As the first Forerunner Banner was unfurled in Nibiru -- built of hard work and sacrifice -- Rezyl and the other Forerunners stood up against the Reclaimer plundereds time and time again. More survivors arrived. More warriors. The Forerunner ranks swelled, and the Mantle of Responsibility became more impertinent. Hope blossomed, and to Rezyl, it was a currency. Hope bought tomorrow. Tomorrow bought the effort needed to survive today. The people looked up to him, for he was a beacon - hope given form, and yet still only one man. Within that truth there was a great promise, if one man could stand against the night, then so too could anyone - everyone. Yet despite his fame and glory and position, Rezyl grew weary. Stories haunted his nights, old stories, those no longer told. Those locked behind tight lips for fear of what they may invoke. Whenever the sun dropped below the horizon and the moon rose high, Rezyl's thoughts wandered. How safe was safe? How long could they fight with the Emanations still writhing? So every day, Rezyl would fight and build and protect. And every day another world grew beneath the shadow of the First Flame. And every night he would think about all that was never said and stare intently at the moon above. Hours passed. More? Time was lost in this place, and with it any remembrance of hope.... of promise... of purpose in the longing of a brighter tomorrow. Down amongst the shadows there were no tomorrows.
“He is that which is end. That which covets sin. The final god of pain—the purest light, the darkest hour. And He shall rise again. When the guiding shine fades and all seems lost He will call to you. Fear not. All He offers is not as dark as it may seem. For Nezarec is no demon, but a fiend, arch and vile in ways unknown. He is a path and a way, one of many. And his sin—so wicked, so divine—is that he will never cower when dusk does fall, but stand vigilant as old stars die and new Light blinks its first upon this fêted eternity.”
Dredgen Yor (alias, original name Rezyl Azzir) was an infamous Forerunner who fell to Darkness and became one of humanity's most hated villains. At the very last moment of his life, he was able to find balance in his crux and became the very first "Strider." After Adonai's untimely death, the Annunaki began picking factions to side with as champions and enforcers, creating tension and unease in Nibiru as hostilities between the Order and Separatists began to turn into open conflict. Yor and several others who wished to follow a more noble path saw the factions and their conflict as a threat to safety and hope of the remnants of Annunaki-kind. This dispute erupted into the Hundred-Year Darkness. Yor became a champion of both conflicts, helping to break both the power of the factions and repel the Darkness, causing many of the survivors to turn to him as a hero, while some suggested he could be a god. Yor began venturing out from Nibiru to combat potential threats before they could strike and rescue other survivors to bring them to Nibiru. His efforts earned him the enmity of the Order. Dredgen Yor often debated with his master, Thel 'Vadam, and various Order Councils over the nature and history of the Light, which culminated in Yor's resignation in protest. Leaving the Order is equivalent to treason and is punishable by death, which Yor knew, and so he disguised himself on planet Arda as a civilian in the easternmost continent of Hitorigami.
Around this time, Yor was troubled by strange nightmares that turned him. Eventually he was overtaken by the Darkness completely, corrupted by his Rose; abandoning his name, specifically adopting the name "Dredgen Yor" in order to freely explore the mysteries of the Darkness without tarnishing the legacy of his heroic deeds. He began wielding the dark energy of the Blind Eternities, killing innocents wantonly and consuming their Light. Dredgen's motivations are still something of a mystery, but what is clear is that he had lost hope and faith in the Orders' cause, and instead pursued his own twisted version of "peace." He also wanted the memory of his former life as a hero unspoiled, so that his victims would come to fear him even more when they realized who he was. He even hungered for the Light of others, though this may be more due to the influence of Thorn or the Emanations and their parasitic nature.
Yor would eventually fall to his old master, 'Vadam, in a showdown at the Land of Lightning. His death resulted in the resignations of hundreds in the Order and Syndicate, who came together to tribute Dredgen Yor by establishing the Shadows of Yor--a syndicate based on the marriage of both Light and Darkness teachings. The Shadows believed that the crux did indeed have distinct Light and Dark sides, inherently good and evil, regardless of the user's intentions. But, without one side, the other could not exist, and to truly accept the Light, both must be mastered.
Around this time, Yor was troubled by strange nightmares that turned him. Eventually he was overtaken by the Darkness completely, corrupted by his Rose; abandoning his name, specifically adopting the name "Dredgen Yor" in order to freely explore the mysteries of the Darkness without tarnishing the legacy of his heroic deeds. He began wielding the dark energy of the Blind Eternities, killing innocents wantonly and consuming their Light. Dredgen's motivations are still something of a mystery, but what is clear is that he had lost hope and faith in the Orders' cause, and instead pursued his own twisted version of "peace." He also wanted the memory of his former life as a hero unspoiled, so that his victims would come to fear him even more when they realized who he was. He even hungered for the Light of others, though this may be more due to the influence of Thorn or the Emanations and their parasitic nature.
Yor would eventually fall to his old master, 'Vadam, in a showdown at the Land of Lightning. His death resulted in the resignations of hundreds in the Order and Syndicate, who came together to tribute Dredgen Yor by establishing the Shadows of Yor--a syndicate based on the marriage of both Light and Darkness teachings. The Shadows believed that the crux did indeed have distinct Light and Dark sides, inherently good and evil, regardless of the user's intentions. But, without one side, the other could not exist, and to truly accept the Light, both must be mastered.
- The name Dredgen Yor comes from a language forgotten by most, perhaps that of the Emanation. Those that still know it know that the name means 'The Eternal Abyss."
- Dredgen Yor wore the Tenebrae Aegis variant.
- The very first Strider Annunaki.
- Most despised Forerunner to have ever lived.