. Physically weak and ill at the time of the first season, he prefers to remain in the shadows and avoid violence, but when he does fight, he does so with rage. He has also developed a strong immunity to the poison gas that most other Zaunites are susceptible to.