Hiraks, the Mindbender

"Never heard of the Mindbender? Surprise. That’s just how he likes it."

- Cayde-6

Hiraks, the Mindbender, was a Hive-obsessed Baron of the Scorn, and an Ascendant Eliksni.

Biography
As a simple Dreg of the House of Exile, Hiraks was weak and timid. He eventually found himself falling into the Hellmouth on Earth's Moon. He emerged a changed Eliksni. He became obsessed with the study of the Hive and hasn't spoken a comprehensible word since his aforementioned time in the Hellmouth. Some say he learnt his ways from The World's Grave or from the shrines or even through a form of unutterable language. Only Hiraks truly knows. Years later, Hiraks found the means to become Ascendant and form his own throne world within the Ascendant Realm. He also gained a reputation for his ability to unravel his enemies' minds and take command over the Hive.

As the mastermind of the Great Crow Heist, Hiraks trapped and converted Prince Uldren's Crows with his mindbending might, using them to help engineer mistrust between the Reef and Earth. Building tension upon the already turbulent relationship the Reef and Earth shared. He was also responsible for experiments on Asteroid 128 Nemesis, where his transgressions caused the asteroid to shift between our dimension and the Ascendant realm.

Before Cayde-6 and his Six imprisoned him in the Prison of Elders with the other Barons he ran with, Hiraks warped the mind of a Hive brood stranded at the Tangled Shore, having taken In Anânh, Brood Queen as his consort and a Knight as his Familiar. He apparently also attempted to infuse In Anânh's Hive with copious amounts of Ether in hopes of breeding out their intolerance, but only succeeded in poisoning them. He would later use a more "copulating" method to accomplish this.



A year after the events of the Red War, Uldren Sov freed him along with the other Barons, and worked together to orchestrate a massive breakout from the Prison of Elders. After the murder of Cayde-6 at Uldren's hands, Hiraks fled the scene alongside the Prince and his fellow Barons and went to the Tangled Shore. The Guardian later confronted him within the Hall of the Exalted. The Mindbender would attempt to escape into his own Ascendant Realm, which he had built from Cayde's death, but he would instead be killed by the Guardian, destabilising it in the process.

Gameplay
Hiraks mainly fights The Guardian with his Scorn Boomer, which has a faster cyclic rate and greater range than a typical Hive Boomer. The explosive Arc bolts discharged from the weapon can quickly blast through a Guardian's shield and health. He will stomp the ground at close range, knocking players back a significant distance and dealing massive damage to them in an instant. In addition, he is backed by Hive units instead of Scorn, and will use Void Ether-Shields to completely negate all damage dealt to him as well as his reinforcements. Occasionally, he will run through a Hive portal and appear on the other side to both summon more Hive backup and flank the player. The main weakness of Hiraks is his slow movement, making it possible to outmaneuver him in combat.

Trivia

 * The Mindbender is the first enemy observed working with a race they are at war with.
 * He is the first Fallen ever seen to have mastered the power of the Ascendant realm and carved his own throne world from it. However he is not the first Fallen to experiment with the Hive as Kovik, Splicer Priest infused SIVA into his monster.
 * His past of being forced to survive amongst the Hive for years within the Hellmouth is very similar to that of Eris Morn. They both also were physically changed, with Eris having to steal an Acolytes' eyes, while Hiraks appears to have either grown or grafted Hive-like horns onto his armor.
 * Hiraks is technically the largest and tallest of the Scorn Barons, easily towering over them and even Hive Ogres, however he only appears like this inside of his throne world.
 * Hiraks could be the only Scorn Baron that doesn't speak English. However it is unknown if the Hangman and the Rider speak English as they have only been observed growling and roaring.
 * In a similar vein to Oryx, whose real-world namesake is a genus of African antelope, a Hyrax is a small African rodent-like mammal. This naming pattern may or may not be intentional on the part of the developers.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2:
 * Forsaken
 * Joker's Wild