Empress Caiatl: Difference between revisions

Following the events of [[The Lucent War|Operation Elbrus]], Caiatl discovers that a sect of [[Psion]]s are using Psionic propaganda to force her Psions to defect to the forces of [[The Witness]]. She asks the Guardian to return to Mars, this time near the city of [[Freehold]] to stop the Psions responsible. The Guardian deploys to the abandoned Cabal bunker near Freehold with Caiatl and Zavala monitoring their activity and [[Amanda Holliday]] providing support for the assault on the bunker. The Guardian discover that [[Qabix, Insurgent|Qabix]] was the Psion Flayer spreading Psionic propaganda, and Caiatl orders them to eliminate the Psion Flayer. They all learn that [[Yirix]] and her conclave has allied with her father [[Emperor Calus|Calus]] and to a certain extent the Witness. They would learn more of the Psionic propaganda on subsequent incursions, including the history of the Psions prior to Cabal enslavement, the supposed resurrection of [[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]], the [[Traveler]]'s Light tainted with Darkness, and the return of [[The Leviathan]]. Caiatl declares that the existing alliances in [[The Last City]] must grow stronger if the possible futures are to be prevented from coming to pass and to fight against the forces of the Witness.

Two years after its disappearance, the Leviathan had mysteriously returned to orbit above [[Luna]] and began forming a connection to the [[Lunar Pyramid]] and becoming infested with [[Nightmares]]. Caital arrived on the scene with her fleet to hold the perimeter, as the Guardian was sent down to investigate the Derelict Leviathan to assess the situation. After Calus's Loyalists and the Nightmares drove the Guardian away from the Leviathan, Caiatl met with Zavala and [[Eris Morn]], who explained that the Lunar Pyramid was the cause of the Nightmares and how the Nightmares manifest their greatest fears and regrets. She then suggests a plan to use a hive ritual to bind these Nightmares to them, allowing them to move safely through the Leviathan. However, Caital rejected this offer, believing that Eris' ritual would play right into Calus' hands and that she would doom them all. Eris tried to reassure The Empress that her ritual would grant her protection, but Caital assured her that her armor would be all the protection she would need and that they would only need to follow her into battle as she led the charge. Despite the Empress' refusal to take part in Eris's ritual, Eris still conducted the ritual With Zavala and Crow. However, after the ritual was complete, as Caital continued to look upon the Derelict Leviathan, she failed to notice the [[Nightmare of Dominus Ghaul]] haunting her from behind.

After the Guardian helped Crow conquer the [[Nightmare of Uldren]], Caital delivered a status report to the H.E.L.M. on the current condition of the Leviathan from her Psion Opti scouts, who confirmed that the ship was emitting psychic anomalies from the Nightmares manifesting aboard the Leviathan. Caital also added that Navigational Equipment showed that the Leviathan entered a Gravitational Anomaly where [[Mercury]] once was resulting in the ship somehow being both inside and outside the known universe for an indeterminate amount of time. When it reappeared, the ship had been completely mutated, overrun by a massive infestation of [[Egregore]] and most of the crew were missing. Caital went on to explain that the Cabal Loyalists still aboard were freshly grown mindless clones with no higher brain function. Saladin Forge suggested that Caital task Crow with reconnaissance missions to see if there was more that he could find out, to which The Empress agreed.

After the Guardian helped Zavala overcome the [[Nightmare of Safiyah]], Caital would later contact the commander to congratulate him on conquering his demons, going on to state that other Cabal warriors have also done the same thing and are immortalized in legend. She even tells Zavala that the Cabal even have stories about the "Great Commander". However, Zavala told the Empress that he did not want to become a legend and that the confrontation with Safiyah was a battle he had never faced before. Caital assured Zavala that the battles fought within the mind and heart are just as brutal as battles fought in real life, and that Zavala had just won the most honest battle in his life. But Zavala only felt like he didn't win anything and just felt tired and old, to which Caital responded that despite all of his hardships, the commander was still standing.

