Reksis Vahn, the Hangman

"He likes it. Too much."

- Cayde-6

Reksis Vahn, the Hangman is a Scorn Baron. He is a Ravager class Scorn with a strong distaste for Servitors.

Biography
Reksis had a tragic upbringing as he was abandoned at birth. Due to this he became very depraved and a twisted executioner who developed a strong hatred of Servitors and their esteemed role in Fallen culture. He denounced the worship of Servitors after watching his superiors grow in strength while he and his siblings starved. In his suffering he found clarity, as he sought to bring the destruction of Servitors as others were driven to insanity due to their poverty of Ether. He quickly gained a reputation as a heretic and was even ousted from the House of Exiles.

The outcast Dreg found refuge within the Tangled Shore as the harsh land shaped him, and set up a base in the Quitter's Well. Later the Hangman carried out what he intended to do by siphoning Ether from Servitors and used it to feed his fellow Barons, creating a joyous frenzy.

His obsessive hate did not stop there, as Vahn gained even more notoriety by exterminating the last remaining Servitors from the House of Wolves, dooming the House to extinction. His anger did not stop there as it lingered and festered until others felt his pain.

With his twisted ambition and persona, he found a new purpose to release his wrath. At one point, he came into conflict with Elykris, the Machinist, who hoarded Servitors from her raids. The Hangman had different ambitions as he sought to torture and kill them. As tension grew between the two, Fikrul, the Fanatic stepped in and saw a new means of motivation. He would gently caress a Servitor, only to brutally kill it to show their intent to kill all those bound to a Fallen House.

Later, he would be imprisoned deep within the Prison of Elders alongside his fellow Barons, but freed by Uldren Sov. He was present at the murder of Cayde-6 and inflicted a crucial blow that allowed Cayde to die at Sov's hand. The Guardians in vengeance would track him down and kill him with his own fire.

Personality


Reksis was a deranged, belligerent and sadistic psychopath who enjoyed causing pain and suffering, especially to Servitors. He was ruthless in his ambitions to destroy Servitors as he believed this would be his method of destroying Fallen culture. His twisted ambitions saw him brutally murder countless Servitors at the point of exhausting the House of Wolves of their ether supply. His tryanny did not stop there as he came to an ideological clash with the second in command of Scorn, Elykris, the Machinist. The Hangman wanted nothing but destruction, while the Machinist sought to preserve Fallen technology.

This however would be detrimental to the Hangman as his siphoning of the Spider's Servitors gained the attention of the Spider's Syndicate and the Guardians who brought his demise.

Gameplay
Reksis Vahn was an aggressive melee combatant. He preferred to charge into battle directly with his large Flame Cauldron, swinging it around and dishing out high amounts of damage with each strike. When at farther ranges, he would smash his censer on the ground to create a large, wide line of flames which quickly burnt away at a Guardian's shield and health, and if at point-blank range, he would slam his censer on the floor, creating a shockwave which knocked Guardians around and dealt massive damage if it hit directly. Vents would also emit flames throughout the arena for area denial. Occasionally, Reksis Vahn would teleport away from the arena and summon lesser Scorn units for reinforcements, but soon afterward, he would reappear and continue his assault. The small circular arena made ranged combat difficult. Therefore, one would find turning to their grenades, Supers, or high-impact weapons as a reliable method of damaging Reksis Vahn safely.

Trivia

 * When Reksis Vahn slammed his censer on the ground to create his line of fire, it would become stuck for a few seconds as he tries to pull it out of the floor, granting the player a few seconds to do damage directly or take out Scorn minions overwhelming them. Unlike Fikrul's weakness, which is debatably a bug, this was likely intentional.
 * One of Reksis Vahn's titles, "The Godslayer," is also possessed by the Guardian, except in a different context.
 * The Guardian possesses the title mainly for slaying Hive deities, whereas Reksis Vahn has earned the title by killing Servitors, which are viewed as gods in Fallen religion.
 * The Hangman is the third largest of the Barons, towering near the height of a Hive Ogre.
 * Although he is a Ravager, he still has a head.
 * Curiously, the Locus of Communion boss from the Presage exotic quest shares Reksis Vahn's avatar, boss theme and attack animations, despite being a different Scorn entirely.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken