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Description
Franchise: Halo

Full Name: Xoraxis Jnudan

Faction: The Obsidian Dominion (Formerly), The Zignauli Alliance (Formerly), Zignauli Retaliationary Party/ZRP, The Den of The Scofflaw (As client), Xoraxis Jnudan's Team, The Defenders of Infinity (In the future)

Age: 309

Rank: Annexer/General (Formerly), Pacesetter, Supremacon (Unofficial)

Height: 9.1ft

Species: Zignauli

Birthplace: Anulla

Job: Senior Military Leader (Formerly), Party Leader (Formerly), Rebel Leader, Outlaw (In the future)

Nicknames/Titles: The Retaliator, Supremacon Xoraxis, Annexer Jnudan, The Great Bringer of Liberty, The Good Zignauli, Hater of Prometheans, The Unbalancer, The Anti-Taniox, A Despot no different to Taniox, Traitor to the Alliance, Stonehunta (By the Sinner), Brotha (By the Sinner), 'Methean Face, Monstrous Zignauli, That Evil Creature, One of the Greatest Phase-Fighters in the Zignauli Alliance, He who faced Taniox and lived, Would-Be High Annexer

Gender: Male

Vehicles/Mounts: 'The Retaliator'- A Zignauli Grand Star-Chariot Warship used as Xoraxis' flagship, 'The Counter-Annex'- A Zignauli Star-Chariot Dogfighter

Voice: A raspy but 'honourable' voice

Eye Colour: Blue

Skin Colour: Tan

Scars/Damage/Markings/Unusual Features: Natural Techno-Organic Physiology, One Cybernetic Pinky Finger

Enemies/Rivals: Taniox, The Obsidian Dominion, The Zignauli Alliance, Lockan Genvell the Judge, The Puritans of Tenebra, Urugundom's Loyalists, Waxumai/Jiralhanae Combine, New Sangheili Commonwealth, Tenebrae Empire, Hakkorian Eclipse Corps, The Didact's Prometheans/The Didactians

Status: Alive and Healthy

Weapons:

'Dreadquaker and Annexbreaker'- Two Zignauli A54 Gunspears, Dreadquaker is Xoraxis' own personal Gunspear which has impaled and shot through literally thousands of foes, and Annexbreaker is the formerly-personal Gunspear of Zignauli High Annexer Yergonim, who Jnudan took the weapon from in his duel with him.

Song of Peace-Class Z-130 Suppressor

Dying Star-Class Z-250 Lightrifle

'Will of Rebels'- A customised Zignauli A32E Gunblade Hand Cannon with purple line patterns

Standard Issue Zignauili A102 Gunsword

Standard Issue Zignauli A09B Particle Blaster

Two Standard Issue Zignauli A77 Gundaggers

Standard Issue Zignauli A44H High-Power Accelerator Cannon

Z-110 Boltshot

Z-90 Hardlight Shield

Particle Dagger-nades

Matter Phase-Ignoring Particle Grenades

Equipment/Paraphernalia/Personal Belongings: Personal Energy Shield, Zignauli Matter Phase Shifter Nodes, Matter Phase Shifting Field Projector, Survival Equipment, Environmental Suit, Electromagnetic Protection Field, Holocommunicator, Dread Gauntlet Prototype

Specialisation/Skills: Spear-Combat, Swordsmanship, Melee-Gunman, Phase-Fighting, Warrior, CQC, Strength, Reflexes, Marksman, Leadership, Inspirer, Technopath, Martial Artist, Pilot,

Powers/Natural Abilities: Technological Manipulation, Low-Level Technopathy

Personality: Supremacon Xoraxis the Retaliator is a Zignauli ruled by his sense of honour. When he first fought for Taniox’s goal of balancing the universe, he believed he was in the pursuit of endless glory. But when he realised that his people had become monsters and demons to many of the other races in the Galaxy because of it, he rebelled against Taniox and later joined the Defenders of Infinity. It would be an uneasy alliance, fraught with turns of loyalty and turns of Shakespearean persuasion. But it also led to strong friendships and even the salvation of the Galaxy.

As befits a warrior of his stature, Xoraxis is skilled in all forms of combat. He wields a spear as his preferred tool in battle, but, ever pragmatic in matters of violence, he has been known to use ranged weapons, such as his matter phase shifting tech or a simple handheld gun. He has threatened to use any and all of these on Ranger Raniks, with whom he has an intense rivalry. Deep down, he may respect the rodent, but he'll die before he'll admit to it.

Pursuing the liberation of his people from what he believes is the tyranny of the interplanetary warlord Taniox, Supremacon Xoraxis the Retaliator is the Leader of the Zignauli Retaliationary Party, a group of Zignauli rebels who believe that Taniox is further anathematising their species’ perception in the Galaxy by turning their society into one dedicated to ‘balancing’ the universe through conquest. Xoraxis, believing his kind was set down a dark path by the Forerunners who patterned their Promethean soldiers after the Zignauli and thus made them appear as warmongers, spent years building up his rebel faction for a coup and takeover of The Obsidian Dominion, though he was unwilling to work with the Hakkorian Empire or any other outside sources, both fearing them and viewing them with disdain thanks to what he believed was ill treatment by other outsiders before. For years, Xoraxis lived with the singular goal of restoring his people’s independence from outsiders, and built his rebellion with the goal of removing Taniox from power, but when the day finally came, Xoraxis was defeated in battle with Taniox and his rebellion was crushed by the Dreadful Order, horrifying him. Xoraxis was not killed however, and was merely exiled from the Dominion. Alone and vengeful, Xoraxis believed it was time to adopt Taniox’s methods, and began his own search for the Dread Stones, hoping to use them to kill Taniox and enrich and strengthen his people whilst saving all from his populicidal crusade.

Unfortunately, Xoraxis now finds that in adopting the methods of the one he hates so much, he has become very cruel and some believe he would be a megalomaniac if he had anyone to truly command. Jnudan hopes to build a team to help him search the universe for the Dread Stones, and it seems he has even let ideas of ruling the universe taint his mind. Whilst he's not quite on a quest to do so, he can't help but think of what a wonderful universe it would be if his rules were imposed on all, and it may not be long before that becomes the be-all and end-all. Suspicions among the remaining survivors of the ZRP say that Xoraxis is up to something, and that in his all-consuming quest, he may forget why he originally set about it. It probably doesn't help that he never told anyone in the ZRP of his intention to search for the Dread Stones. His ideas and hopes for a 'united front' against Taniox may be what he spouts publicly, but look behind the scenes and you'll find a man so sure of himself that he's willing to gamble on the power of dark magic artefacts to achieve his goals, and the company he keeps would also point to something more sinister afoot. In the end, Xoraxis can only hope he does not become what he sought to destroy.

He's apparently a fan of baseball. Or at least, he will be when he learns about it's existence.

Xoraxis Jnudan was born on the Zignauli homeworld of Anulla, where he made a name for himself as a skilled speaker and inspirer of men. Xoraxis' childhood, according to him, was 'uninteresting', and much of his early life before leaving Anulla was pretty routine. Xoraxis, as with all Zignauli, was a techno-organic creature, meaning biology and technology are a natural part of him down to the most minute, cellular level- he was known to experience some 'glitches' in his youth as a result of being exposed to many electromagnetic anomalies as he lived on Anulla's southern pole, where great storms tore through the black deserts and terrorised the Zignauli people. His first job was as a simple supply-runner who drove chariots carrying crates of resources to different towns and cities, the well-organised nature of this resource distribution, as a result of the Zignauli's culture of balance, minimisation of waste and lack of over-consumption, was fascinating to Xoraxis who questioned why so few other worlds in the galaxy seemed to grasp the same concept which allowed so many people to prosper and thrive without encroaching on the good fortunes of others.

