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 is unknown, as they never permanently settle in any one location except for their Ketches. 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 Traveler, or "Great Machine", before an event or entity called the "Whirlwind" (possibly the Darkness) destroyed their civilization. In the aftermath, the surviving Fallen became embroiled in a bloody civil war over their civilization's ruins, before achieving a tenuous peace and embarking on a journey into space to locate the Traveler in order to return to greatness once again. The Fallen eventually arrived at the Solar System shortly after humanity's Collapse, and rediscovered the Traveler on Earth.

The Fallen's overall approach to recapturing the Traveler 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 Fallen 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 Fallen 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, marshaling the other Fallen 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.

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

Fallen 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 Fallen, directly into ether via unknown processes.While Servitors were revered in ancient times, they have now become a symbol of the degradation of Fallen society and their lost glory. Higher-ranking Fallen get a bigger ration of ether, and more ether allows Fallen to grow in size; this is why Captains are taller than Vandals or Dregs, and why Kells and Archons tower over other Fallen. 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. When a Fallen is killed, a quantity of ether escapes its body and dissipates.

Houses
Fallen society is divided into a number of Houses, none of which are known to maintain friendly relations with one another, 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 Fallen, 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 Fallen 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 Fallen 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
 * House of Exile
 * House of Judgment
 * House of Kings
 * House of Rain
 * House of Scar
 * House of Stone
 * House of Winter
 * House of Wolves

Shank
Small drones used for scouting and patrol, Shanks are simply robotic drones armed with shock pistols. Though they are on par with Dregs in terms of weakness, Shanks can be modified to use protective shields, reinforced armour and even wire rifles.

Dreg
The 'cannon fodder' of the Eliksni, Dregs have their lower arms removed in a humiliating ritual. Only when they prove themselves worthy to be promoted to Vandals will they be allowed to grow these arms back. Dregs most often wield shock pistols and shock daggers in combat, but sometimes fight with shrapnel launchers.

Vandal
The foot soldiers of the Eliksni, Vandals are slightly stronger than Dregs but clearly more of a threat. Vandals often use shock rifles or wire rifles. Vandals sometimes wield shock blades, but most often as Stealth Vandals. (invisible Vandals)

Captain
Commanding units of the Eliksni, Captains are defended with a combination of strong armour and energy shields. They are often armed with either dual shock blades or shrapnel launchers. Earning the most respect and rations of most Eliksni, Captains are also known to ruthlessly kill or seriously wound their subordinates for even the slightest of infractions.

Servitor
Spherical robots left over from the Eliksni's collapsed civilization, Servitors convert matter and energy into a substance called Ether, which members of the Eliksni species depend on for life. In combat, Servitors are able to fire a blast of void energy from their 'pupil.' Servitors have also been known to hack machinery for the Eliksni and have an apparent religious significance to them.

Archon
Eliksni serving as high priests, Archons are revered among the Eliksni for their connections to the High Servitors. Outside of combat, Archons are tasked with mediating communications between the Kell of their houses and the High Servitors. They are almost always encountered armed with Shrapnel launchers and are extremely durable.

Fallen Walker
Fallen Walkers are large insect-like robots armed with an explosive main cannon and light repeater guns. At close range, the Walker may deploy shock-mines and even Shanks for support. Walkers are commonly used to defend locations or key assets to the fallen, such as Glimmer Drills or Fallen hideouts. Concentrated fire on a Walker's leg until the armour is removed can temporarily stun it and expose the engine core.