Forum:Saphix

"The Darkness showed me the Light, but I showed myself Salvation"

- Saphix

Saphix is a former Risen and the first to manipulate Vex forces. He is also one of many Guardians that is able to harness the powers of the Darkness. He is currently leading the Malevolence.

Resurrection
"Imagine sleeping an infinite slumber, when you’re suddenly bursting with energy. The quick radiance of that adrenaline slowly turns into a fight for your own life."

- Saphix recalling his resurrection

During a Ghost’s journey to resurrect a Guardian, it stumbled upon a corpse impaled by a pole. The corpse split apart from panic, giving him his first death and causing a sense of shame in the ghost.

During their venture in the Cosmodrome, the recently resurrected Risen began to ask questions to the Ghost, some of which involved the giant orb in the sky. The Ghost replied by calling it the Traveler, and was one of many elements of his resurrection. Through this the risen was able to have a vague explanation of the Traveler, and so sought to find it.

One of his questions was about the opposite of the Traveler. The ghost claimed that it was a complicated subject, but was able to give him a brief talk about the Darkness. The ghost remained quiet for the remainder of the time, but left the risen to his thoughts, and so started imagining more complex functions for the Darkness.

The Traveler and Ideals
When the lonesome Guardian and his Ghost arrived under the Traveller, they were able to see a small settlement that took place there. He was invited by the Speaker, and asked if he was able to converse with it. The Speaker rod him that the Traveler was inactive, slowly regaining its original strength. The risen was confused on why he was chosen to be brought back. The Speaker said he did not know, but he assured him that the Traveler put its trust in the ghosts.

Later, the Guardian was packing his supplies for a mission. The idea of harnessing the Darkness gnawed his mind, turning it into obsession. He wanted to seek something that could attain the energy of the Darkness. His ghost refused to let him, but he couldn’t stop the obsession, and pleaded with his ghost to help him. Through this they left on the condition that he would not use the Darkness in any way that was considered evil. With this take of leave, he called himself Saphix, as a memento of his burdens.

The Darkness and Salvation
"You wanted to find us without any hesitation, and for that we shall gift you with our power."

- The Darkness as it converses with Saphix

As Saphix moved on to find the Darkness, he realized that the Darkness wouldn’t be on Earth, and asked his Ghost to show him where a Jumpship was. His Ghost was able to locate one on a small abandoned village where a corpse resided in. Surrounding it were numerous piles of Vex technology and pieces. Using these Vex parts to fix the ship with the ghost’s guidance, they left the corpse to its infinite slumber and went to the stars above.

During their trip, Saphix received a vision through his ghost. It spoke of distant skies and a dark wasteland, with millions of red eyed warriors and himself in front. He dismissed the vision, but it gave him the final piece to the puzzle, a way to find the Darkness. This would eventually lead him to Europa, a small desolate moon where traces of the Darkness were located. Once he made contact with the frozen ground, he scoured the moon to find something that would help him. Unfortunately there was no sign of any physical manifestation of the Darkness. However when he was about to leave, a Crux of Darkness manifested in front of him, granting him a gift from the Darkness. Once Saphix was able to get his hands on a Splinter of Darkness, he left feeling satisfied with the existence of the Darkness.

Capture and Disappearance
"This was the day I was reborn. The day I became someone else."

- Saphix recalling his “accident”

After receiving the Splinter of Darkness, Saphix sought to reach it’s fullest potential. His ghost objected, saying that it was against their condition, but was quickly rebuked with the fact that it trusted him in the first place. During this period of time his powers didn’t unveil themselves until much sooner.

Although he was satisfied with his discovery of the Darkness, he started seeking the origins of the Vex material in his ship. Through this he tracked down numerous clues in his investigation, all of which led to Mercury, a fiery hell filled with the Vex.

When Saphix first landed on the planet, he unknowingly initiated himself as a living beacon, one which a large majority of the Vex would find and locate. Without any actual weapons or knowledge of his Light, he quickly fell to the storm of Vex approaching. Eventually he was taken for experimentation, as well as his Splinter being taken.

Saphix laid defenseless as he became the subject of several tests, including the test of a Risen’s capabilities with Light, but ended with a failure as Saphix did not know how to utilize it. One such event caused him to experience frequent visions of clear skies, red eyed warriors, and himself in the middle - the same vision his ghost had. Fortunately an unknown House appeared, taking out a large number of the collective and gave Saphix a chance to escape. However he grabbed an object that was important to both sides, and before he could react to the burning inside him, vanished.

Infinity, And No One
"You have all my qualities and features, but you’ve developed more faster than me."

- The future version of Saphix conversing with Saphix

After being forced outside the dimension, Saphix contemplated his decisions that lead to his entire existence being wasted in the void. He questioned whether his existence would be spent watching everything fade to nothing, before witnessing another vision of the future. This time he saw himself and a large anomaly engaging in combat, creating large frequencies that disrupted the flow of the dimensions, which slowly faded away back into the time continuum. Unbeknownst to him, he manifested said future self through an unknown power. With the limited time they had left they conversed with each other about their impending doom. However Saphix’s alternate future suggested a merge, taking his memories and mind to form one being. Against the clock, Saphix agreed and merged with him to find a solution. With this Saphix fixed the dimensional object in a matter of days and escaped, leaving the entity to manifest on its own and wreak havoc.