Jnudan however became bored of Anulla and wished to explore the galaxy, so he left his homeworld to join the Zignauli Alliance's military. The Zignauili Alliance was the central part of The Obsidian Dominion, a group of different civilisations all dedicated to the goal of 'balancing' the universe by culling the excess populations of different worlds across it. The Dominion was led by a Jiralhanae named Taniox, one of the few survivors of the Targumian Inferno- an event on the technologically advanced ex-Jiralhanae Empire world of Targum which involved a war, pandemic, several natural and environmental disasters and a hopeless scourge for resources which ultimately led to Targum's desolation. Taniox had predicted the Inferno in a book he wrote of the same name, and believed it was the result of overpopulation and a mismanagement of resources, hence why he formed The Obsidian Dominion.

Among his fellow warriors, Xoraxis was regarded as an expert Phase-Fighter, meaning that he was highly adept at the numerous imaginative applications of the Zignauli's signature matter phase shifter technology, which works by creating open spaces in solid matter without damaging or in any way displacing it, allowing the user to see and pass through solid objects. This technology formed the basis for much of Zignauli battle tactics, along with their applications of warbeasts and the abilities afforded to them by their techno-organic physiology. During the Battle of Yurdere Pass, Xoraxis' tactics killed a whole Hakkorian Posthuman Platoon in one single blow after he deployed one-way matter phase shifters on the building the Posthumans were holed up in, allowing his troops to simply fire upon them with little fear of retaliation with their gunblades. At the Siege of Tornill II, Xoraxis had a heavy explosive payload fitted with a phase shifter field generator which allowed it to pass through the shell of a bunker before detonating inside of it, wiping out almost all the Tornillian troops inside. He also managed to best one of the greatest Sangheili Commonwealth tank squads by phase shifting the very ground they traveled on, causing them to fall into watery graves in the Assault on the Heilios' Eye monitoring post.

He did not always need matter phase tech to win his battles though: During the Battle of Krynyor, Xoraxis challenged seven Xoviss Swordswomen, and won with but his Gunspear and even his bare fists. He also had little trouble combating the Xoviss' Neureuns- specialised units of the Xoviss' Neural Physics/Magic users, and even managed to give the legendary Neureun Justice Damaiha B'Linth pause when she battled him, and his escape led her to become infuriated for she viewed it as a failure of her very purpose as a Justice. Xoraxis also vanquished a treacherous Waxumai General with the Waxumai's own axe, and killed the outlaw Jjiko Turath in a draw. His hefty service record earned him the rank of Annexer- the Zignauli Alliance's equivalent of a General.

It was at the Hiraks Asteroid Belt that Xoraxis' life would change forever- he was on a mission to procure Promethean Armiger units left behind from the Forerunners during the 2nd Dark Wars, and when his group found the Armigers, he learned that the Promethean Soldier constructs looked strikingly similar to the Zignauli people. He questioned how this was possible, as the Forerunners had gone extinct eons ago and it was too much of a similarity to be a coincidence. He delved deep to find answers after returning home with them, confused and worried for what this meant about his people. He first questioned the nature of the Zignauli's existence- were they a naturally occurring species? Or an artificial one like the Huragok created as the 'final form' of these Promethean Soldiers? Did the Zignauli inspire the appearance of the soldiers, or did the Soldiers inspire the appearance of the Zignauli? Either way, Xoraxis would come to the same conclusion.

After analysis and study by Zignauli historians and xenoarchaeologists and cross-referencing from reports made by the few individuals in the Galaxy who lived through the Dark Wars, it was discovered that the Promethean Soldiers were patterned after the Zignauli in ancient times- the Forerunners designed the Armigers similarly to the Zignauli for they believed they naturally made excellent soldiers and even composed the minds of many Zignauli to make them. This horrified Xoraxis, as it meant to him the most advanced civilisation to exist with the exception of the Precursors viewed his people as nothing more than warriors, beings who existed for the sole purpose of conflict. The idea tormented Xoraxis, who did not believe this was fair on him, and in time came to resent the Forerunners. However, it did not stop him from taking some weapons belonging to the Prometheans for his own personal use.

Soon, Xoraxis would come to believe that this set his people down a dark path- his people were the military backbone of an interstellar Dominion dedicated to killing trillions through conquest. Of course, Xoraxis could have become anything he wanted- a baker, a farmer, an artist, a tri-dimensional photon tattoo designer, but the fact that the Zignauli seemed to specialise particularly in warfare could not be ignored when his people were an inspiration for mechanical soldiers used by a nigh-godly race who themselves were experts at warfare.

Later, on, Xoraxis was taking a leave from service in the military to clear his head, unsure of what to think of his role in the grand drama of existence. Whilst on the neutral terraformed gas giant Praxis IV, Jnudan remained largely confined to the quarters of his hotel, rarely leaving. It was only after being convinced to attend a concert by the galactically-famed Anleurian musician Qilohsa Runo that he left. However, the sight of a Zignauli terrified the crowds gathered at the concert, and many feared he had been sent there to scout out the gas giant ahead of an invasion. The mere sight of Xoraxis was enough to draw all attention away from Runo's performance as the event erupted into chaos. "He's here to kill us all!!!"- one Hanamarian fretted. "Run from that evil creature!!!"- exclaimed a San'Shyuum paralysed with fear.

Within mere moments, Xoraxis found that almost everyone, save for the event's security, had put at least half a football field's worth of distance between them and him, and he was being questioned by security on his intentions. Xoraxis claimed that he was merely trying to enjoy his vacation, that Praxis IV was not even considered a target for The Obsidian Dominion, but it mattered not. Though he was allowed to stay, the event was practically over by that point and the mortal terror in the eyes of the people there proved to him that his kind was not welcome, would never be welcome. Jnudan was offered comfort by Runo after her security cleared her, but Xoraxis was already on his way back to his quarters by the time she made it to him.

That night, Xoraxis looked to the stars on his balcony and overheard a young Hakkorian boy on a balcony below being told by his father that the monstrous Zignauli could not hurt him, and he would sooner slay him before he could even come close to the child. Xoraxis, peeved that it turned out that the Hakkorians even told their children stories of the Zignauli depicting them as monsters, decided to leave Praxis IV early, angered and horrified at this revelation.

Upon returning to Dominion space, Xoraxis began to asses and compound his thoughts into a new vision: for too long, he had served Taniox and The Obsidian Dominion's conquests without even the slightest thought towards the morality of it and how it was tarnishing his race's good name in the Galaxy. His knowledge that the Forerunners designed soldiers after them; the Jiralhanae Taniox lorded over them; the Hakkorians, at least in general, barely regarded them as anything but an enemy to be slaughtered; and other peoples in the Galaxy feared them as monsters led him to conclude that it was the actions of outsiders which set his people down a path of unanimous shame and vindication, and he could stand for this kind of torment no longer. Now believing it was his purpose to rebel against Taniox and free the Zignauli from the Dominion they were a part of, Xoraxis Jnudan abandoned his hopes of balancing the universe, and now dedicated himself to changing the perception of his people.

Xoraxis abandoned the Zignauli Alliance military, resigning from his position as an Annexer to set up the Zignauli Retaliationary Party, a group of dissidents dedicated to seceding from Taniox's rule over their people and overthrowing the current Zignauli Supremacon (Chancellor) Darvaxis who they believed to be a betrayer. The Party however, failed to gain much momentum in the Zignauli Alliance Senate, with few members and even fewer representatives. The Party's Pacesetter (Leader), Upaxa Noidel, had needed the support of at least one citizen who had achieved the rank of Annexer to set the party up to begin with, and whilst a confident and refined politician, she lacked the power base to consolidate a strong grip on the political reins of the Alliance.

