Eliksni



We have butchers at our gates - four-armed and eager to slaughter.-unknown.

The Eliksni, more commonly referred to as The Fallen, are a race of scavengers and pirates divided into separate factions, or houses. The Eliksni are humanoid in appearance, with the obvious exception of possessing four arms(Two in the case of Dregs) and their exceptional agility.

The homeworld of the Eliksni was known as Riis, and after its fall, they have never permanently settle in any one location except for their Ketches, until the House of Salvation created the city of Riis-Reborn on the moon of Europa. There is evidence to suggest that the Eliksni were once a powerful and noble species before their current state. (This is possibly the reason why they are known as The Fallen.)

The Eliksni exhibit numerous positions in their hierarchy in combat:

History
The Fallen's name for their own race is "Eliksni". According to Variks, the Loyal, the Fallen once encountered the Traveller, or "Great Machine", before an event or entity called the "Whirlwind" (possibly the Darkness or some other cataclysmic event) destroyed their civilization. In the aftermath, the surviving Eliksni became embroiled in a bloody civil war over their civilizations ruins, before achieving a tenuous peace and embarking on a journey into space to locate the Traveller in order to return to greatness once again. The Fallen eventually arrived at the Solar System shortly after humanity's Collapse, and rediscovered the Traveller on Earth.

The Eliksnis's overall approach to recapturing the Traveller has been aimless, however, due to the conflicting ambitions of the Kells. The House of Devils mounted a massive assault of the Last City not long after its founding, but the battle that became known as Six Fronts ended in a victory for the City, and the Devils have since focused their efforts on scavenging the Cosmodrome. The House of Winter conducted a guerrilla campaign against human settlements and Guardian expeditions, but their interest later turned to the Vex ruins of the Ishtar Sink, which in turn has resulted in a losing war of attrition with the Hezen Corrective. Outcasts from the larger Houses have banded together to form the House of Exile, which has taken to pillaging the human ruins and Hive temples of the Ocean of Storms. The secretive House of Kings is believed to be manipulating a number of other Houses with the long-term goal of seizing the Traveler from the Guardians; this scheme may have precipitated the Battle of the Twilight Gap, one of the few times any number of the Houses actively cooperated with each other.[7] The Kings however, have kept to the shadows and have avoided major conflict with the City. Meanwhile, the House of Wolves was caught up in the Reef Wars with Awoken, which ended with the imprisonment of their nobility and Queen Mara Sov being crowned as their Kell.

In recent times, the Guardians have undertaken increasingly bold offensives against Eliksni operations and leadership. The House of Devils has been decapitated, as its Kell, Archon, and Prime have each been slain; the House of Winter has similarly suffered a loss of its ruling triumvirate. The House of Kings' leaders are believed to yet live, but a number of its Barons have been assassinated. The anarchic House of Exiles has no real leadership to speak of, but efforts to acquire Hive technology have been thwarted.

An unexpected counterattack by the Eliksni came in the form of the House of Wolves' rebellion against the Awoken. Their previous Kell, Skolas, returned and claimed the prophesied title of Kell of Kells, seeking to unite all of the Fallen Houses under his rule alone. Prowling Wolf Packs swarmed sites on various worlds, marshalling the other Eliksni to pledge to Skolas' banner. The resurgent Wolves were broken through the efforts of the Guardians and Skolas was re-imprisoned and later killed, but some holdouts remained; the Wolves' old Prime later attempted to reassemble the House on Mars.

During the Taken War, the Eliksni houses were devastated by Oryx, who transformed many of their number into Taken subservient to his will. A year later, the House of Devils learnt of SIVA, an ancient nano-technology capable of constructing theoretically anything. Upon discovering where SIVA was produced and stored, these Eliksni used it to transform themselves into cyborgs, adopting the name 'Splicers' after Eliksni scientists and technicians. Thanks to the intervention of the Guardians and Lord Saladin, the last of the Iron Lords, SIVA was effectively destroyed, along with the Splicer's leader, Aksis.

At some point during or just prior the Cabal invasion of Earth, the Eliksni houses finally united, now under the banner of the House of Dusk. Out of desperation to avoid extinction, the House of Kings' Kell, Craask, called out to all Eliksni to discard the iconography and traditions of their houses or their division would lead them to extinction. Despite their newfound unity, the House of Dusk continued to face devastating losses at the hands of the Guardians and their other enemies.

