Reksis Vahn, the Hangman

"He likes it. Too much."

- Cayde-6

Reksis Vahn, the Hangman is a Scorn Baron. He is a Ravager class Scorn with a strong distaste for Servitors.

Biography
Reksis had a tragic upbringing as he was abandoned at birth. Due to this he became very depraved and a twisted executioner who developed strong hatred of Servitors and their esteemed role in Fallen culture. He denounced the worship of Servitors after watching his superiors grow in strength while he and his siblings starved. In his suffering he found clarity as he sought to bring the destruction of Servitors as others were driven to insanity due to their poverty of Ether. He quickly gained a reputation as a heretic and was even ousted from the House of Exiles.

The outcast Dreg found refuge within the Tangled Shore as the harsh land shaped him, and set up a base in the Quitter's Well. Later the Hangman carried out what he intended to do by siphoning Ether from Servitors and use it to feed his fellow Barons, creating a joyous frenzy.

His obsessive hate did not stop there as Vahn gained even more notoriety by exterminating the last remaining Servitors from the House of Wolves, dooming them into extinction. His anger did not stop there as it lingered and festered until others felt his pain him.

With a new twisted ambition and persona, he found a new purpose to release his wrath. At one point, he came into conflict with Elykris, the Machinist who hoarded Servitors from her raids. The Hangman had different ambitions as he sought to torture and kill them. As tension grew between the two, Fikrul, the Fanatic stepped in and saw a new means of motivations. He would gently caress a Servitor, only to brutally kill it to show their intent to kill all those bound to a Fallen House.

Later, he would be imprisoned deep within the Prison of Elders alongside his fellow Barons, but freed by Uldren Sov. He was present at the murder of Cayde-6 and inflicted a crucial blow that allowed Cayde to die at Sov's hand. The Guardians in vengeance would track him down and killed him with his own fire.

Personality


Reksis was a deranged, belligerent and sadistic psychopath who enjoyed causing pain and suffering, especially to Servitors. He was ruthless in his ambitions to destroy Servitors as he believed this would be his method of destroying Fallen culture. His twisted ambitions saw him brutally murder countless Servitors at the point of exhausting the House of Wolves of their ether supply. His tryanny did not stop there as he came to an ideological clash with the second in command of Scorn, Elykris, the Machinist. The Hangman wanted nothing but destruction, while the Machinist sought to preserve Fallen technology.

This however would be detrimental to the Hangman as his siphoning of the Spider's Servitors gained the attention of the Spider's Syndicate and the Guardians who brought his demise.

Gameplay
Reksis Vahn is an aggressive melee combatant. He prefers to charge into battle directly with his large Flame Cauldron, swinging it around and dishing out high amounts of damage with each strike. When at farther ranges, he will smash his censer on the ground to create a large, wide line of flames which quickly burn away at a Guardian's shield and health, and if at point-blank range, he will slam his censer on the floor, creating a shockwave knocks Guardians around and deals massive damage if it hits directly. Vents will also emit flames throughout the arena for area denial. Occasionally, Reksis Vahn will teleport away from the arena and summon lesser Scorn units for reinforcements, but soon afterward, he will reappear and continue his assault. The small circular arena makes ranged combat difficult. Therefore, one should turn to their grenades, Supers, or high-impact weapons as a reliable method of damaging Reksis Vahn safely.

Trivia

 * When Reksis Vahn slams his censer on the ground to create his line of fire, it will become stuck for a few seconds as he tries to pull it out of the floor, granting the player a few seconds to do damage directly or take out Scorn minions overwhelming them. Unlike Fikrul's weakness, which is debatably a bug, this was likely intentional.
 * One of Reksis Vahn's titles, "The Godslayer," is also possessed by the Guardian, except in a different context.
 * The Guardian possesses the title mainly for slaying Hive deities, whereas Reksis Vahn has earned the title by killing Servitors, which are viewed as gods in Fallen religion.
 * The Hangman is the third largest of the Barons, towering near the height of a Hive Ogre.
 * Although he is a Ravager, he still has a head.
 * Curiously, the Locus of Communion boss from the Presage exotic quest shares Reksis Vahn’s avatar and attack animations.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken