Editing Atriox

===Banishment===

{{Quote|no=two|q1=Atriox. you have murdered one of your own. Stolen the life of your brother. Stolen him from the holiness of the Great Journey. We observed the battle to study the strength of our enemy. Instead, we found a heretic. Your ''blasphemy'' corrupts the Covenant.|[[Itho 'Hesiikee|The Executioner]]|q2=He was a slave. A puppet sent to kill me. I relieved him of the burden of that shame.|Atriox|Atriox faces his executioner with defiance.}}

As Atriox continued to lose pack-mates over the course of many battles, his resentment toward the Covenant, and the [[Hierarch|Prophets]] in particular,<ref name="TB log">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]] —  The Blinded''</ref> grew.{{Ref/Reuse|ANE}} Tales of his improbable survival made him legendary in the eyes of many. However, Atriox did not believe in the [[Great Journey]] and viewed the genocide of the humans as wanton.{{Ref/Reuse|ForWhat}}<ref name=AngryAtriox/> In [[2549]], during the [[Algolis Invasion|occupation]] of the [[human colony]] of [[Algolis]], Atriox returned once more to base as the only living veteran of a recent battle.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA2c}} [[Itho 'Hesiikee|The Sangheili]] in authority over the group of Jiralhanae to which he belonged was troubled by the cult of personality surrounding Atriox. Speaking to the [[High Prophet of Truth]] via remote communication, he noted that Atriox was never supposed to have survived this long. His unprecedented success and celebrated reputation could pose a threat should the Jiralhanae begin to question their role in the [[Great Journey]], especially given rumors that his faith was already wavering. Truth believed Atriox could still be a valuable tool of warfare, and stated that he would only sanction his elimination if it was confirmed that he had lapsed in his loyalty. Atriox was seated alone, still covered in the blood of humans, when the Sangheili approached him. His commander offered praise of his prowess, but Atriox rebuffed it by saying it was simply the duty he had been assigned. Further congratulations drew his ire and he told the Sangheili that he doubted his brothers were defending the Great Journey as opposed to dying pointlessly. He also rebuked the underestimation of the humans' abilities that ostensibly caused so many of his pack to continually be killed and said that perhaps absolute loyalty was not the path to righteousness as the Covenant taught. It was reported to Truth that Atriox was even more dangerous than they had feared. The decision was made to have him murdered, but it was agreed that it must be done so delicately in order to avoid martyrdom.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA2c}}

===Guerilla war===

{{Quote|So he's not just stealing armaments, he's recruiting. At the moment he's still using guerrilla tactics, which means he's still small time. Still, I'm impressed he's still alive.|[['D']], concerning Atriox.}}

Now enemies of the Covenant, the Banished were forced to become self-reliant. Atriox's subordinates were mostly Jiralhanae, but there were also [[Unggoy]] that had already been assigned to certain Jiralhanae and those who were kidnapped from the Covenant and pressed into servitude.<ref name="RoA1">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]] — Rise of Atriox I''</ref> They took to raiding Covenant resources to not only survive, but to continuously build themselves as well. Eventually, the UNSC became a target of these raids as well. In early [[2550#January|January 2550]], the Banished raided the [[Carter Guard Armory]]. Atriox personally killed a group of [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] defending it with his bare hands.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA1}} [[Helmet recorder|Helmet cam]] footage from [[Sergeant]] [[B. Wright]], an ODST killed in the raid, provided the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] with its first look at Atriox, who was identified to agents by a captured Unggoy that had been forced to serve him. The attack on the armory was unique because the Covenant typically did not bother to steal UNSC equipment, whereas the Banished emptied the place of gear. That same year, they moved against a Covenant training camp.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA2}} When the UNSC deployed [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]] to this camp in June, they found it depleted of all vehicles and weaponry with no signs of life but for a few dead Sangheili. This evidence, when reviewed months later, offered the first indication to ONI that Atriox was not only raiding, but recruiting as well.<ref name="RoA2">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]] — Rise of Atriox 2''</ref>[[File:Atrioxengineer.png|thumb|left|200px|Atriox metes out justice to one of his own.]] By November 2550, Covenant-held locations had been found in similar states seven different times, the most recent of which was a forward outpost meant to be attacked as part of [[Operation: SLOW DIVE]].{{Ref/Reuse|RoA2}} The ONI agents monitoring Atriox's activities surmised that they might be able to use his guerrilla tactics to their advantage when it came to coordinating their own offensives against the Covenant and even dared to wonder if some sort of agreement could be reached with him.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA2}}

