Editing Empress Caiatl

|homeworld=[[Torobatl]]

|homeworld=[[Torobatl]]

As the daughter of [[Emperor Calus]], Caiatl grew up surrounded by his decadence and extravagant pleasures. At birth she was named by her father after the brightest star in Torobatl's sky,<ref>'''Bungie (2022/05/27)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Haunted]] - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSF9E997dEg Duality | Enter the Dark Shrine: "The Brightest Star in Our Sky"]''</ref>, which itself was named after a loanword from the [[Hive]] language - as its base form, "aiat", means "it is this way because it can be no other way", "caiatl" means "it does not always go as it needs to go"<ref>'''Bungie (2023/2/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Lightfall]], [[Lore]]: [[Beloved (lore)|Beloved]] - [[Beloved (lore)#I am thirty-five years old.|Entry 4]]'' </ref>. Caiatl had also shown a curiosity for the world beyond, which Calus recognized having the same fascinations as him despite his worries for her.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/05/27)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Haunted]] - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktJ-kldPd-s Duality | Second Repressed Memory: "Grow Up Knowing Only Celebration"]''</ref>  

After several centuries, Caiatl would join Umun'arath in a conspiracy led by [[Dominus Ghaul|Primus Ghaul]] of the [[Red Legion]] and the exiled [[The Consul|Consul]] to overthrow Calus and end his negligent rule of the Empire. They would convene via [[Psion]] metaconcert though the usage of [[Freeborn Otzot|Otzot]]'s [[OXA Machine]], though at one point during their psionic mind-melding the Princess-Imperial had glimpsed into Ghaul's memory of her father. Calus confined to Ghaul of her mother; who had once served as a consort to comfort the depressed emperor during his ennui under the Praetorate's rule, ultimately leaving him with an infant Caiatl to brood after her departure. While Ghaul remembered with contempt, Caiatl would express empathy for her father for the first time.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/2/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Lightfall]], [[Lore]]: [[Beloved (lore)|Beloved]] - [[Beloved (lore)#I am centuries old.|Entry 8]]''</ref> A few days later, Caiatl came to the emperor wanting to confess everything including the conspiracy in a moment of weakness. As she was willing to betray her cause, Caiatl asked her father if there was anything he wanted beyond her birth. Calus responds by revealing the [[Ahamkara]] bone he used to wish himself into power, the selfish wish he made for something to love him unconditionally, and the story of her birth that inspired the desire of want for him to take the throne for himself.<ref name="BLVD 9/> Realizing he will never reconcile with his actions as emperor, Caiatl concluded that his father must be overthrown for the greater good.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/2/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Lightfall]], [[Lore]]: [[Beloved (lore)|Beloved]] - [[Beloved (lore)#I am exactly that old when I realize that my father, the Emperor Calus, is full of shit|Entry 10]]''</ref>

 

Knowing Calus' closest secrets, Caiatl was a key player in the [[Midnight Coup (event)|Midnight Coup]], securing the throne room and the [[Ahamkara]] bone he kept there. As her father rushed into the throne room to utilize the bone in the midst of the coup, Caiatl greeted him and vowed never to be weak before crushing the bone, ending his chances of stopping the coup.<ref name="CBCaiatl"/> Calus' popularity with the common people prevented the plotters from executing him, and he was instead imprisoned aboard ''[[The Leviathan]]'' and exiled to the edge of the galaxy along with his [[Loyalists]] by the ascended Dominus Ghaul.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/9/8)''', ''[[Destiny 2]], [[Midnight Coup]]''</ref>

Some time later, Caiatl was alerted by Advisor [[Taurun]] that Umun'arath had been apprehended in the central square of Torobatl's weaponsmith district, in the midst of conducting what appeared to be a Hive ritual. Caiatl arrived on the scene to confront the disgraced Evocate-General and was disturbed to find her nearly naked with glyphs carved into her skin and a sickly green fire burning behind her. Dismissing the guards, Caiatl demanded to know what new god her former mentor was rambling about greeting. Umun'arath stated it was the god of war, causing the ground to begin rumbling. Caiatl declared that her obsession had turned her into a threat to Cabal society and began to pronounce her sentence, but Umun'arath then raised her hands, which glowed with energy and made the fire burn brighter while a stranger chattering began. Concerned, Caiatl drew her ceremonial blade and drove it into Umun'arath's gut, seeking to halt the ritual, but the corrupted general only laughed. Disgusted, Caiatl kicked Umun'arath off her blade and into the fire, inadvertently completing the ritual and summoning [[Xivu Arath, God of War|Xivu Arath]], the Hive God of War, and her army to Torobatl through a massive portal.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/2/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Chosen]] - [[Lore]]: [[Lore:Empress#CHAPTER 5: NEW GODS|Empress CHAPTER 5: NEW GODS]]''</ref>

