Around the time the first Destiny came out, everyone was so fresh off Halo that the comparisons had to come between the different races. Everyone drew lines between the Flood and the Hive and the Fallen and the Covenant. While those lines have grown more and more tarnished as time passes and we get more development, the connection between individual characters is sometimes more obvious than a lot of people may realize. Enter Mithrax, the Forsaken. We all know who Mithrax is, and we're all familiar with the Arbiter. I was inspired by a [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/248897948?sort=0&page=0]post made by Tyrannis95[/url] to write a little about this and maybe create some links between Mithrax and our favorite heretic. I've got 2 main points. A lot of this will be speculation about Mithrax's potential based on links that I can make between the two, so keep that in mind. 1. Deuteragonists [spoiler]In literature, the deuteragonist or secondary main character is the second most important character, after the protagonist and before the tritagonist. The deuteragonist may switch between supporting and opposing the protagonist, depending on the deuteragonist's own conflict or plot. [/spoiler] The Arbiter is a very obvious deuteragonist. You see him go from zealot adversary, brought low and branded a heretic, to a reluctant ally forced to comply by circumstance, to a fearsome, trustworthy, and respectful ally. The Arbiter is clearly the second most important character in the second and third Halo games because you play as him when you're not the protagonist, Chief. Mithrax has a somewhat similar track in his future, best I can tell. Mithrax is an Eliksni who has decided to fight on the side of the Light. Though he's not a deuteragonist now, I think that he very much could become one in a future expansion. A former enemy who already respects his new allies in the Guardians would mean that you can't really retread the Arbiter's character arc, but you can still draw parallels based on the two potentially being deuteragonists. 2. Culture In the instances of Sangheili culture we've seen, we can see that the culture is distinctly honor-bound, consider themselves superior to their former fellows in the Covenant, and have heavily value militarism and science. In particular, they place a lot of value on swordsmanship. [quote]"...only aristocrats are allowed to wield swords and that sword-wielders are then no longer eligible for marriage; however, they may breed with any female they choose, married or otherwise, to ensure successful transmission of "swordsman" genes."- Halo Wikia[/quote] The Fallen may, in this, be compared to the Sangheili quite heavily. Both have strict codes in their cultures that dictate the way that they interact with others, with castes imposed by law. Mithrax and the Arbiter can both be compared in this caste system. Mithrax was a Captain in the House of Dusk, however he either lost or left his position and then decided to turn on them. Thel'Vadam was shamed by the destruction of the first Halo and was stripped of his position as a result, eventually turning on the Covenant along with the rest of the Sangheili. I don't know enough about the Fallen to tell you whether they're more militaristic in their aspirations or whether they're more focused on reclaiming their Great Machine, but either way you can't deny the prevalence of martial weaponry in addition to projectile weaponry. I feel like after the events of Forsaken, the Fallen may have a bit of an internal schism kind of like how the Sangheili split from the Covenant, but the Storm Covenant remained faithful. I feel like we'll see Mithrax's separatists clash against Variks. Ultimately I just really want to see more Mithrax ok?