Umun'arath

"The war is all there is. All this- this is just logistical support."

- Umun'arath

Evocate-General Umun'arath, Primus of All Legions was the supreme commander of the Cabal Empire's combined military forces.

Biography
Born into a Cabal military family, Umun'arath was named after Xivu Arath, the Hive God of War, whom the Cabal were aware of through secondhand myths and legends.

When Emperor Calus deposed the Praetorate and declared himself Emperor, he granted the Cabal Legions the rights of citizenship and appointed Umun'arath, a combat veteran, as Evocate-General. Early on, Umun'arath did not share in Calus' vision for the Cabal, as she was constantly paranoid about the many threats on the empire's frontiers, including rumors of the Vex and Hive. The Emperor attempted to change her mind about the purpose of war and that it was only needed to protect the happiness of the Cabal people, but Umun'arath was adamant in her belief that the war against the dark forces of the galaxy was more important than everything else and that the rest of Cabal society was meant to support the Legions. She came to detest Calus' seemingly carefree attitude as a hindrance to the empire's military might.

Upon learning that the Psions had rebuilt the OXA Machine on the moon of Brand in defiance of Imperial law, Umun'arath prepared to dispatch a fleet to the moon and destroy it. However, she was stopped by Calus, who wished to meet with Freeborn Otzot, the genius Psion who had rebuilt the machine.

Midnight Coup
Umun'arath became a friend of Princess-Imperial Caiatl, the young daughter of Calus and his heir, and through their friendship Caiatl grew up to enjoy fighting and learning strategy with Umun'arath as her mentor. The heir to the throne came to share Umun'arath's concerns over the dangerous species along the empire's borders and they frequently met to discuss the issue. Both Umun'arath and Caiatl became part of the conspiracy to overthrow and exile Calus, aligning with The Consul and his champion Primus Ghaul along with several other conspirators. The coup succeeded, with Calus being exiled aboard The Leviathan to the edges of the galaxy, although he would go on to regard Umun'arath as "the worst mistake [he] ever made" and mark her for death alongside the rest of the conspiracy.

Reign of Dominus Ghaul
With Ghaul now in charge of the Cabal Empire as Dominus, Umun'arath remained in command of the military and used her influence to spearhead the creation of a new Cabal Fleet. She discarded the use of independent cruisers that Calus had designed for matters of state and elegant but time-consuming maneuvers in favor of utilizing groups of frigates with fleet carriers supplying and refueling them. Umun'arath deployed these fleets against Hive war moons that were invading the fringes of the Cabal Empire's territory, utilizing Psions to hide the movement of the fleet and mine the invasion paths of the Hive.

Fall of Torobatl
At some point following the defeat of Dominus Ghaul, Umun'arath's obsession with the Hive turned from one of paranoia to fascination. She began to study the Hive and their ways, contemplating how the Cabal might learn from them to become better warriors, and came under the influence of Savathûn, the Witch Queen. When Caiatl confronted her, Umun'arath even went so far as to advocate the worship of their deities if it meant ensuring the survival of her people. Upon hearing this, the Princess-Imperial ordered her old friend and confidant to step down from her War Council.

However, some time after this Umun'arath was apprehended in the weaponsmith district of Torobatl, apparently in the midst of conducting a Hive ritual. When Caiatl arrived to confront the disgraced Evocate-General, Umun'arath made to attack her with Hive magic, and Caiatl slew Umun'arath on the spot with her blade.

However, Umun'arath's death completed the ritual Savathûn had put in motion. A massive Hive portal to the Ascendant Realm opened over Torobatl, and out of it came Xivu Arath, God of War, who immediately began laying waste to Torobatl with her fleets and armies.

Trivia

 * Several details concerning Umun'arath seem to hint at a connection with the Darkness and the Hive, at least in terms of philosophy. Her claim that "The war is all there is" echoes a nearly-identical quote attributed to the Darkness, found both in one of the "Darkness" Grimoire Cards and in dialogue with Lakshmi-2. Furthermore, Umun'arath shares part of her name with Xivu Arath, the Hive God of War.
 * This is confirmed in Beloved, where Umun'arath reveals she is named after Xivu Arath, which the Cabal did not know was anything more than a myth at the time, in spite of having several loanwords from the Hive's language (Caiatl herself is named after a variation of the Hive word "aiat"; while aiat means effectively that there could not be any other way a situation turned out, "caiatl" means a situation has developed in a way other than how it needed to have).
 * Umun'arath and Caiatl are the only Cabal we've seen to have tusks. Whether Cabal grow tusks or if she just has them as a trophy is unknown as her side portrait does not show enough evidence for either.
 * In the Confessions Lore book, the Psion Councillor Match makes mention of young female Cabal getting 'first tusks', which implies that tusks are exclusive to female Cabal, and can be shed like the antlers on a deer.

List of appearances

 * Cabal Booklet
 * Destiny 2: Season of Opulence
 * Season of the Chosen
 * Season of the Splicer
 * Season of the Haunted
 * Lightfall
 * Season of Defiance