Following the events of [[The Lucent War|Operation Elbrus]], Caiatl discovers that a sect of [[Psion]]s are using Psionic propaganda to force her Psions to defect to the forces of the [[The Witness|Witness]]. She asks the Guardian to return to Mars, this time near the city of [[Freehold]] to stop the Psions responsible. The Guardian deploys to the abandoned Cabal bunker near Freehold with Caiatl and Zavala monitoring their activity and [[Amanda Holliday]] providing support for the assault on the bunker. The Guardian discovers that [[Qabix, Insurgent|Qabix]] was the Psion Flayer spreading Psionic propaganda, and Caiatl orders them to eliminate the Psion Flayer. They all learn that [[Yirix]] and her conclave has allied with her father Calus and to a certain extent the Witness. They would learn more of the Psionic propaganda on subsequent incursions, including the history of the Psions prior to Cabal enslavement, the supposed resurrection of [[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]], the Traveler's Light tainted with Darkness, and the return of the Leviathan. Caiatl declares that the existing alliances in the [[Last City]] must grow stronger if the possible futures are to be prevented from coming to pass and to fight against the forces of the Witness.

Two years after its disappearance, the Leviathan had mysteriously returned to orbit above the [[Moon]] and began forming a connection to the [[The Lunar Pyramid|Lunar Pyramid]] and becoming infested with [[Nightmare]]s. Caiatl arrived on the scene with her fleet to hold the perimeter, as the Guardian was sent down to investigate the Derelict Leviathan to assess the situation. After Calus's Loyalists and the Nightmares drove the Guardian away from the Leviathan, Caiatl met with Zavala and [[Eris Morn]], who explained that the Lunar Pyramid was the cause of the Nightmares and how the Nightmares manifest their greatest fears and regrets. She then suggests a plan to use a Hive ritual to bind these Nightmares to them, allowing them to move safely through the Leviathan. However, Caiatl rejected this offer, believing that Eris' ritual would play right into Calus' hands and that she would doom them all. Eris tried to reassure The Empress that her ritual would grant her protection, but Caiatl assured her that her armor would be all the protection she would need and that they would only need to follow her into battle as she led the charge. Despite the Empress' refusal to take part in Eris's ritual, Eris still conducted the ritual With Zavala and Crow. However, after the ritual was complete, as Caiatl continued to look upon the Derelict Leviathan, she failed to notice the [[Nightmare of Dominus Ghaul]] haunting her from behind.

After the Guardian helped Crow conquer the [[Nightmare of Uldren]], Caiatl delivered a status report to the H.E.L.M. on the current condition of the Leviathan from her Psion Opti scouts, who confirmed that the ship was emitting psychic anomalies from the Nightmares manifesting aboard the Leviathan. Caiatl also added that Navigational Equipment showed that the Leviathan entered a Gravitational Anomaly where [[Mercury]] once was resulting in the ship somehow being both inside and outside the known universe for an indeterminate amount of time. When it reappeared, the ship had been completely mutated, overrun by a massive infestation of [[Egregore]] and most of the crew were missing. Caiatl went on to explain that the Cabal Loyalists still aboard were freshly grown mindless clones with no higher brain function. Saladin Forge suggested that Caiatl task Crow with reconnaissance missions to see if there was more that he could find out, to which the Empress agreed.

After the Guardian helped Zavala overcome the [[Nightmare of Safiyah]], Caiatl would later contact the commander to congratulate him on conquering his demons, going on to state that other Cabal warriors have also done the same thing and are immortalized in legend. She even tells Zavala that the Cabal even have stories about the "Great Commander". However, Zavala told the Empress that he did not want to become a legend and that the confrontation with Safiyah was a battle he had never faced before. Caiatl assured Zavala that the battles fought within the mind and heart are just as brutal as battles fought in real life, and that Zavala had just won the most honest battle in his life. But Zavala only felt like he didn't win anything and just felt tired and old, to which Caiatl responded that despite all of his hardships, the commander was still standing.

