The Darknut Legion is a playable faction in Hyrule: Total War.
Perhaps the most ancient civilization still standing in Hyrule, the Darknut people nearly exterminated themselves in a massive civil war nearly four thousand years past. Banning all practice of magic and dishonorable forms of combat and warfare, a strict code of honor and ethics was mandated and their society was brutally restructured in order to avoid such a fate.
Darknut Truisms[]
Faction Type: Defensive[]
The forces of the Darknut Legion were slow and ridiculously well armored. This lended their forces a vast advantage in preservation and self defense as opposed to speed and power.
Faction Military Focus: Infantry and Spearmen[]
With a stigma attached to ranged weapons and spellcraft banned, the majority of the Legion's army was strictly melee-centric and most units fell into Infantry or Spearmen roles.
Racial Bonuses/Penalties[]
- Combat Performance in Deserts +1
- All Generals have Hit Points +2 and Law +1
- Can hire mercenaries of any Culture or Faction
- Combat Performance in Snow -1
- All Generals have Movement Points -2 and Ambush -1
- -10% increased unit upkeep
Culture: Desert[]
The Darknuts maintained the most successful and grandest desert empire in the history of Hyrule.
Religion: Idolatry[]
Darknut religion centered around the deification and apotheosis of heroic figures and kings. Anyone could become a god if they did something noteworthy enough.
A Nation of Many Mercs[]
The Darknut Legion was perhaps one of the most culturally inclusive civilizations to have risen in Hyrule; provided that those they adopted had some form of combat prowess. The Legion was known to hire a massive variety of foreign mercenaries to compliment their own armies. Several of their repeat servitors eventually were indoctrinated into their empire as citizens.
Fokka[]
The Fokka had been long time allies of the Darknuts and were the first foreign people to officially join the Legion. A race of flightless avians native to the remote mountains of the northwest Gerudo Desert, Fokka may have lacked the ability to fly but could leap incredible distances. Such an ability helped them traverse the mountainous and cliff laden lands they hailed from. Most Fokka had dark brown or black feathers, grey eyes, and a powerful beak that could puncture most bones with ease.
Mazura[]
Unlike the Fokka, the Mazura were once arch rivals of the Darknut Legion shortly after the end of the civil war. They fought for several decades before the Legion managed to sack their capital and burn it to the ground. After nearly a decade of hiding in the southern Gerudo Desert, the Mazura officially surrendered and were absorbed into the Legion. Mazura are incredibly fast and resilient warriors, though they are known for their extreme stubborness and lack of intelligence. All Mazura have a tall humanoid frame, with head and feet like that of a Hyrulean horse. Their fur comes in a large variety of colors, though tan and brown are the most common.
Lynel[]
The Lynels were a nomadic band of hyper violent raiders that originated somewhere in the Gerudo Desert. During the civil war they were favored mercenaries for all of the various Darknut factions, due in part to their speed and ferociousness. Since the end of the civil war and the founding of the Legion, the various Lynel Prides migrated east across all of Hyrule and can be found in many remote regions. Those that stayed in the desert still to this day serve as loyal mercenaries in the Legion and many live within Darknut cities. Lynels are centaurian, cat-like creatures with the lower body that of a horse. Their fur can be of many colors and tones, though most of the desert dwellers are a light tan or brown.
Darknut Legion Heroes[]
Often revered as gods by their people, the heroes and leaders of the Legion wielded tremendous power... both literally and figuratively. While the honorable creed of the Legion bred many Darknuts with standards, a few that became worshipped let their ego run out of control.
 Zalunbar, God of Flesh |
 Vaati, Wind Sorcerer |
 Yaraxonal, Sage of Winds |
 Senturon, the Black Knight |
Darknut Legion Military Roster[]
The armies of the Legion were amongst the most heavily armored forces to deploy in all of Hyrule. Pure brute force and durability rather than speed and power brought the Darknut armies to victory. Many of their warriors wielded melee weaponry, seeing as ranged combat and magic was shunned by their code.
 Gymnitai |
 Hoplite |
 Peltast |
 Fokka Hypaspist |
 Legionaire |
 Mazura Hippikon | |
 Doomknocker |
 Lynel Pride |
 Jermafenser |
 Rebonack |
 Idol Throne |
 Fokkalista | |
Darknut Legion Agent Roster[]
The Darknut people were undoubtedly warriors. This did not mean they were only warriors, however. The Darknuts had assimilated many races throughout the desert through diplomacy, friendship, and free trade, and were more than capable of accomplishing goals through less bloody means.
