House of Devils

House of Devils
Overview
At war with:	Vanguard Rasputin Hidden Swarm Taken
Allied with:	Devil Splicers House of Kings House of Dusk

"The Devils take whatever nature has yet to claim."

— Master Rahool

The House of Devils are a Fallen House, distinguishable by their red cloaks. They were for the longest time the City's most pervasive foe, surpassing the Hive, until the Red Legion's invasion.

Later, many Devils joined their former Baroness Eramis to form the House of Salvation, in hopes of destroying the Traveler for abandoning their people and starting a new life on Europa.

History

Early history

The House of Devils is a noble House of Eliksni who originated from their homeworld of Riis, who were then known as the "House of Dancers." They were once a peaceful House that experienced a time of prosperity when Eliksni society was graced by the Traveler, who they worshipped as the "Great Machine". The various noble Fallen Houses controlled multiple star systems and coordinated themselves into societal roles such as builders, caretakers, physicians, negotiators, weavers and warriors. While their counterparts the House of Wolves were once known as Gentle Weavers, the House of Devils were once known as the "House of Dancers", and were renowned for their skill with machines and their generosity to those in need.

The Devils were among those involved in a period of rising tensions and infighting between the Houses, which culminated in a conflict known as the Edge Wars, eventually ended by the House of Kings and House of Judgement to usher in a new age of prosperity for the Eliksni. However, peace ended once again with the arrival of the Darkness in their system, which destroyed their society in a cataclysmic event known as the Whirlwind. In the wake of this catastrophy, the Traveler fled their homeworld of Riis.Eramis, the Shipstealer, a member of the House of Devils, was among the Eliksni that watched helplessly as the Great Machine abandoned them in their time of need.

The Devils were forced to abandon Riis along with a number of other Houses, and for centuries they travelled the vast expanse of space in pursuit of the Traveler. During the Long Drift, as this time in Eliksni history became known, many generations of hatchlings were raised in the various Ketches belonging to the House of Devil, Atraks among them. These new generations of Eliksni were deemed unlucky by their elders as they never witnessed the glory of their homeworld, instead being brought up with stories and warsongs that celebrated their lost culture.

Eventually the Devils experienced reform as the various Kells from different Houses neglected their old customs and established a new social hierarchy among the Eliksni such as docking and the veneration of Servitors. Archons became the caretakers of Servitors and looked upon to provide hope to the depressed Eliksni through their words and interpretations of their new machine gods. Kridis, a prominent Devil-born, clung on to the belief that they were meant for a higher purpose and meant to evolve beyond their current forms. All the while she endured a life of subsistence alongside her fellow Eliksni who received succor of Ether from their Prime Servitor.

Early campaigns

Following their arrival into the Solar System, the Devils terrorised humanity and ransacked their settlements across Earth. They met resistance in the form of the Guardians who opposed their tyranny. However, the Devils demonstrated their brutal dominance by burning down London. The Devils established a outpost on Venus, while their war-torn Walkers can be found across the European Dead Zone.

They also claimed the Cosmodrome of Old Russia as their territory and searched for an ancient technology hidden beneath. The Devil Baroness, Eramis, was stationed there alongside her friends, Kridis and Phylaks, and developed a close kinship with them. The formidable trio spent years raiding human settlements and fending off members of rival Houses that attempted to encroach upon the Devils' territory. Each aspired Kellship as the three dreamt of ways to defeat their mighty Kell, Solkis, and take control of the House for themselves.

While Zavala was still part of the Iron Lords, he routinely defended human caravans from the Devils' raids. He would eventually rescue an orphaned baby from one of these raids, adopting him with his wife Safiyah and naming him Hakim. The three would eventually leave the Lords' camp and go live in a distant village, which he defended from numerous raiding parties. Eventually, Kethiks, the Yet-Proven, ordered to bring vengeance and hungry for glory, would lead a raid of unprecedented violence, personally killing Hakim before being slain by Zavala. Despite the captain's death, this event shattered the Lightbearer's family, and he returned to the Iron Lords.

Eventually, Humanity united and formed a settlement called the Last City underneath the Traveler and protected it against the threat they call "Fallen". The Devils gained infamy as Humans taught their children stories about them. At some point, Rezyl Azzir ventured out of the City and gained great enmity from the Fallen. A Devil Captain named Eksori ambushed Rezyl in an attempt to kill him to gain respect among his Devil brothers, however Rezyl was able to fend off the ambush and kill the Captain and his crew.

