Darkin Imprisonment

Lore & Background

In a final act of preservation, the Targonians—specifically the Aspect of Twilight—utilized celestial magic to bind the Darkin's consciousnesses within the living weapons that were already their bodies. This process did not destroy them but rather imprisoned their minds in an eternal, silent torment inside their own sentient metal forms—blades, shields, and gauntlets. These living weapons were then hidden away by the Targonians, waiting for a future where a wielder might unknowingly awaken the sleeping horror within.

In Their Own Story

The temple air was thick with the scent of ozone and old blood as the last Ascended priest raised her hands over the writhing form of Aatrox. He was no longer a man, but a shadow screaming with the voices of a thousand dead worlds. With a voice trembling not from fear but from sorrow, she chanted the binding rites, weaving threads of light into the dark metal of his greatsword. As the magic took hold, the warrior's screams were cut short, his physical form dissolving into smoke that was sucked violently into the blade. The weapon clattered to the stone floor, silent and cold, hiding a mind that would never sleep.

Reader's Guide

The event begins with the corruption of the Ascended warriors who became the Darkin, turning them into existential threats to Shurima's existence. Realizing they cannot be killed through physical means, the remaining Shuriman priesthood initiates a desperate ritual to separate the Darkin consciousness from their physical forms and bind them to their weapons. This sealing process traps the entities in an eternal state of imprisonment within black steel artifacts, effectively neutralizing the immediate threat but leaving a dangerous legacy behind. The impact echoes through history as these cursed items are lost or forgotten for thousands of years, eventually resurfacing in later eras where new wielders risk awakening the ancient evils once more.

Did You Know?

• The Darkin were originally Ascended warriors who became corrupted by blood magic and celestial power, not by Black Steel or the Sun Disc.
• The imprisonment did not kill the Darkin; it trapped their minds inside their own living weapons where they remain conscious and hateful.
• Many legends of Runeterra's cursed blades are actually fragments of this ancient containment project carried out by the Targonians, not mortal mages.