Skolas, Kell of Kells

"Listen to me, Wolf-born! Heed me, Whirlwind-scattered! I am the ghost of Cybele, the cunning claw of Iris, betrayed, chained, encrypted by the Queen, sent back from the Darkness to save us all! The days of Kell and House end now. The calendar of slavery and abasement goes to the fire. We are a new calendar! We are an age of beginnings! Each of us is a day!"

- Skolas

Skolas, Kell of Kells (formerly known as Skolas, the Rabid and Skolas, Wolf Kell) is a Fallen Captain who became Kell of the House of Wolves during the war against the Reef and sought to unite all of the Fallen Houses under his rule.

Biography
Skolas, the Rabid, a noble of the House of Wolves, emerged as one of three major contenders for the House's Kellship after Queen Mara Sov killed the previous Kell, Virixas, in the battle near Ceres known as the Scatter, where the Awoken annihilated half of the Wolves' numbers. Skolas secured a pyrrhic victory over Irxis, Wolf Baroness in the Eos Clash, and tricked the Awoken into eliminating Parixas, the Howling for him in the Battle of Iris. With his rivals gone, Skolas became Wolf Kell and rallied the remaining Wolves against the Awoken. In the end, due to betrayal by Variks, he was captured in the Cybele Uprising and incarcerated in the Prison of Elders.

The Queen later sent Skolas to the Nine as a gift, in an effort to placate them over sending the Crows into their territory in the search for Kaliks Prime. However, due to a possible betrayal by the Nine, Skolas was freed and returned to lead the House of Wolves in rebellion against the Queen. He has ambitions of making himself ruler over all the Fallen houses, seeking to bring as many as he can under his control. His ultimate goal is not just the destruction of the Reef, but also the fall of the City and the salvation of the Fallen race by reclaiming the Great Machine.

Skolas is extremely prideful and vicious, even for a Kell. He is also quite delusional, according to Variks. He sees himself as fulfilling the prophecy from the House of Rain, in which he is said that any Guardian to face him will "flee or fall". It is also said that he will heal the Fallen houses and make them whole again. His failure at the Cybele Uprising drives him to near fanatical levels to succeed where others had failed, securing the future for his house and the Fallen race once and for all. His failure again at the Terminus left him in a near catatonic state, at least until directly challenged by the Guardians.

Gameplay
He is encountered several times in the House of Wolves expansion. He is first seen on Venus attempting to rally the House of Winter to his cause. He escapes before the player has the chance to stop him. He is encountered again in the Terminus, attempting to use Vex technology to secure the Wolves' power. The Guardian is sent by Petra Venj to stop him before he could pull the entire house through time. Skolas is armed with a Shrapnel Launcher and is capable of teleporting across the map to land an Ultra Smash. However, he is eventually pinned down and captured by the player, and sent to the Prison of Elders.

Skolas is the final boss of the level 35 Prison of Elders challenge, Skolas's Revenge. He retains his teleportation and ground smash capabilities, but this time around, he is armed with a Scorch Cannon, a Fallen rocket launcher capable of killing a Guardian in just a couple of shots at any range. In addition, Skolas is supported by a pair of Servitors, named Kaliks Minor, who increase his defense significantly until one of them is destroyed, after which players can deal normal damage to him. When Skolas reaches a certain health threshold, the bonds will be permanently broken, which causes him to cast a debuff called Devouring Essence upon any random Guardian in the area. They will have thirty seconds to share the debuff with other players or they will die. If this debuff is not attended to at all, the fireteam will wipe.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves