Clash of the Chosen

"...three words, nine word bursts over and over..."This article is based on canon information, but the article title is conjectural, as there is currently no official name for the subject. See the talk page for more information.

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Previous:	Hunt for the Wrathborn Fall of Torobatl
Next:	Endless Night
Clash of the Chosen
Fronts:	Arcadian Valley, Nessus Castalia Macula, Europa Cosmodrome, Earth
Outcome:	Tentative armistice between Cabal Empire and the Vanguard Cabal deserters abandon Empress Caiatl's cause Psion conspiracy exposed
Belligerents Vanguard Cabal Hive Vex Commanders Commander Zavala Lord Saladin Forge Osiris Amanda Holliday Empress Caiatl Ignovun, Chosen of Caiatl Commander Dracus Basilius the Golem Val Ma'rag Ixel, the Far-Reaching Yirix Unknown Unknown Strength Thousands of Guardians The Young Wolf Crow Siegfried Shaw Han Redjacks Imperial Cabal Red Legion remnants Thousands of Hive Thousands of Vex Casualties Several unidentified Guardians Numerous Cabal commanders Thousands of Cabal soldiers Unknown Unknown Civilian casualties None

Clash of the Chosen was a conflict between the Vanguard and the Imperial Cabal after Empress Caiatl entered the Sol System seeking to bring the Red Legion back into the Cabal Empire and convince Humanity to become her vassals for war against the Hive and Darkness. Both sides sought to prevent the conflict from erupting in open war through a series of Rite of Provings, resulting in one final rite between the Chosen champions of both sides to determine who dictated the terms of a treaty.

History

Failed Negotiations

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In the aftermath of the fall of the Cabal's homeworld and capital Torobatl, Empress Caiatl sought to gather the full remaining strength of the Cabal Empire by reclaiming the Red Legion from the Sol System. She also sought to bring Humanity and its Guardians into the Cabal Empire as full citizens to combine their strength against the Hive and Darkness. Commander Zavala and his advisor Osiris met with the Empress to discuss terms, but refused to bow before her. Zavala subsequently ordered a strike against Commander Dracus, a war criminal who aspired to become part of Caiatl's War Council, on Nessus near a recently deployed Imperial Land Tank Halphas Electus in order to secure information on what the Cabal's plans were.

The Vanguard put together a task force commanded by Lord Saladin Forge to combat the Cabal incursions and prevent them from reforming a command structure in the Sol System. Osiris joined the task force and brought in Crow as a recon expert, while Amanda Holliday was in charge of air support. The task force began gathering evidence on the Cabal's plans and how best to combat them, determining that disrupting the Rites of Proving that Caiatl was using to form her War Council could prevent a full-scale war from erupting. Saladin opposed this strategy, instead advocating for escalating the conflict and wiping out the Cabal entirely. Zavala refused to consider escalation as an option, arguing that the Vanguard could not fight such a war without heavy casualties leaving them vulnerable to the other foes.

The Golem's Ambitions

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Basilius the Golem would desire to join caital's war council. Seeking to learn the secrets of the Deep Stone Crypt, he and his soldiers would begin to claim ground from the Vex in the hope of finding it. Their efforts were fruitless, however, as they found no sign of the crypt. Basilius would continue hunting for information on exominds, however The Guardian arrived and challenged him in a Rite of Proving. Despite his Cabal reinforcements and his powerful weaponry, he would be slain by the guardians.

Battle for the Cosmodrome

The Cabal soon opened a new front in their war when they sought revenge against the Hive for the fall of their homeworld Torobatl. Val Ma'rag sought vengeance and a place on Caiatl's War Council by assaulting the Hive nests in the abandoned Cosmodrome of Old Russia on Earth. Establishing a makeshift firebase in the ruins of the Lunar Complex, Ma'rag led his forces into the Hive warrens before being surrounded in Skywatch. The Vanguard's attention was drawn by the Cabal's presence on Earth and they sent in a team to eliminate Ma'rag. Although the Val was defeated, the Cabal continued to reinforce their position in the Cosmodrome to destroy the Hive.

With the continued presence of the Cabal and Hive threatening Vanguard control of the region, Shaw Han was tasked by Zavala to keep the region secured, as it remained a key source of new Guardians found by Ghosts. He was provided with Redjacks to help defend their holdings. During a battle in the Mothyards, Shaw's lines were pushed back as the Cabal established entrenched machine gun positions and repeatedly charged his defensive positions. He requested reinforcements from the Vanguard, resulting in Saladin himself arriving to aid Shaw with Amanda providing air support. The two Guardians held the line while Amanda launched the Titan Siegfried from her jumpship to smash into the Cabal's fortifications with the Fist of Havoc.

Psion Conspiracy

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Ixel, the Far-Reaching was the next to try and join caital's war council. She and a conspiracy of psions would seize a Vex prediction engine and begin using it's oracle-like powers. However, The Guardian interupted them and Yirix was forced to destroy the machine to cover their tracks. Ixel then fought the guardians in a Rite of Proving, but, despite her psionic abilities and her cabal warship's missiles, she was slain by The Guardian.

The Final Proving

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After all the Rites of Proving were complete, Commander Zavala challenged Caital to one last battle. The Guardian was sent to fight Ignovun, Chosen of Caiatl, and the winner's rule would determine the outcome of the Clash of the Chosen. After fighting through cabal outside the Halphas Electus, The guardian breached the inside. Fighting through the vehicle bay, the guardians disabled the tank's systems using power cores. After this, they finally arrived at Ignovun's arena. Despite his psionic powers, he too fell to the guardians leading Caital to honor her word and begin negotiations with the vanguard concerning an alliance.

Aftermath

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List of appearances

• Destiny 2: Season of the Chosen (First appearance)
  • Season of the Lost (Mentioned only)