As Caiatl watched the Guardian complete each severance ritual from her ship, the Nightmare of Dominus Ghaul continued to haunt her relentlessly. As the Nightmare of the Dominus was the only thing standing between her and Calus, Caiatl prepared to assist the situation, by confronting Ghaul's Nightmare. However, Eris was afraid that the severance ritual wouldn't work because Caiatl was not bound by the initial binding ritual and advised the Empress to stay aboard her flagship until Eris could think of another solution. Unfortunately, Calus took advantage of this and manipulated his daughter. With her patience at its limits, Caital sent out a message to the Vanguard, issuing her challenge to the Nightmare of Ghaul. In a panic, Eris sent the Guardian to make sure that Caiatl was alright. As the Guardian continued to make their way towards Caiatl's position, the Empress kept asking the Guardian not to assist her. However, Eris kept telling Caiatl to at least wait until the Guardian made it to her location. All the while the Nightmare of Ghaul continued taunting her about how weak and pathetic she had become now, even mocking her about how she failed to protect [[Torobatl]] from Xivu Arath's Invasion. After the Guardian finally arrived at Caiatl's position and began the severance ritual, she looked upon the Nightmare of Ghaul and told it how she idolized and looked up to Ghaul as he taught her to be fierce. However, the Nightmare scolded the Empress, stating that she had forgotten his teachings which led to Torobatl burning under her banner and forcing her to seek the aid of humanity, who were originally her enemies. As the ritual commenced, Caiatl strained and struggled against the Nightmare of Ghaul as the Guardian fought another Nightmare of the Dominus. After slaying the second Nightmare, Caiatl was brought to her knees and became heavily exhausted as the Nightmare of Ghaul shouted at Caital, telling her that she was not "the Caital that Ghaul trained" and demanded to know where that Caiatl was. The Empress responded that "she died" when Torobatl fell along with Ghaul's lessons, which The Dominus's Nightmare acknowledged and stated that Torobatl is where the old Caital would stay. Eris informed the Empress that, without the binding ritual, the Severance ritual had failed. Furious, Caiatl told Eris that she didn't need a "Hive-tainted witch" to explain her failure. Eris obliged and ended the communication.

After this failure, Caiatl shamefully met with Eris and asked if her ritual would have prevented her failure. At first, Eris mocked Caiatl, asking her if now she sought the aid of a Hive-tainted witch. Caiatl was angered and demanded to know if Eris saw enjoyment in watching her fail, to which Eris simply stated that she offered the Empress her support and that the offer still stood. Eris went on to explain that Caiatl's failure isn't what defined her and that she was only doing this for herself, not for the Cabal. Caiatl tried to state that she was the Cabal. But Eris told her that she wasn't and that she was a woman with a burden, just as Eris was. Caiatl then explained the intense situation she was in, such as her failure to protect Torobatl, and that within her ranks are traitors and spies. In her eyes, there could be no quarter for failure. Eris recognized that the Empress was speaking Dominus Ghaul's words and understood that Caiatl's Nightmare was that her incompetence would jeopardize the future of her people. Eris comforted the Empress and told her to look past her shame and say that she was more. After being convinced, Caiatl agreed with Eris and asked her to prepare the binding ritual, to which Eris responded that it was already awaiting her.

