Because there isn't much lore on the Fallen and how they work besides the fact they are vaguely insectoid, and have houses and Barons and kells and such, I made up some things to suit the story. I am going to try and place this close to the lore though, since I do find that Destiny has a great universe that simply isn't elaborated enough upon. Anyways, enjoy.


For as long as human memory serves, there has been war. War amongst humans, and war against non-humans. The battles of darkness against light, and wars of survival. But now, what is there but the war torn, the scattered remnants of once great cities, their majesty lost to time and strife. That is all that was left in the wake of war, but not all that came after. From the depths of space, they came. The houses of the Fallen, here to pillage and claim all that had once been humanity's great achievements in the stars. In the wake of our great collapse and the fall of the Traveler, the Fallen came in their ships, their Ketches to seize all they could of humanity. The Fallen claim to be mercenaries and guns for hire, yet they fight us with a dogmatic fanaticism that the dictators of history would thirst for with an unbearable hunger. Yet they did not find an easy battle, no perfect slaughter for them to lord over. Instead they found the Guardians, and the Guardians showed them death.

But even with the many strikes against the Fallen, the Guardians are few and precious, each of their lights a shield against the inevitable return of the darkness. With the healing of the Traveler however, their light grows ever brighter, but they remain few. The forces of the Cabal, the Vex, the Fallen, and the Hive still tower over our lights with their darkness. But even in the darkness, there is light. For without the light, there would be no darkness.


High above the surface of the moon, the Hell-Mouth an insignificant speck far below, hung the Ketch of the House of Winter. Deep within the bowels of the ship, a heated voice raged.

"We cannot continue on as we have! We will all die! There will be no more House, no more Servitors, and no Kell!" A voice roared in the dimly lit room.

The command deck of the ship hung deep within the belly of the Ketch, allowing it to be protected within, though while it was safe from outside attack, fighting within would be just as deadly. The dim lights flickered for a moment before brightening again to reveal the inhabitants. Six different Fallen stood around a table, a holographic map of the surface of the moon gently glowing in the midst of their meeting. The Fallen who had spoken wore the unmistakable marks of a baron, his heavy cloak hanging over his shoulders and falling low, almost to touch the cold metal of the ship floor below. The duel blades hanging from his waist a sign of his skill and power. The others around him appeared similarly, all dressed in the garbs of their house, yet they all remained silent.

Unperturbed the baron continued on with his heated words. "At our very doorstep lay both the Hive, and the Vex! The blasted humans continue to hound our efforts as well! Our attempt to rescue the priest only led to his death, and more losses of both troops and servitors!" The baron's glowing blue eyes swept across the room, the optical quad stopping on each of the other barons before he let out a breath and continued on after the silence had once more filled the room. His voice softened as he spoke once more. "We are starving. Our god has died long ago. The other houses will not save us, they would only take what is left of use from our dead fingers."

"And what do you know of the other houses!?" An angry female voice suddenly spoke out from the far right of the room. One of the barons stepping forward, eyes softly glowing with rage held back, not out of fear, but out of respect. "Baron Vaxis, you do not know the other houses. You spend all your time below, stuck in craters and dead ruins. You barely know your own house! This is only the second time we have even seen you, all of us. You should not even hold your own rank!" The female baron growled deep within her helmet. The heavy cuts and scratches along her armor indication of many hard fought battles, and not all of them victory.

"Baron Kilxis, enough." A deep voice boomed from the left side of the table. A massive form of another baron stood slowly from his seated position. Climbing to his feet, the heavily armored baron of old let out a heavy breath before his eyes fixed upon first Baron Kilxis and then fell upon Baron Vaxis. "Vaxis, while you have proven yourself, and while what you say has truth, we have in the past known the kindness of our brethren. For it was the house of Devils who helped us in our attempts to rescue the Archon Priest. While they did request recompense, we would have done the same in their position. Sepikis-3 was our only god, yet it fell long ago, and there was no evidence to say that the priest would have been able to revive our fallen lord. Yet, if he had we would have been once more upon the path to glory." The old Baron said, his voice filling the entire room with his presence, despite the softness of his actual tone. "So please, do not so easily place us alone without allies."

