Arxus Essal

*"Don't get snarky with me, woman."*- Arxus to Pariah, during the Mercury Incident

**Arxus Essal** is an experienced Titan with the City, and is a veteran member of Fireteam Argus. He formerly served as the commander for Fireteam Theseus, before the disaster on Luna took most of his squad. During the Mercury Incident, Arxus took command of Fireteam Argus.

## History

### Pre-Collapse

Born into the world at the height of the Golden Age, Arxus Essal roamed Chicago in his early years and quickly made a name for himself among his people. Once the Darkness arrived, the brave man was eager to defend his world against the incursion. Joining up with the Earth's defense force, he joined on numerous strikes to protect critical locations across the United States. As he spent more time with this group, he grew more experienced. The crux of his missions began in what is now Old Russia's Cosmodrome. The House of Devils struck hard and fast, attempting to impede humans who only wished to flee the invading Darkness. Arxus and many others fought their best, but even their best was not enough. Arxus perished on the end of a Captain's Shock Blade, unable to turn the tide of the army that the Devils had. He died there, watching as colony ships exploded across the sky, blown apart by the Fallen armada hanging in low orbit.

At the dawn of the City Age, Arxus was born anew as a Guardian. Greeted the Ghost known as Grim, he fought his way through the same Devils that had killed him centuries ago. Securing a ship, he was able to return to the City, long after the Darkness had overrun the Sol System. He was eventually accepted under the tutelage of a Twilight Gap veteran named Sylus Marx, who taught Arxus everything he knew. The two became fast friends, beyond their relationship as mentor and student.

### Early Career

Thanks to Sylus, Arxus was able to figure out everything that needed to be known about the City Age. Arxus became recognized as a demolitions expert. Sylus and Arxus, among others formed Fireteam Black; the fireteam would become well known for a famous battle that took place in Old Seattle. The Battle of Old Seattle was an important event that pitted Fireteam Black against the Fallen House of Veils. The House of Veils was known for secretive operations that often flew under the radar from the Vanguard, and became a growing nuisance as time went on.

The Battle of Old Seattle became a critical operation for the Tower. Arxus and his fireteam were able to infiltrate and battle the House of Veils on several fronts before finally cornering their Kell, Arkanz. The Kell of Veils was killed following a battle that lasted several hours, but it ensured that the House of Veils would no longer be a threat. In the aftermath of the battle, the fireteam was ambushed by the Veil's Archon, Ernaz. Sylus lost his life defending Arxus from Ernaz, who quickly fled afterwards. Knowing that the Archon would likely become Kell, it felt more like a defeat than a victory. Sylus was given a proper funeral three days later. In his will, he gifted Arxus his most prized possession; the rocket launcher Gjallarhorn. Unable to properly cope with the loss of his mentor, Arxus left Fireteam Black and became a lone wolf.

The Titan took it upon himself to accept dangerous missions for the Vanguard, ones that no one else would take. These missions often involved breaching heavily fortified areas and extracting information. Not even five months after the Battle of Old Seattle, Arxus found himself infiltrating one of the Devil bases in Old Russia. The place of his death haunted him too much. Though he was able to feed a great deal of information to the Tower, he was eventually captured by the House of Devils. He endured seven grueling days of torture, and lost the sight in his right eye in the process. He was ultimately rescued by another fireteam, but the horrors of those seven days have always stayed with him.

### Pre-Europa Incident

Years later, Arxus had risen to the status that his mentor had before his untimely death. Officially serving the Vanguard as an infiltrator, he was responsible for detailing important information on enemy strongholds and occasionally assassinating high value targets. By the end of the next year, he was a highly decorated Titan among the forces of the Tower. During a routine patrol mission in the Cosmodrome, the young Titan discovered odd items that belonged to an unknown Fallen house. Grim was able to translate some encrypted messages, all which pointed Arxus towards a place beyond the Reef; the frigid ice moon of Europa. He and Grim discovered that this unknown Fallen House was looking for something on that moon. Something that could very well destroy the Last City.