 Mighty |
 Legendary |
 Deity |
 Consul |
 Fanatic |
 Zuna Merchantman | |
Darknut Legion Building Projects[]
The Darknut people built magnificent citadel like cities along the sides of Hyrule's western cliffscape. Their tall and circular structures loomed over those that approached Legion settlements, letting invaders know that they had quite a height to traverse if they were to conquer the Darknuts.
| Building Projects | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Hamlet |
 Cliffside Vineyard |
 Holosideros |
 Bar | |||
  Village |
 Draping Vinery |
 Foreign Quarter |
 Hanging Gardens |
 Milk Distributor |
 Fighting Pit |
 Commons |
 Monument of Honor |
 Aqueduct | |||||
  Town |
 Outcropped Orchards |
 Gymnasia |
 Fokka Roosts |
 Mazura Quarters |
 Public Forums |
 Jeweller |
 Auditorium |
 Glassblower |
 Golden Idol |
 Sewers | |||
  Large Town |
 Terraced Farms |
 Colosseum |
 Fokka Armory |
 Lynel Quarters |
 Glass Gallery |
 Apotheon |
 Gilded Masters |
 Dungeon Mastery | |||||
  City |
 Armory of the Gods |
 Thermae | ||||
The Darknut Legion is a playable faction in Hyrule: Total War.
Perhaps the most ancient civilization still standing in Hyrule, the Darknut people nearly exterminated themselves in a massive civil war nearly four thousand years past. Banning all practice of magic and dishonorable forms of combat and warfare, a strict code of honor and ethics was mandated and their society was brutally restructured in order to avoid such a fate.
Physiology[]
Cliff Lords are bipedal canids similar in appearance to jackals, typically standing around two and a half meters tall. Both genders typically have very thin black fur and crimson eyes.
Language[]
The Cliff Lord alphabet.
History[]
Ancient Age[]
The Darknuts are an ancient people who can trace their origins to the Gerudo Cliffs, a mountain range in the west of Hyrule that separates the Gerudo Desert to the east from the southern Great Sea in the west. In ages past, their civilisation was fractured by constant civil wars and border conflicts with the ancient Gerudo, Moblins and Mazura. There exists the belief that the nomadic Wosu splintered from the Cliff Lords during this time.
The Darknut Legion was founded around 5000 BG to unite the Darknuts under a rigid military code and prevent future strife. The four founding leaders were some of the most powerful warriors it had ever seen; Baral, the strongest Darknut warrior of his time; Zalunbar; Yaraxonal, the Second Sage of Spirits; Senturon, the fabled Black Knight. Unbeknownst to any other Darknuts, Zalunbar was aided by the ancient Druthulidi Vaati, who promised him to make him a deity if he'd become his servant. Zalunbar had Baral assassinated in secret and subdued his remaining allies with power, as advisors and generals, leaving him to become the sole King of the Legion. During this time, the Darknut Legion defeated the Mazura and burned their capital to the ground, eventually integrating them within the Legion after around a decade.
A short time after the Legion's foundation Yaraxonal discovered Zalunbar and Vaati were planning to invade the Wind Tribe to steal the Triforce. She attempted to put a stop to them, but they enlisted her husband Senturon to trap Yaraxonal under the Cathedral of Ontheon. The plan worked, and Vaati was able to assume power over the winds while Zalunbar and Senturon acquired her ability to cease ageing. Together Zalunbar and Vaati controlled the Legion for several thousand years, leaving Yaraxonal sealed deep underneath the Cathedral of Ontheon.
Vaati and Zalunbar then initiated a crusade against the Wind Tribe. The Darknuts marched past the Akkalans and Zora nations and instead invaded the mystical lands of the Wind Tribe known as Holodrum. A bloody war between the Darknut Legion and the Wind Tribe broke out, and the hidden cities in Holodrum were left in ruins.
The Darknuts were very close to obtaining the powers of the Wind Tribe, until the Akkalans and the Ikanians declared war against them and marched towards the Tarm Ruins, the last city of the Wind Tribe. The Darknuts were defeated at this last junction, allowing the Wind Tribe to escape to the skies. Senturon turned upon Vaati for having driven his people astray and tricked him to betray his wife, but Vaati brutally and effortlessly murdered him.