Battle of Twilight Gap

When the Kell, Drifis, the Daring failed his assault of Six Fronts, Craask, Kell of Kings coordinated an alliance with Solkis, Kell of Devils, Draksis, Winter Kell and Virixas, Kell of Wolves to unite their military force with the ambition to reclaim the Great Machine. The political leaders of the noble Houses put aside their differences and planned a future attack called the Final Attempt. Encrypted transmissions were broadcasted across all their frequencies and this caught the attention of the Reef who were able to deduce the Houses were communicating with one another and planning a massive attack. They intervened and stopped the House of Wolves from participating in the battle and destabilised the Wolves by killing their Kell.

With the Wolves scattered, the House of Devils, Kings and Winter launched their surprise attack against the City. The Devils led the charge and clashed with Guardians from an abandoned military base called Twilight Gap. Walkers were deployed by the Houses and duelled against City's artillery, while Eramis, Phylaks and Kridis joined the battle. The trio slew many Guardians and led a charge to the City walls with the aid of Taniks, the Scarred and House of Winter. Eramis assaulted them with her sword, while Phylaks broken their bones with her bare hands and Kridis employed her Servitor to shield her with Ether as she fired her rifle at group of Guardians. As the Fallen reached the City walls, Lord Shaxx led a counterattack to push the invading force back.

The Houses were forced to retreat when the legendary Titan, Saint-14, dueled against the Kell of Devils. The mighty Solkis exhausted Saint and forced the Titan to gather their remaining Light unleash a final strike against the Kell. The horn of his helm pierced the head of Solkis as Ether screamed out his head and his body fall to the ground. A nervous Saint waited for his Ghost confirm the Kell's death as he was wary of his strength. He then informed the Speaker that the war was over as he eliminated the Devil threat and the Speaker replied that the City will light a final flare, Devil Red to celebrate their defeat.

The Cosmodrome Devils

Devils' Prime Servitor, Sepiks Prime

"Sepiks Prime cast a great shadow over our City. With its destruction, the Fallen Devils will grow weaker. But we must stay vigilant. The Fallen are crafty. They'll find ways to survive. They always do."

— Commander Zavala

Following the death of Solkis, Kell of Devils, the House of Devils returned to the Cosmodrome and established a stronghold over it. Absent of their Kell and political leader, Sepiks Prime rose to prominence within the House and ruled the Devils alongside Riksis, Devil Archon; who served the Prime Servitor as a caretaker and arbiter of its will. The lack of political leadership also allowed Craask, Kell of Kings to exert his influence among the techno-worshiping leadership of the Devils and rule them from the shadows.

At some point, Sepiks's authority was challenged when a group of revered scientists, the Devil Splicers, splintered away from their House as they sought freedom from subsistence on Ether and evolution by augmenting themselves with technology. Among them was the former disgraced Archon Priest, Aksis who led the Splicers.

The majority of the Devils took residence near an old colony ship, named the Devil's Spire, and established The Devils' Lair as a mecca for the zealous worshippers to offer tribute to their machine god in the form of skulls from dead Guardians. Like many other Servitors, Sepiks Prime was born in the image of the Traveler and the Devils went to great lengths to protect their main source of life sustaining Ether.

Fall of the Devil Archon

The Devil's Archon, Riksis

"Taking down an Archon is no easy task. With the master of the Fallen servitors gone, the House of Devils will scramble to protect their Prime Servitor."

— Commander Zavala.

Their dominance was uncontested for years until a newly risen Guardian attempted to escape their territory after its Ghost was chased by a Devil Captain and its crew. The Devils alerted their presence to Riksis after they killed Rahn, Devil Captain and stole a Jumpship meant for scrap in Dock 13. As the Guardian escapes in the ship, Riksis arrived to the scene as his troops fire their Wire Rifles at them and miss. Later, Riksis acquired the NLS Drive to bait the Guardian to return and engaged them in battle as they try to secure it. He summoned his reinforcements to ambush the Guardian as he uses his weaponry and abilities against their adversary, but is killed in the end.

The death of the Devil Archon was celebrated by the Last City as the first major victory against the Devils since Battle of Twilight Gap. The Devils, however, heightened their security for Sepiks as the absence of an Archon left it vulnerable.

Destruction of Sepiks Prime

"We've located the House of Devils' Lair and the High Servitor feeding them their strength. We must destroy this machine god and send their souls screaming back to hell."

— Commander Zavala

For years the whereabouts of Sepiks remained elusive, but Vanguard Commander Zavala located the Servitor's position beneath a colony ship and coordinated a Strike against Sepiks. The Devils rallied their Fallen nobility such as Naksis, Devil Baron and deployed a Devil Walker to deter anyone from attacking Sepiks. The Guardians began their assault and entered a crossfire between the Hive and crews of Devils protecting the entrance to their lair. They then disable the Devils' security mesh layers and disposed their Baron and Walker to reach the Devils' Lair.

