"I am no "follower" of anything. I believe thanatology is just an excuse for insomnia and that Ahamkaras are for cheaters. I find the Acataleptic belief that Darkness is incomprehensible to be pessimistic nihilism, and its opposite—the Osirian position that Darkness must be understood—to be misanthropic narcissism. But I will also take good ideas where I can get them. And Osiris's belief that Guardian minds and bodies can be sharpened as one sharpens a sword is a good idea. You've seen the results in the Crucible. Do I really have to say any more?"
Lord Shaxx is the manager of the Crucible and a vendor for Crucible-related items. He is found in the Tower near the Vanguard. However, in Destiny 2 he is located in the Courtyard, behind the vaults. He is assisted in his duties by Arcite 99-40, the Crucible Quartermaster. He does not serve as a vendor in Destiny 2. Lord Shaxx also serves as the announcer in the Crucible, with the exception of the monthly Iron Banner tournament, which is hosted by Lord Saladin Forge.
"I forget you used to be a Warlord."
"What do you mean 'used to?'"
"I thought you'd thrown in with Saladin and Felwinter."
"I did. But I never stopped being me."
During the Dark Age, Shaxx was a Warlord until he submitted to the Iron Lords, although he maintained the attitude he had as a Warlord. During the first years of the City Age, he traveled to the famous camp that would eventually become The Last City, helping to build the city alongside people such as a younger Speaker and Zavala. Shaxx also fought alongside Zavala and Lord Saladin Forge during the Battle of Six Fronts and participated in the construction of the Last City's Wall and the Towers. He and Zavala became students of Saladin, although they did not join the Iron Lords.
The Crucible handler was also present during the schism between the infamous exile, Osiris, and his former teacher, the Speaker. While Shaxx didn't have an opinion on Osiris at the time, he grew irritated that his "messages" began to spread and cause strife among the Guardians and the City itself. Shaxx even had to personally break up a few fights before they got out of hand.
"I faced an impossible choice: disobey my superior or let the City burn. I relive it every day. There are some who have never forgiven me."
When the Fallen Houses united and laid siege to the Last City, Shaxx fought in the Battle of the Twilight Gap to break the Fallen assault. He was given command of a fireteam that consisted of Anastasia Bray, Liu Feng, Nkechi-32, Abdi, and Truce. As the battle turned against the Vanguard and they were forced off of the Wall, Shaxx was breaking the neck of a Vandal when he heard Saladin over the comms order a full retreat to the Ridgeback District and declared the Last City lost. Shaxx was stunned by the order and glanced around the battlefield, noting the hundreds of dead Fallen and Guardians alike scattered around Twilight Gap. As he reloaded, he looked back upon the City and saw that it was not under direct assault yet, and as Saladin yelled at him to comply with the retreat order Shaxx noticed a gap within the Fallen ranks that would allow them to reach the Wall. Disregarding Saladin, Shaxx ordered Nkechi to take Adbi and Truce while Liu Feng came with him and Ana provided both teams covering fire. His team followed his orders, and as they leapt upon the Wall Shaxx cut off his radio feed with Saladin. The six of them held the Wall long enough for Saladin and Zavala to regroup the rest of the Guardians and launch a counterattack, which allowed the Vanguard to emerge victorious and save the Last City.
The loss of so many Guardians at Twilight Gap caused Shaxx to fear that the Last City could not withstand another full-scale assault. He decided that he would mentor young Guardians in the Crucible in order to ensure the next generation of Guardians would be forged into the best warriors possible and would only return to the war outside of the City once his task was accomplished. Shaxx ignoring the commands of Saladin during the battle resulted in a falling out between the two Titans, while Zavala was left with issues against both of them due to the battle. Others have attempted to get the three Titans to sort out their differences after the battle, but their stubborn nature prevented those efforts from working. Due to their disputes, Shaxx has little to do with Saladin's Iron Banner event, despite having been given oversight of the matches.
