Editing Consul

{{Character infobox
|name=The Consul
|nameBG=darkred
|BG=darkred
|sectionBG=darkred
|lineBG=darkred
|variant= Cabal
|image= [[File:TheConsulInfobox.jpg|300px]]
|othernames=Roach <br> Iago
|species= [[Cabal]]
|gender= Male
|affiliation= [[Red Legion]] <br> [[Praetorate]]
|rank= Consul
|notable= Chief advisor to [[Dominus Ghaul]] <br> Member of the Praetorate
}}
{{quote|We have spent our lives, [[Dominus Ghaul|you]] and I, working to reshape our society... reforge our people... rebuild an empire nearly destroyed by [[Emperor Calus|Calus's]] greed and corruption.|The Consul}}

The '''Consul''' was an aristocratic member of the [[Cabal]] [[Praetorate]] and the mentor and personal advisor of [[Dominus Ghaul]], as well as the mastermind behind the [[Midnight Coup (event)|Midnight Coup]] that overthrew [[Emperor Calus]]. He was the secondary antagonist of ''[[Destiny 2]]''.

==Biography==
===Fall from power===
{{quote|I will not dignify this leech with a name. Think of him as a roach, a roach who scurried out from the ruin of the old Praetorate. He'd grown fat on the scraps they fed him, the wealth and influence and favor. And when I took his scraps away to enrich my throne and inspire my people, he wanted them back.|Emperor Calus}}
The Consul was a figure with close ties to the [[Cabal]] [[Praetorate]]. When the Praetorate was overthrown by [[Emperor Calus]], the Consul lost all of his power and influence and was personally castrated by Calus to ensure he would beget no heir. During the new Emperor's coronation, the Consul was stripped naked and brought before the assembled royal court at the edge of a vast desert and ordered to run by Calus.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/9/8)''', ''[[Destiny 2]] - Item Description: [[Inaugural Address#Lore|Inaugural Address]]''</ref> At some point, he stumbled upon [[Dominus Ghaul|Ghaul]], a young orphan who had been left for dead. Hungry for revenge and realizing that Ghaul would be a useful tool, he raised, trained and instilled his hateful ideals into Ghaul, grooming him into a ruthless warlord.<ref>[[Cabal Booklet]]: [[Cabal Booklet#The Consul|The Consul]]</ref>

===The Midnight Coup===
[[File:The Consul Face.png|thumb|280px|The Consul]]

Thousands of years before the [[Red War]], the Consul masterminded the [[Midnight Coup (event)|coup]] to overthrow Calus. Leading a group of the Emperor's closest allies and advisors, the coup took place under the cover of night during Calus's revelry; desposing him and making Ghaul the new [[Dominus]] of the Empire. At the request of his daughter [[Caiatl]], Calus and his [[Loyalists]] were instead exiled aboard [[The Leviathan]] and set adrift in space. With Dominus Ghaul now in charge of the Cabal, the Consul became his most trusted advisor and lifelong friend; working to undo the damage Calus's depravity caused during his reign.<ref>[[Cabal Booklet]]</ref>

===The Red War===
{{quote|The [[Last City|City]] is secure. [[Guardians|Those]] who fled, are being hunted, and those foolish enough to remain have been executed.|The Consul}}
During the closing stages of the [[Red War#Surprise attack|Cabal invasion of the Last City]], aboard [[The Immortal]], the Consul approached Dominus Ghaul as he was interrogating the [[Speaker]], reporting that the [[Traveler]] was secure, and the remaining Guardian forces had been executed within the [[Last City]]. Unlike Ghaul, the Consul considered the Traveler simply a "great machine" with no intelligence of its own.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]] - [[Adieu]]''</ref>

As the Red Legion sought to secure their hold on the Sol System, the Consul and Ghaul met with [[Bracus Zahn]], a rogue arms dealer. The Consul was angered by the ex-soldier's attitude toward the Dominus and warned him about being flippant towards the Red Legion's leader. However, Zahn warned the Consul to not waste the time of the only arms dealer the Legion had, drawing the further ire of the Consul and the other Legionaries present due to the necessity of Zahn's services causing them to be unable to harm the disrespectful renegade Bracus.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/5/12)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Curse of Osiris]] - Item Description: [[Tilt Fuse#Lore|Tilt Fuse]]''</ref>

Later, as Ghaul spoke with the Speaker about how the Traveler chose whom to empower with the [[Light]], the Consul arrived to inform him that a mission on [[Io]] to learn how to extract the Traveler's Light was a success. He declared that with the Traveler's cage complete, Ghaul could act to claim the Light immediately. Ghaul demurred, however, having been persuaded by the Speaker that the Light could be gained through devotion and self-sacrifice.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]] - [[Fury]]''</ref>

