Taniks, the Scarred

"Taniks has no House. He kneels before no banner, owes allegiance to no Kell."

- Variks, The Loyal

Taniks, the Scarred is an infamous Fallen mercenary that worked for the House of Wolves during the Wolf Rebellion, though he will hire himself out to any House. He is encountered in The Shadow Thief Strike as well as the Deep Stone Crypt Raid.

Biography
Taniks was once a Dreg docked by his Kell, only for him to had killed said Kell with prosthetic arms he built himself. Since then, Taniks had made himself a reputation as an undying huntsman among the Eliksni, whose physical self is joined with a mix of technologies, each pilfered from legendary treasure troves. Taniks was also inspired by the accomplishments of Sekris, Baron of Shanks.

Taniks is known to graft new technology onto himself from each of his exploit, including salvaged tech from the Fallen, Vex, and Humanity. He also craves combat, as he views his enemies as trophies and as such hones his combat skills for fun, and worships machinery to such a degree he has augmented himself extensively.

Vanguard Dare
"He is a murderer...and very good at what he does."

- Variks, the Loyal

During the early City Age, Taniks sought to claim the bounty on an infamous crew of Hunters, including Andal Brask, Shiro-4, and Cayde-6. During a mission where Andal led to raid one supply cache while Cayde, Shiro, Nian Ruo, and Lush hit another, the Fallen mercenary ambushed Nian and Lush; murdering the former and destroying the latter's Ghost before they escaped. Even Osiris and the Speaker had brought in Saint-14, an infamous Guardian known amongst the Fallen, to find and kill the mercenary himself.

Despite their losses, Andal and the others decided to personally hunt down Taniks in retaliation. One night, Andal and Cayde stayed up late drinking and decided to make a Vanguard Dare, as the position of Hunter Vanguard had been empty for two years following Kauko Swiftriver's disappearance. They decided that whoever failed to kill Taniks would have to become the new Hunter Vanguard while the winner would live the life of a free Hunter. Taniks was killed twice by Cayde's hand; leading Andal to become the new Hunter Vanguard while Cayde continued to enjoy life as a free Hunter.

However, Taniks survived both his encounters with Cayde after his crew rebuilt him back from the dead. He then proceeded to murder Andal in cold blood, to which Cayde took up the mantle of Hunter Vanguard in memory of his fallen friend.

Prison Breakout
"You'd choose Aksor over the Shipstealer?! Eramis, who led the charge at the Final Attempt? Who hurled herself at the wretched Lightbearers, who moved so quickly I would've sworn she had eight arms? When your pathetic Winter-ones followed in her footsteps, they had to wade through the flood of life-force she left in her wake. And still you wonder why I refuse my house-pledge. You could conquer the system, but you'd rather adhere to these arbitrary customs. Aksor belongs to Winter, and Eramis does not."

- Taniks, the Scarred Taniks would later be hired out by Draksis, Winter Kell of the House of Winter to break Aksor, Archon Priest free from the Prison of Elders. Taniks would take the job charging twice his usual price out of anger; having a missed opportunity to free the fiercest of the imprisoned Eliksni including Eramis, the Shipstealer.

Wolf Rebellion
"I remember Taniks from the Reef Wars. Many Awoken dead. Clever, clever creature."

- Variks, the Loyal

Hired by the House of Wolves, Taniks would lead the Wolf-born Fallen to plunder the Hellmouth before a fireteam of Guardians, sent by Variks, arrived to kill him. Taniks, relishing at the challenge of the Lightbearers, would briefly engage them before retreating aboard his Ketch. As the fireteam pursued the mercenary through his ship, Taniks calls upon the Wolves to unleash their military might and impede their progress by sending waves of Fallen, including a Walker upon them. With tremendous effort, the Guardians destroyed the Walker and wiped out their enemies before cornering Taniks as he issues orders and taunts the fireteam in Fallen dialect. He is eventually killed much to Variks' delight.

SIVA Perfected
During the aftermath of the SIVA Crisis, the Devil Splicers had rebuilt the Fallen mercenary into an SIVA-enhanced version titled Taniks Perfected.

Legacy
Taniks's infamy among the Guardians would carry on, as his form would be taken as a Nightmare that the Guardians would face in the newly discovered crimson fortress on the moon. The Nightmare of Taniks, the Scarred, representing the Essence of Isolation, would be hunted down by Guardians sent by Eris, as she needed the essence to forge armor needed to resist the Nightmares and breach the Pyramid.

Beyond Light
Taniks' body is referenced in the cutscene before beating The Glassway when Eramis, Kell of Darkness tells Atraks to "prepare the body". Then he is seen in a cutscene with Eramis and the rest of her council after defeating Belmon.

Later, in the Deep Stone Crypt, a fireteam of Guardians would discover to their horror that Atraks-1, Fallen Exo has rebuilt Taniks yet again, who immediately begins angrily banging on a window in Clarity Control after spotting them. After Atraks-1 was killed, Clovis-AI activated the orbital station's nuclear descent protocol to decimate Europa upon impact, because Taniks breached the control room of the Morning Star Station. The team of Guardians managed to disarm the station's nuclear protocol just as the Morning Star descends to the surface, leaving Taniks to seemingly perish when the station broke apart upon reentry. At the crash site Restricted, However, Taniks survived the impact by merging himself with a Heavy Shank at the last minute, and re-emerges as a monstrous hybrid now dubbed "the Abomination" once the fireteam goes to investigate a pile of rubble. Desperate to succeed where he had repeatedly failed years ago, Taniks puts up a last stand in the crash site, but is finally dismantled for good at the hands of the fireteam.

Strike
He and his Ketch, Kaliks-Syn, are found on the Moon. Unlike most Fallen commanders, he is armed with a Scorch Cannon, which he uses with devastating effect. With this weapon, he can effectively hold down an area at any range. In addition, he will smash the ground if a Guardians wanders too close to him. Like many Captains, he can teleport. Unlike most Captains, though, he can teleport long distances. He uses this to avoid being defeated in one confrontation, requiring players to wear down his health until he can be cornered.

Trivia

 * Taniks' cloak is orange and features an insignia not belonging to any known House. Whether it belongs to the House Taniks originates from, or is unique to Taniks himself, is unknown. It is also a random strike-exclusive Legendary drop for the hunter.
 * Taniks' is one of three Fallen Ultras found with Scorch Cannons, the others being Skolas and Vosik.
 * Taniks is one of the only Fallen enemies to kill a high authority of the Last City.
 * He leads his own group of loyal Fallen called Taniks' Crew.
 * He is the first Strike Boss to become a Raid Boss.
 * Taniks is believed to have once been a member of an extinct Fallen house called the House of Scar.
 * According to the flavor text of the Legendary Auto Rifle Does Not Bow, Taniks was punished with docking by his Kell; subsequently he built his first mechanical arms and took revenge.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * The Taken King
 * Rise of Iron
 * Destiny 2
 * Curse of Osiris
 * Forsaken
 * Shadowkeep
 * Beyond Light