Despite his focus on the Crucible, Shaxx did serve in several battles for the Vanguard. When the Great Ahamkara Hunt began on Venus, Shaxx travelled there and fought alongside Zavala and the Hunter Eris Morn one year into the Hunt. After the three of them defeated an Ahamkara, Shaxx sat beside the dying creature and rested his hand on its snout, much to the confusion of his two comrades. The Ahamkara's corpse exploded into green fire, leaving behind a crater in which Shaxx continued to sit despite being aflame. As Zavala and Eris began to speak, Shaxx quieted them, and they listened to the whispering voice of the slain Ahamkara, which they had all grown used to over the course of the Hunt.
Shaxx was present at the Battle of Burning Lake, the first battle with the Hive. The Vanguard barely won the battle, and Shaxx submitted a report to the Consensus detailing the Hive Knight's Light-stealing swords and began looking into developing countermeasures against their weapons. He was shocked to discover that despite how close they came to defeat at Burning Lake, the Consensus was preparing for an assault on Hive's moon fortresses. Boldly barging into the Consensus Hall, Shaxx demanded to know what madness had taken ahold of them and questioned if they had even read his report about Burning Lake. He appealed to Zavala to see reason and prevent the assault so they could learn more about the swords and train against them, but his old friend informed Shaxx that this was for the Consensus to decide, not him. Shaxx's fears proved well-founded, as the resulting battle to reclaim the Moon ended in complete failure, eventually coming to be referred to as the Great Disaster, as thousands of Guardians perished by the swords of Crota, Son of Oryx and his spawn.
"The tactics and techniques that will save us in wars to come are birthed in the Crucible, during live-fire training. The Vanguard are so preoccupied with their own agendas they're missing the Vanguard of tomorrow rising right before their eyes. Ghosts find Guardians. The Crucible forges them."
As the head of the Crucible, Shaxx often had to deal with the politics of the City's Consensus and weapons foundries. He was approached by Modris Wyndham and Sya Droysen, two representatives of Tex Mechanica who wanted him to fix Crucible fights to make their weapons look good. Pretending to consider their offer, he asked them to meet him in an abandoned district of the City. However, he instead had Arcite 99-40 contact them with a message declaring that they were not the first to try and subvert the integrity of the Crucible and that he did not care if the Consensus did not believe their actions illegal. Shaxx then had them presented a choice: either ten Titans could crash through their factory on "business", or Tex Mechanica could find a way to make up their mistake up to him.
While talking with Cayde-6 about the greatest Titans who had ever lived, Shaxx expressed his belief that Saint-14 was dead. Cayde noted they had no idea what the former Titan Vanguard's status was, but Shaxx doubted that the Exo had simply disappeared. They then discussed Saint's eccentric nature, which Shaxx believed was his strength, although Cayde mocked Saint's claim that he had seen the future and saw a Guardian savior who would one day arrive. Shaxx stated that belief was a hell of thing, and then left to watch a Crucible match in which a new recruit from Old Russia that he had his eye on was debuting in.
Around the time of Crota's defeat, rumors abounded in the Tower regarding Shaxx's connections to Osiris, which caused the Speaker to launch a formal investigation. Shaxx was outraged by this, and sent a letter to the Speaker declaring that he followed no one and found most ideologies espoused by Guardians like Osiris or Ulan-Tan to be flawed, but that he did think that Osiris' belief that the minds and bodies of Guardians could be sharpened like one sharpens a sword correct, and that the results in the Crucible spoke for themselves.
Shaxx began to desire new Crucible arenas, and personally led a unit of Redjacks to the Cosmodrome and secured a section of the wall there which was dubbed Sector 618 by the Vanguard. He believed that the location had the spirit of war about it and liked the extra challenges the chaotic terrain added to Crucible matches. He also worked with Holborn's Host to discover the existence of Fleetbase Korus on the Martian moon of Phobos, and they reported to the Vanguard that it was under the command of Primus Ta'aun of the Skyburners. After creating another new arena in the midst of the European Dead Zone, Shaxx responded to worries about how it would be kept secure by noting that very little remained dead now and that they must be ready for anything. He also aided Amanda Holliday in finding new tracks for the Sparrow Racing League, ordering his Redjacks to create a track on Venus in the heart of Vex territory so that the bravery of Guardians could be tested alongside their speed.
