Get to Know All the Darkin in Runeterra!

Darkin are an essential part of Legends of Runeterra's universe. They were once Ascended gods from Shurima, but succumbed to the madness of the war against the Void; time corrupted their souls and gave them distorted, horrifying forms.

Eventually, after the Darkin almost destroyed the entire world with their civil wars, the best mages in Runeterra managed to seal their souls in the weapons they carried.

Imprisoned in their weapons, currently they lure in their victims by anxiously calling them, then possess them and once again start to wander through Runeterra - with a new goal now.

The only way to escape this cycle is death, but, as the Darkin are virtually immortal, all that is left for them is trying to destroy Runeterra, even if none of them can say for sure this will solve their problems.

In this article, we'll explore each of the Darkin weapons in Legends of Runeterra, talk about who are their vessels, and see where they were hidden in Runeterra.

Xolaani was a powerful Shuriman mage that specialized in hemomancy and healing magic. She took advantage of the moments her Ascended siblings were too distracted or weak and used her blood magic to take control of them. Like so, Xolaani became a cult leader to several Darkin that worshiped her, and moved Shuriman crowds to swear allegiance to her.

To these cultists, Xolaani is almost like a mother figure that offers comfort, order, and control. To Aatrox, she is nothing but a coward, selfish woman. As a result, both battled one another - on one side, there was General Aatrox's army, and, on the other, Xolaani worshipers.

Xolaani's weapons are the bloodletters, or "chain-sickles". After some careful research, I found that most references to "bloodletters" online and in the media involve warriors that work with "blood", either through blood magic or blood cults.

As Xolaani was never a warrior, we can speculate she used her blood magic to heal people, but eventually discovered she could use them to control them instead. As she got stronger, she started using her "chain-sickles" as her weapons, and in the end was imprisoned in them.

Xolaani was one of the main characters in the Darkin war, and also one of the main villains in the stories told on Legends of Runeterra cards.

The Darkin Bloodletters were hidden in Ionia, at the Wuju temple, under the careful watch of Master Yi and his students.

During a raid on the temple carried by Kayn, Rhaast Final Level's vessel, a series of events either freed Xolaani back into the material plane, or resulted in Kayn's soul being destroyed, which freed a great evil on Runeterra - Rhaast Final Level. There are two versions of this story, and we don't know for certain which is the most canonical one.

Kayn & Rhaast

Kayn is one of the most powerful human beings that ever roamed Runeterra, and is to this day the only one that managed to withstand Darkin assimilation without being completely assimilated. An expert at the shadow arts, mastered initially by Zed and his followers, he used his intangibility ability to handle assimilation and resist being tempted by Rhaast Final Level.

To gather all Darkin weapons, prevent them from being used against Ionia, and also to get more power, Kayn orchestrated an assault on the Wuju temple. His goal was mainly to steal the bloodletters that imprisoned Xolaani.

Rhaast Final Level also wants to use The Darkin Bloodletters, both to get revenge on Xolaani and to use her weapons on the "great massacre" he has been orchestrating for almost a millennium while he was stuck in his scythe.

During the assault, two non-canonical events happen: either Kayn controls the powers of the Darkin scythe completely, or Rhaast Final Level finally takes control over Kayn's body.

If Kayn wins, he becomes The Shadow Assassin Final Level, and kills most of Master Yi's students. This encourages one of Master Yi's disciples, Jun, the Prodigy, to succumb to Xolaani, who promises her immortality. Jun then takes the bloodletters, lets Xolaani take over her body, and frees this Darkin on Runeterra's physical plane.

If Rhaast Final Level wins, Jun and all the other Master Yi disciples are killed by him, who finally takes over the bloodletters and starts his "great massacre" on Runeterra.

Both events release a great evil on Runeterra, but, even then, the most accepted theory in LoR's universe in particular is that Kayn wins over Rhaast Final Level, and Jun turns into Xolaani. The greatest reasons for this are the several champion and follower cards that reference this Darkin healer, and the cards that show her story after she possessed Jun.

This Darkin even has a follower card that shows her physical form in the material world - Xolaani the Bloodweaver.

In this card's artwork, we can see Xolaani assimilating Anaakca and other Darkin, and transforming into her final form - Xolaani, Aspect's Bane. This form is so powerful that not even the Aspects of Targon can defeat it.

Aatrox was once a great general, an Ascended god, but now he spends his time assimilating Runeterra warriors while he looks for someone stronger. Only then he will be able to destroy Runeterra.

We don't know for sure who is Aatrox's vessel; all we know is that, on his LoR cards, he "feels" Xolaani's presence and immediately goes toward her to get revenge.

The battle between them is so intense that Kayle decides she must stop them. We don't know what was the end of this battle, even more so because, as we've already discussed, these events are probably not in line with Runeterra's main story, and are not canonical.

As Aatrox was a great general, he summoned his Darkin siblings that were in his legion to fight against Xolaani. This explains his Origin effect, which allows us to include all Darkin equipment in the decks we built with Aatrox.

The Darkin followers allied to Aatrox are:

The Darkin Ballista - Naganeka of Zuretta

Naganeka of Zuretta was imprisoned in her ballista and hidden at the eastern Noxian borders. Eventually, this territory became a big farm that fed the capital, and it was just a matter of time until some unaware Noxian citizen found this weapon.