Upaxa and Xoraxis had a close working relationship, and as they worked hard to build up and strengthen the party, the two fell in love with one another. Unfortunately, despite the surge in support they gained, it would be a short-lived romance when Upaxa was arrested for corruption, based on files which Jnudan believed had been planted by none other than Supremacon Darvaxis to stop the party from growing any further. This left Xoraxis in charge of the party in Upaxa's absence, and he promised that once he was put in power he would not only rescue his people but he would pardon her.

Xoraxis' command as the party's new Pacesetter was anything but dynamic. He was a poor politician, with an already controversial stance to campaign on, lingering criticism on corruption, and only one other competent and experienced political advisor in the form of the elderly Guehrridon Velix. Jnudan found it increasingly difficult to stand up to the other parties and his movement was all but made redundant by the Supremacon, who successfully manipulated words to smite the party.

Fearing that there would be no hope of freeing Noidel and showing the Galaxy a different side of his people if he did not, Xoraxis abandoned all notions of peacefully ascending to power and converted the ZRP into a group of rebel malcontents with the goal of taking the Zignauli Senate by force. He broke off his supporters from the Alliance and settled them throughout the Secunda Hyadum system, mostly on the moons of its planets.

From there, Xoraxis Jnudan built up the Zignauli Retaliationary Party's forces for decades, becoming their new unofficial 'Supremacon' and earning the title of 'The Retaliator'. Numerous times Guehrridon Velix proposed that they seek help and support from other factions and groups throughout the Galaxy- such as the Hakkorians who could undoubtedly provide them with more than enough support, but Xoraxis was not on board with the idea. He feared the Hakkorians would either try to destroy them as they were in a weak position, betray them or refuse to give the Zignauli rights equal to their own people. The Sangheili Commonwealth would be unlikely to help them either, and the Waxumai/Jiralhanae Combine would be certain to assert their dominance over the Zignauli if given such a chance. Xoraxis reminded him that it was because of outsiders and their negative actions that the ZRP was formed in the first place, and they couldn't give the people of the Galaxy another opportunity to vilify the Zignauli.

In time, Xoraxis ordered a full scale advance on Anulla, intending to take the capital city and the senate and expose Darvaxis for the liar and traitor he was. Xoraxis, in his pursuit of a glorious victory, refused to spend the battle aboard his flagship, The Retaliator, and descended on the capital city of Phestis where he cut a path through the Alliance troops there. During the massive assault, he encountered High Annexer Yergonim- Darvaxis' right hand and clashed gunspears with him. Jnudan fought bravely against Yergonim, but the High Annexer's superior acumen resulted in Xoraxis being impaled with Yergonim's gunspear. Yergonim then told Xoraxis that after he was done with him, he would be sure to grant Upaxa a swift and remorseful death so they could reunite in the embrace of Death, to which Jnudan reacted in a seething and bombastic outburst. He lunged his head forward at Yergonim, biting into his shoulder and tearing off a good chunk of it in the process, and as his grip on the gunspear loosened, Xoraxis whacked his enemy across the face with his other arm as he retrieved the gunspear from his body. After painstakingly ripping it out of himself, Xoraxis wiped blood from his mouth and began to attack Yergonim, dismembering his arms, removing one leg and then shoving both gunspears into the High Annexer's torso, blasting further through his body to add even more injury to...injury. Instead of killing him there and then, Jnudan left Yergonim there, pulling both gunspears from him before leaving to continue his charge.

He boarded a ZRP Heavy Chariot which was blasting through Alliance troops, grinding through the Senate building's defence perimeter. After seeing a Warbeast swoop down and devour one of the other Heavy Chariots making its way, Xoraxis leaped from his Chariot, landing on an Alliance gorilla Warbeast, who he plunged his gunspears into the eyes of before making a technopathic connection to it's cybernetic control center. He steered the gorilla through the enemy, forcing it to beat and slam enemy Light Chariots and gun placements until the gorilla had taken so many energy bolts that it died. When it slumped to the ground, Xoraxis continued his hate-filled pursuit of justice by carving his way through the enemy, deploying phase shifters to pass through barricades.

Slaughtering through them in a blind rage, Xoraxis did not realise the true brutality of his actions and the fact he was leaving so many of his troops behind until he reached the final stretch on his way to the Senate. Jnudan ordered Guehrridon Velix to have the gunships pepper the Senate building with fire, but Guehrridon refused to, not believing Xoraxis was justified in massacring the Senate. Xoraxis barked that he did not care if every single person in the building died- their deaths would be the ashes from which a new Zignauli future would be born. Velix, no longer sympathising with Jnudan, cut off communications with him. Xoraxis contacted the gunships himself and demanded that they do it, but the crews disobeyed his order. It then became very clear to Xoraxis that he alone would have to enter the Senate building and kill everyone inside. He had no problem with doing that.

He reached the entrance to the building and deployed matter phase shifters, forgetting that the building had top-grade phase shift blockers active at all times. Enraged, he instead issued a challenge to Darvaxis, who was inside, a challenge to a duel or else he would have his gunships open fire- hoping that he did not know of his inability to actually use them. Instead of Darvaxis answering however, it would be the booming and dreadful voice of Taniox, who was giving a speech in the Senate oratory. Taniox informed Xoraxis that the enemy he sought was not there, that Darvaxis was away on a mission, but Taniox gladly accepted Jnudan's challenge on his behalf. Regardless of if he wished to reconsider or not, the doors to the building opened to allow Xoraxis in.

He encountered no resistance on his way to the oratory where the Senate gathered, and when Xoraxis encountered Taniox, who sat on his mobile throne at the room's stage, Xoraxis pointed one gunblade at Taniox and exchanged words with him, explaining why he had done all this. Taniox merely stood from his throne and drew two weapons- the Shield of Daakel and the double-bladed battlesword named "And Then There Were None". With two gunspears in hand, Jnudan steeled himself in Taniox's presence, staring him down with a hateful need to see his death in his eyes. Jnudan ironically was no the one to make the first move in a charge- that was Taniox. Xoraxis believed this would give him the upper hand, but admittedly expected himself to be the one to attack first and was thrown off by Taniox's movement. The Mad Dreadlord laid a huge heavy battering from his sword on Xoraxis who strained to block with the gunspears. After letting his block slip and moving out of the way of the blade, he tried to lunge at Taniox's legs, crouching to help him. But Taniox protected himself from the spears and their blasts coming from them with the Shield of Daakel, which he then used to deliver a bash to Xoraxis' body and then kick him in the torso. Jnudan recovered just in time to block the sword and guide it away from him before blasting Taniox with the other gunspear. Taniox could not deflect it in time with the Shield of Daakel and instead took the hit, which allowed Xoraxis to ram his other gunspear into his arm, but Taniox barely flinched this time and shook it out of Xoraxis' grasp before he pulled it out and then proceeded to attack Xoraxis with the battlesword. Xoraxis barely evaded his attacks as Taniox used its spinning function to chop up the oratory floor whilst Jnudan distanced himself from him.

After a few more moments of fighting and dodging, Xoraxis disarmed Taniox of his sword, then rebounded and pounced with his gunspear over him, plunging it downwards, hoping to jam it into the Jiralhanae's skull and blast through his body. Instead, Taniox dodged him and slammed Jnudan with the Shield and his bare fist at the same time, severely crippling Xoraxis. As Xoraxis put his hand up in a desperate attempt to block whatever came next, the movement of the Shield of Daakel alone sliced one of Xoraxis' pinky fingers off, causing a pained reaction. Taniox then summoned his gravity mace- Bloodrinker from his personal pocket dimension and delivered a powerful wallop to Xoraxis, sending him flying into the wall. Just a second after he hit the wall, Taniox's hand grabbed and slammed him further into said wall, keeping him lodged in there.

