Children of Danu

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"The Children of Danu have perverted their beliefs into a weapon."

―Ciara ingen Medba

The Children of Danu was an early medieval druidic cult that operated throughout all the petty kingdoms of Ireland. The cult worshiped the Irish goddess Danu of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The Children of Danu acted as a violent, pagan resistance movement against the rise of the Norse and Christian faiths in Ireland, which had resulted in the native druidic faith of Classical Antiquity facing the danger of extinction. Fearing the replacement of their native Gaelic paganism, the high ranking members within the Children of Danu sought to acquire and use the power of ancient relics both in and out of their possession, such the Lia Fáil, in hopes to revive their beliefs and displace the encroaching foreign beliefs.

Between 879 and 882, the Children of Danu were systematically exterminated by the Viking jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan.

History

It is not specifically stated as to when exactly the Children of Danu were founded, but the order is quite old in its own right based on the timeline of Norse encroachment into ancient Ireland. Before the Norse and the Christian faiths came, Gaelic paganism reigned supreme in Ireland through the druids, an elite caste of individuals who reputedly possessed strange, mystical powers that enabled them to ensnare the minds of humans, transform themselves and others into animals, conjure powerful illusions, kill without lifting a finger, and even gaze into the past and future.

When the Norse-Gaelic Christians began to spread their influence across Ireland and rapidly increased in number, many traditional practices, customs and beliefs of the Druids began to be phased out to make way for the new systems. Many Druids chose to passively retreat into the forests in the Irish countryside to live out their remaining days in solitude and keep their beliefs alive through taking apprentices. These apprentices were usually disenfranchised men and women from the Norse-Gaelic society in Ireland.

Other adherents of the old ways, however, were not so submissive and were often mistreated, scorned and ostracized by the Norse-Gaelic Christians in Ireland. With the rise of the Christian order, the increasing influence of the Nordic settlers and the realization that Gaelic paganism was on the verge of facing extinction, most Druids became enraged over the treatment they had received and resolved to fight back against the invaders by engaging in the more horrific and far darker aspects of Gaelic paganism. These extremist Druids gathered together as one to unite their strength, work to drive out the Norse and Christian religions and re-establish the Druids as the principal faith of Ireland.

They called themselves the Children of Danu and began aggressively recruiting from among the most zealous, dissatisfied or disenfranchised from the populace to serve as their spies, enforcers and foot-soldiers. By the time Eivor arrived in Ireland, the Children already had numerous of followers stationed across the entire country in numerous secret enclaves and hideouts where they practiced their dark rituals, trained to kill, and coordinated their attacks.

Beliefs

The Children of Danu worshiped the old Celtic customs of Ireland, and detested Christianity and Norse-Gaels, which they considered tainted and would not take hesitate to expel them from the island. They had the guise of benevolent customs, but in reality they coveted Celtic black magic and dark gods and spirits, which reflected in a green hallucinogenic mist that anyone who breathed it would see closely what the Children of Danu adored. They were interested in Lia Fáil, a stone brought by a race of gods called the Tuatha Dé Danann, which could only be handled by one of its members called Ciara ingen Medba, which they saw as an instrument for his machinations, so she had to defect and join the court of the Irish king Flann Sinna.

Members

The leader is marked with an asterisk. (*)

• 
  Eogan mac Cartaigh (The Oak)*

Lords

• 
  Bécc mac Nath-í (The Seed)
• 
  Niamh (The Wren)
• 
  Ruaidrí (The Deer)
• 
  Aideen (The Spider)
• 
  Conlae (The Blaze)

High Druids

• 
  Sétnae (The Cursed)
• 
  Cummascach (The Ash)
• 
  Leasleach (The Whisper)
• 
  Trian (The Mist)

Former Members

• 
  Ciara ingen Medba

Behind the scenes

The Children of Danu is a faction in introduced in the Wrath of the Druids DLC. According to Associate Narrative Director Hugo Sahuquet, the faction is not part of the Order of the Ancients.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Wrath of the Druids