Who are the Darkin in League of Legends and what role do they play in Runeterra lore?

League of Legends, during the August 12 roadmap showcase, announced a brand new assassin champion that will be an addition to the Darkin class. The "Dog-monster" assassin will hail from a highly sought-after region in Runeterra called Shurima.

League of Legends and Legends of Runeterra feature a wicked race of fallen god-warriors known as the Darkin, imprisoned in sentient weapons. Darkin champions are extremely rare in the game. Aatrox, Rhaast, and Varus are the only ones who currently fit this description.

According to League of Legends lore, the Darkin War, a major civil war that raged throughout Shurima, was caused by the empire's fall at the hands of Xerath, who was once an Ascended warrior of the region.

The Darkin could modify their bodies using blood magic (Image via Riot Games)

The Ascended, who later became the Darkin, used dark blood magic to modify their bodies in a bid for power, corrupting them beyond recognition.

The Darkin was captured at the war's end and turned into sentient weapons, which started getting rediscovered after ages.

Since the fourth Darkin champion is soon to arrive at the Summoner's Rift, let's explore the region and dig deeper into the lore to investigate its significance in League of Legends.

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The rise of the Darkin and their significance in League of Legends

Shurima was once a powerful empire that spanned across the desert in the farthest reaches of the vast southern continent. When the Shuriman Empire rose to power, they started using the Sun Disk to reflect celestial magic into their soldiers, turning them into the Ascended, also known as the Golden God Warriors.

Shurimans using the Sun Disk to turn into Golden Dod Warriors (Screengrab via League of Legends)

These God Warriors were once mortal beings, but they were bestowed with the sun's power, giving them immortality and great celestial might. They protected their ruler from the dreadful threats posed by the Void and were hence frequently referred to as Sunborn.

The Ascended were loyal to the Shuriman Empire. However, they were compelled to fight off the Void for many years during the Icathian rebellion when certain rebels chose to weaponize the Void to aid their war effort.

Nasus, A Golden God Warrior from Shurima (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

When the Void was eventually forced away from them, they had a shared menace to defeat, but the Ascended were left with little purpose. Many Ascended suffered mental damage due to their struggle against the mind-bending creature of the Void, with some being corrupted and others feeling a burning desire for vengeance against Icathia.

A scene from the Void War (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

To make the situation worse, Emperor Azir was betrayed and killed by Xerath, eventually destroying the entire Shuriman empire. The Ascended were left without a leader to follow, which sparked a civil war between the opposing factions of god warriors.

One of these factions used forbidden blood magic to turn themselves into hideous, monstrous beasts to take control of the wreckage of their homeland and the rest of Runeterra.

Xerath killing Azir (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

The corrupt Ascended, then called "Darkin," started terrorizing humanity. They fought with Sunborn, Mortals, and even Targonian Aspects in the Great Darkin War.

The Darkin's rule was dreadful, and the struggle was protracted. But in the end, the corrupt soldiers were defeated and imprisoned inside their weapons. These weapons were kept secret to restrain the Darkin for all time and prevent their reign of terror from ever resuming.

Later in the Twilight of God story, it was revealed that the celestials realized that Darkin was a threat to the mortal world. As a result, Myisha, the aspect of twilight, came down and used Sivir’s original blade, Chalicar, to absorb the darkins inside the weapon.

Sivir with her Chalicar (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

Unfortunately, Myisha failed to absorb all of them, so all the Darkin that managed to run away had to be sealed separately inside special weapons. So only those who were not absorbed by the aspect of twilight were turned into Darkin weapons.

There aren't many Darkin left in Runeterra, and even fewer have awoken from their sleep. But ambitious, foolish, or unfortunate mortals are starting to re-discover them, laying the groundwork for the Darkin's return.

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Will the upcoming Darkin champion be a Human or a Dog?

Riot teased the upcoming Darkin champion featuring a dagger (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

League of Legends' lead champion producer Ryan “Reav3” Mireles discussed the upcoming Darkin champion in the August 2022 Roadmap video. Interestingly, there were quite a few dog puns observed.

It is always advisable to pay close attention to the language he chooses because Reav3 likes using puns to tease the upcoming champions and their looks. He hinted:

"One of the things League community hounds me about is more Darkin champions. Darkin fans are like, throw me a freakin' bone here, and believe you me, I'm right there with you, barkin' for some Darkin."

With Riot possibly releasing a dog-like champion, some fans seemed worried they'd be going for something cute. However, considering the cannon lore, Darkin champions are all Emo edgelords, so, likely, the upcoming Darkin won't be some cute little Yuumi look-alike champion.

Nothing about the champion's lore, other than the fact that she is female, has been revealed by Riot. But that hasn't stopped League of Legends fans from speculating about who this Darkin might be.

Three Darkin champions Varus, Aatrox, and Rhaast, escape the aspect of twilight (Image via Riot Games - League of Legends)

For a long time, it was teased that at least five Darkin escaped from the weapons. However, there are most likely more of them, and this is where an exciting connection can be made.

From Varus' story, it can be found that the Arrow of Retribution traveled to Shurima to look for his sister. Also, referring to the Twilight of the God story, a Darkin named Valeeva had a brother who was not present while she was trapped inside a weapon.

So even though there is no real confirmation, there is a high possibility of Valeeva being Varus' sister. She could very well be the next Darkin champion in League of Legends.

Valeeva's escape is mentioned in League of Legends Twilight of the God lore (Screengrab via Necrit YouTube channel)

This theory can be established because Myisha, in the lore, mentioned that Valeeva escaped and was not absorbed into the Chalicar. As a result, Valeeva had to be trapped in another weapon, which might be a dagger in this case.

However, there was also an interesting twist in Reav3's final statement. He mentioned that the upcoming champion might not be about 'who' picked up the Darkin dagger but rather 'what' picked it up.

Thus, League of Legends fans might get their hands on a Dog-like champion holding a Darkin weapon and having a significant connection to the Runeterra lore. Riot, though, is yet to confirm anything regarding the same.