Imperial Cabal

Imperial Cabal
Overview
Objectives:	Serve the Empress of the Cabal
Commander(s):	Empress Caiatl ; Ignovun, Chosen of Caiatl ; Valus Ozysas ; Valus Forge
Deployed:	Cosmodrome ; Derelict Leviathan ; EDZ ; Europa ; Moon ; Nessus
At war with:	Loyalists ; Cabal Deserters ; Xivu Arath's Horde ; Lucent Brood ; Sol Collective ; Scorn ; Nightmares
Allied with:	Red Legion ; Vanguard ; House of Light ; All other Legions

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The Imperial Cabal are the personal army of the Imperial Crown and serve Empress Caiatl. Following the Hive invasion of Torobatl, they left for the Solar System to reform the Cabal Empire and recruit Cabal commanders from other Legions, such as the Red Legion, under the banner of Caiatl.

A group of emissaries sought to prove their worth through an ancient tradition with the hope of joining the War Council.

History

The Imperial Clash

As Princess Imperial of the Cabal Empire, Caiatl resided within the royal court of Torobatl and grew tired of sorting out the tedious requests from her generals and courtiers who aspired for her attention and resources. One day a general entered her court to complain about a stench emanating from the room of Umun'arath as the toxic flumes spread throughout the east wing of the palace to choke his lovers.

Caiatl dismissed her general and later visited her mentors chamber to find a room, usually kept tidy with a military precision, littered with strange symbols, war tables covered with unrecognisable papers and tomes and a horrid stench of poison and death. In the corner of the room she found a Hive Thrall held in suspension with restraints used on prison captives.

Caiatl questioned her Evocate-General to what was happening and Umun paused her study of a book bound with flesh and turned away from her war table to showcase the future of the Cabal. She explained that the Hive do not fear death or pain to which Caiatl responded by saying soldiers who not know pain or death are useless as the knowledge to defy death inspired bravery within their soldiers. Umun dismissed her old teachings and claimed they must move beyond their customs and embrace a new way as the universe grew smaller through fierce competition and accept new gods or perish. After a long silence, Caiatl grew concerned over actions of Umun'arath and ordered her to step down from the council.^[1]

Later, Advisor Taurun alerted Caiatl over a distressing situation originating from the central square of Torobatl's weaponsmith district as green flames engulfed the air. Caiatl arrived to the scene to find Umun'arath under the custody of two guards and approached her naked general to find strange strange symbols carved into her skin as she stood in a blaze. Umun laughed and claimed that the Princess came to kneel before their new god. Caiatl ordered her guards to release the general and questioned Umun about the god she was referring to and the heresies she invented now. Umun'arath grinned and said it was the the god of war as the ground trembled below.

Caiatl declared that her new obsession threatened the prosperity of their society and attempted to sentence the general, but Umun interrupted by saying it can't be stopped as war is her only obsession. The fire behind Umun burned with intensity as she raised her glowing hands to a strange noise. Caiatl with her lightning reflexes drew her ceremonial sword and made the decision to drive it into the gut of her mentor, who laughed at the act. Disgusted, Caiatl decided to kick the sword off and watched the corpse of her Evocate-General tumble into the blaze and become consumed with fire as a large portal opened up in the sky.^[2]

The Imperial Siege

The city of Torobatl quickly turned to smoke as the sky grew dark with Hive ships and streets infected by Cryptoliths. The Imperial army called to action to defend their homeworld from the growing threat led by Caiatl. She piloted her fighter to bombard the creatures with missiles, but her efforts to stop the invasion were in vain as their numbers never dwindled and replaced by new swarms.

Her fighter was shot down and Caiatl emerged from the wreckage wounded. She remembered that these creatures did not fear pain or death and wondered how she allowed this calamity to occur as she unknowingly opened the door that brought destruction to her homeworld. She cursed Umun and the Hive, but cursed herself more and took the responsibility to finish what Umun started. Then a thunderous voice deafened the Princess. It was the voice of Xivu Arath who declared that war was her domain and the Cabal worship of war meant that they had worshipped her and she had arrived claim her overdue tribute.^[3]

Clash of the Chosen

Arriving in Sol after the Guardians defeated the High Celebrant of Xivu Arath in the Dreaming City, Caiatl invites Zavala and Osiris for a meeting aboard her flagship. Unknown to either Caiatl or Zavala, Savathûn took the form of Osiris at the beginning of the appearance of the Cryptoliths throughout Sol. Caiatl proposes an alliance with the Vanguard on the condition that Zavala bends the knee to her. Zavala refuses, and the Imperial Cabal would enter a war with the Vanguard.

The Guardians begin participating in the Rite of Proving against the Imperial Cabal when Zavala deploys them to Nessus to eliminate Commander Dracus outside the Halphas Electus and they retrieve the Bell of Conquests from him. After exploring the newly-fashioned H.E.L.M. commissioned by the Vanguard, the Guardians would go to work on eliminating Basilius the Golem, whose soldiers are searching for the Deep Stone Crypt on Europa and intending to infuse them into Cabal Exos. They stop him from doing so and they retrieve the Hammer of Proving so they can pillage Cabal Gold by ancient Cabal laws.