Thanks to Eris's binding ritual, Caiatl was bound to the Crown of Sorrow just as Zavala and Crow were. She was now ready to confront the Nightmare of Ghaul and sever Calus's connection to the Lunar Pyramid. Caiatl arrived on the Leviathan in a Drop Pod shortly after the Guardian arrived. Almost immediately after arriving, the Nightmare of Ghaul taunted her once more about her weakness, her new empire, and her attempt to challenge him again. The Guardian eventually met up with Caiatl directly speaking to the Nightmare of Ghaul with a Scorn [[Chieftain]] impaled on her blade. The Dominus's Nightmare demanded that Caiatl kill the Guardian and send their head back to the City, but the Empress told the Nightmare to be silent and that it was a weak interpretation of the Ghaul she knew. Angered that Caital stood beside the Guardian against him, the Nightmare of Ghaul continued to scold Empress, telling her that she had grown fat from weakness and drunk on the Vanguard's patronage. It kept trying to tell Caiatl that the Guardians were using her and her empire as cattle, that the Cabal will die alongside Humanity. Caiatl, however, disregarded the Nightmare and ignored its lies, stating that, with the aid of both the Guardians and the Light, the Cabal have become stronger than ever before. As Caiatl and the Guardian arrived at the severance site, Caiatl began the ritual as the Dominus's Nightmare continued to grow furious at her. The Guardian was once again forced to battle a second Nightmare of Ghaul and, as the fight continued, Caiatl cheered the Guardian on, telling them to crush the Nightmare with their light as [[the Traveler]] did to Ghaul. After the Guardian defeated the second Nightmare, the first Nightmare of Ghaul continued to scold Caiatl even in defeat, calling her nothing more than a child playing Empress. Caiatl stood back up and looked upon the Nightmare of Ghaul, telling it that the old ways were dead and that Caiatl forged a new Cabal in her own image that did not need his approval. The Empress then drew her blade and stabbed the Nightmare in the chest, purifying the Nightmare of Ghaul with light and turning into a Memory. After that, the Memory of Ghaul could see Caiatl's new Cabal empire pulled from the jaws of extinction and confirmed that she has finally surpassed him because of how she wields the Light on her War Council. Caiatl was glad to hear the Memory of Ghaul accepted this, but told it that she did not achieve this through conquest, but rather through compromise, which was an act that Ghaul's old traditions would never allow. The Memory acknowledged this and faded away, completing the final severance ritual.  

After returning to her flagship, Caiatl contacted the Guardian and stated how she and the Cabal looked at Ghaul as a hero. But when confronting his Nightmare, it allowed her to see Ghaul as the Vanguard did. She saw how ruthless and cruel the Dominus truly was and thanked the Guardian for their efforts before ending the transmission. Shortly after, Zavala would contact Caiatl and ask how she felt after challenging her idol. The Empress responded by saying that she felt tired and old, but now she understood what Ghaul was to humanity. She and many other Cabal Warriors believed Ghaul to be a hero, who rose to become a great legend. But she admitted that she was too blinded by his accomplishments to see that Ghaul was a lot more like Calus than she cared to admit and she still cared for both of them in spite of everything they became. Zavala comforted Caital and sympathized with the difficult experiences they both shared. The Commander explained that he'd never know Ghaul as Caiatl knew him, but he knew Caital and he saw her as she truly was. Caiatl thanked Zavala as that was all she asked for.

Unfortunately, Caiatl's decision to brazenly challenge The Nightmare of Ghaul early gave Calus the time he needed to merge his consciousness with the Lunar Pyramid. However, Eris determined that, like a snail coiled in its shell, Calus had not fully slithered out of the Leviathan and taken control of the Pyramid yet. She estimated that if they strike now and perform one last severance ritual, they just might be able to stop Calus from taking control of the Pyramid. With the plan now in motion, the Guardian would return to the Leviathan and harvest the Nightmares necessary to conduct the final ritual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the Final Shape about to be enacted, the Coalition enacted the mission to defeat the Witness once and for all, dubbed Operation Ahamkara. However, with the portal to the Pale Heart unstable, Zavala ordered that only he, Ikora and The Guardian would enter the Threshold to establish a beachhead and find whatever intel they could on how to defeat The Witness. The three succeeded in passing through the portal, but lost all contact with those outside, leaving Mara to gather all their allies and forces to prepare for the final battle. Though the three were separated upon passing through, they slowly reunited with each other, Crow and a seemingly revived [[Cayde-6]], the former Hunter Vanguard.

As the group investigated the Pale Heart, they learned that the collective consciousness that makes up the Witness has some "dissenters" in their number and began to send clues to the Guardian on how to defeat the Witness. Though a confrontation between Zavala and the Witness led to the death of Zavala's Ghost, [[Targe]], the group nonetheless gained the intel they needed to properly battle the Witness and how they could destroy it by targeting the collective consciousness with the Light. At the site where the Witness was made, the Guardian battled the Witness and, with a blade of Light, destroyed the Veiled Statues holding a soul connected to the Witness, wounding the entity. Terrified, in pain and infuriated, the Witness expels the Guardian from its consciousness and severely wounds them before assuming its true dreadful form, sending the Vanguard group to retreat. Mara fortunately arrived just in time with the H.E.L.M., rescuing the Vanguard from the Witness's attack. Despite its victory in the battle, the group believed they still had a chance to stop the Final Shape after proving that the Witness could be wounded. As such, the Coalition brought its full might to bear, Caiatl and her loyalists among them ready for the final battle.

