Long Drift

The Long Drift is a period within Eliksni history where they journeyed through the vast expanses of space from their homeworld Riis to the Solar System.

History
The Eliksni were once a peaceful race of gardeners graced by the Traveler. The House of Wolves were gentle weavers, while other Houses were builders, caretakers, physicians, negotiators and warriors. However this changed with the arrival of the Darkness which destroyed their society in an event called the Whirlwind.

Notable bodies such as the Elders and Skaith perished, while the Eliksni suffered greater casualties when Oryx, the Taken King challenged the House of Stone and its Kell, Chelchis. The House of Judgement who once maintained peace as mediators between the Houses also suffered losses and dwindled in size. The Eliksni formed a pact between themselves where House Judgment shall have no Ketch and live among the other Houses to guide their Kells. However this changed when the surviving Eliksni embroiled themselves in a bloody civil war as the Wolves dueled with the Kings and Scar fought the Winter over the ruins of their civilization.

Forced to abandon their homeworld, the noble Kells of the various Houses ordered a mass exodus and searched for salvation by following the Traveler across space in hopes of returning to their former glory. The Kells instructed their respective Prime Servitors to calculate star flight and relayed the information to Pilot Servitors to pilot their Ketches.

This period of space flight lasted for centuries and the Eliksni raised many generations of younglings as they traveled the dark expanse. This new generation of Eliksni were deemed unlucky as they never witnessed the glory of Riis and were brought up on the stories and warsongs that celebrated their lost culture. Their Ketches also became sacred homes as they fostered many clans and families who carried remnants of their dying culture such as ceremonial washing bowls, children's musical instruments and ceramic effigies of Servitors.

As the Eliksni raced across the stars they became increasingly desperate and soon developed a dependence upon machines they created. This deep rooted reliance turned them to developing weapons for fighting, ships for flying and Servitors for surviving. Their cloaking technology was originally the toys of children, but soon developed into a tool of warfare, employed by notable groups such as the Silent Fang. Servitors processed matter and energy into Ether, a food once found in abundance on Riis, providing sustenance to the Eliksni. When consumed in higher quality, the Eliksni are filled with strength.

Their inherent need turned into worship of Servitors and later a new faith emerged among the Eliksni society. The status of Archons grew as their roles shifted to the consecration of Servitors and carefully maintaining their plating. The Archons were celebrated as esteemed leaders and looked upon to provide hope to the depressed Eliksni through their words, teachings, and interpretations of their machine gods.

However as the Long Drift persisted, the Kells neglected their old customs and adopted new means of survival. They established a new social hierarchy among the Eliksni and grew stronger by having the largest access to Ether, followed by their nobility. Disgraced Eliksni were docked into subservience and Ether rations were reduced among the population as they were starved and malnourished. This strengthened the Eliksni as a whole, as they were able to survive the hard flight through space, however their new faith would start to fracture as some viewed veneration of Servitor as a means of control.

As the Long Drift continued, many Eliksni began abandoning Houses and acting like pirates to survive, with some individuals taking over Ketches of others and incorporating them into their fleets. This earned them the moniker of Ketchkillers.

Eventually, the Fallen reached the Sol System, and found the Traveler now protected another species instead of having fled like with them. Enraged, they attacked humanity, beginning the multi-century conflict known as the Eliksni siege.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken
 * Beyond Light
 * ''Season of Plunder