The Ruiner

The Ruiner

**Hadil Ainu**-- more infamously known by her sobriquet **"The Ruiner"**-- was a Reefborn Awoken Titan notorious for her implacability in combat and willingness (and eagerness) to slaughter anyone in her path. She had previously served the Warlord Citan during the Dark Age, and later joined the Shadows of Yor and then the Shadows of Salvation, where she took the moniker **Dredgen Ruin**. She met her final death during the Battle of Eventide after falling into a pool of radiolarian lava. Her Ghost's name is Tishina.

#### Appearance

Ainu was a tall Awoken woman-- just over two meters tall-- of muscular build and fearsome demeanor. Her dark hair was shaved to the scalp, leaving her bald, and she sported a vertical stripe tattoo across her left eye. She was known for smiling at people, or at least showing her teeth.

She wore typical Titan armor, especially those with broad shoulder pauldrons, and favored helmets with a V-shaped visor in front. At the time of her final death, she appeared to be deliberately evoking the appearance of Dredgen Yor by wearing armor of the Devastation Complex line, with an Ancient Apocalypse Helm.

#### Personality

Outside of combat situations, Ainu frequently projected a detached air, with few social skills and not much interest in socialization. She had a "flat effect" to her mode of speaking and would not relate well with people, appearing flatly bewildered by their attempts at socializing with her. That being said, she was also known to seem almost arrogantly smug when others would attempt to impose authority on her or threaten her, and would at that point almost mockingly toe the line. She could be provocative in her behavior at this point, as if to goad others into making a move. She was fond of smiling at people in these circumstances, but the smile was effectively 'in name only,' as it would come across more like a wild animal baring its teeth.

In combat situations, Ainu came alive. She exhibited a complete disregard for any injury she suffered, barely even showing pain, while relentlessly pursuing her targets, making her a terrifying enemy to face. She played up the psychological effect she had on her enemies by having her Ghost hack any nearby speaker system or tannoy to play distorted music, or just have her Ghost play the music themself if none were available. In this manner, enemies who were aware of her reputation would frequently panic upon hearing it.

Ainu was bloodthirsty in seeking conflict, and was heard to express disdain for the Crucible, calling it a "watered-down, sanitized version of war," preferring battles where both she and her opponents could go all-out, "the kind of battles that leave craters behind."

#### History

Few details are available about Hadil Ainu's early life in the Light. Limited information received from Reefborn Awoken suggests that in her first life, she had departed from the Reef to come to Earth to "uplift the mud-crawlers we left behind." No details are available on how her first death came about, but based on second-hand information, it came at the hands of a full Fallen raiding party, after a fight which resulted in mutual destruction between the two sides. Details are likewise sparse about where Ainu was first resurrected, but it is assumed to be somewhere in the territory that would latterly fall under the dominion of the Warlord Citan.

After resurrection, Ainu reclaimed her former life's name from limited data left over from the nearby Reefborn Awoken ship wreckage, and would later end up serving as a Warlord under Citan, functioning as a roving enforcer, targeting any settlements or groups of people that refused to pay tribute to Citan. Ainu was specifically sent to destroy those who had defied him too much, leaving nothing but rubble and destruction in her wake, which led to her sobriquet of "**The Ruiner**."

Ainu was stopped in her rampage during the late Dark Age by the Iron Lords, defeated by Efrideet, Felwinter, and Acheron. She was offered a chance to swear by the Iron Decree, and after hearing that Citan had been killed, she did so, but it was known she would flout the Decree and continue her rampages, but her activities were largely away from larger settlements, and she frequently targeted Fallen encampments and lairs, and was therefore left alone.

By the City Age, she made few visits to the Last City, usually only in search of supplies she otherwise could not get by looting, and to take part in the occasional Crucible match, and later in Gambit activities. Eventually her destructive behavior and antipathy toward the Vanguard led to her unofficial exile from the City. Her refusal to abide by Vanguard directives and her love of carnage made her an easy convert for the Shadows of Yor-- under whom she took the name **Dredgen Ruin**-- and then into the orbit of Dredgen Cull, and later still into the radical sect led by Dredgen Bog, the Shadows of Salvation. In this latter cohort, the Ruiner was again an enforcer and general protective force while they set about gathering materiel. From accounts and recorded conversations, later corroborated from interrogation of her Ghost, Ainu genuinely did not ascribe to their philosophy, but went with them because it promised to give her a chance to do as she will against anyone she pleased.

The arrival of the Black Fleet led to Ainu becoming one of numerous Lightbearers to wield Stasis, frequently wielding it in conjunction with her Solar fire. While with the Shadows of Salvation, Ainu would receive a bespoke auto rifle from Magda-9, the Malleus Luminarum, and was responsible for the death of a Hunter of the Praxic Order that had attempted to apprehend her. The activities of Ainu and the rest of her cohort resulted in a fireteam being assembled by Wahei Ohr to track and take them down, ultimately accomplished within the ruins of Eventide upon the Jovian moon Europa. Ainu fell in her Final Death after the combined efforts of multiple Guardians, her body pronounced as unrecoverable from radiolarian lava beneath the Eventide Ruins. Her Ghost was captured by Donovan Morgan and turned over to the Praxic Order.

#### Abilities

**Light Mastery:** Ainu had developed all known Titan abilities, but tended to favor channeling Solar Light. She was able capable of switching between the types of Light on the fly.

**Flaming Axes:** While wielding Solar Light, Ainu tended to shape it into axes instead of hammers, even swinging a greataxe instead of a maul when casting a super.

**Stasis User:** Ainu learned how to wield Stasis after the arrival of the Black Fleet, and did so with impunity. She would frequently use it in conjunction with Solar Light. She preferred to throw Stasis javelins (Diamond Lances) while using Stasis.

**Close Quarters Monster:** Ainu was extremely deadly in close-quarters combat, owing to years of experience fighting and breaking enemies with her bare hands. This is in addition to the abilities listed below.

**Implacable:** Ainu had extremely high resilience and recovery talents, allowing her to endure serious wounds without slowing her advance or attacks. She would frequently show no sign of pain while doing so.

**Fast Reaction:** Ainu's reaction time was extremely fast, adding an extra danger to close quarters combat.

#### Equipment

Ainu was predominately known for wielding auto rifles (for rate of fire), slug shotguns (for stopping power), and heavy machine guns (for shock and awe), and did not particularly favor anything in particular. She had two pieces in her arsenal that are worth noting here:

**Thorn:** As a Shadow of Yor, Ainu was given a replica of the infamous Weapon of Sorrow by Magda-9.

**Malleus Luminarum:** A custom auto rifle derived from a Khvostov 7G and modified with Hive components by Magda-9, this weapon could suppress paracausal power (especially the Light) with repeated hits.

### Author Notes

Her name was derived from Arabic, "Hadil" meaning "cooing" (as of doves), and was chosen specifically for the irony. As time went on, the Ruiner was used to represent "The Hardcase," as from the titular blue set of Titan armor, attributing the various quotes of the set to her, by having her quote them during *The Wahei Transcripts*.