With the Wind Tribe gone from Hyrule, the Darknut Legion, furious with their loss, returned to their homeland and isolated themselves for many generations. Vaati continued to maintain Zalunbar's control over the Darknut Legion. Senturon, unknown to everyone else in the Legion, was resurrected by the Fairies of Tarm a short time after Vaati left. He wandered the world for ages, trying to avoid Vaati's attention.
Over time, the neighboring Fokka and nomad Lynel are assimilated among the Legion's people.
Rise of Ganon[]
In 1 BG, King Ganon of the Moblins, dissatisfied with the pride of the Gerudo Ring of Warlords and seeking allies to attack Hyrule Castle and secure the Triforce, comes to the Darknut Legion for aid. Zalunbar tries his best to not have to help the so-called 'filthy pigs', even ordering his Zuna lackey Vorday to cheat at the tournament held for Ganon, but he eventually has to submit to Moblin King when Vaati reminds him that the Triforce is actually the power that the Wind Tribe had left on Hyrule before they departed to the skies.
The Darknut Legion marches alongside the Moblins and the traitorous Sheikah Dark Interlopers against the Kingdom of Hyrule. After the fall of Hyrule Prime, the Darknuts retreat to the Gerudo Cliffs, for Vaati thinks he's being manipulated to seek the Triforce at the same time as Demise and Dethl, the other surviving Druthulidi behind his Moblin and Yiga allies.
Gerudo Wars[]
Around 98 AG, Vaati forms an alliance with Twinrova and Agahnim and sets out to encourage the conflict between the various races of Hyrule. Vaati promises to aid Twinrova and Agahnim so long as the Darknut Legion was given control of Hyrule Castle after the Kingdom had been destroyed.
Throughout the Gerudo Wars, Zalunbar and the Darknuts generally keep a low profile while letting the Gerudo do most of the fighting. When the Gerudo warlord Ganondorf sacks Hyrule Castle Town and kills Princess Marhala Nohansen Zelda III in a duel, Agahnim orders the Gerudo to retreat and let Onan and the Darknut Legion occupy the city.
A few months after the fall of Hyrule, the Darknuts manage to capture Impa, the Sage of Shadows. According to Darknut customs, she'll be given an appropriate Darknut weapon - a huge greatsword - to fight in gladiatorial combat to the death with Darknut challengers. The crowd, among which rank Vaati, Agahnim and Onan, laughs when she finds herself unable to lift the sword, but Impa makes a joke out of the challenges by killing all three challengers in very creative, comedic, decidedly non-Darknut ways.
At this point, Princess Oraiya Zelda IV comes to offer Agahnim a proposal to spare both the Gerudo and Darknuts should they leave her kingdom immediately. When he refuses, Zelda tells him she no longer recognises her father, before Impa, General Kazakk, General Akazoo and the garrison openly rebel against the Darknut Legion.
After Agahnim is killed, the Gerudo-Darknut alliance breaks. In a last ditch attempt to escape, Vaati captures Princess Zelda IV and flees to Ontheon. There Vaati convinces Zalunbar to maintain a defensive stance. Throughout the remainder of the Gerudo Wars the Darknuts remain in Ontheon with Princess Zelda as their prisoner.
After Ganondorf is defeated and arrested by the Hylians, they head further west and assault Ontheon with the help of Darunia's Gorons.
As the battle rages outside, Senturon finally makes his move. Leading the Gerudo traitor Nabooru and the Hylian children Link and Lana under the Cathedral of Ontheon, he finds Yaraxonal encased in stone and manages to free her.
Yaraxonal then ascends from Ontheon and confronts Vaati, nearly ripping apart his Minish host. She forms a short pact with the Hylians and the Gorons and aids them in assaulting Ontheon. With the help of the invaders, she manages to kill both Zalunbar and Vaati, ending their five-millennia tyranny over the Darknut Legion.
Second Golden Age[]
Yaraxonal and Senturon both take the throne of the Legion after their victory. After Ganondorf is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hylians, they hand him to the Darknut Legion to jail him in the fortress of Baral's Stand.
Known Darknuts[]
List of appearances[]
- Windbreaker (First appearance - Opponent)
- Power Play (Opponent)
- Triumph of the Moblin (Ally)
- Ordonian Omen (Opponent)
- Agahnim's Descent (Opponent)
- The Crime of Idols (Last appearance - Opponent)