The Darkin Aegis

The Darkin Aegis is a defensive Darkin relic, a corrupted Ascended sealed into a protective form rather than an offensive one. The Darkin were once Ascended God-Warriors of ancient Shurima, immortal god-warriors who fought in the long war against the Void. In that war their minds were broken by the horrors they faced, and their ruined spirits became trapped within their own weapons. Where most Darkin weapons were made for slaughter, the Aegis instead shields whoever bonds with it, wrapping its host in supernatural resilience while slowly devouring them from within. The Aegis is the prison of Joraal, once a mighty Ascended tactician known as the Aegis of Eternity. Even among the immortal god-warriors of Shurima he seemed impervious to attack, his body enduring blows that would fell any other. But the war against the Void raged on without end, and though his body held, it was his mind that finally broke. Corrupted and maddened, Joraal was bound inside the shield that now carries his legend. Joraal's shield eventually found its way to Demacia, where it is now guarded by House Fortis. Long ago it was gifted to the house on the condition that they keep it safe and never disturb it, a charge that passes from one head of the family to the next. The Darkin within is not silent. Its voice cries out to those nearby, sounding sad and pleading, tempting the curious to climb to it and lay hands upon it, as it did to Lady Fortis's young son despite her warnings that he must never touch it. What makes the Aegis especially dangerous is the comfort it offers. It whispers false reassurance to its host, and because it protects rather than harms in the moment, those it takes grow reluctant to remove it even as it consumes them. For now the Darkin remains sealed, its shield untouched and watched over, and Joraal waits within, his impervious defenses and his shattered mind both intact.