[Speculation] The Female Darkin, Blood Magic, Roman/Jewish/WoD mythology

Blood Magicks·12/4/2017, 5:02:18 PM·53 votes·6,808 views

So if you're following the lore developments recently we have

  • Blood magic was given to humanity by the Darkin

  • ##Vlad is thousands of years old

  • ##There is a female Darkin who is very dear to Varus

While contemplating that some very Old Testament elements of Darkin lore became apparent to me: their resemblance to demons, the possession/corruption/dark magic mechanics, and the very Hebrew naming conventions: the "aa" in Aatrox and Rhaast is very common in Hebrew names (Baal, Aaron, Haagenti), especially among demons.*

##With this in mind I thought of a Jewish/Roman legend that in popular culture pretty much describes the origin myth of vampires. https://i.imgur.com/L7UCfNw.jpg

Do you know the legend of Lilith? Supposedly Adam's first wife, who eventually left him because she was too powerful to obey him, and was henceforth mentioned as a demoness who mentors witchcraft and causes the death of infants. In Roman Christian mythology she has decidedly vampiric qualities. In the Zohar, one of the holy books of Judaism, she meets another familiar biblical character: Cain, son of Adam, who was also banished and cursed after he slew his own brother. Cain and Lilith become lovers for an unspecified period** (from the wiki):

However, before doing so she attaches herself to Cain and bears him numerous spirits and demons.

Somewhere here the myth leaves Jewish folklore and enters into popular culture, largely popularised by the World of Darkness games, and then into various vampire books and movies (by the way I highly recommend Bloodlines, sure it's an old game but it's up there with the Witcher 3 in terms of quality RPG experience). It's pretty much the following: imbued with the power of Lilith's blood, Cain becomes the first vampire, the father of the vampire kind, and over the centuries initiates many more into his cult and tribe (WoD lore wiki excerpt):

Lilith identifies herself as Adam's first wife, the original wife of Cain's father. After staying with her for some time, the two become lovers. He realizes that she has powers and magic that he too would like to possess, so he pleads her for these gifts. The hesitant Lilith then prepares an Awakening ceremony by cutting herself with a knife, bleeding into a bowl, and giving it to him so that he may drink.

At this point it's impossible to judge if Riot had/has this in mind. There are pieces of the puzzle thrown about, albeit too few:

Vampirism: Blood magic, obviously, more a blessing than a curse here.

Lilith - A powerful demoness with vampiric qualities, who is a remnant of an ancient race, who bestowed her bloody gift on humanity: The possible female Darkin character, to be released sometime in the future?

Cain - A runaway murderer, running from his crimes, soon to become a master and pioneer of a new type of dark magic: Our boy here? Vladimir

Will the entire Dmitri old lore thing be replaced by an encounter with a darkin? I assume Vlad met her in the time before the Darkin were imprisoned into weapons, else it would make no sense for Varus to remember the event.

Hot damn, I have to say I'm intrigued.

*It was said in the comments that not all of these names are Hebrew and that is correct - Judeo-Christian demons often bear the names of pagan gods and idols. I am still curious about the "aa" and what languages it typically appears in

**Take with caution here because Lilith and Cain's relationship varies in different legends: Reading the Zohar she is far more interested in Adam than in Cain; While reading up on this I saw sources stating Lilith was Cain's true mother or mother in law?

#tl; dr: I have reasons to speculate that the female darkin will be a demoness modelled after Lilith, and she will have given Vlad the gifts of blood magic, which he used to become a demigod and the focus of a cult.

67 Comments

Chembaron Yamada12/4/2017, 5:33:05 PM13 votes

I like this theory. Now we just have to figure out what kind of weapon would fit for Lilaath as a champion.

Maybe a dagger? Daggers were used in many rituals, especially if they are related to blood. And a small and elegant weapon would fit her theme pretty well. Would be great to see a Darkin weapon which isn't as big and impactful as her brothers (scythe, greatsword, longbow).

Zyranium12/4/2017, 9:59:53 PM6 votes

I have to say something more about Lilith, she was at first inspired by the sumerian/mesopotamian myths of the creation.

Lilith in the Judeo-Christian mythology and as well in the Kabbalah, is the demon of sexual appetite, violence and cannibalism also she was cursed by God himself !

But ! Her origins comes from the sumerian mythology, and Lilith is associated by the Goddess Ishtar or Innana, the ferocious and warmongering demoness, she had the power to control blood and she was described as a succubus too.

But the most interesting part is that Lilith is also the representation of an ancient plague demon, known as Lamashtu, in the Babylonian religion, if you want to know more about this primordial demon... She was the rival of Pazuzu, the demon seen in the Exorcist !

https://images.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_470,q_auto:good,w_620/mn7p0xbwtg7pov0fn66l.jpg

Lamashtu brought misery, she was the demon of deadly miscarriages, she kidnapped infants, and drank men blood and ate their flesh, able to control nightmares, she was also described as a ravenous night hunter, shaped into a lioness, she had sharp claws, she carried in her hands two large snakes, people feared her, and wore magic amulets to contain her thirst for blood. As well as she had the power to sterilize lands and bring multiples diseases, she intoxicated rivers and lakes and brought famines and fevers...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Lamashtu_plaque_9161.jpg/1200px-Lamashtu_plaque_9161.jpg

Does that not sounds familiar to you ? ...

The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse ! One is described as PESTILENCE and has the same "abilities" as Lamashtu/Lilith He brings death by intoxication, pests, illness and starvation !

The Darkins are inspired by the horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Interesting post by the way, I upvote !

RastaBrotha12/4/2017, 7:48:52 PM4 votes

I have had this feeling since this morning, that Vladimir and the Darkin race could have an understanding. And here's the OP with the research. By the way, where does it say that Vlad is that old? I haven't found that in his Bio.

