Fallen

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

— Fallen Grimoire entry

Template:Species Infobox The Fallen, known in their language as the Eliksni, are an alien species of insectoid mercenaries that fight against the remnants of the human race. They can be found on nearly every planet, having claimed most of the system for themselves.

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 are antagonistic toward the Cabal, Hive, and Vex, and are known to be in conflict with the latter two over territory and technology. They have ordinarily avoided the Cabal until the Taken War, when the House of Wolves attempted to make their new home on Mars using abandoned Cabal bases. They lack any type of established stronghold such as the Citadel or the Hellmouth, instead preferring to squat in ruins or inside their ketches.^[4]

History

The Fallen's name for their own race is "Eliksni".^[5] According to Variks, the Loyal, the Fallen once encountered the Traveler, or "Great Machine", before an event or entity called the "Whirlwind" (possibly the Darkness) destroyed their civilization. The Fallen eventually rediscovered the Traveler in the Solar System.^[6] The secretive House of Kings is believed to be manipulating a number of other Houses with the long-term goal of seizing the Traveler from the Guardians; this scheme may have precipitated the Battle of the Twilight Gap.^[7]

By the time of the game the Fallen have a large presence on Earth, the Moon and Venus. They are scavenging Golden Age ruins and fighting any other hostile alien race. This is especially true on Earth and Venus. In the Cosmodrome the Houses of Devils and Kings are locked in a vicious war with an emerging army of Hive while on Venus, the House of Winter is fighting over Golden Age ruins with the Vex. On the Moon however the House of Exile is scavenging a primitive existence while avoiding contact with the Hive. The House of Wolves, which is largely decimated due to years of war with the Reef, has several isolated pockets spread throughout the solar system.^{[citation needed]}

Biology

Fallen have two pairs of arms and typically wear a helmet with what appears to be respirator devices.^[8] Through means either natural or artificial, the Fallen can regrow their arms if removed from their body.^[9] Their blood color is red.^[10] When killed, a Fallen's "soul" escapes it.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13] Higher-ranking Fallen get a bigger ration of ether, and more ether allows Fallen to grow in size; this is why Captains are taller than Vandals or Dregs, and why Kells and Archons tower over other Fallen. In the description of the Elder Cipher we learn that the Kell of a house controls and distributes ether flow using their own personal cipher.^[14]

Houses

Fallen society is divided into a number of Houses, none of which are known to maintain friendly relations with one another,^[15] save for the House of Judgment, which was meant to live among the other houses and keep the peace. 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; without a Kell a House becomes prone to infighting, without an Archon a House's Prime Servitor is vulnerable to attack, and without a Prime Servitor a House cannot produce new servitors for ether.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

Known Houses

House of Devils - Earth
House of Exile - Moon
House of Judgment - The Reef
House of Kings - Earth
House of Rain - Believed extinct, destroyed by the Whirlwind
House of Scar - Unknown, possibly destroyed by the House of Winter
House of Stone - Unknown, possibly extinct
House of Winter - Venus
House of Wolves - Unknown outer system worlds (formerly), Ceres (formerly), The Reef (formerly), Earth, Moon, Venus, Mars

Named Individuals and Mini-bosses

Command Structure

Kell
Archon
Baron
Captain (Arc Shield)
- Elder Captain
- Noble Captain
- Queenbreaker Captain
- Reaver Captain
- Scorch Captain
- Silent Fang
- Watch Captain
- Wolf Captain
- Wolves' Guard
Vandal
- Elder Vandal
- Kell's Guard
- Queenbreaker Vandal
- Reaver Vandal
- Salvage Boss
- Stealth Vandal
  - Stealth Elite Vandal
  - Wolf Stealth Vandal
- Survey Boss
- Twisted Claw
- Wolf Melee Vandal
- Wolf Vandal
Dreg
- Dreg Lead Scout
- Feral Dreg
- Reaver Dreg
- Wolf Scavenger
- Archon Servant

Technology

Armament

Scorch Cannon
Shock Blade
Shock Dagger^[16]
Shock Pistol
Shock Rifle
Shock Grenade
Shrapnel Launcher
Wire Rifle
Web Mine

Vehicles

Automata

Fallen Walker
- Elite Devil Walker
- Noble Devil Walker
- Noble Iron Walker
- Noble Winter Walker
- Wolf Walker
- Elder Wolf Walker
Servitor
- Elder Servitor
- Spy Servitor
- Trawl Servitor
- High Servitor
- Wolf High Servitor
- Wolf Servitor
- Prime Servitor
Shank
- Elder Pit Shank
- Elite Shank
- Exploder Shank
- Noble Shank (Solar Shield)
- Noble Pit Shank
- Pit Shank
- Reaver Shank
- Repeater Shank
- Sensor Shank
- Surveillance Shank
- Tracer 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.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Trivia

Their mechanized vehicle units carry overtones of Japanese mecha, and their ships appear like rusted futuristic submarines.^[20]

According to GameInformer, The Fallen cooperate with both Cabal and Vex forces, who are in fact enemies with one another as seen on Mars.^[21] This has yet to be shown in-game, as the Fallen are at war with the Vex on Venus, and the Fallen and Cabal have not been seen together in the same place.

A T-shirt, featuring a Fallen Glyph with various examples of Fallen script in the background, was previously available in the Bungie Store prior to the game's launch. This shirt was also made available at PAX 2013 where its creator, Bungie graphic designer Elliot Gray, gave a little insight into the story behind its creation to a fan who asked him the meaning of the symbols. He indicated that he had used the names of several of the game's developers for the background, then pointed to one name in the corner and indicated that it translated into "Ondarius", which he stated was the name by which one of the Great Houses referred to themselves, although he didn't elaborate on which House it was.

Gallery

A Fallen "glyph."
A Fallen in front of a Fallen Walker.
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.
Concept arts of Fallen vehicles.
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, as well as the name "Ondarius".
Example of Fallen writing, demonstrating how certain characters combine. Translation: "THE FA LL EN"