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Questions about the Darkin

DCYOUNG888·12/11/2019, 8:05:37 PM·4 votes·6,026 views

Ever since the Darkin lore and backstory got reworked, I have been very interested in them both as champions and in lore and I was wondering if a Rioter who has worked on the Darkin champions' kit, lore/story, or other works can answer some of my questions.

Are Darkins truly immortal (such as ageless or cannot truly be killed by any means)? I am aware they are imprisoned in their own weapons until they can possess someone but are there ways of killing them or has no one in Runeterra found a solution to truly kill them? I am aware that their celestial ideals have been removed too (but not their power) so it is hard to reverse the ascension too to make them mortal again.
Besides humans are the Darkin able to possess other species such as Yordles, Vastaya, Iceborn, Voidborn, Demons (e.g. Tahm Kench and Evelynn), other Ascended, etc.?
When a Darkin possesses someone else like Kayn do they gain whatever abilities or skills they have like say if they are a mage they gain the ability to cast their magic such as fire or light, or in Kayn's case the shadow arts (but not to the extent of Shadow Assassin Kayn), or new fighting skills? If they do gain their abilities, can they only use those skills while possessing that body or are they able to remember and keep that power even in the next body?
Did Rhaast already have the ability to phase through walls and invade a person's body like Kayn did or like I asked earlier did he gain it when he possesses him?
Do the Darkins' sustain/healing kits in game (or in Varus's case grievious wounds) relate to their ability to use blood magic in lore?
What did Aatrox, Rhaast, and Varus's original ascended form look like before they were imprisoned? For example, was Aatrox's form based off a bat or Rhaast based off a Lizard and Varus a hawk?
What factors determines how long a Darkin can possess a host before that body fades due to their divine powers? Also how long does it take for a Darkin to possess someone's body?

EDIT: One more question, are other people able to overpower the Darkin besides Kayn and use them as weapons? If so, do they need to have strong will or special powers to overcome them?

13 Comments

zounet12/11/2019, 9:06:42 PM3 votes

good post I m also waiting for answers

MysticalRaven12/11/2019, 9:33:43 PM3 votes

To answer 4, I think he only learned how to once he took over Kayn's body that already knew shadow magic. He has a voice line that makes it sound like he is experiencing it for the first time himself.

And an answer to 1, there's a story that the aspect of twilight before Zoe appears in, where Darkin (before being imprisoned in weapons and losing their original bodies) were able to kill one another, it would just be incredibly difficult for a mortal to kill one.. And I believe moon magic like Diana's was capable of killing them. I'll re-read the story and come back to edit.

Wrathof30012/11/2019, 11:10:03 PM3 votes

had returned to Runeterra to put an end to the remaining Darkin but we don't know if this meant he found a way to kill them or if it meant he returned to prevent their activity having found hosts, likely the latter. Personally I theorize that Aatrox killed Pantheon by absorbing his soul the same way he absorbs his hosts upon contact.

How long it takes to overpower a host and how long that host's body can be used as a vessel is determined by the physical and mental strength of the host, for example Aatrox can overpower most mortals in seconds, consider these your average background characters, hence these bodies do not last long as they cannot handle the Darkin power. Hence Rhaast and Varus having to battle Kayn , Valmar and Kai respectively, for their bodies, because they are not weak hosts. Note that Varus' host body is a fusion of Valmar and Kai likely for the purpose of creating a vessel that will withstand his power, as individually neither may have been strong enough.

Korvus Klaw12/11/2019, 10:36:41 PM2 votes

What did Aatrox, Rhaast, and Varus's original ascended form look like before they were imprisoned? For example, was Aatrox's form based off a bat or Rhaast based off a Lizard and Varus a hawk?

Aatrox was an Owl, Rhaast a hammerhead shark and Varus a horse. I have zero clues and zero doubts.

Doom emissary12/15/2019, 7:47:31 PM2 votes

1/ Are Darkins truly immortal (such as ageless or cannot truly be killed by any means)? I am aware they are imprisoned in their own weapons until they can possess someone but are there ways of killing them or has no one in Runeterra found a solution to truly kill them? I am aware that their celestial ideals have been removed too (but not their power) so it is hard to reverse the ascension too to make them mortal again.

No. Everything in the world of Runeterra can be killed. They are corrupted ascended that altered their bodies with blood magic. We know that normal ascended (aspects) can be killed and darkins killed each others during the great darkin wars.

2/ Besides humans are the Darkin able to possess other species such as Yordles, Vastaya, Iceborn, Voidborn, Demons (e.g. Tahm Kench and Evelynn), other Ascended, etc.?

From what we know, some can actually use the weapon without getting controlled. You should think of it as a power struggle between the will of both spirits (the darkin, and the host of the body). I don't see why Vastaya and Icebborns would be an exception to this. Demons and Yordles are spirit that took a physical form to enter the material realm. So I would personally assume that a darkin can control them (if they manage to overwhelm the spirit). As for Voidborns, those are the cause of the corruption of the darkins. Pretty sure they wouldn't try to do that. It's probably the opposite that would happen, the void will take control over them.

3/ When a Darkin possesses someone else like Kayn do they gain whatever abilities or skills they have like say if they are a mage they gain the ability to cast their magic such as fire or light, or in Kayn's case the shadow arts (but not to the extent of Shadow Assassin Kayn), or new fighting skills? If they do gain their abilities, can they only use those skills while possessing that body or are they able to remember and keep that power even in the next body?

Yes! Basically think of it as taking obsession of a body that already have the knowledge/affinity to use certain magics and the knowledge/muscle memory for some fighting arts. The darkins can benefit from that.

I would personally assume that they can remember and use some of them if they don't require specific blood/affinity while they will lose others.

4/ Did Rhaast already have the ability to phase through walls and invade a person's body like Kayn did or like I asked earlier did he gain it when he possesses him?

He gained it after controlling Kayn as MysticalRaven stated.

5/ Do the Darkins' sustain/healing kits in game (or in Varus's case grievious wounds) relate to their ability to use blood magic in lore?

I don't know if it was confirmed by a Rioter but it's definitely coherent with it.

7/ What factors determines how long a Darkin can possess a host before that body fades due to their divine powers? Also how long does it take for a Darkin to possess someone's body?

It depends on how the darkin is using the body. Take a look at Aatrox's splashart for example. You'll be able to see some humans at the bottom right corner to have an idea about his size. Imagine a normal human body being forcefully changed into Aatrox's form (which is already a lot) and with that gigantic size. Now imagine on top of that always going into battles and burning the body's life force super fast by always using it to the max on top of all the injuries taken. Of course, it won't be able to withstand all of that and break soon. That's why Aatrox have to get new hosts all the time. A body like the one of Varus seems more sustainable.

For the second question, it really depend on who's that person. Some people were able to use the darkins without being controlled. Others can be controlled instantly the moment they touch the darkin. And there is Kayn who is in constant struggle. It depends on how strong your spirit is (in terms of ego and strong will). Varus's story/comics brilliantly depicts that. The darkin is trying to take control by weakening their bond. To do that, he is trying to fill one of them with revenge (think of any evil person whispering to a good person that she needs to take revenge etc) while the other human is reminding him of their love. So the one in the middle is the weak part, that's why sometimes Varus takes control, sometimes he loses it.