Next, Saladin briefs the Guardians on the next target seeking to fill the empty seat on Caiatl's War Council: Val Ma'rag. The Imperial Cabal have set foot in the Cosmodrome to seek retribution against the Hive for their role in the Fall of Torobatl months ago. The Guardians eliminate the Val and prepare to return to Nessus to seek out Ixel, the Far-Reaching, who is harnessing Vex prediction engines and relaying the information to a sect of Psions working to avenge the sisters Ozletc, Tazaroc, Niruul, and Amtec; and led by Yirix.

Under the command of Yirix, the Psions within the Imperial Cabal would go to work by infiltrating a Häkke warehouse within the Last City to recover a remnant of the Traveler Cage used during the Red War, then using that same technology to assassinate Zavala by disabling his Ghost. The first attempt was thwarted by Crow.

Eventually, the Vanguard seeks a final Rite of Proving with the Imperial Cabal. They agree with an ultimatum: if Zavala's champion, The Guardian, wins the Rite of Proving, the armistice between both parties would be signed and the Cabal cannot set foot on Earth, ever again; if Caiatl's champion, Ignovun, wins the Rite of Proving, the Vanguard would be forced to abandon Nessus and Zavala will be conscripted into Caiatl's War Council as Bracus Zavala. With both champions ready, the Guardian enters the Halphas Electus, begins the final Rite of Proving, and defeats Ignovun, making the the winners. Then, Caiatl and Zavala meets in time for the armistice. They are caught off guard by a pair of Psions named Qalec and Valir, who were under the command of Yirix for the second attempt at the assassination of Zavala. Caiatl reveals that she wasn't responsible for the assassination and vows to uncover the Psion conclave.

War with the Hive

Moments after the armistice was signed and House Light allied with the Vanguard to combat the Endless Night created by Quria, the Imperial Cabal would continue their war with the Hive of Xivu Arath, unaware that Petra Venj and Mara Sov are witnessing the battle through an aperture in the Dreaming City.

After the Guardian, Saint-14, Mara Sov, and Crow discover that Savathûn was under the guise of Osiris since the appearance of the Cryptoliths constructed by the High Celebrant, Mara traps Savathûn in a crystalline prison and instructs the Guardian to recover the Techeuns lost in the Ascendant plane. While the Guardian goes to work recovering the Techeuns using the Wayfinder's Compass and Ley Lines. Saladin delivers the news of Savathun's appearance and developments of Xivu Arath in the Dreaming City to Valus Or'ohk, would then relays it to Caiatl and Taurun. Caiatl then dispatches a lone Legionary and a Psion to meet with Zavala in the EDZ. Zavala sees the Dreaming City nuked by Cabal munitions and covered in Cabal oil and tells the lone Legionary his answer: "No." The same Legionary then relays Zavala's answer to Caiatl and Taurun.

After Savathûn deceives Mara and is rebirthed in the Traveler's Light by Immaru within the Last City, she places her ship, The Lure, on Mars, which had strangely reappeared after being engulfed in an anomaly by the Black Fleet. In response to the reappearance and Savathûn's presence on Mars, Caiatl orders her soldiers to set up a cannon on a Cabal bunker to attempt to take down the Lure.

Unfortunately for the Imperial Cabal on Mars, they discover the Guardian's presence on Mars under orders from Ikora Rey and begin to open fire on the Guardian despite the armistice between the Imperial Cabal and the Vanguard. The Guardian would also use the Cabal cannon to launch themselves into the Lure. News of those death would reach Caiatl, who arranges a meeting with Zavala, Saladin, Crow, and the same Guardian responsible for the massacre on her people, leading to an official alliance between the Imperial Cabal and the Vanguard.

Operation Elbrus

The Imperial Cabal would enter the alliance after Zavala asks for Caiatl's help in stopping the Lucent Hive invading Earth. She agrees and supplies the Synaptic Spear to be used against the Lucent Hive lieutenants within the Mindscape, but gives the Guardians a warning they they would be forgiven only once, and that any further loss of life within the Imperial Cabal will endanger a fledgling alliance between them and the Vanguard. Crow almost endangers the alliance when he accidentally kills the Psion running the Psisorium within the H.E.L.M. after he attempts to shut it down out of concern that the intel gathering from the Lucent Hive was unethical. Luckily, Lord Saladin Forge was able to save the alliance by repaying the life debt on Crow's behalf by serving on Caiatl's War Council as Bracus Forge. Caiatl promoted him to Valus Forge after he wins the Rite of Proving against Valus Guhrn Or'ohk.

A Growing Alliance

The Imperial Cabal would become another member fighting in defense of Sol along with the Vanguard, House Light, and the Awoken under Mara Sov's leadership against the forces of The Witness after Caiatl asks the Guardians to return to Mars to stop the Psionic propaganda created by Yirix, then spread by Qabix, and contains the history of the Psions prior to Cabal enslavement as well as hints of the resurrection of Eramis, the Traveler tainted with Darkness, the fall of the Last City, and the return of the Leviathan.

They would also assist in fighting alongside the Guardians against the Nightmares and Loyalists of Calus, the second known Disciple of the Witness, aboard the derelict and Egregore-infested Leviathan.