Kell

"In a world without Kells, Dreg strength will breed nothing but chaos."

- House of Rain proverb

A Kell is the political leader of a Fallen house and the commander of their House's Ketch.

Overview
Kells, or Kel in Eliksni culture, act as the political leader of their Fallen House, ruling their people and command their forces with an iron fist and usually commandeer their House's flagship Ketch. Kells are also known for controling their Houses' Ether supply through the use of an Elder Cipher.

They are mysterious figures rarely seen by lower ranks of the House and often viewed as mad, however the Kells travel a delicate path toward understanding and in the Old ways of the Eliksni, sought guidance from the Elders of House Judgement on codes of dignity and law.

Only the strongest Fallen warrior leads the pack. Kells maintain order among the House, whose subjects can often be aggressive. Their first command is a word and if unheeded, then the Kell's second command is the blade, resulting in docking. Shamed Eliksni may later redeem themselves through brutal ceremonial combats such as the Archon's Forge or other means to prove their might. Since the Eliksni culture has a love for Honor, the weak are Honor-bond into subservience and respect their Kell's authority like that of a sniper.

Kells also have access to better resources and eat better, sleep safer, and live longer. A strong Kell's power is described to be like the wind: swift, howling and everywhere at once, comparable to the Guardians. Kells are more stronger, faster, and intelligent, than the common Eliksni. If a Kell dies, the House collapses into a civil war between their nobility vying for dominance and kellship. Only the most powerful contender or when all opposition is gone can a new claimant assume control. When the Wolf Kell, Virixas, was killed by Mara Sov, three Barons fought against each other to become the new Kell of Wolves.



However it is possible that a House can still function without a Kell, as an Archon, Prime Servitor, or another Kell from a different House can assume command of the House. Their loss severely weakens a House and demoralizes its forces, so for this reason, Kells are a prime target for enemy forces.

Recently with the fall of the Houses, most Kells have perished. Only the House of Judgment, House of Light, and the House of Salvation are three known to be led by self-proclaimed Kells.

Kell of Kells Prophecy
According to a prophecy by the House of Rain, the Great Machine would crown a mighty warrior as the Kell of Kells, and rule over all houses. None but Skolas, Variks, and Eramis have ever attempted to claim this title for themselves.

Notable Kells

 * House of Devils
 * Solkis, Kell of Devils
 * House of Judgment
 * Variks, Kell of Kells
 * House of Kings
 * Craask, Kell of Kings
 * House of Light
 * Mithrax, Kell of Light
 * House of Salvation
 * Eramis, Kell of Darkness
 * House of Stone
 * Chelchis, Kell of Stone
 * House of Winter
 * Draksis, Winter Kell
 * House of Wolves
 * Virixas, Kell of Wolves
 * Skolas, Kell of Kells
 * Mara Sov, Queen of the Reef

Claimants to Kellship

 * House of Wolves
 * Irxis, Wolf Baroness
 * Parixas, the Howling
 * Veliniks, the Ravenous

Houses without Kells

 * House of Dusk
 * House of Exile
 * Kell's Scourge
 * Spider's Syndicate
 * Scorn

Mentioned Only

 * Drifis, the Daring, mentioned in the Fallen Kingdom Anthology.
 * A Kell killed by Rezyl Azzir.
 * A Kell who docked Taniks, the Scarred in the item description of Does Not Bow.
 * A Kell who died in the item description of Cloak of Five Full Moons.

Trivia

 * Kells have their own bodyguards in the form of Kell's Guard and Wolves' Guard for the House of Winter and Wolves, however it’s unknown if one of them are the true protector of a Kell.
 * For decades Riksis, Devil Archon and Sepiks Prime maintained authority over the House of Devils. This shows evidence that a House can function without a Kell.
 * The proper Fallen name for Kells lacks the second letter L.
 * This is most likely a Human mispronunciation, as Kel sounds like Kell.
 * "-kel" also appears to be an honorific that Eliksni use to refer to their Kells. For instance, Kridis and Variks both refer to Eramis as "Eramiskel" at different points in Beyond Light.
 * Before getting his four arms docked by Fikrul, the Kell of Kings final word to Uldren was Dreg, which resulted in the Last Kell demoting to a Dreg.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * The Taken King
 * Rise of Iron
 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken
 * Joker's Wild
 * Shadowkeep
 * Season of the Worthy
 * Season of Arrivals
 * Beyond Light