Kell

"In a world without Kells, Dreg strength will breed nothing but chaos."

- House of Rain proverb

A Kell is the political leader of a Fallen house and the commander of their House's Ketch.

Overview
Kells acts as the political leader of their Fallen House; as they rule their people and commands their forces with an iron fist and usually commandeer their House's flagship Ketch. Kells are also known for controling their Houses' Ether supply, through the use of an Elder Cipher. But if a Kell dies, than the House will fall to a civil war, between their Barons and/or nobility; Only the most powerful contender or when all opposition is gone can someone assume control. Such as the House of Wolves, when their Kell, Virixas, was killed by Mara Sov. Which cause 3 of their nobility to fight against each other to become the new Kell of Wolves.

However it is possible that a House can still function without a Kell, as an Archon, Prime Servitor, or another Kell from a different House can assume command of the House. But, their loss severely weakens a house and demoralizes its forces. For this reason, Kells are a prime target for enemy forces.

However, ever since the events of Forsaken, most Kells are either dead, or have gone insane. But only three known Houses are still lead a by Kell, House of Judgment, House of Light, and the House of Darkness.

Prophecy of the Kell of Kells
According to a prophecy by the House of Rain, the Great Machine would crown a mighty warrior as the Kell of Kells, and rule over all houses. None but Skolas and Variks has ever attempted to claim this title for themselves.

Notable Kells

 * House of Devils
 * Solkis, Kell of Devils
 * House of Judgment
 * Variks, Kell of Kells
 * House of Kings
 * Craask, Kell of Kings
 * House of Light
 * Mithrax, Kell of Light
 * House of Stone
 * Chelchis, Kell of Stone
 * House of Winter
 * Draksis, Winter Kell
 * House of Wolves
 * Virixas, Kell of Wolves
 * Skolas, Kell of Kells
 * Mara Sov, Queen of the Reef (temporary)
 * House of Darkness
 * Eramis, Kell of Darkness

Known claimants to Kellship

 * House of Wolves
 * Irxis, Wolf Baroness
 * Parixas, the Howling
 * Veliniks, the Ravenous

Houses without Kells

 * House of Dusk
 * House of Exile
 * Scorn
 * The Spider's Crime Syndicate
 * Kell's Scourge

Mentioned Only

 * Drifis, the Daring mentioned in the Fallen Kingdom Anthology.
 * A Kell killed by Rezyl Azzir
 * A Kell who docked Taniks, the Scarred in the item description of Does Not Bow.
 * A Kell who died in the item description of Cloak of Five Full Moons.

Trivia

 * Kells have their own bodyguards in the form of Kell's Guard and Wolves' Guard for the House of Winter and Wolves, however it’s unknown if one of them are the true protector of a Kell.
 * For decades Riksis, Devil Archon and Sepiks Prime maintained authority over the House of Devils. This shows evidence that a House can function without a Kell.
 * The proper Fallen name for Kells lacks the second letter L.
 * This is most likely a Human mispronunciation, as Kel sounds like Kell.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * The Taken King
 * Rise of Iron
 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken
 * Joker's Wild