===Detour on Otraak===

{{Quote|The Covenant already treats its warriors as tools. It's why we left. The warriors who will follow me will do so because they know me. Because they have seen me--and they know I will fight whoever it takes, wherever I have to--and that I will win, no matter what.|Atriox to Decimus.}}

At some point soon after the incident aboard the battlecruiser, Decimus suggested that the Banished [[Skirmish on Otraak|travel]] to the planet [[Otraak]]. It was largely-unknown that the Covenant had a presence there, but Decimus was acquainted with a [[Kig-Yar]] scientist operating out of an installation on its surface by the name of [[Sig Raan]].{{Ref/Reuse|RoA3c}} If Raan could be persuaded to their cause, then they would gain a significant source of ingenuity  and technological capability. Decimus led four other Jiralhanae on an expedition to this installation and met no resistance but for some unarmed [[Unggoy]] which were called off by Raan soon after ambushing them. The [[T'vaoan]] invited the Brutes inside to show off what she had invented: a device that mimicked the sonic and pheromonal signals of a [[Yanme'e Queen]], allowing its user to control many of [[Yanme'e]] drones. Rather than pledging herself to the Banished, however, Raan turned on Decimus and ordered her drones to attack. Just as it looked as if the swarming Yanme'e would be too much for the Jiralhanae, Atriox revealed himself atop a high platform within the chamber they all found themselves.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA3c}} He let the Kig-Yar know that he had known all along of her treachery and only sent Decimus ahead of himself so that she would show him what she had created. Leaping from his perch, he battered Yanme'e with his [[gravity mace]], [[Chainbreaker]], and landed on his feet. His ferocity against the drones inspired his compatriots to fight back alongside him with renewed vigor. Sig Raan was aghast at the ineffectiveness of her drones against Atriox, even surmising that there may even be a problem with her invention.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA3c}} Born aloft by a Yanme'e, she evaded Atriox before he could deal with her personally, but her escape was cut short by a blast of superheated [[plasma]] fired from Decimus' [[Type-25 plasma pistol]]. The shot killed the Yanme'e carrying her and she plunged to her death from high above the floor. Some time later following Rann's death, Atriox and the others had still not left the installation. Decimus was enthralled with the possibilities that the scientist's invention could offer them, but upon hearing of his plans to make Yanme's thralls serve as engineers and fighters, Atriox snatched the device away and crumpled it in his hand. Decimus was horrified, but Atriox adamantly explained that while the Covenant had treated its warriors as tools, he aspired to a much higher standard for himself. The Covenant's disregard for its troops, after all, had been the reason they had left it. Atriox enthusiastically stated that he wished for those following him to do so because they know him and know he will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, not because they are tricked into doing so by a peculiar technological and biological cheat. The destroyed device was left behind when they took their leave.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA3c}}{{clear}}

