Some lore speculations (Darkin, Celestials and other immortals)

So I've been doing some thinking on the lore for Runeterra's immortals. The Darkin are by far the most popular to speculate on but there are quite a few others of note and I often see them getting confused. So while I don't have answers to everything by a long shot, I want to put forward some ideas, some of which I think have pretty solid foundations and others of which are more in the realm of speculation. I should get out of the way that this will be a long post. You've been warned.

So first the facts about Darkin:

1st: The only indisputable Darkin is Aatrox (or his sword, but I personally don't think that theory has much basis, and I'll get into why a bit more later.)

2nd: There are five Darkin, and two were known to history in addition to Aatrox but not by name. This strongly implies but does prove that these two champions existed prior to Aatrox release.

3rd: Kayle and Morgana ARE NOT Darkin. Lore has confirmed that there are exactly five Darkin. Kayle's and Morgana's lore very clearly references an entire people of which they are both exceptional members. It is safe to assume this implies far more of their race exists than five. Five individuals are generally not referred to as a people, and even if they were, it would be very odd indeed for them to list Kayle as "...a great hero. The strongest of an immortal race..." If there are only five Darkin we can safely assume they are all exceptional and this description of Kayle would thereby not make sense. Furthermore, the idea that Kayle is the general and champion of an oppressive government which rules over only four people, two of which are rogue agents, is absurd. So let's put a nail in the coffin for that silly theory.

4th: Simply being a deity/immortal or similar is insufficiant to qualify something as a Darkin and we shouldn't claim a character is a Darkin solely on this basis. If all immortals were Darkin we'd have far more than five.

Other known immortals and their classifications:

Celestials: We know explicitly from their lore that both Bard and Soraka belong to a class of immortals known as Celestials. These beings seem to be associated with cosmic forces and a protection of natural order. They also seem connected to We also know based on the two known members of this class that they do not

Angels: Discussed above:

Undead: The following are former mortals made into undead revenants by the curse of the Shadow Isles: . While Elise , Maokai and Evelynn are associated with isles, they do not appear to be undead, nor is it stated anywhere that this is the case.

Void Denizens: The following champions are known to be denizens of the void:

Unclassified immortals: All the following are known to be immortals or extraplanars (or are avatars or vessels for them) but are not in any way distinctively classified:

So with those out of the way, lets move on to the evidence we have for various theories:

My theories on Jax: By far the most speculated Darkin character is Jax due to the Aatrox-like being that appears in the flame of his lamppost. While it's certainly likely Jax has some connection to Aatrox, Riot has jerked us around on Jax's lore so much that it's very difficult to say much about what that connection might be. I do not think he is a Darkin, however, because he does not fit the bill of a sinister being who comes to humanity in times of turmoil. My personal suspicion is that he's a celestial, but that's only a gut feeling, in addition to him having some stylistic similarity to Bard. It's possible that Jax is the cosmic emissary to the League, permitted to enter battle to maintain balance.

My theories on Kindred: Like Jax, I think Kindred is a Celestial, though I think there's more basis here. In addition to similarities in form to Soraka with Lamb, Kindred fits to role of a cosmic balance keeper and protector, as they protect a forces of life and death.

**My Theories on the Watchers **: There are a number of beings who seem to be tied to elemental forces. Anivia to ice, Brand to fire. Malphite is a shard of a being known as the Monolith. Illaoi is the preistess of a water/sea goddess called Nagakabouros. It's worth noting in addition to Brand, Anivia also has a rivalry with Lissandra . What is Lissandra though? Based on lore she seems not to be fundementally tied to ice magic but rather a being who has usurped and begun corrupting it. Lissandra is described in her lore as being a servant of beings known as the Watchers. In Anivia's lore, it's stated that Lissandra's effect on the true ice is like a creeping darkness. We have evidence of a similar presence in other parts of the lore in the rest of the world, but I've never seen them connected for some reason. Varus is being slowly corrupted by a similarly described creeping darkness and a similar creeping darkness is also described as corrupting Nautilus and may well have been responsible for wiping out Fizz's people. Also worth noting, LeBlanc and Swain have some similarity to the story of Lissandra, appearing repeatedly through history as their own successors, immortal and secretly manipulating society through the Black Rose and the Frost Guard respectively. A secret society is also mentioned in Ionia, which frees Jhin to work as their assassin, where there is also a source of the creeping darkness. I think the creeping darkness and the Watchers are one and the same and that they are timeless beings behind a global secret society which seeks to corrupt all it can touch. The use of a watching Eye as a symbol is very similar to the Eye of Providence, often associated with secret societies like the free masons and the illuminati.

My Theories on the Darkin: In my opinion, Tahm has the best case for being a Darkin. He may or may not be one of those "known to history." He was released well after Aatrox. However, he does seem to be known to history, but not by name, rather by "The River King/Demon", which may make him one of the three which are known. Furthermore, this may give us a hint to another Darkin I've yet to see proposed. While Aatrox certainly looks the part of a demon better than any other champion, there is only one champion besides Tahm Kench who is referred to as a demon. Shaco is called the Demon Jester. He's explicitly mysterious in nature, so it's very possible Shaco is not his real name, which would allow him to fit the lore. Furthermore, like Tahm and Aatrox, he's sadistic without purpose, simply reveling in an ideal. So that is my theory on what the Darkin are. Beings who embody humanities most base desires who come to people with unspeakable bargains in times of desperation. Basically demons as described in alot of lore.

TL:DR - The Watchers, Celestials, Void, Undead, Elementals, Angels and Darkin are all sepparate classes of supernatural beings, each of which may pose it's own existential threat to Runeterra.

Let me know what you all think.