One year after the Traveller's awakening, Variks, the last of the House of Judgement and Warden of the Awoken Prison of Elders, was manipulated by the Awoken prince Uldren Sov into starting a prison break to help ensure his species would survive. Unbeknownst to Variks, prince Uldren had been corrupted by the Darkness and was in league with the Scorn, a horde of undead Eliksni ressurected and empowered by the Darkness. In the process of escaping, the Scorn Barons, led by Uldren, killed the Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6, angering the Guardians of the Last City. One by one, the Barons fell to Guardian actions. Meanwhile, Uldren destroys the leadership of the remaining Fallen Houses, foremost among them the Kings, and subsumes their remains into the newly formed Scorn. Eventually, all the Barons were killed, along with Uldren, but the Scorn still ravage parts of the Asteroid Belt to this day.

At some point after the prison break, the Eliksni Pirate Captain Eramis, escapee of the Prison of Elders, creates the House of Salvation, and begins work on the Fallen city of Riis-Reborn on Europa. While the Guardians were focused on the mysterious Pyramid Ships appearing over several planets of the solar system and the Hive's interference in communication between them, the Eliksni were also communing with the ships. The Darkness contained in the ships bestowed on Eramis the paracausal power of Stasis, allowing her to directly challenge the Guardians. Eramis' erstwhile companion, Variks, abandons her, after realizing that she was not the salvation he was seeking for the Eliksni, and calls on the Guardians for help. Eramis gives the power of Stasis to her most trusted advisors and higher-ups, but it is not enough to stop the onslaught of Guardians, who are now also empowered with Stasis. After the most powerful of her subordinates are defeated, Eramis pulls too strongly on the power of the Darkness during the final fight with the Guardians and it overwhelms her, freezing her solid. A short while later, the last of Eramis' major followers, named Kridis, attempts to resurrect Eramis, but is stopped by the Guardians, though it is unknown if such a resurrection is even possible. The House of Salvation's latest plot, to sieze control of the Deep Stone Crypt space station and the secrets of creating Exos, was thwarted by the Guardians, who ended up destroying the station in it's entirety. Along the way, the Eliksni mercenary Taniks the Scarred was ressurected as an Exo, but was killed by the Guardians for a third time.

During the Endless Night crisis, humanity found an unexpected ally in the form of the Eliksni House of Light. Their Kell, Mithrax the Forsaken, had previously served in the ranks of the House of Wolves, then the House of Dusk, during which time he befriended an Awoken, Sjur Eido, and was saved from a Hive Knight by a Guardian on Titan. These experiences led Mithrax to believe that the Traveller rightfully belonged to humanity, and that the Eliksni should co-exist with Humans and share the light of the Traveller rather than fight and die for it. When the Vex simulated a perpetual night on the Last City, the Guardians approached Mithrax for help due to his expertise on the Vex. In exchange, the House of Light were granted sanctuary on Earth. This decision was largely controversial due to the violent and bloody history between Humans and Eliksni, although Mithrax and the Warlock vanguard Ikora Rey expressed optimism for improved relations in future. Mithrax worked with the Guardians in navigating the Vex network and tracking down the source of the Endless Night. However, his efforts were hindered by Lakshmi-2, the Exo leader of the Future War Cult, who predicted an attack on the Last City and presumed the Eliksni to be responsible. To that end, she began to publically incite the Humans of the Last City into violent mobs attacking the House of Light, stoking fear and anger over their history, whilst even portraying the Guardians as traitors to humanity who 'sold out' to their enemies. However, despite this hostility, Mithrax continued in his efforts to remove the Endless Night and even developed a friendship with the Guardian Saint-14. Eventually, Mithrax traced the Endless Night simulation to the Vex known as Quria, which had been taken by Oryx long ago and given to Savathun as her thrall. Realising that the Witch Queen of the Hive was the true mastermind behind the crisis, the Guardians and House of Light tracked down, fought and destroyed Quria, dissipating the Endless Night. However, Laksmhi-2 maintained her belief in the Eliksni's presumed treachery, and had secretly developed a portal based on Vex technology with the aid of the Guardian Osiris. Her intention was to use the portal to banish the House of Light from Earth once the Endless Night had been dealt with, but had been decieved by Osiris, who was later discovered to have been Savathun herself assuming his form. When the portal was opened, an army of Vex invaded the Last City, killing Lakshmi-2 as she unleashed the invasion she thought she was preventing. Fortunately, Eliknsi and Humans fought together to drive back the Vex, ending the incursion and securing the House of Light's place in the Last City.

Biology
Eliksni are a hardy species, and can survive in a wide range of environments without heavy armour or complex modifications to their physiology. Eliksni have four arms, partible mandibles and typically wear a helmet with a built-in respiration apparatus. Through means either natural or artificial, the Eliksni can regrow their arms if removed from their body. Their blood colour is reddish purple.

