Holden Cross

* Face
* Helmet
* Gryphon

### Affiliation

> *"Let me tell you this: I've come back to make things right. I will stand and I will fight for you." -Holden Cross*
>
>

**Holden Cross** is a character that appears in For Honor's singleplayer campaign, and later as the Hero class, the Gryphon.

## Overview

Cross is the second-in-command of the Blackstone Legion, led by Apollyon. He first appears in the Knight's story campaign mission Warlords and Cowards, where he and a detachment of Blackstone troops have set out to punish a warlord named Hervis Daubeny for stealing and deserting the Legion. Cross chooses to call out Daubeny, and when he refuses to appear he attacks Daubeny's castle with his army. After breaching the castle, he challenges Daubeny to trial by combat. When Daubeny declines, calling such a duel "an execution", Cross presents Ademar as his second, prompting Daubeny to do the same with The Warden. When The Warden wins the duel, Cross knights and inducts them into the Blackstone Legion using Daubeny's sword, giving them that sword and throwing Daubeny The Warden's old sword in the process, before leaving with his troops.

Later, Cross leads the charge against the gates of Valkenheim and executes the survivors. When he's about to execute Ragnar however, Apollyon stops him and, impressed by Ragnar's strength, lets him go. Afterwards, Cross helped invade Svengård.

Several years later, he would defect and join The Warden and the Iron Legion against his former comrades and helped lead the siege on The Blackstone Fortress. In the years after Apollyon's fall, he would represent the Knights in The Warden's place, discussing with Ayu and Stigandr about how to bring peace to Heathmoor.

### Mercenary Years

Not many knew that the Lord Warden was the only Knight who believed in Holden’s repentance. Even if he had turned against Apollyon, most people across Heathmoor still remembered Holden Cross as 'Asmodai', the demonic Blackstone Lord. When the Lord Warden went missing fifteen years ago, Knights in the Iron Legion used Holden as a scapegoat and turned their backs on him. Holden decided to leave the order of the Lawbringers altogether and tried to live as a civilian in Ashfeld. As he felt rejected by his own kin and purposeless, he sank into despair for a while, until a mercenary asked him to join her guild.

Together they traveled all across Heathmoor. In Valkenheim, most warriors did not share Stigandr's views and tried to kill Holden hundreds of times. In the Myre, the benevolent Ayu could not shield Holden from the many enemies he still had there. Even in farther territories that are still unknown to most warriors in Heathmoor, it took more than ten years of hiding, fighting for all factions as a mercenary before people began to trust Holden again. As he made amends and grew wiser, his new friends among the mercenary guild rechristened him. The old lion was not just a blind beast shackled by violent ideals anymore; he had gained wings to save those in need. 'Gryphon' was born.

When the Warmongers revealed themselves and the Corruption, Gryphon tried to remain in the shadows at first. But seeing his friends joining the rebellions against the Horkos drove him to action. As the Chimera Alliance grew stronger, it became clear they needed someone who knew the enemy from the inside and out. Someone who could lead the charge against these tyrants. At long last, Gryphon knew that his troubled past could now be used for a good cause.

## Personality

Apollyon describes Cross as a 'practical man of limited ambition but of endless talent'. Years in battle have given him enough experience that Daubeny considered a one-on-one duel against him as "an execution". Despite allying himself with a group that seeks to create a never-ending war between all three factions, Cross is an honorable individual that keeps his promises no matter how much he resents it.

## Trivia

* It is common practice for the leaders of the Blackstone Legion to choose demon names. Cross chose Asmodai, but he no longer uses it and prefers his given name.
	+ In Talmudic legends, Asmodai is the King of the Nine Hells and one of the seven princes of Hell.
* Holden's armor is a rather strange combination, with his helmet and chestpiece being the default (Dheneb) armor, and his arms being fully unique. His Poleaxe is simply the Linebeck set.
* He is one of the few characters in the campaign whose face is completely visible at some point.
* During arcade quests, Holden can appear as a unique enemy, either on his own or with other enemies.
* Holden Cross, and consequently any Hero related to him (Lawbringer and Gryphon) is voiced by Evan Buliung.
* In the Gryphon Hero Offer bundle released as an early access for the Gryphon's release, there is an exclusive ornament called "Holden's Crest." This ornament is the same Lion ornament that are on Holden Cross's own shoulder pauldrons when he was still a Lawbringer.

## References

1. ↑ Warlords and Cowards mission, Holden Cross Observable
2. ↑ Warlords and Cowards mission, Transcript
3. ↑ Thinning the Herd mission, Demon Names Observable