I imagine the one who bears Naganeka of Zuretta is not a human being, but rather a chicken because of how she looks and the chickens on her artwork. However, we don't know for certain who is her vessel.

The Darkin Halberd

Taarosh, the most famous warrior in Aatrox's legion, was hidden on the ancient Blessed Isles. His card's description states that, during the millennia he spent asleep, he felt the surrounding earth die and be consumed by a terrifying, great evil.

No one knows who, or which being, was possessed by Taarosh, but we can imagine it was an extremely powerful winged beast that could possibly revive the dead.

The Darkin Staff - Baalkux

Baalkux is a curious Darkin. his card description states that he was hidden on the bandlewood, which means, it was hidden in a reality parallel to Runeterra. Instead of a Yordle or magical animal, he was discovered by a sentient tree, or a magical Ent.

Therefore, Baalkux is now a particularly giant being because of the proportions of the tree that found him. In some inexplicable way, this Darkin managed to get back to Runeterra, probably by going through a magical portal. On his artwork, he is strolling through a rift in Shurima or Icathia, and ends up finding Kayle's underlings.

The Darkin Aegis - Joraal

The story told in the description of The Darkin Aegis is extremely sad. It tells the story of a demacian mother who tries to protect her son from the Aegis, which is exposed at their home as a war ornament. Her son tells her the Aegis calls for him, and that he needs to "help" the desperate voice behind it.

At the end, he ends up assimilated by Joraal, which immediately answers his general's call.

The description of this Darkin tells us that Joraal is probably the most unstable out of all Darkin because the countless wars he fought have ruined his mind.

The Darkin Harp - Styraatu

The Darkin Harp's description tells us it was hidden in the depths of the land that would eventually become Zaun, far away from humans. However, Chirean Sumpworkers stumbled upon it and one of them ends up assimilated.

Styraatu is described as the most wrathful of all the Darkin; her rage was known even before she became a Darkin, before she was even imprisoned in her harp.

The Darkin Fan - Praa

Praa the Breachwalker is the only Darkin that has a title. His description tells us Shen felt his presence in Ionia and feared for what would happen if anyone ever found his power.

We don't know for sure who found Praa the Breachwalker, but we can speculate that, according to this card's flavor text, this weapon was sealed on a "bridge between the two worlds", which means his host now is probably a spiritual being.

The Darkin Harpoon - Ibaaros

Ibaaros is the Darkin that was hidden at the bottom of the Bilgewater seas, and inspired several sea shanties. Sailors would hear him calling from the bottom of the sea; Ibaaros wanted a body to possess. Many who didn't resist Ibaaros call probably drowned while looking for him.

He is seen as the Darkin that was most loyal to Aatrox, and his existence was only useful to serve and obey his general.

The Darkin Lodestone - Horazi

Horazi was a legendary warrior who was sealed to a "lodestone", a celestial artifact made of stars. Her description states that Targonians thought that, by sealing Horazi in the "lodestone", her powers would disappear. However, this celestial metal gave her extreme knowledge of the cosmos, besides enough power to deceive a powerful Targon protector, who eventually was possessed by her.

Now, she supposedly has vast knowledge of time and space, and knows even more about the infinite life span she will have. Still, her hatred for Xolaani never waned away.

The Darkin Spear - Anaakca

In this card's flavor text, we have a dialogue between Sejuani and one of her generals; the general tries to convince her to cross the "whispering wilds" to escape the "grip of winter". Another general shows up in the dialogue and says this isn't a good idea, and Sejuani tells them both that they have no power to decide where they will go next.

However, Sejuani eventually is convinced by her general and lets him wander to the "whispering woods", where he finds The Darkin Spear. After succumbing to her call, he is assimilated by Anaakca.

Varus is a peculiar Darkin. Darkin can take on many forms; some are similar to the ones they possessed, and others have grotesque, horrible forms. Everything depends on how corrupted the host's mind is.

Clearly, Varus has the most human-like form among their siblings, and their origin story explains exactly why.

Varus was a sadistic, terrible warrior during the war against the Void. Eventually, he was sealed in his bow and hidden at the bottom of a well in Palas, Ionia.

During the first Noxian invasion, two lovers and warriors, Valmar and Kai, were attacked while they patrolled the region, and Kai was mortally wounded. To heal his partner, Valmar throws himself alongside Kai in the well Varus is.

Varus assimilates both of the lovers' bodies, and the three now fight for the control and conscience of the entity they became. The lovers can repress the emotions of pure hatred and vengeance Varus feels, and Varus can plant sadistic, bloodthirsty, intrusive thoughts on both of their minds.

In any case, they constantly waver between peaceful consensus and the madness of the Darkin corruption, and take on a human form that isn't as grotesque as the other Darkin.

On Legends of Runeterra cards, before getting revenge on Xolaani, Varus recruits a series of masterful archers in Runeterra to fight by his side. They are:

If you read this far, thank you! Recently, we had sad news for LoR and its community, and we're all going through a tough time. It has been difficult to write about the game itself as a result. But it is my duty as one of the game's content creators to keep giving you my best every day, and always try to be hopeful and create a pleasant environment.

So, I thank everyone who is still interested in Runeterra. These hard times will pass.

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