Eliksni depend on a substance called ether to survive, which only servitors can produce. Servitors convert scavenged matter and energy, presented to them ritualistically by the Eliksni, directly into ether via unknown processes. While Servitors were revered in ancient times, they have now become a symbol of the degradation of Eliksni society and their lost glory. Higher-ranking Eliksni get a bigger ration of ether, and more ether allows Eliksni to grow in size; this is why Captains are taller than Vandals or Dregs, and why Kells and Archons tower over other Eliksni. According to Eido, a scribe of the House of Light, Ether also catalyses physical maturation in Eliksni, and that the Captains are in fact the true adult form of Eliksni, whereas the Dregs and Vandals are left with stunted bodies due to strict Ether rationing. In the description of the Elder Cipher we learn that the Kell of a house controls and distributes ether flow using their own personal cipher. Interestingly, despite being a Kell, Mithrax of the House of Light stands about the hieght of a standard Captain, much shorter than other Kells. This is due to his refusal to use Ether as a means of controlling his house and his belief that Ether should flow freely and fairly between all Eliksni rather than hoarded by selfish leaders. When an Eliksni is killed, a quantity of ether escapes its body and dissipates.

Houses
Eliksni society is divided into a number of Houses, none of which are known to maintain friendly relations with one another (until Destiny 2 where they all join under the banner of the house of dusk), save for the House of Judgment, which was meant to live among the other houses and keep the peace. Each House is ruled by a Kell, who acts as the political leader of a House and commands a Ketch. Prime Servitors are exalted as gods among the Eliksni, inspiring fanatical devotion from the House to which they belong and providing a steady supply of vital ether and new minor servitors. Archons serve as both high priests and chief engineers of a House, mediating between the Kell and the Prime Servitor in addition to overseeing maintenance of the House's machines. Houses require all three to be fully stable; without a Kell a House becomes prone to infighting, without an Archon a House's Prime Servitor is vulnerable to attack, and without a Prime Servitor a House cannot produce new servitors for ether.

Below the upper echelon of House leadership are the Barons and Captains and the individual crews they command. Captains are Eliksni who have managed to gather a following of a number of Vandals and Dregs, who serve as the Captain's crew, commanding respect through brute force. Most Captains swear fealty to a certain House, but some operate independently. A step above Captains in rank are the Barons, who possess a Skiff as well as lead a crew.

The majority of Fallen Houses consist of Vandals and Dregs. Vandals serve as both seasoned infantry and skilled workers. They aspire to become Captains and one day lead crews of their own. Dregs are the lowest class in Eliksni society. Docked of their lower pair of arms in a ritual of humiliation and obedience, Dregs zealously fill the roles of shock troops and menial laborers in crews. The life expectancy of a Dreg is notoriously short, but those few who survive to be promoted to Vandals are permitted to regrow their arms.

Known Houses
 * House of Devils - Worshippers of technology and the main hostile force threatening Earth. Identified by red banners.
 * House of Exile - Outcasts from other houses. Identified by green banners.
 * House of Judgment - Peacekeepers between houses. Variks is the only known member.
 * House of Kings - Unofficial rulers of the Eliksni. Identified by gold banners.
 * House of Rain - Extinct house said to predict the future. Identified by purple banners.
 * House of Scar - Unknown house. Taniks is presumed to have been a member.
 * House of Stone - Unknown house.
 * House of Winter - Seekers of knowledge. Identified by Cyan banners.
 * House of Wolves - Rebelled against the Awoken and attempted to unify the Eliksni houses. Identified by blue banners.
 * House of Dusk - Amalgamation of the other houses uniting out of desperation. Identified by purple banners.
 * House of Light - Worshippers of the Traveller seeking peaceful co-existence with humanity.
 * House of Salvation - House of Dusk defectors seeking power from the Darkness. Identified by white and blue banners.

Technology
Eliksni technology is ramshackle in appearance, but very much functional. The majority of their weapons are powered by arc energy, save for the Wire Rifle and Shrapnel Launcher, and they have also developed anti-gravity vehicles known as Pikes and even teleportation. Due to their lack of a permanent residence, Eliksni typically reside within huge starships known as Ketches. Due to their dependence on Ether for survival, the Eliksni rely on their robotic Servitors to produce more of it from other forms of matter, something which has made the Servitors into a significant symbol of Eliksni culture. In addition to Servitors, the Eliksni also maintain a number of robots to fulfil a variety of battlefield roles. Shanks are small drones designed for infantry support and come in several variations. Walkers are autonomous hexapodal war machines serving as battle tanks, whilst Brigs operate as war mechs. Only the Servitors, or rather the Prime Servitors, seem to demonstrate any sapient intelligence, as they seem to occupy leadership roles among the Eliksni and have even been considered gods by the House of Devils in the past.