Editing Alak-Hul, the Darkblade

{{Tabbed infobox
|title1= Darkblade
|content1= {{Boss infobox
|nameBG=olive
|BG=olive
|sectionBG=olive
|lineBG=olive
|name= Alak-Hul, the Darkblade
|image= [[File:Grimoire card Alak-Hul.jpg|300px]]
|species= [[Hive]]
|faction= [[Blood of Oryx]] (inferred, formerly) 
|rank= [[Prince]] <br> [[Ultra]]
|class= [[Darkblade]] [[Knight]]
|mission= [[The Sunless Cell]]
|gender= Male
|weapon= {{icon|Kinetic}} [[Hive Axe]]
|ability= Temporary Vanish <br> Teleportation <br> Rapid Movement <br> High Durability <br> Summon Hive
}}
|title2= Lightblade
|content2=
{{Boss infobox
|nameBG= #DFD4BF
|BG= #DFD4BF
|sectionBG= #DFD4BF
|lineBG= #DFD4BF
|name= Alak-Hul, the Lightblade
|image= [[File:Lightblade Infobox.jpg|300px]]
|species= [[Hive]]
|faction= [[Lucent Brood]]
|rank= [[Ultra]]
|class= [[Darkblade]] [[Knight]]
|mission= [[The Lightblade]]
|gender= Male
|weapon= {{icon|Kinetic}} [[Hive Axe]]
|ability= Teleportation <br> Rapid Movement <br> High Durability <br> Summon Hive <br> Summon [[Lightblade's Warrior|Warriors]] <br> Summon [[Lightblade's Disciple|Disciples]] <br> Temporary Immunity <br> {{icon|Arc}} Vicious Light
}}
}}
{{quote|Oryx gave me no task. Therefore I must task myself, with Oryx's ending.|Alak-Hul<ref name="Alak-Hul">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Enemies|Enemies]]/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive|Exalted Hive]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted_Hive#Alak-Hul, the Darkblade|Alak-Hul, the Darkblade]]'' </ref>}}
'''Alak-Hul, the Darkblade''' is a [[Hive]] [[Darkblade]] [[Knight]], foster son of [[Oryx, the Taken King]], 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==
{{quote|[[Eris Morn|Eris]], why did the [[Darkblade]] rise against [[Oryx]]?" <br> "The [[Wizard]] [[Verok]] was his mate. He slew a legion of [[Thrall]]s in her name. Marched on the King's throne at the head of an army built on hate and pain." <br> "How... romantic.|[[The Ghost]] and [[Eris Morn]]<ref name="Sunless">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[The Sunless Cell]]''</ref>}}
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]].<ref name="Sunless"/> It was Alak-Hul and Verok's spawn that killed the [[Titan (class)|Titan]] [[Vell Tarlowe]],<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[Enemy of My Enemy]]''</ref> with the former delivering the killing blow upon his axe.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Shadowkeep]] - [[Memory of Vell Tarlowe]]''</ref>

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"),<ref name="Alak-Hul"/> and second, to appraise himself in the eyes of Verok.<ref name="Sunless"/> Oryx's warriors captured Alak-Hul, 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.<ref name="Sunless"/>

===Rebirth as the Lightblade===
{{quote|Careful. The Knight guarding this place? He's an old rival of Oryx and he's no joke. Pretty funny that Savathûn has him guarding Oryx's temple, though.|[[Fynch]]}}
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]].<ref name="Lightblade">'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: [[The Witch Queen]] - [[The Lightblade]]''</ref>

Assisted by Lightbearing [[Lightblade's Warrior|Warriors]] and Knight [[Lightblade's Disciple|Disciples]] as his personal guards, the Temple was well defended. This was until a [[Fireteam]] of Guardians, following a lead from [[Fynch]] about a potential clue from the temple, ran into Alak-Hul, who was away from his post, who then fled back to the temple. Facing off against his Warriors and Disciples, hitching a ride on a ferry and evading Scorn to reach the temple, the Fireteam would enter the monument. 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.<ref name="Alak-Hul"/>

==Family==
{{Hive Pantheon}}

==Gameplay==
===The Sunless Cell===
{{quote|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]]s at 25% health intervals, with [[Cursed Thrall]]s 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===
{{quote|Hey, hey, hey, hey, that's our guy! The one guarding the temple! What's he doing away from his post?|Fynch}}
Alak-Hul will appear multiple times throughout the Lightblade strike before fighting him as the boss. He will first appear near the beginning, at the door of the [[Queen's Bailey]], and then again battling [[Scorn]] in front of the [[Temple of the Navigator]]. Both these times, he will stay back and blast the Guardians and Scorn with Vicious Light, retreating after taking a small amount of damage or after his minions are killed.

The actual fight against Alak-Hul takes place in a large and spacious room dedicated to Oryx, his former rival. Soon after the player enters the arena, [[Orbs of Light|Orbs of Power]] will rain down around the arena. Alak-Hul will then slam the ground with his axe as he spawns in the middle, hitting anyone close enough. Alak-Hul will be highly mobile during the fight, chasing the player between the lower and upper floors, as well as the central dais. At range, the Lightblade will blast Arc 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. His deadliest attack uses his axe, which he can swing quickly and cause damage over a large area. Such an attack is capable of killing a Guardian with a single strike, even at full health. When Alak-Hul is at 80% health, a wave of Thralls will spawn. At 65% and 33% health, the boss will teleport to the central dais and will cease attacking, become invulnerable, and summon ten Cursed Thrall, two Disciples and a Warrior, as well as spawn more Orbs. When the Disciples and Warrior are slain, Alak-Hul will resume the chase. After each invulnerability phase, as well as at 50% health, [[Revenant Knight]]s, Acolytes and Thralls will spawn to attack. When he reaches 50% health, Alak-Hul will lose his helm, causing him to become enraged and chase the players at a higher speed and with faster attacks.

In Master and above difficulties of The Lightblade strike, [[Barrier Knight]] Champions will spawn in place of the Revenant Knights.

==Trivia==
*Alak-Hul's name can be considered a portmanteau of two Sindarin words<ref>'''reddit''', ''[https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/4k1kez/til_alakhuls_name_is_elvish/d3ci0gi/ TIL Alak-Hul's name is elvish]''</ref> from J.R.R. Tolkien's fictitious Elvish languages, specifically the root "alak-" (''rushing'')<ref>'''The One Wiki To Rule Them All''', ''[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ancalagon#Etymology Ancalagon]''</ref><ref>'''Tolkien Gateway''', ''[http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Alak LAK]''</ref> and "hûl" (''cry of encouragement in battle'').<ref>'''Parf Edhellen''', ''[https://www.elfdict.com/w/hul hûl]''</ref> 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 features 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.

==Gallery==
'''Darkblade'''
<gallery>
File:DarkBladefull.jpg|An early teaser image of Alak-Hul
File:Alakhul.jpg|Alak-Hul stalking in his cell
</gallery>

'''Lightblade'''
<gallery>
File:Lightblade0.jpg|Alak-Hul as the Lightblade
File:Lightblade1.png|Alak-Hul blasting Vicious Light
File:Lightblade2.png|Alak-Hul at the Temple of the Navigator 
File:Lightblade4.png|Alak-Hul leaps into action
File:Lightblade5.png|Alak-Hul upclose
File:Helmet Less.jpg|Alak-Hul without his helmet
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]: [[The Witch Queen]]''
**''[[Episode: Heresy]]'' {{Mo}}

==References==
<references/>

{{Bosses}}

[[Category:Enemies]]
[[Category:Hive characters]]
[[Category:Lucent Lightbearers]]