Taniox then commended Xoraxis on his near-successful invasion, but criticised and corrected him for its purpose. Taniox declared to Jnudan that although he knew the task the Obsidian Dominion was set upon was greatly destructive and laden with death, he elaborated on the need for balance in the universe. Taniox told Xoraxis that in his quest, he was actually following Zignauli culture, trying to enrich it by making everyone adopt the significance of cutting down on waste and limiting the population. Taniox said that he knew Xoraxis was not like the Hakkorians with their dreams of hope and beliefs that the universe had enough resources to sustain everyone- that he was smarter and knew the lengths that were required to save everyone. Which is why Taniox let go of Xoraxis, pulling him from the wall. Jnudan could barely react, only listen to Taniox's pontification. Taniox declared to Xoraxis, as he helped the Zignauli to his feet, that his mission was not to divide people, but to unite them. Once his goal was complete, nobody- not the Hakkorians, not the Xoviss, not the Waxumai or the Klawe or the Tenebrae would ostracise the Zignauli, for everyone would finally understand why his species did what they did. Taniox offered Xoraxis a place as the new High Annexer, promising to release Upaxa if he took it. Jnudan, knowing in his heart that there had to be a way to save the universe other than through killing so many, spat in Taniox's face and denied his offer. Taniox merely sat upon his throne and told him that in that case, he would allow him, Upaxa and all his ZRP members to leave peacefully if they surrendered, knowing that by now, his forces had wiped the majority out. Xoraxis reluctantly agreed, and with his troops and Upaxa Noidel, left Anulla.

On board a beaten, broken and all-but derelict cruiser, they were escorted out of Obsidian Dominion space whilst Jnudan received a cybernetic replacement for the pinky cut off by Taniox. Xoraxis' attack failed, but he had Upaxa back. However, he now learned from his interaction with Taniox- it wasn't outsiders who were the problem, at least, not at the heart of it. It was the commitment to the Zignauli culture of balance that was- this almost religious devotion had allowed Darvaxis and Yergonim to get their people to follow a populicidal warlord from Targum in a quest to cut the excess populations of worlds and systems so they could use their resources more efficiently. His people believed that everyone in the universe had to live almost like animals in a field- neither overfeeding nor underfeeding so they did not exhaust themselves or their food, but Jnudan did not agree. He believed that the universe could be sustained through the development of technology, through overcoming primal limits. It would not be easy- Taniox's homeworld fell because their inventiveness and longevity outlived the sustainability of Targum. It made sense that the same would happen to the rest of the universe one day, but Xoraxis was not going to let Taniox decide how everyone else stopped the same fate befalling them, especially not if it was by killing so many sextillions.

Standing out on the bridge of the cruiser, Xoraxis planned his next steps in life- he would fight against Taniox yes, but not merely to liberate his people from him, but to save everyone in the universe from him too and find a better way. He would live life as an interplanetary rebel fighting the Obsidian Dominion, and most importantly- he'd do it the same way Taniox intended to complete his goal of populicide- Xoraxis knew that Taniox could never actually cull the populations of the entire universe. He would have to live longer than the universe itself for it to be possible, but Taniox instead always planned to acquire the seven Dread Stones- concentrated ingots of Precursor Dark Magic origin which allowed the very forces of the universe itself to be bent to the will of the wielder. There was the Dread Stone of Time, Madness, Nightmares, Cosmos, Fear, Commencement and finally Power.

Xoraxis, thinking upon Taniox's goal, realised he could do the same...with the Dread Stone of Power, he could wipe the Dreadlord from the face of the universe, but he'd still have to destroy all supporting him- and that included almost all Zignauli. The Dread Stone of Madness maybe- control the minds of his followers, force them to abandon The Obsidian Dominion, but he'd still need to do it in good time or he'd risk losing that control. The Dread Stone of Time then....but it would never be able to stop everything for him, and so on...

And then the solution occurred to him. It was so simple and so vastly complex that it wrenched from him genuine laughter. Xoraxis realised that the stones could do so much more- he could coerce outsiders into accepting the Zignauli, he could demand that wars end, oppressive regimes stop...rule the universe...even, to assure a utopia for all peoples, of course.

No single stone could achieve these goals. But all of them...

"A Zignauli!", "He's here to kill us all!!!", "Run from that evil creature!!!", "The monstrous Zignauli cannot hurt you, and I would sooner slay him before he could even come close to you my child." The damning words of the audience at Qilohsa Runo's performance echoed in Jnudan's mind.

Xoraxis Jnudan stared out at the infinite reaches of space, and then held out his hand in front of him. He clenched his fist, imagining a gauntlet there, and smiled.

Xoraxis told his followers that he was no longer their leader, relinquishing control of the ZRP to Upaxa, and stated that he was now leaving to pursue a proper united front against Taniox, but he was done dragging his friends and allies into such things. He told them that someday, somehow, he would rally the galaxy, all galaxies against him, and together, everyone would find a better way. Upaxa told her love that she'd join him regardless, but Jnudan said that the Zignauli still needed a legitimate front that could offer support and change things from the inside once Taniox was defeated, and Xoraxis told Noidel that on that day, the ZRP would be there, not telling her or anyone else his true intentions of collecting the Dread Stones. They shared a tender moment before parting ways, and Xoraxis departed the cruiser on board his Star Chariot Dogfighter; The Counter-Annex, headed for the remote Sangheili/Xoviss-controlled Nutrithian Asteroid Belt where he would make an acquaintance with the Yanme'e Crime Boss there- The Scofflaw who he would enlist the services of to help build up his new crew of rebels and searchers to find the Dread Stones...

Quotes:

"I will find those Stones, re-appropriate power in The Obsidian Dominion, and turn the universe into a perfect, prosperous society. But it all starts somewhere: killing that madman Taniox!"

'The Sinner' Jegden Vaas: "I know that look." Xoraxis: "What look, Hakkorian?" The Sinner: "That dreadful, knowin' look...you tryna find those Dread Stones ain't ya?"

Xoraxis: "I still live! Finish it." Taniox: "Why? I have no need to kill you."

"But why would they want to know? And more importantly, who are they? Friends, enemies, or... something more?"- After becoming a founding member of the Defenders of Infinity (In the future)

Xoraxis: "No excuses you pathetic rodent. Keep moving. Xoraxis, out." Ranger Raniks: "No, Xoraxis IN, and you know what? You can kiss my yellow, hairy-" (In the future)

(Hey there everyone, just wanted to say for you eagle-eyes out there that if you read the last bit of Xoraxis' backstory here, you'll notice a familiarity in the structure to Taniox with him pondering over the Dread Stones. "No single stone could accomplish...", "He clenched his fist, imagining a gauntlet there, and smiled." Yeah, I did that because I wanted Xoraxis to kind of be this anti-Taniox character: a guy who's so dedicated to ending him that he's willing to adopt the exact same methods as him, and without realising it, Xoraxis may turn into someone far worse than him in the process. So yeah, I did this to show there's parallels between the two and that in the pursuit of ultimate vengeance, one may become what they seek to destroy. Yeah, I know. Deep. No need to commend me for my amazingness. I'm kidding of course, I actually was in quite a mess with this guy until just recently when I came up with that idea for him. Anyway, one more affair to get in order, you may notice that the 'Ranger Raniks' character here sounds alot like Ranger Rakton . Well, I can assure you, there are exactly the same. More accurately, Ranger Raniks is the new name for Rakton, because I'll be honest, the name 'Rakton' wasn't doing it for me and his bio is gonna eventually get a rewrite. Don't ask when because I think by now we all know I'm terrible at meeting deadlines, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed Xoraxis the Retaliator, my first Zignauli character to get his own deviation. Stay safe and have a good rest-of-the-day folks!)