As they entered the lair, the team found Sepiks protected by a personal immunity shield created by its worshippers. After taking out the nearby Devils, the Prime Servitor deactivated its shield and engaged the Fireteam, resulting a battle between the Guardians and Sepiks. During the fight, Sepiks would continuously blasts them with its Servitor Eye and summoned more reinforcements to help it fend off the Guardians, as well as teleports around the lair to evade gunfire. But despite its tactical abilities, Sepiks would destroyed by the Guardians, which would cripple the Devils' leadership and ends the biggest threat to the Last City.

In the aftermath, many Devil Fallen including Karrhis climbed the ranks in hopes of filling the vacant position of Archon, but were slain by Guardians during Patrol missions.

The Wolf Rebellion

"The Silent Fang are assassins, killers. Real charmers. During the war, they went after our commanders. They'll do the same to the House of Devils."

— Petra Venj

Following the release of Skolas, the Rabid, he broadcasted a message among his people and proclaimed himself as the "Kell of Kells" and "Dreg of Dregs" in a symbolic attempt to unite the Fallen Houses and rallied his loyal Wolves into rebelling against the Reef. He promoted Yavek to the status of Baron and sent him to Earth as his negotiator with the Houses of Devils and Kings.

When the Winter joined his movement, Skolas took an aggressive approach against the Devils and dispatched the Silent Fang to assassinate the remaining Devils leadership in an attempt control the House. The Devils quickly set up traps against the Fang as they detected the Wolf comm signals and realised the Wolves had their scent. The Reef intervened through the Guardian and guided them with Variks, the Loyal, they were able to stop the attempted assassination plans and pushed the Silent Fang out of the Cosmodrome. This denied the Wolves from controlling the Devils and Skolas changed his approach when dealing with the Kings, who had a major influence on the Devils from the shadows. The Guardian later went on to defeat Skolas and prevent any attempts of Fallen unification.

However the Devils suffered a loss of nobility when their Baroness, Eramis, got captured and imprisoned into the Prison of Elders.

The Taken War

S.A.B.E.R.-2 attempting to control Rasputin

"If the Devils ever gain control of Rasputin's Warsats, we'd have Golden Age ordnance pointed at the Tower in minutes."

— Grimoire description

After the Battle of Saturn and the arrival of Oryx, the Taken King with the Dreadnaught being immobilized within Saturn's rings, Oryx began releasing the power of Taking and would corrupt most of the living inhabitants across the System with Darkness to forcefully serve his will and take vengeance against the Guardians for the loss of his son. After attacking and subsuming the Skyburners' Fleetbase Korus to the Taken, Oryx would turn his focus to the Cosmodrome and absorb those within it into his army. The Devils alongside the other Houses would be affected by this as many of their soldiers would be Taken by the Hive King and turned against their former allies, along with losing many of their hideouts to Oryx in hours. Over in The Blast, the remaining Devils stationed there attempted to stave off the advancing Taken from conquering The Devils' Lair and the Devil's Spire, witnessed by The Guardian in their search for a Stealth Drive. As they climbed up to the Spire, facing infesting Taken or weaken Devils to get to the top, they would find the last remaining Devils within the Spire before they were destroyed by an Echo of Oryx sent to defeat the Guardian but was would be destroyed by the latter and claimed the Stealth Drive hidden by a cloaking device.

Later the Devils would continue to take losses to the Taken as they snuffed out much of the Cosmodrome, losing many of their leaders to the Blighting; as Kiphoris, Devil Captain, Falsek, Lost to Oryx, and Keksis, the Betrayed would be forced to serve the will of the Taken King, with Keksis being captured and taken into the Prison of Elders. Dwindling in numbers, the Devils sought to find a solution to combat them and found it in the form of Rasputin's Warsat network. Led by a group of rising Archons, they would built a modified powerful Shank, known as S.A.B.E.R.-2, out of parts from scavenged Scrap, debris, and tech cannibalized from Servitors. The Devils would then send the Shank into the Seraphim Vault and breached Bunker RAS-2, causing Rasputin to emit a distress signal across the Cosomodrome which was intercepted by the Vanguard.