While in the midst of drinking coffee and having a heated argument, Shaxx suddenly found himself teleported before Queen Mara Sov of the Reef. Startled by his sudden change in surroundings, Shaxx demanded to know where he was, but the Queen merely knocked the coffee cup out of his hand and handed him a copy of William Shakesphere's The Tempest and demanded he read it aloud. Insulted, Shaxx used his Arc abilities to incinerate the text and declared that no one told him what to do and that he knew the entirety of The Tempest by heart. He proceeded to recite the famous play to Mara over the next several hours, although he never removed his helmet during the performance.
After the Guardian secured a landing zone on Oryx, the Taken Kings Dreadnaught, Shaxx ordered his Redjacks to board the massive Hive warship, determined to carve out new Crucible arenas there as revenge upon the Hive God for his invasion of the Solar System. He boasted that by the end of the Taken War, they would be holding Crucible matches atop Oryx's throne.
Shaxx's interest in Hive swords was rekindled by Oryx's invasion, and he set out to learn how to craft swords for Guardians to wield against the Hive. After Oryx's death, Shaxx was approached by the Guardian, who had been given a shard of Oryx's sword Willbreaker by Eris Morn. Shaxx was fascinated by the shard and questioned what the Guardian intended to do with it. He offered to reforge the blade into a new weapon for the Guardian, but needed Hadium Flakes from the Dreadnaught to repair the blade. After the Guardian gathered the necessary materials and returned, Shaxx explained that he could craft the blade with any of the three elements to make the Arc Edge, Sol Edge, or Void Edge and asked which the Guardian would prefer. After the Guardian improved upon the sword, Shaxx had them return to him and noted that he could increase its power even more. He asked the Guardian to test the sword's strength against powerful Hive and Guardians in the Crucible. Once that was accomplished, Shaxx explained to them that the sword now hovered between the Light and the Darkness, and that they must ensure it was sealed into the light by using it to slay Ecthar, Sword of Oryx. While working on the swords, Shaxx turned to the Cryptarchy for aid and utilized Ikora's notes to ensure that the swords were forged in Light.
After the emergence of a group of Guardians known as the Shadows of Yor who utilized copies of Thorn, the dreaded weapon of the murderous Guardian Dredgen Yor, Shaxx met with Ikora to discuss the situation after the Shadows participated in a match on Blind Watch. Ikora was worried that Yor's corruption was starting again in the Crucible among the Shadows and believed they should monitor the situation. Shaxx agreed with her, although he believed that Zyre Orsa, one of the leaders of the Shadows, and his friends were managing to overcome the Darkness of Thorn and succeed where Yor had failed. His former pupil disagreed with him and asserted that the Thorn was becoming a far too common pestilence in the Crucible.
During The Dawning, Cayde-6 conned him into loosening up to mingle with the City's children after Shaxx failed to outrun his Golden Gun in a bet, a feat that Shaxx grudgingly accepted once he started training two kids in the ways of the Crucible. He was vindicated when one of those kids discreetly hit Cayde with a ball. On the way back to the Tower, he once again bet that he could beat the Golden Gun, and Cayde happily accepted.
"If the Cabal want war, give them war."
On the anniversary of the Battle of Six Fronts, the Last City and its Guardians were preparing to celebrate the unity of the City and foundation of the Vanguard. However, the City was suddenly assaulted by the Cabal's Red Legion, and the Tower suffered heavy damage during the initial stages of the battle. Shaxx and his Redjacks immediately began aiding in the defense of the Tower, and he made it his priority to assist civilians in escaping the Cabal assault. In a cargo bay near the North Tower, he saved a group of civilians from a group of Red Legion soldiers. Spotting Eva Levante amongst the group, Shaxx helped her to her feet and asked for her help to organize the civilians to follow him to safety. Leading them through the burning Tower, he escorted the group to a trio of waiting Hawks. Before leaving to find more civilians, Shaxx bid farewell to Eva, calling her comrade, and then charged back into the wreckage of the Tower. Shaxx began gathering civilians for evacuation outside of his personal armory. The Young Wolf eventually arrived, and Shaxx gave them access to his armory to take whatever weapons they needed from it and gave them directions to reach the hanger. He remained behind to continue guarding the civilians, but urged the Young Wolf to wage war upon the Cabal. Upon the fall of the Last City, an enraged Lord Shaxx retaliated by hijacking some of the Cabal's capital ships and converted them into Crucible arenas.