### Europa Incident/House of Storms

Without the Vanguard's consent, Arxus headed out for Europa. Once arriving on the moon, he was greeted by an interesting fellow named Stalker; he claimed to waver between the forces of Light and Darkness. The two struck a deal to investigate a nearby bunker which may have had Fallen activity. The investigation eventually escalated into a three-way battle with the House of Storms, the Vex and Arxus along with a few other Guardians who had arrived on Europa. Arxus, along with a few other Guardians including Orkrim Katesh, Breonn Karizak and Saturn, fought their very best to defeat the incurring forces, but there were too many. It was then that Stalker decided to betray his former allies, causing Orkim to lose his leg to a King Baron, Phoron. Saturn was lost somewhere during the scuffle.

The Guardians were able to escape, and established contact with another Fallen House on Europa; the House of Flames. The Flames had a strong hatred for the Storms, and were willing to help the Guardians fight them. While working with the House of Flames, Arxus met now with another Guardian; a member of the Vanguard named Avgust Sokolov. The four of them set out to claim a nearby relay station and hopefully connect the Tower, or discern some useful Golden Age information. The Guardians were attacked by the Storm Archon, Rhall, but survived thanks to the appearance of Sauron-145. All of them managed to board a nearby tram and escaped the relay station.

Once on the tram, Arxus took control of the vessel and steered the group towards what the House of Storms was looking for; a location called the Frozen Swords. A few other Guardians had arrived, including Chorrin Nitek, one of Orkrim's allies, and Scythe 6-2, a Human who was also Kell to the House of Blades. The tram was destroyed when the newly formed Fireteam Argus was attacked by a Cabal legion, the Storm Juggernauts. The fireteam was forced underground and was attacked by many Hive; Sauron lost his life, but gave the chance for Arxus and the others to escape.

Now outside again, the Frozen Swords were in sight. The fireteam teamed up with both the House of Flames, Storm Juggernauts, and Scythe's House of Blades to finally put an end to the House of Storms. A huge battle took place in the rush to reach the Frozen Swords, but eventually a few of the Guardians managed to breach inside. Once inside, it was revealed that the Swords were actually an Exo manufacturing facility, and it had already been turned on. Arxus and others were forced to fight both Exos and the Storms' forces. Arxus and the rest of the fireteam managed to land several crippling blows on the Storm Archon Rhall, forcing him to make one last desperate move. Threatening to detonate the Exo facility, Arxus and the others managed to escape before it happened. With the facility destroyed, the House of Storms lost their only reason to be on Europa. Their remaining forces soon fled afterwards.

### Ceres Incident/The Bone Wraith

After the events of what became known as the Europa Incident, Arxus finally had time to rest. The battle with Rhall had left him with numerous injuries, including several broken ribs. Taking some time off from his Guardian duties, Arxus granted himself some time to heal his injuries and reflect on past events. Before long, he was back in action. The Tower was already talking about another big threat. The Bones of Enxor as they were called, were an ancient Hive cult who worshiped the Hive God Enxor. It was reported that Enxor once laid waste to Ceres before finally being put out of commission. Now the cult was attempting to restore their God by collecting his bones. After receiving their orders from the Vanguard, Fireteam Argus reunited aboard Scythe 6-2's Blades Ketch, *Teriks-Fel*. It was there that Argus was met with some fresh faces, including the Guardians Jackdaw, Daron and Sara Oray, among others.

The Guardians were eventually split into two fireteams; Avgust remained as leader of Fireteam Argus, with Arxus being named leader of Fireteam Theseus. After a terrible incident involving a derelict Ketch and the death of an ally, the two fireteams split up; Argus to Ceres, and Theseus to Luna, Earth's Moon. With the aid of Eris Morn, both fireteams were able to learn more about the Bones of Enxor. Arxus headed out with Fireteam Theseus and Scythe to prevent the Bones of Enxor from seizing the bones located on Luna. They arrived, dealing with any Hive along the way until descending into the Hellmouth. It was there that they encountered a Hive abomination called Kharot, the Decaying. Theseus eventually prevailed, but half of its members were lost in the ensuing scuffle. Thus beckoned the appearance of The Darkbringer, a corrupted Guardian. Sara's mind was fractured and Scythe was wounded, leaving Arxus to be captured and tortured for information. The Darkbringer was able to discern the location of the Ceres fortress, as well as the members of Argus and Theseus. The corrupt being left Arxus with violent mental images before parting. Arxus was soon rescued by the recently resurrected Sauron and Scythe, before being brought back to the Blades Ketch.