Silence once more filled the room as the old Baron looked back and forth between Vaxis and Kilxis. However before the old Baron could continue onwards, another voice spoke. A voice that would send a chill down the spine of even a Guardian. A shorter Baron than the rest stepped forward into the light and shifted the attention unto him. His armor a darker color than the others, almost a solid metallic grey. His cape ragged and torn from uncaring use and his armor bore almost no scars or scratches. "We could perhaps… seek out the one who long ago led us to these planets. The ones the House of Devils hold in such high… regard." His oily voice trailed off as his arms clasped behind his back.

Baron Vaxis narrowed his glowing eyes and folded his lower set of arm while he pointed at the speaker with his upper right arm. "Baron Arcanis, while you are our equal, you speak of something none of us understand. You propose something that could be our undoing and not our salvation. So with the respect of a fellow baron, be silent." While Vaxis kept his voice steady, the unspoken hatred was palpable.

"Coming from you Vaxis, that means little." Kilxis said with a scowl easily heard within her words. The passive neutrality of their armor and clothing may have fooled an outsider into thinking they spoke as equals, but the hatred and rivalries of the Fallen hierarchy raged just as strongly among the House of Winter as among the other houses.

Vaxis ignored his fellow Baron and continued unabashed. "It may be time we consider an ally outside of our own." Kilxis let out a cackle and looked at him, her upper arms crossing while her lower arms rested on her hips. "Who? The Cabal? THE VEX!? The very Hive itself?! You have clearly lost your mind if you think to find allies among them. They would prefer to destroy us, not ally with us. The only one willing to listen would be the Cabal, and their legion would use us as slaves before all else." Kilxis said with barely restrained rage.

Vaxis closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Yes, he had thought about all of it. The hive lived… or un-lived, depending on how you looked at them, only to serve their god; that blasted sword wielding monster Crota. The Cabal would only use them as slave labor in their military machine called an empire. The Vex would attempt to destroy them as they always did, and their own brethren… He had secretly been trying to form alliances with the other houses to little avail. The others would either benefiting from their destruction and claim both the moon and Venus as their territory, or they would only assist them if they became vassals of their house. Vaxis knew the other barons of winter would never allow that. He himself would rather die than lose his houses honor. But if his house died because he refused to assist it out of stubborn pride. That left them with two possible factions. The awoken could not be trusted. After what they had done to the house of wolves… Vaxis refused to try and form any sort of bond with them save for his blade connecting with their monstrous queen's neck. That left…

"The Guardians."

Stunned silence filled the room as every baron's gaze fell upon Vaxis. Kilxis made a strangled chocking noise as though her ability to speak had been stolen by Vaxis' statement. The old baron simply gazing at him in thoughtful silence. Arcanis had apparently been shocked into a complete stupor, as he simply stood their gazing at Vaxis as though his second pair of arms had suddenly become wooden and started talking.

The hiss of a blade leaving is sheath filled the silence as Vaxis leapt backwards to avoid being skewered by the strike aimed for his heart. Baron Kilxis was advancing on him, her eyes glowing with fury and her voice shaking with rage beyond control. "You would enslave us to the human like the House of Wolves to the Awoken!? You are mad, you must be put down, and I will take pleasure in making you silent!" The female roared angrily.

Vaxis growled deep within his chest and drew his blades before starting to stalk towards Kilxis who had her own blades poised to strike and stood her ground, more than eager to meet her rival's blade with her own. "Try it. See why I have never lost an arm." Vaxis warned with venom dripping from his words.

Before the two could cross blades however, Arcanis once more spoke. "He may be mad, but he is right about one thing. None of the other races will help us, and the other houses would use our death to their advantage. However, there is another force besides the guardians we could seek out. But before you two gut each other, we need to handle the matter most pressing. We have no Kell, and no Servitor. With the death of Draksis, we are left with a power vacuum that must be filled before we are able to move forward. And only the Kell could choose for the house what is best."