Shaxx, Arcite 99-40, and his team are cut off by a Cabal energy barrier during the liberation of the Last City.
Shaxx and Arcite 99-40 relocated to The Farm, where he continued to organize Crucible matches. He was reunited with the Young Wolf there, who had managed to restore their connection to the Light thanks to the Shard of the Traveler within the European Dead Zone. Shaxx told them that only their Light could forge a path to victory for them, and that his Crucible would help prepare them for their future battles.
After the resistance had gathered at the Farm under the leadership of the Vanguard and Suraya Hawthorne, Shaxx was a part of the strike team led by Zavala that participated in the assault on the occupied Last City to free the Traveler from the Cabal. As they fought their way through the City, Shaxx was separated along with Arcite and other Guardians from Zavala and Hawthorne when the Cabal blocked their path with an energy barrier. As Zavala advanced, Shaxx and his team waited for Hawthorne to disable the barrier so they could rejoin the battle. The Last City was liberated from the Red Legion and the Traveler awakened during the Young Wolf's battle against Dominus Ghaul, which restored the Light to Shaxx and the rest of the Guardians. Shaxx relocated from the Farm and began to once again organize Crucible matches from the Last City in the new Tower. When he met with the Young Wolf in the aftermath of the battle, Shaxx commented on how glorious the fight had been, and that the Young Wolf's rage had brought tears to his eyes. He thanked them for liberating their home, and Shaxx admitted he could not have done it better himself before suggesting they celebrate their victory by fighting in the Crucible.
Shaxx stands at his new Crucible control center at the new Tower.
"Spread the word. Starting today, the Crucible is ranked. And you've all just been seeded. Go make history."
Several months after the reclamation of the Last City, Shaxx decided that he would institute a ranking system into the Crucible. He decided to announce this during an ongoing Crucible match by dropping down with his Fist of Havoc onto one of the participating fireteams. Standing in the middle of a fresh crater, Shaxx beckoned the Guardians to gather around him as they were revived by their Ghosts. One of the Guardians, Redrix-3, attempted to question Shaxx, but was only able to stutter at him. Shaxx watched as Redrix's Ghost quickly healed his chest again, allowing the Exo to speak and inquire how many more tests Shaxx was going to make them take. He informed Redrix and the others that there would not be anymore tests, but that the Crucible was now going to be ranked and that they were all the first to be seeded, and asked that they spread the word among the other Crucible contenders.
Bold, proud and fierce are the words that could best define Lord Shaxx. Next to Zavala, Shaxx is a perfect exemplar of the Titan Guardian. The Crucible handler is completely dedicated to the mission in preparing the Guardians for whatever force the Darkness brings, acting as a tough but encouraging mentor to them. He praises those who perform admirably or put up a decent fight while being harsh to those who fall short, normally berating them to do better. Despite this, Shaxx doesn't see a match lost as failure but as a lesson to learn from, as he explained to the children he trained during the Dawning. In addition, Shaxx normally looks for ways to create new challenges in the Crucible, either in new maps or match types, as he doesn't want the Guardians to grow complacent to the regular matches.
Shaxx takes his responsibilities in the Crucible very seriously but is aware of how most look upon the Crucible as a glorified arena and how the Consensus factions and Weapons Foundries use it to further their agendas. For this reason, he is uncompromising on how he runs it, refusing to let others try to influence it or even cheat. For example, when Tex Mechanica sought to bribe him to make their weapons look better, an unimpressed Shaxx threatened to send squads of Titans on the representatives unless they changed their offer. Another reason he's distrustful of the Consensus is how they launched the mission to reclaim the moon from the Hive, despite his loud protests on learning more about their enemies, resulted in nothing but the slaughter of countless Guardians.
In addition, Shaxx doesn't have a high opinion on the philosophies and religions that have taken form in the City. In his opinion, he is no "follower" of anything but the forging of better Guardians. Shaxx believes that thanatology is just an excuse for insomnia, that Ahamkaras are for cheaters, the Acataleptic belief that the Darkness is incomprehensible to be pessimistic nihilism, and its opposite—the Osirian position that the Darkness must be understood—to be misanthropic narcissism.
