Wooo! Okay, got some more grandparents since they wouldn't stop hollering at me. Sylvia, Viktor's maternal grandma and Ivor, Ekko's maternal grandpa.
Sylvia came from a decently well off town in Targon. She was well educated, modest, compassionate and insecure about the large red birthmark over her eye. But then the town was set upon by a dragon. Sylvia and her family survived but were forced to move. Like so many at the time they flocked to Zaun. Piltover was the newest city being made, but only Zaun's most wealthy could move there. So their only option was Zaun. It was a difficult adjustment, the mines and factories pumped clouds of Gray and crime was common as many were trying to survive in the Undercity. Sylvia's heart went out to the children, not many had the chance to even grow up in grassy fields or fresh clean air. Education was sparse and healthcare practically nonexistent. Despite Sylvia working as a tailor, her real passion was in teaching. She gave lessons to any child willing to learn so they could read, write, and have a basic grasp of mathematics. Many children were destined to take up the jobs their parents had or work harsh hours at the factories. Sylvia would help at the Zaunite academy, only to be shocked at the lack of resources and lax policies.
Sylvia never thought she was anything remarkable or pretty, but she caught the attention of Honza as she stopped to tip his music playing. He thought she was pretty and had been quietly aware of her and her curious efforts to educate the youth of Zaun. As far as he was concerned Piltover wanted to keep them limited in education and medicine so they'd be easier to control as workers. That didn't sit well with Sylvia which Honza felt endearing. He knew her frustrations all too well, but he was no politician or counselor so any chance of making a change felt painfully low. Still, the two got closer and eventually married, having their little daughter Natasha in their lives. Sylvia adored her and taught her all she knew, she wanted her to grow up and do greater things than she could. Honza cherished his girls, they were his motivation for working in the mines as a beacon to play his music and light the way for the Zaunites out of the winding spore tunnels. But one day when Natasha was a young girl, Zaun was hit by a terrible earthquake. Pipes containing the poisonous gray burst open swallowing parts in Zaun in choking fumes. Sylvia crawled out with Natasha and fled. Her ankle was broken and slowed her down as their fought to get out of the Gray. But the crooked paths that used to be roads were blocked by crushed shanty houses. Blood seeped from the mother and daughter's mouths and their vision became blurred, but Sylvia kept pulling her daughter with her to keep up. As soon as Sylvia spotted a clearing she pushed her daughter to run, telling her she was right behind her and to go find her father. Natasha obeyed her mother and ran ahead, feeling the gray's sickness set in her lungs. Sylvia's limping slowed. She wanted so desperately to run with her.... she was so painfully close. But she fell, the Gray's poison had swallowed her up. Yet even in her final moments she knew her daughter got out alive.
Ivor came from Shurima as a traveling healer. He came to Zaun with his daughter Inna he heard the Undercity was in need of doctors. Little did he know how dire it was. Many were relying on quack solutions which resulted in worsening symptoms or death. Births were a dangerous roll of the dice which ended up half the time in the deaths of both mother and baby. Ivor took charge and began planting small gardens in green houses for his herbal remedies and proper fruits and vegetables. Inna became his devoted assistant minding the green houses to make sure everything was clean and nothing spoiled. In a polluted environment like this it gave Inna blight lung, a common sickness in Zaun. Ivor saw this and turned his focus into trying to grow trees to consume the smog. He knew saplings stood little chance in the heart of the city, the sun.... seemed so far away... Blotted out by the smog of the gray. Despite the hardships in Zaun, Ivor was keen on trying to find hope in these dark times. But then one day he saw something incredible. The sun shined down the caverns of Zaun and managed to illuminate the city for one day. Being a Solari worshiper, this felt like a cause for celebration. Such sun light aided in their plant life to grow. Even if it was for one day it was a chance for the smog to be consumed by the saplings. As a result, he created the Festival of Light as a means of honoring the elemental gods of the sun who grave them light. It was a small victory, but one many came to embrace in time. Inna would harvest the produce and use it in her cooking. Ivor put it as "My herbs are good for the body, but your food is good for the soul. It should be treasured."
Then the earthquake happened, the Gray had a catastrophic leak which instantly killed residence trapped in the maze of broken streets. Body after body came to Ivor, he tried everything he had in his stock, but only a few like Natasha survived the outbreak. Her mother was one of the casualties. Ivor felt helpless, and worse.... He too was getting sick from the gray. The constant exposure had given him a cancer that was eating away at his body. Inna desperately tried to fill her father's shoes as healer to save him. But Ivor knew when it was too late for his faithful herbs to work. Ironic a healer couldn't save himself.... But he turned to Inna on his death bed, telling her "It's not enough to give others what they need to survive. You must give them what they need to live.... Don't cry my child...I have lived long. Now go live yours."
