War of Salvation

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War of Salvation
Fronts:	Cosmodrome, Earth; Europa
Outcome:	Elimination of House of Salvation's leadership; Guardians begin to acquire Darkness abilities in the form of Stasis; House of Light grows with defections from House of Salvation;
Belligerents
Commanders
Strength
Casualties

"...three words, nine word bursts over and over..."This article is based on canon information, but the article title is conjectural, as there is currently no official name for the subject. See the talk page for more information.

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The War of Salvation was a conflict between the Vanguard and Human-aligned Fallen houses against the House of Salvation. Each side began using the Darkness during the war to gain an advantage over their opposition.

History

Prelude

The roots of the War of Salvation would be found in the aftermath of the Scorn breakout from the Prison of Elders. The House of Judgement scribe, Variks, who has proved a reliable ally to the Guardians and the Reefborn Awoken, ultimately wished for the means to give his people a second chance at living in peace after seeing the myriad Fallen Houses suffer catastrophic defeat and humiliating failures at the hands of the Guardians, in their misguided ambition to claim the Traveler hovering over the Last City. Wanting to do something about the state of his people but knowing he can't do so while under the careful watch of his Awoken handlers, Variks conducted an elaborate diversion to provide himself the means to escape the Reef and gather those who wish to better their people. His diversion would be to cause a malfunction that would lead to a shutdown in the Prison of Elders' security systems following Cayde-6's hunt for the Scorned Barons and the leader, renegade Awoken Prince Uldren Sov.

His diversion worked as intended, as the malfunction caused nearly all the prison cells to open, leading to a massive breakout. Needing aid to contain the breakout, Petra Venj called for Cayde-6 and The Guardian where they managed to reset the security systems and prevented the majority of the prisoners from escaping. However, the Scorn Barons and Uldren managed to escape their cells and were close to exiting the prison. Cayde-6 would attempt to prevent this but would find himself surrounded by the Scorn. Despite the Hunter Vanguard's efforts, he was badly beaten and his Ghost, Sundance, would be destroyed, leaving him Lightless. Defiant to the end, Cayde-6 was nonetheless executed by Uldren Sov with his own weapon before either The Guardian or Petra could arrive to help him.

The Guardian and the Vanguard would learn of Variks' role in the Scorn Breakout, leaving them feeling betrayed and making him equally responsible for Cayde-6's death. Though they heard rumors of Variks' movements, there efforts to find him would prove fruitless.

During the chaos of the breakout, Variks gathered supplies and ultimately met with an old acquaintance, Eramis of the House of Devils, who likewise sought the goal of restoring the Eliksni people to greatness. Despite the bitterness between them, Eramis agreed to ally with Variks, as he still kept the history and customs of the House of Judgement. Believing that Eramis was the leader the Eliksni needed to unite and survive, Variks threw in his lot with her and her group of allies. Though Eramis originally sought to restore the House of Devils, her failed heist of the Old Tower thanks to the efforts of Mithrax and the Guardians, she abandoned those plans to build a new House where all were welcomed to join to build a new home for themselves in the Sol System. Many of the crumbling Houses would flock to Eramis' call on the frozen world of Europa, where they managed to build a settlement called Riis-Reborn upon the ruins of the Golden Age colony of Eventide. This new house would call itself, the House of Salvation.

However, Variks would notice a dark change in Eramis following the arrival of the Black Fleet in the Sol System, which led to the disappearance of some of the words in the system. One Pyramid, however, would remain hovering over Europa, and it left many Darkness related structures throughout the surrounding area. Eramis would even managed to access one of these structures and be granted the power of Stasis, an ice-like ability that she began to share with her lieutenants. Worse, and to Variks' dismay, Eramis gave in to her hatred towards the Traveler for abandoning her people during the Whirlwind, leaving them with nothing. With Stasis at her command, Eramis, calling herself the Kell of Darkness, turned the dream of creating a new home for the Eliksni into an opportunity to build an empire for herself and her followers, with the full intent on making the Great Machine feel the pain the Fallen have endured.

Disappointed and angry at Eramis, Variks would abandon the House of Salvation, stealing a Splinter of Darkness from Eramis, the scribe evaded the Dark Kell for as long as he could before getting tracked.

Hunt for the Traitor Variks

Variks' became aware that he was being hunted by Eramis' and her House, leaving him with little time. Managing to find a relay station at Charon's Crossing, Variks grew desperate enough to send out a distress signal to the Guardians, wishing for their aid in combating the House of Salvation and Eramis. However, unknown to Variks, the Exo Stranger would steal the Splinter he had brought with him but before he could do anything, Eramis would catch up and corner him as he finished his message. Variks would then find himself tortured by an enraged Eramis who used Stasis to encase half of his body. Though Variks tried to reason with Eramis, the Dark Kell would not listen, demanding the Splinter he had stolen.