Devil Splicers

"That which we were, we are no more. That which we are is undefined. We make our new selves. We need not machines, because we are machines. ~consume enhance replicate~"

- Aksis, Archon Prime

The Devil Splicers belong to a cyber-existentialist divergent faction of the Fallen House of Devils' Splicers who became obsessed with godhood with the discovery of SIVA, a nanotechnology capable of altering the material world. Realizing this could make them closer to the "machine-gods" that they had always worshiped, the Devil Splicers immediately began infecting their fellow Devils with SIVA.

Their weaponry is Solar-based, with red-colored energy instead of the typical orange coloration. This is likely because of SIVA augmentation, including limited health restoration.

History
"Fellow Houses. Fellow Eliksni. We have found the means to apotheosis, to become machines. SIVA can make you strong, but we can show you how to wield it, to free yourself from the bonds of Ether. Find us in the wasteland and bring us an offering of SIVA. In return, we will bring you to our chamber of perfection. And we will free you."

- INTERCEPTED FALLEN SIGNAL.

The history of the Devil Splicers is mostly unknown besides belonging to the Fallen House of Devils. They worked like other Splicers of other Fallen Houses; working to improve their houses weapons, technology and evolve their species. The Splicers, like the rest of their House, grew desperate after the loss of their House's Kell, Archon and Prime Servitor at the hands of the Guardians of the Last City. However Aksis, claiming the title of Archon, finally brought a sense of leadership back to the Devils. With Aksis and his followers in power, the Splicers continued their efforts in pillaging the Cosmodrome of Old Russia to find any piece of Golden Age technology to hopefully turn the tide. Their efforts proved fruitful as they found SIVA, a nanotechnology sealed away by the Iron Lords.

While the conventional leadership believed they have found a new machine to worship as a god, the younger more ambitious sect of the Splicers saw this technology as something else; a means to transcendence. The Devil Splicers believed they could use SIVA to become the machines they worship. Aksis was the first to do so, reaching apotheosis and becoming more machine than Fallen, achieving what the Splicers had long endeavored, freedom from subsistence on ether. The Splicers under Aksis then used SIVA to bring back the Devil's Prime Servitor, Sepiks, to prove the technology's worth to the rest of their brethren. However, since SIVA is completely new to the Fallen, the Splicers sought the means to control and understand it. Therefore, they traveled to Mars, taking a risk with the Cabal, to learn from Clovis Bray's archives as they were the original creators of SIVA. The Fallen were able to gain a basic understanding from the archives but a Cabal counterattack arrived and drove them away, preventing them from learning anything more of value.

With what they've learned, the Fallen were able to find Site 6, the replication center for SIVA, in the Plaguelands and reactivated it to produce more for themselves, twisting the land into their headquarters in the process. Meanwhile, the Devils and their Splicers breached the Cosmodrome Wall to gain a better entry into the Plaguelands and to melt down the wall's metal for processing. While learning about SIVA, the Devil Splicers also learned about the original Iron Lords that sealed SIVA away and believed that they could learn more about SIVA from the Iron Lords fortress of the Iron Temple. With a force of Devils under the command of Sepiks Perfected, the Fallen hoped to gain more knowledge of SIVA from within and destroy the temple to ensure the Guardians couldn't find a way to stop them. However, Lord Saladin learned of their plan and lead the Guardian to Felwinter Peak to defend the temple. Despite the Fallen's numbers and Sepiks' new powers, they failed to breach the temple. However, Sepiks survived, thanks to SIVA's regenerative powers, and fled into hiding. The Devils' attack on the temple would begin the conflict called the SIVA Crisis, the battle between the Devil Splicers and the Guardians.

However, the Devil Splicers rise to prominence would be short-lived as the Guardians, under the guided leadership of Saladin and Shiro-4, destroyed the Splicers' connection to SIVA and breached their defenses in the Archon's Forge. As the Guardians entered Site 6 and faced the SIVA-corrupted Remnants of the Iron Lords, the Splicers joined them to prevent the Guardians from initiating the replication centers self-destruct sequence. Their efforts were nonetheless in vain as the Guardian defeated the Remnants and destroyed the replication center, thereby preventing the Devil Splicers from making anymore SIVA. However, the Splicer's still had a substantial amount of SIVA left and with Aksis and Sepiks still alive, the Devil Splicers remained a significant threat.

