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 a medieval Druidic cult that operated throughout all the petty kingdoms of ancient Ireland. The cult worshiped the Irish goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The Children of Danu acted as a violent, paganist resistance movement against the rise of the Norse and Christian faiths in Ireland, which had resulted in the native Druidic faith of Classical Irish Antiquity facing the danger of extinction. Fearing the replacement of their native Druidic faith, 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 Lia Fáil, in hopes to revive their beliefs and displace the encroaching foreign belief-systems.

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 through the Druids; a caste of individuals who reputedly possessed strange, mystical powers that enabled them to ensnare the minds of men, transform themselves and others into animals, conjure powerful illusions and even gaze into the past and future.

When the Norse and Christians began to spread their influence across Ireland, 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 retreat into the forests in the Irish countryside to live out their remaining days in solitude and keep their beliefs alive through taking apprentices.

Others however were not so submissive. Many more Druids were very angry over the treatment they had received and resolved to fight back against the invaders. So it was that the extremist Druids gathered together as one to unite their strength and 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 recruiting extensively from among the most zealous of the population to serve as their spies, protectors and foot-soldiers. By the time Eivor arrived in Ireland, the Children already had thousands of followers stationed across the entire width and breadth of the country in numerous secret enclaves and hideouts.

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