Forum:House of Winds

"Winds unbound. Drift wherever they want with freedom. This is why we are named House Winds."

- Zephyr

The House of Winds are a nomadic Fallen House, identified by their white armor and mint-green cloaks. Unlike most Houses, they are non-hostile towards the Last City and are relatively neutral. They currently occupy the Mumbai Push on Earth.

Origins
"House Winds? Heh...now that’s one I haven’t heard since the golden days back home. I thought they were all destroyed. Just what have they been up to this whole time....?"

- Iriksi, Monsoon Baroness

The House of Winds had existed ever since the Eliksni Golden Age on their homeworld of Riis. They first formed after the end of the Edge Wars, and for a long time were always one of the smaller, less noteworthy Houses. They were described to be firm believers in following your own path and making your own destiny, and were one of the few Houses that didn’t worship the Great Machine.

During the Whirlwind, their Kell Methis was slain, along with thousands of other members of the House of Winds. The devastation they suffered was so great that they were presumed to be wiped out completely, and gradually faded to legends and myth.

However, they were not all destroyed, and instead migrated to the solar system along with all of the other surviving Eliksni. Methis would be succeeded by a new Kell: Koliks, the Tempest.

Reign of Koliks
"Ah, the House of Winds....I remember them well from the Dark Age. Never thought I’d hear from them again after I put down their Kell and gutted their Prime. Although I do regret how ruthless I was back in the day."

- Amaru

During the Dark Age, the House of Wind settled on Earth to loot and plunder from the remains of humanity’s Golden Age. They conducted numerous raids on settlements all across the globe. Koliks ruled the House with an iron fist, doing everything he could to ensure the survival of his people, including attacking and stealing from other Houses such as the Devils and Kings. Despite their small presence and numbers compared to other Houses they were still quite a menace to face.

The House of Winds would later launch an assault on a particularly large settlement being presided over by the Lightbearer Amaru, who was then a Warlord. Powerless to stand against him, the Fallen would crumble before Amaru’s Light and be forced to retreat. The House of Winds would continue to terrorize his settlement however alone with several others nearby, causing Amaru to take it upon himself to personally track down their Kell Koliks to his lair and slay him after a lengthy battle, before destroying their Prime Servitor Roxius Prime as well on his way out.

Severely crippled by Amaru’s retaliatory strike, the House of Winds abandoned all of their former territories and seemingly disappeared once more.

Wandering the World
For many years, all the way from the beginning of the City Age to the SIVA Crisis and beyond, the House of Winds would become adrift, traveling from place-to-place and staying constantly on the move. They remained well under the radar of the Vanguard and other major parties during the entirety of this time period. They also had elected another new Kell, Zyriks, and used parts of previously destroyed Servitors to construct Treniks Prime. They were solely focused on their own survival, paying little attention to the affairs of the outside world and taking special care to remain in hiding from the Guardians. They also avoided contact with all other Fallen Houses, although they did have brief skirmishes with the Devils.

The House of Winds also frequently sent salvaging crews to bring anything that could be of use back to the House. One crew in particular, led by a Vandal named Nephris, discovered something nobody would expect; a lone human child, with no other company than a Ghost. The child was so young he barely knew human speech, and had been camping out in an old shipping container. Nephris and her crew brought the child back to the House of Winds, where it was discovered he was a Lightbearer. There was some debate over whether or not to keep the child, especially since they were a Lightbearer like the one that had slain Koliks. Eventually, Zyriks decided to allow the child to stay with them, as a Lightbearer could prove useful to them should the need arise, and immortal or not, it would be cruel to allow such a young child to be left alone out in the wilderness.

The boy would then be known as Zephyr, raised by the House of Winds and taught their language, traditions and history. The young Guardian would also choose to further develop his Light abilities so he could be of use to his House in some way, and would eventually get the chance to use them, as following the end of the Red War, they would have several run-ins with the House of Dusk and remnants of the Red Legion, and he would always assist in fighting them off.

It was also during this time that several members of Dusk and the since-defeated Kell's Scourge would join their ranks, with one former member of the aforementioned terrorist syndicate becoming one of their more notable commanders.

Season of Skulls
"Something about a human child gallivanting around with Eliksni. Who knows really. It’s strange, but I have more important matters to look into."

- Ozryc, Rogue Flayer

While having no physical part during the rise of the Bonegrinders syndicate, the House of Winds’ activity would be noticed by the Iriksi Syndicate, but by the time they moved to investigate further, the House had already moved location and remained off of the radar once more. Some Guardians and Iriksi Syndicate operatives alike also reported sightings of a young human boy operating with a group of Fallen.

Season of Fire
"Kaviks wasn’t exactly thrilled about having Lightbearers among our people, and yes, they did kill a lot of us, but they can also be very useful. So I say, why not?"

- Zyriks

Structure
The House of Winds are a relatively small house compared to the likes of the House of Dusk or Salvation. Like any other House, they have a singular Kell and Prime Servitor, but no proper Archons, instead having a high-ranking position titled the ‘High Baroness’, which is second, if not equal to the Kell in power, and at the moment is a title owned only by the consort of Zyriks, Kaviks. They also have no Dregs or Wretches serving within their house, meaning the Vandals are the lowest rank.

The House of Winds also do not engage in religious practices like most Houses. They do not worship their Servitors, and instead of a singular Archon as a religious leader they have several Archon Aspirants to oversee the House’s technology. While the House of Wind does have a Ketch, they have no Walkers, instead making do with a few powerful Heavy Shanks that are on-par with S.A.B.E.R.-2.

They are also unique, in that they have a few Guardians as actual members of the House rather than merely allies, with such Guardians including Zephyr and Ezriks-1.

Kells

 * Methis, the Liberated&dagger;
 * Koliks, the Tempest&dagger;
 * Zyriks, Kell of Winds

High Baroness

 * Kaviks, High Baroness

Prime Servitors

 * Roxius Prime&dagger;
 * Treniks Prime

List of Appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Season of Skulls
 * Season of Fire
 * Fractured Worlds