Kridis, Dark Priestess

"Eliksni! Kridis, the Priestess, cries out to you across the abyss! As we speak, the once-Shipstealer brings the promise of our people to pass. Soon we will rise to true prominence, united under one banner and one Kell—with no gods but ourselves."

- Kridis

Kridis, Dark Priestess is a Fallen of the House of Salvation and a member of the Dark Council following Eramis, Kell of Darkness. Kridis is a skilled Stasis wielder and is as lethal as she is loyal, stopping at nothing to advance Eramis's cause.

Search for Salvation
Kridis was born into the House of Devils and endured through the Long Drift for generations as the Eliksni chased the Traveler through space in search of salvation. The cataclysmic Whirlwind crippled the Eliksni and slowly a new faith emerged in the veneration of Servitors. Kridis was raised on the belief that they were meant for a higher purpose and clung on to their collective desire of evolving beyond their current forms. All the while she endured a life of subsistence as received succor of Ether from their Prime Servitor.

Following their arrival in the Sol System, the Devils claimed the Cosmodrome of Old Russia as their territory. Kridis was stationed there alongside her friends, Eramis and Phylaks, and developed a close kinship with them. The formidable trio spent years raiding human settlements, and fending off members of rival Fallen Houses that attempted to encroach upon the Devils' territory. Each aspired Kellship as the three dreamt of ways to defeat their mighty Kell, Solkis, and take control of the House for themselves.

Their Kell however demonstrated his superiority as the political leader and rallied his military and nobility into the Battle of Twilight Gap. Kridis fought in the battle alongside her Servitor, Eramis and Phylaks. In one instance Kridis nods to Eramis as she is shielded by her Servitor in a purple glow of Ether and turns to fire her rifle at group of Guardians. The trio slew many more Guardians and led a charge to the City walls with the aid of Taniks, the Scarred and House of Winter. However the crusade of Final Attempt ended in defeat as the alliance of Fallen Houses retreated against The Last City and ended their hopes of reclaiming the Great Machine from humanity. Kridis and her friends survived the battle, but their Kell fell to Saint-14. The trio were broken up when Eramis was captured by the Reefborn Awoken during the Wolf Wars and imprisoned in the Prison of Elders. The whereabouts of Kridis and Phylaks remained a mystery.

Rise of Salvation
"So I entreat you, children of Riis. Come receive clarity for yourselves! Witness the greatness of the House Salvation and the Kell who leads it. Rejoice, for she who brought our Servitors low where they belong will do the same to the Great Machine!"

- Kridis, calling for all Eliksni to unite under Salvation's banner on Europa

Following the escape of Eramis, the Baroness sought to build a new empire by rallying those loyal to her and established a council. Kridis and Phylaks received word of her release and invited to join her council. The duo reunited with Eramis and joined by the young Atraks and Praksis who were eager to meet the veterans. As Phylaks embraced her old friend and Eramis reminisced, Kridis stood behind, tall and ethereal, and took to notice of a suspicious figure. Phylaks still distracted by joy quickly took notice of her gaze and proceeded to violently choke Variks, the Loyal and call him a "Traitor Dreg".

Eramis demanded that she let go of the former warden of the Prison of Elders who had betrayed the House of Wolves to the Awoken to the great disapproval of Kridis and Phylaks. As doubt began to creep into their minds, Eramis explains to them that despite his traitorous crimes against their kind, he was still the last surviving member of House Judgment. Kridis replied with skepticism saying Eramis had no special love for scribes, but pleased to hear her clever plan to keep Variks alive as he was able to draw the ear of the Eliksni residing by The Reef. Before they could ask further questions, Eramis changes the subject by saying she didn’t gather them for politics and wanted show them what they built.

Kridis journeyed to Europa alongside her fellow Council members; Phylaks, Kridis, Praksis and Variks, to witness the arrival of the obsidian ship. She watched her friend Eramis gain strength with the powers of Stasis from the Darkness who tells them to choose salvation. With a new ancient power at hand, Eramis elevated herself as the Kell of Darkness and forged a new dark empire in the form of House of Salvation and christened Kridis the "Priestess" of her new House.

Later, the Priestess cried out to the children of Riis by broadcasting messages for her Eliksni kin to listen out amongst the stars. She urged her people to abandon their faith with the Great Machine and to believe only in themselves, as they survived the Whirlwind without it. She challenged her old faith by saying her people were afraid and clung to old promises of higher existence and knelt to the Servitors they created. She continues by denouncing the worship of Servitors as false idols built in the image of the Traveler and praised the ability of Eramis for bringing their status low and removing the Light that blinded her. With this new found clarity, Kridis concluded her messages by asking all Fallen to travel to Europa and join House Salvation in Riis-Reborn to reject the Light as it offered nothing and embrace the Darkness.