At some point following the [[Great Schism]], a [[Sangheili]] squad of the [[Special Operations]] division, the [[Silent Shadow]], began to mercilessly hunt down and slaughter groups of [[Jiralhanae]] and any others found associating with them.{{Ref/Reuse|HP}} Atriox was leading from one of his vessels, along with a contingent of his forces at that point, a captured {{Pattern|Ceudar|heavy corvette}}, ''[[Elegy's Lament]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|HP}} The Silent Shadow, led by [[Resa 'Azavayl]], managed to infiltrate the vessel and catch several Jiralhanae off-guard thanks to the use of [[active camouflage]].{{Ref/Reuse|HP}} An alarm was soon sounded, tipping Atriox off to the assassins' presence on his ship. When the Sangheili finally approached Atriox on the bridge, he was ready. He invited the would-be assassins to show themselves and proceeded to question their motives. Resa had been unaware that his target was Atriox, whom he called "the betrayer". Atriox conceded that he would gladly fight the Silent Shadow if necessary, but he made it clear that it would be in the interests of all involved to join forces. He had mentioned to them that he was not involved in the [[Great Schism|betrayal and massacre]] of the Sangheili,<ref name="ReferenceA">'''Halo: Tales from Slipspace''', '''Hunting Party'''</ref> and the squad began to view him as "other".{{Ref/Reuse|ReferenceA}} Atriox mocked Resa's short-sightedness and stubborn adherence to old hatreds. Resa was not swayed from his task upon hearing Atriox's words, but the others responded quite differently, driving their [[energy sword]]s into their leader's back and allowing themselves to be welcomed into the Banished.<ref name="HP">'''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]''', '''[[Hunting Party]]'''</ref> Following this, Atriox was able to recruit more Sangheili mercenaries into the Banished.  

The most powerful asset he gained was the {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} ''[[Enduring Conviction]]'', along with her experienced [[Sangheili]] crew and warriors. By [[2553#May|May 6, 2553]], ONI learned of a recent engagement during which the carrier had broken from its fleet decidedly. Atriox had sent forces to raid an air base on a planet belonging to the [[Covenant separatists]] but when the carrier's shipmaster, [[Let 'Volir]], found him within its armory, Atriox dropped [[Chainbreaker]] and voluntarily gave himself up for capture.<ref name="RoA4c">''[[Halo: Rise of Atriox]]'', ''Issue 4''</ref> A {{Pattern|Ru'swum|Phantom}} took he and a number of his forces to the ''Conviction''. The shipmaster was hailed and asked to confirm that he had captured Atriox, but the Brute instructed him to give no answer. 'Volir was surprised by his boldness and only grew more confused when he was told that Atriox had tried to spare as many of his crew on the ground as he could, because they would need them. Only once 'Volir had been given a small measure of the warmaster's intentions was he then told to give the confirmation to the asker. In his proposal, Atriox appealed to Let's wavering faith in [[Arkad Nar 'Kulul]]'s Sangheili-led fleet and his devotion to his ship and crew, offering to provision and fuel both, respectively. Twelve hours later, ''Enduring Conviction'' broke formation and severed contact with the rest of the fleet. The ''Conviction'' was hailed, warned, and then fired upon when her crew ignored orders. The ''Conviction'' performed evasive maneuvers, returned fire and escaped by performing a pinpoint slipslape jump with a maximally ionized hull.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA4c}} The resulting shockwave devastated many small craft caught in the wake of the ''Conviction''{{'}}s first jump point. The ONI operatives later examining the matter concluded that the manner in which the ''Conviction'' escaped her fellow Covenant separatist ships matched a previous encounter the UNSC had with the ship during the war and that this was indicative that Atriox had not taken it over by force.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA3}} Instead, it seemed to them that his capture was either a ruse from the start on behalf of both parties or, as had happened, that Atriox simply allowed himself to be taken so that he could make a proposal to 'Volir. Soon after escaping, they made their way to [[Ansket IV]], where a Covenant [[hydro-processing center]] had come under control of the UNSC.{{Ref/Reuse|RoA4c}} The humans on the world were attacked so the facility could be use to fuel the Banished's new ship and at some point soon afterward, 'Volir and his crew reluctantly swore fealty to the Banished on neutral territory—an orbital installation.{{Ref/Reuse|ANE}} In exchange for their unquestioning loyalty, the [[Banished]] would supply the crew and fuel the ''Enduring Conviction'' indefinitely. The ONI operatives analyzing the ship's shift of allegiance surmised that Atriox would lay low for a while after securing such a prize, as he would have painted a metaphorical target on himself in doing so.<ref name="RoA3">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]] — Rise of Atriox III''</ref>

===Dealing with Jovus===

Atriox heard of a Jiralhanae Chieftain named [[Jovus]] who had become a warlord after the Covenant's fall. He sought to recruit him. Jovus arrived on the planet [[Karava]] to meet with the Banished. He ultimately fell when he tried to attack Atriox.