With the help of Bayros, Arxus was able to suppress the mental images. He, with the rest of Argus headed off towards Ceres to stop the resurrection of Enxor. However on their way there, they were intercepted by the Darkbringer's frigate. His followers invaded the Blades Ketch and immediately attempted to take out the engines, but Argus quickly dispatched them. Bayros sneaked aboard the frigate in an attempt to destroy the Darkbringer. As the battle seemed to have been won, a pair of Mausoleum-class Hive vessels appeared and tore the Darkbringer's frigate in half. Meanwhile, thanks to a diversion by the Blades Ketch, Arxus, Varrus, Scythe and Avgust managed to slip past the Hive blockade and reach the Ceres fortress. Arxus made landfall first, running through the front entrance just as the front end of the frigate crashed and blocked it off. Arxus met up with the rest of Argus somewhere in the fortress, and they decided to first deal with the Darkbringer before going onward. Bayros and the Darkbringer were found still alive within the wreckage of the frigate, and by then the Darkbringer had already surpassed the edge of madness. He attempted to fight off Argus but to no avail; consumed by his own insanity, he crumbled up on the floor and accepted his end. Arxus ended him with a shotgun blast to the face. It was revealed that the Darkbringer had been locked in an eternal struggle with his inner darkness the entire time, and death released him from his curse. A projection of his soul thanked Arxus, before he passed on to the afterlife.

After the demise of the Darkbringer, Arxus and Argus headed off further into the fortress. The hive met them in full force, thralls swarming about with acolytes and knights reinforcing their ranks. Grim detected a constant energy pulse emitting from within the fortress, and confirmed that the ritual to revive Enxor had already begun. After defeating one of their ogres, a challenger had appeared to Argus; a Bone Champion came to attack the fireteam. Speaking perfect English, the Knight constantly taunted the fireteam and seemed impervious to their attacks. After taking significant damage, he would simply heal himself and continue fighting. With a sharp eye, Arxus realized that this was no innate skill; 16 pitch-black wizards above them were preforming a ritual to constantly heal the Champion's wounds. Arxus aimed with his Gjallarhorn and quickly took them all out in two rockets. The Champion was slain shortly thereafter, and Argus gained entry into Enxor's chambers.

Enxor's revival had already begun however, and Argus was plunged into the Hive God's throne world. It was there that they were confronted with the Bone Wraith himself. Using strange green crystals, he forced all of the Guardians into nightmares of their own design. Arxus was confronted with the failure to save his mentor, and Sylus appeared to him as a phantom and attacked. Arxus managed to confront his fear and break free of the nightmare, where he and Argus faced down Enxor for the last time. The Hive God proved formidable, but by discovering a weakness, Enxor was able to be slain. As he plunged into his own abyss, his throne world crumbled. Argus managed to escape with just a few seconds to spare, and safely made it off of Ceres. Following the Ceres Incident, Fireteam Argus returned to the City with a fanfare welcome; Avgust was promoted to the Vanguard, and gifted his trusted sidearm Strike One to Arxus. After that, Argus went their separate ways.

### The Taken War

In the aftermath of the Ceres Incident, Arxus struggled with both the nightmares he suffered from the Darkbringer's influence, and the guilt he felt from allowing Theseus to die on the Moon. He parted from the company of Argus and went off on his own, intent on exorcising his own inner demons. Rather than remain idle, he constantly trained himself both physically and mentally. Some months had passed before Earth was presented with a new threat; Oryx, the Taken King arrived in the solar system, bent on avenging the death of his son, Crota. Feeling that he could not just sit by and let this new foe cause chaos, Arxus took up the initiative and played a large role for the duration of the Taken War. This also brought about the mass journey to Mercury, and members of the Titan Order wishing to learn of the old ways. This is where Arxus met with Reina Starbeck, a member of the Cult of Osiris. She proved to be extremely averse to the idea of Guardians even being near her, but she begrudgingly mentored Arxus for a time, teaching him how to become a Sunbreaker.