After [[The Almighty]] was deactivated, the Consul brought news of the event to Dominus Ghaul, infuriated at him. The Consul, frustrated that Ghaul would heed the Speaker's advice over his own, berated Ghaul for not seizing the light sooner. Ghaul attempted to ignore him, still believing he could earn the Traveler's favor on his own merits, but the Consul had run out of patience, who then released the Speaker's restraints and crushed his fallen mask.<ref group=note>The Speaker's fate is unclear after the restraints are released.</ref> The Consul urged Ghaul to remember who he was, to remember that he had already been chosen for greatness, not by the Traveler, but by the Consul, and to seize the Light for the glory of the Cabal. While the message did get through, Ghaul was not willing to let the Consul's insubordination go unpunished. Ghaul, while promising to fulfil his destiny, strangled the Consul to death.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]] - [[Chosen]]''</ref>

==Personality and Traits==
{{quote|You have already been chosen, not by some [[Traveler|inert machine]], but by me! I chose you... the day I found you.|The Consul, contending with Ghaul's desire to be chosen by the Traveler}}
The Consul is a large [[Cabal]] sporting heavy but worn-down ancient armor, with red paint worn away in some places to reveal gunmetal backing and a ragged black cape. His breastplate is draped with [[Ghost]] "eyes" and an [[ATS/8 ARACHNID]] helmet. He does not wear a helmet, and his arms are completely exposed. Additionally, the Consul sports metal covers over his fingertips. In his youth, the Consul's armor was heavier and more imposing, with large spikes atop his shoulders.

The Consul's body, skin, and face are heavily shriveled, signifying his age, and due to a scar over the left side of his face, his left eye is blind.

Personality-wise, the Consul is an aged but prideful Cabal noble who fully believes in Cabal dominance but is highly power-hungry and arrogant, viewing nearly everything around him to be a tool for the Cabal to exploit. He even saw that the Traveler was just an advanced machine and its light was to be harvested for their benefit. The Consul was also vengeful, as after Emperor Calus relieved him of his power and publicly shamed him, the Consul sought revenge against his emperor and to restore his power. Organizing a coup with like-minded individuals who were also dissatisfied with Calus, the Consul was even willing to use an innocent orphan as his tool for vengeance. Instilling his hateful and warlike ideals into Ghaul, the Consul sought to use Ghaul as his weapon to restore his influence and power. However, he underestimated how well he trained Ghaul, as he proved far more strong-willed than he had anticipated, refusing to bend to the will of the Consul's group. In time, the Consul and his followers learned to fear and obey Ghaul, following his creeds. Despite the Consul's original intention to use Ghaul as a puppet, he nonetheless viewed the Consul as his closest friend and made him his chief advisor.  

During the Red War, the Consul remained largely loyal to Ghaul but became frustrated with Ghaul's obsession in proving himself to the Traveler to gain its power and was growing increasingly furious that the Dominus would heed the advice of an imprisoned Speaker over his own. Ultimately, when The Almighty was permanently disabled, the Consul confronted the Dominus which in his arrogant insubordination of questioning Ghaul's objectives and reminding him of what he did for Ghaul, ironically convinced Ghaul to take the Light by force and angered him enough to kill his old friend.

==Trivia==
*The Consul is voiced by [[Wikipedia:Frank Langella|Frank Langella]].<ref>[http://www.gameinformer.com/games/destiny_2/b/playstation4/archive/2017/06/11/destiny-2s-lead-creators-discuss-story-direction.aspx '''Game Informer''' - ''Lead Creators Discuss Story Direction'']</ref> 
*The Consul is the fifth antagonist observed speaking English, and the second [[Cabal]] to be seen doing so.
*The Consul and Emperor Calus are the only two Cabal depicted in-game with a completely visible face and head.
*The fashion in which the Consul was killed ironically met the specifications desired by Emperor Calus; Calus wanted the Consul to die by his own weapons, and he was ultimately killed by Ghaul, who was used by the Consul as a "weapon" during the [[Midnight Coup (event)|Midnight Coup]].
*Even though the Consul is shown to be much smaller than Ghaul, the size of the helmet on his necklace suggests that he is about as tall as Calus, yet the Ghost cores on his necklace indicate that he should be the size of a Legionary. This is likely a developer oversight.
*The Consul is referred to as "Iago" in certain production notes and pieces of concept art, as well as in the Destiny 2 official chess set.<ref>[https://a.co/d/6zPhuor USAOPOLY Destiny Chess Set | Destiny 2 Video Game Chess Game | 32 Custom Sculpt Collectable Figure Chess Pieces and Custom Chess Board]</ref>
**This is a clear reference to the treacherous [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iago Iago] of ''Othello''.
*The bottom of the Consul's shoulder pauldrons are shaped like [[War Beast]] faces, possibly (along with the concept art and Calus' Journal) showing him to have an affinity for them.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Iago rage.jpg|Concept art of The Consul.
File:Consul Booklet.jpg|The Consul depicted from Calus's Journal.
File:Consul Cape.jpg|The Consul approaching [[Dominus Ghaul]].
File:The Consul Body Shot.png|The Consul standing before Ghaul
File:The Consul Scolds Ghaul.png| The Consul arguing with Ghaul over taking the Traveler's Light.
</Gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Cabal Booklet]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]''
**''[[Curse of Osiris]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Beloved (lore)|Beloved]]'' {{Mo}}

==Notes==
<references group="note"/>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Cabal]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Main antagonists]]