Description
Franchise: Halo

Full Name: Xoraxis Jnudan

Faction: The Obsidian Dominion (Formerly), The Zignauli Alliance (Formerly), Zignauli Retaliationary Party/ZRP, The Den of The Scofflaw (As client), Xoraxis Jnudan's Team, The Defenders of Infinity (In the future)

Age: 309

Rank: Annexer/General (Formerly), Pacesetter, Supremacon (Unofficial)

Height: 9.1ft

Species: Zignauli

Birthplace: Anulla

Job: Senior Military Leader (Formerly), Party Leader (Formerly), Rebel Leader, Outlaw (In the future)

Nicknames/Titles: The Retaliator, Supremacon Xoraxis, Annexer Jnudan, The Great Bringer of Liberty, The Good Zignauli, Hater of Prometheans, The Unbalancer, The Anti-Taniox, A Despot no different to Taniox, Traitor to the Alliance, Stonehunta (By the Sinner), Brotha (By the Sinner), 'Methean Face, Monstrous Zignauli, That Evil Creature, One of the Greatest Phase-Fighters in the Zignauli Alliance, He who faced Taniox and lived, Would-Be High Annexer

Gender: Male

Vehicles/Mounts: 'The Retaliator'- A Zignauli Grand Star-Chariot Warship used as Xoraxis' flagship, 'The Counter-Annex'- A Zignauli Star-Chariot Dogfighter

Voice: A raspy but 'honourable' voice

Eye Colour: Blue

Skin Colour: Tan

Scars/Damage/Markings/Unusual Features: Natural Techno-Organic Physiology, One Cybernetic Pinky Finger

Enemies/Rivals: Taniox, The Obsidian Dominion, The Zignauli Alliance, Lockan Genvell the Judge, The Puritans of Tenebra, Urugundom's Loyalists, Waxumai/Jiralhanae Combine, New Sangheili Commonwealth, Tenebrae Empire, Hakkorian Eclipse Corps, The Didact's Prometheans/The Didactians

Status: Alive and Healthy

Weapons:

'Dreadquaker and Annexbreaker'- Two Zignauli A54 Gunspears, Dreadquaker is Xoraxis' own personal Gunspear which has impaled and shot through literally thousands of foes, and Annexbreaker is the formerly-personal Gunspear of Zignauli High Annexer Yergonim, who Jnudan took the weapon from in his duel with him.

Song of Peace-Class Z-130 Suppressor

Dying Star-Class Z-250 Lightrifle

'Will of Rebels'- A customised Zignauli A32E Gunblade Hand Cannon with purple line patterns

Standard Issue Zignauili A102 Gunsword

Standard Issue Zignauli A09B Particle Blaster

Two Standard Issue Zignauli A77 Gundaggers

Standard Issue Zignauli A44H High-Power Accelerator Cannon

Z-110 Boltshot

Z-90 Hardlight Shield

Particle Dagger-nades

Matter Phase-Ignoring Particle Grenades

Equipment/Paraphernalia/Personal Belongings: Personal Energy Shield, Zignauli Matter Phase Shifter Nodes, Matter Phase Shifting Field Projector, Survival Equipment, Environmental Suit, Electromagnetic Protection Field, Holocommunicator, Dread Gauntlet Prototype

Specialisation/Skills: Spear-Combat, Swordsmanship, Melee-Gunman, Phase-Fighting, Warrior, CQC, Strength, Reflexes, Marksman, Leadership, Inspirer, Technopath, Martial Artist, Pilot,

Powers/Natural Abilities: Technological Manipulation, Low-Level Technopathy

Personality: Supremacon Xoraxis the Retaliator is a Zignauli ruled by his sense of honour. When he first fought for Taniox’s goal of balancing the universe, he believed he was in the pursuit of endless glory. But when he realised that his people had become monsters and demons to many of the other races in the Galaxy because of it, he rebelled against Taniox and later joined the Defenders of Infinity. It would be an uneasy alliance, fraught with turns of loyalty and turns of Shakespearean persuasion. But it also led to strong friendships and even the salvation of the Galaxy.

As befits a warrior of his stature, Xoraxis is skilled in all forms of combat. He wields a spear as his preferred tool in battle, but, ever pragmatic in matters of violence, he has been known to use ranged weapons, such as his matter phase shifting tech or a simple handheld gun. He has threatened to use any and all of these on Ranger Raniks, with whom he has an intense rivalry. Deep down, he may respect the rodent, but he'll die before he'll admit to it.

Pursuing the liberation of his people from what he believes is the tyranny of the interplanetary warlord Taniox, Supremacon Xoraxis the Retaliator is the Leader of the Zignauli Retaliationary Party, a group of Zignauli rebels who believe that Taniox is further anathematising their species’ perception in the Galaxy by turning their society into one dedicated to ‘balancing’ the universe through conquest. Xoraxis, believing his kind was set down a dark path by the Forerunners who patterned their Promethean soldiers after the Zignauli and thus made them appear as warmongers, spent years building up his rebel faction for a coup and takeover of The Obsidian Dominion, though he was unwilling to work with the Hakkorian Empire or any other outside sources, both fearing them and viewing them with disdain thanks to what he believed was ill treatment by other outsiders before. For years, Xoraxis lived with the singular goal of restoring his people’s independence from outsiders, and built his rebellion with the goal of removing Taniox from power, but when the day finally came, Xoraxis was defeated in battle with Taniox and his rebellion was crushed by the Dreadful Order, horrifying him. Xoraxis was not killed however, and was merely exiled from the Dominion. Alone and vengeful, Xoraxis believed it was time to adopt Taniox’s methods, and began his own search for the Dread Stones, hoping to use them to kill Taniox and enrich and strengthen his people whilst saving all from his populicidal crusade.

Unfortunately, Xoraxis now finds that in adopting the methods of the one he hates so much, he has become very cruel and some believe he would be a megalomaniac if he had anyone to truly command. Jnudan hopes to build a team to help him search the universe for the Dread Stones, and it seems he has even let ideas of ruling the universe taint his mind. Whilst he's not quite on a quest to do so, he can't help but think of what a wonderful universe it would be if his rules were imposed on all, and it may not be long before that becomes the be-all and end-all. Suspicions among the remaining survivors of the ZRP say that Xoraxis is up to something, and that in his all-consuming quest, he may forget why he originally set about it. It probably doesn't help that he never told anyone in the ZRP of his intention to search for the Dread Stones. His ideas and hopes for a 'united front' against Taniox may be what he spouts publicly, but look behind the scenes and you'll find a man so sure of himself that he's willing to gamble on the power of dark magic artefacts to achieve his goals, and the company he keeps would also point to something more sinister afoot. In the end, Xoraxis can only hope he does not become what he sought to destroy.

He's apparently a fan of baseball. Or at least, he will be when he learns about it's existence.

Xoraxis Jnudan was born on the Zignauli homeworld of Anulla, where he made a name for himself as a skilled speaker and inspirer of men. Xoraxis' childhood, according to him, was 'uninteresting', and much of his early life before leaving Anulla was pretty routine. Xoraxis, as with all Zignauli, was a techno-organic creature, meaning biology and technology are a natural part of him down to the most minute, cellular level- he was known to experience some 'glitches' in his youth as a result of being exposed to many electromagnetic anomalies as he lived on Anulla's southern pole, where great storms tore through the black deserts and terrorised the Zignauli people. His first job was as a simple supply-runner who drove chariots carrying crates of resources to different towns and cities, the well-organised nature of this resource distribution, as a result of the Zignauli's culture of balance, minimisation of waste and lack of over-consumption, was fascinating to Xoraxis who questioned why so few other worlds in the galaxy seemed to grasp the same concept which allowed so many people to prosper and thrive without encroaching on the good fortunes of others.

