Kelgorath, Risen from Bones

"This is the beast that hunts my Techeuns. What foul magics return it to life?"

- Queen Mara Sov

Kelgorath, Risen from Bones is an Ascendant Hive Wrathborn Knight who swore loyalty to Xivu Arath, God of War. He served as a recurring antagonist of Season of the Lost, having to lead the local forces of Hive, Taken, and Scorn to scour the Ley Lines that surrounded the Dreaming City in pursuit of Savathûn and the Awoken artifact Ager's Scepter.

Warring Allegiances
A Knight from the Hidden Swarm, Kelgorath built an esteemed reputation as the champion of death and was led by the surviving bloodlines of Crota. When the Hive suffered the losses of Oryx and Crota, many turned to Savathûn, the Witch Queen for aid. This changed with the arrival of the Black Fleet as Savathûn's interference forced her into hiding. In her absence, Xivu Arath sent her High Celebrant to the Moon to unify and consolidate the Scarlet Court into her image. However, the Warlock Osiris intercepted and slew the surviving descendants of Crota.

When Kelgorath learned the news of their deaths, he became disenchanted with the Witch Queen and one night renounced her as a heretic. He felt she was weak for allowing their deaths and his loyalty to his brood wavered. Kelgorath traveled to the depths of the Hellmouth to remove the scarlet coloring off his chitin and ground his flesh against the jagged serration beds. He found a new purpose by devoting himself to Xivu Arath after the Hive God and her Celebrant trapped Osiris with Hive runes and avenged their deaths by killing Sagira and stripping the Warlock's Light. This fueled Kelgorath with an insatiable drive for vengeance and his new path for war sought to eliminate all traces of the heretic Witch Queen.

He began a new life as a Wrathborn and relentlessly pursued the many enemies of Xivu Arath. In one instance, he battled a Guardian who managed to kill him numerous times. However, death was unable to end the Knight as he rose again through battle and was reborn. Nothing was able to escape his grasp, and Kelgorath finally slew the Guardian and gifted its empty Ghost core to defecting Scarlet Wizards.

In another tale, Kelgorath hunted an Awoken Techeun through the Ley Lines for three days. The fearful Techeun radiated a stench of fear that allowed the Knight to track her down and corner her. In desperation, the Techeun collapsed the Ascendant Plane onto him through her magic which resulted in his death. Kelgorath re-emerged in his next life with newfound determination to not be fooled again by her trick. When he confronted the Techeun a final time, the Awoken Witch mocked the Knight by saying he still bore the scarlet flecks on his chitin flesh and belittled him for abandoning his Witch Queen so quickly. Kelgorath, angered by her words, ripped off the crystal implanted on the Techeun's forehead and added it to his collection of war trophies.

He then gathered these ornaments of conquests and built a shrine; deep within the Ascendant Plane, from the bones of his foes to direct his tribute and worship to Xivu Arath. As Soulfire vanished from the ground, Kelgorath placed his head against his shrine and smudged a bloodied sigil of his new Hive God to show his devotion to war. The sky around him began to churn as Kelgorath inhaled the first breath of his new life. As he prepared to face his adversary, he glanced at the trinkets of his conquests and recollected his journey from killing the Guardian and Techeun to renouncing the Witch Queen. Still determined to eliminate any traces of the heretic sister, Kelgorath wanted to make an example of his adversary, Hurdru, as they still showed loyalty towards Savathûn. Through battle, he would confirm his allegiance to Xivu Arath and through blood, he would don her image of war and be one step closer to erasing Savathûn.

Hunting the Witch Queen
After pledging his loyalty as a servant of the God of War, Kelgorath led a raid on Titan after it had been absorbed by the Witness' power. Commanding a legion of Acolytes and Thralls, he slaughtered the remaining forces of Savathûn's Brood on the moon. Afterwards, he would offer the new conquest to Xivu Arath, using a ritual in which several Acolytes sacrifice themselves to invoke the God of War. She would accept her new servant and, as a reward, brought back to life Kudazad, Binder of Savathûn, a Wizard of Savathûn whose skull had been left adrift in the waves of Titan and used in the ritual.

When the Hive learned of Savathûn's ambition to remove her Worm, Xivu Arath ordered Kelgorath to pursue her heretic sister through the Dreaming City. The Guardian was also in pursuit of Savathûn for other reasons and entered the Ascendant Plane to bypass the Hive barricades, however, Crow informed them a Wrathborn was nearby. Kelgorath emerged from an Ascendant Portal and dueled against his new adversary with his Hive Cleaver. As the Guardian inflicted damage against Kelgorath, he gained an immunity shield thanks to Taken Shield Weavers. The Guardian turned the tide by defeating the Wizards and Kelgorath.

Later, Kelgorath rose again and undid his death. Xivu Arath commanded the Knight to steal Ager's Scepter from the Dozmary Vault. Mara Sov sensed that Xivu's minions would want the weapon for themselves and ordered the Guardian to secure it. As the Guardian was about to make their exit, Kelgorath re-emerged to confront them alongside Hive pillagers. Learning from the mistake of his past battle, Kelgorath armed himself with a Splinter and engaged the Guardian from afar. He also recruited more Hive reinforcements to outnumber the Guardian. However, this was not enough and Kelgorath was once again slain in battle.

