Darkin

The Darkin are stated to be a collection of sentient weapons by Eduard Santangelo^[1] and the Shadow Order the Shadow Order, of which it has been stated only three are known to exist. There are—in fact—five.

However, a Rioter involved with the story described them as immensely powerful beings of which only the known ones were imprisoned within weapons long ago^[2], and that only Aatrox among those imprisoned has escaped confinement. The other known Darkin are Rhaast Rhaast and Varus Varus. The remaining two Darkin are stated to be unknown even in-universe.

History

The Darkin was an extradimensional race attracted by the imprudent use of magic by runeterran magicians. Following this, they started a conquering act known as the "Darkin War" but were ultimately defeated by the Ascended. The remaining Darkins were cornered and trapped in weapons.

The entity known as Aatrox is known for appearing in wars waged by humans, coming forth when victory seemed assured for one side, only to turn the tables with a few words and an unknown power, which inspires a monstrous bloodlust in people. His influence in historical conflicts spans thousands of years, with his oldest known appearance being in a battle between the Protectorate & Magelords. He has also appeared in Ancient Shurima, Ionia, Noxus, Demacia and more recently Freljord.^[3] His work earned him dedicated devotees from various factions across history, being heralded as a hero to many of them, but he disappears as quickly as he comes, giving no indication of his true purpose.

Varus Varus was sealed away inside the Pit of Pallas in Ionia by an unkown ascended queen, before he was released by Valmar and Kai during the Noxian Invasion of Ionia. This Darkin personifies Vengeance.

The fate of Rhaast Rhaast varies from game-to-game: either killing Kayn Kayn to become dominant over his body, or being destroyed by Kayn Kayn, based on the outcome of The Darkin Scythe The Darkin Scythe Quest.

Known Traits

The weapon's wielder and any Darkin trapped within seem to enter a symbiotic relationship, the wielder gaining a portion of the Darkin's power and the Darkin in turn gain some agency and a venue of freedom. However, the Darkin can parasitically dominate their wielder, thereby annihilating the wielder's personality while in turn freely affirming their agency; similarly, the wielder can extirpate the Darkin's persona to gain full access to the weapon's power. In both cases, the dominated other is described as "dying".

Aatrox has usurped his wielder long ago and it is known that Rhaast Rhaast actively seeks to gain control over Kayn's Kayn's body, where as Varus Varus has yet to fully take control of both Valmar Valmar and Kai Kai in their tri-symbiotic existence.

Kayn Kayn asserts that Rhaast Rhaast will die if Kayn lets go of the scythe, although the implication is that the Darkin's power is lost if a Darkin is killed in this fashion.

Trivia

• The two factions within Aatrox's lore, the Protectorate and the Magelords, are highly likely to be the two factions represented on Summoner's Rift. ^[4]
  • A stone mural can be seen along the north edge of the map that depicts two factions surrounding a crystal, with a small carving of Aatrox visible to the left.
• With Aatrox's release, it was believed that the Darkin were a race of demon-like beings. However, in Xayah Xayah and Rakan's Rakan's teaser it was stated that the Darkin were a collection of sentient weapons. With Rhaast's Rhaast's release, a Rioter stated that the Darkin are powerful beings and that only the known Darkin were imprisoned within their weapons. He later emphasised known to players.
  • Based on the original premise, it was speculated that Kayle Kayle and Morgana Morgana might be the two known-to-history Darkin that are yet not identified to players. This was supported by their winged-humanoid appearance in conjunction with the common Angels and Demons trope, as well as the promise that their out-dated and non-canonical lore would be updated in the future to something more in-universe. However, the other known Darkin were revealed to be Rhaast Rhaast and Varus Varus.
• Varus Varus mentioned having a sister, whether she's a another darkin or not it remains unknown.
• In the short story Dark Kin, Varus Varus clearly despised the "bestial and primitive" human languages, due to the human vocal tract's limitations; so likely Varus Varus, Aatrox & Rhaast Rhaast are merely approximate human renditions of the aliens' true names.
• The Darkin are inspired by inspired the manga and anime series Devilman.
  • The method in which Darkin possess human bodies is similar to how Demons possess humans in Devilman. Humans in both instances can also overpower the demon/darkin and use their power as their own.

Notable Darkin

Champion	Ties
Aatrox, the Darkin Blade	Darkin personification of War
Rhaast, the Darkin Scythe Rhaast, the Darkin Scythe	Darkin personification of Death
Varus, the Darkin Bow/Arrow Varus, the Darkin Bow/Arrow	Darkin personification of Vengeance

Associated Champions

Champion	Ties
Kayn, the Shadow Reaper Kayn, the Shadow Reaper	Wielder of Rhaast, the Darkin Scythe Rhaast, the Darkin Scythe.
Tryndamere, the Barbarian King Tryndamere, the Barbarian King	Sole survivor of Aatrox's massacre in Freljord

References