Jnudan however became bored of Anulla and wished to explore the galaxy, so he left his homeworld to join the Zignauli Alliance's military. The Zignauili Alliance was the central part of The Obsidian Dominion, a group of different civilisations all dedicated to the goal of 'balancing' the universe by culling the excess populations of different worlds across it. The Dominion was led by a Jiralhanae named Taniox, one of the few survivors of the Targumian Inferno- an event on the technologically advanced ex-Jiralhanae Empire world of Targum which involved a war, pandemic, several natural and environmental disasters and a hopeless scourge for resources which ultimately led to Targum's desolation. Taniox had predicted the Inferno in a book he wrote of the same name, and believed it was the result of overpopulation and a mismanagement of resources, hence why he formed The Obsidian Dominion.

Among his fellow warriors, Xoraxis was regarded as an expert Phase-Fighter, meaning that he was highly adept at the numerous imaginative applications of the Zignauli's signature matter phase shifter technology, which works by creating open spaces in solid matter without damaging or in any way displacing it, allowing the user to see and pass through solid objects. This technology formed the basis for much of Zignauli battle tactics, along with their applications of warbeasts and the abilities afforded to them by their techno-organic physiology. During the Battle of Yurdere Pass, Xoraxis' tactics killed a whole Hakkorian Posthuman Platoon in one single blow after he deployed one-way matter phase shifters on the building the Posthumans were holed up in, allowing his troops to simply fire upon them with little fear of retaliation with their gunblades. At the Siege of Tornill II, Xoraxis had a heavy explosive payload fitted with a phase shifter field generator which allowed it to pass through the shell of a bunker before detonating inside of it, wiping out almost all the Tornillian troops inside. He also managed to best one of the greatest Sangheili Commonwealth tank squads by phase shifting the very ground they traveled on, causing them to fall into watery graves in the Assault on the Heilios' Eye monitoring post.

He did not always need matter phase tech to win his battles though: During the Battle of Krynyor, Xoraxis challenged seven Xoviss Swordswomen, and won with but his Gunspear and even his bare fists. He also had little trouble combating the Xoviss' Neureuns- specialised units of the Xoviss' Neural Physics/Magic users, and even managed to give the legendary Neureun Justice Damaiha B'Linth pause when she battled him, and his escape led her to become infuriated for she viewed it as a failure of her very purpose as a Justice. Xoraxis also vanquished a treacherous Waxumai General with the Waxumai's own axe, and killed the outlaw Jjiko Turath in a draw. His hefty service record earned him the rank of Annexer- the Zignauli Alliance's equivalent of a General.

It was at the Hiraks Asteroid Belt that Xoraxis' life would change forever- he was on a mission to procure Promethean Armiger units left behind from the Forerunners during the 2nd Dark Wars, and when his group found the Armigers, he learned that the Promethean Soldier constructs looked strikingly similar to the Zignauli people. He questioned how this was possible, as the Forerunners had gone extinct eons ago and it was too much of a similarity to be a coincidence. He delved deep to find answers after returning home with them, confused and worried for what this meant about his people. He first questioned the nature of the Zignauli's existence- were they a naturally occurring species? Or an artificial one like the Huragok created as the 'final form' of these Promethean Soldiers? Did the Zignauli inspire the appearance of the soldiers, or did the Soldiers inspire the appearance of the Zignauli? Either way, Xoraxis would come to the same conclusion.

After analysis and study by Zignauli historians and xenoarchaeologists and cross-referencing from reports made by the few individuals in the Galaxy who lived through the Dark Wars, it was discovered that the Promethean Soldiers were patterned after the Zignauli in ancient times- the Forerunners designed the Armigers similarly to the Zignauli for they believed they naturally made excellent soldiers and even composed the minds of many Zignauli to make them. This horrified Xoraxis, as it meant to him the most advanced civilisation to exist with the exception of the Precursors viewed his people as nothing more than warriors, beings who existed for the sole purpose of conflict. The idea tormented Xoraxis, who did not believe this was fair on him, and in time came to resent the Forerunners. However, it did not stop him from taking some weapons belonging to the Prometheans for his own personal use.

Soon, Xoraxis would come to believe that this set his people down a dark path- his people were the military backbone of an interstellar Dominion dedicated to killing trillions through conquest. Of course, Xoraxis could have become anything he wanted- a baker, a farmer, an artist, a tri-dimensional photon tattoo designer, but the fact that the Zignauli seemed to specialise particularly in warfare could not be ignored when his people were an inspiration for mechanical soldiers used by a nigh-godly race who themselves were experts at warfare.

Later, on, Xoraxis was taking a leave from service in the military to clear his head, unsure of what to think of his role in the grand drama of existence. Whilst on the neutral terraformed gas giant Praxis IV, Jnudan remained largely confined to the quarters of his hotel, rarely leaving. It was only after being convinced to attend a concert by the galactically-famed Anleurian musician Qilohsa Runo that he left. However, the sight of a Zignauli terrified the crowds gathered at the concert, and many feared he had been sent there to scout out the gas giant ahead of an invasion. The mere sight of Xoraxis was enough to draw all attention away from Runo's performance as the event erupted into chaos. "He's here to kill us all!!!"- one Hanamarian fretted. "Run from that evil creature!!!"- exclaimed a San'Shyuum paralysed with fear.

Within mere moments, Xoraxis found that almost everyone, save for the event's security, had put at least half a football field's worth of distance between them and him, and he was being questioned by security on his intentions. Xoraxis claimed that he was merely trying to enjoy his vacation, that Praxis IV was not even considered a target for The Obsidian Dominion, but it mattered not. Though he was allowed to stay, the event was practically over by that point and the mortal terror in the eyes of the people there proved to him that his kind was not welcome, would never be welcome. Jnudan was offered comfort by Runo after her security cleared her, but Xoraxis was already on his way back to his quarters by the time she made it to him.

That night, Xoraxis looked to the stars on his balcony and overheard a young Hakkorian boy on a balcony below being told by his father that the monstrous Zignauli could not hurt him, and he would sooner slay him before he could even come close to the child. Xoraxis, peeved that it turned out that the Hakkorians even told their children stories of the Zignauli depicting them as monsters, decided to leave Praxis IV early, angered and horrified at this revelation.

Upon returning to Dominion space, Xoraxis began to asses and compound his thoughts into a new vision: for too long, he had served Taniox and The Obsidian Dominion's conquests without even the slightest thought towards the morality of it and how it was tarnishing his race's good name in the Galaxy. His knowledge that the Forerunners designed soldiers after them; the Jiralhanae Taniox lorded over them; the Hakkorians, at least in general, barely regarded them as anything but an enemy to be slaughtered; and other peoples in the Galaxy feared them as monsters led him to conclude that it was the actions of outsiders which set his people down a path of unanimous shame and vindication, and he could stand for this kind of torment no longer. Now believing it was his purpose to rebel against Taniox and free the Zignauli from the Dominion they were a part of, Xoraxis Jnudan abandoned his hopes of balancing the universe, and now dedicated himself to changing the perception of his people.

Xoraxis abandoned the Zignauli Alliance military, resigning from his position as an Annexer to set up the Zignauli Retaliationary Party, a group of dissidents dedicated to seceding from Taniox's rule over their people and overthrowing the current Zignauli Supremacon (Chancellor) Darvaxis who they believed to be a betrayer. The Party however, failed to gain much momentum in the Zignauli Alliance Senate, with few members and even fewer representatives. The Party's Pacesetter (Leader), Upaxa Noidel, had needed the support of at least one citizen who had achieved the rank of Annexer to set the party up to begin with, and whilst a confident and refined politician, she lacked the power base to consolidate a strong grip on the political reins of the Alliance.