Exorcism
Months after this, on the day of the ritual to exorcise Savathûn's Worm, Xivu Arath deployed Kelgorath, who had once again risen from death, to the Dreaming City alongside her brood in a final effort to capture her sister. Mara, who had anticipated an attack, called upon the Guardians to fend off the God of War's forces. After Kruutiks and Kholks had been laid low, Xivu Arath, in an act of desperation, ordered her Wrathborn champion to attack the Ritual Spire and prevent the exorcism at all costs. Now donning new armor and wielding a Boomer, Kelgorath entered the Spire through the Ascendant Plane and battled the Guardians, alongside hordes of Hive reinforcements. He would even summon large masses of Taken energy in order to wipe out his enemies. However, this would all be in vain as he could not match the power of the Lightbearers and would be once again defeated.

Claiming Mars
Despite Kelgorath's failure to prevent the exorcism or the Witch Queen's escape, Xivu Arath still found Kelgorath useful, enough to bring him back and giving him the title of Darkblade and have him guard a submind vault on Mars as the God of War attempted to seize control over the Warmind Rasputin's network, in preparation for the arrival of the Witness. Though Kelgorath guarded the vault dutifully, he would be forced to fight an infiltration team seeking access to the vault's data, made up of the same Guardians who defeated him in the Reef. Despite his power, however, Kelgorath failed to defeat the Guardians, allowing them access to the vault before reinforcements could arrive.

Taken by War
"KELGORATH! TAKEN FROM BONES, CHISELED BY LOSS... RISE... A TEST OF METTLE!"

- Xivu Arath.

Following another humiliation at the hands of the Guardians, Kelgorath brought himself to a broken court of the High Celebrant where he would be taunted by the wizard, Rakthrin, a member of Xivu Arath's War-Council. Remembering how he once served the Witch Queen, Rakthrin mocked him on how he could've found greatness had he still served the Witch Queen even as she turned over to the Light which angered Kelgorath who refused, wishing to continue his service to Xivu Arath with renewed vigor. Pleased with this, Rakthrin used her magic to crack the court's altar, revealing an emerald sliver of a blade, a piece of the Taken King's very own sword. Transfixed on the blade shard, Kelgorath agreed to Rakthrin's union, thereby allowing himself to be Taken.

With his new form and power, Kelgorath would be sent by Xivu Arath to corrupt the egregore coral the Guardians are seeking to collect for their mission in helping Deputy Commander Sloane in strengthening her connection to the creature Ahsa. During Operation Fulgurite, Kelgorath would stalk the Deputy Commander as the group worked to collect the coral, but she fought him off, leading him to eventually confront the Guardians once more. Despite Kelgorath's persistence, power and being encouraged by Xivu Arath herself, the Guardians prevailed, slaying the Taken Knight, allowing them to collect the egregore coral.

Cocoon
Kelgorath will charge down the player's position and attempt to deal damage with his Cleaver, and will initially be vulnerable to all damage. However, upon losing a certain amount of health, he will become immune and spawn a Taken Shield Weaver that must be slain to remove Kelgorath's invincibility. Upon death, Kelgorath will reveal an Ascendant portal, allowing access to the remainder of the mission.

A Hollow Coronation
Kelgorath resides in an arena that can only be accessed by use of the exotic weapon Ager's Scepter, which would have been recently acquired by the player from the same quest. Upon entering the arena, the entrance will become blocked off by a Hive Barrier and the boss must be defeated to escape. Unlike the previous encounter, he is completely vulnerable and can be killed quickly with substantial damage. During the battle, Hive Knights, Wizards, Ogres and Acolytes will spawn. Heavy weapons are useful for quickly dispatching them. Once Kelgorath is defeated, the mission will be completed.

Exorcism
After Kruutiks and Kholks have been defeated, Kelgorath will teleport into the arena, bolstered by waves of Hive Thrall, Shriekers, Acolytes and Wizards, as well as Barrier Knights and Unstoppable Ogres. The boss will hold the far side while his Hive reinforcements attempt to overwhelm the fireteam. Players can take cover within Saint-14's Ward of Dawn throughout the fight, which will grant them the 'Weapons of Light' and 'Armor of Light' buffs. Once a significant amount of his health has been depleted, Kelgorath will kneel down and summon a giant mass of Taken energy, and a twenty-five second timer will commence. Players must destroy it before the timer runs out and the Dark Mass explodes, which will result in the fireteam wiping. Once it has been destroyed, the Wrathborn will teleport to the opposite side of the arena and call upon more Champions and reinforcements, now including Knights and Ogres. Upon reaching critical health, Kelgorath will teleport back to his original position and summon another Dark Mass to try and kill the players. After the Mass has been destroyed, the boss will once again become vulnerable and can be finished off quickly.

Heist Battleground: Mars
Kelgorath appears as the final boss of the Heist Battleground: Mars activity. When he appears, he will instantly charge at whatever player is closest to him at the full speed of a helmet less Darkblade. He will periodically teleport away from the players after sustaining damage, only to reappear to charge at the players again.

When he reaches half health, he will become immune, prompting the players to deposit arc charges dropped by the Arc-Charged Wrathborn into the core to activate the defense laser. While he is immune, he will instead move slower towards the players and strike with his axe when in range. Once all charges are deposited, he will become vulnerable once again and charge at the players once again until he is defeated.

Trivia

 * Kelgorath is the most reoccurring fightable villain in the series. Reappearing for a total of five separate fights.
 * This is only equaled by Taniks, the Scarred, if his Nightmare is counted.
 * Compared to other Wrathborn, that are mentally stripped to become empty vessels for Xivu's will, Kelgorath is still able to independently think and speak. While this is more commonly seen in his appearances in Season of the Seraph and Deep, he was seen to speak in a ritual on the abducted Titan which took place presumably not long after becoming a Wrathborn.

Gallery
Cocoon

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Season of the Lost
 * Season of the Seraph
 * Season of the Deep