Before the final battle, the Coalition endeavored to mitigate the damage done to the Traveler and prevent any plans the Witness's remaining minions had. Caiatl would personally get involved in ending the scheme her father's Shadow Legion had in harvesting the Traveler's Light. Though Zavala provided oversight in the operation, Caiatl attempted to convince the Vanguard Commander to join the battle himself but the Titan was reluctant to do so. The Shadow Legion's operations in the Pale Heart would be thwarted at the memory site of Zavala's former homestead. Caiatl was at first surprised at the "tiny house" that Zavala once called home with his wife and son, she nonetheless found it much more welcoming than the grand palaces of Torobatl that she once called home, vast but cold. Though Zavala still believed that the memory served to remind him that he failed his family, like he failed Targe, Caiatl corrects him stating that he honors them and he should steel his mind against his old wounds for they are more than the scars of their past failures. Zavala wonders if Eris told her that but the empress states that it was Zavala himself who told her that. Further, whether they wielded the Light or not, they chose to face insurmountable odds, in defense of those they loved. And once the battle is finished, they will celebrate them together, putting the Vanguard Commander at ease. The Empress would later state with all the understanding she and her forces have gained during their battle's against the Witness's forces, Caiatl intends to return to Torobatl and reclaim her people's homeworld. Zavala expressed surprise that Caiatl would leave and attempt to take back Torobatl, likely understanding the Hive had ravaged it beyond saving. The Commander suggested that Caiatl and her imperial cabal could make a new home for themselves within Sol but the Empress admitted that it was a matter of pride that compelled her to return to Torobatl, something Zavala understood but promised that he would be beside her on the day she does seek to reclaim Torobatl, to which the Empress was grateful for.

Despite forming a temporary alliance with the Witch Queen and her Lucent Brood against the Witness, the empress hadn't forgotten Savathûn's role in opening the way for Xivu Arath to invade Torobatl and thus wished to see her pay after breaking and burying her sister first. Savathûn shrugged off the empress's threat, stating that her scheme to bring about the Fall of Torobatl was better for her than simply leaving the Cabal across the galaxy "stewing in ancient politics". While the Witch Queen states that many had died and the Cabal lost their homeworld, Savathûn believes that by doing so, Caiatl had gained more than what she had lost, daring the empress to prove her wrong. This animosity would extend to the rest of the Lucent Brood, including [[Luzaku]], a Hive Lightbearer Wizard who proved more cooperative than the rest of the Hive. Empress Caiatl demanded to know the Witch Queen's plans within the Pale Heart and where Xivu Arath was located, but Luzaku did not know either. Instead, she stated she understood the empress's anger, only for Caiatl to rebuff her, stating she couldn't comprehend the losses she had faced and blamed the Hive for the loss of Torobatl. Luzaku denied this and stated that the Hive were merely the sword the Witness used to cleave Torobatl in two and that it was to blame for robbing them both of so much. While the Hive Lightbearer was willing to discuss their shared pain, Caiatl refused.

When the time had arrived to confront the Witness, a six-member raid team assaulted the Witness's monolith to sever its connection to the Traveler's Light. After much struggle, despite the Witness's incredible power, the team succeeded in severing the Witness' hold on the Traveler's Light, thwarting its Final Shape from being enacted and further wounding it, forcing the Witness to retreat. With it cornered, the Coalition gathered all of its forces for one final attack with The Guardian leading a 12-member team and confronting The Witness for a final time. Caiatl herself and her forces would join in the final battle, helping the Guardians push through the battle, capturing territory zones and lending them empowered Synaptic Spears to aid them against the Witness's forces. Despite the Witness's efforts and incredible power, the Guardians succeeded in unmaking the Witness by using the Traveler's Light directly against it, destroying the entity for good. At last, the War against the Witness was finally over, with the denizens of the Last City rejoicing and celebrating their victory. Caiatl would partake in the celebration her own way by trying her hand at knitting, having learned of it from Zavala, much to Lord Saladin's amusement.

*Caiatl is voiced by [[Wikipedia:Courtenay Taylor|Courtenay Taylor]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/courtenaytaylor/status/1369687357763448833 Courtenay Taylor twitter - 2021/3/11]</ref>, who also voiced [[Amanda Holliday]].