Afterwards, Sepiks Perfected was tracked back to its former lair, and was hunted down by a fireteam of Guardians. Sepiks was cornered unable to escape like it did at the Iron Temple, as was destroyed once more. Meanwhile, under the direction of Kovik, Splicer Priest, the Splicers began to capture and experiment on the Hive, either to enslave the Hive or harness their biology. In this act, the Hive furiously began an all-out war with the Splicers. The Guardians intervened to prevent the Splicers from gaining control of the Hive or to create the weapons, as they feared such experiments could mean the end for the Last City. The Guardians were able to stop the splicers by killing Kovik and putting a stop to their assaults on the Moon for more test subjects.

Ultimately, the power of the Devil Splicers came to an end when the Guardians, now a new generation of Iron Lords, attacked the Devil Splicers lair directly. They hunted and killed their second-in-command Vosik, the Archpriest, destroyed their Siege Engine, and finally used SIVA to destroy their leader, Aksis, Archon Prime, in his own Perfection Complex. With Aksis and his followers gone, the new Iron Lords ended the threat of the SIVA-mutated Devil Splicers.

Months after the loss of their Archon and Site 6, the Splicers sought to regain their advantage but lacked the leadership to do it. In desperation, the Splicers proposed an alliance to the crew of the mercenary, Taniks, the Scarred. To cement their alliance, the Devil Splicers used SIVA to resurrect Taniks as Taniks Perfected. Though Taniks' mind was overtaken by SIVA, his leadership and ruthlessness remained, giving them the advantage they needed. Unfortunately, their efforts were discovered by Variks, the Loyal who relayed their plans to the Vanguard. The Guardians led a Strike on the Moon against the Splicers, Taniks' crew and the Hive who were harassing them. Despite their efforts and Taniks' new abilities, they failed. With Taniks dead again, the Splicers were left broken and leaderless once again.

Structure
The command structure and tactics of the Devil Splicers is generally the same to their generic House of Devils counterparts, albeit more dangerous, zealous due to the radical spiritualistic nature of their sect. While only Aksis himself was granted the "honor" of a full conversion into a machine, the promise of achieving godhood drives the Splicers. Offerings of SIVA are brought into their Archon's Forge, in a twisted version of a Fallen ritual, to prove themselves and achieve the next level towards perfection.

Leadership

 * Aksis, Archon Prime—Archon and Prime
 * Vosik, the Archpriest—Second-in-Command
 * Sepiks Perfected—Reincarnated Prime Servitor
 * Taniks Perfected—Reincarnated Mercenary

Notable members

 * Kovik, Splicer Priest
 * Dresiks, Splicer Baron
 * Kaviss, Splicer Captain
 * Meksis, Siege Engineer
 * Rahndel, the Perfected

Unique forces

 * Splicer Dreg
 * Fused Dreg
 * Enhanced Dreg
 * Perfected Dreg
 * Splicer Vandal
 * Fused Shank Master
 * Fused Vandal
 * Enhanced Vandal
 * Perfected Vandal
 * Splicer Scout
 * Splicer Operative
 * Splicer Shank Master
 * Splicer Captain
 * Splicer Scorch Captain
 * Shock Captain
 * Null Captain
 * Splicer Emissary Captain
 * Fused Captain
 * Enhanced Captain
 * Perfected Captain
 * Splicer Priest

Automata

 * Splicer Shank
 * Fused Shank
 * Enhanced Shank
 * Perfected Shank
 * Voltage Eater
 * Splicer Servitor
 * Fused Servitor
 * Enhanced Shank Runner
 * Enhanced Servitor
 * Perfected Servitor
 * Splicer Emissary
 * Shock Servitor
 * Scorch Servitor
 * Null Servitor
 * Splicer Walker
 * Perfected Walker

Vehicles

 * Splicer Skiff--SIVA-modified carrier
 * Siege Engine--Armored demolition platform twisted with derelict technologies
 * Splicership Menkis-Syn--The Ketch of the Devil Splicers.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * Rise of Iron
 * Forsaken
 * Shadowkeep