Destiny 2 season 14, Season of the Splicer, has launched with some of the richest lore that the game has to offer. The introductory mission reunites the player's Guardian with Mithrax the Kell of House Light. The last of the Sacred Splicers is instrumental in the Last City’s counteroffensive against that Vex’s newest simulation. From the start of the story, players can see the reality-warping abilities that Mithrax has. In exchange for the use of these abilities, he and his House of Light are welcomed by the Guardian, Osiris, and Ikora Rey as refugees.
Mithrax himself has lived a life of difficult decisions and varied alliances and this circumstance is not new to him. His initial apprehension and hate for the Awoken and humanity led to his attempted suicide after his capture. While he has helped the Last City a few times in Destiny 2, his motives have not always been known. With the rise of Eramis and the House of Salvation, however, it is clear that Mithrax has now begun a rather specific journey whether he knows it or not.
The Light Kell
As an Eliksni, Mithrax has known the strife that the Darkness brings with it wherever it goes. The Eliksni homeworld of Riis was lost after the Traveler left and the population that now resides in the Sol system is largely composed of Fallen that seek salvation. Mithrax has acknowledged this and knows it firsthand, often torn between his duty to his people and what he feels is the correct course of action. As with the Crow’s redemption arc, Mithrax has stumbled, but he has also shown great promise in his abilities.
The young leader as the Kell of the House of Light founded the house with straightforward principles. Mithrax will lead all the open-minded Eliksni that are willing to ally with humanity and serve the Traveler. At its core, this seems like a basic unifying function. A proposed unity among the Eliksni is something that players have seen before, albeit in the less trustworthy and more hostile Skolas-kell. While Skolas had much more experience than Mithrax, the latter’s philosophy seems much more viable.
Good leaders are often defined by how they gravitate towards power versus how they help those in need. Mithrax and Skolas are two sides of that same coin, with each Kell using different means. Mithrax's acceptance of those Eliksni that seek to break away from Eramis and House Salvation shows his aim to bring peace rather than more conflict to his people. And while the Kell of Darkness abandoned her belief in the Traveler in exchange for the power of Stasis, Mithrax still sees hope and Light in his people’s future.
Mithrax's Bonds
The benevolent tone of Mithrax as he discusses his goals and his pursual of them may not strike everyone at their core, but it is a clear sign of the path that he and all the Eliksni are on. This is a path of redemption and not salvation. Mithrax does not seem to view his people as those in need of retribution through combat or that they need to be baptized in wanton power. To him, the Eliksni have always had a purpose and a goal, but they may have been blinded by their trauma due to the loss of Riis and the Traveler’s grace now placed with Sol’s Guardians.
This belief that the Eliksni as a people can grow and become allies with those that bear Light in the Sol system is reinforced by the relationships Mithrax builds as well. While Destiny’s community has developed a viral adoration for Eliksni babies, the Kell of Light’s adopted daughter is a testament to the bonds that he has developed. Eido’s name comes from the fallen Awoken, Sjur Eido, the Queen's Wrath, Mara Sov's lover, and the first ally that Mithrax made in the Reef. Sjur is someone that Mithrax holds deep respect and love for and is greatly responsible for setting him down the path he is on.
As an Awoken warrior, she greeted Mithrax in a traditional Eliksni manner, and though he was skeptical, this first interaction was very influential on the young Vandal. Since then, the young Kell of Light has held different ranks as an Eliksni and gained wisdom and experience in the reality of Sol. He has learned his own way to lead from his allies and enemies alike, something his alliance in Season of the Splicer shows.
Mithrax as a Kell no longer sees those that align themselves with the Traveler as different factions seeking control. The path he has put him and his house on is built on a foundation of unity for all Eliksni alongside the Traveler's chosen. Cooperation of all those under the Traveler to rebuff the Darkness is important, and he even sees the Guardians as more deserving of the Traveler’s Light. Much of this is still being discovered, but participating in Override does provide some dialogue for players.
Season of the Splicer
Season of the Splicer will be the best visual evidence to show off the complete power that Splicers can wield in Destiny 2. Commonly the Splicers were responsible for the augmentation and advancement of their species, specifically those within their own house. As the last of the Sacred Splicers Mithrax also has these abilities to sustain his people as more than just a capable leader. This duty may seem somewhat removed from a Kell’s, but the balance of this power is important to prevent the extinction of a house and the Eliksni.
A prime example of how the Splicer’s ambitions can spell doom is the Plaguelands. The House of Devil’s Splicers and their ambitions led to catastrophe after they discovered the technology of SIVA. While Mithrax helped the City to defeat them in Zero Hour they have shown to be resilient albeit carelessly dangerous. Mithrax himself is more cautious than his counterparts and this is likely where his success as a Kell will stem from. The combination of his leadership skills and reverence as a Splicer makes him invaluable to his people and the Guardians and all the more important in times of crisis.
The Hive Queens and the Kell of Kells
How his story will continue to unfold is yet to be seen, but Season of the Splicer’s Override activities and Expunge missions will likely deliver a compelling narrative. There are already theories and head cannons swirling of the Vex’s Endless Night simulation and who may truly be responsible. On one hand, some think the Vex may be the true enemy while others believe it to be one of the Hive Queens. Regardless of which it is though, the looming threat of the Witch Queen expansion means that the Eliksni will need a Kell to lead them through the encroaching Darkness.
With time Mithrax can fill this role and do it better than those who came before them. He once spoke of how his people changed after the Whirlwind and the fall of Riis. The House of Devils were once weavers a fact that shows how much the Eliksni will adapt to survive. While many of his counterparts have chosen violence as their path it may be time for the Kell of Light to become the Kell of Kells and bring peace with humanity if only to protect his own from the Hive Queens like Xivu Arath.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.