There’s a lot of lore behind The Demon’s Hand within the League of Legends universe. With Atakhan, known in his human host’s form as Khatash-Li, taking center stage, you’ll gradually uncover details about Noxus’ current state and a few key characters within it as you complete The Demon’s Hand’s stages.
While events throughout LoL’s history have taught us about Noxus and its residents, The Demon’s Hand expands on this by continuing Atakhan and Khatash-Li’s stories. Let’s dive deep into The Demon’s Hand story in League of Legends. Watch out from here onwards, as we’ll be touching heavily on spoiler territory.
What is the story behind League of Legends’ The Demon’s Hand?
The introduction to League of Legends’ The Demon’s Hand starts with Atakhan, a demon freed from over 1,000 years of imprisonment. Since returning to the mortal world, Atakhan starts feeding on the battlegrounds of Noshthay Valley before encountering a man at a table. While he doesn’t know who the man is, Atakhan feels an urge to join the man at the table to play cards.
Throughout the game, we learn more about Atakhan and his human host, Khatash-Li. While the game starts by introducing Atakhan and briefly showing his human form, the mysterious man slowly divulges information about Atakhan and his ties with Mordekaiser.
As you advance into The Demon’s Hand, we discover that he was Mordekaiser’s, known in the past as Sahn-Uzal’s, most loyal and strongest general with no equal. The man at the table has thought-provoking questions for Atakhan and Khatash-Li, but beyond that, the dialogue follows much of what we know from Atakhan’s origins.
They date back to ancient times in the League of Legends universe when he fought against Sahn-Uzal, more commonly known as Mordekaiser. Sahn-Uzal was known for his endless and brutal conquests, which attracted Atakhan’s attention and led to their meeting. While Sahn-Uzal defeated the demon, he lost one of his generals, Khatash-Li, along the way.
Following the loss of Khatash-Li, Sahn-Uzal bound Atakhan to the late general’s helmet, enslaving the demon and keeping him as both a warrior at his service and a pet. After some time, Sahn-Uzal met his end at the hands of LeBlanc and Vladimir, freeing Atakhan for a while before being controlled again by Sahn-Uzal’s undead form, Mordekaiser. It would take another battle against the Black Rose, led by LeBlanc, to defeat Mordekaiser once and for all. This event prompted LeBlanc to take Khatash-Li’s helmet and bind Atakhan to her, letting her control him indefinitely.
This journey is reflected in The Demon’s Hand, which reveals the man at the table’s identity in its third act. While Atakhan experiences a moment of freedom, it is just as quickly taken away by LeBlanc herself, who, while holding Khatash-Li’s helmet, binds the demon once more. She gives Atakhan a proposition: in exchange for his freedom, he has to reveal the location of a Darkin weapon. The Demon’s Hand doesn’t reveal more details beyond this, leaving us to speculate what this weapon is and which Darkin might be behind it.
Who is Khatash-Li?
Khatash-Li is the human host to whom Atakhan is bound. While protecting Sahn-Uzal in battle, Khatash-Li fell to Atakhan, causing the warlord to retaliate and bind the demon to the general’s helmet. This binding enslaves Atakhan, forcing him, within Khatash-Li’s body, to become Sahn-Uzal’s new general against his will.
While we initially see Atakhan in his demon form at the beginning of The Demon’s Hand, we glimpse him at the end of the game’s introductory comic. Throughout the game, we learn more about Khatash-Li and Atakhan’s backstories in greater detail, including their relation to Sahn-Uzal and the events leading up to the present day.
Published: Mar 19, 2025 08:55 pm