Hoping to shut the signal off before anybody else could get to the distress call, Zavala would initiate a Strike team to assist the Warmind in flushing out the Devils. After decrypting access codes found in a Warsat launched by Rasputin, the Fireteam enter Bunker RAS-2 and quickly takes out the Devils inside it and pushes forward and disrupts the Bunker's defenses and power and heads to the center of the Bunker and destroys Sepiks-23, a High Servitor belonging to the Devils before reaching the nucleus of the Bunker. After destroying Servitors protecting the area, S.A.B.E.R.-2 emerges from below and attacks the fireteam. Utilizing its modified Solar Energy Wire Rifle, Void machine gun-type turrets and several Turret, Sniper, and Exploder Shanks at its disposal; along with its ability to alter the environment to battle against the Fireteam but would defeated and destroyed, ending the Devils chances of taking over the Seraphim Vault, utilizing the Warsat Network; delivering another blow to the House. Zavala would thank the Guardians for their efforts and called for another team to come seal the vault.

With the defeats suffered on the Devils' leadership, they began pulling from their lairs and losing their grip over the Cosomodrome more and more to the Guardian attacks and Taken invasions, leaving them severely crippled.

The SIVA Crisis

"Long have we wandered in the blind prison of flesh. Those old lives now a memory, transposed by another. The gift brings pain, yes, but godhood must come at a price."

— Aksis, Archon Prime.

Return of Sepiks

Sepiks Perfected retreats

"Why would the Splicers rebuild Sepiks? They already have SIVA."
"I can make a guess. Maybe an offer to the other Devils. You know — "In SIVA we trust" and "In SIVA, all things are possible.""

— Ghost and Shiro-4.

Following the demise of the Devils' leadership, the outcast Devil Splicers would returned to reorganize their House and shifted massive resources to the Plaguelands after they discovered the Golden Age technology of SIVA. A disgraced Archon Priest by the name of Aksis, ordered his group of bio-engineers to rebuild their old Prime and augment it with SIVA. The Splicers' leadership sought to use Sepiks's revival as a power play to recruit other Devils to join their movement by bringing SIVA offerings and gain complete influence over the House by controlling the flow of Ether. Sepiks was reborn and christened Sepiks Perfected.

Later, a group of Devils captured Felwinter Peak to learn more about SIVA, causing Lord Saladin to send the Guardians to investigate the observatory and secure the Iron Temple back in the Iron Lord's hands, and keep its contained secrets about SIVA away from the Fallen. To the great shock of The Ghost, they encounter Sepiks who tried to establish a foothold on the mountain, emitting a strange energy signature and began regenerating its health, Lord Saladin quickly ordered them to kill Sepiks as he believed the Iron Temple doors weren't strong enough to hold the Prime back.

Sepiks was later found assaulting the Temple's entrance with SIVA enhanced blasts and protected by a SIVA barrier. After spotting the Guardians, the machine teleported to engage them, summoning the rest of the normal Devil reinforcements to defend it. The Guardians used the high ground against Sepiks and destroyed the Servitor, however, due to its regenerative abilities, Sepiks would restore itself almost immediately and retreat back to the Cosmodrome. Shiro-4 then detected multiple impacts to the Sector 17 section of the Cosmodrome wall and Saladin ordered the Guardians to stop Sepiks from escaping, as the Devils now knew the location of SIVA.

With the Fallen Kells gone, reorganising a military force was deemed almost impossible until the reemergence of Sepiks. Shiro wondered if they could use the sensor grid to see how far their operations stretched, but Saladin replied that the Fallen were irrelevant and finding Sepiks was the main priority to understanding the SIVA corruption.

A Strike was coordinated by Shiro to the breach past their defences and destroy the resurrected Prime Servitor holed up in the Devils Lair. The Splicers employed a laser grid with added encryption and deployed Dresiks, Splicer Baron and a Splicer Walker against the Guardians.

When they reached the lair, they found Sepiks protected by a SIVA barrier which could only be dismantled by destroying the nearby SIVA Nodes. Sepiks entered battle with Splicer reinforcements and blasted them with its upgraded SIVA Servitor Eye blasts. Throughout the battle, Sepiks teleported to generate different elemental Shields that required the use of Shock, Scorch and Null Cannon to disengage them. Despite its new tactical abilities, Sepiks was unable to fend off the assault and was finally destroyed for good.

Taniks the Perfected

Taniks Perfected

"He talks. How is that possible?"
"Maybe Taniks was more machine than we thought. He's not alive: perhaps he never was."

— Commander Zavala and Ikora Rey

During the aftermath of the SIVA Crisis, the leaderless Devil Splicers formed an alliance with Taniks' Crew and rebuilt the Fallen mercenary. Enhanced with SIVA, Taniks became Taniks Perfected and sought to reclaim his old territory. Variks quickly informed Ikora and Zavala of his return and the Vanguard enlisted the Guardians who fought with Saladin to hunt him down.

