Eramis, Kell of Darkness

Eramis, Kell of Darkness
Biographical information
Other name(s):	The Shipstealer; VIP #2029 ; Eramiskel; The Once-Shipstealer; The Kell of No House; The Firebrand of House Devils; The Archfiend of Twilight Gap; Kell of Kells
Homeworld:	Riis
Species:	Fallen
Gender:	Female
Political and military information
Affiliation:	House of Devils (formerly); House of Salvation
Rank:	Baron (formerly); Kell
Notable info:	First known living Fallen to use the powers of the Darkness. ; Second known Fallen to become Kell of Kells and unite multiple Houses

This article is about the Kell of Darkness. For the original Shipstealer, see Veekris.

"To my Eliksni sisters and brothers out amongst the stars, and here at home on Europa. We are the future of our kind, and we will destroy all who threaten us. Remember, Light only burns bright so long, but Darkness is forever."

— Eramis.

Eramis, Kell of Darkness (formerly known as Eramis, the Shipstealer) is a Fallen Kell of the House of Salvation and former Baroness from the House of Devils. Variks mentions her in his dialogue, indicating she was taken sometime during Skolas's rampage.

Thanks to the mass breakout from the Prison of Elders initiated by Variks, Eramis escaped the Prison and rallied Fallen traditionalists into creating the House of Salvation and becoming a new "Kell of Kells" as claimed by Variks.^[1]

She is the main antagonist of the Beyond Light expansion.

Biography

Early History

Eramis was an Eliksni born of the planet Riis during an era of peace and prosperity when the Great Machine uplifted their civilization much like the Golden Age of Humanity. During this time, she and her mate Athrys had many hatchlings together, and she was a friend of Variks. However, their prosperity ended with the arrival of the Black Fleet which brought the Darkness upon the Eliksni in a massive extinction event called the Whirlwind. With the Great Machine having fled during the ongoing chaos, Eramis was one of the few Eliksni having witness it abandoning her people and left Riis to its own destruction.

Eramis survived the Whirlwind consumed with rage for the Great Machine. Starting a new life as a nomadic Fallen of the House of Devils, Eramis elevated herself to the position of Baroness and earned the moniker of the Shipstealer. She would later lead the Fallen charge against the Light-bearing Guardians of the Last City during the climactic battle of Twilight Gap, slaughtering hundreds of Lightbearers in their final deaths.

Sometime after the battle, Eramis would be captured and incarcerated in the Prison of Elders by the Reef-born Awoken.

Reuniting the Devils

Vanguard intelligence on Eramis considered her the most likely candidate for Fallen reunification, describing her as trying to rally together a new House of Devils. Seven months after escaping from the Prison of Elders, a large amount of Fallen united under Eramis attempted to enter the old Tower and steal an old weapon forged two years ago by The Guardian, presumably to use the SIVA within. They were thwarted, however, thanks to a joint effort between the Guardian and Mithrax, the Forsaken. Due to the failure, she abandoned the House of Devils banner and united the Fallen under the House of Salvation.

The Dark House

Eramis, Kell of Darkness

She would later abandon the Devil banner, proclaiming herself as the Kell of the House of Salvation in the shadow of a Pyramid in Europa. This empire consists of the former Houses of Devils, Wolves and Dusk. They began utilizing the Darkness as a means to destroy the Guardians and The Last City, going against the Fallen’s traditional rules and ideals by willingly using and harnessing the very thing that destroyed their home. Furthermore, Eramis seeks revenge against the Traveler for abandoning her people centuries prior.^[2]

Personality and Traits

Once, Eramis was described as a classical Fallen traditionalist, as in being vicious and uncompromising yet possessing cunning of the highest degree. She may have once been a believer in the Fallen's old ways and had a fierce loyalty to the House of Devils. Eramis's leadership was proven when she managed to gather various amounts of Fallen of different factions under her banner to reconstruct the House of Devils and was bold enough to make an attempted theft of the Old Tower if it meant to restore her house and people to glory.

However, driven into utter desperation and ruthlessness by the Fallen's continual losses as the hands of the Guardians, Eramis has become conniving and power-hungry, not afraid to resort to infiltration and violent conquests to achieve each of her goals. Following her failed raid during Zero Hour, she broke a major Fallen taboo, gaining Darkness abilities in the form of Stasis during her journey to Europa. Eramis is a new breed of Fallen, one that is willing to use the powers of the very same enemy that destroyed her home and broke her people, in order to achieve the power and absolution that she feels the Fallen deserve.

