watercolour dreams

First, I'd like to preface that Twitter is spreading misconceptions about this bio and its "author."

Professor Cristobal Lymere is the uncle of Ezreal, an already-established character long before Arcane's release that's tied into Ezreal's story in Piltover. The misconception is spreading that because this character shares the same initials as Linke (Showrunner), it's speculated that given the remarks about Jayce and Viktor's dynamic, Lymere is Linke's self-insert

He is not. Lymere was established over 10 years ago, with an update to his name around 2018; only recently, via Viktor's biography, did we get a first name.

So, who is Cristobal Lymere? As stated, Lymere is Ezreal's uncle and primary caregiver when Ezreal's parents leave him in Piltover for expeditions. Within his care, Lymere subjected Ezreal to torturous levels of tutoring in various subjects, such as Hextech, Cartography, and the ancient history of Runeterra, to keep Ezreal occupied and out of trouble. All of this is fruitless, as Ezreal is exceptionally intelligent and not only absorbs any and all information with ease and passes these courses with flying colors but also finds ways to sneak out and still commit mischievous acts. All the while, Professor Lymere runs a museum in Piltover.

Why is this relevant?

This gives us insight into post-season 2 events. Yes, this biography is written in the context of post-season 2 and acts and reads like a literal biography.

I will paraphrase segments from the biography, but you can click here to read Viktor's new biography.

1. Arcane Timeline and the Importance of Dates

The introduction of Professor Lymere poses the question of the timeframe for Arcane, which follows two dating formats: BN (Before Noxus) & AN (After Noxus) Arcane's timeline is roughly around 970AN (S1 Act 1) -which would roughly land s2 around around 978-979AN Ezreal's estimated timeline is 973 AN - 978 AN Noxian invasion of Ionia is around 984AN Boram Darkwill dies 989AN

Ezreal's date isn't significant, but it gives us a rough idea of his age and how long it's been since the events of season 2. Give or take a few years, and while this is all speculation, I theorize it's been 2-3 years since the events of season 2.

This is especially important as the next installment is likely to follow Mel into Noxus, expand further on the Black Rose storyline, and introduce other characters, especially Swain. These dates are crucial as the timeline aligns perfectly for the Noxus-Ionian invasion, which also involves Singed's employment within the war, Boram Darkwill's fall, and Swain's rise to power, likely having the Black Rose at the heart of all this.

(Given that Arcane is also restructuring the lore of the League universe, things are subject to change, and nothing is set in stone.)

2. Why Viktor's Biography is Unique

What sets Viktor's biography apart from the rest is that it is written like an actual biography. It is as if an academic is gathering the appropriate resources, citing materials, presenting information for others to read, and adding annotation within the text.

Interestingly enough, this tells us that all records pertaining to Viktor and evidence of his presence within Piltover—or perhaps even in general—are essentially scrubbed away, figuratively erasing the legacy he was so worried about never leaving behind. Information gathered by the creator, Professor Lymere, was primarily sourced from the Piltover Journal and blueprints regarding the Hexgates.

Lymere's comment regarding his unofficial method of pertaining the documents leads me to believe he likely snagged documents from Kiramann's archives since we've seen Caitlyn looking at the blueprints for the Hexgates at the end of season 2.

Additionally, Heimerdinger is still missing.

Another key detail is that Viktor appeared to have spoken directly to somebody Lymere knew and seemed comfortable enough to disclose information about Singed, who was likely in the Academy just like Viktor.

This also explains Viktor's vague, "I understand, now." because, at the moment, it doesn't make sense. But here, given further backstory, when Viktor returns to Singed in season 1 and says this, he essentially realizes that progress shouldn't have boundaries.

Also, a rather vague Sky mention! We know who this paragraph is talking about, and what's interesting is that Lymere obtained two individuals from within the Academy as a reliable, verified source--which begs the question, who?

The only people we've seen Sky interact and familiar with are Jayce and Viktor, which leads me to another small theory. During Viktor's flashback in episode 6, we see Sky with two other children. I'm curious if these children also attend the Academy and are the ones from whom Lymere gets his information about Sky's disappearance.

It's also worth understanding that Viktor's altered state post-hexcore also seems to have caught the eyes of other scientists, and Lymere mentions a chapter that covers Biomechanics. Biomechanics studies the structure, function, and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems at any level. Comparing Viktor's changed condition of Hextech to the simple wheel. Simply, he was a whole other leap in discovery.

With this sparking more theories of biomechanics in lore, I wouldn't be shocked if this is how they implement Camille: piggy-backing off Viktor's work, which has been scrubbed of his credit, and using this newfound knowledge and research to perfect hexcorization.