The Initial Conquest
"You were meant to be a chosen of the Light. A savior of humanity, but you wasted your gift for the Darkness, and now-"

- The Ghost of Saphix before being crushed

At the aftermath of the siege, Saphix was brought back into his own reality, and unfortunately back inside the Collective’s location. However Saphix learned that through the powers of the Darkness he could force individual Vex to bend to his will, essentially making them loyal slaves. Saphix eventually came out with a compromise by taking over the Vex Mind. Through this he took over Lavopli, Incredulous Siphon and was able to control the Vex underneath its rule. His ghost having been with Saphix through the entire ordeal, angrily expressed his disagreements and how he completely tarnished the Traveler’s gift. Saphix began crushing the shell and the ghost itself, who unleashed a torrent of pure Light and nearly eliminating the Darkness inside him were it not for his new capabilities. Quickly recovering, Saphix planned his next steps with careful precision and made sure everyone was deliberately playing into his hands...

With an entire collective under his feet, Saphix lead a full-front assault against the Vex on Mercury, taking out divisions of the radiolarian machines. Over time he would get the attention of the Nexus Cleavage, which he would discover. After leading a small battalion of Vex into the Infinite Forest, he would charge into an endless crusade where he would slaughter the Vex of the Nexus Cleavage, indoctrinating numerous into his own collective. Slowly he reached the Axis Mind Xomathocan, Eternal Vexation, and took over entirety of the Nexus Cleavage in a span of several months.

Time of Stasis
During this part of Saphix’s life, he realized he could not win against Panoptes without causing a large disturbance. Calculating a solution, he encased himself in a Vex time loop created from the remains of a simulated Dendron. He hid himself inside a cave of Mercury, and remained so for decades. It was only with the intervention of a Guardian that freed Saphix. Saphix would then bring thinking for his return, and for the future of the Last City.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Unlike other Guardians, Saphix is able to use the powers of the Darkness to his own desire. Unlike others that embraced the Darkness, Saphix has mastered and embraced the Darkness, and can attack at a surprisingly fast rate. He specializes in using this power for unorthodox and sometimes brutal methods, going so far as to force them to remain conscious as he experimented on them. Those who faced him in battle have experienced frequent pain in the mental plane, disorienting them and ending with a deadly kill. He can also be incredibly agile, climbing to the top of Felwinter Peak in a span of 90 seconds. Along with this he leads an entire coup of Vex known as the Malevolence.

While Saphix lost his connection to the Light, he still has traces of it inside his body left by his Ghost’s remains, however it does not seem to function the way other Risen use their Light. Although with the exponentially increasing amount of Darkness lurking within him, it is unclear if Saphix is truly acting on his own will. This left a strange phenomenon to occur, where the Light and Dark seemingly combine.

Arsenal
When he’s not using the Darkness, Saphix attains the use of a Temptation’s Hook in order to launch frequent and dangerous attacks. Saphix is fond of swords and daggers, often seen examining various blades.

With the addition of his Vex modifications, Saphix is also able to use the Slap Rifle and the Torch Hammer. With a limb of the Vex, Saphix’s strength doubled, enabling him to destroy an object with the mass of a truck.

Other Stasis hunters maintain the use of frozen kamas in order to unleash devastating attacks with precision. Saphix uses this to create large shards and sharp gauntlets of cold. Using this he can both launch these shards while overwhelming the enemy with fatal hits.

After attaining his future self’s mind, he seemingly uses a portable dimensional warp-gate that allowed him to hop in and out of reality, however the extent of the duration is unknown. The longest recorded time was when he was accidentally transported to the middle of dimensions, lasting a total of days. With this he can converse with his doppelgänger to get advice or receive more knowledge.

However his most powerful weapon would be the Atomic Generator. This allowed Saphix to absorb any type of energy and build it up in order to retain maximum efficiency. With this he received triple the speed, durability, endurance, and strength of an average bodybuilder at max. Another effect the canister had was to expel all of the energy, effectively creating a devastating wave that annihilated all living organisms. This device was incredibly dangerous, so much that Saphix only used it when all odds were against him. He uses it on his back where it appears as a white cylinder.

Trivia

 * Saphix played the recorder once. It did not end well.
 * Saphix is sometimes seen watching the simulations of the Infinite Forest, and rarely being seen manipulating them.
 * Saphix loves eating Jello.
 * The House of Eon mention Saphix as the “Bearer of the Darkness”.
 * Saphix is not known by many due to his absence, but he has interacted with Eris Morn once.
 * During his brief glimpses of the future, Saphix can forcibly witness other dimensions, however this is rarely used.