Eramis presumably commanded at least a Skiff or probably a Ketch before her capture and was known for stealing ships for the Devils.

As the Kell of her house, she believes that the only way to save her people is to destroy the Traveler and take vengeance on it for abandoning her kind, desiring to make the Great Machine feel the pain the Eliksni have endured. Variks has stated that Eramis had always been brash and reckless but did indeed care for her people as despite her resentment towards Variks, she joined forces with him to create a new home and future for the Eliksni. However, her constant hatred towards the Traveler and the Guardians ultimately brought her to the point of madness, especially after accepting the power of Stasis from the Darkness. She turned her people's hope for a new future into her opportunity to begin a new empire and was willing to kill members of her own kind if they were not aligned to her cause, deriding them as traitors.

As Eramis continued to her reign as the Kell of Darkness she displayed heavy traits of arrogance and megalomania, refusing to believe her way could ultimately destroy the Eliksni, the people she was trying to save. Even when she attempted to unleash a flood of Vex unto Europa, which would no doubt negatively affect the Fallen, to destroy the Guardian, Eramis believed she was in the right.

The Kell of Darkness had nothing but complete contempt and resentment for the Guardians of the Last City, believing them to be but pawns to Traveler, ready to be cast aside like the Eliksni were. This hatred ultimately led her to underestimate the Guardian during their efforts on Europa, as Eramis's anger and frustration clouded her judgement. Further, she refused to accept that the Guardians were capable of wielding the Darkness as she did, believing her kind were more fit and worthy of Stasis.

Gameplay

Eramis fights like many of her brethren, with a Shrapnel Launcher and Stasis at her fingertips. However she tends to move around less frequently, tending to stay near the back center of her arena. Instead, she tends to not be the focus of the fight, but to be a support to her subordinates, periodically attempting to freeze the player with her Stasis Strike and Eramis' Wrath attacks, all the while softening the Guardian and preventing regeneration with her shrapnel launcher.

However Eramis can be outsmarted as she tends to fire her Stasis where the Guardian is instead of where they will be. This can be used to outsmart her by jumping and rapidly changing directions. A Warlock's healing rift can protect themselves if they're frozen, a Titan's barricade can negate her attacks, and a Hunter's dodge usually can avoid it outright. Her shrapnel launcher tends to not do enough damage to be a threat due to how far away she tends to be, but it shouldn't be forgotten as it can clean up a kill one of her Wretches softened for her, or she can use it to weaken the opponent enough for a Vandal's homing Shock Rifle barrages to easily finish the job.

Eramis is also easy to stun, a precision shotgun shell or Stasis super attack to the head can stun her long enough to get some breathing room, but don't overestimate how long she's stunned, as her slam can easily knock the opponent into more danger or off the arena outright to certain doom.

Quotes

"I will give these Guardians the destruction they crave."
"Chains! For centuries we have been bound by them! We have become pawns of our own devices. No Longer!"
"One by one, we will rise again. This is our future. Our enemies stand no chance against this power. The Great Machine will finally know our pain!
"This power is a gift, one I will share with all of you in time."
"Remember, light only burns for so long, but darkness is forever!"

Trivia

Eramis was voiced by Salli Saffioti.^[3]
The unspecified entities reporting on Eramis's threat judge her to be the greatest threat for Fallen reunification.
Due to her heist for Outbreak Perfected, it may be possible that she is also trying to recreate the Devil Splicers.^[1]
She is the first Fallen to use the Darkness. (note: while the Scorn were originally the first Fallen who gained possession of the power of the darkness that led to the creation of Dark Ether, Eramis actually wielded it as a weapon instead of using it as a replacement for regular ether. The Scorn are also considered by other species to not be Fallen anymore).
- She is the second main antagonist to be female, with the first being Riven.
- Unlike Riven, Eramis was revealed to be the main antagonist at the beginning of the campaign. Riven was revealed to be the hidden antagonist in the last campaign mission of Forsaken.
Eramis is the first known female Kell to be encountered in Destiny.
Eramis is missing two of her eyes.
Eramis was thought to have been first mentioned in House of Wolves, however, this is a mishearing. Variks says something that sounds more like "Veekris" rather than Eramis.^[4]^[5]
Eramis is the first known LGBTQ+ Fallen character in Destiny.