An Amalgamation of War

Okay with the upcoming GU coming lore nerds like myself are hoping for some Aatrox lore, even though we've been told not to expect anything (lol).

This is my theory on how Aatrox as a Darkin character could be distinguished from Kayn and Varus. Credit where credit is due. Rito dodged a bullet beautifully with the the Varus lore update (after which the community then proceeded to unload the heavy artillery), the bullet they dodged was the 'overlapping character theme' bullet. Both and possess these Darkins which we learnt are an ancient otherworldy race trapped within weapons. These champions are 'hosts' that the Darkin are trying to corrupt, Kayn's entire gameplay is based on this thematic of 'which route he will he go?'. So when old Varus was teased to be related to the Darkin as well ,there was a split, who thought Varus would be the Darkin possessing some random person's body (similar to Aatrox and Rhaast) and who thought Varus would still be the man but wielding a Darkin bow struggling for control (similar to base Kayn), and the overambitious ones who thought Varus would still be the man but would have already defeated the Darkin within the bow (similar to Shadow Assassin Kayn).

Riot however threw us a slightly altered version of the 'Rhaast' path. Varus' new body was made from the flesh of both Valmar and Kai, a fusion via the Darkin race's revealed control of blood magic. This trapped Kai's dying soul within the new body along with Valmar and Varus, and now the Darkin, Varus, is in control and the 2 lighthearts fight him to rid themselves of the Darkin's grasp. So in a way the roles have switched from, a Darkin fighting a person for control, to, the persons fighting the Darkin for control.

So what about Aatrox, clearly for him to be roaming Runeterra once more he must now have a host, but as sarcastically commented "Creatures of darkness that grant power to their hosts? How original." , and it seems as though Kayn and Varus are all up in his design space and we end up with a character who's 'host backstory' has to resort to: "Aatrox overpowered his host and now has full control, The End". While yes, Aatrox is the Darkin we are expecting to currently be in full control of his host body, I think there is an interesting way to write the host out of the lore without triggering another 'Kayn' or 'Varus', whilst also the story being a bit more than "Aatrox overpowered the host, The End". Via the aforementioned Blood Magic. What if Aatrox, continually adds to his 'host/ body' whenever he cuts down enemies in battle, fusing with the bodies of his fallen enemies to make himself more and more powerful. Questions that were asked, "Why does Aatrox alone have wings? Why does Aatrox have female lips? etc." this could be an explanation. This could also explain why he would appear and help others on the battlefield (or torment them, in Trynd's case), to train them, to make their bodies strong, to reap them. He would be an amalgamation of the slain, so many additions to his host body, burying the original identity in a mental sea of madness so deep they are unable to even challenge Aatrox back, for what used to be their body. A sea of bodies completely under Aatrox's control.

Thanks for reading share your thoughts and opinions. As well as your own theories around Aatrox's former host.