What is the Black Rose in Arcane?

If you finished the first few episodes of Arcane season two, you might have some burning questions about the mysterious guild merchant Amara.

As it turns out, the Black Rose is an organization with extreme significance and deep lore within the League of Legends universe. Now that this secret society is making its way to Netflix with Arcane, it’s important to know about the group’s lore.

What is the Black Rose in League of Legends and Arcane?

The Black Rose is a shadow organization operating within the nation of Noxus, where both Mel and Ambessa from Arcane are from. Even though its members hail from Noxus, the Black Rose has a network of magical spies across Runeterra, the world of Arcane, and League.

The organization was made in the past when a pale sorceress known as LeBlanc and a blood mage named Vladimir made a pact with one another. Their combined magic was so powerful that it turned wine and red roses black, inspiring the organization’s name.

In the modern day, the Black Rose is made up of various aristocrats who harness and wield dark magic from the Immortal Bastion, an ancient fortress made by Mordekaiser. These members use their powers to secretly influence the entire nation. To keep this organization a secret, members typically meet in the shadows and wear masks to hide their true identities.

What is Black Rose’s role in Arcane?

If you haven’t watched the second season of Arcane, we recommend skipping this part. The article includes major spoilers.

In the first act of Arcane’s final season, the Black Rose features in episode three. Amara, a member of Piltover’s merchant guild, appears in front of Ambessa. She tells Ambessa she is here to settle a debt with her and is not part of the guild. She adds that Ambessa had stolen something “more precious than gold.” The red-colored thrones quickly wrap around her enemies to stop Ambessa from drawing her weapon, showing Amara is now a part of the Black Rose.

Amara says that Ambessa underestimated the Black Rise’s reach in Piltover as the secret organization has spies all over Runetera, especially Noxus. In return, Ambessa refers to her dead son, showcasing how the Black Rose might be behind his death. Amara tells Ambessa that the Black Rose knows what she is chasing in Piltover, and they won’t allow it. While the reason isn’t clear right now, LeBlanc could be chasing the powerful Hextech weapons in Piltover to face Mordekaiser later.

Rictus uses his blade with the iconic Kaenic Rookern runes to break free from the Black Rose’s magical grip, and Ambessa kills Amara. But the Black Rose witch says her death means nothing, and it might be LeBlanc’s many illusions. After some time, Mel gets captured by the Black Rose.

In act two, Mel wakes up in an Oculorum, a fancy word for prison, and she meets a familiar face in Kino, her deceased brother. Even though Ambessa never said her boy’s name in the show, it was confirmed that he was dead in the first act.

In time, Mel also figures out that Kino is not real and he is one of the illusions of LeBlanc. She slams his head on the wall, but the red-colored thrones engulf her and tell her about Black Rose’s true intentions. They are looking for something in Ambessa’s children, which leads them to Kino. But Kino wasn’t “the child,” which made the Black Rose focus on Mel. She has magical powers to solve the golden runes of the prison, which makes her the person Black Rose is after. Ultimately, Mel uses the golden shield on her back to break free from the shackles.

Many players speculate that Mel’s golden armor is the Zonhya’s Hourglass item from League, but act two debunks this theory by showing the item can also be used offensively to break free from the shackles of the Black Rose.

In the last act, LeBlanc hides her true face behind an illusion and confronts Mel to tell her that she’s a mage with rare abilities to bend magic. She offers her an opportunity to join the Black Rose, and Mel joins her after hearing that a calamity worse than the Rune Wars is on the way. Mel asks LeBlanc about his deceased brother, and she says that her mother, Ambessa, chose “pride over progeny” to protect Mel, who is nothing but a weapon. After she joins the Black Rose, we finally understand why she kept calling her “sister,” she is now one of the mages of Runeterra.

In the fight between Caitlyn and Ambessa, Caitlyn sacrifices her eye to take the Kaenic Rookern from her hands. Without protection from magic from that item, Ambessa falls to Mel, who uses her necklace to call upon LeBlanc. The Deceiver tries to eliminate Ambessa, but Mel interrupts her in her dimension, where she finally understands LeBlanc’s true intention was to kill Ambessa. Even after breaking the Black Rose prison using her powers, Ambessa dies on the spot after calling Mel the Wolf.

The Black Rose will probably return in Riot’s future animated shows, especially if it takes place in Noxus, which should give us more context on why LeBlanc made her way to Piltover to find Mel and eliminate Ambessa in the first place.

Which League of Legends champions are members of the Black Rose?

Since the Black Rose is a secret society, many of its members are unknown, even to League players. However, there are a few playable champions that are members of the Black Rose:

• LeBlanc: As the pale sorceress and one of the founders, LeBlanc uses her magic to change her appearance and deceive entire nations.
• Vladimir: A blood mage who made a pact with LeBlanc, forming the Black Rose organization. He uses his magic to make political maneuvers.
• Elise: A Noxian noble who murdered her husband after he poisoned her. When approached by LeBlanc, Elise joined the Black Rose and eventually came in contact with a spider queen, changing her body forever.
• Cassiopeia: The sister of Katarina who was welcomed to the Black Rose by her mother. While on a mission to Shurima, Cassiopeia accidentally freed Renekton and Xerath.

While there are only four playable champions we know from the Black Rose, many more unknown aristocrats could be added to League in the future.

Associates and enemies of the Black Rose

Many champions have interacted with Black Rose members or made themselves enemies of the organization. These champions are:

• Briar: A vampire created by the Black Rose to be used as a living weapon.
• Rell: A teenager with a mother in the Black Rose. Rell was imprisoned by the Black Rose and experimented on at their academy, leading to her mental manipulation powers. She eventually escaped and is currently on the run.
• Samira: A mercenary from Noxus that the Black Rose hired to track down Rell after the teen’s escape.
• Sion: A dead aristocrat from Noxus that the Black Rose resurrected into a war machine. He was gifted to Swain.
• Swain: Swain is the ruthless grand general of Noxus and a sworn enemy of the Black Rose. He is currently planning on taking down the organization.