Kilxis stopped her advance on Vaxis and looked at Arcanis. "And who would be this new kell?" Suspicion filling her voice as she looked at the smallest Baron. The three other barons who had been speaking softly amongst themselves stepped forward. The three seemed to move in unison and held themselves at the same height and surety of one who knew his victory was assured.

Arcanis turned to the three and the smile could be heard on his voice. "Barons Ix, Klix and Nix. Do you have a thought for this matter?" The trio glanced at each other before speaking in unison. "A new Kell must be chosen, and we must find allies." The three turned to the older Baron who had once more taken his seat. "We elect for Baron Arcanis to become Kell." Vaxis and Kilxis stopped in unison and turned to look at the shorter baron in their midst.

Vaxis felt his anger grow even higher as he turned to face his fellow Baron, his grip on his blades growing tighter still. "Never!" However it wasn't the voice of Vaxis who spoke, but the voice of Kilxis who cried out in anger. The only living female baron of the House of Winter exuded rage like a physical cloud of hate. "You would led us into the darkness of the beyond and find for ourselves only death and corruption!" Vaxis blinked at her in shock and surprise, from the looks of it Arcanis was just as surprised by her outburst.

"You side with Vaxis?" He asked in confusion.

She let out a harsh laugh that sounded more like a mechanical coughing hack than an attempt at laughter. Her eyes trained on Arcanis for a moment before she shook her head. "Oh no, I hate Vaxis, but I hate you more. You conniving worm, you do not battle, you have your underlings do it for you, you have no honor to speak of, and if not for Draksis having his use for you, I would have slit your cowardly throat long ago for all your scheming."

Vaxis stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and looking back at Arcanis. "You will not control the House, Arcanis. You are not one who is worthy of leading the Fallen to our rightful glory. You would even forsake the gods who give us our very life in your quest for power. We all know you spend your nights trying to dissect our once proud god. Were it not for your rank, we would have silenced you long ago."

Arcanis simply chuckled and waved a hand like one who was simply swatting away one of the insufferable earth creatures known as flies. "It matters little what you think Baron Vaxis. Unless you have someone elect you to candidate, you will be silent. This is a matter of tradit-"

"Be silent insect." But it wasn't the voice of Vaxis or Kilxis who interrupted Arcanis, but instead the voice of the old Baron.

"Baron Tyran I-" Arcanis was once again cut off by Tyran. "Shut up before I cut off your head and mount it on one of my drop ships. While tradition cannot be ignored, I will not have you and your lackeys take control simply by having three Barons under you thumb." He glared at the silent trio who stood calmly behind Arcanis. How he had convinced all of them to support him he couldn't guess; he knew the triplet barons were all of one opinion, but they were normally a stubborn lot and disliked speaking with anyone but each other.

"I elect Vaxis as future Kell." Baron Tyran said calmly as he stood up from his seat.

"What!?" The voice of Kilxis cried out in outrage. "Baron Tyran while I agree with not making Aranis Kell, Vaxis is-"

Tyran cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Kilxis, we will talk about this later, but just believe me when I say that Vaxis is our best choice. I am too old to lead with the fervent need that Draksis did, and nor do I have the charisma of Draksis either. However, I know that making you Kell, Arcanis," His gaze fixed back on the other Baron, "would be a mistake. So I move to make Vaxis Kell of Winter. As father of the lower house of frost, I cast my two votes for both Draksis, as he is not alive to choose a successor and as my own vote to Vaxis."

Vaxis looked at the old baron in surprise and a great deal of respect, and when he spoke, there was a smile in his voice. "Thank you Baron Tyran."

"Don't let it get to you, I am doing this for the good of the house, not because I think you are worthy of this position. You're just the only one who is good enough to fill it at the moment." The old baron let out a sigh and sat back down. "So that's three votes to two. Kilxis, your vote is all that is left."

The female Baron could be heard grinding the blade of her sword against the table in frustration. It was clear she didn't like the position she was in, as she clearly despised both individuals. However, she knew the right choice, even if she hated to admit it. "My vote… goes to Vaxis." She growled, practically chewing each word before spitting it out.