Lord Shaxx also possess a nearly unbreakable will, as he simply refuses to give up on any obstacle, whether it is in battle or researching a difficult weapon like the Swords. Even when the Last City fell and Zavala began to lose faith, Shaxx never faltered in their chances in defeating the Red Legion and reclaiming the Last City.
At times, Shaxx can be prideful, as he refuses to back down from a challenge and rarely accepts defeat, even from Cayde-6, which led to him losing a bet. Even so, he honors his end of a bet, as Shaxx agreed, albeit grudgingly, to train a few children in a game of dodge ball, in a manner similar to the Crucible. In addition, his falling out with Saladin left both refusing to apologize for what divided them. Regardless, he has worked with Saladin in operating the Iron Banner.
While most of the other individuals in the Tower have respect for at least one class of Guardian, Lord Shaxx respects them all, normally finding the best qualities in each and never favoring one over the others.
Though Lord Shaxx was a Warlord, he had “Thrown in” with Lord Saladin Forge and Lord Felwinter, yet he states he's still himself. This shows he still thinks of himself as a Warlord, suggesting he takes pride in his identity.
"That Hunter's got a big mouth. Guess he can back it up though."
"Would love to get Zavala back in the Crucible. Teach the new breed how it's done."
"Warlocks might be thinkers, but most I know can hold their own."
"The Darkness might as well come right in and take the place if that's all we've got."
"You think you can fight Fallen without training? They'll put your head on the spike."
"Something bad's going down on the Moon."
"You want to take on the Cabal? You've got to train, or they'll stomp you flat."
"New Monarchy will have to wait."
"Future War Cult's getting antsy. They must be preparing for something."
"Ikora's gift from the Light is like few I've ever seen."
"Dead Orbit's not in charge of the Crucible. I am."
"You want the Crucible? I am the Crucible."
"Cayde ran through the Crucible like as if it was a game...Sly Exo."
"I abhor sitting here while others fight my battles. But I wouldn't have missed that match for anything."—when going on a 10-kill streak.
"Your spirit is unrivaled. Show me more!"
"Enough! This battle was one-sided! You've obliterated them! Love it!"—when invoking the Mercy Rule in the Crucible.
"Do you like it better when Lord Saladin oversees these matches? Do I look like I care? Get back in there!"
"This is amazing!"- When going on a 5-kill streak.
"I'm not gonna tell you how I lost the horn; you couldn't handle it."
"I will tell you how I lost my horn, but it doesn't live up to slaying Oryx."
"Securing the Crest is vital. Good work."
"Heh. You're crushing them. Send them home crying."
"I said take the Crests, and you took all the Crests. That's why I like you, Guardian."
Shaxx serves as the Crucible Overseer. Turn in Crucible Tokens earned during player-vs-player combat to receive Crucible armor and weapons.
Shaxx will get angry if the player's team is far behind on points in Control.
Apparently, Lord Shaxx does not really care for the Festival of the Lost and its obligation for him to give Guardians candy, in his own words he says "This is ridiculous". Possibly, he believes Guardians should focus more on fighting the Darkness and less on festivities.
That being said, he wore a Tiger Man mask for the 2015 Festival.
In contrast to the Festival, he respects the racing tournaments of the SRL, the Crimson Days tournaments and the heroes who partake in it.
During the Destiny 2 cinematic trailer featuring Zavala, during the scenes with the founding of the Last City, Shaxx can be seen in the background with his helmet bearing both horns. How he lost the other horn is unknown.
During the Destiny 2 mission Homecoming, while defending civilians, Lord Shaxx wields the exotic sword Raze-Lighter.
According to Lord Saladin, Lord Shaxx is very shy. Though, this could just be Saladin jesting.
A popular saying has spread amongst the inhabitants of the Tower: "It isn't over till Shaxx sings". Shaxx himself has taken the saying to heart, repeating the line to Crucible participants, but adding "And I never sing."
If a Guardian is victorious in the Crucible, Shaxx sometimes admits that he regards them as his favorite Guardian, claiming, "You fight like an animal!"
↑ 1.0 1.1 Bungie (2014-6-12), Destiny: Alpha PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard.