originally posted in:Collective Of Knowledge
View Entire Topic
Welcome, one and all, to my analysis of the possibility of a new Fallen House in the Destiny Universe. To begin, allow me to list the Houses that we currently know of:
+Devils- Kell, Archon, and Prime Servitor destroyed.
+Kings- Kell, Archon, and Prime Servitor unknown.
+Exiled*- No leadership.
+Winter- Kell destroyed, Prime Servitor and Archon found only in Grimoire.
+Wolves- Kell(s) destroyed, Prime Servitor destroyed (multiple times), Archon destroyed (Aksor, Archon Priest)
+Judgement- Only surviving member is Variks, a House scribe
+Rain- eradicated(?): in charge of prophecies and maintaining order.
*note: Exiled is not a House recognized by the Fallen: it is a group of disgraced Fallen who have formed their own House.
The last three Houses on this list were brought to the attention of the Destiny community with the House of Wolves Expansion. The Wolves are fought directly, Judgement aids you in your quest, and Rain is mentioned in the margins of Grimoire and Quest descriptions.
With the arrival of the Taken King Expansion, however, there have been rumors of a new Fallen House, which may or may not be present within the game. The greatest source of data regarding this "new House" is found in the King's Fall Raid weapons, specifically the Doom of Chelchis Scout rifle, which I shall be focusing on for this analysis.
The scout rifle, which is adorned in the style of the Oryx Raid (spiky bone and marrow) gives the following description:
[quote]"Where is the Great Machine? Where is the Great Machine?" -Chelchis, Kell of Stone.[/quote]
Fallen lore-hounds will likely notice the reference to the Great Machine, which was what the Fallen called the Traveler when it resided on their homeworld. This sets the timeframe for this quote: before or during the Whirlwind (the Fallen's version of the Collapse), on the Eliksni (Fallen) homeworld, just after the Traveler's sudden departure.
Focus on the speaker: Chelchis, Kell of Stone. This is where much of the debate regarding this new House has originated. Many have argued that because Chelchis is the Kell of Stone, there must be a Fallen House of Stone. Well, not necessarily.
Here's what we do know: Chelchis is a true Kell. Kell's names tend to end in an -is, as is seen through Draxis (Winter Kell, killed by you) and Solkis (Devil Kell, killed by Saint-14). The only exceptions to this rule are the Kells of the Wolves, which end in -as (e.g. Skolas and Virixas). So, due to Chelchis's name, and his title of Kell, we can discern that Chelchis is, in fact, an actual Kell.
However, is Chelchis the Kell over the House of Stone -- furthermore, is there a House of Stone? To determine this, we'll need to delve into the most interesting subject of all time: [i]grammar![/i]
We have only technically encountered two Kells in the playable world of Destiny: Draxis and Skolas. These Kells, and their titles, will be instrumental in determining the existence of the House of Stone.
For starters, let's look at Draxis. As seen in this picture [url=http://orcz.com/images/thumb/b/b2/Destiny_Draksis,_Winter_Kell.jpg/400px-Destiny_Draksis,_Winter_Kell.jpg]here[/url], Draksis's title is listed as follows: "Draksis, Winter Kell." Hold on to this piece of information before I make my big reveal.
Now, let's take a quick look at Skolas. As seen in this picture [url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sQgbw4AGXIE/maxresdefault.jpg]here[/url], Skolas's title is listed as follows: "Skolas, Kell of Kells."
Look at Skolas's title: even though he technically gave it to himself, it is a legitimate title from Fallen lore: a title of honor. That said, Skolas is not the Kell of the House of Kells: the phrase "Kell of Kells" is used to describe his attributes -- it can be interpreted as "the Kell over all Kells."
Now look back at Draksis's title. Draksis, who is the Kell over the House of Winter, has the title "Winter Kell." [i]Not[/i] "Kell of Winter." Judging from this comparison, the official title for the Kell over a House is " [u]Name[/u], [u]House[/u] Kell," not " [u]Name[/u], Kell of [u]House[/u]." Because, again, Skolas is not the Kell of the House of Kells, but Draxis is the Kell of the House of Winter.
Finally, apply this general grammatical tool to Chelchis, [i]Kell of Stone[/i]. His title follows the Skolas outline, meaning it is a description of him, rather than a statement of his position in a House. His name reads as "Chelchis, Kell who is like Stone," not "Chelchis, Kell of the House of Stone." It's kind of like how Margaret Thatcher is known as the "Iron Lady;" she's a Lady steadfast like Iron, and Chelchis is a Kell steadfast as Stone.
Because "Kell of Stone" is a description of Chelchis's attributes, not his leadership over a House, there is no proof of there actually being a House of Stone.
All this does is raise more questions, however. What is the full nature of Fallen politics? What was Chelchis actually the Kell of? Personally, I think Chelchis was a high-Kell of some sort: not necessarily the Kell of Kells, but basically the head of all the Fallen. Imagine the Speaker, but for Fallen. This would explain why his question of "Where is the Great Machine?" is more important than the questions of any other Fallen: he is important, and therefore, his words have impact.
Let me know what you think of this analysis in the comments. Throw your own theories out there: get thinking, make theories, etc. Heck, I invite you to disprove my theory, as long as it gets the conversation flowing.
[b]TL;DR[/b]: Chelchis was a stone-like Kell, but there is no House of Stone.
-
King's kell is still alive