Atriox (Earth-5875)

"I am not Tartarus or some fanatic. I am not Truth. I am not Regret nor Mercy. I am their remedy."

- - Atriox

Atriox is a cunning jiralhanae warlord and mercenary who leads the Banished, a violent terrorist splinter faction of the Covenant. Originally an expendable warrior for the Covenant, he rebelled upon his intended execution, inspiring others to join him and exile. For the next years, his Banished amassed a large amount of power and resources, mainly after the fall of the Covenant and the end of the First Contact War in 2552. By 2560, Atriox became a symbol of resistance and might for even those who did not join his cause. His biggest conflict came in 2565, as he led his forces to Installation 03 in order to acquire control of one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy, only to be pitted against the UNSC Spirit of Fire and a catastrophic xenomorph outbreak.

Early life
"During the war, the Covenant used his pack as expendable muscle. Told them dying in battle would 'speed their Great Journey'. Forty at a time, they carelessly sent them in. Forty to break the front lines. Forty to die for beliefs not their own. And none ever returned. Until he did."

- - Isabel Atriox was born in Doisac, in the Covenant, on May 28th, 2710, and when he was old enough he joined the Armada. During the First Contact War, Atriox became respected for his strategic thinking, serving alongside his war-brother Castor as one of the Bloodstars, a group of elite Stalkers, commanded by a First Blade Silent Shadow, tasked with locating Demons. As the war waged on, Atriox's superiors started to use his pack as troops in the front lines, throwing them to die against troops of the UNSC. Forty of his jiralhanae brethren were sent to storm into human bases, which cleared the path for the follow-up attacks, where all of them would die. Sometimes, waves would be constantly sent against entrenched humans even when the battle had already been won by the Covenant, which made it seem like their leaders simply desired for blood no matter who died. Atriox, however, was always to return as the single survivor of these missions. At the Battle of Ursa IV, Atriox was sent alongside thirty-nine members of his pack and assaulted the last human resistance on the planet, under First Sergeant Jessica Kress, and as he had distinguished himself during battle as an uncanny tactical leader, Atriox was placed into the leadership of the pack by the Executioner. There, he led Minors and Captains at the remnants of a western UNSC base, slaughtering the Marines without mercy, but at the cost of his own soldiers. In the end, only two humans survived, Kress and another Marine, who attempted to escape in an M12 Warthog, only for Atriox to bomb it with a fuel rod gun, killing the pilot instantly and sending Jessica away. He approached her, wounded and severely injured, awaiting her have a chance to fight back. She stood up and in a swift movement attempted to pierce his neck with a combat knife, but he simply held it and strangled Kress, breaking her neck and killing the last surviving human in the planet.

Uprising
"Atriox. you have murdered one of your own. Stolen the life of your brother. Stolen him from the holiness of the Great Journey. We observed the battle to study the strength of our enemy. Instead, we found a heretic. Your blasphemy corrupts the Covenant. He was a slave. A puppet sent to kill me. I relieved him of the burden of that shame."

- - The Executioner and Atriox Through the course of the war, Atriox continued losing his brothers, which led to the growth of his resentment towards the Covenant, particularly the Hierarchs. The same held true, and as Atriox won each battle, so did the legend of his name, which inspired other jiralhanae, and even some sangheili. Atriox started disbelieving the Path and the Great Journey, believing it was a lie and the Covenant's genocide against humanity as wanton. During the occupation of Algolis in 2549, Atriox returned as the sole survivor of another massacre. The Executioner, who was leading one of the assaults in northeast of the planet, started to worry about the following Atriox had gathered with his actions. After speaking with the Prophet of Truth through remote communication, the Executioner stated Atriox was supposed to have died long ago, and that his success was proving problematic as some jiralhanae could question their role in the Path. Despite this, Truth believed Atriox could still be a useful warrior and deemed execution only necessary if he proved to be unloyal and unfaithful. While sitting alone upon the carnage of the Covenant's enemies and covered in human blood, Atriox was approached by the Executioner, who commanded him for his deeds and battle ferocity. Atriox rebuffed such claims, saying he did what he was ordered to do. When the sangheili insisted on praising him, Atriox became filled with rage, stating he doubted the jiralhanae were defending the Great Journey, but rather dying for nothing. Further on, he revealed that they were underestimating the humans' powers after witnessing the death of his own warriors, and asking if perhaps absolute loyalty was not the path of righteousness. This led the Executioner to report that Atriox was even more dangerous than they had imagined, which led to the Hierarch demand his death, albeit swiftly, in order to avoid Atriox becoming a martyr.

As another deadly battle on Algolis started, Atriox found himself being commanded by other jiralhanae, aside from one. During the conflict, Atriox was being watched by the Executioner through an Eye that flew over the battlefield. After winning the battle, Atriox allowed a surviving Marine to flee for his life. When he did, the jiralhanae followed him to a forest, where he killed the young soldier after proclaiming his hatred for the Covenant and its lies. After doing so, he was faced with the jiralhanae that stared at him early on, who challenged Atriox for blasphemy after having heard he did not believe in the one true Path. Seeing his own warrior was beyond saving, Atriox drew his gravity hammer and challenged his opponent to a duel. Despite the fierce battle, Atriox was able to stand victorious, blowing the head of the enemy jiralhanae with his hammer. After returning to the Covenant camp, he was met with the Executioner and seven sangheili Zealots, prepared to slay him. The Executioner used the death of the loyalist jiralhanae as a pretext for killing him, and as Atriox surrended his hammer and dropped to his knees, seemingly accepted his penalty, the sangheili warrior drew his energy sword. Before his execution, Atriox did not hold back, and defended his actions as self-defense. As the Executioner gave the final blow, Atriox held his sword, stabbing him in the chest and killing him instantly. The surrounding sangheili took their swords and prepared to kill Atriox, but the surrounding jiralhanae, led by the warrior Decimus, joined Atriox and slaughtered the sangheili attackers. Raising the sword of his fallen enemy, Atriox gave a battle cry, pledging the jiralhanae to join him, giving birth to the Banished.

Equipment
Atriox uses a unique black and white armor of UNSC origin, partially constructed with salvaged pieces he found, such as an ODST chestplate. In combat, he uses a power gauntlet which artificially enhances his already immense natural strength, as well as a customized energy mace known as Chainbreaker, which he built of the remnants of a Type-2 gravity hammer.