I remember when I saved Mithrax on Titan. While no words were spoken, the gravity of his actions spoke volumes to his character. Mithrax allowed us to reclaim a methane reactor that could have been used to produce Ether for the Fallen. Ether is a valuable resource, allowing the Fallen to grow into their final form—a Captain or even a Kell. But rather than fight for his prize, Mithrax favoured a peaceful resolution, even at great cost to himself.
Like many Destiny players in 2017, I thought this interaction with a Fallen character to be nothing more than an Easter egg. Four years later, though, Mithrax has built up a rich story within the lore and now leads the latest Destiny 2 release, Season of the Splicer.
This is everything you need to know about Mithrax, Kell of Light and one of the last remaining Sacred Splicers.
While Mithrax now seeks an alliance with Guardians and humanity, this was not always the case. Before our encounter with Mithrax on Titan, he despised humanity and called the Fallen who worked with the Awoken 'Flesh-lovers'. Mithrax’s distaste for humanity is best illustrated when he was captured by an Awoken named Sjur Eido. Ashamed of his capture, Mithrax wished he could suffer a painful death via his Captain, and even attempted to escape in order to kill himself. Obviously, Mithrax failed and was recaptured by Sjur. To calm the captured Mithrax, Sjur Eido introduced herself using Fallen tradition, specifically, an ireliis bow—a sign of truce and respect.
Sjur’s acknowledgement of Fallen tradition is likely the catalyst for Mithrax accepting humanity and eventually forming an alliance. We do not know how this relationship developed, but we do know that Sjur Eido had a very big impact on Mithrax’s life. Within the lore, Mithrax repeats Sjur’s teachings, pays his respect to Sjur’s tomb following her death, and—perhaps the greatest acknowledgement of their relationship—names his daughter Eido in remembrance of Sjur.
Following our interaction with Mithrax on Titan, we would later encounter him in the exotic mission for Outbreak Prime. Mithrax, who at this stage had already formed the House of Light, assisted Guardians in stopping Eramis’s team of Fallen from stealing SIVA technology from the old Tower. Stopping Eramis’s plans to acquire SIVA led her to try and wield stasis, aka the Darkness, on Europa during Beyond Light's campaign. Mithrax features briefly in the expansion, with Guardians helping to send Europan Fallen refuges to the House of Light.
In Season of the Splicer, Mithrax is the Kell of Light and also a 'Sacred Splicer'. Does that mean Mithrax is a Guardian who wields the power of the Light? Before you get too excited about playing an Arbiter-like Fallen character, Mithrax’s House of Light may not be what you think. When most Destiny players think of 'Splicer', they think of SIVA Splicers—Fallen who have augmented themselves with SIVA. However, the role of Splicer is not unique to SIVA. More generally Fallen Splicers are body hackers and bioengineers, modifying their body to incorporate machines.
Mithrax’s connection with the Light appears to come from the Splicer Gauntlet attached to his modified arm. As Light is found everywhere, including the Vex network, the Cryptarchy suspect that Mithrax is using the gauntlet to manipulate residual amounts of Light in the environment in order to access the Vex domain. Ironically, the House of Light supports humanity through their faith in the Light and the Traveler, while humanity disregards Sacred Splicer technology through science.
The new lore book from Season of the Splicer, Achilles Weaves a Cocoon, leaves me with a spark of hope that one day we may see a Fallen Guardian. In the book, Mithrax (Misraaks in Eliksni) is speaking with another Fallen, and says this regarding the Light.
"It was in us once," Misraaks reminds him. "It could be again."
I hope you have enjoyed this piece on Mithrax and if you would like to learn any more Destiny lore, you can follow me on YouTube.