Priest of Salvation
"My people… your Kell sleeps, but she is not dead. The Darkness brings another gift: the means to rouse her from her slumber."

- Kridis, preaching to House Salvation to keep faith in Eramis

With the House of Salvation now rising to prominence on Europa, the Priestess attended a ceremony organised by Eramis to address their newly formed House. Held within the main chambers of Riis-Reborn Approach, Kridis stood alongside other Council members, but was absent of the traitorous Variks. The Council reformed themselves into the Dark Council as they embraced the Darkness. Kridis listened closely to Eramis who spoke out against the chains that have slaved the Eliksni race as they became servants to the Great Machine that abandoned them. She then helped Eramis present a Servitor to the audience as an idol built in its image. The Servitor is destroyed by Eramis through the use of Stasis as its destruction ushered in their freedom. Kridis then watched her close friend, Phylaks, gain the ability to use Stasis by retrieving a Splinter from a Crux. However the assembly is interrupted by the Guardians and Kridis left the scene to allow Phylaks chase them with her new found powers.

Kridis continued sending more Radio transmissions on behalf of her Kell and called for more Eliksni to join their House. She claimed that the Traveler's morphing was a sign that it feared their growing force and their time for vengeance against it drew near. She decreed that they will have no gods, but themselves and highlighted their great strength by surviving many battles and the Whirlwind and crafting technology from ruins, while subsisting on Ether. Kridis also proclaimed that Eramis will unite their people under one banner as her Kell found a new promise that will elevate them to their true prominence.

Later Eramis held an emergency meeting with Kridis and Atraks and informed them that Praksis and Phylaks were dead and they must retaliate. Eramis ordered Atraks to return to the Deep Stone Crypt and to prepare the body of Taniks as she and Kridis can handle the situation. As Atraks leaves the scene, Kridis asked her friend to take pause as they do not understand the power they wield. Eramis listened with frustration as Kridis explained how she is also impatient, but there is wisdom in caution. As Eramis considered the words of her close friend, she began losing control of her Stasis gauntlet and smashed the ice off it as Kridis watched with growing concern. Eramis retorts with anger that caution has done nothing for them as their enemies exploited their weakness and now is the time to act. Eramis leaves the scene after declaring to Kridis that she will give the Guardians the destruction they crave.

However the erratic behaviour of Eramis led to her demise after her gauntlets malfunctioned and froze her into a Stasis statue during the battle against the Guardians. Unbeknownst to the Vanguard, Kridis assumed leadership from the shadows following her Kell's defeat. Commander Zavala sought take advantage of the Vex incursion within Riis Reborn and sent the Guardians to destabilise the House. However, the Salvation forces held up better than expected against the Vex and Variks suspected someone may have replaced Eramis as the Fallen appear more organised. Later, Kridis is found idle in a Stasis pose and mocked the machine spawns who thought they could defeat her Kell so easily. As the Guardians approached her, Kridis transmatted away and declared that Eramis will rise again and has only transformed. She then deployed Fallen reinforcements and a Salvation Walker imported from the Devils, but the Guardians defeated her forces and informed Zavala that she got away. Zavala replied that they cannot allow Kridis to rebuild the empire as she slipped through their radar before and enlisted Variks to help with his insider knowledge.

Variks believed that Kridis was drawn out of the shadows in search for power as she always had the ambition of being Kell-worthy and wished to triumph where Eramis failed. He provided intel from his spies that Kridis aimed to revive her House and her followers began hoarding remnants of the Dark for unknown reasons. The Guardians collected artifacts called Flecks of Dark from the Fallen in Cadmus Ridge to provide clues to Kridis' plan. Later more Fallen attempted to leave the rule of Kridis as her devotion to the Dark had swayed them to seek refuge with the House of Light and House of Dusk. The Archon Aspirants are deployed in Eventide Ruins to prevent a Skiff from leaving, but the Guardians would dispose of Kridis' Aspirants and freed the Skiff. Later it is discovered that Kridis was preparing a mysterious ritual by using Darkness.