"Then its three to three and we have no successor." Arcanis could be heard scowling with every word he spoke. "We are at an impasse." The room fell silent once more as the barons all looked at each other, none able to speak as there were no words to be said.

"Where is Baron Grayliks then, he was called to the meeting and his vote is needed?" Kilxis queried as she took her place once again, her gazed fixed on the map of the moon.

The hissing of the door to the room opening slid open and a captain came in sprinting in, the indication of his status clear by his dramatic decrease in size compared to the Barons. The Captain glanced around the room before speaking, his voice loud and carrying so that all could hear. "News. Baron Grayliks, Winter Baron, is dead. His cloak has been recovered and his successor named." Footsteps could be heard coming towards the command room as a slim captain entered the room, a female, wearing the heavy cloak of Baron Grayliks. "I present to you, Baron Grayliks daughter. Leska'vas. The new Baron Grayliks." The captain bowed and left the room, the door shutting behind him, leaving only the barons in the room. Their towering forms casting a shadow that fell firmly upon Leska'vas. The female captain looked pathetic in comparison to the other Barons, but only because her body had yet to undergo the growth process that only a baron would receive.

Baron Tyran chuckled softly as he looked at the new comer. "Fancy that. Looks like the Servitors are looking out for us today. Well then Baron Grayliks, we will have to perform the proper ceremonies and such, but at the moment we have a pressing issue that must be decided now."

She spoke up at that point, the new baron amongst the elder ones. "I know, I was informed already."

Vaxis blinked in surprise and asked the question all of them were suddenly very curious about. "How did you know?"

Grayliks looked at him and he could feel her smiling under her helmet. "I have eyes and ears everywhere Baron Vaxis. I know about what you proposed, and about what Baron Arcanis counter proposes. But the problem of starvation remains. While that unknown being who lead us, in our height to the human city of Carcaras was great, it has long since left. Our god has fallen, and our servitors grow less each day. Only one other faction has the ether we need, and that is the Guardians. I cast my vote with Vaxis."

Baron Arcanis narrowed his eyes though he remained silent. Tyran let out a sigh and stood to his feet once more, both sets of his arms spreading wide as he looked at Vaxis. "Then, as decided by the will of the council of Barons, we name you Baron Vaxis, Kell of the House of Winter. Lead us as you see fit, Kell."

Vaxis looked around the room at each Baron in turn. He looked at Tyran, feeling the old Fallen's strength, he looked at Baron Kilxis and felt her fury, he looked at the Trio, felt their unison, he looked at Arcanis and felt his knowledge, and he looked at Grayliks, and felt her youth. He slammed his blade into the ground and pointed at the holographic display.

"We head for earth. Let's go see if the Guardians are willing to listen to us."


High above The City, the glory of the Traveler once more starting to return to the land, The Tower stood watch. In his office at the very top, the speaker calmly read over a report of a strike team that had taken down a Vex network on Mars. Suddenly alarms began to blare through the entire tower, and Guardians began to race about, guns drawn and yelling orders. The Speaker stood up from his seat, and calmly descended the stairs and stopped one of the passing Guardians, a large Titan, dressed for war.

"What is going on?" He asked the Titan calmly.

"It's the Fallen sir. The House of Winter, their Ketch just dropped out of warp next to the city." He responded without a hint of fear in his voice, but instead the bitter determination that came from constant fighting.

The Speaker nodded to the guardian and allowed him to race off to his post. The robed man slowly walked to the balcony looking out across The City and The Traveler. In the distance he could see the shape of the Fallen Vessel. The massive interplanetary ship hovering in place on the far side of the City. Yet, the Traveler didn't react. The Speaker knew that while it was still healing, it would allow no harm to befall humanity while it still had power. Yet it didn't stir from its slumber in the face of such a threat. Tapping his fingers on the railing of the balcony, The Speaker hummed softly. Things were about to get very interesting, that was for certain.


So yeah, I dunno why, but I just remember thinking to myself, A house divided... hey the Fallen are organized by houses. And so this popped into my head. I think it turned out well for a first chapter. I think. But if anything crops up let me know, as learning helps one grow. Comments and reviews appreciated.