Alak-Hul, the Darkblade

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Darkblade

Alak-Hul, the Darkblade
Biographical information
Species:	Hive
Faction:	Blood of Oryx (inferred, formerly)
Rank:	Ultra
Class:	Darkblade Knight
Gender:	Male
Combat information
Mission:	The Sunless Cell
Weapon(s):	Axe
Abilities:	Temporary Vanish Teleportation Rapid Movement High Durability Summon Hive

Lightblade

Alak-Hul, the Lightblade
Biographical information
Species:	Hive
Faction:	Lucent Brood
Rank:	Ultra
Class:	Darkblade Knight
Gender:	Male
Combat information
Mission:	The Lightblade
Weapon(s):	Axe
Abilities:	Teleportation Rapid Movement High Durability Summon Hive Summon Warriors Summon Disciples Temporary Immunity Vicious Light

"Oryx gave me no task. Therefore I must task myself, with Oryx's ending."

— Alak-Hul

Alak-Hul, the Darkblade is a Hive Darkblade Knight, foster son of Oryx, and the boss of The Sunless Cell Strike. After being killed by the Guardians, he was resurrected years later as Alak-Hul, the Lightblade by a Hive Ghost of the Lucent Brood, and became the boss of The Lightblade Strike.

Biography

"Eris, why did the Darkblade rise against Oryx?"
"The Wizard Verok was his mate. He slew a legion of Thralls in her name. Marched on the King's throne at the head of an army built on hate and pain."
"How... romantic."

— The Ghost and Eris Morn

Alak-Hul and his consort, Verok, were present at the Hellmouth when Eris Morn and Eriana-3 led their fireteam to assassinate Crota, Son of Oryx. It was Alak-Hul and Verok's spawn that killed the Titan Vell Tarlowe, with the former delivering the killing blow upon his axe.

Following the failed raid, Alak-Hul and Verok instigated a rebellion against Oryx, but the rebellion was put down. Alak-Hul's motivation was twofold: first, because he felt neglected by Oryx (which was deliberate, as Oryx wanted Alak-Hul to become a "hungering blade"), and second, to appraise himself in the eyes of Verok. Alak-Hul was captured by Oryx's warriors, and the Taken King decreed that Alak-Hul be imprisoned aboard the Dreadnaught, never to see the light again. But after Oryx retreated from the material realm, Eris wanted to make sure Alak-Hul couldn't take over as the "King of the Hive" and to avenge Tarlowe, ordered for his elimination, and so a fireteam went down into his dark cell and killed him.

Rebirth as the Lightblade

At some unknown point, several years after the Darkblade's death, a Hive Ghost would come across and resurrect Alak-Hul, re-titled as the Lightblade. Alak-Hul would then join forces with the Lucent Brood and become a formidable ally. He was tasked by Savathûn, the Witch Queen to guard a temple commemorating Oryx, which housed a piece of the Tablets of Ruin.

Assisted by Lightbearing Warriors and normal Knights Disciples as his personal guards, the Temple was well defended. This was until a Fireteam of Guardians, following a lead by Fynch about a potential clue from the temple, would run into Alak-Hul who was away from his post, who then fled back to the temple. Facing off against his Warriors and Disciples, along with hitching a ride on a ferry, and evading Scorn to reach to the temple, the Fireteam would enter the monument while being caught by surprise of the Lightblade’s Arrival. Gifted with Arc light powers and guards at his disposal, the Lightblade tried to defend the temple from the Guardians but was slain as a result. However, Alak-Hul’s Ghost would escape from the temple, leaving his body behind.

Gameplay

The Sunless Cell

"The Darkblade is formidable. And left unchecked, a worthy successor to lead the Hive."

— Eris Morn

The fight with Alak-Hul will be deep in his cell, so it will be almost pitch black, limiting one's field of vision. He is armed with an axe. He will appear to vanish from existence only to teleport to another position of the arena after taking a certain amount of damage from ranged weapons; if attacked with a Super or a Sword he will not vanish or teleport. He will summon waves of Thrall at 25% health intervals, with Cursed Thrall being mixed in at the lower amounts. When on low health, Alak-Hul will become enraged and charge his foes down to cut them to bits.

The Lightblade

The fight against Alak-Hul takes place in a large and spacious room, dedicated to Oryx, his former rival. Alak-Hul will be highly mobile during the fight, chasing the player between the lower and upper floors that exist, as well as the central dais where he spawns. If the player is close enough, Alak-Hul will slam the ground with his axe. At range, Alak-Hul will blast Lightning projectiles towards the player in large and damaging bursts. These have a slight homing capability and can be extremely deadly if the player is caught on a lower level, or in midair, in comparison to the Lightblade. At 80% health, a wave of Thrall will spawn to support Alak-Hul. At 65% health, Alak-Hul will teleport to the central dais and will cease attacking, become invulnerable, and summon ten Cursed Thrall, two Disciples and a Warrior. When the Disciples and Warrior are slain, Alak-Hul will resume the chase. At 50%, Acolytes and Thrall will spawn to attack. At 33%, Alak-Hul will resume the previous invulnerability behavior in the center of the room, with a repeat appearance of the Cursed Thralls, Disciples and Warrior. Once the Disciples and Warrior are slain, Alak-Hul will begin to attack again. More Thrall and Acolytes will spawn at set intervals until his death, with his helmet being removed in his low health state. This will cause Alak-Hul to become enraged, chasing the player at higher speed.

In the Grandmaster Nightfall variant of The Lightblade strike, Barrier Knight Champions will spawn in pairs at specific Alak-Hul health gates (65% after killing the two Disciples, 50% and 25%).

Gallery

• 

  An early teaser image of Alak-Hul.

• 

  Alak-Hul stalking in his cell.

Trivia

• Alak-Hul's name can be considered a portmanteau of two Sindarin words from J.R.R. Tolkien's fictitious Elvish languages, specifically the root "alak-" (rushing) and "hûl" (cry of encouragement in battle). This is illustrated by the fact when he is on low health and the screen text says "Alak-Hul charges his foes".
• After dealing enough damage, bringing him to low health, Alak-Hul's helmet will break, revealing a disfigured oval-shaped head.
• In Destiny 2, a new class of Hive enemy called Darkblade was introduced, which feature characters that resemble Alak-Hul in both appearance and abilities.
  • It's possible that Alak-Hul was the first of the Darkblade subtype since they all bear similarities to him.
• Unlike most Hive Knight bosses, Alak-Hul is shown to have the same sounds as a Taken boss would have.
• Aside from Oryx, Alak-Hul is the only Hive in Destiny 1 that can teleport without a portal.

List of appearances

• Destiny: The Taken King (First appearance)
• Destiny 2: The Witch Queen