As the Guardians journeyed to Riis Reborn to investigate her ritual, Variks claimed that unlike Eramis who wished to destroy gods, Kridis choose to search for meaning through the Darkness. Transmissions from Kridis are picked by the radio channels as she preached to her House that Eramiskel was merely asleep and the Darkness had granted her the gift to rouse her slumber. She declared that Eramis had only began as her Kell will unleash a "storm of blood and ice" upon their foes. She further claimed that Eramis' transformation was a means by which she was exploring the deeper secrets of the Darkness and she will return not as a Kell, but as a god. Kridis declared that the Darkness had granted her visions of Eramis' journey and named her as the escort to bring Eramis back to her faithful people. Followers of Kridis such as Sniksis and Piksis are defeated by the Guardians and later they encounter Yamiks Prime who was enlisted to guard the pathway due to the importance of recovering Eramis. Her Prime Servitor attempted to fend off the Guardians with reinforcements, but fell at their hands.

The Priestess now known as the Dark Priestess, an Archon of the Dark, greeted the Guardians as spawns of the Traitor Machine and asked if they had come to witness the ascension of a god through Eramis. Unlike her counterparts who relied on their gauntlets created by Praksis to wield Stasis, Kridis demonstrated higher mastery of Stasis by crafting a pair of crystal swords and choose to place her Splinters near her mouth. She deployed reinforcements to tackle the Guardians and Defiled Servitors provided her an immunity shield as she blasted them with unique projectiles of Stasis. However despite her powers, Kridis was slain by the Guardians and brought the end to her plans and reign of the Kell of Darkness.

Following her demise, Kridis was survived by the Disciples of Kridis who roamed the expanses of Europa and followed her teachings through their use of Stasis. Later the Guardians, with help of House of Spider, retrieved an early prototype of a weapon called Salvation's Grip and uncovered more notes of Kridis. She wrote about her experiences with the Darkness and claimed that the powers of Dark was gifted to the Eliksni first similar to how the Great Machine visited them first and the Guardians were unlucky second borns. She described the Dark as a stillness where you are no longer bound to flesh and become a memory that is worthy of storied, but equated stillness to death and her people have not been still since the Long Drift. She aimed to unleash this stillness on humanity to ensure their stories are never forgotten and mark the worlds with the same scars that the Great Machine left on their homeworld.

Personality and Traits
"I have not known an Eliksni like Kridis. Single-minded. Devoted. Even… obsessed. She has studied the Dark, and it has nourished her."

- Variks the Loyal Prior to joining the House of Salvation, Kridis had been a believer in the Great Machine and hoped it would provide salvation to her people. After embracing the Darkness she preached against that idea and assisted Eramis in degrading the Servitors of House Salvation. Despite her fascination with Stasis, Kridis was also more cautious about its use than her fellow Dark Council members, advising Eramis that the power was not what they had expected.

Kridis is a worshipper of the Darkness and studied the Dark to the point of being obsessed. For this reason, not many Eliksni wish to follow her. However, she is a proficient speaker capable of getting Eliksni to listen to her and has managed to gather a following of Eliksni who also worship the Dark.

The Dark Priestess
After defeating Yamiks Prime, a barrier will open to reveal the pathway to Kridis. The Dark Priestess is found within the middle of arena idle in a stasis pose and approaching her will initiate the encounter as rises from her stance and enters battle. She will spawn a wave of Marauders and Wretches to tackle Guardians and caution must be taken as Kridis will occasionally freeze players with her Stasis blasts while her reinforcements attack mercilessly.

Unlike Praksis who throws Stasis grenades and Phylaks who does a Stasis ground smash, Kridis is capable of generating special projectiles of Stasis and blast them to the direction of the Guardians. Players are advised to move swiftly, jump around or find cover to avoid getting trapped by the blasts. Kridis is also unique for her ability to generate Stasis swords and will follow players around as she attempts to inflict damage on them with her swords. She is also capable of unleashing a devastating Ultra Smash attack which can kill the players or launch off the arena to their eventual deaths.

As more of Kridis's health is depleted, she will encase herself with a white immunity shield and become safe from all damage. Three Defiled Servitors will spawn across three platform and each need to be defeated to disable her shielding. She will then spawn another wave of reinforcements and then create another immunity shield with more Defiled Servitors and this cycle will continue until she is defeated. Kridis is formidable foe and highly durable. In elected difficulties, she features the same gameplay mechanics, however her Stasis abilities pose a huge challenge and it is recommended players avoid getting frozen by her crystal blasts. They can seek refuge near the entrance of the arena as Kridis will not venture into that area. With a sustainable amount of firepower and understanding of her mechanics, Kridis can be defeated.

Trivia

 * Kridis was voiced by Erika Ishii.
 * Kridis is the only Stasis Baron to attack without any sort of weaponry, excluding her Stasis Blades, which are created through her powers rather than constructed out of Fallen technology.
 * Given her closeness to Eramis, her role as a priestess, and her association to Yamiks Prime, House Salvation, it is likely that Kridis is the Archon of her House.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2:
 * Beyond Light