As Caiatl watched the Guardian complete each severance ritual from her ship, the Nightmare of Dominus Ghaul continued to haunt her relentlessly. As the Nightmare of the Dominus was the only thing standing between her and Calus, Caital prepared to assist the situation, by confronting Ghaul's Nightmare. However, Eris was afraid that severance wouldn't work because Caital was not bound by the initial binding ritual and advised the Empress to stay aboard her flagship until Eris could think of another solution. Unfortunately, Calus took advantage of this and manipulated his daughter. With her patience at its limits, Caital sent out a message to the Vanguard, issuing her challenge to the Nightmare of Ghaul. In a panic, Eris sent the Guardian to make sure that Caital was alright. As the Guardian continued to make their way towards Caital's position, the Empress kept asking the Guardian not to assist her. However, Eris kept telling Caital to at least wait until the Guardian made it to her location. All the while the Nightmare of Ghaul continued taunting her about how weak and pathetic she had become now, even mocking her about how she failed to protect [[Torobatl]] from Xivu Arath's Invasion. After the Guardian finally arrived at Caital's position and began the severance ritual, she looked upon the Nightmare of Ghaul and told it how she idolized and looked up to Ghaul as he taught her to be fierce. However, the Nightmare scolded the Empress, stating that she had forgotten his teachings which led to Torobatl burning under her banner and forcing her to seek the aid of humanity, who were originally her enemies. As the ritual commenced, Caital strained and struggled against the Nightmare of Ghaul as the Guardian fought another Nightmare of the Dominus. After slaying the second Nightmare, Caital was brought to her knees and became heavily exhausted as the Nightmare of Ghaul shouted at Caital, telling her that she was not "the Caital that Ghaul trained" and demanded to know where that Caital was. The Empress responded that "she died" when Torobatl fell along with Ghaul's lessons, which The Dominus's Nightmare acknowledged and stated that Torobatl is where the old Caital would stay. Eris informed the Empress that, without the binding ritual, the Severance ritual had failed. Furious, Caital told Eris that she didn't need a "Hive-tainted witch" to explain her failure. Eris obliged and ended the communication.

After this failure, Caital shamefully met with Eris and asked if her ritual would have prevented her failure. At first, Eris mocked Caital, asking her if now she sought the aid of a Hive-tainted witch. Caital was angered and demanded to know if Eris saw enjoyment in watching her fail, to which Eris simply stated that she offered the Empress her support and that the offer still stands. Eris went on to explain that Caital's failure isn't what defined her and that she was only doing this for herself, not for the cabal. Caital tried to state that she was the Cabal. But Eris told her that she wasn't and that she was a woman with a burden, just as Eris was. Caital then explained the intense situation she was in, such as her failure to protect Torobatl, and that within her ranks are traitors and spies. In her eyes, there could be no quarter for failure. Eris recognized that the Empress was speaking Dominus Ghaul's words and understood that Caital's Nightmare was that her incompetence would jeopardize the future of her people. Eris comforted the Empress and told her to look past her shame and say that she was more. After being convinced, Caital agreed with Eris and asked her to prepare the binding ritual, to which Eris responded that it was already awaiting her.

Thanks to Eris's binding ritual, Caital was bound to the Crown of Sorrow just as Zavala and Crow were. She was now ready to confront the Nightmare of Ghaul and sever Calus's connection to the Lunar Pyramid. Caital arrived on the Leviathan in a Drop Pod shortly after the Guardian arrived. Almost immediately after arriving, The Nightmare of Ghaul taunted her once more about her weakness, her new empire, and her attempt to challenge him again. The Guardian eventually met up with Caital directly speaking to the Nightmare of Ghaul with a Scorn [[Chieftain]] impaled on her blade. The Dominus's Nightmare demanded that Caital kill the Guardian and send their head back to the City, but the Empress told the Nightmare to be silent and that it was a weak interpretation of the Ghaul she knew. Angered that Caital stood beside the Guardian against him, the Nightmare of Ghaul continued to scold Empress, telling her that she had grown fat from weakness and drunk on the Vanguard's patronage. It kept trying to tell Caital that the Guardians were using her and her empire as cattle, that the Cabal will die alongside Humanity. Caital, however, disregarded the Nightmare and ignored its lies, stating that, with the aid of both the Guardians and the Light, the Cabal have become stronger than ever before. As Caital and the Guardian arrived at the severance site, Caital began the ritual as the Dominus's Nightmare continued to grow furious at her. The Guardian was once again forced to battle a second Nightmare of Ghaul and, as the fight continued, Caital cheered the Guardian on, telling them to crush the Nightmare with their light as [[the Traveler]] did to Ghaul. After the Guardian defeated the second Nightmare, the first Nightmare of Ghaul continued to scold Caital even in defeat, calling her nothing more than a child playing Empress. Caital stood back up and looked upon the Nightmare of Ghaul, telling it that the old ways were dead and that Caital forged a new Cabal in her own image that did not need his approval. The Empress then drew her blade and stabbed the Nightmare in the chest, purifying the Nightmare of Ghaul with light and turning into a Memory. After that, the Memory of Ghaul could see Caital's new Cabal empire and confirmed that she has finally surpassed him because of how she wields the Light on her War Council. Caital was glad to hear the Memory of Ghaul accepted this, but told it that she did not achieve this through conquest, but rather through compromise, which was an act that Ghaul's old traditions would never allow. The Memory acknowledged this and faded away, completing the final severance ritual.  

