Fallen

"We have butchers at our gates, four-armed and eager for slaughter."

— Fallen Grimoire entry

Template:Species Infobox The Fallen are an alien species that fights against the remnants of the human race.

Overview

The Fallen are a nomadic race of pirates and scavengers descended from a once-great civilization. This is evidenced by their social organization into various Houses in the manner of nobility, the banners and flags of which are still flown like heraldry.^[1] The Fallen search the stars for artifacts of their lost civilization.^[2] They first arrived in the Solar System after the Collapse, arriving in their massive Ketches to loot and pillage humanity's former worlds, leaving grief and wreckage in their wake.^[3]

The Fallen Houses have apparently laid claim to all worlds and territories once owned by humanity, and fight the remnants of the human race, and possibly one another, for dominion over these places.^[4]

The Fallen are currently at war with the Vex and the Hive, fighting for control over their territory and over potential loot. They lack any type of established stronghold such as the Citadel or the Hellmouth, instead preferring to squat in ruins or inside their ketches.^[5]

Biology

Fallen have two pairs of arms and typically wear a helmet with what appears to be respirator devices.^[4] Through means either natural or artificial, the Fallen can regrow their arms if removed from their body.^[6] Their blood color is red.^[7] When killed, a Fallen's "soul" escapes it.^[8] They are a hardy species, and can survive in a wide range of environments without heavy armor or complex modifications to their physiology. They travel light, hit hard, and are gone before their enemies know it.^[9]

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.^[10]

Houses

Fallen society is divided into a number of Houses, none of which are known to maintain friendly relations with one another.^[11] Each House is ruled by a Kell, who acts as the political leader of a House and commands a Ketch.^[3] 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; infighting is common if a House loses its Kell, and a House without a Prime Servitor cannot produce new servitors.^[5]

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.^[5]

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.^[5]

Known Houses

Command Structure

Kell
Archon
Baron
Captain
- Elder Captain
- Noble Captain
- Reaver Captain
Vandal
- Elder Vandal
- Kell's Guard
- Reaver Vandal
- Stealth Vandal
  - Stealth Elite Vandal
Dreg
- Feral Dreg
- Reaver Dreg

Named Individuals and Mini-bosses

Technology

Armament

Shock Blade
Shock Dagger^[12]
Shock Pistol
Shock Rifle
Shock Grenade
Wire Rifle
Shrapnel Launcher

Vehicles

Automata

Fallen Walker
- Elite Devil Walker
- Noble Devil Walker
- Noble Iron Walker
- Noble Winter Walker
Servitor
- Elder Servitor
- Spy Servitor
- Trawl Servitor
- High Servitor
- Prime Servitor
Shank
- Elder Pit Shank
- Elite Shank
- Noble Shank
- Noble Pit Shank
- Pit Shank
- Reaver Shank

Other

Alphabet

In addition to Fallen glyphs, Bungie has released a number of images with examples of Fallen writing, including a number of unique letter combinations.^[13]^[14]^[15]

Trivia

Their mechanized vehicle units carry overtones of Japanese mecha, and their ships appear like rusted futuristic submarines.^[16]

The Fallen have been seen to cooperate with both Cabal and Vex forces who are in fact enemies with one another as seen on Mars.^[17]

Gallery

A Fallen "glyph."
A Fallen in front of a Fallen Walker.
A Hunter hiding from Fallen and Cabal possibly under some sort of influence.
A Fallen Dreg.
A Fallen Vandal.
A Fallen Captain.
Another Fallen Captain, displaying the colours of the House of Winter.
Fallen dropships over Old Russia.
A Fallen pirate ship with 2 Fallen dropships.
Sketch of a Fallen's face up close.
Glyphs that make up the Fallen alphabet.
Fallen Captain, saying "Welcome" in 5 languages, including its own.
Inverted image of writing on Fallen T-Shirt available at the Bungie Store. Note the translations show the names of various Bungie employees on the Destiny development team.(Image courtesy of nscuduncan of DBO forums)^[18]
Example of Fallen writing, demonstrating how certain characters combine. Translation: "THE FA LL EN"