Aviksis led his band--Keirvik, Rixhell, and Harkon--back to the throne room of the Thieve's Den. Many other dregs, vandals, and servitors were already waiting for them. The crowd cheered as the, still suffering, Aviksis walked towards his old throne. He rubbed his lower hand across the armrest, but seemed to refuse to sit down. "I am no longer Kell... I lost that title to the bas****, Avilon... But, I plan to earn back such an honor..." "Aviksis, you are still the rightful Kell to us," Rixhell said as he bowed down to the Eliksni. Everyone else bowed down too; except for Harkon, the Awoken was picking his nose. "A skiff approaches!" A vandal cried as he ran to the small malitia. "Bio-scan it. How many is on board?" Aviksis asked. Servitors stared up at the sky and tracked the ship. It gave off loud, incoherent growls and gurgles. "It says there is just one: the pilot," a vandal said to the Kell. "Then, that must be Avilon," Aviksis declared as he clenched his fists. "Good, we can take him!" Rixhell said proudly. "Surround the docking port!" He ordered to some vandals. "No!" Aviksis shouted. "There is no honor in such odds. It will either be one againt one, or a hundred against a hundred more!" Rixhell stared in disbelief, but he finally waved his unit back. "What are your wishes, my Kell?" He asked. Aviksis thought. "Relay a message," he ordered. Servitors prepared to transmit a signal to the skiff. "My Kell! There is a message for you!" A dreg pilot shouted. Avilon, who was sitting alone in the cabin, looked up in shock. He walked up to the cockpit and placed one of his arms on the chair. "Play it," he demanded. The dreg played the recording. [i]"Avilon, it is I, Aviksis: former Kell of Thieves. I am giving you a window of opportunity to decide your fate. You can either duel me for Kellship, or you can call down your followers from the Ketch and allow the House to ultimately destroy itself... But be warned, if you dock without transmitting an answer, you will be walking into a trap, and will be killed..."[/i] Avilon growled. "Tell Kolrisi to bring down every available dreg, vandal, and captain from! That! ketch!... Have them wait outside the Den..." "Yes, my Kell," the dreg replied. It pressed a button on the dash and relayed the exo's message to the ketch. Moments later, Avilon pressed the same button himself. "Aviksis, I accept your challenge. What are your terms?" "Fight to the death; anything goes. Everyone knows you bear the gift of the Great Machine, Avilon, so if that's what it takes to kill me, so be it... But only one of us will leave that arena alive..." the speaker said back. Avilon made a swallowing noise after hearing the message. His yellow, shining eyes darted around as he processed Aviksis' demands. "We are nearing the Den, my Kell," the pilot said. Avilon snapped out of his daze, then walked back to his seat in the skiff. "Avilon accepted my challenge. Stay your blades," Aviksis ordered. All of the Eliksni that gathered at the docking bay retreated into the Den. "But my Kell?! You just doomed yourself! The Great Machine gives Avilon immense power! Are you mad?!" Rixhell exclaimed. "I do not believe Avilon truly wields the Great Machine's power. I think it is simply trickery," Aviksis replied as he sat down on the throne. "He is a machine-god! How else could he achieve apotheosis without the Great Machine's blessing?!" Rixhell questioned. "Much like Taniks and Aksis. He has learned a way to meld his mind with technology..." Aviksis answered calmly. "So, he is not the machine of prophesy?" Rixhell asked. "I fear not," the Kell replied. Soon, Avilon's skiff docked in the rocky cave entrance. He stepped off of the ship and walked straight to the throne room. The gate opened, and the exo looked around to see several Eliksni with vicious hate in their eyes. "Aviksis. I suppose I should have killed you when I had the opportunity..." "Would not change their decision," the tall creature replied in English. "I suppose not..." Avilon turned to the other Fallen in the chamber. "Ku'ma! Ku'ma!" He shouted. Some of the Eliksni flinched, but they clenched their weapons tightly. "Hi, Bright Eyes!" Harkon yelled as he waved his hand like a little kid on a sugar high. Avilon just slanted his eyes and shook his head. "Avilon, you agreed to fight me again?" Aviksis asked in Eliksni. "I have," the exo replied, also in Eliksni. The massive Fallen stood up from his throne. Avilon was forced to look up; Aviksis was nearly twice as tall as the Guardian. "Take him to the arena," Aviksis said to Rixhell. Once again, the two competitors faced off. The crowd of Fallen watched anxiously as the Eliksni and Guardian walked in a circle. Aviksis ran in, swords swinging. Avilon stepped to the side, and blocked the attacks. Aviksis knocked the exo in the face and swung again. The exo was quick to block those strikes too. Avilon took two jabs at the Eliksni's stomach. Both were deflected by well placed swords. The Guardian tried to slice the Fallen's knees, but Aviksis box jumped over the blade. On either side of the opponents were large rocks. Avilon jumped from one, to the other, and kicked Aviksis across his jaw. The Eliksni fell to the ground. Aviksis wiped away the blood in his mouth with the back of his hand before standing back up. The Eliksni ran up one rock and jumped onto the exo. He pinned Avilon onto the ground, swords inches from his neck. Avilon had caught Aviksis' arms and struggled to hold the swords away. Aviksis gasped. He had lost strength in his body. He tumbled off of Avilon and sat on his knees while Avilon got back to his feet. Aviksis ripped a shock dagger out of his ribs, then let it slip from his fingers. This was very similar to how Avilon became Kell, and that was exactly what Aviksis wanted. Suddenly, Aviksis whipped out a pistol and shot Avilon's two swords, shattering the blades. Avilon had no weapon, but his opponent sat, wounded, in a fight to the death. "Go ahead, Avilon. Finish me... Show the House your power..." With five words, Avilon's kellship slowly crumbled. The exo looked around as Fallen rattled the cages. He spun around before having his eyes fall onto the Eliksni standing back up. "You played me..." Avilon said angrily. "I beg to differ. I simply uprooted your lie!" Aviksis replied. "But I'm a machine-god!!" Avilon shouted to the furious crowd of Fallen. "If we wanted a machine-god, this House would have returned to Aksis and the Devils... You were special in this age of gods, because you wielded the gift of the Great Machine. But it seems, that was false..." Aviksis said to the enraged exo. [b]Translator[/b]:[spoiler][b]Special thanks to Sarsion for making a post on translating Eliksni into human! It was a big help in this story, and will continue to be so![/b]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/122860874/0/0 [quote]Ku'ma! Ku'ma![/quote]"Traitors! Traitors!"[/spoiler]