Upaxa and Xoraxis had a close working relationship, and as they worked hard to build up and strengthen the party, the two fell in love with one another. Unfortunately, despite the surge in support they gained, it would be a short-lived romance when Upaxa was arrested for corruption, based on files which Jnudan believed had been planted by none other than Supremacon Darvaxis to stop the party from growing any further. This left Xoraxis in charge of the party in Upaxa's absence, and he promised that once he was put in power he would not only rescue his people but he would pardon her.

Xoraxis' command as the party's new Pacesetter was anything but dynamic. He was a poor politician, with an already controversial stance to campaign on, lingering criticism on corruption, and only one other competent and experienced political advisor in the form of the elderly Guehrridon Velix. Jnudan found it increasingly difficult to stand up to the other parties and his movement was all but made redundant by the Supremacon, who successfully manipulated words to smite the party.

Fearing that there would be no hope of freeing Noidel and showing the Galaxy a different side of his people if he did not, Xoraxis abandoned all notions of peacefully ascending to power and converted the ZRP into a group of rebel malcontents with the goal of taking the Zignauli Senate by force. He broke off his supporters from the Alliance and settled them throughout the Secunda Hyadum system, mostly on the moons of its planets.

From there, Xoraxis Jnudan built up the Zignauli Retaliationary Party's forces for decades, becoming their new unofficial 'Supremacon' and earning the title of 'The Retaliator'. Numerous times Guehrridon Velix proposed that they seek help and support from other factions and groups throughout the Galaxy- such as the Hakkorians who could undoubtedly provide them with more than enough support, but Xoraxis was not on board with the idea. He feared the Hakkorians would either try to destroy them as they were in a weak position, betray them or refuse to give the Zignauli rights equal to their own people. The Sangheili Commonwealth would be unlikely to help them either, and the Waxumai/Jiralhanae Combine would be certain to assert their dominance over the Zignauli if given such a chance. Xoraxis reminded him that it was because of outsiders and their negative actions that the ZRP was formed in the first place, and they couldn't give the people of the Galaxy another opportunity to vilify the Zignauli.

In time, Xoraxis ordered a full scale advance on Anulla, intending to take the capital city and the senate and expose Darvaxis for the liar and traitor he was. Xoraxis, in his pursuit of a glorious victory, refused to spend the battle aboard his flagship, The Retaliator, and descended on the capital city of Phestis where he cut a path through the Alliance troops there. During the massive assault, he encountered High Annexer Yergonim- Darvaxis' right hand and clashed gunspears with him. Jnudan fought bravely against Yergonim, but the High Annexer's superior acumen resulted in Xoraxis being impaled with Yergonim's gunspear. Yergonim then told Xoraxis that after he was done with him, he would be sure to grant Upaxa a swift and remorseful death so they could reunite in the embrace of Death, to which Jnudan reacted in a seething and bombastic outburst. He lunged his head forward at Yergonim, biting into his shoulder and tearing off a good chunk of it in the process, and as his grip on the gunspear loosened, Xoraxis whacked his enemy across the face with his other arm as he retrieved the gunspear from his body. After painstakingly ripping it out of himself, Xoraxis wiped blood from his mouth and began to attack Yergonim, dismembering his arms, removing one leg and then shoving both gunspears into the High Annexer's torso, blasting further through his body to add even more injury to...injury. Instead of killing him there and then, Jnudan left Yergonim there, pulling both gunspears from him before leaving to continue his charge.

He boarded a ZRP Heavy Chariot which was blasting through Alliance troops, grinding through the Senate building's defence perimeter. After seeing a Warbeast swoop down and devour one of the other Heavy Chariots making its way, Xoraxis leaped from his Chariot, landing on an Alliance gorilla Warbeast, who he plunged his gunspears into the eyes of before making a technopathic connection to it's cybernetic control center. He steered the gorilla through the enemy, forcing it to beat and slam enemy Light Chariots and gun placements until the gorilla had taken so many energy bolts that it died. When it slumped to the ground, Xoraxis continued his hate-filled pursuit of justice by carving his way through the enemy, deploying phase shifters to pass through barricades.

Slaughtering through them in a blind rage, Xoraxis did not realise the true brutality of his actions and the fact he was leaving so many of his troops behind until he reached the final stretch on his way to the Senate. Jnudan ordered Guehrridon Velix to have the gunships pepper the Senate building with fire, but Guehrridon refused to, not believing Xoraxis was justified in massacring the Senate. Xoraxis barked that he did not care if every single person in the building died- their deaths would be the ashes from which a new Zignauli future would be born. Velix, no longer sympathising with Jnudan, cut off communications with him. Xoraxis contacted the gunships himself and demanded that they do it, but the crews disobeyed his order. It then became very clear to Xoraxis that he alone would have to enter the Senate building and kill everyone inside. He had no problem with doing that.

He reached the entrance to the building and deployed matter phase shifters, forgetting that the building had top-grade phase shift blockers active at all times. Enraged, he instead issued a challenge to Darvaxis, who was inside, a challenge to a duel or else he would have his gunships open fire- hoping that he did not know of his inability to actually use them. Instead of Darvaxis answering however, it would be the booming and dreadful voice of Taniox, who was giving a speech in the Senate oratory. Taniox informed Xoraxis that the enemy he sought was not there, that Darvaxis was away on a mission, but Taniox gladly accepted Jnudan's challenge on his behalf. Regardless of if he wished to reconsider or not, the doors to the building opened to allow Xoraxis in.

He encountered no resistance on his way to the oratory where the Senate gathered, and when Xoraxis encountered Taniox, who sat on his mobile throne at the room's stage, Xoraxis pointed one gunblade at Taniox and exchanged words with him, explaining why he had done all this. Taniox merely stood from his throne and drew two weapons- the Shield of Daakel and the double-bladed battlesword named "And Then There Were None". With two gunspears in hand, Jnudan steeled himself in Taniox's presence, staring him down with a hateful need to see his death in his eyes. Jnudan ironically was no the one to make the first move in a charge- that was Taniox. Xoraxis believed this would give him the upper hand, but admittedly expected himself to be the one to attack first and was thrown off by Taniox's movement. The Mad Dreadlord laid a huge heavy battering from his sword on Xoraxis who strained to block with the gunspears. After letting his block slip and moving out of the way of the blade, he tried to lunge at Taniox's legs, crouching to help him. But Taniox protected himself from the spears and their blasts coming from them with the Shield of Daakel, which he then used to deliver a bash to Xoraxis' body and then kick him in the torso. Jnudan recovered just in time to block the sword and guide it away from him before blasting Taniox with the other gunspear. Taniox could not deflect it in time with the Shield of Daakel and instead took the hit, which allowed Xoraxis to ram his other gunspear into his arm, but Taniox barely flinched this time and shook it out of Xoraxis' grasp before he pulled it out and then proceeded to attack Xoraxis with the battlesword. Xoraxis barely evaded his attacks as Taniox used its spinning function to chop up the oratory floor whilst Jnudan distanced himself from him.

After a few more moments of fighting and dodging, Xoraxis disarmed Taniox of his sword, then rebounded and pounced with his gunspear over him, plunging it downwards, hoping to jam it into the Jiralhanae's skull and blast through his body. Instead, Taniox dodged him and slammed Jnudan with the Shield and his bare fist at the same time, severely crippling Xoraxis. As Xoraxis put his hand up in a desperate attempt to block whatever came next, the movement of the Shield of Daakel alone sliced one of Xoraxis' pinky fingers off, causing a pained reaction. Taniox then summoned his gravity mace- Bloodrinker from his personal pocket dimension and delivered a powerful wallop to Xoraxis, sending him flying into the wall. Just a second after he hit the wall, Taniox's hand grabbed and slammed him further into said wall, keeping him lodged in there.