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On [[2559#March|March 28, 2559]], the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}, a retrofitted {{Class|Phoenix|colony ship}} that had been missing for 28 years, arrived at the Ark after being pulled through a portal by an unknown entity. The Banished's presence went unknown to the ship, which dispatched a reconnaissance team and a trio of [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartans]] to investigate a distress signal coming from the [[Henry Lamb Research Outpost]].{{Ref/Reuse|TS}} Anticipating the arrival of the Spartans at the outpost, Atriox and a number of other Jiralhanae hid inside it and waited. After the three humans retrieved the [[artificial intelligence]] and source of the distress beacon, [[Isabel]], Atriox sprung the trap. He managed to surprise them by lunging from the shadows to grab [[Alice-130]] and lift her into the air. The others immediately reacted by engaging Atriox with short bursts of gunfire, but the massive Jiralhanae responded in turn by battering them with his [[Powered exoskeleton|powered gauntlet]] and [[gravity mace]].{{Ref/Reuse|TS}} All three were easily kept at bay by Atriox, who outmatched them in strength and durability. [[Douglas-042]] and [[Jerome-092]] both managed to get in close and stab and slash him with [[combat knife|combat knives]], respectively, but Atriox did not even react to the wounds. After tossing Alice and Jerome away he used brute force to clamp down on Douglas' [[Mjolnir]] [[Mark IV|armor]] with his powered gauntlet, rendering him incapacitated. From there, he slammed him with [[Chainbreaker]], the gravity mace, sending him flying and knocking his helmet off.{{Ref/Reuse|TS}} As Alice and Jerome cautiously recovered Douglas, now unable to even stand and teetering on the edge of consciousness, Atriox mocked the Spartans and the [[Covenant religion#Demons|legends]] that had sprung up around them among the Covenant. Alice and Jerome dragged Douglas away while Atriox just laughed. After they had gone, he ordered the Jiralhanae in the outpost with him to hunt them down and to find out where they had come from.<ref name="TS">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Signal]]''</ref>  

The Spartans managed to escape their pursuers, and before long a [[Strike One|small force]] moved against the salvage operation being overseen by Decimus, who made a personal appearance to defend his work.{{Ref/Reuse|ANE}} The humans were too much for him, however, and he retreated through a portal. Upon learning of this, Atriox ordered his right hand to report to him immediately and commanded that all Banished outposts be put on alert for UNSC assaults.<ref name="PLECBR">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''Phoenix Logs — Enduring Conviction Battle Reports''</ref> Data recovered during the skirmish led Captain [[James Cutter]] and the other humans to discover Atriox had taken possession of a [[Cartographer]] to locate key systems and weapons across the Ark. After they made an aggressive push and wrested control of it from the Banished, Atriox reassigned Decimus to protect likely targets that were crucial to upholding their portal network.{{Ref/Reuse|PLECBR}} Though his troops had been spread far and wide thanks to the portals, mass redeployments were undertaken quickly to defend key sites once the Cartographer was lost. Decimus ultimately died defending the areas he had been ordered to, and at this, Atriox finally called for ''[[Enduring Conviction]]'' to begin attacking the ''Spirit of Fire''. The humans responded by using a [[Forerunner]] [[particle cannon]] on the Ark to immobilize the carrier and drain its shields. Atriox retaliated by sending everything he had in the area at the site of this cannon, and he personally transmitted a message wherein he taunted and threatened Douglas-042. These efforts were to no avail, however, as Jerome-092 and [[Isabel]] managed to infiltrate the ''Enduring Conviction'' and use its [[ventral beam]] to provoke an attack on it from the installation's [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s. Atriox could only watch as his [[flagship]] was cut into two pieces, which fell to the Ark. Atriox was enraged at the loss, and doubly so due to the fact that Professor [[Ellen Anders]] had successfully managed to launch [[Installation 09|a Halo ring]]. As it rose from the [[Foundry (location)|Foundry]], he told [[Let 'Volir]] to get everyone he could on the ring immediately and to take it from the humans, noting that If he could do so, it may prove him to still be worth his price.  

[[File:HW2-Banished-02.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Atriox stands before his army.]]