Following this, Arxus was very active during the course of the Taken War, mostly in being a strike operator. He was not directly involved in defeating Oryx, though did eliminate quite a few of his Echoes. The Taken War only ended up lasting a few months, with heavy causalities on both sides. With all that happened, it did help him cope with his losses. In the end, he was better for it. Arxus emerged a better man and a better Guardian, though occasionally, the nightmares still haunted him deeply. He eventually met Rhys Hannigan as well, a Hunter who had a strong relationship with Cayde-6. Although Rhys disliked the idea of being social, they did eventually begin to get along.

### Mercury Incident/The Repetitive Mind

After Oryx had been defeated, things returned to normal for a time. Arxus assumed the role of Strike Operator and led varied fireteams on precision strikes within the inner solar system. During one of those strikes, he was accompanied by Rhys. His mission led him to the Cosmodrome's Terrestrial Complex, and involved uncovering more about what the House of Kings was up to, but instead found a new threat. This threat showed itself in the form of a new, never before seen Vex programming; The Lupo Prohibition. Introduced first was a Vex unit called the Siren; an agile and menacing Vex assassin. With Rhys' help, Arxus was able to defeat the creature, but its appearance was an ill omen of things to come.

With Rhys tending to business elsewhere, Arxus quickly returned to the Tower to report in. It was there that he was debriefed by Commander Zavala, who told him how dire things had become; the Vex had launched a massive offensive against the inner solar system. Lord Shaxx shared some information as well; with Mercury becoming a massive staging area for the Vex invasion, Guardians were trapped at the Mercury Crucible sites. With a few words from Avgust and Orkrim, Arxus realized that some Guardians he knew were trapped on Mercury, including Sara and Chorrin. Accepting some last minute advice from the newly appointed Vanguard Major, Arxus headed off to Mercury immediately, effectively making himself the new commander of Fireteam Argus.

Arxus arrived on Mercury, and was quick to discover that not only were the Vex jamming transmat signals, but they were launching a heavy assault on The Burning Shrine. Arxus jumped into the fray to save his fellow Guardians, ultimately beating back the large-scale army of the Vex. Among the Guardians at the Burning Shrine, there was Sara, Chorrin and Ferla Tur, a friend of the recently MIA Varrus Vass. The fireteam was joined by Fenrir and Avori, both of which arrived in similar manners to Arxus. Fighting through the immense blockade of Vex, Fireteam Argus eventually arrived at the Lighthouse.

It was there that they were greeted by two Disciples of Osiris, including one Arxus knew; Reina Starbeck and Pariah Vey. Reina refused to acknowledge that she knew Arxus, and instead demanded to know why Fireteam Argus was invading Disciple territory. Reina even threatened to confiscate their weapons and send them on some insane journey in order to gain trust, though her intentions were likely less than pure; plans quickly changed when the Vex launched yet another offensive, this time targeting the Lighthouse. At the head of this invasion force was the formidable Aello, a Vex Hydra with a rail cannon mounted on its head. Using this cannon, Aello managed to destroy a part of the Lighthouse, and killed several Disciples with the blast. Fireteam Argus was forced to fight their way through the Vex front and make it back to the Burning Shrine in order to defeat Aello. The Hydra proved to be a capable foe and commanded a massive army, including Sirens and another new Vex unit, the Cetus; Aello was eventually defeated, as its cumbersome weapon rendered it unable to engage multiple foes simultaneously.

## Trivia

* Arxus Essal is the main character of user Dasleo.
* According to Arxus, he dislikes the Crucible.
* Arxus is the oldest living member of Fireteam Argus, having been present for every single one of their assignments.