After returning to her flagship, Caital contacted the Guardian and stated how she and the Cabal looked at Ghaul as a hero. But when confronting his Nightmare, it allowed her to see Ghaul as the Vanguard did. She saw how ruthless and cruel the Dominus truly was and thanked the Guardian for their efforts before ending the transmission. Shortly after, Zavala would contact Caital and ask how she felt after challenging her idol. The Empress responded by saying that she felt tired and old, but now she understood what Ghaul was to humanity. She and many other Cabal Warriors believed Ghaul to be a hero, who rose to become a great legend. But she admitted that she was too blinded by his accomplishments to see that Ghaul was a lot more like Calus than she cared to admit and she still cared for both of them in spite of everything they became. Zavala comforted Caital and sympathized with the difficult experiences they both shared. The Commander explained that he'd never know Ghaul as Caital knew him, but he knew Caital and he saw her as she truly was. Caital thanked Zavala as that was all she asked for.

Unfortunately, Caital's decision to brazenly challenge The Nightmare of Ghaul early gave Calus the time he needed to merge his consciousness with the Lunar Pyramid. However, Eris determined that, like a snail coiled in its shell, Calus had not fully slithered out of the Leviathan and taken control of the Pyramid yet. She estimated that if they strike now and perform one last severance ritual, they just might be able to stop Calus from taking control of the Pyramid. With the plan now in motion, the Guardian would return to the Leviathan and harvest the Nightmares necessary to conduct the final ritual.

Once the Guardian finished, they began their final assault against Calus alongside Crow, Caital, Zavala and Eris. Caital and the others were tasked with setting up their amplifiers while the Guardian would distract Calus's forces. After Caital finished setting up her amplifier, she arrived in the throne room with Calus was nowhere to be found. As the Guardian made their way towards the throne room, Caital heard something mysterious right before her something jammed her comms. Worse of all, Zavala, Crow and Eris faced heavy resistance from Calus's Loyalists, cutting off their communications as well. It was clear the diversion did not fool the former Emperor. The Guardian tracked Caital to the room underneath the throne room, where all of Calus's robotic duplicates were. At the end of the room was a portal that led the Guardian down into the Lunar Pyramid. After leaping through it, the Guardian would meet up with Caital in the [[Chantry of the Darkest Hour]] surrounded by the bodies of Loyalists. Caital was upset that the others were not with the Guardian, but regardless stayed determined, recognizing that they must face Calus alone. Without wasting any more time, Caital turned around and called out her father, demanding to know if Calus saw her in all her glory and insisted that the former Emperor show himself. Both the Guardian and the Empress jumped down into the arena below and prepared for battle. As the Guardian placed down the Nightmare Harvester in the center of the arena, Calus materialized in front of them in his Psionic form. Calus expressed that he did see Caital, but he only regarded that he saw only her failure, her doubts and her fears, and stated that Caital could have ruled by his side, but instead chose this fate. An intense battle began as the Emperor unleashed an army of Scorn and Loyalists, all of which were led by the fading Nightmares of [[Nightmare of the Fanatic|the Fanatic]], [[Nightmare of Kethiks, Grief Unforgiven|Kethiks]], and [[Nightmare of Dominus Ghaul|Ghaul]]. With each Nightmare slain, the three memories of Uldren, Safiyah and Ghaul were called forth to greatly weaken Calus while the Emperor tried to fight back by unleashing a barrage of psionic projectiles that would be blocked by a shield deployed by Caiatl to protect her and the Guardian. After a long and hard-fought battle, the Guardian managed to slay the final Nightmare and complete the ritual, severing Calus's connection to the Lunar Pyramid for good. As his psionic form began to disappear, Calus tried to speak with Caital one last time, but was cut off before he could even start.

Exhausted, Caital fell to her knees and removed her combat equipment. The Guardian wanted to help her up, but Caital refused their help. Zavala, Crow and Eris all arrived in the room with them, as did the memories of Uldren, Safiyah, and Ghaul. Zavala approached Caital and asked her where Calus was, to which the Empress responded that Calus was dead, that he had given himself over to the Witness, and that the man she once knew as her father was gone. Zavala comforted Caital, and together they leaned against each other as the memories of Safiyah and Ghaul faded away. However, despite succeeding in stopping Calus from taking control of the Lunar Pyramid, Eris did not see this as a victory, as Calus had succeeded in his ultimate goal. Calus had become the Herald of The Witness and the Harbinger Of The Second Collapse.

===Quorum===

Caital had a brief appearance during [[Season of the Seraph]].