On arrival, Zavala noted how the Splicers were experimenting on nearby Hive and requested that the Guardians ended this quickly before another SIVA outbreak occured. As they approached the Dusk Warrens, Taniks encountered them near the lift to his Ketch, but was forced to retreat. Zavala was shocked that Taniks was able to talk, since they believed the Splicers were only reanimating his body with SIVA. Ikora commented on how Taniks may be more machine than Fallen and perhaps he was never alive to begin with. With his Ketch still intact, a jamming field disrupted the Vanguard communications.

After fighting through the Splicers, Hive and a Perfected Walker, the Guardians managed to corner Taniks by his command bridge. Taniks was armed with his signature Scorch Cannon, modified to allow Shock and Void blasts. His SIVA abilities also made him invincible until nearby SIVA crystals were destroyed. The Guardians slew Taniks after a heated battle, preventing his crew from restarting mercenary operations.

Legacy

By the time of the Red War, the House of Devils had almost entirely disappeared, its dwindling numbers forcing it to be incorporated into the House of Dusk. Remnants of the House would resurface from the ranks of Dusk from time to time, most notably Eramis, who led an operation attempting to reclaim SIVA from the old Tower, and later founded the House of Salvation, attracting many of her former housemates to it.

Structure

Archon Prime, Aksis

The House of Devils have undergone dramatic changes in leadership over the years they have spent in the Sol System. After the death of Solkis at the hands of Saint-14, the Devils did not gain a new Kell in over one hundred years, with Riksis and Sepiks acting as their sole leadership. Why they did not replace him is unknown, but the Devils being a more religiously driven House compared to the others may have allowed the religious leadership to keep the House together. The death of Riksis and destruction of Sepiks Prime did not break the House, showing a level of uniformity that other Houses do not display.

Notable members

Kells

• Solkis, Kell of Devils

Prime Servitors

• Sepiks Prime

Archons

• Riksis, Devil Archon – Archon of Sepiks Prime
• Aksis, Archon Prime
• Karrhis, Archon Rising
• Kovik, Splicer Priest
• Vosik, the Archpriest

Barons Dresiks, Splicer Baron Naksis, Devil Baron Veekris, the Shipstealer Captains Devils' High Emissary Eksori, Devil Captain Iliksis, Light Stalker Kaviss, Splicer Captain Kethiks, the Yet-Proven Lisknis, Devil Enforcer Meksis, Siege Engineer Siriks, Loyal to Eramis Rahn, Devil Captain Varjis, Clever Headed

Servitors Deksis-5, Taskmaster Mimiks-0, Devil's Scion Mimiks-1, Devil's Scion Sepiks-23 Heavy Shanks S.A.B.E.R.-2 Vandals Greksis, Devil Claw Kariks, Devil Claw Loksis, Devil Claw Nulsis, Lost to Winter Rahndel, the Perfected Riliks, Devil Claw Yalsis, Devil Claw

Former members Atraks, the Wildcard Eramis, the Shipstealer Keksis, the Betrayed (Taken) Kiphoris, Devil Captain (Taken) Kridis, the Priestess Phensis, the Disillusioned Phylaks, the Warrior S.A.B.E.R.-0.1 Notable groups Devil Splicers

Unique forces

Captain variants Splicer Captain Fused Captain Enhanced Captain Perfected Captain Splicer Priest Captain, Loyal to Eramis Vandal variants Survey Boss Splicer Vandal Fused Vandal Enhanced Vandal Perfected Vandal Splicer Scout Dreg variants Splicer Dreg Fused Dreg Enhanced Dreg Perfected Dreg

Servitor variants Splicer Servitor Fused Servitor Enhanced Servitor Perfected Servitor Shock Servitor Scorch Servitor Null Servitor Spy Servitor Servitor, Loyal to Eramis Shank variants Turret Shank Sniper Shank Splicer Shank Fused Shank Enhanced Shank Perfected Shank Splicer Repeater Shank Splicer Tracer Shank Splicer Exploder Shank Voltage Eater Walker variants Devil Walker Noble Devil Walker Splicer Walker Perfected Walker

Gallery

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  House of Devils banner

List of appearances

Destiny (First appearance) House of Wolves The Taken King Rise of Iron

Destiny 2 (Mentioned only) Forsaken (Mentioned only) Season of the Drifter Season of the Worthy (Mentioned only) Season of Arrivals (Mentioned only) Beyond Light Season of the Chosen (Mentioned only) Season of the Splicer (Mentioned only) The Witch Queen Season of the Haunted (Mentioned only) Season of Plunder (Mentioned only)