The inscription, written in a Cabal dialect, reads: “Victory or death!”

Definition/Summary:

Oath

• Solemn promise, with divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior

Skyburners guards to the Cabal Commanders

• When Ta’aurc dispatches the elite Ice Reapers to hunt down Rasputin, the Skyburners accompany them as well
• Valus used Skyburner soldiers as his personal guard until he was killed
• The Skyburners are one of the first Cabal units to encounter the Taken originally led by Primus Ta’aun and his bond brothers
• May have joined Ghaul when he arrives in the system

Expanded info:

“Victory or death”

• This is an inversion of the hoary battle cry
• “Victory or death” and its equivalents, were heavily used as a motto or battle cry throughout history

Add/Misc:

Lore Tab trivia:

The lore tab for ‘Skyburner’s Oath’ was originally written so it could be sung to the tune of ‘fortunate son’ a popular song during the time of Vietnam War written by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival:

• “Some folks are born made to wave the flag Ooh, they’re red, white and blue And when the band plays “Hail to the chief” Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son, son It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no”

Lore Tab:

• “Some grunts are born to fight the war. Yes, they’re loyal and true, and when the call comes “hot drop in five,” well, they’re always first in the queue. But I’m not one of them. I’m no hero, I’m in no hurry to die. I shot my own squad on Phobos, when death came to wear us like armor. I rode the Primus’s ship that rammed the Hive dreadnaught. Second wave out the hatch. We won that fight. Victory or death. We’re not dead, so we won.”

Vietnam War (Fortunate Son) song movement

• It soon became an anti-war movement anthem; an expressive symbol of the counterculture’s opposition to U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and solidarity with the soldiers fighting it
• The song, released during the peak period of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, is not explicit in its criticism of that war in particular, but was meant to make a statement about Wars in general
• The songs author, John Fogerty quotes his meaning for the lyrics within the song:
  “It speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself,”
  “It’s the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them.”