Damnit. How do I translate these thoughts into words...

a) Vladimir probably is the guy behind the blood mages thatVarus encountered in his comic. Blood magic originates with the Darkin.

b) •Kayn(Rhaast icon) fights with his host for however long it takes •Varus apparently is satisfied with driving a meat car with two gays screaming in the back seats •Aatrox ????

I think my point is: There is more than one way for a Darkin to assimilate, and Riot really dislikes being creatively cornered

c) Vladimirs master just... Kayn ulted themself into him. or something. And then he had "nothing better to do" so he went back to Noxus

d) Our 3 Darkin have very specific mindsets about how their mortal surroundings should behave and Vladimir fits like a shoe: Aatrox - Mortals should fight for glory ✓ Varus - Mortals should die ✓ (not a mortal) Kayn(Rhaast icon)- Mortals should entertain me ✓ (I guess?)

e) And I have to mention this Vladimir doesn't have a weapon. And just to recap: The surviving 5 Darkin are neither the hosts, nor the weapons, but the spirits of these beings that human had to trap in souls because killing them somehow wasn't an option

Conclusion: I don't want to call Vladimir or his teacher Darkin YET like we have been with Jax for like 4 years.

But at the very least, if the 4 of them sat down with a glass of blood for each, they would have a blast.

I just want 2 of my favourite champs AatroxVladimir to have some interesting interaction

Edit: What the formatting

Lord Phazanor 12/4/2017, 7:52:36 PM4 votes

No, the female Darkin is actually Vlad, she just had surgery because she wasn't born with the right sex, so she fixed it. And after that she inhabited a female host. So she's a transexual male inhabitting a female body but she reshaped it to be male.
If you didn't think of this first you're obviously not smart.

Overlord Forneus12/4/2017, 5:24:58 PM4 votes

Dude, great research here! And I'm glad to see someone else super hyped for a female darkin! Many apologies for having nothing to properly input to this conversation.

Robertsmash12/4/2017, 8:41:30 PM2 votes

One of the most well-put together and plausible League theories I've heard. This would be really cool lore.

6FlagsFunnelCake12/4/2017, 5:58:03 PM2 votes

Love this theory, but perhaps it was the monk that gave Vlad his power aND not Vlad himself. A rioter did mention "Who WAS the monk that vladmir got his powers from?" When talking about Varus''s comment on blood magic. Hopen this theory is true though!

Emperor of Fate12/4/2017, 7:00:12 PM2 votes

Great theory ....i like your thought about vladimir and lilith,,,,,however for some reason i think that the female darkin will be a more sympathetic figure

HalcyonDweller12/4/2017, 7:02:15 PM2 votes

This was really well thought out and researched, thanks for posting about this. It's certainly exciting to consider the implications!

Knalxz12/4/2017, 9:33:21 PM2 votes

I want to say you nailed this theory OP but I doubt Rito put this much effort into their lore. Honestly very few do in most cases people find similarities that the writers never even intended I.E. Tolken.

GreenLore12/5/2017, 12:58:38 AM2 votes

You know how there is also the idea that the 5 darkin are based on the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse?(with the 5th darkin either being different or based on conquest,as the first rider is sometimes seen as conquest,othertimes he is seen as pestilence)

This would actually fit perfectly into this theme,as the 3rd rider represents famine,which could be represented by the blood mages consuming blood in order to keep themselves alive.

Nintendo 3DS12/5/2017, 10:14:08 PM2 votes

Your theory is so well thought, Riot should definitely look into it to try and make the Darkins more interesting now. Sorry i don't contribute much, but what you wrote here is really lit !

Skins Project12/5/2017, 12:27:46 AM1 votes

This is legit

{quoted}

I like this theory. Now we just have to figure out what kind of weapon would fit for Lilaath as a champion.

Maybe a dagger? Daggers were used in many rituals, especially if they are related to blood. And a small and elegant weapon would fit her theme pretty well. Would be great to see a Darkin weapon which isn't as big and impactful as her brothers (scythe, greatsword, longbow).

& That Yes.

I'm totally making a champion concept around this, gun be trush but ;)

This could be a support Darkin, revolving around the idea of the Darkin Empowerment of allies on the battlefield (Aatrox lore) that hasn't really been displayed yet.

Kabouter Plotter5/16/2018, 9:26:00 AM1 votes

ok, so: Varus first released, wields a bow, represents conquest and/or pest Aatrox second released, wields a sword, represents war unknown darkin, yet to be released, will probably represent famine Kayn yet to take over kayn, represents death unknown darkin, in mythology, Hades follows death, and is the resting place of the dead.

so: the darkin archer came first, like the white rider second comes the red rider of war third comes the black rider of famine fourth comes the pale rider of death and in his wake comes Hades (a potential 5th darkin, who may or may not tie in into the lore of the shadow isles or Kindred)

GreenLore12/4/2017, 8:48:52 PM1 votes

Wait a second!

Where was it said that blood magic was given to the humans by the darkins?

Lùmen12/5/2017, 12:49:59 PM1 votes

Haagenti? Baal? Those are names that belong to the statues that are worshipped by the different religions in Israel back in the old times. Not Jewish names. Aaron is a regular name in Israel though. Also Eve, according to the Jewish bible was Adam's first and only wife. Cain wasn't able to run away from God. I don't know what the Roman mythology and stories are about, but I would like to know your sources.

Also I am an atheist and this knowledge comes from the Israeli education system in our country so I am not exactly trying to twist the words of the Bible upside down or anything, it is not in my interest. It's just that last time someone brought up religion in this board people went apeshit on me for saying stuff like that

FlameHalbrdOkido12/4/2017, 8:01:20 PM1 votes

Can i get a source to the updated lores? Specifically, Aatrox, and Vlad?