Atriox

"I am not Tartarus or some fanatic. I am not Truth. I am not Regret. I am their remedy."

- Atriox to assassins of the Silent Shadow sent to kill him.

Atriox is a powerful Jiralhanae warlord and the chief of the Banished. A deadly warrior and brilliant military leader, Atriox is the commander of the Banished's massive army. While attempting to take control of Installation 00, Atriox and the Banished encountered the crew of.

Creating the Banished
Atriox was once a member of the Covenant military. At some point during the empire's war against humanity, the Covenant began to use his clan as frontline soldiers. Forty at a time, these Jiralhanae would storm in, killing and clearing space for follow-up attacks, but all would would die in the process. Atriox was once the sole survivor of the forty during of one of these raids, and he continued to make a habit of this during subsequent ones. He did not believe in the Great Journey and saw no purpose in wantonly warring against the humans. After repeatedly losing his brothers "39 at a time" to enemies he didn't need to fight, Atriox developed a deep anger. At some point, he eventually refused the San'Shyuum's commands and in answer, a Sangheili squad was send to put him down. However, he managed to survive. Shortly after, he rebelled against the empire, establishing his own faction known as the Banished. Another Jiralhanae, Decimus, admired Atriox's strength and became one of his generals, serving right beneath him. When the Banished split from the Covenant, the group took all kinds of armaments and other forms of technology with it. The Banished became a mercenary organization that waged war against the Covenant, forcing the empire to fight two enemies at once.

With the demise of the Covenant Empire in 2552, Atriox acquired numerous weapons and soldiers once belonging to the Covenant's vast military. One of the most powerful assets he gained was the Enduring Conviction, along with her experienced Sangheili crew and warriors. Let 'Volir, the shipmaster of the assault carrier, reluctantly agreed to serve Atriox in exchange for fuel and supplies. Atriox's experience fighting against the Covenant gained he and the Banished a strong advantage amongst other factions in the post-Covenant War galactic environment, as Atriox consolidated a significant amount of power and influence from the fallen empire.

Silencing the Shadow
"I see you for what you are and what you could be. We can do great things together. Not as master and slaves, but as the warriors you truly are--free to continue your crusade without the shackles of outdated faith."

- Atriox to Resa 'Azavayl and the rest of the Silent Shadow.

At some point following the Great Schism, a unit of Special Operations Sangheili called the Silent Shadow began to mercilessly hunt down and slaughter groups of Jiralhanae and any others unlucky enough to be found with them. Atriox was leading from a captured Covenant corvette, Elegy's Lament, at the time. The Silent Shadow, led by Resa 'Azavayl, managed to infiltrate the vessel and catch numerous Jiralhanae off-guard thanks to the use of active camouflage. It didn't take long for an alarm to be alerted, which tipped Atriox off to the assassins' presence on his ship. When they finally approached him on the bridge, he was ready. He invited the Sangheili to show themselves and proceeded to question their motives. Resa had been unaware that his target was Atriox, who he called "the betrayer". Atriox conceded that he would gladly fight the Silent Shadow if it came to that, but he made it clear that it would be in the interest of all of them to instead join forces. He mocked their short-sightedness and stubborn adherence to old hatreds. Resa was not swayed from his task upon Atriox's words, but the others responded quite differently, driving their energy swords into their leader's back and allowing themselves to be welcomed into the Banished.

The Ark
"As I suspected. Nothing but a man."

- Atriox, after beating Douglas-042.

By 2559, Atriox desired to gain more power. Turning his attention to the Forerunners' Installation 00 beyond the rim of the Milky Way, Atriox learned that the installation was capable of firing the entire Halo Array. Through unknown means, Atriox and the Banished arrived at the Ark and sought to take control of it. They slaughtered all of the humans at the Ark Research Outpost, leaving no survivors but the logistics artificial intelligence, Isabel. Not long after, the  arrived at the installation, with her crew finally awakening after sleeping in cryostasis since 2531. Spartan-II Red Team was deployed to the Ark's surface to investigate an emergency beacon being broadcast by Isabel from the Ark Research Outpost, and it was there that Atriox sprung his trap. He ambushed the Spartans, easily wounding Douglas-042 severely. Red Team was forced to retreat, and Atriox ordered Jiralhanae to hunt them down and capture them, since he wished to learn where they came from. It was not long before the team was in an M12 Warthog LRV and being pursued by Type-32 Ghosts. Red Team did manage to return to Spirit of Fire, and soon Captain James Cutter was spearheading a fight against the Banished to prevent the Ark from falling under their control.

Personality and traits
Cunning and brilliant, Atriox is a deadly warrior and a skilled military commander, leading the massive army of the Banished. He is fluent in basic Sangheili. Atriox is an intelligent and versatile soldier, collecting and re-purposing the Covenant military's former weapons, vehicles, and other equipment to allow the Banished to gain militaristic strength against other factions. Atriox hated the Covenant and its remnants. Atriox has no attachment to faith, and actively lauds it as outdated and needless. After encountering the Spartans of Red Team, it amused him when he confirmed that they were indeed only humans beneath their armor. He subsequently mocked them by calling them "little demons".

Equipment
Atriox wears signature, unique black and white combat armor of United Nations Space Command origin made from various pieces, including an ODST chestplate. He dons an augmented power gauntlet that is melee focused and which artificially enhances his strength to a significant degree. He wields a customized energy mace called Chainbreaker, which he created from parts of a Type-2 gravity hammer.

Behind the scenes

 * Atriox is set to serve as the primary antagonist of Halo Wars 2, with Dan Ayoub of 343 Industries desiring to tell a deep story with the character in the game's cinematics. First being introduced in the announcement teaser for Halo Wars 2 as an unidentified Jiralhanae leader, Atriox's name and nature were expanded upon at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo, where it was also revealed that Atriox would serve as one of the game's six playable leader characters at launch.
 * Following the pseudo-Latin theme of most Jiralhanae names, Atriox likely comes from the Latin atrox ("furious", "savage"), the root of the English word atrocious.

List of appearances

 * Know Your Enemy
 * Halo: Tales from Slipspace
 * Hunting Party
 * Halo Wars 2