Taniox then commended Xoraxis on his near-successful invasion, but criticised and corrected him for its purpose. Taniox declared to Jnudan that although he knew the task the Obsidian Dominion was set upon was greatly destructive and laden with death, he elaborated on the need for balance in the universe. Taniox told Xoraxis that in his quest, he was actually following Zignauli culture, trying to enrich it by making everyone adopt the significance of cutting down on waste and limiting the population. Taniox said that he knew Xoraxis was not like the Hakkorians with their dreams of hope and beliefs that the universe had enough resources to sustain everyone- that he was smarter and knew the lengths that were required to save everyone. Which is why Taniox let go of Xoraxis, pulling him from the wall. Jnudan could barely react, only listen to Taniox's pontification. Taniox declared to Xoraxis, as he helped the Zignauli to his feet, that his mission was not to divide people, but to unite them. Once his goal was complete, nobody- not the Hakkorians, not the Xoviss, not the Waxumai or the Klawe or the Tenebrae would ostracise the Zignauli, for everyone would finally understand why his species did what they did. Taniox offered Xoraxis a place as the new High Annexer, promising to release Upaxa if he took it. Jnudan, knowing in his heart that there had to be a way to save the universe other than through killing so many, spat in Taniox's face and denied his offer. Taniox merely sat upon his throne and told him that in that case, he would allow him, Upaxa and all his ZRP members to leave peacefully if they surrendered, knowing that by now, his forces had wiped the majority out. Xoraxis reluctantly agreed, and with his troops and Upaxa Noidel, left Anulla.

On board a beaten, broken and all-but derelict cruiser, they were escorted out of Obsidian Dominion space whilst Jnudan received a cybernetic replacement for the pinky cut off by Taniox. Xoraxis' attack failed, but he had Upaxa back. However, he now learned from his interaction with Taniox- it wasn't outsiders who were the problem, at least, not at the heart of it. It was the commitment to the Zignauli culture of balance that was- this almost religious devotion had allowed Darvaxis and Yergonim to get their people to follow a populicidal warlord from Targum in a quest to cut the excess populations of worlds and systems so they could use their resources more efficiently. His people believed that everyone in the universe had to live almost like animals in a field- neither overfeeding nor underfeeding so they did not exhaust themselves or their food, but Jnudan did not agree. He believed that the universe could be sustained through the development of technology, through overcoming primal limits. It would not be easy- Taniox's homeworld fell because their inventiveness and longevity outlived the sustainability of Targum. It made sense that the same would happen to the rest of the universe one day, but Xoraxis was not going to let Taniox decide how everyone else stopped the same fate befalling them, especially not if it was by killing so many sextillions.

Standing out on the bridge of the cruiser, Xoraxis planned his next steps in life- he would fight against Taniox yes, but not merely to liberate his people from him, but to save everyone in the universe from him too and find a better way. He would live life as an interplanetary rebel fighting the Obsidian Dominion, and most importantly- he'd do it the same way Taniox intended to complete his goal of populicide- Xoraxis knew that Taniox could never actually cull the populations of the entire universe. He would have to live longer than the universe itself for it to be possible, but Taniox instead always planned to acquire the seven Dread Stones- concentrated ingots of Precursor Dark Magic origin which allowed the very forces of the universe itself to be bent to the will of the wielder. There was the Dread Stone of Time, Madness, Nightmares, Cosmos, Fear, Commencement and finally Power.

Xoraxis, thinking upon Taniox's goal, realised he could do the same...with the Dread Stone of Power, he could wipe the Dreadlord from the face of the universe, but he'd still have to destroy all supporting him- and that included almost all Zignauli. The Dread Stone of Madness maybe- control the minds of his followers, force them to abandon The Obsidian Dominion, but he'd still need to do it in good time or he'd risk losing that control. The Dread Stone of Time then....but it would never be able to stop everything for him, and so on...

And then the solution occurred to him. It was so simple and so vastly complex that it wrenched from him genuine laughter. Xoraxis realised that the stones could do so much more- he could coerce outsiders into accepting the Zignauli, he could demand that wars end, oppressive regimes stop...rule the universe...even, to assure a utopia for all peoples, of course.

No single stone could achieve these goals. But all of them...

"A Zignauli!", "He's here to kill us all!!!", "Run from that evil creature!!!", "The monstrous Zignauli cannot hurt you, and I would sooner slay him before he could even come close to you my child." The damning words of the audience at Qilohsa Runo's performance echoed in Jnudan's mind.

Xoraxis Jnudan stared out at the infinite reaches of space, and then held out his hand in front of him. He clenched his fist, imagining a gauntlet there, and smiled.

Xoraxis told his followers that he was no longer their leader, relinquishing control of the ZRP to Upaxa, and stated that he was now leaving to pursue a proper united front against Taniox, but he was done dragging his friends and allies into such things. He told them that someday, somehow, he would rally the galaxy, all galaxies against him, and together, everyone would find a better way. Upaxa told her love that she'd join him regardless, but Jnudan said that the Zignauli still needed a legitimate front that could offer support and change things from the inside once Taniox was defeated, and Xoraxis told Noidel that on that day, the ZRP would be there, not telling her or anyone else his true intentions of collecting the Dread Stones. They shared a tender moment before parting ways, and Xoraxis departed the cruiser on board his Star Chariot Dogfighter; The Counter-Annex, headed for the remote Sangheili/Xoviss-controlled Nutrithian Asteroid Belt where he would make an acquaintance with the Yanme'e Crime Boss there- The Scofflaw who he would enlist the services of to help build up his new crew of rebels and searchers to find the Dread Stones...

Quotes:

"I will find those Stones, re-appropriate power in The Obsidian Dominion, and turn the universe into a perfect, prosperous society. But it all starts somewhere: killing that madman Taniox!"

'The Sinner' Jegden Vaas: "I know that look." Xoraxis: "What look, Hakkorian?" The Sinner: "That dreadful, knowin' look...you tryna find those Dread Stones ain't ya?"

Xoraxis: "I still live! Finish it." Taniox: "Why? I have no need to kill you."

"But why would they want to know? And more importantly, who are they? Friends, enemies, or... something more?"- After becoming a founding member of the Defenders of Infinity (In the future)

Xoraxis: "No excuses you pathetic rodent. Keep moving. Xoraxis, out." Ranger Raniks: "No, Xoraxis IN, and you know what? You can kiss my yellow, hairy-" (In the future)

(Hey there everyone, just wanted to say for you eagle-eyes out there that if you read the last bit of Xoraxis' backstory here, you'll notice a familiarity in the structure to Taniox with him pondering over the Dread Stones. "No single stone could accomplish...", "He clenched his fist, imagining a gauntlet there, and smiled." Yeah, I did that because I wanted Xoraxis to kind of be this anti-Taniox character: a guy who's so dedicated to ending him that he's willing to adopt the exact same methods as him, and without realising it, Xoraxis may turn into someone far worse than him in the process. So yeah, I did this to show there's parallels between the two and that in the pursuit of ultimate vengeance, one may become what they seek to destroy. Yeah, I know. Deep. No need to commend me for my amazingness. I'm kidding of course, I actually was in quite a mess with this guy until just recently when I came up with that idea for him. Anyway, one more affair to get in order, you may notice that the 'Ranger Raniks' character here sounds alot like Ranger Rakton . Well, I can assure you, there are exactly the same. More accurately, Ranger Raniks is the new name for Rakton, because I'll be honest, the name 'Rakton' wasn't doing it for me and his bio is gonna eventually get a rewrite. Don't ask when because I think by now we all know I'm terrible at meeting deadlines, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed Xoraxis the Retaliator, my first Zignauli character to get his own deviation. Stay safe and have a good rest-of-the-day folks!)